10 Baseball Cards That Define the 1960s: My Sports Card House of Representatives - Ep. 3.33

Our election process continues on, as we go through each Topps flagship set from every year, choosing ONE card to represent each year, while also choosing ONE player for that card. That means we’re only picking 10 baseball players from the 1960s, leaving out some great players, just like we did for the 1950s Sports Card House of Representatives.

The other issue we have is that our baseball card collection is meant for the card collector working with a limited budget. That means you’re not going to see ultra-expensive rookie cards of guys like Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan and Johnny Bench!

The reason we’re doing this is because I’m a “Type Collector,” choosing one card for each player usually, and I needed to refine my collection, without losing all the superstars!

Remember who we elected in our 1950s exercise – because they can’t be elected for a second term! That means Phil Rizzuto, Duke Snider, Yogi Berra, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente have exhausted their eligibility!

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The 1960s Sports Card House of Representatives

This isn’t a list of the 10 most valuable cards from the 1960s, or even a list of the 10 greatest players of the decade. The 1960s class has one card from each year, one term per player, chosen to tell the story of the decade and my collection. Card images come courtesy of BuySportsCards.com.

1960 Topps Sandy Koufax #343

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Nicknamed the Left Arm of God, Koufax entered the decade as an inconsistent young pitcher with the Dodgers, and he would leave baseball just six years later with an elbow injury. But he left the game as one of its legends, winning three unanimous Cy Young Awards and an NL MVP Award in 1963. He was considered the first West Coast sports superstar, after the Dodgers moved to L.A. in the late ‘50s.

This 1960 Topps card was the last flagship set that came with the landscape design, and the circus tent colors don’t affect this card’s greatness!

1961 Topps Frank Robinson #360

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What’s not to love here. “The Judge” is one of the most underrated athletes in the hobby ever, considering he’s a 500-HR club member, and a Triple Crown winner in 1966. While three different MLB teams retired Robinson’s jersey, and built a statue of him outside their stadium, I wanted to get a card of Robinson in his Reds jersey. That’s the team he came up with, and that’s how I think of him.

1962 Topps Willie Mays #300

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“You waited until 1962 to elect Willie Mays!” I know, that’s quite disrespectful. But the cards I chose have some rules – they can’t be too expensive, and they have to be good looking cards! Mays deserves to be on the Mount Rushmore of collectable baseball players, alongside Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron and Jackie Robinson. And some argue the 1962 Topps woodgrain-bordered set also deserves to be on the Mount Rushmore of vintage card designs!

1963 Topps Stan Musial #250

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“Stan the Man” didn’t start getting Topps cards until 1958, well into his baseball career, and this 1963 card was his final issue before retiring. A 3,000-hit club member, hitting .331 for his career, Musial’s last card would end up on a landmark set design that would be copied every 20 years. The dual photo look would happen again in 1983, 2003 and then again most recently in 2023.

1964 Topps Pete Rose #125

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Rose’s floating head rookie card is out of my range. But that’s OK because this card is so much better looking – and my wallet agreed! The all-time Hit King was just beginning his career, and this All-Star Rookie Team trophy portends great things ahead! Rose might not be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but just know that this second-year issue is unquestionably a Cardboard Hall of Famer.

1965 Topps Roger Maris #155

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We’re going back-to-back with non-Hall-of-Fame legends!

Four years removed from the Babe Ruth-record breaking 61-homer season, Maris represents one of the defining baseball stories of the early ‘60s. He also gives the House a player whose historical importance is greater than his Hall of Fame résumé. I chose this card to represent him in my collection because I needed him in a Yankees uniform, and this one is a beauty.

1966 Topps Brooks Robinson #390

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I vacillated over several players for these next two choices, but Robinson won the election for 1966. He is one of the greatest defensive players ever, and a key cog of Baltimore’s dynasty run. But Brooks has never been a big hobby name, but he still won out over teammate Jim Palmer’s rookie card.

1967 Topps Carl Yastrzemski #355

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After looking over all the candidates for 1967 Topps, including Bob Gibson, Joe Morgan, and Willie Stargell, Yaz won out. Carl’s 1967 season was one for the ages, winning the hitting Triple Crown and his only American League MVP Award.

1968 Topps Tom Seaver #45

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As you’ll notice, there are several great second-year cards on this list, and Seaver’s stands out as one of the gems. This 1968 set was sandwiched between Seaver’s 1967 NL Rookie of the Year and his first NL Cy Young Award in 1969, when the Amazin’ Mets won the World Series.

This 1968 Topps card of “Tom Terrific” has the burlap border, as well as the iconic All-Star Rookie Team trophy – and a great portrait photo of a legend.

1969 Topps Nolan Ryan #533

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Ryan’s 1968 rookie card with Jerry Koosman was too rich for my blood, but even this one, along with Rose’s 1964 second-year card, rank among the most expensive from this 1960s class. The 1969 Topps design is just so basic, but that’s offset by this colorful photo’s beauty, and the lines of Ryan’s follow-through – even though the ball is still in his glove.

Baseball card stories are awesome!

The Strength of This 1960s Class!

This 1960s class tells the story of a changing of the guard – baseball’s changing generations. At the start of the decade, superstars like Mays and Musial were at their peaks. In the middle of the decade, Koufax, Maris and Rose were the big names, and just like the end of the ‘60s in America, youth led the charge into the next decade in baseball with Amazin’ Mets pitching stars Ryan and Seaver.

The Superstars Who Lost Their Elections

Once again, not everyone gets elected. While some of these guys have a chance at getting elected in the 1970s Class, it’s not guaranteed! Just like how Stan Musial, Willie Mays and Frank Robinson had to wait for the ‘60s elections for different reasons, the same goes for ‘60s legends like Steve Carlton, Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Willie McCovey, Joe Morgan, Jim Palmer, and Willie Stargell. (Spoiler alert: Only one of these players gets elected in the 1970s Class!)

Their omission shouldn’t be viewed as me not liking those players – but there are only 10 seats! Plus, a Reggie Jackson rookie card is expensive!

The 1970s Class is going to be an interesting one – and I’m letting you know, TWO of the cards who get elected are going to be HUGELY controversial. One card is of a player who hadn’t played baseball for decades, and the other is of a pitcher who won just 29 games in his entire MLB career.

Now It’s Your Turn!

Who made it on your ballot for the 1960s Sports Card House of Representatives? Let’s hear about your choices – and omissions – in the comments section below!

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If you enjoyed this post, check out this post you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

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Stan “The Man” Musial was one of baseball’s all-time greats, finishing his Hall of Fame career with:

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12 Best Basketball Rookie Cards To Collect Since 2020 - Ep. 3.32

From Victor Wembanyama’s generational hype to Anthony Edwards becoming one of the faces of the league, and now Cooper Flagg ushering in the new Topps era of NBA cards, there’s no shortage of incredible rookie cards to chase from the past six years!

But here’s the question: Which rookie cards actually belong at the top of your want list?

Our list is not based solely on who the best players are today, but on which chromium base rookie cards will collectors still be chasing years from now?

Grab your binder, pull up your eBay watch list, and let’s count down the 12 most collectible NBA rookie cards of the 2020s!

The Best of the Rest

• 13. 2021 Prizm Scottie Barnes - Card No. 320 - View on eBay!

• 14. 2023 Prizm Brandon Miller - Card No. 152 - View on eBay!

• 15. 2022 Prizm Chet Holmgren - Card No. 266 - View on eBay!

• 16. 2021 Prizm Franz Wagner - Card No. 310 - View on eBay!

• 17. 2023 Prizm Amen Thompson - Card No. 150 - View on eBay!

• 18. 2021 Prizm Alperen Sengun – Card No. 318 - View on eBay!

• 19. 2021 Prizm Austin Reaves - Card No. 165 - View on eBay!

• 20. 2024 Prizm Zaccharie Risacher – Card No. 265 - View on eBay!

• 21. 2024 Prizm Matas Buzelis - Card No. 252 - View on eBay!

Strong-Term Long-Term Holds!

12. Stephon Castle — 2024 Panini Prizm #234

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Castle has all the tools to become one of the NBA's premier two-way guards, combining elite perimeter defense, playmaking ability, and the size to guard multiple positions. If his outside shot continues to improve, his rookie card could become one of the biggest bargains from the 2024 draft class as collectors recognize his All-Star potential.

11. LaMelo Ball — 2020 Panini Prizm #278

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Ball won NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 and quickly became one of basketball’s most entertaining playmakers with his flashy passing and deep shooting range. Despite battling injuries, his Prizm rookie card remains one of the hobby’s most recognizable modern basketball cards. His move to Minnesota could finally bring him some playoff success and a higher profile than he has had in the past.

10. V.J. Edgecombe — 2025 Topps Chrome #253

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The Baylor product is one of the most explosive athletes in the 2025 rookie class, drawing attention for his highlight-reel dunks and defensive intensity. His Topps rookie card offers collectors plenty of upside as he continues to develop at the NBA level. But playing on the 76ers, it’s going to be tough to find shots in his second year, with Joel Embiid, LeBron James and Jaylen Brown joining the team.

