This trade comes in from Mark in West Chicago, Illinois.

Giving: Melvin Mora, #166 (red back)
Getting: Bob Hamelin, 1995 Fleer Ultra 2nd Year Standouts


The 1990s were a wonderful decade for over-hyped rookies, weren't they? Ben McDonald was going to be the savior of the Orioles, Van Poppel not only was going to follow in the footsteps of previous Oakland greats, he was going to break the mold. And what of Brien Taylor and Heath Shuler and Ryan Leaf and Rick Mirer? For all the bluster about these guys, most of them didn't even have one effective year in the majors.

It leaves me to assume that there must have been a training manual given to all card copywriters in the early Nineties called How To Set Impossible Standards for Players Who Show Promise. If I'm right, this card of Hamelin could have been a whole chapter:


Some call him "The Babe of the 1990's," and although this is obviously jumping a rather large gun, Kansas City's resident '94 rookie "Bambino" has proven to be a spectacular longball lasher. The American League 1994 Rookie of the Year finished last season first among his fellow AL rookie diamond dwellers in doubles (25), taters (24), RBI (65), walks (56), runs (64), hits (88) and slugging percentage (.599). This DH/1B will be banging them wayyy out for years to come.