Martinez turned out to be the big winners from 2011 Topps Update. There arent manySatchel Paige baseball cards in the hobby but this is a great looking card of the legendary pitcher. Read our methodology . The card features a great close-up of the star pitcher surrounded by the famous T205 gold borders. While the "Cobb Back" T206 may be his most expensive card, this one is arguably his most popular among high-end collectors. If you look at the bottom, Sherry Magees last name is mistakenly spelled Magie. And while they are keys to the set and arguably the most popularLou Gehrig baseball cards, they are still overshadowed by the Ruth quartet. He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. The Giants were 27-19 heading into a home series with the Florida Marlins, looking every bit the contender for a repeat World Series engagement. From Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Honus Wagner to Los Angeles Angels standout Mike Trout, here are nine iconic cards of star players that were sold or auctioned for significant sums: 1. But whats not up for debate is whether its one of his most important. It should come as no surprise that the rookie card of the greatest player who ever lived would be on this list. And come the postseason, he was on another level, leading St. Louis from a 90-win Wild Card berth to a second World Series title in six years. The most expensive 2022 Topps Heritage baseball cards feature the likes of Wander Franco, Shohei Ohtani, Julio Rodriguez, and even Nolan Ryan making an appearance. Not many players were as consistent as Musial was over their careers as he went on to win seven batting titles and three MVP awards. Now that we got that out of the way let's get started Like a few others on this list, this card is technically part of the 2011 Topps Update set. His aggressive play on the field and his generous ways off the field made him a special individual. When the infamous T206 set was being produced, Doyle was pitching for the New York Highlanders of the American League. 2011 was the year that Ichiro finally looked mortal at the plate. Anson was arguably the biggest star of his era but unfortunately, there are very few cards from those days that show him as a player. The Braves had an 8.5-game lead in the NL Wild Card race at the beginning of September. However, it just isnt as often found in high grade as #53. So, there you have it: the most expensivebaseball cardsthat youre ever likely to encounter. Top athletes from baseball, football, hockey, tennis, golf, boxing, swimming, horse racing and even dog sled racing are showcased in the set. However, Carpenter was better, tossing a complete-game three-hit shutout to oust the two-time defending NL champs, 1-0. Collectors will pay big money for either version as long as its in high grade. The T206 set is special for many reasons but one of them is no doubt the numerous brand advertisements on the backs16 different backs in total. Any collector lucky enough to get his hands on Mathewsons card is sure to be ecstatic. That tells you how much the prices of Clementes rookie card have increased. However, Cabrera's top-five finish in the AL MVP race and sixth All-Star campaign was a warning shot of epic proportions, followed by back-to-back MVP years (2012-13). The 1954 Wilson Franks Ted Williams baseball card is one of if not the most important regional card ever produced. This is the first Topps card to feature Willie Mays, putting it high on Mays collectors wish lists and making it a key card in the hobby overall. His 1951 Bowman issue is his only recognized rookie card and along with the Mantle rookie is the key to the entire set. Ungraded & graded values for all '06 Topps Baseball Cards. While the Dodgers failed to make the playoffs at 83-78, Kershaw made a second-straight playoff miss easier to stomach in Chavez Ravine. After hitting .363 with 49 home runs and 166 RBI he would go on to win the Triple Crown. Before I get started, I just want to clarify some of the criteria I used in creating this list. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. Buy on: eBay 1964 Topps Phil Niekro RC/Phil Roof RC #541 The Rookie Cards in 1964 Topps Baseball are led by a. Interest in the Dodgers/Giants rivalry was skyrocketing, and Kershaw's brilliance was a big reason for it. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. Theres only one single PSA 10 copy currently in circulation, however, which makes it extremely difficult to find even if you have that kind of money to spend. Most Expensive 2022 Topps 1st Edition card list & price guide. By 1954, printing quality had improved greatly so even though centering is still a challenge with this card, finding high-end copies is not as tough as some of the others on this list. Error cards like Joe Doyles that make it into circulation usually end up being very popular with collectors and this one is no exception. Its pretty much identical to his 1915 Cracker Jack issue except for the fact that the back of the 1915 version is turned upside down and was printed on thicker paper stock. Over the first seven games of his MLB career, Altuve had at least one hit, tying him with Russ Johnson for the club record for most consecutive games with a hit to begin a career. Two hits shy heading into a July 9th home game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Jeter took his spot as the 28th member of the 3,000-hit club with a 5-for-5 day now etched in Yankees lore. And like Altuve had done by hitting safely in the first seven games of his career to set a club record, Martinez established his own team record in August by driving in 28 runs. 5. Conditions of these cards are not very good but even a PSA 4 is expected to bring in roughly $900,000. That determination and consistency led to a phenomenal career and eye-popping stats that made him a no-brainer to be one of the first five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Followed by HBO documentary cameras during his rehab process, Jeter opened up about himself and his pursuit of baseball immortality in a way he'd never done before. 