If you’ve read anything about the hobby over the last 30 years or, you might have gotten the impression that 1989 Fleer baseball cards are all about the Billy Ripken obscenity fiasco.
But, while that card — those cards — will probably always land among the most valuable cards from the set, there is more to this gray-and-pinstripe issue than FF.
So, without further ado, here are the 20 most valuable 1989 Fleer baseball cards, Billy the Kid included, based on actual recent selling prices of specimens in graded PSA 10 condition. We’ll start at the bottom of the pile and work our way up to the most valuable.
(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon links for the cards being discussed.)
1989 Fleer Wade Boggs (#81)
Boggs hit .366 in 1988 to win his fourth straight American League batting title, and it seemed like he might hold onto the crown forever. As it turned out, he would never again lead the league in hitting, which is pretty hard to imagine looking back now.
The next eleven seasons still brought plenty of hits, doubles, Gold Gloves, and other accolades, though, as Boggs cemented his Hall of Fame case.
This junk wax gem stands as a last look at title-winning Boggs, and it’s picked up in popularity over recent years.
Value: $20-25
1989 Fleer Roger Clemens (#85)
Clemens “slumped” to 18-12 in 1988 and would slide all the way to 17-11 in 1989 before rejoining the 20-win club to christen the 1990s. Even so, Rocket was among the best pitchers in the American League during that (for him) down stretch.
That all paled in comparison to his amazing work over the last decade-plus of his career, of course, but this ’89 Fleer card gives us a shot of Clemens before his epic fall from grace.
Value: $20-25
1989 Fleer Gary Sheffield Rookie Card (#196)
Sheffield was the big-stick-swinging shortstop who also happened to be Dwight Gooden’s nephew and was going to make everyone forget about Ernie Banks.
Sheffield ended up at third base and then the outfield in the Major Leagues, and the only person he made folks forget was Dave Magadan.
Still, he swatted more than 500 home runs and should probably garner more Hall of Fame consideration than he has to this point, PEDs or not.
Sheffield has rookie cards across the board in the 1989 sets, and this Fleer generally sells for under a buck raw, up to a bunch more in PSA 10.
Value: $20-25
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1989 Fleer John Smoltz Rookie Card (#602)
Smoltz did most of his starting and finishing with the vaunted pitching staffs of the Altanta Braves in the 1990s and 2000s, and he joined rotation mates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine in Cooperstown in 2015.
Like many others on this list, the fireballer’s 1989 Fleer rookie card checks in at a buck or so ungraded, and a bit more in PSA 10.
Value: $20-25
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1989 Fleer Randy Johnson Rookie Card (#381)
In 1989, Randy Johnson was still a *ahem* huge enigma.
Would he ever be able to harness the (sorry) enormous potential in his left arm, or would his outsized (ugh!) walk rates continue to eat him up?
The only way to be sure, it seemed, was to trade him to the Seattle Mariners, where his profile seemed a bit more modest in the shadow of the Space Needle.
All puns aside (never!), the Big Unit developed into one of the most dominating starters of a generation and an all-time great who took his rightful place in Cooperstown in 2015.
Johnson’s 1989 Fleer rookie card is not quite as monstrous but does offer an interesting variation — the background of the card can be found with a Marlboro ad on the scoreboard behind Randy or with a blacked-out version of said ad. Or with some half-hearted in-between attempt. Sorta reminds me of another 1989 Fleer card. Hmmm …
Anyway, there seem to be tons of variations here, depending on the degree of Fleer’s contrition for advertising cigarettes to minors at any given moment.
In general, you’ll find listings ranging from a $1 for raw copies to … much more, depending on the specific variation (more on that later).
Value: $20-30
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1989 Fleer Mike Schmidt (#582)
With injuries piling up, Schmidt abruptly announced his retirement early