9. Tyrese Maxey — 2020 Panini Prizm #256

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Speaking of Philly, Maxey has gone from a late first-round draft pick to one of the NBA’s most exciting scoring guards through relentless improvement. While his chances of going deep into the playoffs have improved with offseason additions to the 76ers, Maxey will have to get camera time while fighting many other personalities than he has in recent years.

Maxey’s Prizm rookie card has rewarded collectors who recognized his upside before he became an All-Star.

Tier 2 Future Cornerstones

8. Dylan Harper — 2025 Topps Chrome #252

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The son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, Dylan Harper entered the NBA carrying both elite pedigree and enormous expectations. His Topps Chrome rookie card still has great upside as the Spurs have to figure out if Harper is going to overtake De’Aaron Fox in the starting lineup.

7. Kon Knueppel — 2025 Topps Chrome #254

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One of the top rookies from the 2025 draft class, Knueppel quickly earned praise for his elite shooting touch and polished offensive game. He set the all-time NBA rookie record by making 207 three-pointers in a single season, and his stats compare favorably with Larry Bird at this stage in their careers. Knueppel’s Topps Chrome rookie card is viewed as one of the better long-term pickups.

6. Paolo Banchero — 2022 Panini Prizm #249

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Banchero made an immediate impact by winning NBA Rookie of the Year after being selected first overall in 2022. His Magic team just hasn’t been able to put together a nice playoff run, which would help his exposure considerably. Banchero’s Prizm rookie card anchors a talented draft class and remains one of the hobby’s favorite modern base rookies.

5. Jalen Williams — 2022 Panini Prizm #246

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Nicknamed “J-Dub,” Williams has become one of basketball’s fastest-rising young stars thanks to his efficient scoring and versatile game. He might play Scottie Pippen to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Michael Jordan, but that could be enough to earn him a handful of rings. Williams’ Prizm rookie card has gained significant momentum as Oklahoma City has emerged as a championship contender.

4. Cade Cunningham — 2021 Panini Prizm #282

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The first overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cunningham has developed into one of the league’s premier all-around guards. He’s built like a vending machine, with great touch, a fierce penchant for driving the lane, and good looks that garner attention from cameras. His Prizm rookie remains the key card from one of the hobby’s strongest modern rookie classes.

Tier 1 — The Franchise Rookie Cards

3. Anthony Edwards — 2020 Panini Prizm #258

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Ant-Man has become one of the NBA’s biggest highlight-makers, known for his explosive dunks and fearless personality. His Prizm rookie card has steadily climbed as collectors increasingly view him as one of the faces of the league’s next generation.

2. Victor Wembanyama — 2023 Panini Prizm #136

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Wemby’s Prizm rookie card is already considered one of the most important basketball cards of the decade thanks to his unprecedented combination of size, skill, and global popularity. Many collectors compare the demand for his rookie cards to the excitement surrounding LeBron James’ debut over 20 years ago.

1. Cooper Flagg — 2025 Topps Chrome #251

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As the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Flagg entered the league with as much hobby hype as Wemby — but with a domestic flavor. Flagg’s arrival coincided with Fanatics getting the NBA license, which makes his Topps rookie card one of the defining modern basketball cards of the past 20 years — especially if he develops into the franchise superstar many project.

Which NBA rookie cards do you think deserve to be ranked higher — or lower! Which guys did I forget about altogether!?!

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post, check out this post you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

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The 1950s Ballot For My Sports Cards House of Representatives - Ep. 3.31

If you asked 100 collectors to build the perfect baseball card collection, you’d probably get 100 different answers.

Some would chase rookie cards. Others would focus on Hall of Famers. Some would collect every card of their favorite player, while others would only buy cards in PSA 10 holders.

Lately, I’ve realized that none of those approaches really fit me.

Instead, I’ve been building something I call my Sports Cards House of Representatives. Last week, I explain how I’m upgrading my enjoyment of my collection by “downgrading.”

The idea is simple. Every year of cardboard gets one representative. One card. One player. One story.

For Topps baseball, that means choosing one card from every year beginning in 1952 (with 1951 Topps Red & Blue Backs serving as a fun prequel) all the way through today. Once a player is elected, there are no second terms. Mickey Mantle can’t represent three different years, and Hank Aaron only gets one seat in the House.

That limitation is what makes the project so much fun — and I’m going to do this for each decade going forward, so stay tuned!

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A Collection That’s Actually Finishable

Most of us comeback collectors don’t have unlimited budgets. We’d all love to own a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, a T206 Honus Wagner, and every Willie Mays card ever printed.

Reality doesn’t work like that for most of us.

This project forces me to think like a museum curator instead of a “completionist.” I’m not trying to own everything. I’m trying to own the right example from each chapter of Hobby History.

Sometimes that means buying a PSA 1 instead of waiting years for a higher-grade copy. Sometimes it means selling one expensive card to buy another that tells a better story.

I’ve started calling that “downgrading to upgrade,” and it’s become one of my favorite collecting philosophies.

The 1950s Representatives

Here’s who earned a seat in my Sports Card House of Representatives from the decade that launched modern baseball card collecting. Card images come courtesy of BuySportsCards.com.

1951 Topps Phil Rizzuto — Red Back

Topps’ first baseball issue wasn’t really a baseball card set at all — it was a card game.

That uniqueness alone makes the set fascinating, but Phil Rizzuto makes it even better. The 1950 American League MVP and seven-time World Series champion was the steady heartbeat of the Yankees dynasty.

I picked up an SGC 6.5 for around $150, proving that Hobby History doesn’t always require a second mortgage.

1952 Topps Duke Snider (Black Back)

Could I have chosen Mickey Mantle? Sure...if I had an extra six figures lying around.

Instead, I went with one of Brooklyn’s greatest stars in Duke Snider, and his 407 career homers. His black-back variation adds another layer of history since those early printings are scarcer than the later red backs.

1953 Topps Yogi Berra (not owned yet!)

There may never be another winner quite like Yogi Berra: 10 World Series championships and 3 American League MVP Awards. But statistics aren’t the only reason I chose him.

The 1953 Topps artwork is one of the most beautiful designs Topps has ever produced, and somehow the painted portrait captures Yogi’s personality as much as his baseball greatness.

1954 Topps Ted Williams (#250) (not owned yet!)

Ted Williams could have won this election with either of his 1954 cards. But I ultimately chose card No. 250 because of its gorgeous design and unique comic-strip back.

The last man to hit .400 in a season deserves a seat in any baseball card collection.

1955 Topps Ernie Banks

“Let’s play two!”

Mr. Cub wasn’t just one of baseball’s most beloved personalities. He was also a two-time National League MVP with 512 career home runs.

His smile alone probably earned him a few extra votes.

1956 Topps Jackie Robinson

Some elections aren’t close — and this one was a landslide win for the man who changed baseball forever: Jackie Robinson.

The 1956 Topps set also happens to be one of my favorite card designs ever created, making this an easy choice. My copy is only graded Authentic after being trimmed somewhere during its lifetime, but that’s perfectly fine with me.

Every collection tells stories, imperfections included.

1957 Topps Hank Aaron (not owned yet!)

The first Topps baseball set to feature full-color photographs deserved one of the greatest hitters who ever lived. But this card tells an even better story.

Because the photo is a reverse negative, right-handed Hank Aaron suddenly appears to be batting left-handed, with the backwards “4” on his jersey.

One of the greatest players. One of the hobby’s most famous photography mistakes.

That’s exactly the kind of story I love collecting.

1958 Topps All-Star Mickey Mantle

This may surprise some collectors. I didn’t choose Mantle’s regular 1958 Topps card.

Instead, I picked his All-Star card, partly because it’s beautiful, partly because it’s more affordable thanks to being triple-printed, and partly because legendary broadcaster Bob Costas famously carried this exact card in his wallet for years.

That’s the kind of hobby trivia that makes a card unforgettable.

1959 Topps Roberto Clemente

The famous “porthole” design already makes the 1959 set memorable.

Then you add Roberto Clemente and his 3,000 hits, 12 Gold Gloves and one of baseball’s greatest humanitarian legacies.

And as a bonus, the bright yellow background perfectly matches the Pittsburgh Pirates colors. Sometimes great design is reason enough to fall in love with a card.

The Ones Still Waiting Outside the Chamber

Not everyone gets elected… At least not yet.

Legends like Sandy Koufax, Stan Musial, Al Kaline, Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson, and Bob Gibson are still waiting for their chance. Some of them will almost certainly earn seats when I get into the 1960s.

Others may never make it. That’s part of the challenge.

Remember that the best collections aren’t built by saying “yes” to everything. They’re built by making difficult choices.

Now It’s Your Turn

That’s my ballot for the 1950s. Would your Sports Card House of Representatives look different? Would you have found room for Willie Mays? Chosen a different Mickey Mantle? Given Sandy Koufax a seat instead of someone else?

Leave a comment and tell me which card of which player you would have elected instead. The debates are half the fun!

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post, check out this post you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

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Good things take time to build. I'm using this brief pause to create a Premium Membership that's packed with more value, more fun, and more reasons to look forward to every month.

Premium Paused… Upgrade in Progress!

A few weeks ago, I made the decision last month to pause Paid & Happy Hobby Chrome Subscriptions until October. I wanted to share why.

