This performance upped Rickey's trade value considerably and enticed the Anaheim Angels to add him for the stretch run. We don't know how big a role nostalgia plays with this one, but it still regularly sells north of $40. In fact, the most expensive baseball card ever sold went for more than $12 million at an auction on Aug. 22, 2022. His career started in 2003 in Florida and he moved to his current team, Detroit, in 2008. Founded in 1993, Flair produced high-end trading cards before changing direction in 2006. Regardless of everyone's opinions, Derek Jeter still won the award, and Topps included him in their Gold Glove Winners subset along with the rest of the winners in 2006. Rivera would not give up another run in the postseason over his next 23 appearances and 34.1 innings pitched, an MLB record to this day. At 41 years of age and in his 21st and final MLB season, the Los Angeles native went home to Southern California in free agency, signing a one-year deal with the Anaheim Angels. 2. 4. You have the excitement of a new year of baseball mixed with one of the most-hyped rookies of recent memory, and the rest is history. 2006 Topps Baseball saw the return of Mickey Mantle to the company's cards. Veteran stars such as Albert Pujols . With just one playoff appearance from 1988-2010 (2006), the Detroit Tigers' comedy of errors was a running punchline for two-plus . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2022 by Old Sports Cards, LLC, Leading Prospects(#307 - 325; #671 - 690). In hopes of returning at some point during the seasons second half, Junior opted for rehab instead of season-ending surgery. For a guy with five batting titles to his name who was used to hitting well above .300, it was unusual to see his average dip below the .300 mark for just the second time in his career. One day later, Guerrero crushed his first MLB home run off San Diego's Sterling Hitchcock in a 9-3 Montreal win. Topps eventually corrected this mistake, but this error does not significantly increase the value of this card. While batting .329, Pujols also belted 37 home runs, drove in 130 runs, and scored 112 runs. Rankings are based on data from the Beckett Baseball Card Database and Price Guide. He also moved into the third spot in the batting order in May, where he'd remain until he left the Cardinals after the 2001 season. If nothing else, you can find plenty of Hall of Famers like Derek Jeter, Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones scattered throughout the checklist. Given the elite set's hefty out-of-the-gate price, $22K . Regardless of your opinion, the design is undoubtedly unique. "I truly lived my field of dreams right here at Wrigley," he told a raucous sellout crowd during the Ryne Sandberg Day pregame festivities. You'll also find several limited parallel versions of the base cards, including red backs, gold, copper, platinum, printing plates, and first editions, but we'll stick with the base cards for this write-up. That means the card needs to be flawless. When Jackie Robinson stepped onto the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, it marked a turning point for Major League Baseball and the entire country. At the time, Jeter had a long way to go toward becoming one of the most famous Yankees legends of all time. 1 Nolan Ryan #400: By the time this card came out, Ryan was in . He finished the year hitting .304 and leading all of the American League in homers (56), runs scored (125), slugging percentage (.646), and total bases (393). PSA 10s in the card have commanded more than $40,000, but since '78 Topps has a notorious history of off-centered printing, there are so few gem mints out there. 0% Tony Gwynns consistency, however, was never in question. As for Griffey, he was at the peak of his baseball powers. Yadier Molina 2003 Topps First Year Rookie Card #324 St. Louis Cardinals Surf. He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. The 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps rookie card, which sold for $5.2 million in February 2021, is the most valued Topps baseball card. A little stability went a long way for the 2002 NL MVP race runner-up. After giving up just one run in his first 18.2 postseason innings, he gave up a run in just two innings against the Indians. buy stuff after clicking links on our site Best & Most Valuable 2022 Topps Chrome Cards. 100-. 