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

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1989 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan (Rangers) (#774)

Nolan Ryan has been a baseball legend of one sort or another since he first took the mound as a wild youngin’ for the New York Mets back in the 1960s.

He spent the next couple decades as the game’s preeminent flamethrower, first with the California Angels, then with the Houston Astros.

By the time the Ryan Express chugged into Arlington to begin the 1989 season with the Texas Rangers, he was the all-time strikeout leader and had five no-hitters to his name, a record or something.

Even with all that, some still questioned his resume — he was all flash, no substance.

With Texas, though, Nolan picked up two more no-hitters, sailed past 300 wins, and bumped that K record up north of 5700.

It all amounted to a more or less automatic Hall of Fame plaque and a spot near the top of just about every baseball card list you can think of, including this one.

Ryan’s high-number 1989 UD card, showing him tossing a football in a Rangers uniform, is an eye-catcher, and a hobby favorite.

Value: $60-90

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1989 Upper Deck Kirk Gibson (#666)

The enduring image of the 1988 baseball season is Kirk Gibson limping to the plate in the ninth inning of Game 1 and then smashing the game-winning home run off Dennis Eckersley, Natural-style.

This card captures the immediate aftermath, as Gibby rounds the bases, hobbling toward immortality. Any wonder why it’s so high on this list?

Value: $60-80

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1989 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan (Astros) (#145)

Ryan always shows up on “most valuable” lists, but two in one set?

Yep, thanks to our expansion to include the high numbers here.

Nolan’s first UD Rangers card (that high-numbered number above) is iconic, but his only UD Astros card is also popular with collectors.

Value: $60-70

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1989 Upper Deck Rickey Henderson (#210)

After four years of smashing success in the Bronx, Henderson returned to the Oakland A’s before the 1989 season.

In that second go-round, Rickey turned up the heat on his game (which might have seemed impossible) to the extent that he becoame one of the most complete players in the game … and a hobby icon.

Upper Deck got in just under the wire for showcasing the Great Hot Dog in his Yanks garb.

Value: $50-60

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1989 Upper Deck John Smoltz Rookie Card (#17)

This card exhibits a pattern we’ll see throughout our list — a 1989 Upper Deck rookie card of a superstar player, with only a sort of middling price tag for a even perfect copy.

In Smoltz’s case, it’s also, “ho hum, another Atlanta Braves ace.”

And another Atlanta Braves ace who landed in Cooperstown, to boot, though Smoltz took a few twists and turns to get there.

Nevertheless, another popular rookie card from a landmark set, and a fitting end to our list of most valuable 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards.

Value: $45-65

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1989 Upper Deck Mark McGwire (#300)

I’ve written about this card before, but suffice it to say that McGwire looks sufficiently Bunyanesque here to make most mere mortals feel physically inadequate by comparison.

It also reminds us that McGwire was a monster slugger long before anyone ever heard of Andro and that Big Mac made 1998 a magical season for millions of fans still smarting from the 1994-95 strike.

So, yes, steroids — but also baseball cards and home runs and memories and ROY and Bash Brothers and 1985 Topps Olympic cards.

This beauty sort of brings it all crashing back, and it’s certainly one of the more striking of all 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards.

Value: $45-50

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1989 Upper Deck Barry Bonds (#440)

If you like to remember Bonds as the lithe, athletic, five-tool dude who could do pretty anything on the baseball field rather than the more lumbering, hulking, beast would do absolutely everything in the batter’s box later in his career, well, this card is for you.

Still a year shy of nabbing his first National League MVP Award, the future home run champion show up here on his UD debute peering in to the catcher, waiting for his chance to race from first to second.

And, if you don’t like to think of Bonds at all, or to just sneer in derision when his name comes up, well then, you’re just jaded. Try to stop and smell the holograms once in awhile, why don’t you?

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Value: $35-50

1989 Upper Deck Bo Jackson (#221)

Coming off a season in which he topped league-average offensive production for the first time (by measure of OPS+), Jackson entered 1989 as one of the most exciting players in the game.

He delivered on that cresting hype with his first (and only) All-Star appearance while connecting on a career-high 32 home runs, driving in 105 RBI, and stealing 26 bases, all in a relatively meager 135 games played.

Meanwhile, hobbyists took to building their Bo Jackson collections in earnest, an avocation which has continued nearly unabated across the decades and despite a promising career truncated by a devastating hip injury suffered on the football field during a January 1991 playoff game.

This bright Bo card, like so many of his other diamond issues, remind us of sunnier, more hopeful days.

Value: $30-50

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1989 Upper Deck Don Mattingly (#200)

Mattingly followed three seasons of Hall of Fame prodution (1984-86) with three more at mere superstar levels.

That slightly immortal run wrapped up in 1989, which put this inaugural Upper Deck card of Donnie Baseball right in the wheelhouse of the hobby boom, for which Mattingly and his amazing 1984 Donruss rookie card could claim a big hunk of the credit.

The 1990s brought a gradual (or not so much) slide into Cooperstown oblivion for the Yankees captain and left us all wondering what might have been if not for his chronically bad back.

This UD gem, though?

It’s close enough to primetime Hit Man so as to be indistinguishable from the same.

Value: $30-50

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1989 Upper Deck Greg Maddux (#241)

Maddux struggled fairly mightily in his first two seasons with the Cubs, to the tune of an 8-18 combined record.

Then, just in the nick of time to make some waves heading into the debut of Upper Deck, King of the Kardboards, the future Mad Dog completely reversed course in 1988, posting an 18-8 record with a 3.18 ERA.

A new star for a new set!

And not only that, UD was one of the few 1989 cards to show Maddux in anything other than Cubbies pinstripes … for better or for worse.

Value: $35-40

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1989 Upper Deck Jim Abbott Rookie Card (#755)

Much of the context and mystique has been lost over the years and in the fine print of Abbott’s journeyman major league record, but this was one of the coolest cards most of us had ever seen when it debuted in 1989.

Here we had an Olympian and first-round draft pick who had all the makings of a staff ace.

And, of course, the inspiration his story provided.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, Upper Deck captured Abbott in crystal-clear action THREE times and flipped the whole thing on its side — they ate Sportflics’ magic-triple-super-secret-motion lunch, peed in the empty food tray, and kissed their girlfriend on the way out of the lunch room.

Also, thanks to DeWayne Buice, the first UD design always looks better when an Angel is involved.

This is still a cool card, and enough collectors remember that to keep it here among the big hitters of the set.

Value: $30-40

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1989 Upper Deck George Brett (#215)

This is sort of an anomaly among 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards — a superstar cast in shadows, when most of the issue’s pasteboards were bright and SPF-worthy.

Still, here we have a gritty baseball legend who had had to move to first base as his body crumbled bit by bit thanks to the diamond wars he had endured over 15 years or so in MLB.

A guy headed for the Hall of Fame, but who had run out of Elite Juice.

A veteran who taped it all together one more time in 1990 to win a third batting title — which gave him on each in 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

And then, he tacked on a couple more years, and picked up his 3000th hit along the way.

Yeah, Mr. Pine Tar may have been overcast here, but he wasn’t quite done with the limelight just yet.

Value: $30-40

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1989 Upper Deck Tony Gwynn (#384)

After home runs flew like f-bombs at a Billy Martin revival during the 1987 season, pitchers reclaimed their territory in 1988 with a vengeance, particularly in the National League.

Want evidence?

Tony Gwynn won his third batting title that summer with a (not) gaudy mark of .313.