First, this wasn’t because I felt paid members weren’t getting value. Your support has meant the world to me, and I hope the exclusive content, newsletters and tools have already been worthwhile.

The reason I hit pause is simple: I want Premium Memberships to feel even more special.

Rather than simply continuing what we’ve been doing, I want to build something that gives you more reasons to be excited about being a member every month. I’m using this short break to add benefits that go beyond articles and videos.

Here’s what I’m planning to roll out:

• Exclusive sports card apps and tools available only to Premium members.

• Happy Hobby Sports Cards coffee mug for all Happy Hobby Chrome Members ($100/year).

• The return of WIBAW (What I Bought and Why), where Patrick Imhoff and I share cards we’re buying and the thinking behind each purchase.

• Monthly giveaways exclusively for paid members, including cards, supplies and fun stuff.

• Happy Hobby Buddy Break opportunities, where members can join at-cost group breaks without inflated pricing.

My goal has always been to help you become a smarter, happier collector — not just by creating content, but by building a community that’s fun to be part of. This newsletter is essentially built for The Comeback Collector, which means we’re more about the hobby than “Return on Investment.” It’s about fun, not funds.

If you’ve supported me already, THANK YOU! (Yearly members and Happy Hobby Chrome Club members will get 3 months added to their membership. Monthly paid members will just have their subscriptions start up again in October.)

In the meantime, I’ll keep creating free newsletters, podcasts, and videos for everyone. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on.

Happy Hobby!

— David

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Why I’m Selling My Best Sports Cards (And I’m Happy About It) - Ep. 3.30

We’ve been told for decades now that the goal of collecting is to get bigger cards, higher grades and more expensive slabs. Upgrade! Upgrade! Upgrade!

Improving the value of your sports card collection isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you. It’s just not the only thing you should worry about.

Lately, however, I’ve realized that’s not the kind of card collection I actually want.

Instead of just spending my money on the biggest cards i can afford, I began to pivot how I collect, and I started buying more cards that mean more to me personally.

Some might call it “downgrading” (selling bigger cards for more smaller ones), and I’m OK with that. But I believe it’s actually an upgrade to my collection, as I focus more on what I want.

“Downgrading” My 1958 Topps Hank Aaron

I’m selling my 1958 Topps Hank Aaron #30 PSA 5, so I can eventually buy a 1957 Topps Hank Aaron in an SGC 3.

On paper, I’m gaining one year in card age, but I’m losing two grades and dropping to a perceived lesser grading service, not to mention the eBay fees from my sale.

In reality, though, I’m gaining my favorite Hank Aaron card ever — the reverse-negative photo, Topps’ first cards with color photographs, and one of the most beautiful cards Hank Aaron cards ever.

It’s a downgrade on the label, but a huge upgrade in my enjoyment.

7 Benefits of Downgrading Your Sports Card Collection

Here’s why selling my big sports cards makes sense for me right now.

1. Taking Advantage of a Strong Market

The sports card market is unpredictable, but what we do know is we’re in one of the strongest periods the hobby has ever seen. Look at the monthly volume of card sales on Card Ladder dating back to 2010 into the first half of this year.

If collectors are paying these premium prices for sports cards you own — why not let today’s market help finance tomorrow’s collection? You’ll simply move money out of sports cards you like into sports cards you’ll appreciate even more.

2. Enjoy More Cards

Remember that your sports card collection isn’t/shouldn’t be your retirement account — it’s something you’re supposed to enjoy. (It might end up being both, but it’s unlikely.)

Personally, I’d rather own vintage cards of five Hall of Famers that each tell a different story than have all of that value tied up in a single slab sitting in a safe.

Experience more of the hobby instead of concentrating all your enjoyment into one expensive card.

Yes, you can sell some cards you don’t love and buy an expensive card you do love, but you can also sell cards you “like.”

It also gives collectors permission to stop chasing someone else’s definition of the “right” card. Maybe you’ll never own a 1952 Topps Willie Mays, and that’s perfectly all right.

If the 1961 Topps Willie Mays is the card that makes you smile every time you see it, let that be your Willie Mays representative. The same goes for card condition. Your collection doesn’t have to be filled with PSA 10s to be meaningful collection. A PSA 3, an SGC 4, or even a beautiful raw card can tell some great stories.

Colored Toploader Binders I Buy

3. Less Financial Stress

Every collector has a dollar amount where a card stops being fun, and starts becoming stressful. Instead of thinking, “I can’t wait to show someone this card,” you start thinking, “I really hope nothing ever happens to this card.”

That’s not a fun feeling.

By selling my most expensive cards, I can still own pieces of hobby history without constantly worrying about whether they’re properly insured, safely stored, or protected from every possible disaster.

4. Greater Peace of Mind

The more valuable your collection becomes, the more responsibilities come with it, meaning you’ll have to worry about insurance policies, home security, shipping concerns, storage, and showing caution when displaying your cards online.

Three short years ago, showing my cards behind me in a video didn’t mean much. But now, I’d rather move on from those cards, and show good cards behind me, that won’t endanger my house or family.

While you might not have a YouTube channel, you still have people that likely come through your house at different moments, and you don’t want to become a target.

Collecting should be relaxing, not stressful.

Check Out MagPro Holders on Amazon!

5. Every Card Tells Another Story

One of the main reasons I’ve pivoted to this new philosophy is because I’m a type collector. I don’t need 10 copies of the same rookie card. I’d much rather own one representative card from every year, every Hall of Famer, or every iconic Topps set.

Every new card becomes another story to tell.

Instead of buying doubles, I explore other players, other sets, other eras, or other piece of baseball history. To me, that’s far more rewarding than simply increasing the grade on a card I already own.

6. Your Collection Becomes More Personal

Once you stop worrying about investment value, you start asking different questions. Which player photo do I love the most? Which baseball card design brings back the best memories? Which card perfectly captures that era?

Nobody else gets to answer those questions for you.

Understand that the goal isn’t to own the “best” card according to the market. The goal is to own your best card. Basically, you want to own the card that means the most to you every time you look in your display or open your binder.

7. You Remember Why You Started Collecting

Most “Comeback Collectors” didn’t return to the this awesome hobby because they wanted to compete in a PSA registry. We came back because we remembered opening wax packs on our beds, flipping through our binders, trading cards with friends, and discovering cards we’d never seen before.

That’s the feeling I’m chasing now.

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Holding Elections Now!

Instead of owning fewer and fewer cards that cost more and more money, I’d rather own more cards that tell more stories. That’s ultimately what led me to create what I’m calling my Sports Card House of Representatives! Just one baseball card from every year that best represents that season in my collection.

I’m excited to share this journey with you over the next few weeks! I’ll share who got elected, which elections were landslide wins (1956 Topps Jackie Robinson!), and which seats are still open. Get ready — because I’ll ask for your Representatives, too!

Have you ever improved your baseball card collection by selling a card to buy a lesser one?

I’d love to hear about it! Drop it in the comments below!

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9.4K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.7K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

The Best Ways to Organize Your Sports Card Collection (Without Spending a Fortune!)

Every sports card collector reaches a point where the collection starts getting a little out of hand. It usually begins with a few blaster boxes and a handful of singles, but before long you’ve got 5,000-count boxes all over the closet, cards stacked on your desk, and binders tucked onto bookshelves.

Then one day you’re looking for a specific rookie card — and realize you have no idea where you put it.

Getting organized isn’t about having the prettiest card room or the fanciest storage setup. It’s about making the hobby more enjoyable.

When you know where your cards are:

• You spend less time searching.

• Avoid buying duplicates.

• Can actually appreciate the collection you’ve spent years building.

The good news is there isn’t one “correct” way to organize a sports card collection. The best system depends on how you collect. Since this newsletter is all about enjoying the hobby on a real-world budget, let’s focus on methods that are inexpensive, practical, and easy to maintain.

Start with the Basics

If your collection includes multiple sports, begin by separating everything into baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and whatever else you collect. It’s a simple first step, but it instantly makes a large collection feel much more manageable.

From there, I recommend organizing each sport by year and then by set. For example, all of your 2024 baseball cards stay together, followed by your 2025 cards, with each year’s sets grouped separately. It’s the same system most longtime collectors naturally settle into because it’s easy to expand as your collection grows.

Inside each set, I like to separate stars, rookies, and higher-value cards from the commons. Those better cards deserve penny sleeves or top loaders, while the commons can stay safely in labeled cardboard storage boxes. There’s no reason to spend more protecting a 25-cent common than the card itself is worth.

Ultra-Pro Toploaders I Buy From Amazon

Different Collectors, Different Systems

Not every collector approaches the hobby the same way, and your organization system should reflect that.

If you’re a set builder… organizing by year, set, and card number makes the most sense. Missing numbers become obvious, duplicates are easy to spot, and completing a checklist becomes much less frustrating.

If you’re a favorite player/team collector… organizing by player may be the better/obvious choice. A Ken Griffey Jr. collector probably doesn’t care whether a card came from 1992 Donruss or 1993 Upper Deck — they just want to enjoy flipping through Griffey cards. That’s a perfect opportunity to use great Toploader Binders.

