The 1990 Topps Traded baseball card set was released midway through the 1990 MLB season as a complement to Topps’ flagship baseball card release earlier that year. Like many Topps Traded sets from the late 80s and early 90s, the 1990 checklist featured current player and rookie cards that updated team affiliations and stats from early in the season. With 192 total cards, the 1990 Topps Traded set provided collectors another opportunity to add recently traded players and call-ups to their collections while also including some highly coveted short prints and inserts.
One of the standout rookie cards featured in the 1990 Topps Traded set was that of Cecil Fielder. Fielder had an outstanding rookie season with the Blue Jays in 1990 after being called up from the minors in late May, batting .276 with 13 home runs and 44 RBI in just 72 games. His rookie card in the Traded set showcased his powerful swing and emerging superstar potential. Another notable rookie was Chuck Knoblauch’s card, which featured his stats from early in his first full season with the Twins after being called up late in 1989. Both Fielder and Knoblauch would go on to have outstanding MLB careers and their rookie cards remain highly sought after by collectors.
Continuing the tradition of including some of baseball’s biggest stars and well-known players even if they did not switch teams, the 1990 Topps Traded set included short prints and photo variations of stars like Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken Jr., Wade Boggs, Ozzie Smith, and Kirby Puckett. Boggs’ short print card was one of the most scarce and valuable cards in the entire set. Buried deep within wax packs, it could be years before completing a full run of the base card checklist also becomes finding these coveted short prints and variations.
In terms of highlighting recently traded players, the 1990 Topps Traded checklist did an excellent job of including many notable names. Pete Smith and Jeff Robinson provided updates as new members of the Yankees after being acquired from the Reds. Willie Randolph and Rick Cerone also received new Yankee cards after joining the team from the Dodgers and Indians respectively. Dave Martinez transitioned to the Red Sox with his Traded card after being part of the enormous trade between Boston and Cleveland. Cecil Fielder and Rob Deer updated their uniforms with the Blue Jays through inclusion in the Traded set as well.
Also noteworthy were the Traded cards for recently dealt starting pitchers like Bobby Witt (Texas to New York Yankees), Orel Hershiser (Los Angeles Dodgers to Cleveland), and Jose Guzman (Chicago White Sox to Toronto). Relievers like Jeff Reardon (Minnesota to Boston) and John Franco (Cincinnati to New York Mets) also got new uniform photographs after offseason relief corps shakes ups. Even though he was not technically “traded” the significant free agent signing of Frank Viola to the Red Sox after five seasons with the Twins merited his inclusion.
In addition to the base cards highlighting recent moves, the 1990 Topps Traded checklist also included several popular insert sets that added to the excitement of the release. A whopping 20 return-to-the-majors cards showed stars who came back from injury or time away in 1990. Notable names included Dwight Gooden, Willie Randolph, and Dan Pasqua. A separate 8-card insert set highlighted call-ups and debuted the likes of Chuck Knoblauch, Gregg Olson, and Erik Hanson.
The set also had “Traded Team” cards splitting squads into groups of players who joined teams through trades versus free agency signings or remaining from the previous year. This provided another layer of tracking offseason transactions. Continuing a popular Topps tradition, ‘Traded Futures’ cards previewed up-and-coming minor leaguers who had not made the majors yet like Billy Ripken, John Valentin, and Dave Martinez.
In the end, the 1990 Topps Traded baseball card set did an excellent job of satisfying collectors’ appetite for updates on players who switched uniforms through the trades and free agent signings that followed the 1989 season. Rookie cards, short prints, team-makeup inserts, and prospects kept the mix lively beyond just new uniform photos. Three decades later, it remains one of the most complete and enjoyable annual Traded releases from the golden era of baseball cards in the late 80s/early 90s. Whether chasing star rookies, short prints, or completing the whole checklist, 1990 Topps Traded cards continue attracting collectors to this day.
