To wit, for the first time since 1955, Topps was not the only game in town — both Fleer and Donruss issued baseball cards in 1981 after Fleer’s landmark antitrust victory over Topps in 1980.

While none of the three sets was spectacular, Topps cards were arguably the most solid and consistent of the bunch. And, even after all these years and even though there are still plenty to go around, they continue to draw interest on the secondary market.

So, which of the 1981 Topps baseball cards are most valuable?

To find out, I consulted PSA’s Auction Prices Realized tool, which compiles auction results for PSA-graded cards.

Here, then, are the top 15 “little hat” cards, based on sales of PSA 9 copies (the most common grade PSA has handed out for this set).

(Note: The following sections contains affiliate links to listings for the cards being discussed.)

15) 1981 Topps Tom Seaver (#220)

If it weren’t for a certain young phenom wearing Dodger blue, Seaver almost certainly would have won the 1981 National League Cy Young Award.

As things turned out, Seaver had to settle for leading the majors — for the last time — in wins, with 14, while sporting a stingy 2.54 ERA.

And, though the Reds put up the best record in the majors, Cincy missed out on the playoffs thanks to the funky split-season format, leaving this classic card as perhaps our best reminder of a glorious — if truncated — summer.

Value: $35-40

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14) 1981 Topps Willie Stargell (#380)

By the time 1981 rolled around, Stargell had just three home runs left in his powerful bat, but his status as Pirates legend had long been established.

And the (yes!) powerful image on his 1981 Topps card is enough to remind us — if we’ve somehow let it fade — of just how great he was.

It’s also enough to fit right in with the Hall of Famer’s other classic baseball cards.

Value: $40-45

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13) 1981 Topps Steve Carlton (#630)

Carlton copped his third NL Cy Young award in 1980 at the “advanced” age of 35 … and he’d add a fourth two years later.

And even a year after THAT, Carlton won a strikeout title as the Phillies returned to the World Series in 1983.

Though he’s been out of the limelight for a long time now, Lefty remains one of the greatest to ever trod the mound, and his cards sort of simmer along in the upper reaches of each set without making a lot of noise.

This 1981 Topps card even features a smile – sort of a rarity with Carlton.

Value: $35-50

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12) 1981 Topps Mike Schmidt (#206)

Was Mike Schmidt the greatest third baseman of all time?

All signs point to yes, and this card points to Schmitty right in the midst of his absolute prime.

He had just won the 1980 NL MVP award, after all, and led the Phillies to a championship, and he’d win another MVP in 1981.

And yet another in 1986.

Schmidt’s cards don’t set off alarm bells very often, but like the man himself, they maintain a huge and dedicated fan base today.

Value: $40-50

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11) 1981 Topps Dale Murphy (#504)

This card may have raised a few eyebrows outside of Atlanta in 1981, but the arch was probably fairly low.

After all, though Murphy was emerging as a real power threat, crashing 23, 21, and 33 home runs from 1978 through 1980, the Braves were bad … improving to merely mediocre as a new decade dawned.

And besides, it was third baseman Bob Horner who was going to be the REAL star in Atlanta.

Then, of course, Murphy won MVP awards in both 1982 and 1983 as he emerged as one of the top handful of players in the game.

Though Murphy’s Coopertown star dimmed during a rapid decline phase, his cards still scorch today, and there is plenty of groundswell for him to eventually make the HOF cut.

This 1981 Topps issue is a microcosm of all that, capturing the young Murph just on the precipice of his breakout.

Value: $45-55

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10) 1981 Topps Pete Rose (#180)

Yep, Pete Rose bet on baseball, and maybe even in more nefarious ways than we already know about, than he’s already admitted.

We may never know the full truth, and it’s looking like Pete’s lifetime ban will never be lifted. If that holds, he won’t gain Hall of Fame election while he’s still alive.

But for baseball card collectors, Pete Rose achieved Cooperstown status long before the hobby boom of the 1980s, and he never really lost it.

Thanks to Rose’s run at Ty Cobb‘s all-time hits record in 1985, right as the cardboard frenzy was skyrocketing, Charlie Hustle became the second living player ignite a constant and escalating demand for his cards.

Mickey Mantle was the first.

When Rose tumbled in 1989, his cards slid back a bit, and then the explosion of the 1990s and 2000s sorta soured everyone on most everything. But, while Mantle more or less held his own, Rose cards took to the comeback trail.

Today, despite his Hall of Fame deficiency, Rose cards are back near the top of every set they’re in.

This 1981 Topps card is something of an early Junk Wax Era classic, showing Rose as he looked in helping lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the 1980 World Series title.

For all that, this card and just about every other Rose are pretty much as popular as ever.

Value: $45-60

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9) 1981 Topps George Brett (#700)

Coming off an amazing 1980 season that saw him hit .390 and lead the Kansas City Royals to the World Series en route to an American League MVP award, George Brett was one of the hottest names in the game entering the 1981 season.

And, though, the Pine Tar man cooled off considerably during that strike-torn summer, he still made another All-Star appearance and helped K.C. to yet another playoff appearance.

And, of course, Brett went on to fulfill his Hall of Fame promise while also finally landing a World Series trophy with the Royals (in 1985).

These days, all of Brett’s baseball cards are hobby royalty, and the 1981 Topps is no exception.

Value: $50-65

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8) 1981 Topps Tim Raines Rookie Card (#479)

If it weren’t for Rickey Henderson (see below), we might be talking about Tim Raines as the greatest all-around leadoff man in Major League Baseball history.

