Kris Benson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played in the big leagues from 1996-2008. While his career was relatively short and somewhat inconsistent due to injuries, Benson had some very successful seasons that made him one of the more prominent pitchers of his era. As a result, Benson has amassed quite a collection of baseball cards over the years from the peak of his playing days in the late 1990s through the 2000s. Let’s take a closer look at some of the top Kris Benson baseball cards that collectors search for.
One of Benson’s most noteworthy rookie cards is his 1996 Upper Deck rookie card. As one of the premier baseball card manufacturers of the 1990s, having a standout rookie in the Upper Deck set was quite an honor for any young player. Benson’s card features his first career MLB action with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996. The card has good photo quality and design standards that Upper Deck was known for. It remains one of Benson’s most high profile rookie cards nearly 30 years later. Similarly, his 1996 Fleer Ultra rookie card is also quite popular among collectors. It showcases another nice action shot from his debut season.
In 1998, Benson had his first full season in the majors with the Pirates and really began to establish himself. That year, he appeared in Topps Stadium Club which was one of the premier baseball card inserts of the late 90s known for including today’s stars long before they became household names. His card in that prestigious set highlights another nice photo that collectors appreciate. Also in 1998, Benson rated cards in the base Bowman, Donruss, and Pinnacle sets that remain respectable collector items today.
Benson’s career year came in 1999 as a member of the Pirates. That season, he went 18-10 with a 3.50 ERA and finished 6th in NL Cy Young voting, establishing himself as one of the game’s best young pitchers. Not surprisingly, he had outstanding representation across 1999 baseball card releases. His flagship rookie card in the Topps set from that year is a staple in collections. The photo shows him mid-pitch with the Pirates cap and classic blue and gold uniform. Upper Deck also issued a prominent card of him that year.
Benson was then involved in a notable late season trade in 1999 that sent him from the Pirates to the New York Mets. He made his Mets debut in the playoffs that year and dueled against the Arizona Diamondbacks. As a result, he gained additional coverage in 1999 playoff and World Series inserts sets including Playoff Prestige and World Series Stars. Cards from those exclusive runs remain big chase cards for collectors. In 2000, Benson cracked the opening day roster for the new Mets team and garnered additional great card photos in sets like Finest, Clear Vision and Fleer Authentix.
The best years of Benson’s baseball card collecting came while he was pitching in New York for the Mets from 2000-2003. As a key member of the Mets rotation, he was prominently featured in the biggest card sets each year. His 2000 Topps Traded card as a Met is among the more popular. He appeared in high end releases like Playoff, Triple Crown, and Topps Chrome Autographs during this peak Mets period. The New York card connection helped drive interest among collectors at the time and value for those releases today.
Arm injuries slowed Benson’s career after 2003 and he bounced around to the Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Red Sox in subsequent seasons with limited playing time. Still, he generated some prospect cards early in his career when joining new franchises like his 2004 Orioles Bowman card. Injuries or not, as a former top pitcher he was included in year-in-review style sets like Topps Total even when not playing regularly. Some collectors seek out the unique photos and uniforms from those later career stops too.
In summary, Kris Benson forged a respectable MLB career across more than a decade that made him a known commodity in the baseball card space. While injuries curtailed his prime, collectors still value the quality cards issued during his best seasons with the Pirates and Mets in the late 90s and early 2000s. Top rookie cards from brands like Upper Deck and flagship issues from great production years stand out. Autograph cards and action images when pitching for contending Mets clubs are also highly popular in the secondary market today. Overall, Benson developed a nice collecting base deserving of the productive career he enjoyed at baseball’s highest level.
