Adam Everett was a slick fielding shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1999-2011. While he never developed into a star hitter, Everett established himself as one of the best defensive shortstops of his generation through incredible range, strong arm, and smooth hands. This defensive prowess led to a long MLB career and made Everett one of the more collected players from the early 2000s in the hobby of baseball cards.
Everett was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 1st round of the 1996 amateur draft out of Georgia Southern University. He made his big league debut with Houston in 1999 at just 21 years old and went on to play the majority of his career with the Astros through 2007. In Houston, Everett developed a reputation for sabermetric defensive standards like runs saved and total zone fielding runs. He led the National League in total zone fielding runs by a shortstop in both 2002 and 2003 according to Baseball-Reference.com.
Everett’s defensive skills stood out so much that he garnered MVP votes in the 2002 season despite batting just .234 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI in 151 games. He placed 18th in NL MVP voting that year based primarily on his stellar defense at shortstop. This recognition on a great Astros team that won 102 games helped launch the popularity of Everett’s rookie cards from sets like Topps, Fleer, and Donruss selling for inflated prices while he was still an active player.
After leaving Houston as a free agent, Everett spent one season each with the Red Sox and Twins before finishing his career with two more seasons back with the Astros from 2010-2011. He continued to display strong defense late in his career, but batting struggles kept him from extended playing time his final few seasons. Throughout his career, Everett authored what many consider the finest defensive season ever by a shortstop with the Astros in 2002 when he led the league with 30 defensive runs saved according to The Fielding Bible.
As his playing career wound down, interest grew in Everett’s rookie and early career baseball cards as collectors sought out the defensive standout’s best seasons captured on cardboard. PSA Gem Mint 10 graded versions of his 1999 Bowman Chrome, Topps Chrome, and Topps Traded rookie cards rose in value based on his accomplishments in Houston. From 2002-2005 with the Astros, Everett autographed and game-used memorabilia also gained popularity.
Even after he retired, Everett’s defensive accolades and strong debut seasons in Houston kept the demand high for his flagship Topps and Bowman rookie cards in the years since he last played. This is partially due to the rise of advanced defensive stats now caught up to his brilliance with the glove in the early 2000s. Websites like Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs have further highlighted how much runs he saved the Astros over his 8 seasons with the team. As one of the best defensive shortstops of all-time by the numbers, this lasting recognition has led collectors to covet the cards that capture Everett in his prime.
In the modern vintage baseball card market, PSA 10 versions of Everett’s prized 1999 Topps, Topps Chrome, and Bowman Chrome rookie cards today sell in the $150-250 range routinely. High grades of his 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 Topps base cards that defined his time as an Astro also trade hands between $50-150. Clearly, Everett’s legacy as one of the best fielding shortstops in recent memory mixed with the rarity of Gem Mint graded examples have maintained strong collector demand and prices for his early issue cards nearly 15 years after his retirement.
As advanced defensive metrics became standard, retroactive analysis proved what Astros fans witnessed – Adam Everett was a defensive wizard at shortstop. This new appreciation has filtered into the collecting world by way of increased search and price trends for Everett’s best cards from his standout Houston seasons. While he never hit much, Everett left his mark through impeccable glovework – a reputation now cemented in baseball card valuations many years after he last took the field. His mix of on-field accolades and undervalued cardboard keep the Adam Everett collecting conversation going today within certain circles.
