In the tenth inning of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, Wilson stepped up to the plate with runners on first and third with his team trailing 5-4. And they didn't know it at the time, but they also missed out on producing big-name rookie cards for Fernando Valenzuela, Harold Baines, and Kirk Gibson. And some of those players appeared on multiple cards. Contact him at [emailprotected]. With the 22-year-old star setting the table, the As earned a playoff spot with a 37-23 first-half record and finished with the American Leagues best overall record at 64-45. Ozzie was always one of my favorite players to watch as a kid as his acrobatic defensive play left fans in awe time after time as he went on to collect 13 Gold Glove awards. And he was still very much a respectable pitcher during his time in Cincinnati from 1977 to 1982 as he'd win around 15 games regularly, made . Each 1-13/16" by 3-1/4" card featured a small full-color portrait of the player with his name printed below his image on the left side of the card. While this set may be slightly overlooked in the history of the hobby, it still delivers a great checklist. He was named Rolaids Relief Man of the Year four times and led the major leagues in saves three times. Since most collectors in this hobby tend to draw the line on the "vintage era" at 1980, many consider the Rickey Henderson rookie card to be the last big-name vintage rookie.. And while its value pales in comparison to other big-name vintage rookies like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente, to . Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the list: The 1981 American League MVP race came down to two men, Oakland Athletics left fielder Rickey Henderson and former As closer Rollie Fingers. The 1981 O-Pee-Chee features the Canadian version of the 1981 Topps set, where it is uncommon to see French on an MLB card. His standard base card (#574) is first and the card honoring his breaking of Ty Cobb's American League stolen base record (#351) follows. Pate] #479. So for our purpose, the most expensive Nolan Ryan rookie card is the 1969 Topps RC which is valued at $20,000, give or take a thousand. 1981 Topps Football Cards - 12 Most Valuable - Wax Pack Gods The current worth of this card is $195. 25 Most Valuable 1980 Topps Baseball Cards - Old Sports Cards 1981 Topps Baseball Cards - Set Info and Best Cards - Sports Cards Rock On September 26, 1981, Houston Astros ace Nolan Ryan passed Sandy Koufax with a record fifth no-hitter on national television against Koufax's old team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Aurelio Alejandro Lpez Rios was a Mexican professional baseball player. Murphy was often heralded as a five-tool superstar, but unfortunately, many felt his dominant play didn't last long enough to give him the type of resume worthy of Hall of Fame recognition. 1981 Topps Traded 816 Tim Raines Montreal Expos Rookie Card. . 1981 Topps Baseball Cards Which Are Most Valuable? - YouTube . When Bench managed to stay healthy enough to be in the lineup, he was quite productive. Like everyone else, the shortened season didn't help his overall output but some key indicators had fallen off noticeably. 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax #123. Ryan dazzled on that fall afternoon in Houston, striking out eleven and walking just three. For his regular-season efforts, Rose earned the only Silver Slugger Award of his career, his 15th All-Star selection, and a tenth-place finish on the NL MVP ballot. His 94 runs scored and 111 RBI were also high marks for Jackson during his time in the Bronx, and by season's end, he would collect his first of two career Silver Slugger awards and finished second in MVP voting. This set marked the end of an era in which Topps was the only mainstream company with the MLB's blessing to print baseball cards. The card features famous baseball player Reggie Jackson and is worth $75. He also finished fourth in the NL with a .316 batting average, narrowly missing out on a Triple Crown. Growing up in Central Indiana surrounded by Cubs fans, I would hear about Dawson constantly as fans absolutely loved the guy, and rightly so. He finished the year with the best winning percentage of any starter in baseball (.875), notched his 3000th career strikeout on April 12th, and earned his twelfth-and-final All-Star appearance after a two-year absence. . Not only is it fun, but its good quality material for a future family reunion. And unlike Brett, Schmidt followed up his 1980 MVP campaign with another one during the 1981 season. Its $300 PSA 10 price tag is no mistake. You'd think a third baseman with that kind of power wouldn't have had the best defensive skills but no, Schmidt was amazing on defense as well as he'd go on to win 10 Gold Gloves. Rookies - 1981 Topps Baseball | Trading Card Database Along with those of Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg, the 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn rookie card is one of the most important and iconic baseball cards of the 1980's.. Sure, Gwynn was one of the greatest hitters who ever played with 8 batting titles to his name, but why are collectors willing to pay so much for this card . While this is considered one of his rookie cards, it doesn't command quite the price premium as his 1982 Topps Tradedrookie card which can sell for north of $5,000 in top condition. The 1981 season was the St. Louis Cardinals 100th season in St. Louis, Missouri, and their 90th year in the National League (NL). Unlike George Brett's MVP card, Schmidt's featured an altogether different image than that of his base card. 1982 Topps Baseball Cards - 17 Most Valuable - Wax Pack Gods Its one thing to have an expos future stars card signed by one of the 3 players, however, the value and rarity goes all the way up when you have the signatures of two players on one card. 19 Most Valuable 1981 Topps Baseball Cards In the World And, like Clemens, that might cut into the value and prestige of his 1985 Fleer Rookie Card to a . 