If you’ve ever wondered what hobby royalty looks like, you can scroll back just a few years (what do you mean 30?) and stop right there at 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards.
That set stands at the far right end of a hobby timeline punctuated by sets that changed the world forever …
1909-11 T206 … 1933 Goudey … 1952 Topps … 1981 Fleer … 1984 Donruss … … … 1989 Upper Deck
And to the right of that? I can’t really think of anything, because — for me, at least — the center of the whole thing begins to unravel at that point.
See, Upper Deck came along as the hobby boom was ready to peak and brought us all the modern baubles we love/hate: tamper-proof packaging, anti-counterfeit holograms, chase cards, super-premium photos on front and back of each card, thick white card stock.
And, while we know today that 1989 Upper Deck is not really scarce, it’s less plentiful than the other contenders of the era — Topps, Fleer, Donruss, Score.
Yet those first UD cards are new enough and sturdy enough that there are plenty of actual “perfect” copies out there.
All of that leads to an interesting scenario when we consider the most valuable 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards … specifically, this list is built from recent eBay sales figures for blazing PSA 10 specimens of each card. As you’ll see, the values are stout but not outrageous, at least not compared to other monumental cards that sell for 5, 6, 7 figures on a seemingly daily basis these days.
(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon links for the cards being discussed.)
But, of course, you can’t talk about 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards — and, indeed Upper Deck might not exist at all — without starting here …
1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card (#1)
So, as things stand now, this looks like the most important baseball card of the 1980s.
And it is … at least sort of. I mean, it’s the first card of the set (1989 Upper Deck) that changed everything …
And it’s the first card of one the game’s top five or ten talents of all-time …
And, well, it’s been selling like gangbusters for more than 30 years now.
So I won’t mention that 89 UD Griffey stands on the shoulders of 1980 Topps Joe Charboneau and 1981 Topps Fernando Valenzuela and 1982 Topps Traded Cal Ripken Jr. and 1983 Topps Ryne Sandberg/Tony Gwynn/Wade Boggs/Traded Darryl Strawberry and, especially, 1984 Donruss Don Mattingly.
Or … 1985 Topps Mark McGwire or 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco or 1987 Bruce Fields (huh?) for that matter.
Nope, this is The Card of The Man, and the Griffey rookie sells for more than all other 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards today (as always).
Value: $1400-1600
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1989 Upper Deck Randy Johnson Rookie Card (#25)
In 1989, when this card was issued, Randy Johnson was just the latest of three Randy Johnsons to play in the Major Leagues, joining the Twins’ Randy Johnson and Braves’ Randy Johnson.
They could have had a Randy Johnson party, I suppose, but this is more or less a family channel.
Anyway, the Big Unit was already scaring batters across the land by the summer of 1989, but it was a May 25 trade that sent him from the Montreal Expos to Griffey’s Seattle Mariners that changed the world.
Because, not only did the ‘Spos land Mark Langston, but Seattle also added Gene Harris, Brian Holman, and — as the PTBNL — Mike Campbell.
I mean, Randy Johnson would go on to win 130 games and a Cy Young Award while striking out 10.6 batters per nine for the M’s, but how could he hold a candle to the aura of a Brian Holman? C’mon!
Anyway, collectors seem to like Randy Johnson III, so much so that his 1989 Upper Deck rookie card lands in the second spot here.
Value: $100-130
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1989 Upper Deck Jose Canseco (#371)
Fresh off the first 40-40 season in major league history, Jose Canseco was looking pretty smug on his 1989 Upper Deck baseball card. Hey, you probably would have, too.
I know I would have, what with all the talent in the world, youth, a great team, and miles and miles of high-end baseball cards all in my future.
Sure, Jose got pretty darn ridiculous pretty darn fast — and stayed that way — but collector memories die hard, especially the good ones.
Value: $70-75