Collectors still loved him, though, and were happy to see him in the nifty new Upper Deck set. Mr. Padre rewarded us with a heftier .336 en route to yet another crown in 1989. It would be five more years before Tony climbed to the top of the leader board, but when he did, he was a real smart aleck about it — .394, .368, .353, .372.

Four straight titles in his mid-30s from 1994 through 1997, all but reserving his wing in upstate New York.

Value: $30-40

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1989 Upper Deck Mike Schmidt (#406)

Schmidt reeled off a surprise MVP season in 1986, picking up his third National League trophy, and then followed up with a top-drawer .293/35 HR/113 RBI campaign in 1987 at age 37.

But 1988 featured a tumble in production (112 OPS+), and then a rotator cuff injury killed the end of his summer, limited to 108 games overall. The Phillies legend came back mostly healthy in 1989 but struggled through two months … then abruptly retired in 1989.

Somehow, Upper Deck managed to capture the flavor of that craptastic run (for Schmitty fans, at least), by showing the Phillies’ legend in front of a microphone rather than in front of the bag at third or at the plate.

Ugh.

Value: $30-40

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1989 Upper Deck Gary Sheffield Rookie Card (#13)

Something that’s been sort of lost over the years in the glut of cards from the late 1980s is that the 1989 sets are fairly loaded with rookie cards.

In most cases, it doesn’t matter too much, because 3 billion cards are 3 billion cards.

But, as you can see in this list, Upper Deck’s debut issue maintains enough swagger that the rooks can come to the fore.

And speaking of swagger, that’s something Mr. Sheffield has excelled in for decades.

Oh, and also hitting home runs — to the tune of 509 in his 22-year career. Dude also had good enough OBP skills and speed to rack up 60+ WAR.

Sheffield has faced plenty of backlash over PED concerns and his general churlishness, but his UD rookie card is still a popular get in PSA 10.

Value: $30-40

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1989 Upper Deck Cal Ripken Jr. (#467)

By 1989, Cal was starting to take heat for his consecutive games streak, with detractors charging that his pursuit of Lou Gehrig was diminishing his overall game.

Ripken weathered those slings and arrows and charged right ahead, kicking his game to another notch in winning the 1991 American League MVP award, his second (first was in 1983).

By the time Rip sailed past the Iron Horse in 1995, his legend was cemented, and collectors had latched on forever.

Today, the Orioles hero checks in with a solid premium-card debut here amongst the upper reaches of 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards.

Value: $30-35

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1989 Upper Deck Ryne Sandberg (#120)

After winning the N.L. MVP Award in 1984 and helping the Cubs to their first division title, Sandberg settled in to mearly All-Star-level play for the rest of the ’80s.

But while collectors were pulling this sunny, in-the-box Ryno from our foil packs, Chicago’s beloved second baseman was ramping up again, hitting .290 with a career-high 30 homers.

That would be short-lived, though, as Sandberg hit 40 dingers in 1990 to lead the National League.

And, suddenly, Cooperstown seemed like a pretty good bet.

Value: $30-35

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1989 Upper Deck Astros Checklist – Nolan Ryan (#669)

This is an example of Upper Deck taking a page from their elders’ playbook — namely, thou must find a way to squeeze in as many cards of the hottest players as possible.

So, not only do we get an Astros Nolan Ryan Card and a Rangers Nolan Ryan Card, but we also get an Astros Checklist Nolan Ryan Art Card, courtesy of Vernon Wells, Sr. (yes, the father of the big-contract Vernon Wells).

Does this make Nolan Ryan the king of 1989 Upper Deck baseball cards?

Well, a young KGJ might have something to say about that, but The Express is certainly part of the royal court.

Value: $25-35

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1989 Upper Deck Craig Biggio Rookie Card (#273)

Every card on this list (with the exception of the Ryan triple dips) is a first Upper Deck baseball card.

Biggio’s counts as a true rookie card, though, given that he had appeared in only the 1988 Fleer Update and 1988 Score Traded sets prior to ’89.

And, as with all ’89 Upper Decks, this one features a great design and quality photography.

Otherwise, though, this is a pretty boring RC of a future Hall of Famer, especially considering this Killer B came up as a catcher — that’s a position that supplies some amazing photo ops.

But, hey, moving a bat from one place to another with a blank expression on your face is a good way to spend a rookie card, too.

I guess.

Value: $25-35

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1989 Upper Deck Edgar Martinez Rookie Card (#768)

Are you sensing a theme here?

Those late 1980s Mariners were the breeding ground for multiple Hall of Fame-caliber careers, and their third baseman fit right into that mold.

Well, except for the fact that Edgar was a designated hitter in waiting.

Still, the fact remains that Martinez was one of the great hitters of his generation, and his legend in the Northwest — along with stellar plate numbers, of course — was enough to get him a plaque.

Value: $25-35

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1989 Upper Deck Kirby Puckett (#376)

After leading the Twins to a World Series title in 1987, Puckett got ridiculous in 1988, hitting .356 with MLB-leading totals in plate at-bats (657), hits (234), and total bases (358). He also stole all of six bases while getting nabbed seven times.

So, of course, Upper Deck put him on the basepahts in their inaugural set.

But, hey, at least it gave us a Big Mac photo bomb as a bonus!

Value: $25-35

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1989 Upper Deck Roger Clemens (#195)

Clemens looks pretty happy here on his first Upper Deck card, maybe a consequence of helping the Red Sox to their second division title in three seasons in 1988.

Or, maybe he foresees all the amazing things he would accomplish as his (multiple) peak(s) loomed.

Probably hadn’t glimpsed his ultimate baseball legacy, though.

Value: $25-30

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1989 Upper Deck Omar Vizquel Rookie Card (#787)

In an era that saw the birth of the shortstop as a major offensive weapon (sorry, Ernie Banks — rebirth), Omar Vizquel was something of a throwback.

Because, while Ripken, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, and others were tearing the cover off the ball, Vizquel made his hay with Gold Glove defense and decent-but-not-great plate performances.

And, while Vizquel has a steep climb to Cooperstown from a numbers perspective, he was a building block for those early Griffey-Unit Mariners teams and an absolute cog in the middle for the great Indians teams later in the 1990s.

Indeed, there was quite a groundswell of support for his candidacy that seemed to have him chugging toward eventual election a few years ago… until details about some of his recent and not-so-recent behavior likely sunk his HOF ship forever.

Still, plenty of collectors remember the good times on the field, and this card maintains a solid following.

Value: $25-30

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Bonus! Errors Among the Perfection

So, 1989 Upper Deck was the “perfect” set.

Just ask them and all their promotional material from the era.

But even perfection is relative, especially when you’re crashing the party of a bunch of companies who spent a decade feeding Error Card Mania, wittingly or not.

Here are a couple of UD’s early contributions to the artform…

1989 Upper Deck Gary Sheffield Rookie Card – SS Upside Down (#13)

See above for a discussion of why Sheffield was important as a prospect, and why he still might be important in future Hall of Fame discussions.

For the purposes of this entry, though, subtlety is the name of the game, not necessarily Sheffield’s strong suit.

Here, the position designation is the thing, where that little “SS” in the upper right-hand corner is, get this, upside down. It’s tough to see, but if you squint, you can tell that the fat ends of the two esses are on top here. Up in the “normal” Sheffield entry, those thick curves are on bottom, as intended.

And, according to the PSA Population Report, fewer than one out of every 30 Sheffield rookies they’ve handled is upside down. And, of those, only about one out of 15 grades a perfect “10.”

So, yeah, we’re in Premium City here.