As it stands, Raines was a dynamite package of power and speed who terrorized pitchers for two decades, even though he played in the shadow of teammates Andre Dawson and Gary Carter with the Montreal Expos for much of his prime.

And, of course, in Henderson’s shadow like, forever.

Still, his 1981 Topps rookie card has been a collector favorite for nearly four decades now.

Value: $65-75

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7) 1981 Topps Reggie Jackson (#400)

Few players were as loved and hated at the same time as Reggie Jackson was during the 1970s and early 1980s.

But, hey, that’s what happens when you talk a lot of smack and then go out on the field and back it all up with your bat.

Even though he was already a superstar when he hooked on with the New York Yankees in 1977, it was his time in the Bronx that turned Reggie into a bona fide legend, a Candy Bar, and Mr. October.

By the time this card was issued, Reggie was starting to show his age just a bit, but superb conditioning and that ego kept him swinging away and producing at near-peak levels.

And, sometimes, baseball cards get a boost by just looking so darn good — like this one.

Value: $75-95

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6) 1981 Topps Johnny Bench (#600)

Even all these years later, Johnny Bench is still widely considered the greatest catcher of all time, even though most of his records have fallen to others over the last three decades.

No matter what, though, Bench is the guy who revolutionized offensive production from the catcher position and helped drive The Big Red Machine to all that 1970s glory.

Fans and collectors haven’t forgotten Bench’s accomplishments, either, as evidenced by the value of his baseball cards and regular appearances on lists like this.

Value: $75-115

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5) 1981 Topps Harold Baines Rookie Card (#347)

By all accounts, Baines is a classy guy who was among the first players to play more games at designated hitter than in the field.

Over 22 years, he collected 2866 hits and 384 home runs for five different franchises, all in the American League. His Hall of Fame election has come under a ton of scrutiney, but , with close to 3000 hits and 400 homers, there’s no doubt Baines was a star during his career.

In the end, Baines was a six-time all-star who fell off the Cooperstown ballot after five tries … but then made the Veterans Committee cut in 2019.

As a hobby bonus, Baines was a pretty awesome hitter who somehow avoided the multi-player purgatory of 1981 Topps rookie cards.

Thanks to that Cooperstown plaque, his Harold-only issue is a bit more desirable than it was a few years ago.

Value: $90-105

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4) 1981 Topps Nolan Ryan (#240)

From just about the time he signed with the Texas Rangers in 1988, Nolan Ryan has sat at or near the top of every baseball card set he ever appeared in.

That’s the point at which fans and collectors started to realize that The Ryan Express just may roll on forever, and that meant he had a shot at all sorts of records and milestones.

The hell of it is … he reached most of them — seven no-hitters, 5000+ strikeouts, 300+ wins, an epic punch to Robin Ventura‘s face.

Yep, Ryan stamped his legend for good in the early 1990s, and cards like this 1981 Topps Astros issue were pulled along for the ride.

Value: $100-125

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3) 1981 Topps Rickey Henderson (#261)

After a mid-season call-up in 1979, Rickey Henderson turned in his first full season in the Major Leagues in 1980.

Oh, and coincidentally, he also turned in his first 100-stolen base season and served notice that the recently retired Lou Brock might have reason to sweat. The former St. Louis Cardinals superstar had set just about every stolen base record you could imagine, but Rickey had the tools and drive to demolish them all.

And so he did …

In 1982, Henderson set the single-season mark with 130 steals, then added 108 in 1983 to become the first three-time 100-steal guy.

Brock’s all-time stolen base record fell early in 1991, and then Rickey kept piling on for another 12 years.

By the time he retired in 2003, Henderson had established himself as one of the all-time greats — not just on the basepaths but at the dish, as well.

Final numbers included 3055 hits, 297 home runs, 1115 RBI, 2295 runs, 2190 walks, and 1406 stolen bases. The runs and SBs are all-time records and helped build Henderson’s reputation as the greatest leadoff hitter ever.

No wonder his second-year Topps card is STILL a collector favorite.

Value: $120-130

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2) 1981 Topps Kirk Gibson Rookie Card (#315)

Unlike Fernando Valenzuela, it took Kirk Gibson awhile to get rolling in the Big Leagues after the Detroit Tigers made him their first-round pick in the 1978 draft out of Michigan State.

By the time his rookie cards hit store shelves in 1981, though, Gibsion was ready to show his goods and batted .328 with nine home runs, 40 RBI, and 17 steals in the short season. He was a key part of Detroit’s historic World Series run in 1984 and then had his signature moment in Game 1 of the 1988 Fall Classic with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In case you don’t remember, that was the night Gibson basically crawled out of the dugout to hit a game-winning home run into the Los Angeles darkness. Anyone who didn’t see Roy Hobbs rounding the bases that evening just wasn’t paying attention.

Gibson’s path to the Hall of Fame was littered with busted bodyparts, and he never quite made it as far as some thought he might have.

Still, his 1981 Topps rookie card — on which he appears alone — maintains a strong hobby presence these days.

Value: $125-175

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1) 1981 Topps Fernando Valenzuela and Mike Scioscia Rookie Card (#302)

When Fernandomania swept the nation in 1981, the hobby fell right in line.

Hot on the heels of Joe Charboneau‘s slugging rookie season and not far removed from the excitement of The Bird — Mark Fidrych — in 1976, we were ready for our next phenom. And, boy did Fernando Valenzuela deliver!

