The 1990 Donruss baseball card set featured some incredible MVP performances on its cardboard. In 1990, four players who were featured in the Donruss baseball card set took home Major League Baseball’s Most Valuable Player awards. Those players were Jose Canseco of the Oakland A’s (American League MVP), Barry Bonds of the Pittsburgh Pirates (National League MVP), and Willie McGee of the St. Louis Cardinals and Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A’s (1990 Donruss Traded set).
Let’s take a deeper look at each of these 1990 MVP winners and what made their seasons and baseball cards so memorable. Jose Canseco (#53) had one of the most prolific power-hitting seasons in baseball history in 1988 when he smashed 42 home runs for the A’s en route to winning AL Rookie of the Year honors. In 1990, he followed that up by becoming the first member of the 40-40 club (hitting 40+ homers and stealing 40+ bases in a season). Canseco blasted 44 home runs and stole 40 bases to help lead the A’s to the AL pennant. His monster power numbers and all-around offensive production resulted in Canseco receiving 22 of 28 first-place MVP votes to take home the award.
Canseco’s 1990 Donruss card featured him swinging a bat from the left side of the plate with his muscular build on full display. The card highlighted Canseco’s ability to both hit for power and steal bases, noting his 1989 season when he hit 33 home runs and stole 16 bases. It was a fitting baseball card to commemorate Canseco’s historic 1990 AL MVP campaign and his status as one of the game’s true five-tool players. Over in the National League, Barry Bonds (#277) put together what might be considered the greatest all-around offensive season in MLB history in 1990.
Playing for the Pirates, the 25-year-old Bonds batted .301 with 33 home runs, 103 RBI and had an otherworldly .688 slugging percentage. He also stole 34 bases and was a Gold Glove caliber right fielder, showcasing elite power, speed and defense. Bonds’ spectacular all-around contributions led all NL position players in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at 9.7. He took home the NL MVP with 28 of 28 first-place votes, becoming the first Pittsburgh Pirate to win the award since 1978. Bonds’ 1990 Donruss card featured him batting from the left side in a Pirates road uniform.
It highlighted the left fielder’s career year and rising superstar status after four hugely productive major league seasons. Bonds put the entire baseball world on notice that he may go down as one of the game’s all-time greats with his 1990 MVP campaign. Over in the National League, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Willie McGee turned in a career year to claim the NL batting title and lead his team to a pennant in 1990. McGee (#421) hit a scorching .335 with 215 hits, 40 doubles, 11 home runs and 77 RBI while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field.
His outstanding all-around contributions propelled McGee to receive 13 of 28 first-place votes for NL MVP honors. It marked the first individual accolade of McGee’s impressive 12-year major league career spent primarily with the Cardinals. McGee’s 1990 Donruss card showed him batting left-handed with his smooth lefty swing on display. The back highlighted McGee’s prowess at getting on base, noting he had led the NL in hits twice and finished in the top five in batting average three times previously. McGee put forth his best season at age 32 to take home a much-deserved MVP award.
Rickey Henderson’s 1990 season and subsequent Donruss card were featured in the brand’s traded set that year. By 1990, Henderson had already established himself as the all-time stolen base king and one of baseball’s true base-running marvels as an Oakland A’s player from 1979-1984. After bouncing around to a few other clubs, Henderson returned “home” to Oakland for 1990 and put together yet another historically great campaign. Henderson batted .325 with 28 homers, 81 RBI and 119 runs scored. He led the AL with 66 steals at the age of 31, showing his game-changing speed was still at an elite level late in his productive career.
While Jose Canseco captured the AL MVP award, Henderson’s incredible all-around numbers merited him receiving a handful of MVP votes as well. His 1990 Donruss traded card captured Henderson striding towards second base, emphasizing his speed and how adept he was at utilizing his legs to produce runs for the A’s. It brought back memories of Henderson’s early Oakland years when he established himself as a true five-tool star for the A’s franchise. The 1990 Donruss baseball card set provided investors and collectors with cardboard commemorating some of the most impressive MVP campaigns and player performances in baseball history.
From Jose Canseco reaching the 40-40 club to Barry Bonds putting up what may have been the best single-season numbers ever, the talent captured on those cards were among the game’s all-time greats. Rickey Henderson and Willie McGee also enjoyed career-best seasons recognized by MVP votes. In total, the 1990 Donruss set enshrined four legitimate MVP winners who had incredible individual seasons powering their clubs to success. It marked one of the best single-year collections of MVP talent ever assembled in one baseball card release. Those 1990 MVP cards remain some of the most historically significant and collectible in the hobby.
