Drew Jones made his Major League debut with the Boston Red Sox in 1982 at the age of 24. While he didn’t emerge as a star player, Jones had a long, respectable career that spanned 12 seasons with four different teams. As a result, baseball card collectors today can find cards featuring Drew Jones from many different years and sets during the 1980s and early 1990s. Let’s take a closer look at some of the more notable and collectible Drew Jones baseball cards that exist.
1982 Topps #610: Jones’ rookie card was issued by Topps in their 1982 set. At the time, few would have guessed that the young outfielder from Boston would enjoy such a lengthy MLB tenure. The design of 1982 Topps cards featured a solid color background with the team name and player stats/accomplishments below a centered photo. Jones’ rookie card photo shows him in a Red Sox road gray uniform from his first season in the majors. While not extremely valuable at around $10-15 in raw condition, this serves as the first capturing of Jones on cardboard.
1984 Donruss #377: In just his second full season, Jones started to see more playing time with Boston as a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter. His 1984 Donruss card utilized a design that placed colorful team logo frames around each player photo. Jones is depicted in a batting stance wearing his Red Sox home whites. This issue is slightly more scarce than his rookie and can fetch $20-25 for collectors looking to add one of Jones’ early career cards to their collection.
1986 Topps Traded #T84: After being traded from Boston to the Chicago White Sox midway through the 1985 season, Jones’ 1986 Topps Traded card marked his first appearance in a new uniform. The ‘Traded’ subset highlighted players who changed teams since the previous year’s regular set. Jones is shown in a White Sox batting practice jersey with “Chicago” across the front. These traded cards tend to be more valuable to set builders at $30-40 due to their lower print runs compared to the base issues.
1988 Fleer #405: By 1988, Jones had become a full-time starter and offensive contributor for the White Sox. That breakout season is commemorated on his ’88 Fleer issue. Fleer cards from this era placed the brightly colored team logo at the top with a centered vertical player photo below. Jones displays his trademark left-handed swing wearing a White Sox road jersey. Still fairly obtainable in the $15-20 range, it’s one of the better looking cards from Drew’s peak years in Chicago.
1990 Leaf #91: After seven seasons on the South Side, Jones was once again on the move. He was dealt from Chicago to the San Francisco Giants during the 1990 season. Leaf produced a set that year which split players into “American League” and “National League” subsets. Jones’ card shows him with the Giants organization for the first time. With a limited print run being in the NL portion of the set, this transitional issue can be acquired for $25-30 by collectors.
1992 Stadium Club #362: Jones’ final MLB season was split between the Giants and Montreal Expos in 1992 at age 35. Stadium Club was an innovative new brand that year, utilizing creative photography and a premium cardboard stock. Their Drew Jones card featured a crisp action shot of him making a running catch in left field. While quite common from such a late-career release, it represents the last baseball card made of the veteran outfielder during his playing days.
In summary, Drew Jones enjoyed a stay in the majors from 1982-1992 that was worthy of being immortalized on baseball cards. While never a true superstar, collectors can find representations of Jones from a dozen different seasons across many classic 1980s/early 90s brands in their wax packs and collections. Prices remain reasonable for most, making his cards an attainable pursuit for those looking to acknowledge Jones’ respectable career at the game’s highest level through the cardboard pieces that chronicle ballplayers’ tenures. With solid production values and photographic variety, his baseball cards ensure the memory of Drew Jones lives on decades after his final major league at-bat.
