The 1990 baseball card season featured several rookies and players that have become very valuable in the decades since. One of the most valuable of all 1990 cards is the Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Griffey was one of the most exciting young players to enter the league in many years and had a very successful career that would eventually lead him to the Hall of Fame. His 1990 Upper Deck rookie card is the most valuable card from that year by a wide margin. In near-mint to mint condition, the Griffey Jr. rookie has sold for over $10,000 and prices continue to climb higher and higher especially for cards that grade high on the Professional Sports Authenticator or PSA scale. This is an iconic rookie card featuring one of the true greats of the sport which has driven strong lasting demand and value.
Another extremely valuable 1990 card is the Frank Thomas rookie from Bowman. Like Griffey, Thomas would go on to have a hall of fame caliber career and his rookie card has also gained tremendous value over time. High grade PSA 10 examples of the Thomas rookie have sold for over $5,000 in recent years. Thomas was part of a wave of exciting young stars entering the league in 1990 and although Griffey’s rookie is clearly more desirable, the Frank Thomas card still holds great value considering how productive his career turned out to be.
A few other notable valuable 1990 cards outside of the rookie realm include the Nolan Ryan card from Score. Ryan was nearing the end of his legendary career in 1990 but his cards always hold great nostalgia and collector demand. His 1990 Score card in PSA 10 condition has sold for well over $1,000. Another powerful veteran card circa 1990 that has gained tremendous value is the Ken Griffey Sr. card from Topps. Although Griffey Sr. was approaching the end of his career in 1990 as well, the nostalgia and personal connection this card has to the legendary Ken Griffey Jr. has driven prices very high in recent years. High end PSA 10 Griffey Sr. cards from 1990 Topps have crossed the $1,000 threshold.
Two other highly valuable 1990 cards feature players who had breakout seasons that year and saw their cards appreciate enormously in value as a result. The Ryne Sandberg card from Fleer is a case in point. Sandberg had arguably his best season in the majors in 1990, winning the NL MVP award that year while having stellar all around numbers at the plate and in the field. His 1990 Fleer card price has reflected that great season and high end examples now trade for over $500. Another rookie who shone in 1990 and saw his card prices benefit greatly since is Dennis Martinez’s rookie from Score. Martinez tossed a perfect game for the Expos in 1990 and that combined with his overall strong season made his rookie card very popular. PSA 10 Martinez rookies now routinely sell in the $400-500 range.
Wade Boggs was another veteran star in 1990 who was still producing at an elite level offensively for the Red Sox and his card values correspond. Boggs’ 1990 Upper Deck card has increased tremendously in value and now trades hands for $300-400 graded mint. The same could be said for the Kirby Puckett card from Bowman in 1990. Puckett was in his prime with the Twins and was coming off back-to-back batting titles which has elevated his 1990 Bowman card to the $350-400 price range. Even Rickey Henderson’s 1990 Upper Deck card garners over $300 at the top grades now, reflecting his continued on base ability that year as one of baseball’s biggest stars of that era.
There were also a few very valuable 1990 rookie cards of players who had promising starts to their careers but did not sustain Hall of Fame level production over the long haul. The Bobby Witt rookie from Bowman is one example – Witt dazzled as a rookie in 1990 but arm injuries derailed his career potential. Still, his rookie card reached over $200 for a time due to that hot debut season. The Randy Johnson rookie from Bowman is another card with immense early value that has declined some since. Johnson struggled badly in his first two big league seasons but “The Big Unit’s” eventual dominance kept fairly high demand for his 1990 rookie, with PSA 10’s still near $150-200.
Two other notable 1990 rookies that excited collectors at the time but didn’t pan out as hoped long-term included the Chipper Jones Fleer Update rookie from later in 1990 and the Billy Ripken “Fuck Face” error card from Fleer. Both had selling prices reach $100-150 range at one point due to their rarity, rookie status of Jones, and infamous error with Ripken. Without the careers to back them up long term, prices have settled back to the $50-75 range today. Still, in the context of the early ’90s, these cards captured attention and value that demonstrated how prospects anderrors/variations can make cards very collectible for a period of time.
The 1990 season produced some all-time valuable rookie cards like Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas that have only increased in price over the decades to well over $10,000 each. Vintage cards of veterans continuing to star like Nolan Ryan, Kirby Puckett, and Wade Boggs along with breakout stars of 1990 like Ryne Sandberg and Dennis Martinez all retain tremendous collector demand and commensurate value graded high on the PSA scale in the $300-$500 range or more. The 1990 collector market reflects both the entrance of future hall of famers as well as performance and circumstance driving interest at the time for an array of players. It remains one of the most enduring vintage seasons for accrued card values.
