The 2017 Houston Astros baseball team made franchise history and their cards from that season have gained significant value in a short period of time. The Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in seven games to win their first ever World Series title. Led by stars such as Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer, and Justin Verlander, the 2017 Astros burst onto the national scene and solidified themselves as a baseball powerhouse.
Their dominant playoff run led to skyrocketing interest in their baseball cards from that magical season. Rookie cards, stars of the game autographs, spectacular highlights, and team set cards all captured the excitement of that championship team. Card collectors nationwide wanted to own pieces of the history made by Houston’s first champions. Prices that seemed reasonable just months ago suddenly doubled, tripled, or more in many cases as demand surged.
Top RCs and Autographs
Carlos Correa had one of the hottest rookie cards that year with his Bowman Chrome refractor parallel fetching thousands in high grades. Correa exploded onto the scene in 2015 but his rookie season was in 2016 so collectors saw 2017 as a chance to get the budding superstar at an arguably better price before he won a ring. Correa’s stellar playoff performance where he was named ALCS MVP added tremendously to the cachet of his cards from that specific season.
George Springer also had highly sought after rookie cards from 2014 that jumped in value thanks to his offensive heroics for the ’17 champs. Springer hit five home runs in the World Series alone and seemed to come up with a timely hit every game. His rookie autos especially grew to four figure prices overnight.
But perhaps no player saw as much card value appreciation as Justin Verlander did after being acquired midseason and pitching the Astros to victory in Games 6 and 7 of the World Series. Verlander’s already valuable cards, particularly autographed relic parallels from past years with the Tigers, more than doubled in price amongst collectors now able to attach a World Series MVP credential to the future Hall of Famer’s resume.
Base RCs and Stars
While the biggest stars understandably received most of the attention, there was excitement for cards across the entire 2017 Astros roster as well. Rising talents like Alex Bregman, Lance McCullers Jr., and Brian McCann enjoyed nice bumps. Even role players who came up huge in the playoffs like Marwin Gonzalez gained new collectors.
Complete team sets from the 2017 season flew off shelves as fans wanted to own cards showing all the key contributors on baseball’s best team. The 2017 Topps flagship base cards of icons Jose Altuve and Dallas Keuchel entered a new demand stratosphere. Parallels and autographs became extremely hard to find of players who symbolized Houston’s first title.
Highlights, Patch Cards, and More
Exquisite patch cards and memorabilia items featuring swatches and pieces of the actual jerseys or bats used to win Game 7 captured history and demanded top dollar. Ultra-rare 1/1 printing plate autographs of Springer or Correa literally became collectors’ white whales.
Topps’ Finest and Bowman Chrome products included some of the most coveted parallels and negative autographs. Cards that immortalized iconic World Series moments like Springer’s go-ahead blast in Game 2 or Verlander’s celebrating embrace after the final out sold for thousands online.
While prices have stabilized some in recent years, the 2017 Astros remain one of the most beloved teams for collectors across Texas and beyond. Their cards allow fans both young and old to reminisce about the magic of Houston’s first title run. The stars of that championship club cemented legacies that will be commemorated for generations through their baseball cards.