Value: $500-1000

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1989 Upper Deck Dale Murphy Reverse Negative (#357)

While the Sheffield error is subtle and took awhile to surface in any kind of broad way in hobby circles, this one is in-your-face and rumbled through collectordom right away.

Here we have one of the handful of most popular players of the 1980s, smiling kind of cockeyed at us, with the Atlanta Braves “A” on his cap looking like it’s about ready to blow off into the Fulton County air stream.

And Murph has his bat on his left shoulder.

No matter where your fandom lay, this card just felt off whenever it was you first laid eyes on it. And then, your eye fell to Murphy’s jersey, and you saw it — the picture is flipped!

Mania ensues.

Unlike the Sheffield RC, PSA has actually graded more Murphy error cards than Murphy corrected cards.

But mere facts can’t stop a hobby juggernaut.

Value: $500-600

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Heck, if there had been several million less of the cards issued, it might be the greatest card since the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle faux rookie.

But just because Junior was an all-time great and his best rookie card was the first card in the Upper Deck set that changed the hobby, that doesn’t mean you have to love said awesome rookie card.

In fact, I’ve been able to build up a level of resentment toward this card that is, if I say so myself, most impressive.

And you can get there, too, if you just follow my simple 17-step process.

But before we get started, take a good long look at the Griffey rookie:

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See that radiant smile? Appreciate the goodness of the first real premium card on the market? Feel the power that the marriage of the first card of an all-time great player with the first card of an all-time great set can unleash?

Great. Remember all that, because it’s about to change.

To truly resent this card, just …

1) Become a Cincinnati Reds in the early 1980s.

2) Listen to all the old-timers tell you about how great The Big Red Machine was. If possible, these idolators should include your own father, who never liked baseball but loves you enough to support your interests and knows just enough to make you miss the Big Red past you never knew.

3) Flirt with the Chicago Cubs in 1984 … heck, they are just as close to home as the Reds and looked like they might actually do something with their lives.

4) Visit Riverfront Stadium that same summer — 1984 — and fall in love with the ethereal green Astroturf and the debilitating-sounding *pop* of Dan Driessen‘s throws during infield practice.

5) Live and die each season of the Pete Rose homecoming. The best Reds teams of your (baseball) life take the field from 1985-88 but come up empty on any sort of post-season activity, including individual hardware (except for Chris Sabo‘s 1988 Rookie of the Year award).

6) Read the scouting reports for a young player named Ken Griffey — Junior — and think that he’ll never be as good as his father, no matter what the experts say.

7) Give up hope in 1989. You’ll still root for the Reds but know they’ll never win — anything — again.

8) Resent Seattle for stealing “your” clubhouse phenom as Junior makes his Major League debut at age 19. He grew up rubbing elbows with the superstars of the 1970s Reds and their children. How could he be in the Bigs wearing any other uniform than Cincy’s?

9) Be amazed by the 1990 World Series winners even if you feel somehow detached from them. It’s not the same team that you’ve poured your soul into for more than five years.

10) Become disillusioned, then jaded, throughout the 1990s. Sure, Davey Johnson comes to town and delivers some flashes of brilliance, but then the Reds let him walk in typical Reds fashion. The bottom falls out again.

11) Resent Griffey from afar for beginning to fulfill the scouts’ predictions about him. He is becoming one of the very best players in the game and helping to make Seattle a baseball town. That’s great for the northwest and the game, but he should be doing it all in Cincinnati, if anywhere.

12) Kiss Jim Bowden’s feet (metaphorically). Somehow, the cocky young Reds general manager swings a mega-deal that will bring Griffey home, making him the LeBron of Cincinnati before anyone knows who LeBron is. Or maybe LeBron is the Junior of Cleveland.

13) Withhold judgment in 2000. At age 30, Griffey smacks 40 homers in his debut season on the Riverfront, but his peripherals slide from his days in Seattle, and he appears in just 145 games.

14) Resent Griffey up close as he gets fat and falls apart. Junior is making big bucks, especially by Cincinnati standards, and he can’t stay on the field. Conditioning seems to be part of the problem, and an increasingly sullen attitude makes it all worse.

15) Wish for a trade to send Griffey out of town. It pains you to even think, but you realize in 2003 or 2004 that the Reds would be (much) better off without Griffey and his big salary.

16) Resent Griffey from afar. After eight-plus mostly forgettable seasons, Griffey is shipped to the Chicago White Sox at the end of the 2008 season. Things are even worse for him there, but a return to Seattle in 2009 makes everyone happy and fall in love with Junior all over again. Everyone except you.

17) Resent Griffey’s Cooperstown plaque. When Griffey is inducted into the Hall of Fame, you know he’ll go in as a Seattle Mariner because Seattle is where he did his best work on the field. Heck, the Griffey you saw in Cincinnati probably wouldn’t have even sniffed enshrinement. But you can’t shake the feeling that Junior should have been even more than he was, and he should have been that more right there on the Riverfront all along.

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And that’s it.

Now, look up above at that Griffey rookie again.

Doesn’t his smile feel more like a smirk?

Can you even believe he’s not wearing a Reds uniform?

Don’t you wish there weren’t 40 billion of these cards out there, slapping you in the face everywhere you turn?

Yeah, me too.

(This is Day 30 of our series on the “Best Card From” each year, 1960-1989. Read all the entries here and jump in on the fun right here. You might also enjoy our post on the 12 Most Important Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Cards.)

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After a year of ruling the roost of premium cards all by their lonesome, and then three more years of increasingly intense competition in the race to turn baseball cards into Mylar-wrapped lottery tickets, Upper Deck made some changes.

Gone were the clean white borders on every card, replaced with … well, with clean white borders on most cards, but also with full-bleed photos in special subsets like Top Prospects and Star Rookies.

And then something only Upper Deck could do — gold holograms. Or, more properly, Gold Holograms.

This was UD upping the ante by replacing their usual silver holograms on card backs with (you guessed it) gold holograms, but only on a small fraction of their cards.

In particular, one out of every 15 factory sets was issued with gold holos, but everything else — including from-pack cards — got the customary silver treatment.

And why is that important here?

Ah, patience grasshopper. All will become clear below as we run down the ten most valuable 1993 Upper Deck baseball cards, as determined by selling prices (culled from the PSA Auction Prices Realized tool) for cards in PSA 8 condition, which happens to be the most common shape PSA has seen for the ’93 UDs.

Now, on with the show, beginning with a true hobby classic …

1993 Upper Deck Derek Jeter Gold Hologram (#449)

Yes, the 1993 SP is the gold standard when it comes to Derek Jeter rookie cards, but this “1993 Top Prospect” card is a classic in its own right.

Especially when it comes adorned with a Gold Hologram …

Copies of this Jeter RC in PSA 8 condition sell for around $600 these days, with 9s and 10s reaching four and five figures, respectively.

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1993 Upper Deck Chipper Jones Gold Hologram (#459)

This is no rookie card, thanks to some early-career issues that came before Chipper ever even debuted in the Major Leagues.

But this is a great looking card that evokes memories of early modern era cards (can you say 1953 Bowman Pee Wee Reese wannabe?) and was issued during the year Jones did make his debut — and yet still two full seasons before he was officially a “rookie.”

And, with the gold hologram in PSA 8, it’s a pretty heavy hitter — expect prices north of $300 if you can even find one for sale.

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1993 Upper Deck Derek Jeter (#449)

Even the more common Silver Hologram version of the Yankees’ legendary Captain stands above most other comers in 1993 Upper Deck.

This “pedestrian” hologram knocks the card down to the $20 range in PSA 8, making it an affordable alternative for most collectors looking to snag a hunk of hobby history.

