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Barry Larkin Collection 221: 1989 Donruss Baseball's Best - #110

Barry Larkin
Year:  1989
Brand:  Donruss Baseball's Best
Card number:  110

In 1989, Donruss released a 336-card set called Baseball's Best exclusively as a factory set.  You could only get the set in large stores.  The set itself is notable for two reasons:  One, it's the first to have Sammy Sosa in an officially sanctioned MLB set (although it doesn't count as Sosa's rookie card thanks to the goofy rules for baseball card rookies).

The other thing that is notable about this set is just how Donruss phoned in the design.  You see, it's the exact same base design as the regular 1989 Donruss set - the only difference is the border is now green and yellow instead of blue and purple.  Although I guess I like the green and yellow combination more in general, for the Reds the color combination looks terrible.  The back of the card is also incredibly boring - so much wasted white space.  The one advantage this set has in terms of the card back is that it's not printed on bright orange card stock like the its flagship brother - yuck!

It should also be noted the Donruss only produced the Baseball's Best set for three years (1988, 1989, and 1990).  I'm pleased to say that I own the Barry Larkin card from each of the three sets now!

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