30 Year Top 50: 1993 Stadium Club Murphy

#13- The legend of the Stadium Club Dome appeared in my countdown way back when I first started this project all the way back in September.  The Stadium Club Murphy set has some of the same attributes as the Stadium Club Dome, but has more highly valued rookie cards and an extremely, by 1993 standards, print run.

1993 Stadium Club Murphy Jason Varitek 

Let's start with the similarities between the Stadium Club Dome and Stadium Club Murphy.  First, both sets came in a cool plastic stadium shaped box.  The Stadium Club Dome was modeled after the SkyDome in Toronto since it was the host of the 1991 All-Star Game.  The Stadium Club Murphy came in a box shaped like Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, which hosted the 1992 All-Star Game.  The set also featured a mix of All-Stars, Draft Picks, and USA Baseball players.  

1993 Stadium Club Murphy Nomar Garciaparra

Strangely, Topps also attempted to play around with the dates of this set in similar fashion to the Stadium Club Dome.  The cards in the set are all marked as 1992 issues, but the set was released more than a month after the release of the 1993 Stadium Club set.  Obviously, the powers that be, Beckett most likely, stepped in and cried foul.  The set is now primarily recognized as a 1993 set.  However, some people recognize the copyright date and treat it like a 1992 release.  

1993 Stadium Club Murphy Derek Jeter

The dates of the set really matter on the last two cards pictured on the post belonging to Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra.  Garciaparra also has a rookie card in the 1992 Topps Traded set and the Stadium Club Murphy card is usually thought of as a second year card.  Derek Jeter has several different rookie cards all in 1993 products.  So, back to the dates.  If Nomar Garciaparra's card above is his second year card then why does it frequently sell for almost the same price as his 1992 Topps Traded card?  If this Derek Jeter is just one of several rookie cards issued of the Yankees shortstop in 1993 then why do raw copies frequently sell for $40 more than is next best rookie card?  

Some of the answer has to be attributed to the limited print run of 8,000 sets.  That was a low number for the early 90s and the product was a hobby only release.  Many of these sets have found homes and are off the secondary market.  There are usually one or two floating around Ebay.  Singles can also be found floating around, but the pricing on them is very competitive.  It is not unusual for the Jeter card to cross $100.