The 1987 baseball card season saw the rise of some young superstar players who would go on to have Hall of Fame careers. Two of the most coveted rookie cards from that year still fetch enormous prices today on the secondary market.
The undisputed crown jewel of the 1987 baseball cards is the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Griffey was one of the most hyped rookie prospects ever and he lived up to the expectations by having a stellar 22-year career that will land him in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. His sweet left-handed swing and great defense captivated fans. As one of the most popular players of his generation, demand for his rookie card has never waned. In pristine gem mint condition, the Griffey rookie has sold for over $100,000. Even well-worn copies in played condition can sell for thousands. The card’s rarity, subject, and Griffey’s legacy make it truly the holy grail for baseball card collectors from this era.
Another massively valuable 1987 rookie card is that of Chicago White Sox pitcher Tim Raines. Like Griffey, Raines was one of the most exciting young players to come into the league in 1987. As a base-stealing machine with blinding speed, Raines electrified fans during his 23-year career. He falls just shy of the Hall of Fame but is considered by many analysts to be one of the most underrated players of all time. His rookie Pinnacle brand card is one of the harder 1987 cards to find in perfect condition due to its flimsier stock. But specimen copies have still sold for well over $10,000.
Besides the rookies of Griffey and Raines, there are several other highly valuable 1987 cards to seek out. Toronto Blue Jays All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez has a common but hugely popular Topps Traded card which has cracked the $1,000 sales barrier in top grades. Seattle Mariners star shortstop and 1987 AL Rookie of the Year winner Walt Weiss also has a desirably scarce Topps Traded card that is still relatively inexpensive compared to the big guns, but holds strong long term collection value. And Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Barry Larkin’s rookie card from that season continues appreciation as one of the better looking and more historically significant cards from the set.
Condition is king when it comes to 1987 values. The paper stock used for that year’s flagship Topps set was notoriously flimsy and prone to damage. Getting cards rated high on the visual scale greatly impacts their worth – the difference between a well-worn near-mint copy versus a pristine near-mint-mint copy can be a multi-hundred or even thousand dollar gap. Subsets are also desirable, like the rare Glossy Sendbacks and/or Photo Shoot cards inserted randomly in wax packs that year.
While there are hundreds of cards produced in the 1987 season across all the major brands, the rookie cards of Ken Griffey Jr. and Tim Raines stand far above the rest as the true blue chip investments. Both players went on to have Hall of Fame caliber careers and their cards, especially superb conditioned copies, are some of the most expensive and liquid examples that can be owned from the entire decade of the 1980s in the hobby. Condition is critical, and any other notable rookie or star player cards that survive in top-notch shape also command substantial prices. The 1987 season gave collectors cards of emerging talents that would go down as all-time greats.