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1993 Upper Deck Chipper Jones (#459)

So, this is Jones answering Derek Jeter, blow-for-blow.

It wasn’t always this way, of course, because everyone had Larry as a can’t-miss prospect from the moment the Braves took him as the first overall pick in the 1990 draft.

That made those 1991 cards of his instant hits and gave him a head start in the hobby on DJ, whom the Yanks took #6 overall in 1992.

After Jones finally made good on his promise in 1995 by finishing second in National League Rookie of the Year voting, that gap only widened … until Jeter copped the AL ROY award in 1996 and helped the Yankees win a World Series.

Over the Braves.

The two diamond heroes have been collector favorites ever since, and this Chipper silver holo checks in just about where the Jeter silver holo does — around 20 bucks in slabbed PSA 8 condition.

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1993 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr.(#355)

Nothing at all special about this card except the fact that it features a sterling image of one of the greatest players to ever lace up the spikes, perfectly centered in an elegant design that makes the whole thing look like a magazine cover or poster.

As base cards of non-rookies from the Junk Wax era go, this Griffey is hard to beat.

Expect to pay around $10 for Junior in PSA 8 condition.

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1993 Upper Deck Mike Piazza (#2)

This one is not a rookie card, either, but it sort of is.

Piazza shocked the world during that summer of 1993 by becoming the first 62nd-round pick to win the National League Rookie of the Year, thanks to mashing at the plate that included 35 home runs, 112 RBI, and a .318 batting average.

Amazing stuff, especially for a guy who also spent 146 games crouched behind the dish that season.

The Dodgers standout and future Hall of Famer became an immediate hobby favorite, and that went triple for his 1992 Bowman rookie card.

But this card was his first UD pasteboard, and it came out just as he was doing all that slamming, so no surprise that it remains popular all these years later.

Prices for slabbed NM-MT copies hover in the $10 range.

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1993 Upper Deck Don Mattingly (#134)

When Jeter arrived in New York for a cup of coffee in 1995, he found a legend waiting for him there (OK, probably not explicitly waiting for him, but still.)

By then, of course, Don Mattingly was just about done, his bad back sapping what once looked like a freight train hauling tail straight for Cooperstown.

An ailing Mattingly managed to help the Yanks into the postseason for the only time in his career after that strike-shortened 1995 season, but he was done — gone before the next run of New York glory years began in earnest with Jeter’s full-time arrival in 1996.

In 1993, though, we all still held out hope that Donnie Baseball could get back to where he had been in the 1980s, namely on the dais along with baseball’s other top-tier greats.

Today, this awesome looking card from that era of hope — from before The Strike of 1994-95 left us jaded, from before the steroid years — sells for a shade under $10 in PSA 8 condition most of the time.

If Mattingly ever does make the Cooperstown cut, by dint of his combined player and manager escapades, or by nod of the Eras Committees, that might look like a bargain.

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1993 Upper Deck Trevor Hoffman (#773)

Like Jones, Hoffman made his cardboard debut in the 1992 Bowman set, almost unbelievably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

And like Jeter, it took Hoffman a few years after this card was issued to really make his case as a star — he received his first Cy Young votes in 1996.

Hmmm, timeline sounds familiar, huh?

When all was said and done, Hoffman owned the all-time saves record, at least until Mariano Rivera had his way. And then, in 2018, Hoffman got the call from the Hall.

So no surprise Glenn Hoffman‘s brother makes our list here with his first Upper Deck card, pushing $10 in PSA 8 condition.

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1993 Upper Deck Manny Ramirez (#433)

Another non-rookie, this Manny card isn’t even his first Upper Deck card, despite the “Top Prospect” designation.

Still, this is an early-career card of one of the greatest all-around hitters of the last 30 years, side issues notwithstanding.

And, although Ramirez may never make it to Cooperstown thanks to those very side issues, he’s still plenty popular with plenty of Indians and Red Sox fans (and other collectors from the 1990s).

Expect to pay $5-10 for this horizontal smile billboard when you find it in PSA 8 condition.

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1993 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan (#155)

Nolan Ryan always appears on these types of lists, right?

And why not?

There may have never been a player as universally revered, loved, and feared as Ryan was in the early 1990s (just don’t ask Robin Ventura).

Heck, even all the young bucks in 1993 Upper Deck couldn’t push The Express out of the way.

Today, he’s standing right there in front of us demanding five bucks or so for his UD in PSA 8 condition.

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1993 Upper Deck Chipper Jones (#24)

See just how hyped Jones was?

Not only did he land on that Peter Gammons special up there, but he also got the Star Rookie treatment here on card#24.

Even though he had all those earlier rookie cards and even though he wouldn’t be a rookie until 1995.

This Chipper is about a $5 card in slabbed NM-MT condition.

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Gone were the simple design, clean photography, and blazing white borders of the good old days … you know, 1989 through 1992.

After a year of transition in 1993 to wash away those blank bounds in favor of full-bleed photography, Upper Deck went heavy (heavy!) on design for the first time in their history for that 1994 set.

Big block lettering, foil accents, team and company logos, inset photos … “Electric Diamonds,” for goodness sake!

It was all there in 1994 Upper Deck, just waiting to dazzle your senses, and your sensibilities.

But what the set may have lacked in pure UD tradition, it made up for in player selection, rookies, and those whiz-bang “specials” that delighted collectors all those years ago and still pack a hobby punch today.

In fact, you’ll find it all below, in our list of the most valuable 1994 Upper Deck baseball cards, as determined from actual selling prices for slabbed specimens in PSA 9 condition.

So, grab your sunglasses and enjoy the show!

(Note: Prices culled from the PSA Auction Prices Realized tool and eBay “sold” listings.)

1) 1994 Upper Deck Michael Jordan Electric Diamond (#19)

So here we have a card that offers up a little bit of everything …

A member of the Star Rookies subset? Check.

An “Electric Diamond” parallel, available for every one of the 550 base cards and issued one per pack? Check.

A Michael Jordan rookie card? Check (though with plenty of asterisks and stuff).

That Michael Jordan?? CHECK!!

Add it all up, an it’s not hard to see why this Jordan card, with all its gaudiness and crossover appeal tops our list here.

Although you’ll probably find a lot of variability in the selling price for this one, it generally comes in around $200 in PSA 9 condition.

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2) 1994 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. Electric Diamond (#224)

This one isn’t anywhere close to being a rookie card, but it is an early-career issue of one of the most electrifying talents of the last several generations … and a guy who came pretty darn close to actualizing all that potential.

With a thin black-and-white duplicate of the main color shot, this card combines the old with the new, evoking memories of those double-picture 1950s Topps cards while loading up on photo quality.

It doesn’t hurt that Junior is doing his superhuman impression here, either, or that this is another Electric Diamond insert.

Expect to pay about $125 for The Kid in slabbed Mint condition.

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3)1994 Upper Deck Alex Rodriguez Electric Diamond (#24)

It’s sort of easy to forget, after all that’s gone down on and off the field over the last 30 years, just how much of a superstar A-Rod was in his younger days.

And just how many hopes and dreams were pinned on the man who seemed destined to break many of the game’s most hallowed records.

As it turned out, of course, Rodriguez is more derided than revered all these years later, and his gargantuan numbers a) aren’t as good as we thought they’d be and b) come with a hefty dose of PED taint.

Still, there is enough of that old A-Rod glitter floating through the sport and the hobby to keep his rookie cards on lists like this one.