725 Steve Rogers. In the second half, they finished 1.5 games behind the Astros to miss the playoffs entirely. Enrique Romo Navarro is a former professional baseball relief pitcher. The 1981 Topps baseball card set consist of 726 standard size cards that measure 2" by 3". The card features Pete Rose. 206 Mike Schmidt Record Breaker - Phillies. 1983 Topps #482 Tony Gwynn Rookie Card. Tim Raines was one of the most successful stealers in baseball history and can be seen on the far left of the card. Yes, the checklist is quite messy at times with the errors and variations. 726 Rick Monday. Many times, though, he'd fail to connect on those swings and would up earning himself a spot as the career leader in strikeouts with 2,597. Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $2,700. As their everyday first baseman, that put Rose on the opposite corner of the field as Phillies icon Mike Schmidt at third. Cincinnati finished the year with the best composite record in all of baseball but the nature of the strike-shortened season's playoff format bit them in the backside. 21 Most Valuable 1981 Donruss Baseball Cards 1. #7. Despite the ups and downs, there isplentyto enjoy about this set. 1954 Topps #128 Hank Aaron RC. $195. There were tons of errors, collation inside boxes was hit and miss (mostly miss) and the . He was the clear choice for National League MVP and also picked up a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger. This trading card has been authenticated by PSA, it has the signature of Rollie fingers on the obverse. However, his production was never quite the same from 1988 until he finished his career with the Colorado Rockies in 1993. The 1990 American League Most Valuable Player, Henderson also was the lead-off hitter for two World Series championship teams, the 1989 Oakland Athletics and the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. And while its value pales in comparison to other big-name vintage rookies like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Roberto Clemente, to name a few, its price soared dramatically during the recent sports card boom. But, for the 1982 season, Smith would never actually suit up for the Padres as he was traded to St. Louis for another highly-regarded shortstop in Garry Templeton. SEE THE CARD HERE! JB's 1981 Fleer card is a $5 (or so) buy in PSA 9 condition. . Get my weekly newsletter with the latest hobby updates delivered straight to your inbox! He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. Seaver was nothing short of incredible for the Reds that season but Los Angeles's Fernando Valenzuela was just a bit better and out-pointed Seaver in the Cy Young vote 70 to 67. 10 Most Valuable 1987 Topps Baseball Cards - Sports Card Investor He spent eleven seasons with four teams in Major League Baseball the majority of it spent with the Detroit Tigers. $260. Ryan went 1-1 in two starts with a 1.80 ERA in the team's five-game NLDS loss to the Dodgers, striking out 14 batters in 15 innings while walking just three. After Wilson dodged a wild pitch from Boston's Bob Stanley, Kevin Mitchell scored from third to tie the game. Tim Raines first became eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2008 but wasn't elected until 2017 when he received a convincing 86% of the vote. | Compare vs. Like the 1981 Fleer and Topps sets, large print runs saturated the market with these cards, driving down their values. Players include Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan & Mike Trout. Card Number: #595. Rookie Card (1982 Topps - Card #21), $700 (Photo: Amazon.com) Here is another player who enjoyed a long MLB career, spending it all with the Baltimore Orioles starting in 1981. Baseball; Sets; 1981; Overview; 1981 Topps. The Five Most Expensive Houston Astros Baseball Cards However, on December 9, 2018 he and Harold Baines were voted in by the Today's Game Era Committe. Given how consistently great Murray was for so many years, it just seems unimaginable that he didn't lead in one of those two categories at least one other time. buy stuff after clicking links on our site 10 Most Valuable 1980s Baseball Cards - Sports Card Investor Ungraded & graded values for all '81 Fleer Baseball Cards. However, Schmidt led baseball in multiple offensive categories, including home runs (31), RBI (91), OBP (.435), slugging percentage (.644), OPS (1.080), OPS+ (198), and total bases (228). 1981 Topps. Rod Carew Autographed 1981 Topps Squirt Card, 19. The most expensive baseball card in history just sold for $12.6 million By Zoe Sottile, . To make things even stranger, you could even say that Rose appeared on fourcards in this set because this one comes in two variations. He was even the first player to collect 100 hits from both sides of the plate. Most Valuable Rookie Card in Every Topps Baseball Set, 1952-2020 However, once they got there, the Oakland Athletics promptly swept them in the ALDS as Brett went just 2-for-12 (.167) in the three games. Like Roger Clemens, Kirby Puckett has a 1984 Fleer Update XRC. And, if you look back at his stats for his rookie campaign in the 1982 season, there really was no reason he shouldn't have made the All-Star team that year, too.