Colored Toploader Binders I Buy

If you’re an investor/flipper… then that brings different priorities. They often separate graded cards, raw rookies, numbered parallels, cards headed for grading, and inventory that’s ready to sell. Their collections function more like a business than a personal collection.

Most of us actually end up using a combination of these systems. I organize flagship sets by year and card number, keep my personal collection together by player, and store cards I’m planning to sell in their own section. The important thing is finding a system that makes sense to you.

My Favorite Sorting Trick

Once you’ve decided how to organize your collection, there’s still the challenge of putting hundreds of cards into numerical order for each set. Thankfully, there’s a trick that makes that job much easier.

A few years ago, I shared one of my favorite sorting methods on YouTube, and it’s become one of the most popular videos I’ve ever made. The funny part is I didn’t invent the method—it’s actually a computer science algorithm called Radix Sort, specifically the Least Significant Digit (LSD) version. Don’t worry, though. You won’t need to do any math. The math has already done the hard part.

Instead of sorting cards by the hundreds digit first, then the tens, and finally the ones, Radix Sort works in reverse. You sort by the last digit, then the middle digit, and finally the first digit, picking up the stacks in a specific order after each pass. In some kind of mathmagical way, the cards end up perfectly sorted with far less handling than the traditional method.

The first time I tried it, I honestly thought there was no way it would work. After using it on a few hundred cards, though, I was hooked. Now it’s the method I use whenever I’m sorting a new flagship set, and it’s saved me a tremendous amount of time over the years.

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Organization Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive

One mistake I see collectors make is assuming they need premium storage for every card they own. In reality, a few sturdy cardboard storage boxes, some dividers, penny sleeves, and top loaders for your better cards are enough for most collections.

As your collection grows, your organization system can grow with it. You can always add binders, graded-card boxes, or specialty storage later if your needs change. There’s no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on storage before you know what works for you.

Check Out MagPro Holders on Amazon!

At the end of the day, the best organization system is the one you’ll actually maintain. It doesn’t need to look like a card shop or a YouTube studio—it just needs to help you find the cards you’re looking for and protect the ones that matter most.

After all, we didn’t get into this hobby because we love organizing boxes. We got into it because we love sports, the stories behind the cards, and the thrill of adding another great piece to our collections. A little organization simply helps us spend more time enjoying those moments—and that’s always a smart investment.

How do you sort and organize your sports card collection?

I’d love to hear how you do it! Drop it in the comments below!

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9.3K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.7K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

7 Sports Card Logos We’d Love to See

One of the little things that can make a sports card feel special is a great logo.

In a previous article, we talked about some of the greatest sports card logos that changed the hobby forever. , including: The Rookie Card logo, Future Stars banner and the Topps All-Star Rookie Cup. They’re tiny design elements, but they instantly tell a story about a player.

That got me thinking... What logos haven’t been invented yet?

If I somehow became Commissioner of Sports Cards for a day (which sounds like an awesome job), here are a few logos I’d introduce immediately.

Don’t get me wrong, our resident Happy Hobbyist sports card designers and photographers (, and ) probably think I’m crazy for ruining the card landscape. But what the heck do I know about card design!?!

🏆 MVP / Cy Young Winner

This one seems like a no-brainer.

If a player wins the MVP or Cy Young Award, every card they receive the following season should include a small MVP or Cy Young logo.

Even better, if they’ve won multiple awards during their career, stack the logos.

Imagine looking at a Shohei Ohtani card someday and seeing multiple MVP logos lined up beside his name. And if he ever wins a Cy Young Award, add that one to the collection, too! Without reading the back of the card, you’d instantly know you’re looking at one of the greatest players of his generation.

⭐ All-Star

Technically, card companies already do this. When players make the All-Star team, many cards include that season’s All-Star Game logo. That’s fine... but I’d rather see something timeless.

Bring back the oversized stars from the 1970s, like the ones on the 1976 Topps set. Then add a number beside it showing how many All-Star teams they’ve made.

8x⭐

Simple. Clean. Instantly recognizable.

Every baseball fan has a home run they still see when they close their eyes. For Matt Musico? It was Edgardo Alfonzo on July 4, 1999, when he gave the Mets a late lead over the Braves.

That was a big inspiration behind “MLB Daily Dingers,” which includes the release of Matt’s new book, The Power Kings. It’s a stat-filled look at each MLB team’s all-time sluggers and the most powerful single-season performances. Click here to get your copy today!

#1 Overall Pick

Some accomplishments deserve to follow a player forever.

If someone was selected first overall in the draft, every card they ever have should proudly display a “No. 1 Pick” logo.

It doesn’t matter if it’s baseball, football, basketball or hockey. Being the top pick in your entire draft class is a huge accomplishment, and it deserves to be celebrated long after draft day.

🏈 Heisman Trophy Winner

Along those same lines, every football card of a Heisman Trophy winner should include a Heisman logo.

It’s one of the most prestigious awards in all of sports.

Just like the No. 1 Pick logo, this accomplishment doesn’t disappear after a player’s rookie season. It becomes part of who they are.

Wouldn’t it be cool to get a 2026 Topps Fernando Mendoza RC with BOTH of card logos of being the No. 1 Pick and a Heisman Winner?

🚀 Rookie Sensation

I absolutely love the old Fleer “Rookie Sensation” logo from the early 1990s, so I’d bring it back, but with a modern twist.

Unlike the Topps All-Star Rookie Cup, which only recognizes one player at each position, Rookie Sensation would celebrate all of the standout rookies from the previous season.

You could even stretch the definition a little..

Maybe a few highly anticipated young stars earn it before they truly break out, similar to how Rated Rookie cards often predict future greatness instead of simply rewarding past performance.

Sometimes the hobby is about celebrating potential just as much as production.

Check Out MagPro Holders on Amazon!

🏈⚾🏀 Fantasy Scoring Champion

Whichever player produced the most fantasy points the previous year gets a special logo on all of his cards the following season.

Would it be a little subjective? Sure.

Would fantasy managers argue about scoring formats? Absolutely.

But Fantasy Sports and card collecting have so much overlap that I’d love to see the two hobbies collide like this in a fun way.

👋 Final Card

One great hobby niche is how many people collect a player’s final card.

There’s something poetic about it. We spend so much time chasing rookie cards that we sometimes forget the card that closes the book on a legendary career.

Whenever a player retires after a season, his first card the following year should include a Final Card logo. It would instantly let collectors know, “This is the last regular card you’ll see of this player.”

Can you imagine if Mickey Mantle’s final regular-issue card in 1969 included a “Final Card” designation?

One of the best parts is that Final Cards are often far more affordable than rookie cards. Not everyone can own a Hall of Famer’s rookie card, but almost anyone can pick up the last card from a legendary career without blowing their collecting budget.

For budget collectors like me, that’s a fun and meaningful way to own a little piece of sports history.

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Too Many Logos?

Okay... I agree, there has to be a limit.

Imagine a card with Rookie Sensation, No. 1 Pick, Heisman Trophy, MVP, All-Star, Fantasy Champion and who knows what else. At some point, it starts looking like a NASCAR race car.

So we’d create a ranking system, with only the biggest accomplishments making it onto the cardboard.

Maybe a player’s card could display only the top two or three logos, something like:

• No. 1 Overall Pick

• Heisman Trophy Winner

• MVP

That keeps the cards clean while still highlighting the accomplishments that define a player’s career.

What Logos Would You Add?

Sports cards tell stories. Statistics tell part of that story, and photography tells another part. But cool sports card logos can tell the rest.

Whether it’s highlighting awards, milestones, Fantasy dominance or something nobody has thought of yet, I think there are plenty of ways sports card companies could make modern cards even more fun to collect.

What sports card logo would you create if you were in charge?

I’d love to hear your ideas! Drop some suggestions in the comments below. Who knows? Maybe one of the card companies is paying attention.

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9.2K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.7K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

PSA doesn't own the word 'slab.' Here's how to take it back for $4 a card.

Escaping PSA’s Grip: How a $4 Holder Gave Me My “Slabs” Back

Let’s be honest about where the hobby is right now: PSA has a chokehold on how we think about “displaying” our cards. If it’s not in a slab, it doesn’t feel official. And if you want that slab, you’re now paying $79.95 a card (minimum), waiting months, and hoping a robot or a stressed-out grader doesn’t ding you a half-point for a soft corner you can’t even see.

That’s fine if you’re flipping cards as short-term investments. But most of us aren’t doing that. Most of us are collecting because we love the cards:

• Our PC guys

• Our favorite teams

• Our junk wax from 1985

• The cards from our childhood that won’t grade a 10 (or a 5 even!)

• The oddballs that just make us smile.

Sending those to PSA doesn’t make sense. Spending $80 to “prove” a common is worth $12 is a losing game, and deep down we all know it.

So I found a way out: Zion Cases MagPro Magnetic Card Holders with Labels, available on Amazon, with free shipping.

What are MagPro Holders?

These are magnetic one-touch style holders that snap your card in securely, and they come with a label slot on the front, which makes them much different from standard magnetic one-touch holders. The holder with the label window gives it that same visual look/height as a graded slab, minus the grading company, minus the fee, minus the wait. You pop your card in, add a label, and now it displays like a slab on your shelf, in your case, wherever.

