Random Ray - 1996 Topps Chrome Refractor

I have been writing these Ray Lankford post for the better part of a year and have not really dipped into the shiny part of the collection. Let's put the start date on shiny at 1993 with the first Topps Finest set and there is plenty of overlap between Ray Lankford's career and the advent of shiny baseball cards. Sure, current players have way more than players from the 1990s, but still a good variety to show off.  

I am going to start off with one of my favorites, the very shiny 1996 Topps Chrome Refractor.  

Just an incredible card. This was the very first Topps Chrome set. It's amazing how well this set has aged given that the 1996 Topps set is hit garbage. The 1996 Topps Chrome set has some of the same shortcomings, namely there is no good rookie card. Still, this is one of those years where the Chrome cards look much better than the standard flagship cards.  

The best part of this card for me? I love the way the red on his uniform and batting gloves pop on this card. The red does not look that brilliant on the regular Topps card. 

Back of the card.  

Not a huge fan of these card backs. 

The biggest problem for me is that Topps shrunk the stat box for a blah action photo and a green home plate. What's the deal with the blue horizontal pinstripes? Seems really random.  

Oh, how many different fonts did they use on the back of the card?  

I could go on, but I will say something nice. Topps did a really good job with the write-ups on the back of their 1996 Topps cards. It takes effort to find and write about a good week by a player on a last place team (the 1995 Cardinals were horrible) and tie their season accomplishments to two players who appeared for the team several decades prior.