Here, his Electric Diamond card checks in around $50-70, though you’ll find prices scattered over a wide range depending on the day and the news cycle.

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4)1994 Upper Deck Michael Jordan (#19)

No electricity here, other than MJ himself and a cardboard reminder of the jolt he brought to the sports world when he retired from the Chicago Bulls and traded his NBA dominance for a chance at the diamond.

That new career ultimately didn’t stick, but Jordan’s popularity sure did, with this rookie card (sorry, 1991 UD) tipping the scales at $50-60 in PSA 9 condition.

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5) 1994 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. (#224)

Even without the official “Electric Diamond” treatment, Junior is electric enough in his own right to make this card a popular buy among collectors.

And you get the same great shot of Griffey as in the higher-priced entry above.

These days, prices fall in the $40-50 range for graded MINT copies.

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6) 1994 Upper Deck Derek Jeter Electric Diamond (#550)

This is no SP juggernaut like, you know, Jeter’s 1993 SP masterpiece.

But this Electric Diamond parallel is still a Derek Jeter rookie card, and that combination goes a long, long way in today’s hobby. There was no one quite like the Yanks’ longtime captain, you know.

And, as with others on this list, some of Jeter’s greatness gets lost in the shuffle of his off-field fame, his post-playing-career front office roles, and the brilliance of those awesome Yankees teams he played for.

There was a time, though, when Captain Clutch looked like he might make a run at Pete Rose‘s all-time hits record of 4256 — like after banging out 216 safeties at age 38 in 2012.

Alas, Jeter ended up with “just” 3465 hits and a waltz into Cooperstown on his first ballot in 2020 (enshrined in 2021 — thanks COVID-19!).

Today, this Jeter RC sells in the $40-60 range when offered in graded MINT condition.

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7) 1994 Upper Deck Alex Rodriguez (#24)

The same ball-flipping young A-Rod at shortstop as in the Electric Diamond entry a few slots above, just without all the zap.

This one runs the meter to around $40 in PSA 9 condition.

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8) 1994 Upper Deck Derek Jeter (#550)

Yep, the base Jeter makes our list, too, minus the full-on current of Electric Diamond.

Mr. November checks in here at about $40 for slabbed mint copies.

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9) 1994 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. The Future Is Now Electric Diamond (#53)

And … yep, yet another Griffey card on this list.

This one hails from the “The Future Is Now” subset featuring 15 young players who were moving into their prime years — Junior, Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas, and others.

These future really was then!

Like the Star Rookies subset, these were printed on “foilboard” and also came in Electric Diamond parallel versions.

It’s that lit-up Griffey that lands here, pulling down around $25 for PSA 9 copies.

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10) 1994 Upper Deck Billy Wagner (#524)

This is one of those cards that sort of sneaks up on you, just like Wagner’s numbers.

One of the most dominant closers in the game during his 16 seasons in the Major Leagues, Wagner’s 422 saves and 27+ WAR put him in the mix for Hall of Fame consideration.

And, with his vote total surpassing 45% for the first time in 2021, it seems like Cooperstown is not that farfetched of a dream destination for the fireballer.

If Wagner does get the call, $25 for a graded MINT copy of his Upper Deck rookie card will seem like a bargain.

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11) 1994 Upper Deck Alex Rodriguez Electric Diamond (#298)

And here comes another three-timer on this list, none other than A-Rod himself.

For a guy who’s sort of entered pariah territory, his cards still cause quite a stir, huh?

This one is part of the five-card Upper Deck Classic Alumni subset that featured MLB players who had previously taken part in an early 1990s high school tournament sponsored by UD.

The other guys? Tavo Alvarez, Matt Brunson, Shawn Green, and Shannon Stewart.

Not quite as awe-inspiring, but they still provided some great moments (especially Green and Stewart).

As for A-Rod, his Electric Diamond version sells for $15-25 in PSA 9 condition.

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12) 1994 Upper Deck Manny Ramirez Electric Diamond (#23)

And speaking of pariahs, Manny Ramirez fell out of favor faster than you can say, “Manny being Manny.”

Once the PED stain landed on Man-Ram, all those silly antics of his over the years sort of lost their charm, and yet another dude we all thought would cruise into Cooperstown probably will have to buy tickets forever.

Still, Ramirez was one of the most astounding hitters in the game for a decade-plus, and his rookie cards still carry some swagger despite all the baggage (even though this one is a rookie in on-card name only).

Expect prices in the $20 range for copies in PSA 9

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Not only did Upper Deck’s third issue present the same basic clean white motif with stunning photos on both card fronts and backs as the 1989 and 1990 sets, but it completed a theme.

Namely, with their 1991 issue, UD came all the way home — the 1989 design featured the first-base line, the 1990 cards had the path from first to second covered, and the 1991s rounded third and raced in for the score.

And, while time has revealed that these dandies were just about as overproduced as all the other 1991 cards, that consistent and high-quality presentation, along with a strong crop of rookie cards, has kept collector interest simmering along.

Here, then, are the ten most popular 1991 Upper Deck baseball cards, as ranked by the number of cards submitted to PSA for grading over the years, according to their Population Report.

Play ball!

1991 Upper Deck Chipper Jones (#55)

This was the era when the rookie card mania from the 1980s met the massive hype and proliferation of cards and sets of the 1990s to ensure that every player had at least a few hundred different rookie cards (hyperbole alert) … and, as early as possible.

So, even though Chipper wouldn’t make his Major League debut until 1993, and even though he wasn’t an actual rookie until 1995, he landed on a “Top Prospect” card here in 1991.

He really was a top prospect, though, and this card has been popular for three decades and counting. That amazing career Jones put together with the Braves, along with a spot in Cooperstown, don’t hurt this card’s swagger any.

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1991 Upper Deck Jeff Bagwell (#755)

Bagwell, on the other hand, landed his UD rookie card just in the nick of time.

After a trade deadline swap that sent him from the Boston Red Sox to the Houston Astros for Larry Andersen in 1990, Bags settled in at first base to open the 1991 season.

He didn’t look back until he was in the Hall of Fame, right there beside fellow Killer B, Craig Biggio.

Probably even more than the Jones card, this Bagwell RC found an immediate home with collectors, driven by Baggy’s Rookie of the Year award in 1991 and his persistent appearance on MVP ballots (he won the award in 1994).

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1991 Upper Deck Mike Mussina (#65)

Like Jones, Mussina got the “prospect” treatment in this set, but he made his debut later in that same summer of 1991.

By the next spring, Moose was ensconced in the Orioles’ rotation, and he would develop into one of the most consistently excellent pitchers in the game over the next two decades.

Mussina’s profile, and that of his cards, got a boost when he moved on to the Yankees in 2001 and helped them capture two American League pennants (2001, 2003).

Though Moose never won a World Series, he did win a Cooperstown plaque in 2019, which always does good things for a fella’s cards.

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1991 Upper Deck Luis Gonzalez (#567)

It’s sort of ironic that Gonzalez shows up as a first baseman for the Astros here on his Upper Deck rookie card given that Bagwell is similarly designated.

Bags, of course, ultimately won the competition at first, with Gonzalez sliding into left field.

Gonzo was solid but unspectacular throughout his Houston tenure, and then in stops with the Cubs and Tigers.

But a 1999 trade that sent him from Detroit to the Arizona Diamondbacks changed the complexion of his career — in eight seasons in the desert, Gonzalez smacked 224 home runs, hit .298, and became a bona fide star … all in his 30s.

That run included a gaudy 57 home runs in 2001, the same year his walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth of game 7 off Mariano Rivera drove in Jay Bell to give the Snakes their first World Series title ever.

