The 1989 Topps baseball card set was the 68th year that Topps produced baseball cards and featured all 26 Major League Baseball teams from 1988. The complete set included 792 total cards and featured players, managers, coaches, and some commemorative cards as well. Some of the more notable rookies in the set included Barry Larkin, Frank Thomas, and Greg Maddux. The design featured classic Topps aesthetics that baseball card collectors had come to expect.
The cards featured team logo designs across the top with the player’s name and position listed below. At the bottom was the team name. The photo took up most of the card with statistics listed along the right side including batting average, home runs, runs batted in, games played, and more. On the back, featured paragraphs provided a brief biography of the player along with career statistics. For star players, it also included spots to locate their signature. The cards measured 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches, which was the standard size for Topps baseball cards at the time.
Some of the stars featured included Rickey Henderson, Barry Bonds, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens, Ozzie Smith, and Nolan Ryan. The set also included young stars like Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, and Darryl Strawberry who were ascending into the elite tier of MLB players. Veteran stars like Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, and Robin Yount rounded out the all-time great players included in the set. Managers like Bobby Cox, Jim Leyland, and Davey Johnson also received cards in the set.
The packaging for the 1989 Topps set included wax packs with green backs. Each wax pack contained 5 or 6 random cards from the full set. Hobby boxes held 12 wax packs and retailed for around $15 at the time. The front of the wax pack featured Edgar Martinez of the Seattle Mariners along with the classic Topps logo. The set code “T289” appeared on the front as well to signify it was from the 1989 Topps series.
For collectors looking to build the complete set, it was also available as a factory set. These came packaged in a wax-paper-wrapped box with the full 792 cards assorted in the correct numerical order. Factory sets retailed for around $40, making them an easier option than trying to collect the entire set from wax packs alone. The factory sets included the coveted “Star Stickers” that could be applied to the backs of stars like Rickey Henderson and Roger Clemens.
The 1989 Topps set featured several integral vintage cards that remain highly coveted by collectors today. The main storylines included Barry Larkin’s impressive rookie card, Frank Thomas’ powerful debut season represented on his RC, and Greg Maddux’s first pro card showing his ascendancy. Other notable rookies included Barry Bonds, Tom Glavine, and David Justice. The set also featured the final cards for retiring legends like Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, and Jim Rice.
The design elements were fairly standard Topps fare, but collectors appreciated the classic nostalgic aesthetic. Card quality was also generally high without too many production flaws across the 792 total cards. PSA and BGS have graded many of the star cards and key rookies from the set at gem mint 10 levels due to good centering, sharp corners, and lack of surface issues. The design had staying power as well, with Topps continuing to use similar layouts and aesthetics into the 1990s.
In the decades since the set’s original release, values have greatly increased for the most coveted cards. Near-mint to mint condition copies of Barry Larkin’s stunning rookie card now command $500-$1,000. Frank Thomas’ impressive debut season represented on his RC has increased to $300-700 for top-graded versions. Greg Maddux’s first card is also highly sought after, grading at $250-500. Star veterans like Wade Boggs, Rickey Henderson, and Nolan Ryan have settled in the $100-$300 range depending on year, parallel, and condition.
The 1989 Topps set endures as one of the most iconic and recognizable releases from the late 1980s. Nostalgia remains high for sets produced during fans’ childhoods and teenage years. Strong production values along with capturing pivotal rookie seasons of future Hall of Famers make it a highly collected vintage set. While the cards present affordable collecting options in lower grades, mint condition gems have risen greatly in value since the late 80s and 90s. The nostalgia and storylines embedded in the 1989 Topps cards ensure its lasting legacy within the hobby.