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle: $12.6 million 2. Distracting print lines usually hold this card back from higher grades, though. One of the rarest pre-WWI candy issues ever distributed is the 1912 Plows Boy Candy set that included 69 different baseball players. In the deciding Game 5, Halladay squared off with his former Toronto Blue Jays teammate and close friend Chris Carpenter. We believe the following 10 cards will be tops in short-term return on investment over the next 1 to 2 years. Collectors who take on the challenge of completing this set are no doubt in for an extremely tough challenge. His incredible career makesStan Musial baseball cards extremely popular with collectors. DiMaggio appeared twice in the 1938 Goudey set but this is the more valuable of the two. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. People are spending as much on old pieces of cardboard as most people spend on a house. His .250 batting average reflected the lack of discipline and experience but his .474 slugging percentage hinted at the kind of power he could bring to the Arizona Diamondbacks. And because it features a close-up of Mantle, print defects on his face can also sometimes turn off collectors. From a design standpoint, I liked how Topps kept things nice and clean without trying to go over the top in celebrating their 60th anniversary. The Bat On Shoulder and Bat Off Shoulder would then follow. To commemorate Posey's 2010 Rookie of the Year honor, Topps released this card in Series One packs and you can see the "2010 Rookie of the Year" along the bottom just above his name. Contact him at [emailprotected]. In 2010, Jones blew out his left knee in mid-August and could not help his Braves teammates in a tense five-game NLDS loss to the eventual World Series champion Giants. Things changed dramatically in the second game of a three-game Marlins sweep when Florida outfielder Scott Cousins barreled into Posey at home plate after tagging up on a sacrifice fly. Also, many of the known examples are found with poor centering from top to bottom. It is by far the most important of allHank Aaron baseball cards. 1986 Topps Traded Bo Jackson Rookie Card 4. Collectors go wild for it. Fresh off a Rookie of the Year campaign and the first of three World Series titles in five years, young San Francisco Giants backstop Buster Posey was riding high by the Bay in early 2011. Halladay was great, giving up just one run on four hits in eight innings. Ungraded & graded values for all '05 Topps Baseball Cards. Johnson is considered by many to be the best pitcher of all time after turning in an amazing 12 seasons of 20 or more victories, including two with more than 30. The question is: where do you start on this list? By 2014, Rizzo had settled into his role as the Chicago Cubs' everyday first baseman and earned his first trip to the All-Star Game that season. Kershaw was more than up to the task, bringing home the Dodgers' first Cy Young trophy since Eric Gagne in 2003 with a banner year. In his fourth year with the club, Miguel Cabrera helped Detroit silence those laughs. His five complete games and epic, generation-defining showdowns with San Francisco's Tim Lincecum were jolts of electricity for a Dodgers fan base desperate for a winner. Many baseball historians still consider Cobb the greatest all-around player that ever graced a baseball diamond. Most Expensive 2021 Topps Chrome card list & price guide. 1954 Topps #128 Hank Aaron RC #7. While the #144 Full Body Ruth was double-printed and isnt as scarce, it is harder to find in high-grade than the #181 Green Ruth. Even though it is not Mickey Mantles official rookie card it is definitely his most important. For some reason, collectors had to send in for the card a year later in 1934 by contacting Goudey if they wanted to complete this set. 1985. Most Expensive 2006 Topps card list & price guide. Maybe the most shocking Musial stat of all was that he hit the same number of hits at home as he did on the road: 1,815 each way for a total of 3,630 hits. 1968 Topps #177 Nolan Ryan RC And their continued popularity and demand prove that baseball cards still do hold great value. And I attempted to estimate their current values when graded in PSA 10 condition so their "raw" or ungraded values may be wildly different. Larry Doyle, a second baseman, played for the New York Giants of the NL at the time so most likely that is the reason for the mix-up. Although kind of normal for Gehrig, his offensive production was extraordinary in 1934. While a PSA 10 Gem Mint copy sold for $432,690 in 2012 a PSA 9 copy sold for an even higher amount, $478k, in 2016. 1909 T-206 Honus Wagner: $7.25 million 3. He ended the year with a 2.79 ERA, striking out 79 batters in 71.0 innings pitched. Over his remarkable career, Aaron made 24 All-Star appearances, a record shared with Mays and Musial and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982. Are you selling sports cards that were produced from 1868 - 1975? Some argue that this is Mickey Mantles most beautiful card. On it, Gehrig is shown with a huge bright smile atop a yellow background giving the card tremendous eye appeal. The postseason drought would only get longer, but Sale's transition to a starting role in 2012 was the dawning of a new ace on the Southside. And, unfortunately, Goudey mailed the card with a paper clip on it that left indentations on the card. Mathewson appears three times in the T206 set with the Portrait, White Cap and Dark Cap variations. Whenever manager Ozzie Guillen needed him to get a few outs, Sale performed. Ortiz's 29 home runs and 96 RBIs were pretty on-brand compared to recent years. Theyre undoubtedly very condition sensitive. Six hits away from 3,000 in mid-June, New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter suffered a calf strain that sidelined him for 18 games. For others, it's the . The error was quickly caught, though, so there arent many copies in existence. There are 30 cards in total and each includes seven different possible color backs. He