Just so people don't think I concoct those tagging primers while I'm inebriated, see the image below for numerous examples of 1988-89 style Rawlings tags all with a 1989 flag tag. While I admit I could always be wrong with the years, I do put a good amount of work into them and only decide on a year after I've seen an overwhelming amount of evidence.
I have seen less than 5 1990-91 style Rawlings tags with 1989 flag tags. They have always been on superstar jerseys - Schmidt, Griffey, Ripken, etc. The last one was on a Royals Bo Jackson jersey that sold for
over $1800. I've never seen one on a common player. Speaking of which, take a look at the $110 Steve Jeltz 1989 Philles jersey below. It shows the correct 1988-89 era Rawlings tag. Why, in 1989, did Steve Jeltz get an older tag while the Vintage Authentics Mike Schmidt got a new tag? (And why is Jeltz not strip-tagged with a name?)



It would be entirely legit to see a 1990 flag tag on an 1988/89 Rawlings tag. (Old stock gets issued). But it doesn't seem logical to see a 1989 flag tag on a 1990/91 Rawlings tag. While it's possible that my years are wrong and Rawlings introduced that 90/91 style in 1989, the fact is that an overwhelming number of 1989 jerseys I've seen have had 88/89 style tagging. It's hard to imagine that such a large number of jerseys from across the entire Major Leagues are using old stock, while a tiny minority of jerseys are new stock.
And yes, I concur on the "S" in Schmidt. It's crooked. The other thing I noticed was that the Rawlings tag is double-stitched at the bottom. I've never seen that before.

Rudy.