In that strike-torn season, Fernando went 13-7 with a 2.48 ERA and tossed eight shutouts among his 11 complete games while helping the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series. All of that was good enough to snag both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards in the NL for Valenzuela, and he finished fifth in MVP voting.

Fernando shared his Topps rookie card that year with second baseman Jack Perconte and catcher Mike Scioscia, the latter of whom you might recognize.

Valenzuela never quite lived up to his hype after that amazing rookie season but still turned in a long, productive career. Couple that with Scioscia’s own solid numbers as a player and his success as a manager, and it’s little wonder this card is still a hobby star.

Value: $150-200

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1981 Topps Traded

Topps had been dabbling with various forms of “traded” cards for about a decade (or more!) by the time Fleer and Donruss entered the market.

But it was in the fall of 1981, on the heels of a full season of head-to-head competition that Topps finally took the plunge and issued a full-out, standalone boxed set featuring rookies and players who had been traded during the season (or too late in the 1980-81 offseason to be reflected in the base set).

Though it was slow to catch on, 1981 Topps Traded has become a hobby standard over the years.

Here are the most valuable of the lot, starting at the bottom of the top 7 and moving up from there.

7) 1981 Topps Traded Dave Winfield (#855)

Dave Winfield had a lot to live up to entering the 1981 season, thanks to the 10-year $23-million contract he signed with the Yankees late in 1980.

The future Hall of Famer eventually gave George Steinbrenner plenty of production and memories (and some turmoil) for all those dollars, and he also gave collectors a thrill by bringing yet another big bat to Yankee cardboard.

Starting, of course, with this 1981 Topps Traded dandy.

Value: $15-20

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6) 1981 Topps Traded Rollie Fingers (#761)

This may be the most iconic 1981 baseball card of all, thanks to 1) Fingers signature mustache, 2) the old-school kneeling pose, 3) the Cy Young-MVP twofer Rollie pulled off in 1981, and the 1982 Topps Kmart set that immortalized the entire card in miniature.

And, of course, it doesn’t hurt that Fingers took his show all the way to Cooperstown.

Value: $15-20

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5) 1981 Topps Traded Carlton Fisk (#762)

You can thank Haywood Sullivan for this cards, seeing as how the Boston general manager “accidentally” mailed out a 1981 contract to Carlton Fisk two days after the deadline.

Oops.

That eventually rendered Pudge a free agent, and he ended up with brand new Sox … and a nod to the same from Topps.

Value: $15-25

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4) 1981 Topps Traded Bert Blyleven (#738)

Blyleven may look like he’s 50 years old on this card, but he’s really right around 30.

Probably the stress of moving from the always-stout Pirates to the mistake-by-the-lake Indians that have him all crinkly looking … or maybe it’s all the home runs he gave up.

Whatever the case, Cleveland turned out to be a pretty decent stop for Blyleven’s career, as he put several more Hall-of-Fame building blocks into place while toiling for some pretty bad teams.

And this card was there at the very beginning. Booyah!

Value: $15-30

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3) 1981 Topps Traded Danny Ainge Rookie Card (#727)

Before Ainge helped the Boston Celtics gun for NBA titles on a perennial basis in the 1980s, he was a 15th-round draft pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977.

Toiling for an expansion franchise has its benefits, and Ainge managed to climb the minor league ladder despite mediocre numbers. His three-year run in the majors ended the same year – 1981 – his rookie cards debuted, as he wisely decided to return to the hardwood.

Still, Ainge’s hoops success and his continued high profile as a Celtics executive have kept his RC afloat all these years.

Value: $30-40

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2) 1981 Topps Traded Tim Raines Rookie Card (#816)

Raines may not have engendered a “Timania” to match Fernando’s own hype wave, but the Montreal speedster had the last laugh – a Cooperstown plaque.

And, like Valenzuela, Raines made the jump from three-man anonymity in the base set to single-player rookie card stardom in 1981 Topps Traded.

Value: $80-110

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1) 1981 Topps Traded Fernando Valenzuela Rookie Card (#850)

You could make a pretty strong case that this card is the entire reason the 1981 Topps Traded set and standalone traded/update sets in general exist at all.

After all, with a full-blown mania underway and real competition for the first time in a quarter century, Topps saw an opportunity to make some hay, and they struck … hard.

This first standalone Topps Fernando card is as iconic as any pasteboard issued by any company that year, and it remains a strong seller.

Value: $150-200

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Can you imagine the pressure on 1981 Fleer baseball cards?

I mean, here they were, simple cardboard rectangles, but they had the weight of decades on their shoulders.

See, Fleer had been battling Topps since at least the late 1950s (remember that 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set?) for the right to issue cards of current players.

The cardboard giant shot down the upstart time and again, and the skirmishes eventually escalated to a full-on court battle in the 1970s.

That dragged on for several years until Fleer finally prevailed in 1980 — they could print their own cards! (And they got a cool $1 settlement out of the deal).

Against that backdrop, Fleer rushed to work and put together an inaugural set that looked pretty decent on the surface but that was riddled with problems once you looked a little deeper — errors, suspect print quality, etc.

Still, this is a historical set, and it remains a popular target for collectors all these years later, and that means there’s some dollars in them there stacks — at least in some cases.

Here, then, are the most valuable 1981 Fleer baseball cards, as listed in PSA 9 condition by the PSA Sports Market Report Price Guide.