6. Suzuki was white-hot early in 2002 yet faded down the stretch. On September 19th, a day after his 38th birthday, Sandberg launched his 282nd and final MLB home run. While Barry Bonds was finishing off his chase of Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, the baseball world watched and wondered if Albert Pujols might be the next guy to make a run at it in the future. The Flair showcase legacy collection is from the 1996-97 season. However, 1952 Topps Baseball stepped up and offered direct competition to Bowman for basic player cards. A slump in the season's second half dropped his batting average from the high .300s to .321 for the season, good for fourth in the AL after he'd captured the league's batting title the year before (.350). Between 1997 and . The Most Expensive Cars. In the postseason, Ortiz gave the baseball world a glimpse of the clutch gene that would define his Hall-of-Fame stint with the Boston Red Sox. 1959, 1948 to Premium: Before the 2002 regular season, Canseco signed a minor league contract with the Montreal Expos to be their left fielder, even though he had rarely played in the outfield during the previous three seasons. The results weren't pretty. Subsets for the 2006 Topps Baseball Card Set includes Manager Cards, Team Cards, Future Stars, Gold Glove Winners, League Leaders, MVPs, Rookies of The Year and Combo Cards. Out of all the. Ripken played all 162 yet again, slashing .270/.331/.402 with 17 home runs, 30 doubles, and 84 RBIs in 686 plate appearances (615 at-bats). Second-year base cards of Albert Pujols and Ichiro were also big attractions for hobbyists and Topps sprinkled those guys into several subsets as well. . It would be Ichiro's first and only MVP of his Hall of Fame career and given how phenomenal he was, he'd finish in the top ten just three other times. By today's standards, the set also has noticeably fewer inserts. The 22-year-old phenom was a revelation for a balanced St. Louis squad, becoming the first MLB player to hit .300 or better with at least 100 runs scored, 100 RBIs, and 30 home runs in consecutive seasons to start a career. However, the Marlins took his best punches and delivered the knockout blow, breaking a 2-2 series tie with back-to-back wins to close the series out in six. Average ungraded base card value (excludes parallels) for 2006 Topps In 690 plate appearances (532 at-bats), the 32-year-old superstar slashed .291/.446/.585 with 40 home runs, 123 runs scored, and 101 RBIs. Only in factory sets were collectors able to find a version of the card without Mantle and Bush. And less than two weeks later, Thomas became the 21st member of the 500 home run club after he sent a three-run shot off of Minnesota's Carlos Silva into the stands. 2006 Topps Baseball can be seen as something of a transition year for the flagship brand. Too many subsets for my taste. However, a Russ Ortiz gem in Game 5 sealed a seventh-straight playoff exit for Atlanta without a World Series banner. Ungraded & graded values for all '06 Topps Chrome Because of the new hobby rules for first-year players, there are a lot of cards marked with the rookie logo but very actual rookie cards. And the Derek Jeter card with Mantle and Bush in the background is, without a doubt, the face of this set in the absence of any blockbuster rookie cards. By Sheng Peng, updated on October 28, 2022. A copy of this extremely rare card sold last year for more than $6.6 million dollars, making it the most valuable sports card ever sold. Thomas stayed healthy throughout the season, playing in 148 games though his batting average fell to .252 and his slugging percentage hovered around .472. The Twins made good on the promise of their 85-win season in 2001, capturing the AL Central at 94-67 and earning the franchise's first playoff berth since winning the World Series in 1991. . Still, some found their way into packs and circulation, making his 2006 Topps rookie card one of the more infamous error cards of the 2000s. Yet, as you can see, there are still plenty of big-name stars and Hall of Famers of the era to be found inside. 1957 Topps Football #119 Bart Starr Rookie Card PSA 8: Sold in April 2022 on Robert Edward Auctions for $29,400. The eventual AL champion Anaheim Angels showed zero fear against the Yankees juggernaut, dropping New York by winning three of four slugfests in a wild ALDS matchup. Tulowitzki also showed off his incredible glove on defense as he led all NL shortstops in fielding percentage (.987), putouts (262), total chances (834), assists (561), double plays turned (114), and range factor (5.39). Ungraded & graded values for all '06 Topps Baseball Cards. Combine all that, and it's easy to see how Jones was able to belt 29 home runs and eclipse both the 100 runs scored (108) and 100 RBI (102) plateaus for the final time in his career. The most valuable baseball card from the 1960s is the 1963 Topps Pete Rose rookie card #537, graded PSA 10 gem mint condition. Regarding rookie cards, this set turned out to be a dud. Ungraded & graded values for all '06 Topps Shortcuts: With Albert Belle protecting him in the middle of the order, Thomas ripped through AL pitching all year long, winning his first and only batting title with a .347 average. On June 17, in a game against the Washington Nationals, Thomas snapped Edgar Martinez's then-record of 243 home runs as a DH when he hit the 244th of his career. The Padres won just 66 games in 2002 and 64 in 2003, languishing at the bottom of the NL West standings while building their prospect base. David Ortiz's final year with the Minnesota Twins began with bad injury luck. Surprisingly, none of the eye-popping numbers that Pujols put up as a rookie