1992 Major League Baseball Aces Playing Cards
In 1992, upper deck trading cards released an entire set dedicated to highlighting some of baseball’s top pitchers from that season, known as the “Aces”. The 100 card set focused solely on pitching statistics and accomplishments of baseball’s best hurlers from both the American and National Leagues. With a focus entirely on pitching stats and accomplishments, it stands out as one of the more unique baseball card sets ever produced.
Several of the pitchers featured were coming off incredible 1991 seasons and carried that success over into 1992, cementing their status as aces among their peers. Names like Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Scott Erickson, Roger Clemens, Jimmy Key, and Dennis Martinez dominated throughout 1992 and the previous couple seasons. Their incredible stats and sustained success landed them prominent spots in the 1992 Upper Deck Aces set.
The 100 card checklist was split evenly between the American and National Leagues, with 50 cards dedicated to each league. Within each league’s portion of the set, the cards were ordered alphabetically by the pitcher’s last name. This provided collectors with an easy reference guide to look up specific players and find their cards. Starting with the American League, Don Aase was featured on card #1 and the final AL pitcher was Fernando Valenzuela on card #50.
Some of the pitching superstars who headlined the American League portion of the set included Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox on card #3. Coming off back-to-back Cy Young awards in 1990-1991, Clemens was in the midst of one of the greatest pitching stretches in MLB history. His card featured his dominant ’91 season stats of 18-10 record with a 2.62 ERA and 241 strikeouts. Also in the AL was Dennis Martinez of the Montreal Expos featured on card #13. At age 36 in 1992, Martinez was still pitching great ball and won 16 games for the third straight season with a solid 3.00 ERA.
Jimmy Key of the Toronto Blue Jays earned the #21 slot in the AL portion. Key went 18-6 with a 2.93 ERA in 1992 and helped lead Toronto to the World Series. Scott Erickson, who won 20 games in 1991 for the Minnesota Twins, got card #30 in the AL set. Greg Swindell, who tossed 34 complete games from 1988-1991 for Cleveland, got card #37. One of the biggest stars in baseball at the time, Nolan Ryan, closed out the AL portion with the #50 card. Even at age 40, Ryan continued pitching effectively for the Texas Rangers and racked up 301 strikeouts in 1992.
Switching to the National League portion of the set, the cards were also ordered alphabetically with Bill Darwin of the Chicago Cubs kicking things off at #51. Tom Glavine headlined the NL portion with the #53 card spot. Glavine went 20-11 with a stellar 2.76 ERA for the Atlanta Braves in 1992 en route to winning the NL Cy Young award. He was coming off a 22-11 record and 2.18 ERA Cy Young season in 1991. Greg Maddux, winner of the previous two NL Cy Youngs in the late 80s, took the #55 card position. Maddux dominated once again in 1992, going 20-11 with a stellar 2.18 ERA for the Chicago Cubs.
Dwight Gooden, who burst onto the scene as a teen phenom in the mid 80s, continued his strong pitching for the New York Mets in 1992. Gooden’s card was #61 and highlighted his 16-7 record and 2.83 ERA from that season. Another young flamethrower, David Cone of the New York Mets, got the #69 slot. Cone bounced back from an injury plagued 1991 with an 18-6 record and 2.73 ERA. At age 34, Orel Hershiser remained one of the game’s most consistent veterans. Hershiser went 15-15 with a solid 3.06 ERA for the Cleveland Indians in 1992, good enough for the #73 card spot.
Rounding out some of the other notable NL hurlers in the set, John Smiley of the Pittsburgh Pirates at #80 had gone 16-9 with a 2.18 ERA in 1991 before struggling to a 10-12 record in 1992. Fernando Valenzuela, who threw a no-hitter in 1990 at age 30, got the final NL card at #100 despite struggling to a 7-14 record with the Dodgers in 1992. The set did a great job highlighting both the biggest stars and most consistent veterans throughout the National League during one of the golden eras of pitching in MLB history.
Upon release in 1992, the Upper Deck Aces set brought collectors 100 unique cards solely focused on pitching stats and accomplishments from baseball’s best hurlers. With Hall of Famers like Nolan Ryan, Tom Glavine, and Greg Maddux among those featured, the set spotlighted many pitchers who would go on to cement their legacies as all-time greats. For collectors looking to compile the stats and stories of baseball’s pitching royalty during the early 1990s, the Aces set remains a highly sought after complete checklist from the era. Its singular pitching theme and alphabetical card numbering system provided an easily digestible reference guide for stats that still holds up today.
When the set was issued in 1992, the hobby was exploding in popularity following the success of executives like Joel Shapiro at Upper Deck and Donruss. Interest in trading cards reached new heights throughout the early 90s. The Aces set capitalized on this boom by zeroing in on the most fundamental and revered position in baseball – pitching. By focusing an entire set solely around pitching lines and accomplishments, Upper Deck was able to craft a unique and engaging collector’s product. For both casual fans and stat-minded collectors, the 1992 Aces set endures as a highly favored release that perfectly captures the elite hurlers who dominated the national pastime during one of its golden eras.