Let’s rip right in …

1981 Fleer Fernando Valenzuela Rookie Card (#140)

Fernandomania swept through not just baseball, but all of America in 1981, as 20-year-old left-hander Fernando Valenzuela emerged as maybe the best pitcher in all of baseball.

As a rookie for the Los Angeles Dodgers — who would win the World Series that fall — Fernando led the National League with 25 games started, 11 complete games, eight shutouts, and 180 innings.

Those numbers were all the more amazing given that the 1981 season was ripped apart by the players’ strike, and Valenzuela’s sterling performance resulted in a 13-7 record with a 2.48 ERA. That showing garnered the youngster both the NL Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards.

While he was piling up those gaudy marks, collectors were busy looking for Fernando cardboard, and that’s where Fleer was able to make hay.

Because, while Topps featured Valenzuela on a three-player future stars card with Mike Scioscia and Jack Perconte, and while Donruss whiffed on him completely, Fleer put the Mexican hero on a solo card.

Too bad they spelled his name “Fernand”!

Oh well, this has been a popular card forever, and today, it sells for $15+ in PSA 9 condition.

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1981 Fleer Harold Baines Rookie Card (#346)

Fernando was a bona fide superstar in the early 1980s, and he looked to be headed for the Hall of Fame by the time he was 25.

Spotty health as he approached his 30s, though, led to inconsistent results, and Valenzuela fell short of Cooperstown levels when he hung up his spikes in 1997.

And … well, Fleer pulled a Donruss when it came to Tim Raines, neglecting the Montreal speedster entirely.

So for years, it looked the 1981 Fleer set would never sport a Hall of Fame rookie card.

Then came the 2019 Veterans Committee vote, and suddenly designated Harold Baines hitter was in.

No matter what you think of Baines’ candidacy, he’s now a Hall of Famer — and he was a darn good hitter, for sure. I remember clearly a lot of folks thought a plaque was a strong eventual possibility for Baines back when he was toiling with the White Sox in the 1980s.

Today, that’s a reality, and his 1981 Fleer rookie card is about a $20 item in graded MINT condition.

(For what it’s worth, Donruss missed out on Baines in ’81, too.)

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1981 Fleer Rickey Henderson (#351)

While the newcomers (Fleer and Donruss, that is) were spotty with regards to rookies, they were spot-on with it came to another young superstar.

Fleer, in particular, seemed pretty enamored with Rickey Henderson, who had broken out with a .303 batting average and 100 stolen bases for the Oakland A’s in 1980.

I mean, they gave Rickey not one, but two cards, and you could make the case that they’re both “First Fleer” cards of Mr. Hot Dog.

They’re also both still pretty popular with collectors today, and you can expect to pay about $10 for a PSA 9 copy of either one.

First up, at #351, was this card that commemorates Henderson’s basepath exploits and is titled, “MOST STOLEN BASES AL.”

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1981 Fleer Rickey Henderson (#574)

And then, checking in at #574, is Henderson’s base card, which looks almost exactly the same as the “stolen bases” cards.

“Hey, Rickey! Turn to the right!”

Still, both are great-looking early-career cards of a stone-cold baseball legend.

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1981 Fleer Pete Rose (#1)

And speaking of stone-cold baseball legends, Fleer picked one to lead off their inaugural fully-licensed set.

In 1980, his second season in Philadelphia, Rose had helped the Phillies win their first-ever World Series. And, although he was closing in on 40 years of age, the fire in his belly was as evident as ever.

The ravages of time and scandal have diminished Pete’s luster, of course, but the man who broke Ty Cobb‘s all-time hit record in 1985 still carries plenty of hobby clout.

This is about a $10 item in PSA 9 these days.

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1981 Fleer Nolan Ryan (#57)

Is there a Nolan Ryan card in a particular baseball card set? Yes?

Then you can bet dollars to strikeouts that that card will be among a handful of the most valuable cards in said set.

The 1981 Fleer Ryan is no exception, even though it’s slightly misleading, what with the grinning Express looking like someone who wouldn’t even think about mowing you down with his monster fastball.

The deception can be yours for around $10 in PSA 9.

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1981 Fleer Kirk Gibson Rookie Card (#481)

Not only is Kirk Gibson not in the Hall of Fame, the man never even made it to an All-Star Game (look it up!).

None of that negates the fact that he was a superstar at various times in his career, and one of the most hard-nosed players of his generation.

Or that his 1988 World Series “gimp” home run still gives us chills … every … darn … time.

The 1981 Fleer rookie card of the 1988 NL MVP sells for $5-10 in PSA 9 condition.

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1981 Fleer Mike Schmidt (#640)

Schmidt has a couple of solo cards in the 1981 Fleer set, and there are enough variations among photo/caption/card number combinations that it gets a little confusing.

None of them are worth a ton more than the others except maybe to some diehard Schmidt error and variations collectors.

For the purposes of this list, just know that Mike was a third baseman, the 1980 NL Most Valuable Player, and the 1980 home run king

Oh, and Steve Austin had nothing on Schmitty when it came to wearing 1970s/1980s running suits.

Schmidt is a $5-10 buy in PSA 9.

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1981 Fleer Reggie Jackson (#79)

Reggie, too, scored a couple of singles in the 1981 Fleer set.

And again, while you might spend time tracking down various versions and commons, you can generally bank on a $5-10 price tag for Mr. October.

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1981 Fleer Carl Yastrzemski (#638)

All of the same stuff I said about Schmidt and Reggie applies to Yaz, as well.