Stuff like that tends to make a guy’s rookie card sort of popular … forever.

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1991 Upper Deck Frank Thomas (#246)

Since Thomas had a handful of rookie cards in the various 1990 sets — but not UD — this one technically qualifies as a first Upper Deck card, and not really a rookie card.

Collectors of the day, though, treated this one pretty much on par with the Bagwell rookie as both players heated up that summer.

Thomas had already exhausted his rookie status in 1990, but his 32 home runs, 109 RBI, .318 batting average, and 1.006 OPS in 1991 lit up the game and the hobby.

Big Hurt crashed hobby hotlists right off the bat, and he remained a popular figure all throughout his 19-year Hall of Fame career, and beyond.

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1991 Upper Deck Mark McGwire (#174)

Big Mac would hit the first bump in his career road the summer this card was issued, bottoming out with a .201 batting average and just 22 home runs.

He would rebound to a large extent in 1992 before injuries (and The Strike) limited him to just 178 games from 1993 through 1995.

Of course, it all turned around in 1996, when he topped 50 home runs for the first time, and then came the historic homer barrage in the late 1990s. That rocketed his cards to the top of the hobby, and, though the steroid scandal that followed dinged his reputation significantly, McGwire maintains a strong collector base even today.

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1991 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. (#555)

Junior was already one of the most exciting players in the game in 1991, but he didn’t really explode until he found his power stroke in 1993.

Still, this card was a popular buy right out of the pack as it continued the run of great Griffey Upper Deck cards that began with #1 in the 1989 set and continued with a smiling “Kid” in 1990.

Today, there are few more popular retired players in the hobby, and among fans in general, than Griffey.

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1991 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan (#345)

Anyone who saw Nolan Ryan’s move to the Texas Rangers before the 1989 season as nice, quiet way to wind down his long career got a loud wake up call right off the bat.

A 300-strikeout season at age 42 grabbed us all by the throat and shouted that Ryan wasn’t close to being done, and then no-hitters in both 1990 and 1991 — along with continued K dominance — stomped home the point.

By the time 1991 Upper Deck debuted, Ryan’s rookie was lighting the hobby on fire, and all of his cards have continued to sit near the top of the collecting world for three decades running.

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1991 Upper Deck Bernie Williams (#11)

Though he predated the vaunted Core Four of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams was a key contributor to the Yankees dynasty of the late 1990s and 2000s.

Williams was a perennial 5-to-6 WAR guy, and it’s hard to imagine the Yanks winning four World Series titles in five seasons without Bernie in center field.

Though Williams was more consistently excellent than in-your-face amazing, he slowly built a strong hobby following, and his rookie cards (this is a “first Upper Deck” card) in particular remain popular today.

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1991 Upper Deck Cal Ripken Jr. (#347)

After a few seasons of declining performance — by traditional statistical standards, anyway — Ripken busted out with probably his greatest season ever in 1991, including a .323 batting average, 34 home runs, and 114 RBI.

That was good enough to garner the Iron Man his second MVP award (1983 being the other), and to elevate his hobby status to even higher levels than before.

Suffice it to say, collectors were happier than ever to pull a Cal card from packs that summer.

As Ripken closed in on Lou Gehrig‘s record for consecutive games played over the next few seasons, he further cemented his “legend” status, and his cards are almost always among the most popular of whatever set he appears in.

The 1991 Upper Deck issue is no exception.

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Clean lines, great photography, lots of whitespace.

The 1992 set pretty much lived up to that billing, though with just a bit more color to its base design than in the first three years of its run.

And, while these cards were pretty much as overproduced as the rest of the issues of the era, there’s still plenty to love after all these years.

Here, then are the ten most popular 1992 Upper Deck baseball cards, as ranked by the total number of each submitted for grading, according to the PSA Population Report.

1992 Upper Deck Manny Ramirez (#63)

Manny has fallen on hard times, reputation wise, in recent years, and you have to lay the blame for that at his own feet.

But the fact remains that he was one of the most exciting hitters of the last 30 years or so, and he was a key member of some great Indians and Red Sox teams.

Ramirez has always had a reputation for being a bit flaky — you know, “Manny being Manny,” and all that — but the numbers carried him to hobby stardom, and this fresh-faced rookie card is still a popular buy among collectors.

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1992 Upper Deck Shawn Green (#55)

For a few years there in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Green looked like a legitimate Triple Crown threat, and his profile only grew once he left Toronto for the Hollywood lights of the Dodgers.

Unfortunately, Green’s decline phase was steep, and much of his lofty status on this list owes to early submissions that likely wouldn’t even happen today.

Still, the man was a superstar, and this rookie card will always have a fanbase.

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1992 Upper Deck Pedro Martinez Star Rookie (#18)

When this card was issued, young Pedro still had a lot of work to do to live up to the legacy of his older brother, Ramon Martinez, Dodgers ace.

Suffice it to say, after a Hall of Fame career that included some legendary years with the Boston Red Sox, Pedro has bragging rights at family gatherings these days.

Any Martinez card is a winner, and that goes double for a clean, snazzy looking RC like this one.

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1992 Upper Deck Jim Thome Star Rookie (#5)

So there was this scene in Major League where Tom Berenger …

Wait, that’s not right. Here ….

So there was this scene in Bull Durham where Kevin Costner …

No, that’s not it, either.

How about …

So there was this card in 1992 Upper Deck that featured a young slugger named Jim Thome, who would go on to hit more than 600 home runs in the Major Leagues.

Yeah, that’s it. And this Thome rookie card has been popular in the hobby for three decades and counting.

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1992 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. (#424)

This is not a rookie card, but it doesn’t really matter when it comes to Ken Griffey, Jr.

This is Junior, The Kid, one of the top 10-12 (or 5-6 or whatever) players who ever stepped on the field.

So, yeah, any Junior card is going to be popular, and this early-career Griffey is pretty interesting, to boot — horizontal layout, triple exposure, home run swing (don’t you think?).

That’s a winning hobby combination!

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1992 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan (#655)

Ryan was in the midst of his late-career renaissance when this card was issued, a renaissance spurred on by all sorts of records and milestones more so than any kind of comeback.

Because, truly, The Ryan Express rolled through MLB for 27 years with hardly any slowdown at all until he finally pulled into the station in 1993.

This card features a pensive Ryan perhaps trying to decide when he’s going to throw his next no-hitter.

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1992 Upper Deck Cal Ripken Jr. (#165)

If anyone was more popular in the hobby than Nolan Ryan as 1992 dawned, it just may have been Cal Ripken, Jr.

The Iron Man had silenced critics who said he should sit for awhile, take a load off, by putting up a monster career year in 1991 to win his second American League MVP award.

That cleared the way for a smooth run-in to his assault on Lou Gehrig‘s consecutive games played record, which Cal would topple in 1995 to help baseball heal from that ugly players strike that canceled the 1994 World Series.

Yep, Cal always has been and always will be a wax pack god, and this card is no exception (even though it came from a foil pack).

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1992 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr.(Most Exciting Player) (#650)

Ho hum … another Griffey card, another slot on our “most popular” list. This pasteboard is more conventional than the magic-motion-like entry above, but it does tout Junior as the “Most Exciting Player.”

Hard to argue with that assessment, even if the photo is a bit mundane.

Collectors will take any Griffey we can get our hands on, after all.

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1992 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan Rangers Checklist (#92)

Perhaps trying to keep up with Score and their father-son laser-beam special from that gargantuan 1991 set of theirs, Upper Deck followed up here by treating collectors to a painted version of Nolan Ryan mentoring son Reese on the front of a checklist card.

