Sunday, November 10, 2013

Zero-Year Cards, Pt. 42

1992 Bowman #11 Trevor Hoffman RC (Reds)

It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack.

For today, anyways.

Those of you who are new to this blog might be wondering what the heck a "Zero-Year Card" is, so I'll clear it up for you.

Basically, a "Zero-Year" piece is anything that features a player in a uniform that he never actually wore at the big league level. From prospects being traded before reaching the majors to injuries to other occurrences, they can happen for a number of reasons.

Back in the early days of this blog, "Zero-Year Cards" were all the rage. I'd post new ones from my archives at rapid paces.

Slowly but surely, though, the "Zero-Year" reservoir began to try out. As much as I love the things, I simply ran out of ones to post after a while. That meant my beloved theme had to come to a begrudging end.

It's not completely dead, though. I still bring it back from time to time whenever I add a shiny new "Zero-Year Card" to my collection.

That's exactly what we have today. In fact, this is a "Zero-Year" post I've been wanting to write for a very long time.

After years of waiting, I finally own one of the most famous "Zero-Year" cards out there.

For a little under four bucks, I finally broke down and bought a 1992 Bowman Trevor Hoffman rookie. I'd had it on my "Dime Box Dozen" list since the beginning, but (understandably) no one ever came forward with an extra copy.

As you might know, Hoffman was originally drafted by the Reds as a shortstop in 1989. After posting woeful "Mendoza Line" averages in the minors, though, Cincinnati decided to convert him to the mound.

The rest, as they say, is history. Unfortunately for Reds fans, it's a history that wouldn't happen with their franchise. The Marlins snagged him in the 1992 Expansion Draft. Florida would then trade him to the Padres in mid-1993 in the famous Gary Sheffield deal.

Of course, Hoffman would go on to become one of the best closers in baseball history with San Diego. He's almost certainly a future Hall of Famer.

Aside from a few various minor league issues, Hoffman's 1992 Bowman issue is his only "major" one as a Red. (He joins Jack Morris as the only other player from the franchise in my "Zero-Year Club".)

While it's one of the pricer modern cards I've ever bought, I'd say it was well worth the money.

It's a proud day for this low-end collector, I'll tell you that.

4 comments:

defgav said...

Nice card! gotta get me one of them someday. Got his UD Minors Reds card, at least.

Anonymous said...

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Eric Bracke said...

Cool post and cool card. I had never heard of a zero year card before reading it on here. Cool term.

Fuji said...

Congratulations on finally adding that card to your collection. I've been wanting to pick up that card for my Hoffman trifecta. Can't wait to see your next Zero-Year card.