The Red Sox legend was getting close to the end of the line by the time 1981 Fleer debuted, but he was still racking up milestones.

In 1979, he surpassed both 3000 hits and 400 home runs, and this 1981 Fleer card commemorates that latter mark.

Whichever Yaz you pick up, expect about a $5 spend for the privilege.

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1981 Fleer George Brett Portrait (#28)

Another superstar, another cache of 1981 Fleer variations to collect.

Having hit .390 and nabbed the 1980 American League MVP award, Brett was the talk of the baseball world heading in 1981, and the tantalizing possibility of .400 followed him the rest of his career.

These 1981 Fleer cards celebrate Brett’s 1980 achievements, and they sell for $5-10 each in slabbed MINT condition.

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1981 Fleer Johnny Bench (#196)

Bench is somewhat of an anomaly on this list, showing up with only one 1981 Fleer card, and all.

The nerve!

But what Bench lacks in cardboard variations, he more than makes up for in NL MVP awards, Big Red Machine savvy, and greatest-catcher-ever swagger.

JB’s 1981 Fleer card is a $5 (or so) buy in PSA 9 condition.

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In any given year over the decades, you’ve had a mix of fans, players, managers, writers, and probably other sorts of beings figuring into the mix.

And each brings a different viewpoint about what constitutes an All-Star …

Is he the guy who has been good or great over the course of a few years?

Is he the guy who tore up the league from April through June?

Is he the old guy who everybody thought was done but showed signs of life with a new team?

Or is he the living legend who deserves one last Midsummer Classic appearance in deference to his sustained greatness?

The answer, of course, is “Yes.”

And … “No.”

Depends on who you are … where you are … when you are.

One thing you can count on when it comes to All-Stars is that there will be disagreements, and those tiffs won’t just go down between you and your baseball buddies.

No, even luminary organizations like Topps will disagree with the final All-Star selections. The difference between Topps and you (and me) is that Topps can do something about it.

As evidence, I present 11 Topps All-Star cards from the 1980s featuring guys who didn’t actually make the All-Star team the year before.

Thanks to Topps, though, they’ll always be cardboard All-Stars.

1983 Topps All-Star Pete Vuckovich

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At 6’4″ and 215 pounds, and with a hellish mustache straight out of … well … Hell, Pete Vuckovich looked like a bona fide beast on the mound.

And, for a few seasons, he actually was a beast on the mound. Or close to it.

Beginning with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977, continuing with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 through 1980, and wrapping up with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1981 and 1982, the big right-hander went 78-48 with a 3.31 ERA and threw in 10 saves for the heck of it.

His 18-6 record in 1982 earned him a Cy Young award and helped the Brewers get all the way the World Series before the Cards took them down in seven games.

Vuckovich’s accolades and success didn’t land him an All-Star berth, though — not ever.

Still, Topps couldn’t resist his charms and granted him some Midsummer cardboard in 1983.

1983 Topps All-Star Larry Gura

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Now, Larry Gura did make an All-Star team.

Once.

In 1980.

And for that, Topps honored the Kansas City Royals lefty with the appropriate All-Star banner on his 1981 card.

In 1982, Larry stayed home all summer (or at least during the All-Star Game).

And yet … there he is with his very starry 1983 Topps All-Star.

*shrug*

Maybe Topps was confused because he won 18 games in 1982, same as when he was an AS in 1980.

1984 Topps All-Star Johnny Ray

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By 1984, Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman was an up-and-coming young player who had never made an All-Star roster.

He had, however, made an All-Star baseball card appearance thanks to the 1984 Topps issue.

Maybe Topps just wanted to squeeze in another card of the man who was sorta The Man in Pittsburgh after Dave Parker left and before Barry Bonds arrived.

Or maybe they were just testing their prognosticatin’ skills in advance of their rookie-extravaganza Bowman relaunch later in the decade.

Because, wouldn’t you know it?

Johnny Ray finally became an All-Star in 1988 — with the California Angels.

1985 Topps All-Star Jeff Leonard

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Jeffrey Leonard was sorta the poor man’s Dick Allen or Albert Belle — a slugger with occasional attitude issues.

Only, Leonard wasn’t all that sluggerish, and he also came with a side order of Pittsburgh Drug Trials. Still, as San Francisco Giants of the mid-1980s went, Jeffrey and his yearly 21 dingers were monstrous.

He also made the All-Star cut twice — with San Fran in 1987 and with the Seattle Mariners in 1989.

But not in 1984.

So, yeah, Topps gave him an All-Star card in 1985.

Prognosticatin’ again.

1985 Topps All-Star Bob Knepper

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Bob Knepper made the National League All-Star team as a member of the Houston Astros in 1981.

Topps didn’t give him an All-Star card in 1982

Bob Knepper made the National League All-Star team as a member of the Houston Astros in 1988.

Topps didn’t give him an All-Star card in 1989.

In 1984, Bob Knepper finished tied for fourth in the NL with three shutouts.

He didn’t make the All-Star team.

Naturally, Topps gave him an All-Star card in 1985.

1986 Topps All-Star John Tudor

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In 1985, John Tudor fronted the Cardinals rotation as they pushed all the way to a National League pennant en route to a heartbreaking 7-game loss to the Royals in the World Series.

He finished the year at 21-8 with a league-leading 10 shutouts — good enough for second place in the Cy Young vote but not good enough for an All-Star selection.

In fact, Tudor never made an All-Star roster.

He did, however, score a 1986 Topps All-Star card.

