Are 1989 Donruss baseball cards your favorite baseball issue ever?
Well, if you said, “yes” — hmmm, you just might be alone in that opinion.
The good news in that case would be that you won’t have much trouble laying your hands on plenty of these beauties. Because, truth is, 1989 Donruss was produced in HUGE quantities that make them pretty easy to find even 30+ years later.
But that doesn’t mean every 1989 Donruss baseball card is worthless. In fact, the cards below can fetch decent prices on eBay, provided you’re aiming for copies in top-notch graded condition.
Without further adieu, then, here is the rundown of the most valuable 1989 Donruss baseball cards, based on actual sales prices for PSA 9 specimens.
(Note: The following sections contain affiliate links to Amazon and eBay listings for the cards being discussed. Check out our full series of posts on the history of Donruss baseball cards.)
26) 1989 Donruss Robin Yount (#55)
Robin Yount sort of slid into the background among his fellow superstars after the glow of his 1982 MVP campaign wore off.
That all changed in the summer of 1989, though, when Yount – having moved from shortstop to centerfield – once again put up a monster season that eventually landed him more MVP hardware.
It was enough to get his cardboard moving again as collectors realized that this man was headed toward 3000 career hits … and the Hall of Fame.
Value: $5-10
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25) 1989 Donruss Bo Jackson (#208)
Bo Jackson could do pretty much whatever he wanted on the baseball diamond once he set his mind to it.
So Donruss went with him … sneaking around for a bunt attempt.
Not extremely awe-inspiring or majestic, but different, at least.
Value: $8-10
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24) 1989 Donruss Kirby Puckett (#182)
After helping the Twins to a World Series title in 1987, Kirby Puckett upped his personal game in 1988, batting .356 with 24 home runs and 121 RBI.
Suffice it to say, Puck was one of the most popular cards in the 1989 sets, and he nailed down that honor by winning his only American League batting crown that summer.
It was just one more step on his path to the Hall of Fame and hobby immortality.
Value: $8-10
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23) 1989 Donruss Roberto Alomar (#246)
The son of a former major leaguer and the brother of a top catching prospect, Roberto Alomar entered the 1989 season fresh off a solid rookie season and with plenty of hype surrounding him.
He’d eventually pretty much live up to expectations, crafting a Hall of Fame career and ensuring that his cards maintain a strong collector base for decades to come.
Value: $8-10
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22) 1989 Donruss Mark McGwire (#95)
You don’t hit 49 home runs as a rookie without causing quite a stir among collectors.
But Big Mac didn’t just *stir* the hobby – he toppled the whole darn applecart on the strength of his Ruthian home runs and sun-hot rookie cards from 1985 and 1987.
And, even though his power took a step back in 1988, his cards were still huge deals when the 1989 sets debuted.
They still are, regardless of the PED stain that seems likely to keep him out of the Hall of Fame forever.
Value: $8-12
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21) 1989 Donruss Jose Canseco (#91)
Canseco saw a big hunk of his limelight sucked up by rookie teammate Mark McGwire in 1987, but he didn’t let that get him down.
Instead, Jose went out and recorded the first 40-40 season ever in 1988, copping AL MVP honors in the process and leading the A’s to a championship.
To say his cards were on fire is an understatement of “coffee is good” proportions … and some of that halo remains all these years later.
Value: $8-12
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20) 1989 Donruss Edgar Martinez (#645)
After much hand-wringing, hemming and hawing, and staring at his name on the ballot for 10 years, the BBWAA finally elected Edgar Martinez to the Hall of Fame in 2019.
Thirty years earlier, Martinez made his base Donruss debut with this card that shows him in the field. That’s significant because the knock on Edgar has always been that he was a designated hitter almost his entire career, diminishing his .312 average, 2247 hits, and 309 HR in at least some eyes.
Enough folks believe in Martinez’s greatness, though, to keep his base Donruss debut in the upper echelons of the set.
Value: $8-12
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19) 1989 Donruss Randy Johnson Rookie Card (#42)
Once upon a time, Randy Johnson was a mystery — a raw talent who scraped the sky when he pitched. A firebrand who could scorch the air with his fastball but had trouble finding the strike zone on a consistent basis.
