25 Most Valuable 1986 Topps Baseball Cards
Although, 1986 Topps baseball cards weren’t necessarily my favorites as a kid, the nostalgia surrounding them has really grown on me in recent times.
And, I think this is true for many collectors these days…
Back in the day, many collectors didn’t care for the design and the set lacked the rookie card power that others in the 1980’s had.
But, nowadays, it seems like collectors are becoming quite forgiving to this set and are snatching up PSA 10 examples these cards for hundreds of dollars in some cases.
The prices of some of these cards may surprise you…
And in this guide, we take a look at the 10 most valuable in the set.
Let’s jump right in!
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1986 Topps Traded #50T Bo Jackson Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $500
Though the Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Bo Jackson with the number one pick of the 1986 NFL Draft, he vowed not to play for them after he felt they had deliberately sabotaged his senior baseball season at Auburn.
Tampa failed to disclose to Jackson that one of their facilities he visited was not NCAA-approved, and as a result, the SEC and NCAA forced him to miss the final days of his collegiate baseball career.
That didn’t sit well with Jackson, and he made good on his promise not to play for the Bucs.
Instead, Jackson would go the baseball route, joining the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals after they drafted him the 105th pick in the 1986 MLB Amateur Draft.
And, after a brief 53-game stint with the Double-A Memphis Chicks, Jackson would suit up for the Royals on September 2, 1986, making his Major League debut at home against the Chicago White Sox.
Jackson struggled in 25 games for the Royals, but by 1987, he was laying the groundwork for a respectable MLB career that eventually saw him become an All-Star in 1989.
As for football, Jackson would join the Los Angeles Raiders in 1987, eventually earning Pro Bowl honors in 1990 to become the only person ever to be an MLB All-Star and NFL Pro Bowler.
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1986 Topps #100 Nolan Ryan
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $2,250
Nolan Ryan was infamous for two things throughout his Hall-of-Fame career: power and durability.
Both were on display in 1986, but one characteristic stood out more than the other.
Now in his seventh season with the Houston Astros, Ryan struck out 194 batters on the season at a rate of 9.8 per nine innings.
Not bad for a 39-year-old.
The power was still there, obviously.
But it was Ryan’s durability that was even more eye-popping.
After tearing a ligament in his elbow during the season, Ryan made two trips to the disabled list.
Ignoring suggestions to shut down and opt for surgery, Ryan kept throwing the rest of the season and even started Game 2 of the NLCS against the New York Mets.
Ryan took the loss that day and the Astros eventually fell 4-2 in the series.
During the offseason, Ryan again ignored calls for surgery.
Somehow, his elbow miraculously healed on its own.
And not only did he not regress in 1987, Ryan went on to pace the NL in ERA (2.76) while finishing tops in the Majors with 270 strikeouts.
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1986 Topps #690 Ryne Sandberg
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $2,000
Ryne Sandberg is a Hall of Famer and former MVP so there’s no questioning his status as one of the all-time greats.
But it still might be surprising why his 1986 Topps card in PSA 10 condition may be worth nearly as much as guys like Nolan Ryan and Rickey Henderson.
His is another case of where scarcity comes into play in a big way as there are currently only seven PSA 10 examples of this card in circulation.
The shock factor isn’t quite as strong in this case compared to Eric Davis, however.
This card features a great image of Sandberg with a bright smile on his face.
I’m not a Cubs fan but it would’ve been nice to see Sandberg get a World Series ring…he was a classy player.
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1986 Topps #500 Rickey Henderson
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $2,000
Next, we have one of my favorite players ever: Rickey Henderson.
Yes, he may be famous for speaking in the third person but he’s also incredibly famous for his production on the field.
In my opinion, he was one of the most exciting players to watch.
He could hit.
And man, could he run…
If I had to form the perfect lineup in history, I’d probably want this guy to be my leadoff hitter.
The all-time leader in runs scored and stolen bases is definitely deserving of a spot on this list.
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1986 Topps Traded #11T Barry Bonds Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $325
Had Barry Bonds steered clear of PEDs, this card would easily be the number one card on this list, and it’s anyone’s guess how much it would be worth.
There’s no question he would’ve been a first-ballot Hall of Famer and likely the first player ever elected unanimously before Mariano Rivera.