1987 Topps All-Star Tony Bernazard

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In 1986, Tony Bernazard turned in a career year for the Cleveland Indians.

The diminutive switch-hitting second baseman clocked 17 homers, drove in 73 runs, scored 88 of his own, and stole 17 bases.

All of that amounted to a 3.0 WAR but wasn’t good enough to make the American League All-Star roster.

Topps liked what they saw plenty, though. Enough, in fact, to grant Bernazard his only All-Star card.

1988 Topps All-Star Shane Rawley

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Shane Rawley was what you might call a Professional Pitcher, clicking along with about 10 wins a year and an ERA around 4.

He even threw in a few saves here and there, finishing with 40 over his 12-year career.

Overall, Rawley went 111-118 with a 4.02 ERA for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees,  Philadelphia Phillies, and Minnesota Twins.

Along the way, Rawley posted a few winning campaigns, including 1986 when he went 11-7 for the Phils and made his only All-Star cut.

For that Topps honored Rawley with an AS card — but not until 1988.

1989 Topps All-Star Kirk Gibson

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Collusion clubbed Kirk Gibson in both knees after the 1985 season, but he landed on this feet with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988.

That season, Gibson helped lead LA to the National League West title, a performance that eventually earned him National League Most Valuable Player honors.

Before he could collect that hardware, though, the Dodgers downed the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series to set up a World Series row with the might Bash Brothers version of the Oakland A’s.

That’s when Gibson went all Roy Hobbs on us, hobbling off the bench to smack the walk-off home run that handed Game 1 to the Dodgers. They would eventually take the whole thing in a relatively uneventful — other than Gibson’s heroics — five-game series.

But for all the legendary footsteps Gibson laid down that season, he didn’t make the NL All-Star team.

No matter, though, because he made the Topps All-Star team and landed a 1989 AS card.

So there!

1990 Topps All-Star Jeff Ballard

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What has 41 career wins (18 in one season), a -1.0 career WAR, a few Cy Young votes, no All-Star appearances, but one All-Star card?

Well, considering you’re in the “1990 Topps All-Star Jeff Ballard” section of this post, it should come as no surprise that the answer is Jeff Ballard.

In 1989, the 25-year-old lefthander posted an 18-8 mark to help deliver the Baltimore Orioles from the land of historically bad teams, where they’d dwelt in 1988, to the realm of mere also-rans.

Outside of that one shining season, Ballard’s record was 23-45 over six years, including two comeback campaigns with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1990s.

For his work in the summer of 1989, though, Ballard garnered a sixth-place CY finish and a slot in Topps’ 1990 All-Star set, even without a “real” All-Star berth.

1990 Topps All-Star Joe Magrane

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Big Joe Magrane worked his way quickly through the St. Louis Cardinals farm system after they drafted him in the first round out of Arizona in 1985.

By 1987, he was in the Major Leagues and looking for all the world like the next frontline Cards starter, finishing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting on the strength of a 9-7, 3.54 ERA.

In 1988, Magrane led the National League with a 2.18 ERA even though his record was just 5-9, and then he broke out in 1989.

At age 24, the righty went 18-9 with a 2.91 ERA and finished fourth in Cy Young voting.

He didn’t, however, make the All-Star team.

At least until the next spring, when Topps included him in their 1990 All-Star subset.

Magrane’s on-field fortunes took a downturn from there, and his 10-17 record in 1990 marked the last time he reached double-digit victories.

After stints with the California Angels and Chicago White Sox, Magrane retired in 1996 with a 57-67 record and a 3.81 lifetime ERA over eight seasons.

Of course, since then Magrane has enjoyed a successful run as an analyst for MLB Network, so the game has apparently treated him well overall.

And, hey, he’ll always have those cardboard All-Star bragging rights!

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Every new baseball season brings with it a host of surprising hot starts and breakout performances by obscure players.

In the spring of 1984, no team was hotter than the Detroit Tigers and no player was more on fire or more obscure than their young first baseman, Barbaro Garbey.

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By that point in my baseball life, I had a pretty good feel for the Major League game.

I had spent the summer of 1983 devouring every bit of baseball information and ever baseball card I could lay my chubby little hands on.

I adopted the Cincinnati Reds as my team.

I even lived and died with the “Wheeze Kids” Philadelphia Phillies that October as they tried to bring another World Series title to their rabid fans. The image of Cal Ripken stabbing the air to nab Garry Maddox‘s line drive to end Game 5 and the Series is forever singed into my memory.

With another winter spent studying my baseball card backs under my belt, I eagerly awaited the dawn of the 1984 season.

And I figured I knew a few things about what would happen in that Olympic year, too. For instance:

The Reds would be much better with Dave Parker in right field and Gary Redus in left, ready to build on a solid rookie season.

Mike Schmidt would wrest the National League MVP award from Dale Murphy and reclaim his place as the game’s greatest player.

Wade Boggs would make a run at .400.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles would all be back in the playoffs, barring an act of God.

So, when the Tigers ran off to 9-0 start and then stretched that to a record-breaking 35-5, I was surprised. By that point, the O’s had already fallen 13.5 games off the pace and sat five games back of the Toronto Blue Jays in the old American League East.

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The White Sox were in third place in the AL West, and the Phillies were in second in the NL East behind, unbelievably, the Chicago Cubs. Only the Dodgers were holding serve, one game up on the San Diego Padres in the NL West.

These standings looked pretty funky to my still inexperienced eyes, like someone had superimposed the results for a different sport on the MLB listings.