Bonus points for featuring the artwork of Vernon Wells, Sr., father of former Blue Jays standout Vernon Wells, Jr., and a frequent UD contributor.

Great stuff that collectors still love.

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1992 Upper Deck George Brett (#444)

Brett entered 1992 within shouting distance of the mark that seemed his destiny almost from the moment he first stepped on the diamond for the Kansas City Royals in 1973 — 3000 career hits.

He made it to that hallowed mark late in the season, then played one more summer before hanging up his spikes.

This Upper Deck card, showing Brett doing what he did best, was right there with collectors all through his historic campaign, and it’s an image that grips us still, even after all these years.

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 field climb to their perch by taking calculated risks, and collectors witnessed this concept firsthand when 1990 Upper Deck baseball cards hit store shelves that spring.

The year before, UD had immediately established itself as a disruptive force in the baseball card business not only for their revolutionary yet classic card design, but also for the audacity of making a ROOKIE the very first card in their very first set.

Sure, pegging Ken Griffey, Jr., as the poster child for UD looks like a stroke of genius nearly three decades later, but the truth is that it was a gamble that paid off.

So, how would Upper Deck leverage that bit of luck as it planned out the prime slot in its sophomore issue?

While Topps led off its 1990 offering with a string of Nolan Ryan cards and Donruss treated collectors to a Bo Jackson Diamond Kings pasteboard, UD once again went their own way. After all it takes the swagger of a leader, a champion, to start off your base set — your only set that really mattered at all at the time — with a checklist.

And coming into the 1990 collecting season, Upper Deck clearly was the champion of the card-makers, excepting perhaps the hue and cry of a few traditionalists who couldn’t stomach paying more than 40 cents for a pack of baseball cards.

Just as surely, card #1 in UD’s sophomore effort was nothing but a bunch of text and a gaudy drawing — the Star Rookie Checklist.

BORING OR CLASSIC?

Upper Deck was willing to forgo making card #1 a centerpiece of their set for three reasons: 1) they were king of the hill (see above); 2) their #1 could at least bank on the cachet of “Rookie”; and 3) they were backed by an award-winning design.

In fact, at first glance, and especially if you didn’t live through the boom years, you might have trouble distinguishing the 1990 Upper Deck cards from the 1989 Upper Deck cards — and from the 1991 Upper Deck cardsb for that matter. As in the previous year, UD’s 1990 issue was focused on presenting bright, crisp photos of the players we loved to watch, in a mix of posed and action shots.

Aside from that huge photo that covers more than 80% of available real estate, card fronts feature very little in the way of design. On the left-hand side of the lower white border, the player’s name appears in small black letters, with the team logo just above, in the lower left-hand corner of the photo itself.

Whereas the right-hand border of the 1989 set showed a first-base line capped by, well, first base, 1990 cards feature only a clean white strip to the right. Instead, the Upper Deck logo picks up the action in the upper right-hand corner, and a baseline extends along the upper border to the left, terminating in a small “second base,” inside of which is the player’s position in black letters.

Of course, the design of Upper Deck baseball cards does not stop on the front. When you turn one over, you’re treated to a color and techno explosion that dwarfed the card fronts of most sets made to that point.

In the top left-hand corner of the vertical layout is the card number in black type, with the fabled Upper Deck hologram to its right. Collectors were skeptical about the supposed anti-counterfeiting device during UD’s first few years, but we quickly became accustomed to such wizardry, and it was a milestone on the path toward the super premium brands that were to follow.

Beneath these two, which stake out the left-hand third of the card, are the MLB and MLBPA logos. Rounding out the panel is a block containing the player’s name and team name, along with his position and vital stats and a table with up to five years of statistics, plus career totals. The right-hand two-thirds of each card is devoted to another crisp, beautiful full-color image of the player.

The Upper Deck card back seemed to be a direct throat punch aimed at Topps, who never (well, almost never — see 1971) included photos on card backs and who always took grief for their dingy brown card stock. The blazing white borders on the fronts AND backs of UD cards were almost blinding by comparison.

GREENHORNS AND GREATS

Of course, no set could get by on its design alone, especially during the end-cap years of the 1980s and 1990s when the rookie card blaze was still burning out of control. And, while the 1990 Upper Deck set never could boast of a surefire legend on the order of Junior Griffey, it did fine in the realm of first-year standouts.

Among the rookie cards from the 1990 Upper Deck set that still draw interest decades later are Sammy Sosa (#17),  Juan Gonzalez (#72), John Olerud (#56), and Larry Walker (#466).

Beyond this quartet, though, several other players who made their UD debut in 1990 have caused their own ripples in the market, including Marquis Grissom (#9), Eric Anthony (#28), Bob Hamelin (#45), Jose Offerman (#46), Ben McDonald (#54), Kevin Maas (#70), and Dean Palmer (#74). These lower number cards were tagged with the “Star Rookie” designation, as was Deion Sanders (#13), even though that pasteboard is not a “true” rookie.

Even in 1990, there were plenty of hobbyists more interested in particular star players than in rookies, and Upper Deck had sufficient room to showcase the game’s best among their 700-card base set. Ranging from Jose Canseco (#66) to Kevin Mitchell (#117), and from Orel Hershiser (#256) to Dennis Eckersley (#513), UD had every big name you could ask for.

Beyond the “normal” card for each star, however, Upper Deck also offered paintings of one player from each team on the front of club checklist cards, ranging from ho-hum choices like Steve Sax for the New York Yankees (#18) to Hall of Famers like Robin Yount for the Milwaukee Brewers (#91). And, even though Julio Franco somehow pulled the checklist rug out from under Nolan Ryan for the Texas Rangers (#82), Upper Deck still saw fit to include two different cards of The Express: a 5000K card at #34 and Ryan’s base card at #544.

GET UD HIGH!

If all of that nearly-full-bleed magic weren’t enough Upper Deck goodness for you, all you had to do was wait until late in the season. That’s when UD jumped into the update set foray with a concept they called their “High Number Series.”

Of course, issuing cards in series was not a new idea to veteran collectors, but it was considered dated in 1990. Ever since Topps had ditched multiple series in favor of one big issue per year in 1974, we had come to view the former as a quaint practice of the past.

Never mind that Topps themselves continued to issue cards in stages throughout most of the intervening years in the form of their own Traded Series.

But Upper Deck took a different tact to update sets than Topps or Fleer ever had.

Rather than issuing the cards as a dedicated box set OR putting them in their own Mylar-pack boxes, UD slid their high numbers in with cards from the lower 700 and wrapped them 15 cards to a pack and 36 packs to a box, same as always.

As you might expect from a late issue, the 1990 Upper Deck high numbers were loaded with players who had changed teams and rookies who made an impact but whom UD had missed the first time around.

Among the notable veterans making a high-number appearance were Willie Randolph (#704), John Franco (#709), Jeff Reardon (#729), Dave Winfield (#745), Dave Parker (#766), and Cecil Fielder (#786).

“New” rookie cards in the upper 100 included David Justice (#711), Carlos Baerga (#737), Delino DeShields (#746), and David Segui (#773).

Upper Deck also treated collectors to an “updated” Nolan Ryan card (#734), as The Ryan Express did indeed join a new club — the 300-Win Club — on July 31, 1990.

HERO AND HARBINGER

Even though Upper Deck had forged their initial success at least partly on the shoulders of a young man who had yet to become a superstar (Griffey), they weren’t content to build on just current players in 1990. Perhaps inspired by Ryan, the ageless wonder, Upper Deck set out to make a recently retired legend one of the centerpieces of their marketing strategy.