Needless to say, prices for this card would be a lot higher if things had worked out that way.
But, they didn’t.
Instead, Bonds’ seven MVPs, 14 All-Star selections, 12 Silver Sluggers, 8 Gold Gloves, and 2 batting titles will forever hang under a cloud of controversy.
However, PEDs aside, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone saying Bonds wasn’t one of the greatest baseball players ever to set foot on the field.
His incredible five-tool skillset was astonishing to watch, so despite his reputation, the demand for this card remains strong.
Once a rookie card of a player like Bonds becomes a hobby icon, more than a controversial topic like a connection to PEDs is needed to knock it entirely off many collectors’ want lists.
The next card on this list is another example of this phenomenon, albeit to a lesser degree than Bonds’ rookie.
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1986 Topps #1 Pete Rose
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $1,100
Speaking of great hitters, next on our list is the game’s all-time hits leader: Pete Rose.
As controversial as he is, Rose remains one of the game’s greatest and most popular players in history.
Known for his extreme dedication and hustle, Rose piled up hit after hit over his career and spearheaded some great ball teams.
Will he ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame?
It’s a question that seems to pop up year after year…
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1986 Topps Traded #20T Jose Canseco
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $90
Following a brief and successful call-up to the Oakland Athletics in 1985, Jose Canseco carried that momentum right into the 1986 season.
In 157 games and 600 at-bats, Canseco knocked the cover off the ball, racking up 33 home runs and 117 RBIs to become the first Athletics player since Harry Byrd in 1952 to earn AL Rookie of the Year honors.
But that incredible production came with an all-or-nothing price as Canseco struck out an eye-popping 175 times.
And that lack of consistency at the plate may have been why the AL Rookie of the Year chase with California’s Wally Joyner was closer than it should have been.
In many ways, Canseco’s first full season with Oakland was much like that of another famous Oakland Slugger: Reggie Jackson.
Regardless, the baseball world had caught an early glimpse of the kind of production that Canseco would become known for throughout his career.
However, his reputation for power and production would eventually become shrouded by his connection to steroids.
But early on, Canseco was on top of the baseball world.
And if you collected baseball cards in the late 80s and early 90s, then you know just how hot this card was back then.
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1986 Topps #28 Eric Davis
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $850
Eric Davis broke out in 1986 and finished 12th in MVP voting after hitting 27 home runs, driving in 71 runs, and scoring 97 runs.
And since Davis was not a Hall of Famer, it may seem odd that his card tops this list when you consider the other players on it.
But it is true… when his card comes up for sale in PSA 10 condition, it typically sells for much higher prices than what you might think.
It’s not his rookie card. Nor was 1986 a significant year for the Cincinnati Reds.
The high price tag mostly has to do with the fact that there are currently only three PSA 10 examples of this card in existence as of the time of this writing.
It’s a prime example of how baseball card values aren’t always just based on the biggest names alone…
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1986 Topps #180 Don Mattingly
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $500
If it wasn’t for Roger Clemens’ historic 1986 campaign, Don Mattingly may have taken home his second consecutive MVP award.
This was Donnie Baseball at his peak.
Perhaps the most important piece of the New York Yankees’ pennant race puzzle, Mattingly put on a hitting clinic all year long.
The 25-year-old first baseman was an automatic extra-base hit with an MLB-best 53 doubles, 31 homers, and two triples.
Mattingly set a career-high with a .352 average and topped the Majors in slugging percentage (.573), OPS (.967), OPS+ (161), total bases (388), and hits (238).
Mattingly wasn’t just lethal in the batter’s box.
He was also the shoo-in choice for a Gold Glove and the most durable player out there, registering an MLB-leading 742 plate appearances.
Clemens’ stat lines jumped off the page and landed him 19 of a potential 28 first-place votes.
Mattingly came in second with five, outdistancing Boston’s Jim Rice with four.
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1986 Topps Traded #24T Will Clark Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $70
There was a time when Will Clark looked like he was on a surefire trajectory for Cooperstown.
After a respectable rookie campaign in 1986, Clark went on a five-year tear from 1987 to 1991, during which he made four All-Star appearances and four top-five finishes in the MVP vote.
For eight seasons with the San Francisco Giants, Clark certainly lived up to his nickname of “Will the Thrill.”