It was almost breathtaking, made all the more so by the infrequency of available updates.

Keeping up with the twists and turns of the season-long baseball soap opera was no mean feat back in those days. There would be a few box scores in our local daily paper, and sometimes partial standings, but it was hit or miss. And school was still in session when the Tigers tore off their streak, so staying up for the 11:20 sports report was a no-go.

But I could always count on the Sunday paper.

No matter what else was happening or where life had taken us during the week, my family always gathered in our living room to read the newspaper on Sunday mornings.

I got the funnies, mom got Parade, and Dad got everything else. We all ate a donut (or three or four) while we read.

By the time the Washington Redskins won Super Bowl XVIII and the Tigers were ready to start their run, though, comics had taken a backseat for me. My first grab every Sunday morning was not for Peanuts or Blondie, or yeast- or jelly-filled decadence — it was for the sports section.

There, in tiny print after all the headline stories and athlete profiles and grainy black and white player photos, were the numbers that tugged at my baseball fan’s soul and captured my imagination.

There were box scores from the late Friday games and the early Saturday game, and I devoured them with all due fervor.

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And there was so much more …

Like the complete standings for both Major Leagues, and even for the American Association, where the hometown Indianapolis Indians played. The Sunday paper was the only time I was guaranteed to find all the standings in one place throughout the week.

But the real humdinger was the breakdown of individual statistical leaders in both leagues. While the daily papers would sometimes show the top three batting leaders or saves leaders during the week, you could never count on it being there, and it was never comprehensive in any sense.

On Sunday, though …

Hundreds of lines of batting averages, home run and RBI totals, steals, wins, ERAs, saves, and a handful of other stats bombarded my sleep-stung senses and whipped me into an instant diamond froth.

Of course, in April of 1984, the entire baseball world was roaring about the Tigers.

Were they for real?

Could they break the record for most wins to start a season?

Would they ever lose a game?

Could they be the greatest team ever?

No one knew the answers, of course, but Sparky Anderson‘s team featured a core of some of the best young players in the game, guys like Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Lance Parrish, Jack Morris, Dan Petry, Kirk Gibson, and Chet Lemon.

It really did seem like they might be able to do anything.

But when I scanned my eye down the sugar-smudged leaders board on Sunday mornings that April, it was another young Tiger who stopped me cold:

B. Garbey, DET, .364 (on the morning of April 15)

B. Garbey, DET, .412 (April 22)

B. Garbey, DET, .444 (April 29)

This unknown was right there at the top of the list of best American League batters, and he was doing it for the streaking Detroit Tigers … yet I’d never heard of him!

Heck, I didn’t even know his first name!

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Was this some sort of typo the paper was committing week after week? Was the name really “Garvey,” as in “Steve”? Him, I knew.

But even if that were the case, why the first initial of “B.”? And Steve Garvey was easy to find in the list of National League batters, helping the Padres to their own solid start.

It was a mystery.

Each week, I poured through my baseball cards trying to find some mention of this mystery man with the magic bat, but to no avail. I checked the box scores, too, when I could find them. Finally, sometime toward the end of the month, I found a mention in a game recap or story about the Tigers — I don’t remember the source or even which game.

That elusive first name was exotic and almost fantastical, like none I had ever heard before: Barbaro.

And suddenly, Barbaro Garbey was my favorite Detroit Tiger and one of my favorite players period, even though I had yet to lay eyes on him.

The guy was hitting over .400 as May dawned, for gosh sakes! How could fans and reporters not be falling all over him?

I didn’t know, but I did know that I’d be following his journey.

So every Sunday morning, I’d settle in with my donuts and sports section to track Barbaro Garbey through his rookie season.

Predictably, he cooled off, but he was still hitting .330 by the end of May and .306 by the end of June.

By mid-summer, the Tigers had all but sewn up the AL East title, and bigger stories emerged …

The Cubs-Mets battle in the NL East.

The Mattingly-Winfield batting race.

The San Diego Padres and Tony Gwynn.

Dwight Gooden.

I kept watch on Garbey and was disappointed to see his average slide to .281 at the end of July, but he kicked it up for the Tigers’ non-existent pennant “race” and finished the year at .287.

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Solid, but not great, and nobody ever mentioned him in conversations about the big stories of the year.

Later, I realized why.

Even back then, before we had advanced statistics and the notion of market inefficiencies had yet to invade baseball, no one was really impressed with a 27-year-old rookie (part-time) first baseman with no power. Even if he could hit for decent average.

For me, though, Garbey was the story of 1984. He was the first individual player to pull me into the daily and weekly drama of a long baseball season.

He cemented my love for statistics and the jaw-dropping surprises that the game can deliver at any moment.

And that fall, when the 1984 Topps Traded and 1984 Fleer Update sets hit dealer shelves, when everyone else shuffled straight through to the Gooden card — I was more than happy to stop at Barbaro Garbey for my first real look at the man who set the early season on fire.

Even to this day, on the rare occasions when I get hold of a physical newspaper, I always expect to see Garbey’s name among the batting leaders.

Will this be the year he hits .400 for real?

(Check out our other player card posts here.)

While it’s bad enough to miss out on the All-Star Game during a solid season, coming up empty over an entire career — especially a good career — must be hard to swallow.

With that in mind, here are the top 10 batters and top 10 pitchers, as determined by WAR, to never make an All-Star team.

These guys are all Wax Pack Gods in their own rights, and we’re illustrating them below with (roughly) their first solo baseball card.