Specifically, they produced a 10-card set of “Baseball Heroes” that featured eight different milestones in the career of Reggie Jackson, p
lus a checklist, plus an artwork “topper” card showing Reggie with each of three teams (A’s, Yankees, Angels), along with a Baltimore Orioles hat. These cards were inserted in high-number packs, and the entire operation was dubbed, “Find the Reggie.”

As an added incentive, Jackson signed and numbered 2500 of those topper cards, effectively giving birth to the modern chase card.

Certainly, the chance of pulling a Reggie autograph was more compelling than the promise of “A Minimum of One 3-D Team Logo Hologram,” as their Mylar wrappers proclaimed.  And since it was Mr. October, the nostalgia factor was steep enough to draw in even veteran collectors who naturally preferred the pink death-by-gum offered up by Topps packs.

Still today, and although 2500 is not a *small* print run, the autographed Reggie topper card sells for more than $100 in ungraded condition. And, despite the continued wide availability of 1990 Upper Deck packs, the chance to pull a Reggie is enough to entice the occasional impulse purchase.

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF CARDBOARD

If you’ve followed along this far, then you know that the 1990 Upper Deck set featured 700 base cards, 100 high-number cards, 10 Reggie Jackson cards, 1 Reggie Jackson autograph card, and 26 team logo cards (in 3-D!).

But if you’re the sort who has to have everything or nothing at all, then the 1990 set might prove more challenging than it first appears.

To begin, there are a handful of interesting misspellings among the first 100 or so cards, including such doozies as “suprising” news about Mike Schmidt’s retirement (#20) and the ever-popular “definately” (#42), which has definitely tripped up more than a few inattentive wordsmiths over the years.

These were never corrected, however, so they won’t do much extra for you other than maybe make you feel better about your own shortcomings.

There are, on the other hand, several variations which make building a master set quite an endeavor.

Some of the more obvious of these include:

• Ben McDonald (#54) can be found with either the Orioles or Star Rookie logo on front.
• The Mickey Tettleton checklist card (#60) lists #683 as either Jamie Weston (ERR) or Mickey Weston (COR).
• Andy McGaffigan’s (#597) card shows either McGaffigan or Rich Thompson.
• Ditto for #89, which shows either Rick Reed (ERR) or Jim Gott (CORR).
• Nolan Ryan’s #734 can be found with and without the “300th Win” stripe.

Then, starting at number 101 (Gerald Perry), the wheels fell off the Upper Deck printing press. From there through #199 (Al Newman), every card exists either with or without the copyright date on the back of the card.

A minor variation? Sure, you bet.

But if you want to collect EVERY possible variant of 1990 Upper Deck, you have to get all these babies, too. If that’s where you find yourself, and you want to see every known error and variation in gory black-and-white detail (and usually with photos), check out The Trading Card Database, as they’ve done a typically bang-up job of cataloging the E & V love.

For our purposes, just know that a master set of 1990 Upper Deck baseball will come in somewhere north of 950 cards when you add in the base set, the high series, the Reggies, the 3-D team logos, and the goodies in this section.

THAT’S A LOT OF CARDS — WHO HAS THAT KIND OF MONEY?

Considering that we’re talking about nearly 1000 of the finest, most technologically advanced baseball cards that 1990 had to offer, it must cost an arm and a leg to collect second-year Upper Deck cards, right?

Not unless you’re in the habit of giving away your limbs for free.

Even a second-year Ken Griffey, Jr., card in the highest graded condition (PSA 10) checks in at around $100, and graded specimens of other cards from the set just go down from there.

You can find low-number unopened boxes for $5-10, and the high-number series run about the same despite the chance to pull a signed Reggie.

And if you paid more than $10 or so for a complete factory set anytime this decade, you might have been had. You can also occasionally find complete runs of the “no copyright” cards for a reasonable sum, and that includes Griffey and Craig Biggio.

So are these cards worthless? Only if you don’t have the memory or imagination to let them tug you into the sunlit outfields of 1989, before we knew what PEDs or Florida Marlins were.

For the rest of us, 1990 Upper Deck baseball cards are an affordable — and gorgeous — reminder of simpler times, when the hobby and the game held us spellbound all summer long.

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Look, we all know that the Ken Griffey, Jr., rookie card is the greatest card in the 1989 Upper Deck set.

I admitted as much when I anointed it as the best card in all of 1989 last year as part of a similar (but different) series of posts on the best card from each year from 1960-89.

Heck, the Junior rookie is one of the greatest baseball cards of all time when you consider everything. It’s the first card in the first set of cards from a company (Upper Deck) that changed the hobby forever, and it pictures a once-in-a-generation player in Griffey.

It looks pretty darn good, too.

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But I’ve already written about that card, so it can’t be my choice for best 1989 Upper Deck card here and now (unless it somehow morphs into a catcher card — then we can talk). Them’s just the rules.

So that frees us up to thumb through the other bazillion 1989 Upper Deck cards in search of The Best 1989 Upper Deck Card, Senior Division (as opposed to Junior, get it?).

There are plenty of strong candidates, too:

• Ramon Martinez banking into a turn as he prepares to land a pitch on his rookie card (#18)
• John Smoltz looking in for the sign from his rookie card (#17)
• Gary Sheffield actually *smiling* in the dugout on his rookie card (#13)
• Bo Jackson on the hot corner  talking with Royals third base coach Adrian Garrett about how easy it will be to score on card #221
• A young and lean(ish) Kirby Puckett leading off first base with Mark McGwire lurking and hulking behind (#376)

They’re all great, and they’re not alone. Love it or hate it, you have to admit that 1989 Upper Deck is jammed full of some of the best photography the hobby had ever seen.

So which is the best card among the non-Junior crowd?

As with so many of my selections in this series, it comes down to personal choice, guided by aesthetics and a sense of history.

Setting Junior aside, then, the best baseball card in the 1989 Upper Deck set is McGwire’s own pasteboard at #300.

By that point in history, of course, everyone knew that Big Mac was a slugger (if not a hitter) of Ruthian proportions. McGwire had smashed the rookie home run record with 49 in 1987, after all.

He followed that up with 32 home runs and 99 RBI as the Oakland A’s rolled to an American League pennant in 1988.

With 1989 dawning, the young slugger was looking to bounce back to the 50-homer potential he displayed as a rookie, and Upper Deck captured the feeling of giant expectations — and ability — that swirled around McGwire.

Big Mac stands in stark profile against a twilight sky, just a young baseball god and his weapon (a wooden baseball bat). The camera angle helps McGwire dwarf the trees in the background and makes it seem like anything is possible.

There is also a striking desolation, a loneliness, to the shot, and the overall effect is eerily prescient.

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Within 10 years, McGwire would demolish Roger Maris‘s single-season home run record by slamming 70 of his own in 1998, and he’d also separate himself from the pack as a legendary slugger.

But there is sometimes a fine line between standing alone and being alone, and the whispers of steroid use that exploded to shouts in the late 2000s helped to separate McGwire from the game he loves.

There has since been some repair as Big Mac has moved back into the game as a coach, but what once looked like a surefire Hall of Fame resume still has him on the outside looking in at Cooperstown.

No matter what, though, he’ll always have the Best 1989 Upper Deck Baseball Card, Non-Junior Division.

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This is the 30th in our series of posts about the best baseball cards from the 1980s. Check out the rest of those posts here.

You might also enjoy our complete rundown of Mark McGwire rookie cards.

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