Great post over at Mental Floss today, covering a topic near and dear to my heart: the 1984 Donruss “Rated Rookie” set, in both words and pictures.
For those who don’t recall (or who are too young to), Donruss designated a handful of rookies in each set “Rated Rookies,” implying some great promise. The 1984 Rated Rookies were selected by Bill Madden of the Daily News.
As the Mental Floss post shows, however, Madden missed more than he hit. Some he got right: Joe Carter, Ron Darling and Tony Fernandez to name a few. Also included in Rated class, however, were the Yankees’ Brian Dayett, the Indians’ Mike Jeffcoat, the Braves Brad Komminsk and any number of other random fellows. Not making the cut for some reason: Darrell Strawberry, Don Mattingly and Roger Clemens.
Hey, nobody’s perfect. Even if the 1984 Donruss set is pretty damn close to it.