And the pricing (with free shipping!) is what makes this a no-brainer:

• 1 holder: less than $4

• 10 holders: less than $36

• 25 holders: less than $80 — The same price as grading a single card with PSA.

Think about that math for a second. For the cost of ONE PSA slab, you can properly display 25 cards from your collection. That’s not a close call.

Making the Labels Your Own

This is where it gets fun. Zion Cases includes labels you can hand-write — player name, year, set, whatever you want. Quick, simple, done.

But if you want to level it up, grab some 65-lb. card stock and design your own custom labels in Canva. That’s what I did — I built a label template and added “Happy Hobby Collection” at the bottom of every one. It turns a generic display holder into something that’s actually mine.

If you’re doing this for your own cards, steal the idea: your name (or your collection’s name) + “Collection” at the bottom is an easy way to make every card in your case feel like part of something bigger, not just a random pile of cardboard. (You’re also welcome to use “Happy Hobby Collection!”)

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They Hold Their Own Next to PSA Slabs

Here’s the part that surprised me: these don’t look like the “budget” option sitting next to graded cards. Lined up in a display case, the MagPro holders hold their own right alongside PSA slabs. Same footprint, same presentation instinct, same shelf appeal — just without the plastic-encased price tag.

Why This Matters

I didn’t get into this hobby to grade commons or chase population reports. I got into it because I love these cards — some of them since I was a kid, some of them because they’re just cool, some of them because they’re the ones I actually can’t replace. The MagPro holders let me treat all of those cards with the same respect a $79.95 slab would give them, without pretending they need a third party’s stamp of approval to be worth displaying.

Got a shoebox full of cards you love but you can’t justify grading? This is your out. $4 a card — or $80 for 25 — and you get your own slab wall, on your own terms, PSA-free.

Check Out MagPro Holders on Amazon!

Got a favorite card you finally gave the display treatment it deserved? Got some ideas of what you’d name your collection in your own personalized label?

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post, check out these other posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9.2K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.6K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

Junk wax extraordinaire and Happy Hobby Chrome Member wrote this article and chose the 101 best baseball cards from the ‘80s and ‘90s that budget-minded sports card collectors can happily chase!

When our esteemed friend, Mr. Gonos, mentioned he was looking at putting together some Top 101 lists, amongst them Top 101 Junk Wax baseball cards, I felt compelled to offer my service in compiling the list.

You see, I consider myself somewhat of a connoisseur. In fact, the main reason I got back into the cherished hobby of my youth in 2009 was specifically to pull all of the awesome junk wax rookie cards out of packs. Especially baseball, and especially those that were out of reach for me at the time (mowing a couple lawns per week did not allow a kid near enough bread to get all the candy and soda one wanted, and the red-hot Don Mattingly rookie card du jour).

To this end, I’ve been ripping assorted junk wax basically the majority of my weekends ever since. Many will not totally agree with my list, but I tried to do my best to arrange this list in order of importance from my recollections as a child of the “Beckett Era.”

Some Notes Before the List!

• You might notice a couple of infamous cards missing from the list (1990 Topps Frank Thomas "No Name on Front" and Finest refractors come to mind), but I tried to provide a complete list of cards that were still within reach for the Happy Hobbyist, with a little budgeting, anyway.

• I outright did not include O-Pee-Chee, Topps Tiffany, or Fleer Glossy or Score Glossy cards on the list.

• Some choices are just as much about the importance of the set in the context of the junk wax era, as it is for the actual player.

• Baseball cards from the years that I personally consider to be from the “Junk Wax Era: 1981-1995.”

• Gonos linked a couple handfuls of cards to eBay — these are affiliate links that will help support this newsletter. (Thank you!)

101 Greatest Junk Wax Baseball Cards To Collect!

As a member of the eBay Partner Network, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

1. 1989 Upper Deck #1 Ken Griffey Jr RC - View on eBay!
2. 1984 Donruss #248 Don Mattingly RC - View on eBay!
3. 1986 Donruss #39 Jose Canseco RC - View on eBay!
4. 1985 Topps #401 Mark McGwire OLY RC - View on eBay!

5. 1982 Topps Traded #98T Cal Ripken Jr - View on eBay!
6. 1986 Topps Traded #11T Barry Bonds XRC - View on eBay!
7. 1989 Topps Traded #41T Ken Griffey Jr RC - View on eBay!
8. 1993 Upper Deck SP #279 Derek Jeter RC - View on eBay!
9. 1983 Topps #482 Tony Gwynn RC - View on eBay!
10. 1989 Fleer #616 Bill Ripken F Face Error
11. 1984 Fleer Update #U27 Roger Clemens XRC
12. 1986 Topps Traded #50T Bo Jackson XRC - View on eBay!
13. 1984 Fleer Update #U93 Kirby Puckett XRC
14. 1982 Topps #21 Cal Ripken RC - View on eBay!
15. 1984 Topps #8 Don Mattingly RC - View on eBay!
16. 1983 Topps Traded #108T Darryl Strawberry XRC
17. 1983 Topps #83 Ryne Sandberg RC - View on eBay!
18. 1983 Topps #498 Wade Boggs RC - View on eBay!
19. 1986 Topps Traded #20T Jose Canseco RC
20. 1987 Fleer #604 Barry Bonds RC
21. 1990 Leaf #57 Frank Thomas RC
22. 1993 Topps Stadium Club Murphy #117 Derek Jeter RC - View on eBay!
23. 1989 Donruss #33 Ken Griffey Jr RC
24. 1984 Fleer #131 Don Mattingly RC
25. 1982 Fleer #176 Cal Ripken Jr RC
26. 1987 Donruss Opening Day #163 Barry Bonds RC error
27. 1985 Topps #181 Roger Clemens RC - View on eBay!
28.1985 Topps #536 Kirby Puckett RC
29. 1986 Fleer #649 Jose Canseco RC
30. 1987 Donruss #46 Mark McGwire
31. 1987 Fleer #369 Bo Jackson RC
32. 1984 Donruss #68 Darryl Strawberry RC
33. 1990 Leaf #220 Sammy Sosa RC
34. 1989 Fleer #548 Ken Griffey Jr RC
35. 1993 Topps #98 Derek Jeter RC - View on eBay!
36. 1983 Fleer #360 Tony Gwynn RC
37. 1981 Topps #302 Fernando Valenzuela RC
38. 1984 Fleer Update #U43 Dwight Gooden RC
39. 1983 Fleer #507 Ryne Sandberg RC
40. 1983 Fleer #179 Wade Boggs RC
41. 1986 Fleer Update #U14 Barry Bonds XRC
42. 1986 Donruss The Rookies #11 Barry Bonds XRC
43. 1989 Score Traded #100T Ken Griffey Jr RC - View on eBay!
44. 1982 Donruss #405 Cal Ripken Jr RC
45. 1983 Donruss #598 Tony Gwynn RC
46. 1985 Fleer #155 Roger Clemens RC
47. 1985 Fleer #286 Kirby Puckett RC
48. 1987 Topps #320 Barry Bonds RC
49. 1986 Donruss Rookies #38 Bo Jackson XRC
50. 1983 Donruss #277 Ryne Sandberg RC
51. 1983 Donruss #586 Wade Boggs RC
52. 1990 Topps #414 Frank Thomas RC - View on eBay!
53. 1990 Score #697 Bo Jackson Baseball/Football
54. 1987 Topps #366 Mark McGwire
55. 1987 Topps #170 Bo Jackson RC

56. 1991 Upper Deck #SP1 Michael Jordan - View on eBay!

57. 1992 Bowman #461 Mike Piazza RC
58. 1985 Donruss #273 Roger Clemens RC
59. 1985 Donruss #438 Kirby Puckett RC
60. 1994 Upper Deck SP #15 Alex Rodriguez RC - View on eBay!
61. 1987 Donruss #361 Barry Bonds RC
62. 1987 Donruss #35 Bo Jackson RC
63. 1993 Bowman #511 Derek Jeter RC
64. 1992 Bowman #302 Mariano Rivera RC
65. 1989 Upper Deck #25 Randy Johnson RC
66. 1992 Fleer Rookie Sensations #1 Frank Thomas
67. 1991 Donruss Elite #1 Barry Bonds
68. 1987 Donruss #36 Greg Maddux RC
69. 1989 Bowman #220 Ken Griffey Jr RC
70. 1989 Fleer #381 Randy Johnson RC
71. 1989 Upper Deck #357 Dale Murphy rev neg error - View on eBay!
72. 1993 Upper Deck #449 Derek Jeter RC
73. 1986 Topps Traded #24T Will Clark XRC
74.1993 Pinnacle #457 Derek Jeter RC
75. 1992 Fleer Update #U92 Mike Piazza RC
76. 1987 Fleer #204 Barry Larkin RC
77. 1989 Topps #647 Randy Johnson RC
78.1985 Topps #627 Eric Davis RC
79. 1988 Topps Traded #1T Jim Abbott USA RC
80. 1985 Topps #493 Orel Hershiser RC
81 1993 Select #360 Derek Jeter RC
82. 1989 Donruss #42 Randy Johnson RC
83. 1987 Fleer Update #U68 Greg Maddux RC
84. 1991 Fleer Ultra Update #U58 Ivan Rodriguez RC
85. 1993 Topps Finest #107 Nolan Ryan
86. 1993 Score #489 Derek Jeter RC
87. 1989 Score #645 Randy Johnson RC
88. 1987 Topps Traded #70T Greg Maddux RC - View on eBay!
89. 1981 Topps #261 Ricky Henderson
90. 1994 Upper Deck #19 Michael Jordan RC
91. 1987 Fleer Update #U76 Mark McGwire
92. 1991 Topps #333 Chipper Jones RC
93. 1981 Donruss #538 Tim Raines RC
94. 1988 Fleer Update #U74 John Smoltz XRC
95 1988 Score Traded #103T Craig Biggio XRC
96. 1992 Bowman #532 Manny Ramirez RC
97. 1991 Topps Stadium Club #388 Jeff Bagwell RC
98. 1981 Fleer #346 Harold Baines RC
99. 1991 Bowman #68 Jim Thome RC
100. 1988 Topps #779 Tom Glavine RC
101. 1988 Score #645 Gregg Jefferies RC

How many of these 101 great junk wax baseball cards do you have in your collection? Drop it in the comments!

