The 12 most iconic (and valuable) rookie cards from baseball’s junk wax era

The 12 most iconic (and valuable) rookie cards from baseball’s junk wax era
By David Gonos
May 12, 2022

Whether you are new to the hobby or just getting back into it, there’s one thing you learn quickly: Stop using cards as drink coasters. OK, there are two things you learn quickly; the other thing is that rookie cards are king. Sure, there are super rare cards or relics, but if we’re talking base cards, inserts, parallels or autographs, rookie versions of those cards always lead the way.

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That’s the basis of this week’s article – loving some rookie cards.

12 Most Iconic Baseball Rookie Cards From the Junk Wax Era (1986-93)

The “Junk Wax Era” roughly covers the period of 1986 to 1993, which is when card companies were overproducing cards, and leagues were over-licensing to anyone who wanted in on the gold rush. For that reason, there are a lot of cards out there from this era, which makes them relatively cheap. There are also a lot of unopened boxes. Add steroids and controversy to the overproduction stigma, and many of the rookie cards of this period pale in comparison to those from a decade earlier or even a decade later, in many cases. But don’t completely turn your nose up at this era just because of the name. It’s like a Golden Corral buffet – everything seems not that good, but the fried shrimp and the banana pudding ain’t bad at all! (Not together, though… trust me).

Below is a list of excellent cards of excellent players you should consider tracking down. My rules for making this list: they must be base cards, not inserts. And I’m not including Topps Tiffany, Topps Desert Shield or pre-1990 Leaf cards (essentially the Canadian version of Donruss at that time) or any other versions of base sets. 

For argument’s sake, we’re going to use pricing based on PSA’s Price Guide. These cards are ranked by PSA 10 values.

1. 1993 SP Derek Jeter RC #279

SP was a high-end product from Upper Deck. It’s unclear if SP means “short print,” or not, but that’s a decent assumption. Since this was on the low end of production runs, it’s a little unfair to have this rank alongside these other junk wax cards, but here it is. The SP card has a foil surface, which makes it tough to find in gem-mint condition; it’s like trying to find a freshly cleaned restroom on a road trip.

$360,000 for a PSA 10, $7,800 for a PSA 9

2. 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. RC #1

We often talk about iconic cards, but The Kid’s rookie card was a signal for change. It was the debut set from card manufacturer Upper Deck, who shook up the collecting world with improved glossy card stock, inserts worth chasing, counterfeit-defying holograms and foil wrappers instead of wax. The fact Griffey was affable, handsome, and a much-ballyhooed progeny of a respected major leaguer made this card even more attractive.

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If there were a Mount Rushmore of baseball cards, this Junior card might earn that Teddy Roosevelt spot just because it represented the era when more people collected cards than any other time in history. (My other Mount Rushmore baseball cards? 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth, 1949 Leaf Jackie Robinson and 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle — and I want to know who would make your hobby post-2000 Mount Rushmore in the comments section! Who do you like?)

$2,050 for a PSA 10, $230 for a PSA 9

3. 1989 Fleer Randy Johnson RC – Marlboro Background #381

Did you know the Atlanta Braves drafted Randy Johnson in the 1982 MLB Draft? Can you imagine if his rookie season came on a staff already stacked with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz? Instead, the Big Unit took his talents to USC for a few years and the Expos eventually drafted him in the 1985 MLB Draft. His Fleer rookie card was controversial because it had a Marlboro ad in the background at the stadium, so later prints blacked out the billboard.

Between this card and the F-Face Billy Ripken (see below!), 1989 was not a great year for Fleer’s Quality Control Manager.

$1,275 for a PSA 10, $100 for a PSA 9

4. 1992 Bowman Mariano Rivera RC #302

The greatest closer in baseball history looks like he’s posing for his high school yearbook editor’s photo, and somehow, it makes Mo even cooler than he already is. He was voted “Most Likely To Sell You a Timeshare.” Earlier that day, in homeroom, Rivera was quoted as saying, “Good morning, Miss Martinez. My, that’s a very smart blouse you have on today!”

$825 for a PSA 10, $150 for a PSA 9

5. 1993 Topps Derek Jeter RC #98

The only player on here twice – I’m doubling down on some rookie Jeter. While his SP card is considered Jeter’s top rookie, I’m still a bigger fan of the look (and price) of this version. Not only is this Draft Pick card an all-time classic – it even turned into a pretty awesome Vladimir Guerrero Jr. RC in 2019 Topps Archives.

$475 for a PSA 10, $65 for a PSA 9

6. 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken F-Face #616

As strange as it is, this was the base card in this set. There were other versions of it, but this was the main one. The story was that Ripken jokingly wrote the infamous phrase on the knob of his batting practice bat, so he knew which one was his. Rather than write Bill, he apparently chose to make his baseball card PG-13…and found his way into memorabilia history.

$450 for a PSA 10, $150 for a PSA 9

7. 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco RC #39

While Mark McGwire’s rookie card came one year earlier in Topps, the Bash Brothers were huge hobby helpers back in the day. But card overproduction and their own PED transgressions have hamstrung the values of their rookie cards.

As much as I can’t stand Donruss cards from the ‘80s, the ’86 set is pretty sweet. The Rated Rookie subset first came out in 1985 and this logo became as iconic and important to the industry as the Topps All-Star Rookie Cup that debuted 25 years earlier.