turned out to be league-leading, but he would pace the league in several areas in years to come. A career .301 hitter, Thomas never did manage to hit above .300 since his dominant season in 2000 when he finished second in the MVP vote. Players include Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan & Mike Trout. Average ungraded base card value (excludes parallels) for 2006 Topps Chrome Ungraded & graded values for all '06 Topps Despite those drawbacks, some desirable inserts and base cards can fetch decent prices in top condition in today's market. . With the seventh pick of the 2005 MLB Draft, the Colorado Rockies selected Troy Tulowitzki out of California State University, Long Beach. However, he still had a nose for the home run and RBI, finishing with 28 home runs and 92 RBIs, proving he was still very much an offensive asset for the White Sox. He also led the Majors with 13 complete games and worked a career-high 241.1 innings as the Expos took everything he could give them. After an injury-plagued 2001 season, Ken Griffey Jr. was determined to lead the Cincinnati Reds back to the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Though he may not have lived up to the lofty expectations MLB had for him, Gordon still turned in a fine career that saw him become a three-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glover, two-time Platinum Glover, and 2015 World Series champion. No matter your opinion, the move had the desired effect of spiking the interest of both collectors and non-collectors alike. The set size dropped to 659 cards split between two series. #4 Most Valuable Baseball Cards 2000s - Topps Finest For The Record #3B Ken Griffey Jr. Price for PSA 9 featured with Alex Rodriguez: $100; Price for PSA 10 Gem: $1,500; Player's History. The 80-win White Sox lacked the pitching to make a legitimate run, but Thomas' mere presence in the batter's box made them appointment viewing from April through September. Along with those guys, there are several other big-name players whose cards have held up well if graded in top condition. However, Pujols "struggled" in 2007 as he put up arguably the worst of the first eleven seasons of his career as a St. Louis Cardinal. In the offseason, Atlanta made waves with a blockbuster trade that sent clubhouse leaders Marquis Grissom and David Justice to Cleveland for Kenny Lofton and Alan Embree. Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200. Contact him at [emailprotected]. Pete Rose, 1963 Topps - $717,000. In August 2016, this example sold at auction for a staggering $71,700! The edge of the picture is rounded off on one side of the card and is coupled with a team logo. From 1997 to 2001, Henderson played with five different teams in six different stints. And an important hobby icon returned to the company to not only fill a spot on the base set checklist but plenty of inserts as well. Cheapest, Yet, despite an impressive 93-69 record, Seattle ended up third in the division, ten games behind the West champion Oakland A's and six games behind the Anaheim Angels in the Wild Card race. He was also coming off a streak of twelve-straight All-Star appearances. Twenty Most Valuable Topps Baseball Rookie Cards From The 1970s. Image Credit: ebay. The Venezuelan-born slugger was a natural-born hitter with batters box . Ungraded & graded values for all '06 Topps He made the Padres relevant even during the lean years and helped garner the public support necessary to greenlight the Petco Park project. We may earn an affiliate commission if you And just like that, Murray's playing career was over. Fortunately, beginning in 2005, Griffey's health returned, and he was able to put together a string of seasons through 2009 in which he was able to play in more than 100 games every year. Here is a look at the baseball cards that have exceeded a million-dollar price tag, including two by one of the sport's top active players: 1. Need help buying or selling cards or have a general question about the hobby? He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. It wasn't much money - various sources suggest a player got $250 to $500 a year. A hometown hero, Junior now found himself facing an uncertain future in Cincy. Justin Verlander, Prince Fielder, Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Cain are among the "rookies" in 2006 Topps Baseball whose official rookie cards came in 2005 or before. The card was graded PSA 10 GEM MINT condition and sold in a private sale on Ebay. With the Padres, Henderson got off to a good start, hitting .274 with 29 stolen bases and a more-than-competent .797 OPS. Read our methodology. 2006 Topps Baseball saw the return of Mickey Mantle to the company's cards. 