The 1989 Score baseball card set is one of the mostpopular and recognizable vintage card issues ever produced. Like many mass produced products, it had its fair share of errors during production which collectors enjoy finding today. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of the notable mistakes that can be found in the 1989 Score baseball card set.
One of the most famous errors from the 1989 Score set involves slugger Mark McGwire’s rookie card. On many copies of McGwire’s card, the number that was printed below his photo was #481 instead of the correct #480. This mistake made McGwire’s rookie card one of the more sought after errors from the set. The misprinted #481 McGwire rookie can fetch collectors hundreds of dollars compared to the proper #480 version.
Another notable error involved Chicago Cubs pitcher Chuck McElroy. On most versions of McElroy’s card, he is correctly listed as playing for the “Chicago Cubs” underneath his picture. A small number of copies mistakenly list his team as the “Chiacgo Cubs” with an extra “i” in Chicago. This minor typo makes the “Chiacgo Cubs” variation quite the find for collectors looking to track down production mistakes.
A catcher on the Toronto Blue Jays at the time, people were naturally looking forward to finding the rookie card of future Hall of Famer Pat Borders in the 1989 Score set. Unfortunately, some versions of Borders’ card had him printed without his first name, simply listing his last name as “Borders” under his picture instead of “Pat Borders” like it should be. Leaving off a player’s first name is considered a glaring error by card standards.
Moving to the American League West, the card for outfielder Rueben Sierra of the Texas Rangers had a typo where his last name was printed as “Sirea” instead of the correct spelling of “Sierra”. This is just one example of how even simple spelling or typographical mistakes could slip through QA and end up mass produced in a card set. The misspelled “Sirea” variations are a hunt for dedicated error collectors.
On the Atlanta Braves, pitcher Zane Smith’s position was erroneously listed as “P” instead of the standard “P” that stood for Pitcher. While still understandable as his position, the lack of the “H” made this one tiny but obvious defect in an otherwise normal card. Of all the errors, the wrong position letter is among the more identifiable for eagle-eyed collectors.
In the American League East, catcher Terry Steinbach played for the Oakland Athletics. On some copies of his 1989 Score card, his last name was mistakenly printed as “Steinbath” with an extra “H”. The misspelling made his card another popular hunt for production discrepancies. Any time a player’s last name was printed incorrectly, even just by one letter, it constituted a notable mistake.
Switching divisions to the NL West, outfielder Gerald Young of the San Francisco Giants had the unfortunate luck of seeing his first name printed incorrectly as “Geral” missing the final “D”. Missing or incorrect letters and typos, no matter how minor, were unacceptable as errors according to the rigid standards of the collecting community.
An interesting statistical error occurred on the card of slugging third baseman Kevin Seitzer of the Kansas City Royals. Under his first season stats from 1986, his home run total was wrongly listed as “1” when he actually hit 5 homers that year for the Royals. Even on arguably less significant rookie season stats, inaccurate numbers presented an undeniable blunder.
Perhaps the most visually obvious mistake from the entire 1989 Score baseball card set involved Knicks Basketball star Patrick Ewing having his picture mistakenly included instead of any baseball player! While humorous, this huge blunder of putting the wrong athlete altogether on a card stood out as one of the most glaring production flaws from the set.
The 1989 Score baseball card issue had its fair share of small typos and larger errors that collectors still seek out today. Anything from missing letters and misspelled names to incorrect stats and even putting the wrong athlete’s picture – the manufacturing mistakes provided hobbyists a fun layer of variation to pursue. While frustrating for Quality Assurance at the time, the flaws only enhance collector interest in this beloved set decades later. Error cards allow fans to relive the imperfections of the mass production process and discover little known stories behind their favorite players.
