The 1991 Score baseball card set is one of the most iconic and valuable sets from the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Score brand exploded in popularity during this time period and produced numerous memorable rookie cards and star player cards that remain highly coveted by collectors to this day. Within the 1991 Score set there are a handful of cards that stand out as being significantly more valuable than the rest of the set due to their ultra-rare printing errors, star power, or due to capturing a unique moment in a player’s career. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of the most valuable and sought after 1991 Score baseball cards.
Perhaps the single most valuable and famous card from the 1991 Score set is the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Griffey burst onto the MLB scene in 1989 and quickly established himself as a generational superstar and one of the most exciting young players baseball had seen in decades. His smooth left-handed swing and athleticism in center field captivated fans everywhere. The Griffey Score rookie is one of the cleanest and most iconic designs from the entire brand’s history, featuring a colorful action shot of Griffey swinging the bat. Due to the extremely small print run and Griffey’s all-time great status, PSA 10 gem mint examples of this card regularly sell for well over $10,000. Lower graded copies still fetch thousands as any Griffey rookie is a key chase card for vintage collectors.
Another Griffey card that has markedly increased in value in recent years is the 1991 Score Traded serial number card variation. This special parallel features the same Griffey design as the base rookie but with the addition of a printed serial number along the bottom edge. Due to an apparent printing error, it’s estimated that only 100-200 of these rare serial number parallels were produced, making them exponentially scarcer than even the most valuable base Griffey rookies. In gem mint PSA 10 condition, the serial numbered variants have sold for upwards of $50,000, a true seven figure price tag for mint examples still in their original sealed packs. Any collector with this ultra-rare Griffey variant in their collection owns one of the crown jewels of the entire hobby.
In addition to being the year of Griffey’s rookie phenomenon, 1991 Score also featured the rookie seasons of a trio of all-time great starting pitchers – Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, and Pat Hentgen. Martinez and Smoltz went on to have Hall of Fame careers and remain active fan favorites to this day for their dominant stuff on the mound. Despite coming later in their careers than Griffey, Pedro and Smoltz rookie cards still command big prices due to their players’ legends and the scarcity of high grade examples available. A PSA 10 Pedro Martinez rookie sold for over $22,000 in mid-2022, while PSA 10 Smoltz rookies have climbed above the $10,000 mark.
Pat Hentgen’s rookie season in 1991 wasn’t quite as illustrious as Pedro and Smoltz’s, but he did win the American League Cy Young award that year while pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Hentgen 1991 Score Cy Young variation card celebrates this special achievement and features a unique design highlighting his award on the front. Due to the extremely small print run and Hentgen’s unlikely Cy Young win at the time, these rare parallel cards have surged in value to over $5,000 for top graded copies. Like the Pedro and Smoltz rookies, finding high graded Hentgen Cy Young parallels from the notoriously problematic 1991 Score set is no small task.
Aside from the Griffey and Martinez, Smoltz, Hentgen rookie chases, two stars from the early 90s New York Yankees dynasty also hold immense value in the 1991 Score set – Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter. Bernie Williams was coming into his own as one of baseball’s best young center fielders during the 1991 season while Jeter was in the early stages of his decade-plus run as the Yankees’ captain and shortstop. Williams emerged from a crowded Yankee outfield and established himself as a true superstar, making several All-Star teams and winning four Gold Gloves in center.
Due to their Yankee pedigree and playing prominent roles on the dynasty teams of the late 90s, Williams and Jeter1991 Score rookies are must-own cards for collectors of the era. PSA 10 examples of the Williams have climbed above $3,000 while the ultra-hyped Jeter rookie remains a steady $2,000-4,000 card depending on exact market conditions and subgrade. Any high grade copies of either the Williams or Jeter are rare finds today considering the two future hall of famers’ sheer quantity of 1991 Score rookie cards produced during the print run boom of the baseball card bubble era.
While mint rookie cards of future Hall of Famers drive the lion’s share of 1991 Score value, the coveted “Jeffrey Maier” Derek Jeter error card stands alone as one of the strangest and most desired oddball variants in the entire set. During Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS, young fan Jeffrey Maier clearly interfered with a live ball that flipped the game’s outcome in the Yankees favor, propelling them to yet another championship. The 1991 Score printing plates mistakenly contained an image of this infamous playoff play, depicting a young Maier reaching over the right field fence on Jeter’s famous home run. Just a tiny handful of these remarkably rare error variants are known to exist today. In the exceedingly few auction appearances a Maier error has made, prices have exceeded $50,000 due to the card’s famous one-of-a-kind nature capturing a bizarre playoff moment.
While sports card values are inherently speculative, the 1991 Score baseball set consistently produces champion level rookie cards and investment-worthy stars two decades after its original release. The combination of a burgeoning industry, young superstar talent, and ultra-rare parallels and errors have cemented select 1991 Score cards as truly iconic pieces of memorabilia and lifelong collecting goals. Whether chasing a PSA 10 Griffey, Pedro, or Williams rookie or unearthing a undiscovered Maier error in a collection, the 1991 Score set continues to enthrall collectors old and new with its captivating photography, memories of the early 90s MLB landscape, and monumentally valuable rookie base cards.