2000 Topps Traded Miguel Cabrera. Home Sports Card Sets Baseball Card Sets 2006 Baseball Cards 2006 Topps Baseball Cards, PARALLEL CARDS: Gold #/2006, Black #/55, Platinum #/1, Printing Plates #/1. Download Price List, SportsCardsPro 2019-2023 It was first sold in 1952 but was won at an auction in 2021 for $5.2 million! He still finished third in the American League in runs scored (124), seventh in hits (191), and second in total plate appearances (730). Compared to his days in the early to mid-1990s, when he routinely put up astronomical numbers with the bat, Frank Thomas wasn't quite as dominant in 2002. The Kid made the most of those 144 games as he belted 30 home runs, drove in 71 runs, and batted .277 while earning his thirteenth and final trip to the All-Star Game along the way. 2006 Topps card list & price guide. The 1963 Topps Pete Rose rookie card is shared with three other players, including Al Weis, Pedro Gonzalez, and Ken McMullen. Bonds stretching with a bat in an empty stadium isnt a good one. Let's be clear:most of the cards from this set do not have any value these days. However, Jeter was uncharacteristically bad during the postseason, as he went just 3-17 with one RBI and zero runs scored during the Yankees' 3-1 ALDS loss to the Cleveland Indians. One of the greatest hitters to play the game, Tony Gwynn's absence loomed large during the 2002 MLB season. A couple of other big names in Jimmy Rollins and Adam Dunn also received votes, but nobody was going to challenge Pujols for the honor, given his incredible season. Selected first overall by the Twins in the 2001 MLB Amateur Draft ahead of such names as Mark Prior, Mark Teixeira, and David Wright, Mauer was the most pivotal prospect in Major League Baseball. Cheapest, And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 15 most valuable. In fact, between June 2021 and May 2022, this Ripken collectible in a PSA 10 sold for under $4,000 just once. As a result, a complete set is considered to be 659 cards, without a card 297. When Ortiz returned, Minnesota penciled him in as their full-time DH though he still spent fifteen games at first base. It was intended to be 660 cards. After the season, the Yankees traded Kenny Rogers to the Oakland Athletics for third baseman Scott Brosius. It started promisingly enough, including Sandberg's record-breaking 267th home run on April 26th, a bomb that vaulted the 37-year-old ahead of Joe Morgan for the most career homers by a second baseman. Reprints of Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays cards of yesteryear offered a bit of variety, especially the limited number of Mays reprints he autographed. 1 The card's price-tag was high because it was the first year of what would become known as the "bicentennial set." It features a color portrait of Mantle taken by photographer John Vachon. We are user supported. Prices are updated daily based upon 2006 Topps listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. 2006 eTopps HONUS WAGNER T206 Reprint /749 *PSA 10 Pop 6* Gem Mint & Rarely Seen Although 2006 Topps Baseball has autographs and game-used memorabilia cards, they are not guaranteed hits. That means the card needs to be flawless. When the dust settled, Bonds had earned his seventh All-Star selection, seventh Silver Slugger Award, seventh Gold Glove and a fifth-place finish in the NL MVP race for his efforts. With Gwynn out of the picture, the Padres embraced a full-scale rebuild. As the newest member of the 3,000 hit club, Miguel Cabrera doesn't have anything left to prove to make his case for eventual enshrinement into Cooperstown. We may earn an affiliate commission if you It followed the path of Barry Bonds Home Run History, which continues here. So, while the Twins made headlines with their first playoff berth in 11 years, the Twins faithful were left to wonder just how much better Minnesota could be with Mauer in uniform. 1976 Topps #148 Walter Payton Rookie Card PSA 10: Sold in March 2021 on Goldin Auctions for $124,230. In that year, 90 cards were put into the base sets and separated into Rows. Subsets for the 2005 Topps baseball cards include First year cards, Prospects, Managers, League Leaders, AL All-Stars, NL All-Stars, Post-Season, Award Winners, Team Cards and World Series Cards. Let's be clear:most of the cards from this set do not have any value these days. With an impressive .396 OBP to his name, Ichiro also proved to be a significant threat on the basepaths as he stole 37 bases and scored 111 runs. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2008-2023 The Cardboard Connection. After rounding the bases, a video of Hank Aaron congratulating Bonds played on the screen while Willie Mays joined him on the field before he addressed the crowd with a short speech. During the 2007 campaign, Griffey appeared in 144 games, the most since his first season with the Cincinnati Reds in 2000, when he played in 145 games. To pay tribute to Robinson and his remarkable contribution, Topps included this card and gave it the #42, the same as the jersey number he wore for ten seasons with the Dodgers. That means the card needs to be flawless. Being such an important year, the most valuable 1952 baseball cards carry a lot of importance and prestige. In fact, with PSA 10s in such short supply for the set's top cards, we elected to go with PSA 9 prices for this list.