Yet, injuries began to nag at Clark, diminishing his overall playing time and some of his power.
After his contract with the Giants expired in 1993, Clark would spend the second half of his career playing for the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals.
His numbers dipped, but he remained an extremely productive asset for all three teams.
And then, wanting to spend more time with his family and son, Trey, Clark decided to retire after the 2000 season.
In many ways, Clark’s story was similar to another superstar of his era: Don Mattingly.
Both first basemen started hot, but nagging injuries threw them off the Hall of Fame path.
In the end, one of the coolest highlights of Clark’s career had to have been that he homered off Nolan Ryan during his first career at-bat.
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1986 Topps #10 Tony Gwynn
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $450
You know Tony Gwynn’s a shortlist candidate for the GOAT of hitters.
What you may forget is that there was a time when he was the best defensive right fielder in the NL.
Gwynn was league-average with the glove in his first two years before breaking out in 1984 and 1985.
With the help of his teammates and newly retired middle infielder Rob Picciolo, the Padres legend spent every day of the 1986 season playing wall ball.
Thousands of practice caroms, flies, and grounders gave the 26-year-old a valuable source of reps.
Gwynn’s batting line was typically magnificent.
He slashed .329/.381/.467 with a new career-high 14 home runs and 59 RBIs in 160 games.
Gwynn paced all National Leaguers in hits (211), WAR (6.7), at-bats (642), and runs (107).
Most excitingly for Gwynn, he won his first Gold Glove in right with an NL-best .989 fielding percentage and 337 put-outs.
“Half the world doesn’t know I have (five Gold Gloves),” Gwynn wrote later. “When I won my first one in 1986, I jumped up and down on the bed.”
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1986 Topps Traded #80T Otis Nixon Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
Over his seventeen years in Major League Baseball, Otis Nixon bounced around nine different ball clubs, beginning with his late-season call-up to the Yankees in 1983 and final season with the Braves in 1999.
And during that time, Nixon could be seen bouncing around between left, center and right field for those teams.
Because if there was one thing Nixon was known for, it was his extreme speed.
And not only did that allow him to cover a lot of ground in the outfield, but it made him a significant threat on the base paths.
A career .270 switch-hitter with a .343 OBP, Nixon was one of the last guys opposing teams wanted to see on base.
When he retired in 1999, Nixon ranked 15th on the all-time stolen base leaderboard with 620 before Kenny Lofton narrowly surpassed him in 2007 with 622.
Amazingly, Nixon racked up almost 1% of those 620 career steals with the Braves during a road game in Montreal on June 16, 1991, when he swiped six bags in one game.
Not since Eddie Collins, who twice stole six bases in 1912, had any MLB player been able to match that amount.
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1986 Topps Traded #51T Wally Joyner Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
After a brilliant rookie campaign that saw him earn an All-Star selection while finishing second in the AL Rookie of the Year vote and eighth in the MVP race, the expectations were sky-high for Wally Joyner.
In 154 games and 593 at-bats, Joyner slashed .290/.348/.457 with 22 home runs, 100 RBIs and 82 runs scored to help the California Angels to a 92-70 record and Al West championship.
And how did Joyner respond to those sky-high expectations?
He would exceed them the following year in 1987, setting career highs in home runs (34), RBIs (117), runs scored (100), slugging percentage (.528), and OPS (.894).
The Angels fell to a disappointing 75-87, but fans at Anaheim Stadium had plenty to be hopeful for in Joyner as any worries about a sophomore slump completely vanished.
Unfortunately, that 1987 season would turn out to be Joyner’s peak.
He was a solid hitter for the rest of his sixteen-year career, finishing with a .289 career batting average with 204 home runs and 1,106 RBIs.
But that All-Star appearance during his 1986 rookie campaign would be his only trip to the Mid-Summer Classic.
Collectors of the late 1980s remember the hype around Joyner and his rookie card still gets a decent amount of hobby love.
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1986 Topps Traded #40T Andres Galarraga Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
Andres Galaragga played 121 games for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians in 1985 before the Montreal Expos called him up for his Major League debut on August 23, 1985.
In 24 games and 75 at-bats, the 24-year-old Venezuelan native would struggle, batting just .187 with two home runs, 4 RBIs and a .280 slugging percentage for Montreal.
