The 1995 Score Select baseball card set was one of the more unique issues from Score in the mid-1990s as it focused on special storylines and statistical accomplishments from the 1994 MLB season. Score Select sets from this era strayed away from the traditional format of showing a player’s picture on the front along with basic stats on the back. Instead, they zeroed in on specific moments or feats to highlight through photographs, graphics and extensive statistical breakdowns.
The 1994 MLB season saw some noteworthy individual performances and franchise milestones that made for interesting subjects to feature in the 1995 Score Select set. A few of the highlighted cards included a focus on Ken Griffey Jr.’s then-record breaking 40 home runs before the All-Star break, a retrospective on the Montreal Expos excellent season that saw them finish with the best record in the National League, and cards dedicated to major career achievements by Rickey Henderson, Tony Gwynn and Eddie Murray.
Perhaps the most notable card in the set was #58 which paid homage to Matt Williams and his pursuit of Roger Maris’ single season home run record. In 1994, Williams launched 43 home runs for the Cleveland Indians as he threatened to break Maris’ longstanding mark of 61 set in 1961. The card breaks down Williams’ power surge that season month-by-month along with statistics on how his home run pace compared to Maris. While Williams fell just short of the record, his prolific power display made for one of the more compelling storylines of that MLB campaign.
Some other top cards in the 1995 Score Select set included:
#5 – A retrospective on the career of Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan and his then-record of 5,717 career strikeouts.
#15 – A tribute to Tony Gwynn’s astounding .394 batting average in 1994 which was the highest single season mark since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.
#29 – A breakdown of Rickey Henderson’s 1990 MLB record for most career stolen bases which he increased to 1,406 by 1995.
#46 – A celebration of Eddie Murray reaching 500 career home runs on August 6, 1994 while playing for the Cleveland Indians.
#61 – A spotlight on the Career .300 Hitting Club which paid homage to players who achieved a lifetime .300 batting average.
While baseball card sets in the 1990s generally stuck to a predictable format, Score Select offered collectors something different by focusing more on historical statistics and achievements rather than just straightforward player snapshots. For fans interested in detailed data mining and baseball records, the 1995 issue provided extensive statistical breakdowns across its 70 cards spotlighting some of the most notable storylines and accomplishments from the 1994 season. Two decades later, these unique cards chronicling individual prowess and franchise accomplishments remain an interesting relic from the peak of the baseball card boom era.
The 1995 Score Select set highlighted a variety of compelling moments and milestones while also showcasing the meticulous statistical analysis that Score became renowned for during the early to mid-1990s run of their baseball issues. Cards like the Matt Williams home run chase retrospective and tributes to all-time greats like Nolan Ryan, Tony Gwynn and Eddie Murray presented baseball history and achievements in a visually appealing format backed by statistical substantiation. While not necessarily the most coveted issue from its time strictly from a collector’s standpoint, the 1995 Score Select set stands out among its contemporaries as one of the more innovative in terms of original content highlighting specific storylines rather than basic player photos and stats. Its focus on meaningful stats and historical contexts from the previous season made it an interesting statistical deep-dive for sports card collectors and baseball fans alike.
