The 2008 Upper Deck baseball card series featured many promising young rookies who would go on to have excellent MLB careers. This was an exciting year for rookie collectors as several of these players emerged as future stars. The 2008 Upper Deck set itself contained 381 total cards including various parallels and insert sets. It focused on highlighting top prospects and recent draftees who were making their way through the minor league systems of their respective organizations.
Some of the top rookie cards showcased in the 2008 Upper Deck set included Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays, David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays, Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colby Rasmus of the St. Louis Cardinals, Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants, Ian Kennedy of the New York Yankees, Brett Anderson of the Oakland Athletics, Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers, Cameron Maybin of the Florida Marlins, Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants, and Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds. Each of these players would go on to have tremendous big league careers and their 2008 rookie cards are still highly sought after today by collectors.
Evan Longoria’s 2008 Upper Deck rookie card (#184) is one of the true gems from the set and a must-have for any serious Rays collector. Longoria was already turning heads in the minors in 2007 when he was selected as the American League Rookie of the Year in 2008 after batting .272 with 27 home runs and 85 RBIs in his debut season. He would go on to have a future Hall of Fame caliber career as one of the best third baseman of his generation while helping turn the Rays into a perennial playoff contender. PSA 10 Gem Mint examples of Longoria’s rookie currently sell for over $500 due to his accomplishments and status as a true cornerstone player for Tampa Bay.
Another spectacular rookie card from 2008 Upper Deck was that of left-handed pitcher David Price (#249). Like Longoria, Price had an outstanding debut campaign in 2008 that foreshadowed the success still to come. He went 10-7 with a 3.35 ERA in 25 starts for the Rays and finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting while showcasing electric “stuff” on the mound. Price would blossom into a Cy Young Award winner and be a driving force behind Tampa Bay winning the 2008 American League pennant. High grade Price rookies today sell in the $250-300 range or more depending on condition due his elite career achievements which include over 150 career wins thus far.
Clayton Kershaw’s 2008 Upper Deck rookie card (#132) has also grown into one of the most prominent from the set as his career has unfolded. Drafted seventh overall by the Dodgers in 2006, Kershaw debuted in the majors in 2008 and showed immediate promise while still just 20 years of age. He finished fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 4-5 record and 4.26 ERA over 98 innings pitched. Who would have guessed at the time that Kershaw was embarking on a path towards already cementing himself among the greatest left-handed pitchers in baseball history. A decade and a half later, he has three Cy Young Awards, an MVP award, a championship, and over 2500 career strikeouts across 15 outstanding seasons for Los Angeles. Kershaw rookies that grade PSA 9 or higher now sell for $150+ on the secondary market.
While Longoria, Price, and Kershaw were immediate stars, the 2008 Upper Deck set also featured several players whose potential was not fully realized until later in their careers like Buster Posey, Brett Anderson, Homer Bailey, and Elvis Andrus.
Posey’s 2008 UD card (#128) depicted him as the fifth overall pick by the Giants out of Florida State University despite just beginning his pro career that same year in the low minors. It took Posey a little longer to develop, but man did he blossom once arriving in San Francisco. He won NL Rookie of the Year honors in 2010 while helping lead the Giants to a World Series title. Posey would collect MVP and another championship ring in his career so far cementing him among the best catchers in baseball.
Similarly, both Brett Anderson (#144) and Homer Bailey (#277) had 2008 rookie cards that forecast great promise as high draft choices, but neither truly broke out until later on. Anderson was injury plagued for many years but eventually emerged as a solid mid-rotation starter for the Athletics and other teams. Bailey developed more gradually and struggled for consistency early in his career with Cincinnati. He became a frontrunner in their rotation by his late 20s and remained there into his 30s while collecting over 150 wins.
Elvis Andrus’ 2008 UD rookie (#205) came when he was just 19 years old splitting time in A-ball after signing with Texas as an international free agent from Venezuela. While Andrus contributed right away as a defender and base stealer, it took until around 2010-2011 for his bat to catch up and solidify himself as an everyday leader up the middle for over a decade with the Rangers and A’s. A top of the order hitter and Gold Glove caliber shortstop for over 15 seasons in MLB leaves Andrus’ rookie looking quite prophetic in retrospect.
In addition to the top rookies highlighted, 2008 Upper Deck also featured future stars just starting out in A-ball like Mike Trout (#250), Joey Votto (#148), and Colby Rasmus (#150). Trout’s and Votto’s rookie cards are evidence of how they were slowly and methodically developed into MVP caliber players who dominated for years. Rasmus broke out much quicker as an elite prospect, making his MLB debut in 2010 as an All-Star caliber centerfielder for St. Louis who later played for several teams.
The 2008 Upper Deck baseball card set did an excellent job showcasing many can’t-miss prospects and rookies who lived up to expectations and much more. While collectors at the time could not have predicted the careers of superstars like Kershaw, Posey, Longoria, and others, their rookie cards left scouts and fans intrigued by their upside. A decade and a half later, the 2008 UD rookies of these players and more provide a fascinating time capsule of stars just starting out on the path to Cooperstown and the games’ history books. For vintage baseball card collectors, this influential release remains both historic and highly desirable to this day.
