The 1989 Donruss baseball card set was the sixth annual baseball card release from Donruss and featured cards of Major League Baseball players from that season. Some key things to know about the 1989 Donruss set include:
Set Details:
The set included 792 total cards
Cards were issued in wax packs, boxes, and rack packs
Each wax pack contained 5 cards and retailed for $0.50-0.75
The design featured a picture of the player on the front with their name and team in block letters at the top
Statistics from the previous season were on the back along with career highlights
Notable Rookies: Some of the top rookies featured in the ’89 Donruss set included Gregg Olson (Card #1), Bobby Thigpen (Card #3), Barry Bonds (Card #9), Tom Glavine (Card #13), and Gary Sheffield (Card #17). All of these players went on to have successful MLB careers, with Bonds, Glavine, and Sheffield being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Short Print Variations: Donruss included several short print variations in the ’89 set that were much harder to find than the base cards. One noteworthy variation was the #1 Greg Olson card, which had a black border variation estimated around 1 per case. Other short prints included Gary Sheffield (#17), Lenny Dykstra (#23), and Brad Lesley (#254). These variations added a layer of collector hobby to chase down elusive versions of star players.
League Leader Subsets: As was customary for Donruss sets at the time, they included inserts highlighting the league leaders from the previous season. The 1989 set featured 14 cards covering the batting title leaders for each league as well as the leaders in home runs, RBI’s, runs scored, and stolen bases. Players like Kirby Puckett, Eddie Murray, and Jose Canseco were among those recognized on these fun leader inserts.
Star Power: The 1989 set captured some of the biggest stars of the late 80s game, many of whom are still household names today. Future Hall of Famers like Nolan Ryan (Card #1), Wade Boggs (Card #15), George Brett (Card #19), Tom Seaver (Card #22), and Cal Ripken Jr. (Card #23) anchored the set. Other notable stars included Ozzie Smith, Eric Davis, Darryl Strawberry, and Roberto Alomar.
Design Evolution: Compared to modern sleek designs, the 1989 Donruss base cards had a relatively plain look with mostly flat colors and block fonts. They maintained Donruss’s clean, consistent aesthetic that collectors had come to expect. The design built off of elements from previous Donruss sets but was updated slightly each year to stay fresh.
Secondary Market: Upon release in 1989, the common base cards in the Donruss set held little monetary value and were abundant in stores. As the years passed, certain cards of star players and short prints gained collector interest and increased in secondary market value. Today, top rookie and star cards as well as coveted variations can sell for hundreds of dollars or more in top-graded condition depending on the player and scarcity of the card. The set remains a popular one for vintage collectors to chase condition graded copies of.
The 1989 Donruss baseball card set provided an excellent snapshot of the MLB season and players of that year. While not the flashiest design compared to some other contemporaneous sets, it featured strong rookie classes, fun inserts, and cards of the game’s biggest stars of the late 80s that still resonate with collectors today. The set serves as an enjoyable piece of baseball card history from the end of the boom period in the hobby.
