When Randy Johnson rookie cards made their debut in 1989, the hobby heaved a collective and moderate sigh, then went about our business.

Oh, Johnson was interesting, to be sure. Towering over the field at 6’10”, the Montreal Expos lefthander had spent four summers in the minor leagues terrifying hitters with his blazing fastball and “control” that had seen him walk more than seven batters per nine innings in three of those seasons.

And, considering he was already more than six months past his 25th birthday by the time the 1989 season began, Johnson’s “prospect” days were pretty much behind him.

After a late-season call-up in 1988, though, Johnson opened the new campaign with the big league Expos, making six starts and one relief appearance through the first week of May.

That stint didn’t pan out so well, though, and Johnson was sent packing to Triple-A Indianapolis with an 0-4 record and 6.67 ERA.

Whatever hopes collectors might have had for Johnson’s rookie cards dimmed as those RCs slid ever closer to the commons bin.

But then, on May 25, before he ever came back to Montreal, the Expos traded Johnson, along with Gene Harris and Brian Holman, to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Mark Langston and (later) Mike Campbell.

The Mariners gave Johnson a start against the New York Yankees on May 30, and he struck out six in six innings at Yankee Stadium to notch his first victory of the season.

Seattle manager Jim Lefebvre left Johnson in the rotation the rest of the summer, and the lefty struck out 104 batters in 131 innings, crafting a 7-9, 4.40 ERA line with the M’s.

Things were looking up, even if just a bit, and the next few seasons saw Johnson establish himself as a legitimate major league starter, albeit one who led the bigs in walks allowed every year from 1990 through 1992.

Then, a late-season confab with the legendary Nolan Ryan in 1992 brought delivery and mindset adjustments that changed the game for Johnson … and for the rest of baseball.

He struck out 18 batters in a game before the end of that 1992 campaign, then uncorked for an 19-win, 308-strikeout performance in 1993.

That was good enough for a third-place finish in the American League Cy Young Award balloting, and Johnson started to look like he just might live up to the nickname that Expos great Tim Raines had hung on him back in 1988 — “The Big Unit.”

Collectors started to take notice, too, and we started pulling his 1989 rookie cards into the hobby limelight, fitting companions to the already-blistering RCs of Seattle teammate Ken Griffey Jr.

Indeed, the Big Unit didn’t let off the gas for another 17 summers, finishing his career with 4875 strikeouts (second all-time to Ryan), nine K crowns, five Cy Young Awards, a World Series title, 10 All-Star berths, 303 victories, and on and on and on.

It was no surprise that Johnson sailed into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot in 2015.

And it’s also no surprise that Johnson’s rookie cards became Cooperstown-worthy in their own right along the way, and that they still loom as hobby superstars today.

As active, vivid proof of that, here are the hottest, most watched Randy Johnson rookie cards on eBay right now. This list is updated every few minutes, too, so check back often!

Also: Check out the rest of our series listing the Hottest Baseball Cards on eBay.

(NOTE: The section below contains affiliate links to eBay listings for the card shown.)

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HUGE INVENTORY MLB AUTOS ROOKIE JERSEY # SPORTS CARD COLLECTION LOT VINTAGE NEW

Watchers: 17  
# of Bids: 21
Current Bid: $41
Auction Ends: 26-Mar-2023 02:03
See full listing on eBay (affiliate link)

1980s 1990s 2000's Lot of 224 Baseball Cards, RC, All Star HOF Insets Jeter, etc

Watchers: 11  
# of Bids: 10
Current Bid: $40.27
Auction Ends: 26-Mar-2023 01:03
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1989 UPPER DECK ROOKIE CARD #25 RANDY JOHNSON BGS 9.5

Watchers: 9  
# of Bids: 2
Current Bid: $20.5
Auction Ends: 26-Mar-2023 01:03
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Lot Of (29) Randy Johnson Premium Rookie Cards Upper Deck Fleer Topps AG098

Watchers: 8  
# of Bids: 4
Current Bid: $6.08
Auction Ends: 31-Mar-2023 03:03
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1989 UPPER DECK RANDY JOHNSON ROOKIE CARD #25 PSA GRADED 9 MINT

Watchers: 6  
# of Bids: 3
Current Bid: $6.5
Auction Ends: 28-Mar-2023 03:03
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RANDY JOHNSON Rookie Card Lot of (x18) RC 1989 Topps Fleer Donruss Score

Watchers: 5  
# of Bids: 9
Current Bid: $14.5
Auction Ends: 27-Mar-2023 00:03
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1989 Upper Deck #25 Randy Johnson Montreal Expos ROOKIE CARD PSA 9 MINT

Watchers: 5  
# of Bids: 4
Current Bid: $9.5
Auction Ends: 27-Mar-2023 01:03
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1989 Upper Deck ~ Randy Johnson Star Rookie Card #25 ~ Expos, Mariners ~ NM +

Watchers: 5  
# of Bids: 2
Current Bid: $1.25
Auction Ends: 26-Mar-2023 22:03
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Randy Johnson 1989 Topps Traded Rookie Card (RC) #57T- CSG Graded 10 Gem Mint!

Watchers: 5  
# of Bids: 2
Current Bid: $2.25
Auction Ends: 02-Apr-2023 00:04
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1989 UPPER DECK RANDY JOHNSON STAR ROOKIE #25 PSA 9 MONTREAL EXPOS ROOKIE CARD

Watchers: 5  
# of Bids: 7
Current Bid: $11.5
Auction Ends: 25-Mar-2023 14:03
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Lot Of (18) Randy Johnson Premium Rookie Cards w/ 1989 Topps Traded AG106

Watchers: 4  
# of Bids: 4
Current Bid: $6.08
Auction Ends: 31-Mar-2023 03:03
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(3) Lot 1989 Upper Deck Randy Johnson Rookie Card RC #25 Montreal Expos

Watchers: 4  
# of Bids: 3
Current Bid: $3.36
Auction Ends: 26-Mar-2023 01:03
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1989 Upper Deck Randy Johnson Rookie card Expos Mariners #25 Near Mint-Mint+

Watchers: 4  
# of Bids: 2
Current Bid: $2.25
Auction Ends: 28-Mar-2023 02:03
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Randy Johnson Lot of 15 Cards! Rookie Cards!

Watchers: 4  
# of Bids: 7
Current Bid: $5.58
Auction Ends: 25-Mar-2023 17:03
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Randy Johnson 1989 Rookie Cards Fleer, Donruss, Score NMint Expos 3 cards

Watchers: 3  
# of Bids: 1
Current Bid: $1.49
Auction Ends: 26-Mar-2023 05:03
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1989 Score Traded #77T Randy Johnson Rookie Card RC Seattle Mariners HOF *BnB*

Watchers: 3  
# of Bids: 1
Current Bid: $0.59
Auction Ends: 26-Mar-2023 23:03
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1989 Upper Deck Baseball #25 Randy Johnson Rookie Card HOF Montreal Expos

Watchers: 3  
# of Bids: 2
Current Bid: $1.25
Auction Ends: 27-Mar-2023 00:03
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1989 Fleer Baseball, Randy Johnson Rookie, 20 Card Lot, ex or better

Watchers: 2  
# of Bids: 1
Current Bid: $19.99
Auction Ends: 30-Mar-2023 00:03
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1989 FLEER GLOSSY Randy Johnson Rookie Card #381 Ad Blacked Out PSA 8 💥

Watchers: 2  
# of Bids: 0
Current Bid: $9.99
Auction Ends: 28-Mar-2023 00:03
See full listing on eBay (affiliate link)