The 1989 Bowman set marked the 20th anniversary of Topps’ biggest rival entering the baseball card market. While not quite as iconic or valuable as some other vintage issues, the ’89 Bowman cards offer collectors a fun glimpse at the stars of that era. Let’s take a closer look at some of the standouts and what they may be worth today.
Ken Griffey Jr. was already establishing himself as a brightest young stars in 1989, having made his major league debut the previous year at age 19. Not surprisingly, his rookie card from the ’89 Bowman set is among the most desirable. High graded versions in mint condition can fetch hundreds of dollars, with PSA 10 copies occasionally selling for over $1,000. Even well-centered near mint examples in the PSA 8-9 range typically sell in the $50-150 range.
Rookie cards for Chipper Jones, Jim Abbott, and Tom Glavine also remain popular with collectors due to their Hall of Fame-caliber careers. Chipper’s is especially sought after, with PSA 10 copies reaching $400-500. Glavine and Abbott rookies top out around the $150-250 range in top condition. For all three, expect to pay $25-75 for overall nice near mint versions.
Bonds was already one of the game’s biggest stars by ’89 after consecutive MVP seasons but remained affordable. His base card isn’t too pricey at $5-10, while even low-grade rookie cards can be found for under $20. For the true Bonds super collectors, rarer parallels and inserts from ’89 Bowman hold greater value and intrigue.
Other stars that had established themselves by ’89 like Rickey Henderson, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, and Ozzie Smith carry valuations of $3-15 for their base cards in decent near mint condition. Higher grades can push some examples to $20-30. For context, the average price paid across non-rookie ’89 Bowman cards in similar grades is only $1-5.
Rookies without the fame of Griffey, but who had solid careers still offer affordable options. Including, Charlie Hayes ($5-10), Mark Grace ($10-15), and Scott Fletcher ($3-8) rookies across a range of conditions. Even role players like Junior Ortiz and Scott Bankhead rookie cards can usually be found for under $5.
Outside of the big stars and prospects, ’89 Bowman base cards don’t tend to climb much higher than $1-3 even in pristine mint condition. But the set offers an exciting time capsule of the late ’80s game at reasonable price points. There are also more valuable insert sets to hunting, including Florescent and Action All-Star Parallel cards which typically start at $5-10 a piece.
The real hidden gems lay in rare error variants. Examples include Die Cut parallel cards missing a chunk of the image. Only a handful are believed to exist making high grade copies true portfolio pieces valued potentially in the multiple thousands of dollars. Similarly scarce are Miscut cards missing half the image due to production flaws. Even flawed examples command $100-500 to the right collectors fascinated by the anomalies.
For team collectors, there are 44 complete team sets that can typically be assembled in lower grades for $100-200 total. The most expensive clubs to finish are usually the more popular franchises from that era like Athletics, Blue Jays, Mets and Reds ranging $150-250. Rarer teams like Mariners and Rangers fall closer to the $100 end.
While ’89 Bowman lacks the true vintage cachet of older 50s/60s issues, it provides a fun trip back to that exciting time in the game. Rookies of future Hall of Famers plus the inserts and errors make it an accessible set for both casual fans and deeper collectors alike. With patience, a full high-quality set can be acquired for well under $1,000 even after 30+ years.
