The ’93 Finest set carries with it a collection of hobby myths and legends. Are certain cards short-printed? How many exist? Is there a secret collector assembling a monopoly on the one card you can’t find?
Perhaps no other card in the set serves as a better example of these legends than #182 featuring Randy Myers. Myers was himself the subject of many stories that grew to near mythical proportions as new fanbases adjusted to a player that would briefly join their bullpen before moving on to the next. He had a fondness for wearing military fatigues. Seen at various points in his locker were a gas mask, stun guns, and a hand grenade. Myers spent copious amounts of time in the gym, preparing for either a playoff run or hand to hand combat. He made good use of his training in both situations, forming a key component of the championship Reds’ bullpen and physically knocking out trespassers that ran into range on the field and bullpen.
It’s fun to tell stories like these and over time they become what defines a player. Myers is often described as a highly intense personality, but he can also be described as a highly competent strikeout pitcher who averaged one whiffed batter per inning.
The Hoard
When the Finest set was first released collectors were surprised by its small print run for base cards. A month later they had done the math, determining there were only a few hundred sets of Refractors in existence and began to scramble to locate as many as could be found. Interest subsided in the late 1990s but remained elevated. The back end of the decade and early 2000s saw a new wrinkle once again send set collectors scrambling. Beckett began placing indicators next to certain Refractor listings showing the cards were believed to be short-prints. Even today, some accounts of the set report several dozen cards to be printed in lower quantities than the rest.
One person laughing at all of this was a California resident who made it his hobby to get Beckett to place SP designations next to certain cards. He reported to collecting message boards that the magazine would add the indicator if there were at least 20% fewer cards printed than the others in the set. Phil Gold picked up every common Refractor he could find, amassing well over 4,000 of the cards. He ended up with large concentrations of the print run for less-collected cards, such as Jose Rijo and Carlos Garcia. Perceptions of short-printed series grew as his collection expanded and cards disappeared from circulation. Randy Myers became the prime example of this phenomenon, culminating with his ownership of much of the print run.
Gold reported owning 142 of the cards (50-60% of total production) before his death and likely added a few more after his last public collecting update on hobby message boards. After his passing, most of his Refractors were sold in four concentrated lots via a consignment service. Cards were broken into groups arranged by number (e.g. numbers 1-50 and 151-199 comprised different lots) making it possible that the Myers cards remained together. Myers cards are easy enough to come by today, indicating to me that the concentration of the cards has eased.