Thank you, Happy Hobby Chrome Member for writing this list!

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post about great baseball cards, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9.2K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.6K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

The Complete Mickey Mantle Base Card Story: Looking at All 21 Base Cards!

Every Mickey Mantle had 21 base cards across an 18-year career. Twenty-one little rectangles of cardboard that tell the story of the greatest switch-hitter who ever lived — from a wide-eyed rookie in 1951 to a legend saying goodbye in 1969.

Today we’re going card by card through all of them. Bowman, Topps, oil paintings, TV-set borders, wood grain, ocean-dumped rarities — it’s all here. And every single one has a story worth knowing.

1951 Bowman — The True Rookie

This is the last card depicting a fully healthy Mickey Mantle. He tore his ACL in Game 2 of the 1951 World Series and played the remaining 17 years of his career without a fully intact ACL — and still became one of the greatest players who ever lived.

1952 Topps — The Mona Lisa

Legend has it that Topps couldn’t sell the high-number series, so they loaded boxes onto a barge and dumped them into the ocean — taking cards of Mantle, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and the Eddie Mathews rookie card down with them. The scarcity that created is a big reason this card is worth more than Mantle’s actual rookie.

1952 Bowman — The Consolation Prize

Imagine cracking a pack, pulling a 1952 Mickey Mantle — and realizing it’s not the Topps. That’s the collector’s equivalent of pulling a Griffey Jr. rookie and finding out it’s the Topps Traded instead of the Upper Deck. Times a million.

1953 Topps — The $25 Masterpiece

Many collectors consider this Mantle’s best-looking card. Every image in this set was an individual oil painting commissioned from New Jersey artist Gerry Dvorak — who charged Topps just $25 per painting.

1953 Bowman — Color Comes First

Contrary to popular belief, the first color photographs on baseball cards didn’t appear in 1957 Topps. They were right here, in 1953 Bowman — four full years earlier. PSA considers it among the most beautiful sets of the modern era.

1954 Bowman — The Contract Year

Mantle was locked into a Bowman-only contract, meaning if you wanted a Mantle card in 1953 or 1954, Bowman was your only option. Topps fans had to wait.

1955 Bowman — The TV Set

Bowman framed this card to look like a television set — and if you look closely at the bottom of the frame, it says “Color TV.” Interesting, given that color TVs had only just reached consumer markets in 1954 and wouldn’t go mainstream for another decade.

1956 Topps — Topps Takes Over

Topps purchased Bowman in January 1956, ending the card wars for good. This is Mantle’s first Topps card in three years — and the first Topps card where he’s actually smiling.

1957 Topps — The Card That Set the Standard

This set standardized the 2½” × 3½” card size. The same dimensions every trading card still uses today, more than 65 years later.

1958 Topps — The Only Time It Happened

This is the only year that Mantle, Ted Williams, and Stan Musial all appeared in the same Topps set together. It never happened before, and it never happened again.

1959 Topps — The Red Border

Sometimes the fact is simple: that red border just works. Compared to the yellow background on the 1958 card, this one pops in a way that makes it one of the most visually satisfying Mantle cards of the decade.

1960 Topps — Circus Tent

Mantle’s last landscape-format card features a beautiful main photo — and then an inset that cuts off the top of his bat and hides his feet behind the Yankees logo, all against a coral background. It’s a lot.

1961 Topps — Six Cards Deep

The 1961 Topps set contains more Mickey Mantle cards than any other — six in total, including base, league leader, All-Star, and two separate home run highlight cards. Topps knew what they had.

1962 Topps — The Wood Grain

The iconic wood-grain border became so beloved that Topps brought it back exactly 25 years later in 1987 — creating another iconic set for a whole new generation of collectors. We’re still waiting on 2012.

1963 Topps — Already a Legend

The back of this card notes that Mantle already ranked seventh all-time in home runs. He was 31 years old. He had six seasons left to play. Worth thinking about the next time you watch Shohei Ohtani, who is that same age right now in 2026.

1964 Topps — The Accessible One

The bold team names across the top divide collectors, but there’s an upside: this set isn’t particularly condition-sensitive, making it one of the more budget-friendly ways to land a Mantle card in solid shape.

1965 Topps — First Homer in the Dome

Mantle played in the exhibition game that inaugurated the Astrodome — the world’s first domed stadium — and hit the very first home run ever struck inside that building, on April 9, 1965.

1966 Topps — Just the One

This was the first time since 1956 that Mantle appeared on just a single card in an entire Topps set. No All-Star card, no league leaders, no combo. Just this one.

1967 Topps — Wrong Position, Right Story

The card lists him as “Outfield” — but Mantle played first base the entire 1967 season because his body was too worn down for the outfield. The DH rule was still six years away. One has to wonder how many more seasons it might have bought him.

1968 Topps — Limited Stats

The vertical card back returned for the second straight year, limiting how much of Mantle’s career stats collectors could see. Topps fixed it the following year — just in time for the farewell.

1969 Topps — The Last One

Mantle announced his retirement on March 1, 1969 — and it’s noted right on the back of this card. His final stat line: 536 career home runs, third all-time behind only Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. This card also shares a set with Reggie Jackson’s rookie card — the passing of one Yankee legend, the arrival of another.

Which Mickey Mantle base card is your favorite? Reply and let me know — or drop it in the comments!

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post about great baseball cards, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9.1K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.6K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

What Are the Pillars of Your Sports Card Collection?

Every sports card collection needs a backbone.

Without one, it’s easy to drift into impulse buys, chase hype, and end up with a stack of cards that doesn’t really tell a story. That’s why understanding the pillars of your collection matters so much: they give your hobby purpose, focus, and staying power.

The good news is that pillars are not complicated. They’re simply the main themes, standards, and goals that define what belongs in your collection and what doesn’t.

What are “Collection Pillars?

Your pillars are the core lanes of your collection. They might be built around players, teams, eras, sets, grades, card types, or a combination of those things.

For example, a collector might focus on:

• Favorite players from childhood.

• Hall of Famers from the 1980s.

• Rookie cards only.

• Graded cards in strong condition.

• A specific team or franchise.

A pillar becomes more powerful when it includes a standard, not just a subject. “Michael Jordan cards” is a theme. “Michael Jordan cards from key sets in PSA 8 or better” is a pillar.

Why Pillars Matter

Pillars make your collection easier to manage because they act as a filter. When a card comes up for sale, you can quickly ask whether it fits your lane or whether it’s just an attractive distraction.

They also help with budgeting. Instead of spreading your money across random cards, you can concentrate on the cards that matter most to your goals.

And just as important, pillars make your sports card collection more satisfying. A focused collection feels intentional, while a scattered one can feel like a pile of unrelated purchases. If you ever want to explain your collection to another collector, or even to yourself a year from now, having clear pillars makes that much easier.

How to Choose Your Pillars

The best place to start is with your why.

Ask yourself what you actually enjoy most in the hobby:

• Nostalgia.

• A favorite team.

• A favorite era.

• Rookie cards.

• Vintage cards.

• Graded cards.

• Rare inserts or parallels.

• Autographs.

• A specific set build.

Then narrow that into a few lanes you can realistically sustain. Most collectors do better with three to five pillars than with a dozen loosely connected ideas.

A simple formula helps:

• Example: I collect graded rookie cards of my favorite players from the 1980s and 1990s because that era brings back the best memories.

That kind of statement gives your collection direction.

How to Improve Your Pillars

Once you have them, the next step is refining them.

You improve collection pillars by making them:

1. More specific.

2. More realistic.

3. More aligned with your budget.

4. More consistent with your taste.

5. Easier to buy for over time.

If your focus is too broad, narrow it down. If your standards are too loose, define them more clearly. If your budget keeps getting stretched, adjust the lane so it fits your actual collecting life instead of your fantasy collecting life.