Things started to gel for The Big Unit, though, when the Montreal Expos sent him along with Gene Harris and Brian Holman to the Seattle Mariners in 1989 in exchange for Mike Campbell and Mark Langston.
Twenty years, 300 wins, 4800 strikeouts, five Cy Young Awards, and one comic All-Star incident with John Kruk later, and Johnson was a legend.
Certainly among the top handful of lefthanders ever, Johnson was a cinch for Hall of Fame election when his name came up in 2015, and his 1989 Donruss rookie card was a cinch to appear near the top of this list.
Value: $10-15
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18) 1989 Donruss Curt Schilling Rookie Card (#635)
Love him or hate him, it’s hard to deny the stats that Curt Schilling put up during his Major League career — 20 years, 216-146 record, 3.46 ERA, plus an 11-2, 2.23 ERA in the postseason. Oh, and he was a key member of that 2004 Boston Red Sox team that broke the Curse of the Bambino.
If you’re more of a Sabermetrics sort, Schilling checks in with an ERA+ of 127 and 79.6 WAR, which lands him 27th all-time among starting pitchers according to JAWS.
All of that has Schilling looking like an eventual Hall of Famer, having collected 60.9% of the vote in his seventh shot at Cooperstown in 2019.
And all of that makes this 1989 Donruss rookie card a popular piece, despite grumbling about Schilling’s attitude, his post-career shenanigans, and the flood of ’89s that still wash over the hobby.
Value: $10-15
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17) 1989 Donruss Craig Biggio Rookie Card (#561)
It may look a little funny to see Craig Biggio in the tools of excellence here on his 1989 Donruss rookie card, but he started his professional baseball life as a catcher before transitioning to second base and the outfield.
In fact, Biggio garnered Silver Slugger and All-Star honors behind the plate before making a position move in 1992. But anything the Houston Astros lost by swapping in Ed Taubensee for Biggio was made up in spades by adding years to Biggio’s Hall of Fame career.
Teaming with Jeff Bagwell and (I guess) Derek Bell to form Houston’s Killer Bs, Biggio ended up with 3060 hits, 291 home runs, 414 stolen bases, and a Cooperstown plaque.
And, of course, one of the most valuable cards in the 1989 Donruss set.
Value: $10-15
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16) 1989 Donruss John Smoltz Rookie Card (#642)
John Smoltz took an unusual route to Cooperstown, but that doesn’t really matter — he still got there.
One of the original members of the Atlanta Braves‘ vaunted rotation of the 1990s, Smoltz didn’t find the full-blown success of teammates like Tom Glavine, Steve Avery, or Greg Maddux right away, but he finally nabbed his own Cy Young Award in 1996, at age 29.
By 2000, though, the flamethrower had blown out his elbow and required Tommy John surgery, then came back in 2001 — as a reliever.
After three+ seasons as a lock-down closer Smoltz returned to the Braves rotation before finishing out his career with the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, one season each.
In the end, Smoltz ended with the unusual but stellar line of 213-155, 3.33 ERA, 154 saves, and 3084 strikeouts … an amazing Hall of Fame resume that bumps his rookie card toward the top of its set, value-wise.
Value: $10-15
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15) 1989 Donruss Gary Sheffield Rookie Card (#31)
Once upon a time, Gary Sheffield was the most talented young player in the game, with a pedigree as Dwight Gooden‘s nephew that virtually guaranteed success in the Major Leagues.
Then came his season(s) of discontent, when Sheffield was unhappy with the Milwaukee Brewers. And Gooden started to slide, performance-wise, too — suddenly, Sheffield wasn’t so can’t-miss.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the scrapheap …
First, Sheffield was traded to the San Diego Padres, along with Geoff Kellogg, in exchange for Ricky Bones, Matt Mieske, and Jose Valentin, in 1992.
Then, it was off to the expansion Florida Marlins in 1993, part of the deal that brought Trevor Hoffman to the Friars.
In San Diego, and then in Miami, Sheffield found the stroke he was supposed to have, and he became an MVP candidate.
Never one to be warm and fuzzy with teammates or locals, Sheffield sort of bounced around for the next decade+ after he helped the Marlins win a World Series in 1997 — Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets.
