The 1989 Topps baseball card set is one of the most iconic and valuable sets from the late 1980s. While not the most famous or coveted vintage set, it does contain several keys cards that hold significance and demand high prices in the hobby. Within the 792 card base set are rookie cards, Hall of Famer highlights, and unique parallel and serially numbered variations that make certain 1989 Topps cards highly sought after by collectors.
Perhaps the most well-known rookie card from the ’89 set is that of Barry Bonds, who would go on to become arguably the greatest hitter of all time. Bonds’ rookie is one of the more iconic modern baseball cards ever printed. While common in the set, garnering a PSA 10 gem mint grade is exceedingly difficult due to centering issues, with just a handful in existence. Still graded copies in the 9-9.5 range can fetch $1000-$3000 depending on condition due to Bonds’ legendary career and the cachet of his rookie card.
Another notable rookie is that of Tom Glavine, who enjoyed a Hall of Fame career mostly with the Atlanta Braves. Glavine won 305 games and two Cy Young awards over 22 seasons. His ’89 Topps rookie is fairly common but can still command $50-$150 for high grade copies because of his accomplishments. Kenny Rogers also had his rookie card in the set that can be acquired for $10-20. Rogers enjoyed 21 seasons mostly as a workhorse starter and won 134 games.
The set also contains the final cards of several Hall of Famers wrapping up iconic careers. Ozzie Smith’s card highlights his 15 seasons and 15 Gold Gloves at shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals. Known as the “Wizard” for his otherworldly defense, Smith was arguably the greatest fielding shortstop ever. High grade copies of his #709 card from ’89 Topps can bring $150-300 due to his revered status in the game.
A pair of all-time pitching greats had their penultimate cards included – Nolan Ryan’s #642 and Don Sutton’s #639. Ryan was in his age 42 season and still firing 100mph fastballs in his 27th and final season split between the Astros and Rangers. Sutton was also 42 and wrapping up his 23 year career with the Oakland A’s. Both cards command $75-150 because they represent the closing acts of two Hall of Fame hurlers that dominated for decades.
Topps issued several special parallel and serially numbered chase cards as well. The ’89 set featured a rare gold border parallel numbered to only 49 copies each. These prestigious low-number cards included Kirby Puckett, Ozzie Smith, and Nolan Ryan among the lucky few players included. In top grades, the scarce and historically significant gold parallels can sell for $3000-5000 when they surfaces in the secondary market.
Another coveted insert was the ‘Topps All-Star Rookie Team’ parallel signed by all five members: Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith, Gregg Olson, Chuck Knoblauch, and Ken Griffey Jr. This serially numbered to 250 parallel is one of the keys from the entire decade of the late 80s. Graded gem mint 10 examples in today’s market routinely sell for $5000-7500. Griffey is the big draw as the superstar that he became is still celebrated today as one of the all-time greats.
There were also ‘Star Sticker’ parallel singles issued that pictured individual players on glossy stock numbered to 99 copies or less that carry premium prices. Players like Kirby Puckett, Ozzie Smith, and Don Mattingly are highly sought after from this short print subset reserved for only the true star athletes in the game enshrined on the special high-numbered cards.
While not the most prolific or valuable vintage set overall from the late 80s boom period, the 1989 Topps flagship baseball issue does contain some true keys for the era in the form of rookie cards, parallel variations, and final representations of future Hall of Famers. Condition sensitive singles of Bonds, Glavine, Smith, Ryan, and the scarce inserts still excite collectors and draw strong secondary market prices decades later. The iconic set endures as one of the most interesting and affordable vintage releases for casual collectors to pursue higher end gems from.