A good pillar should feel both exciting and sustainable. If it only works when the market is hot or your wallet is full, it probably needs refinement.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The biggest mistake is making your collection too broad.

Collectors often start with a vague idea, then keep expanding until the original focus disappears. That’s how “collecting my favorite team” turns into buying anything that looks cool.

Other common mistakes include:

• Copying someone else’s collection instead of building your own.

• Chasing hype instead of staying true to your goals.

• Setting too many rules and making the hobby feel like homework.

• Changing direction so often that the collection never develops an identity.

Refining your collection should make it stronger, not more confusing.

A Simple Decision Test

Before you buy a card, ask:

1. Does it fit one of my pillars?

2. Does it meet my standards?

3. Would I still want it if the price did not move?

If the answer is yes to all three, it probably deserves a place in your collection. If not, it may just be a distraction.

That little check can save you a lot of money and a lot of regret.

Build Your Story

The best collections are not just piles of cards. They’re stories.

Your pillars are what give that story shape. They tell you what to chase, what to pass on, and how to keep the hobby fun without losing focus.

So if your collection feels scattered, don’t just buy more cards. Step back and define the backbone first. Once the pillars are clear, everything else gets easier.

The strongest card collections are not the biggest ones — they’re the ones with the clearest identity.

I want to know — what are the pillars of your sports card collection! Let us know in the comments below!

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9.1K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.6K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

Well, I’m back.

Build a better sports card collection on a real-world budget — that’s what this whole Happy Hobby world is about, and for two weeks, I genuinely didn’t know if I’d get to keep doing it.

If you missed it: my YouTube channel got hacked. Not just the channel — my Gmail too. When those two things go down at once, your entire digital life goes down with them. For a few days, somebody else was me. It took almost two weeks to untangle it.

Here’s the story, what it cost me, and what’s changing going forward for the channel, the podcast, and this newsletter.

How It Happened!

It was 3:30am on a Friday — June 12th, a date that’s now burned into my brain. I have trouble sleeping sometimes, so I got up, sat down at my computer, and started going through email. There was a message from someone wanting me to join their advertiser network — connect your YouTube, they match you with sponsors, that kind of thing.

This wasn’t unusual. As the channel grew past 9,000 subscribers, I’d been getting more outreach like this. I’d used legit tools before — VidIQ, Opus Clip — that ask for the same kind of YouTube access. So I Googled the company, found a real-looking website, started signing up, and connected my YouTube.

Within 60 seconds, I was locked out of everything. Gmail, YouTube, gone. It was instant, and I knew immediately I’d made a mistake.

Whoever did this didn’t just lock me out — they changed my recovery email, my recovery phone number, everything. Fast, practiced, methodical.

This wasn’t his first time.

This wasn’t just a stolen email — it was stolen identity. A police report had to be filed, in case further issues develop with our credit, bank accounts or tax information.

It was a nightmare!

What I Lost

Almost everything tied to that Google account, which I’d had since 2011:

• 15 years of Gmail and contacts

• Google Keep — where I kept 100+ video and article ideas, years of sports card history research, website plans, podcast season plans

• Google Sheets — every spreadsheet I had (and I love my spreadsheets!)

• Every account I’d ever signed into with “Continue with Google”

• The backup codes I’d saved for account recovery — which, ironically, I’d also stored in Google Keep

That last one still makes me laugh. Write your passwords down somewhere safe that isn’t tied to the account that just got stolen. Use different passwords for different things. I know how obvious that sounds. I learned it the expensive way anyway.

My YouTube channel got fully shut down a couple of days later for “violations,” which actually turned out to be a small blessing — the hacker could no longer use my channel, and he’d already posted a live stream of an Elon Musk SpaceX video with a sketchy QR code in the corner. If you ever see something like that: don’t scan it. Apparently that’s exactly how this kind of thing spreads further.

Give Me Back My Channel!

After days of thinking I was done with sports card content creation (I wasn’t going to start over!), I got some hope via X/Twitter!

I tweeted @TeamYouTube, explained what happened, and they walked me through a recovery form — though even finding my own YouTube ID (different from my handle) took digging through old emails I could barely access.

Our buddy — the VP of the Happy Hobby world, and someone I’d given limited posting access to once while I was traveling — posted a video for me explaining the situation to you all, then deleted his own access afterward so the hacker couldn’t use him as a backdoor. That was a genuinely selfless move and I owe him for it.

Slowly, things came back. Gmail first, which was the biggest relief because it unlocked Keep and Sheets and everything else. Then, a few days later, YouTube flipped back on — at 11pm on a Friday night, of all times, which meant two videos I’d spent a long time on got auto-posted back-to-back and basically wasted (see The Dandy Dozen Vintage Baseball video below!).

You can’t plan for everything.

The Community Made This Bearable

While all this was happening, I told the Substack readers in the chat what was going on as soon as I could. The response was honestly overwhelming — people reaching out, people sad to see the channel possibly gone for good, people just being kind.

It felt like writing a eulogy for something that wasn’t dead yet, and that’s a weird feeling. But it also reminded me why this whole thing is worth doing. This is a genuinely good community. People are kind to each other here. That’s not nothing.

What This Forced Me to Notice

For the first time since the late ‘90s, I wasn’t creating something every single week. No video, no podcast, no newsletter to get out the door. That’s been my rhythm since I wrote fantasy sports newsletters for my league, fantasy articles for CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, and now 5-plus years of creating Happy Hobby card-collecting content.

With that pressure gone for two weeks, I unwound. I read more physical books. I spent more quality time with my wife Shelby. I connected more with my mom, who recently moved in with us.

It was a rough way to get there, but it was a real reminder that all this content creation — which I love — takes a lot out of the week.

What’s Changing Going Forward

I’m not starting over, and I’m not stopping. But it’s going to look a little different:

• Fewer, less-produced videos. Less of the heavily edited, cards-flying-in style videos, more of me just talking with you — sharing what I’ve learned, rankings, research. The podcast, video, and newsletter are converging into one combined post, which I was already moving toward.

• A rebrand. The YouTube channel is moving from “David Gonos” branding to Happy Hobby Sports Cards as the primary identity going forward. I’d wanted to do this for a while but worried about disrupting the algorithm. Well — starting from near zero now, there’s no better time.

• More tools for paid subscribers. I’m leaning into the apps and tools I’ve been building for budget collectors — things that stay valuable long after they’re published, unlike a video that has a short shelf life before people stop searching for it. Paid subscribers will start seeing more of these.

• Buddy breaks continue. We just posted one on the 2026 Topps Series 2 Hobby Box, and that’s not going anywhere.

• Selling off some of the collection. Partly a security decision — I’ve shown enough of what I own on camera, and I don’t want to be more of a target than I already am. (For what it’s worth: I sold my 1992 Stadium Club Michael Jordan Beam Team for the most I’ve ever sold a card for, which softened the blow considerably.) Keep an eye out — more is coming up for sale.

One Ask From You!

I’d like to bring in some other voices for the newsletter. If you’ve ever wanted to write something for the Happy Hobby Sports Cards Substack, let me know — email me at gonoscards@gmail.com. Pitch me an idea. Show me you can put some sentences together! Do you already have a Substack about sports cards? Pitch me an idea for an article where we all benefit — you, me and the Happy Hobby readers!

Finally, Thank You!

Thank you for sticking around, for the kindness while this was falling apart, and for wanting this thing to come back. It’s not really about me — it’s about the community we’ve built here. I’m just glad I get to keep being part of it.

I’m back. Thank you, Happy Hobby.

Have you ever been hacked or had something you love hijacked or stolen for a period of time? How did you handle it?

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9.1K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.6K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

If you want to find all the great rookie cards over the past 70-plus years, check out our article here, listing the Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Read more

If you want to find all the great rookie cards over the past 70-plus years, check out our article here, listing the Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

12 Best 2026 Topps Series 2 Baseball Rookie Cards To Target!

It’s certainly a nice crop of 2026 Topps Series 2 rookie cards coming in, which I have detailed over at my website DavidGonos.com. But reading about it isn’t as fun as talking about it, so I turned it into this week’s podcast episode!

We want to hear from you — which 2026 Topps Series 2 rookie cards are you chasing?

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.6K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

As a member of the eBay Partner Network, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting our affiliations by making purchases through us! Also, all sports card images come courtesy of BuySportsCards.com.

The 1985 Topps Warren Moon #251 rookie card is one of those cards that feels bigger than cardboard. It represents a Hall-of-Fame …

Read more

If you want to find all the great rookie cards over the past 70-plus years, check out our article here, listing the Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Counting Down the 11 Best MLB Rookie Cards To Own Since 2020!

Just Missed the Top 11!