received 20 first place votes in the NL Rookie of the Year vote and his 129 vote points outpaced Atlanta's Jason Heyward who 107 vote points for his impressive debut performance. This is the second most desirable card in the famed T206 set and the only pose of the HOF pitcher. Surprisingly, many dont even consider him the best pitcher ever, though. During his rookie campaign, Posey slashed .305/.357/.505 with 18 home runs, 67 RBIs and 58 runs scored in 108 games (406 at-bats). Or, feel free to call/text me at 305-684-6680! Ryans rookie card appears in the 1968 O-Pee-Chee, Topps Milton Bradleyand Venezuela Topps sets as well but its the regular ToppsNolan Ryan rookie cardthat stands apart in value from the rest. 2005 Topps card list & price guide. He also turned heads with his slick glove work at first, earning the only Gold Glove of his career thus far. In Game 1, the Phillies picked Doc up after he gave up a three-run shot to Lance Berkman in the 1st inning, scoring 11 unanswered runs as Halladay settled in to retire 21 straight in a convincing Philly win. After the 2010 campaign, manager Bobby Cox called it a career, leaving a hole in the Braves clubhouse that couldn't be filled. Arguably the greatest hitter of all time, Williams posted some truly jaw-dropping numbers over his career: a .344 batting average, a .483 on-base average and a .634 slugging average. The most important post-war card in the hobby, price movements of the 1952 Topps #311Mickey Mantle baseball cardare often seen as an indicator of the health of the sports card market overall. Not surprisingly, Cobbs card is the cornerstone and to the set. Most Expensive 2020 Topps card list & price guide. In PSA 4.5 grade, it is estimated this card would reel in over $1 million. One of his most important, the card shows some beautiful artwork of a young Mays fielding a baseball in his New York Giants uniform. Key to the 1953 Topps set is the #244 Willie Mays baseball card. Many collectors are happy to just be able to own one of these legendary cards in the first place, though. Especially for high condition copies of the card. Read our methodology . Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. A PSA Gem Mint 10 #128 Aaron sold for $357,594 in 2012, a price that would easily be overcome in todays market. But in 2011, the 37-year-old superstar hit just .272 with an uncharacteristic .645 OPS. Ungraded & graded values for all '21 Topps Chrome Baseball Cards. Halladay finished with four first-place votes to Clayton Kershaws 27, finishing as the leagues Cy Young runner-up for the second time in four years. The second toughest of the four 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth cards, the #149 Red Ruth is every bit as appealing as the #53 Yellow Ruth. That PSA 10 copy sold for $717,000 in 2016. While his 1952 Topps card is more popular and more expensive, some collectors forget that this is the only recognizedMantle rookie card. Votto led the National League in doubles (40), on-base percentage (.416), and walks (110). The 23-year-old left walked a career-worst 41 batters in 50 innings pitched, issuing a ghastly 7.4 walks per 9 innings. 1984. Although not as popular as his 1948 Bowman rookie card, his 1948 Leaf rookie card is the tougher of the two. 2) Being a high number card (cards 311 407 in the set) means that fewer Mickey Mantle rookie cards were printed than the average 1952 Topps baseball card in the first place. In 11 playoff contests against the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, he slashed a blistering .314/.489/.771 with four home runs, 12 walks, four doubles, seven runs scored, ten RBIs, and two stolen bases. An SGC 2 Example Sold in August 2022 for $7,250,000. Greatest Topps Baseball Cards of All-Time Most Expensive of All-Time #10. George Close Candy cards are among the scarcer pre-WWI caramel issues and the Honus Wagner is one of the keys to the set. Both are not cheap but it is this version that is the more desirable and expensive of the two. Centering can also be a challenge as with most cards of the era. The fancy gold borders that surround Walter Johnsons black and white portrait are a thing of beauty. inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. Mathewson is the only player in both the 1914 and 1915 sets whose poses are entirely different. Most Valuable. On July 18th, he became the quickest Atlanta rookie to 50 RBIs since Hank Aaron in 1954. The Boston Red Sox finished a game out of a playoff spot in 2011, losing out on an AL Wild Card spot to the Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 loss to Baltimore on the season's final day. That is unless youre talking about the Red Portrait with the Ty Cobb back that was showcased earlier on this list. Late into the 2022 season, Paul Goldschmidt had a legitimate chance at winning the Triple Crown. Read our methodology. Martinez's career began with the Houston Astros when they drafted him in the 20th round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of Nova Southeastern University. Jackie Robinson, Mike Piazza, Hideo Nomo and, you guessed it, Fernando Valenzuela each took the league by storm as soon as they stepped on the field. And after striking out 145 times in 518 at-bats the year before, Ortiz K'd just 83 times in 525 at-bats in 2011. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. If youre a collector, just stick to what you love and collect only what you love. Prices are updated daily based upon 2006 Topps listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. There are four different Babe Ruth cards in the 1933 Goudey set, #s 53, 144, 149 and 181. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. The set is one of if not the most condition sensitive of the early E class era. Anthony Rizzo made his MLB debut for the San Diego Padres on June 9, 2011, against the Washington Nationals, going 1-2 at the plate with a triple and a run scored. And with those five prime seasons back, he quite possibly couldve added enough home runs to his career 521 total to challenge Ruths record of 714 before Aaron did.