Along the way, Sheffield put up Hall of Fame numbers that included 2689 hits, 509 home runs, 1676 RBI, 253 stolen bases, and 60.5 career WAR.
He has found the Cooperstown voting a hard row to hoe, but Sheffield still holds enough hobby sway to make this list.
Value: $10-15
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14) 1989 Donruss Don Mattingly (#74)
It’s true that Don Mattingly’s best baseball days (as a player) were behind him by 1989, but he did manage to play a full season that summer and rebound in his offensive performance a bit from what was considered a down year in 1988.
It’s also true that Mattingly was the face of the hobby in the 1980s, and the boom could not have happened, at least to the extent it did, without his emergence in 1984 — and the fact that you could pull his Topps, Fleer, and Donruss cards from fresh packs even as he battled with Yankees teammate Dave Winfield for the American League batting crown.
Mattingly falls short of Hall of Fame standards by most reckonings, but his baseball cards still feel special even 30 years on. This one is no exception.
Value: $10-15
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13) 1989 Donruss Barry Bonds (#92)
By 1989, Barry Bonds had established himself as a star for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but his well-rounded skill set wasn’t flashy enough to really light his cards on fire.
Not when his cardboard was fighting for shelf space with bashers like Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and plenty of others.
Of course, it turned out that the scouting reports were right – Bonds could do pretty much anything he wanted to on the diamond, and he ended up actually doing most of it.
Eventually, his cards pretty much caught up to his talent, and even today, after all the bad blood and the fall from grace, early-career entries like this 1989 Donruss Bonds still hold plenty of sway in the hobby.
Value: $10-15
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12) 1989 Donruss Mike Schmidt (#193)
Although Mike Schmidt looks as powerful and generally spectacular as ever on his 1989 Donruss card, this issue would quickly turn into a cardboard eulogy.
That’s because the greatest third baseman of all time hung up his spikes for good in late May of 1989, about a third of the way through the season.
For Schmitty fans (guilty as charged), every wax pack brought a sense of dread the rest of the summer as the specter of the Phil’s great loomed just beyond the next Ed Hearn or Jose Oquendo.
Value: $10-15
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11) 1989 Donruss Rickey Henderson (#245)
Rickey Henderson returned to the Oakland A’s for the 1989 season, which makes this Donruss card one of the last to feature him with the Yankees.
And, even though Donruss missed out on showing Hednerson in the fabled pinstripes, this is still one of the most popular cards in the set.
Value: $10-15
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10) 1989 Donruss Wade Boggs (#68)
Wade Boggs fell off a cliff in 1989.
I mean, after four straight American League batting titles from 1985 through 1988 and batting *at least* .357 in each of those seasons, the Chicken Man fell aaallll the way to .330 in 1989.
Of course, that’s still an otherworldly number among mere mortals, and Boggs was still a plenty popular pull from wax packs across the land that summer.
Still is today, thanks to those 3010 lifetime hits, .328 career batting average, and that nifty Hall of Fame plaque of his.
Value: $10-15
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9) 1989 Donruss Greg Maddux (#373)
Maddux posted his first winning record in 1988 (18-8), a fact that hardly registered with collectors thanks to his toiling for the fourth-place Cubs, and to the paltry records he put up in his first two campaigns.
When The Professor followed up with 19 victories and helped bring a division title to the northside, though, his profile started to climb … and it never looked back.
Today, Greg Maddux cards are hobby royalty pretty much across the board, a status befitting the pasteboards featuring one of the handful of greatest pitchers of the last 50 years.
Value: $10-15
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8) 1989 Donruss Tony Gwynn (#128)
After a jaw-dropping .370 batting average in 1987, Tony Gwynn slid all the way to .313 in 1988 … and still won a batting title.
He’d win another (.336) in 1989, on his way to eight total crowns, 3000+ hits, and a place in history as a Padres legend and a Hall of Famer.
Not surprising, then, that this mid-career card – like pretty much all of Mr. Padre’s cards – makes the cut on our list.
Value: $10-15
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7) 1989 Donruss Don Mattingly Diamond King (#26)
Everything that goes for the base Mattingly card above goes for his Diamond King, too. This was Mattingly’s second DK (1985 was the other), and it’s another Dick Perez masterpiece.