• 21. Cam Schlittler, SP, N.Y. Yankees (Age 25) – 2026 Topps Card No. 111

• 20. Jacob Misiorowski, SP, Milwaukee Brewers (Age 24) – 2026 Topps Card No. 10

• 19. Cal Raleigh, C, Seattle Mariners (Age 29) – 2022 Topps Card No. 277

• 18. Michael Harris II, OF, Atlanta Braves (Age 25) – 2023 Topps Card No. 226

• 17. Jackson Merrill, OF, San Diego Padres (Age 23) – 2024 Topps Update Card No. US210

• 16. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Chicago Cubs (Age 24) – 2024 Topps Card No. 407

• 15. Wyatt Langford, OF, Texas Rangers (Age 24) – 2024 Topps Update Card No. US151

• 14. Riley Greene, OF, Detroit Tigers (Age 25) – 2023 Topps Card No. 31

• 13. Jackson Chourio, OF, Milwaukee Brewers (Age 22) – 2024 Topps Update Card No. US240

• 12. Tarik Skubal, SP, Detroit Tigers (Age 29) – 2021 Topps Card No. 92

11 Best Baseball Rookie Cards To Own Since 2020!

The teams listed are their CURRENT MLB teams.

11. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics (Age 23)

• 2025 Topps Update No. US201 - View current prices on eBay!

Kurtz took the American League by storm in his rookie year, batting .290 with 36 home runs, 86 RBI, and a 1.002 OPS in just 117 games. The A’s scouting director compared him to Matt Olson even before the draft, and scouts envision a Jim Thome-type ceiling if he reaches his peak. At only 23 and coming off a unanimous AL Rookie of the Year award, a parallel of Kurtz’s RC is a legitimate highlight for any collection on the rise.

10. James Wood, OF, Nationals (23)

• 2025 Topps No. 181 - View current prices on eBay!

At just 22, Wood set a new Nationals/Expos franchise record for a rookie with 31 home runs, drove in 94 runs, and swiped 15 bases across 157 games, earning his first All-Star selection. He could go down as the best player Washington received in the Juan Soto trade, and with his massive 6-foot-7 frame still filling out, the power ceiling on his rookie card is enormous.

9. Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros (28)

• 2020 Topps No. 276 - View current prices on eBay!

Since his debut, Alvarez has posted the second-highest wRC+ (164) of any hitter in baseball, trailing only Aaron Judge. He’s a career .297 hitter with 185 home runs, 532 RBI, and a .578 slugging percentage. His 2020 Topps rookie card was printed in the early days of what’s looking more and more like a Hall-of-Fame career, and it only gets more valuable with time.

8. Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays (22)

• 2024 Topps No. 628 - View current prices on eBay!

No one could have predicted Caminero clubbing 45 homers in 2025 during his first full MLB campaign. Baseball America rated his raw power at 80, making him the only player in the minors at the time to receive the top-level power grade. At just 22 years old with that kind of pop already on display, this rookie card is getting hotter by the month.

7. C.J. Abrams, SS, Nationals (25)

• 2022 Topps Update No. US34 - View current prices on eBay!

Abrams slashed .257/.315/.433 with 19 home runs and 31 stolen bases in 2025, his second consecutive near-20/30 season, and remains under team control through 2028. Alongside James Wood in Washington’s young core, he represents one of the most exciting power-speed combinations in the National League. He’s exactly the kind of player whose card collectors love to hold onto for the long haul.

6. Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks (25)

• 2023 Topps No. 401 - View current prices on eBay!

Carroll had a breakout 2025, hitting .259 with 31 homers, 17 triples, and 32 stolen bases, becoming just the 10th player in MLB history to reach 30+ doubles, 15+ triples, and 30+ home runs in a single season (the third player to do it since 1947 — Jimmy Rollins and Stan Musial).

With Carroll’s barrel rate doubling to 14.5% and his hard-hit rate jumping nine points, the power surge appears to be here to stay. This card belongs in the conversation with any young superstar in the hobby right now.

5. Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds (24)

• 2024 Topps No. 141 - View current prices on eBay!

De La Cruz hit .264 with 22 homers, 86 RBI, and 37 steals across a full 162-game season in 2025. Still just 24 years old, the potential for a true 30/50 season someday is very much alive, and collectors who believe in that upside have every reason to hold. He’s a blast to watch play, which helps his cardboard upside, too!

4. Gunnar Henderson, SS, Orioles (24)

• 2023 Topps No. 206 - View current prices on eBay!

Henderson’s MVP-caliber 2024 saw him bat .281/.364/.529 with 37 home runs, 118 runs scored, and 92 RBI, finishing fourth in AL MVP voting. While 2025 was a step back, he still posted a 121 OPS+, stole 30 bases, and was worth 5.3 bWAR, numbers that only feel disappointing against the sky-high standard he set himself. At 24, with his best years clearly ahead, this rookie card is a long-term hold.

3. Julio Rodriguez, OF, Mariners (25)

• 2022 Topps Update No. US44 - View current prices on eBay!

J-Rod hit .267 with 32 home runs, 95 RBI, and 30 stolen bases in 2025, led all center fielders with 6.8 bWAR, and earned a third All-Star selection, all while helping Seattle win its first AL West title since 2001. He’s locked in through at least 2029 on a club-friendly deal, with player options potentially keeping him a Mariner through 2034. That kind of stability makes this card easy to hold with confidence.

2. Paul Skenes, SP, Pirates (24)

• 2024 Topps Update No. US100 - View current prices on eBay!

Skenes posted a 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 216 strikeouts across 32 starts in 2025, leading the NL in ERA and winning the Cy Young Award unanimously. He became only the second pitcher ever to win Rookie of the Year one year and Cy Young the next, duplicating Dwight Gooden’s 1984-85 feat. Through just 55 career starts, he owns a 1.96 ERA. The player makes parallels of this rookie card one to chase, but the photo and card design make it a modern classic.

1. Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals (25)

• 2022 Topps Update No. US100 - View current prices on eBay!

Witt has won back-to-back Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, been named to the All-MLB First Team twice, and is a career .290 hitter with 107 home runs and 158 stolen bases through age 25. He led the league in hits (184) and doubles (47) in 2025 and has finished in the top seven of AL MVP voting in three straight seasons.

The scary part for those not collecting BWJ? The best of Bobby Witt Jr. may genuinely still be ahead of us.

We want to hear from you — which great baseball player’s rookie card (from 2020 on) should’ve been on this list?

Leave a comment

If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed:

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best WNBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 9K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.6K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

History was made in 1972. Not just on the baseball diamond, but history was made in the card collecting hobby itself. Topps released its first-ever “Traded” subset that year, a small but mighty group of just seven cards (numbers 751–757) featuring players who had changed teams. Among them were three future Hall of Famers.

One of those cards would go on …

Read more

Everyone wants a great sports card collection… but “great” means something different to every collector. In this episode of the Happy Hobby Sports Card Podcast, David Gonos breaks down five simple steps to build a collection you’re actually proud of – even if you’re working with a limited budget.

Whether you’re just getting started, coming back to the hobby after a long break, or trying to upgrade a box full of random cardboard into a focused PC, this episode will help you think more clearly about what you buy and why you buy it. We’ll talk about defining what “great” means for you, setting a real-world budget, choosing the right players and lanes, and building a collection that feels intentional instead of impulsive.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “great” is subjective – and how to define your own version of a great collection

• Five simple, repeatable steps for building a focused collection on a budget

• How to make smarter buying decisions that fit your goals, not just the latest hype

If you enjoy this conversation, be sure to subscribe to the Happy Hobby Sports Card newsletter at gonos.substack.com and keep building a better collection with a real-world budget.

Hit reply and tell me which of these 5 tips to building a great sports card collection resonated with you!

Leave a comment

🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆

We list out the very best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports.

Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NBA Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NFL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

Best NHL Rookie Cards From Every Year!

The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World

• 📺 YouTube: 8.9K Subscribers

• 📬 Newsletter: 1.6K readers

• 🎙️ Podcast: 500+ podcast downloads/episode

• 🌐 DavidGonos.com - 1K daily visits

Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts, Top 10 Football Card Podcasts and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts!

Once again, we spend money on cards all for the sake of helping your collections! (Just kidding, we just want some cards! But we like that this article helps open a window into our card-buying brains, so you can decide if we’re cunning or cuckoo!)

We chose baseball cards for this exercise for the third time in a row for two reasons:

1. Baseball is best.

2. Most of our readers are baseball card collectors.

This month, we went in the same direction — and in two different directions at once! We both didn’t just buy the standard base card — we wanted something different.

Patrick leaned toward a wonderful young star with a beloved parallel, and David reached 75 years back to Topps’ first standard set (in an odd variation), for a Hall-of-Fame slugger in a really bad grade.

This WIBAW monthly feature is still relatively new for the Happy Hobby Sports Cards Newsletter for Collectors, as we share two great cards we picked up with eyes on improving the value (and awesomeness) of our collections. Patrick Imhoff and myself choose one card each (one close to the $100 price point, and the other at $50) that we believe in so much – we purchased ourselves.

Meet WIBAW the WISE: Our Happy Hobby Owl!

WIBAW the WISE OWL serves as our mascot, an owl steeped in wisdom, with keen, 360-degree perspectives that give him both great foresight and hindsight! He will chip in some artificial intel on our choices and our reasoning behind the pickups!

These WIBAW reveals are monthly articles meant to improve value for Paid Subscribers, adding on to our other Paid features, like premium posts, our Vintage Value Viewer tool, and opportunities to join our occasional Happy Hobby Buddy Breaks.

This is not financial advice, as we are not financial advisors. We just like sports cards — and we share with you why we like certain cards more than others for our collections.

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