$400 for a PSA 10, $50 for a PSA 9

8. 1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds RC #11T

Someday, somehow, we all know Bonds will get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. As the older generation of baseball writers move on, allowing room for those who love analytics and aren’t as hardened against PED use, we’ll probably see plenty of the steroid stars on this list get enshrined. Bonds (whose HOF fate is up to the Era Committee now), of course, is the best of the bunch, and this card was just on the early cusp of the junk wax era.

$375 for a PSA 10, $45 for a PSA 9

9. 1993 SP Johnny Damon RC #273

Damon might never make it into the Hall of Fame, but this guy was a huge fan favorite with two storied franchises (playing four of his 18 seasons with the Red Sox, and then four more with the Yankees). He won a World Series title with both teams, too. It’s crazy to think he also played at least one season with Kansas City, Oakland, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Cleveland.

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Damon was a fan favorite, a fantasy favorite and a hobby favorite.

$375 for a PSA 10, $175 for a PSA 9

10. 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas RC #300

Thomas could have easily been an NFL tight end, and he played baseball at Auburn, not too long after Charles Barkley and Bo Jackson roamed the campus (go watch the SEC Storied documentary “Bo, Barkley and the Big Hurt”!). This Leaf rookie card, along with Sosa’s rookie, were hobby keystones for the last decade of the 20th century. Unfortunately, the (over)production runs keep this beautiful card from being more valuable. (Speaking of beautiful Frank Thomas cards, his 1992 Topps card ranks among my all-time junk wax non-RC favorites.)

$240 for a PSA 10, $40 for a PSA 9

11. 1987 Donruss Greg Maddux RC #36

Maddux was the best pitcher of the past 50 years. There – it has been documented. We’ve seen pitchers with harder stuff (Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan) and pitchers with better singular seasons (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw). But Maddux won four Cy Young Awards and dominated the ‘90s, more than half of which came when offenses were exploding. He also had quite the Rated Rookie mustache!

$235 for a PSA 10, $25 for a PSA 9

12. 1990 Leaf Sammy Sosa RC #220

There are many reasons why this card is considered iconic, but inexpensive. Sosa’s controversial PED allegations, along with his denials and subsequent weirdness when the public wanted answers, tainted his legacy. Overprinting helped super-taint this card’s price, too. Sosa was traded from the South Side of Chicago to the North Side for George Bell, and many people don’t realize that Sosa and Frank Thomas were on the same team in the early ‘90s.

Can you imagine the White Sox offense with both Sosa and The Big Hurt throughout the decade? Would one of them have influenced the other to use/avoid steroids? That’s deep, bro.

$80 for a PSA 10, $15 for a PSA 9

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Gonos plug alert: 1965 Topps Frank Robinson Giveaway!

I’m closing in on 500 YouTube subscribers, so I thought I’d celebrate that with a giveaway of one of my favorite members of the 500-HR club. Check out this video for details!

7 hobby terms to know!

The card collecting hobby has its own language, so people returning to the hobby might need a glossary! I thought I’d share seven terms renewed collectors might not understand:

NFT/NFS = Not for sale / Not for trade (usually in a Twitter post when someone wants to just show off a cool card and not get inundated with offers)

PC = Personal collection

PWE = Plain white envelope (the cheap way to mail more inexpensive cards)

RAK = Random act of kindness (like sending a free card to someone you know who collects that player)

Rainbow = All the colored parallels for one player’s card

Razz = A raffle where a number of spots are sold, and just one or two are chosen as winners

RPA = Rookie/patch/autograph (all on the same card)

Baseball Cards & Fantasy Baseball: The Perfect Double-Play!

If you’re a card collector, you are also most likely a fantasy player. The two hobbies are ridiculously similar in that you are “investing” in players you believe will perform well, and when they do, that’s good for you. When they do not perform well, you want to punch a wall! Same same!

Here are some more similarities and differences:

  • Catchers are often forgotten in both hobbies.
  • While hitters are generally more valuable than pitchers in fantasy play, pitchers are even less desirable in collecting.
  • Rookies are often overvalued in fantasy, whereas they are gold in collecting.
  • Hitters entering their prime years (ages 26 and 27) often portend a breakout season in fantasy, which also makes them good buys before the season in collecting.
  • Speedsters can help fantasy players a lot, but it’s all about power and WAR in collecting.
  • Defense matters very little in both fantasy and collecting.

Major Upcoming Card Releases

The releases coming in the month of May have a little bit of something for every kind of collector, including baseball, football, racing and wrestling!

May 18 – 2022 Topps Sterling Baseball

May 18 – 2021 Topps Dynasty Formula 1 (some lines are still catching up with 2021 releases because of the supply chain issues)

May 18 – 2022 Panini Revolution WWE

May 18 – 2022 Topps Stadium Club Chrome Bundesliga

May 20 – 2022 Topps Gypsy Queen Baseball

May 20 – 2021 Panini Flawless Football

May 25 – 2021 Panini Obsidian Football

May 25 – 2021-22 Panini Mosaic Premier League Soccer

What’s Coming in Our Next Article?

I always loved previews of what was to come, so I thought I’d start sharing those with you here!

  • 8 Ways To Increase Card-Collecting Fun
  • 3 Unhappy Hobby Things Some Collectors Do
  • Ranking the Top 5 NBA Rookies From Each of the Past 5 Years
  • 8 Baseball Rookie Cards We’re Hoping To See in Topps Series 2

As this column continues to evolve, we’re taking suggestions from readers and commenters on how to make it more helpful, entertaining and informative! Keep the comments coming!

Have a #HappyHobby!

Images via Topps, Donruss, Fleer, Panini

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