We couldn’t get enough of Mattingly in the 80s, though, so no one was complaining about an extra Donnie Baseball card, and this one still brings interest on eBay and in other venues.
Value: $10-15
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6) 1989 Donruss Ozzie Smith (#63)
You could make an argument that Ozzie Smith was, in many ways, the face of baseball in the 1980s.
Here you had a guy who redefined defensive play at a position already known for fielding prowess, and a key member of perennial contenders and frequent champs (of one sort or another) in St. Louis.
Ozzie even upped his offensive game as the decade proceeded, leaving no doubt that he’d eventually take his rightful place in Cooperstown.
So, all in all, how could the last Donruss card of the Wizard from the decade he helped define *not* make our list??
Value: $10-15
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5) 1989 Donruss Nolan Ryan (#154)
If Nolan Ryan appears in a baseball card set, that Ryan card has a 99.9999999999% chance* of being one of the most valuable cards in the set. (*possibly a slight exaggeration)
This particular card has the added bonus of being the last regular Donruss issue to show him as a member of the Astros. It’s a great action shot, too.
What’s not to love? And collectors still do.
Value: $15-20
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4) 1989 Donruss Cal Ripken Jr. (#51)
The Orioles of the late 1980s were terrible, and that taint extended even to their franchise icon.
Were Cal Ripken’s tanking numbers from 1987 through 1990 responsible for Baltimore’s struggles, or did the bad teams around him drag down Iron Cal?
It’s a classic oriole-and-egg conundrum that turned out not to matter too much by the time Ripken put up one of his greatest all-around seasons in 1991.
With his second MVP award in-tow, Ripken could get back to the business of chasing down Lou Gehrig, and collectors could smile on his late-80s cards again, happy to airbrush the bad seasons from our memory and focus on the beauty of Junk Wax Cal.
Value: $15-20
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3) 1989 Donruss George Brett (#204)
After two years at .290, Brett had pushed his batting average back above .300 (.306) in 1988.
That surge might have helped the popularity of his 1989 Donruss card out of the pack, but the truth is, none of Brett’s cardboard needed much help by that point.
The man was a legend, a status he reinforced with a third batting title, at age 37, in 1990 … and his 3000th hit in 1992 … and a Hall of Fame plaque in 1999.
Value: $15-20
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2) 1989 Donruss John Kruk Rookie Card (#86)
John Kruk wasn’t just Randy Johnson’s comic crutch in interleague play.
Indeed, for most of his 10-year Big League career, Kruk was a constant threat to hit .300, and he crafted his exit to make sure he landed exactly on that number.
Along the way, through stops with the Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox, Kruk also showed some power finishing with 100 home runs among his 1170 hits. He was also a key member of that 1993 Phils crew that made it all the way to the World Series, only to be dispatched by Joe Carter‘s historic Game 6 homer.
Still a popular analyst, Kruk is also a college baseball coach who maintains a high enough profile to keep his cards on lists like this one.
Value: $15-20
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1) 1989 Donruss Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card (#33)
Any time you see the words “Ken Griffey”, “Jr.”, and “Rookie Card” in a card description, you can be sure it’s going to sit at the top of the value heap for whichever set it’s in. The 1989 Donruss Junior rookie is certainly no exception.
The only question surrounding Griffey when he retired was whether he would be the first-ever unanimous Hall of Famer. The fact that he didn’t quite clear that bar (even though Mariano Rivera did in 2019) doesn’t diminish Griffey’s hobby cachet one whit.
This card may not be Upper Deck #1, but it’s still an iconic hunk of Junk Wax cardboard.
Value: $25-30
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how about the 1989 Donruss jose Canseco bonus card from the back side of a blister pack!It’s all about supply and I bet there isn’t 30 out there in the world and I would guess no 9 or 10 rated cards!
An interesting card, to be sure. Looks like PSA has graded just one so far, with that one getting the old “Authentic” grade. Raw copies seem to be fairly readily available on eBay, selling for under $10 (https://ebay.us/lD2lZo).
https://www.psacard.com/pop/baseball-cards/1989/donruss/35535