The 2020 baseball season was unlike any other due to the COVID-19 pandemic that delayed and shortened the season. The baseball card industry continued churning out new products featuring the games biggest stars. While the 2020 rookie class may not have had as much hype compared to years past, there were still several rare and valuable rookie cards inserted in packs. But some of the true gems from 2020 weren’t rookie cards at all, but rather serial numbered parallels and memorabilia cards of the games most popular players.
One of the biggest rookie cards of 2020 was Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts. While Betts isn’t technically a rookie since he played six full seasons with the Boston Red Sox, his first season with the Dodgers after being acquired in a blockbuster trade made his Dodgers cards very desirable. Some of Betts’ rarest 2020 Dodgers rookies include:
2020 Topps Chrome Yellow RefractorParallel (#/50) – These difficult to find parallels of Betts in his first Dodgers uniform have sold for over $500 in mint condition.
2020 Bowman Chrome 1st Refractor (#/150) – As one of Bowman’s premium refractors of one of baseball’s biggest stars on a new team, mint examples have topped $400.
2020 Topps Inception Black Parallel (#/25) – One of the most scarce parallels found, a PSA 10 copy sold for around $750 early in 2021.
Perhaps the highest profile rookie in 2020 was San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr, who had a breakout season that saw him finish third in NL MVP voting. Some of Tatis’ scarcest 2020 rookies include:
2020 Topps Inception Gold Parallel (#/5) – One of only five copies in existence, a PSA 10 sold for over $4,000.
2020 Topps Chrome Red Refractor (#/5) – Another incredibly low serial numbered parallel, one of these in a PSA 10 gem sold for close to $3,500.
2020 Topps Chrome Yellow Refractor (/50) – Still extremely rare numbered to just 50, mint examples have reached $1,000.
While prospects like Bobby Witt Jr, Spencer Torkelson and Emerson Hancock generated a lot of hype in 2020 products, perhaps the biggest rookie draw was Los Angeles Angels pitcher/outfielder Shohei Ohtani. After dominating on the mound and in the batter’s box in his MVP caliber 2018 season, Ohtani returned in 2020 from Tommy John surgery looking to reclaim the spotlight. Some of Ohtani’s scarcest 2020 cards include:
2020 Topps Chrome Rainbow Foil Parallel (#/10) – Featuring a beautiful rainbow spectrum parallel design, a PSA 10 sold for over $1,500.
2020 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor (#/50) – Numbered to a low 50 copies, mint 10s have reached up to $800.
2020 Topps Chrome Red Refractor (/5) – Another impressively low numbered parallel, mint examples have sold between $700-900.
Of course, the hobby’s biggest stars like Mike Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr, Juan Soto and others featured some ultra-rare 2020 parallels as well. But perhaps the most valuable 2020 card period is this 1/1 memorabilia masterpiece:
2020 Topps Best of Topps Jackie Robinson Logoman Auto Patch 1/1 – Featuring swatches from three Jackie Robinson jerseys authenticated with on-card signatures, this extraordinary 1/1 reached astronomical levels, fetching over $35,000 at auction.
2020 also saw the launch of new baseball card products like 2020 Topps Inception and 2020 Leaf Metal that featured premium refractors, parallels and hit card odds. And while the product flew off shelves in the early Covid collector frenzy, it’s the true gems that continue gaining in perception and auction value over time. With a shortened season and so many new collectors, finding high-grade copies of these types of serial numbered parallels and hit cards from 2020 is harder than ever. For savvy vintage collectors, 2020 cards may end up being some truly rare finds in the years ahead as the year takes on more historical context once removed from the pandemic.