Batters

Tony Phillips (48.2 WAR)

Phillips was a super utility man for 18 seasons and the sparkplug of the great Oakland A’s teams in the late 1980s. He didn’t slow down a bit when he moved to the Detroit Tigers in 1990 and even picked up enough votes to finish 16th in the 1993 AL MVP race. Alas, he was never the top guy at any one position and thus missed out on All-Star action.

Tim Salmon (37.6 WAR)

Salmon was part of the pedigree of young California Angels who made waves in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and he won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 1993. His powerful bat in right field garnered him decent MVP consideration for several seasons, but an All-Star berth was out of reach.

Eric Chavez (37.4 WAR)

Chavez was a key member of the Moneyball A’s in the early 2000s and regularly appeared on MVP ballots. Even so, there was enough good talent at third base back then to keep him off the All-Star roster. It didn’t help that legend Cal Ripken, Jr., was playing out his career at third, too.

Kirk Gibson (37.1 WAR)

Gibson is legendary for his gritty play, which was at its peak when he came off the bench to slug a gimpy, game-winning home run for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 World Series. He won the National League MVP that season but even that wasn’t enough to get Gibby on an All-Star team.

Richie Hebner (35.2 WAR)

Hebner made the Majors at just 20 years of age in 1970 and was the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting third baseman at 21. He held that post until he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as a free agent before the 1976 season. Though Hebner was one of the better 3Bs in the National League for several seasons, the Midsummer Classic never came calling.

Garry Maddox (33.8 WAR)

Maddox was perhaps the greatest defensive center fielder of his generation, and he developed into a pretty solid hitter during his 15-year career, too. There were just too many great outfielders plying their trade during the 1970s and 1980s, though, and Maddox whiffed on ASG selections.

Jose Valentin (33.7 WAR)

Valentin got somewhat lost in the A-Rod-Nomar shortstop shuffle fo the 1990s, but the Milwaukee Brewers’ middle infielder was one of the guys who helped bring power to the center of the diamond. He had almost no chance of making the All-Star team, though, considering the competition … and he didn’t.

Dwayne Murphy (32.9 WAR)

Murphy hit for power, ran fast, and was good enough in center field for the Oakland A’s to win six straight Gold Gloves in the 1980s. With all the great outfielders in the AL during those years, though, Murphy missed out completely on the All-Star Game.

Ken McMullen (31.7 WAR)

McMullen shared his 1963 Topps rookie card with Pete Rose and never really came out of the shadows of bigger names. Though he put up some solid seasons as a corner infielder for 16 years, he never made an All-Star Game.

Earl Torgeson (31.5 WAR)

Torgeson broke in with the Boston Braves in 1947 and spent 15 years as a slugging first baseman for several Major League teams. He didn’t slug enough to make an impact with All-Star voters, though, and not even his sweet spectacles could land him a roster spot.

Pitchers

Tom Candiotti (41.0 WAR)

“The Candy Man” rode his confounding knuckleball to a solid 16-year Major League career as a starter, but not even the knuckler could get him a spot on an All-Star team.

Danny Darwin (37.1 WAR)

Darwin began his Major League career with the Texas Rangers in 1978 and didn’t hang up his spikes for more than 20 years. Along the way he started and pitched long relief for all sorts of teams — but never one that included “All-Star.”

John Tudor (32.3 WAR)

Tudor finished second in the 1985 Cy Young Award voting and eighth in the MVP vote after winning 21 games in the regular season. Despite that performance, he didn’t make the NL All-Stars and never really had a chance in any of his other 11 Big League campaigns.

Bill Hands (31.8 WAR)

Hands was the second best pitcher — behind Fergie Jenkins — on the 1969 Chicago Cubs team that tried like heck to steal the Amazin’ Mets’ thunder. Even with 20 wins that year and another 90 over his other 10 seasons in the Bigs, though, Hands came up empty in his All-Star bids.

Charlie Leibrandt (31.7 WAR)

Leibrandt won 140 games over a solid 14-year career, including 17 for the World Series champion Kansas City Royals in 1985. Even that performance didn’t land him an All-Star berth, though.

Jim Barr (30.5 WAR)

Barr was a control specialist for the San Franciso Giants in the mid-1970s, but that didn’t make him too exciting for All-Star voters. With a high of 15 wins in 1976 and never having struck out even 100 batters in a season, it’s no surprise that Barr didn’t make the AS cut.

John Denny (29.5 WAR)

The most decorated pitcher on our list, Denny won the NL Cy Young award for the pennant-winning Philadelphia Phillies in 1983. That was easily his greatest season, though, and he was out of baseball by the end of 1986.

Fritz Ostermueller (27.6 WAR)

Ostermueller turned in some solid seasons for the Boston Red Sox in the 1930s and for the Pirates in the 1940s. Of course, “solid” doesn’t usually net you an All-Star appearance, and that was the case for Ostermueller.

Ellis Kinder (27.4 WAR)

On the other hand, Kinder won 23 games for the BoSox in 1949 and finished fifth in MVP voting that year. In two other seasons, he finished seventh and eleventh, but none of it was good enough to make the All-Star team.

Kevin Tapani (26.7 WAR)

Tapani won 16 games for the world champion Minnesota Twins in 1991, when he finished seventh in the AL Cy Young vote. He’d landed in 5th place in AL ROY voting the year before and won 143 games in 13 seasons. Nevertheless, Tapani never made it to the All-Star game.

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