But the early signs of a promising career were there, and the young Galarraga would bounce back during the 1986 season.
Before getting arthroscopic surgery on his knee on July 10, Galarraga had already belted eight home runs and led all NL rookies with 25 RBIs.
The Expos activated him on August 19 for a game at San Diego, but he was immediately shut down again after pulling a muscle in his ribs.
He’d return in September to finish the year with a .271/.338/.405 slash line with ten home runs and 42 RBIs in 321 at-bats.
Over his 19-year career in Major League Baseball, the Big Cat won a batting title, two Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and earned five trips to the All-Star Game while falling one home run shy of joining the 400 club.
In short, the Galarragga was one of his era’s most productive and popular first basemen.
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1986 Topps #340 Cal Ripken Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $400
Cal Ripken Jr. already had the reputation as the American League’s most potent hitting shortstop going into the 1986 season.
After all, he had a 1982 Rookie-of-the-Year Award, the 1983 MVP, and three consecutive Silver Sluggers to show for it.
The offensive firepower wasn’t just there; it was expected.
However, when his defensive work began to rival his hitting output, that’s when Cooperstown really started calling.
Ripken put up standard Ripken numbers in ’86: a .282/.355/.461 slash line, 25 home runs, 35 doubles, 70 walks, 98 runs, and 81 RBIs in his customary 162 games.
He posted the exact same OPS as 1985 (.816) yet added over a win to his WAR total (6.7).
Why?
Well, Ripken put in a ton of offseason work to lift himself to an elite D level at short.
It worked, as the 25-year-old led the Majors in assists (482) while posting a new career-best .982 fielding percentage.
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1986 Topps #700 Reggie Jackson
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $400
1986 wasn’t exactly a “lame duck” season for Reggie Jackson.
But it was close…
Now 40 and heading into the final year of his deal with the California Angels, Jackson was linked to his former Oakland A’s squad for months of rumors.
Jackson won three consecutive titles with the Athletics from 1972 to 1974, and enough time had passed since his sour exit to Baltimore in 1976.
They still had to play games in ’86, though, and Jackson was a productive middle-of-the-order bat for the AL West champs, slashing .241/.379/.408 with 18 home runs and 58 RBIs in 132 games.
Now a liability in the field, Jackson played all but four games at DH.
The Angels made it to October for the second time in Jackson’s stay, but “Mr. October” didn’t quite show up.
Reggie hit just .192 in his final six postseason games with no home runs as the Angels fell to Boston four games to three.
Soon thereafter, Jackson was back in the trademark green and gold for one last hurrah.
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1986 Topps Traded #74T Kevin Mitchell Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
Whenever I think of Kevin Mitchell, I instantly think of that highlight reel catch he made on April 26, 1989, when he snagged a hooking foul ball off of Ozzie Smith with his barehand in deep left field.
Most people probably think of that play when they think of Mitchell, as it has become one of the most iconic catches in MLB history.
But Mitchell would go on to be known for much more during that 1989 campaign than just a single flashy defensive play.
Mitchell was an absolute monster at the plate that year, batting .291 with 100 runs scored while leading the Majors in home runs (47), RBI (125), slugging (.635), OPS (1.023), intentional walks (32) and total bases (345).
He also made his first trip to the All-Star Game while picking up his first and only Silver Slugger.
And to top it all off, Mitchell won NL MVP honors by beating out his San Francisco Giants teammate, Will Clark, with 314 vote points to Clark’s 225.
Since finishing third in the 1986 NL Rookie of the Year race, Mitchell became known for his incredible skills on both sides of the plate.
But the 1989 season showed the world just how much he was capable of.
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1986 Topps Traded #56T John Kruk Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
Though he would eventually go on to have a successful career as a baseball analyst and color commentator, there was a time when John Kruk was a pretty good player, too.
Over a ten-year Major League career and 3,897 at-bats, Kruk finished as a .300 hitter and three-time All-Star with a 0.397 OBP.
Originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1981, Kruk spent several years working his way up through the Minors before making his MLB debut on April 7, 1986, as a pinch runner.
He was ultimately caught stealing during that debut and never did earn a reputation as a base-stealing threat, though he did rack up a career-high 18 stolen bases during his breakout campaign in 1987.
The Padres would trade Kruk to the Philadelphia Phillies during the 1989 season, where he would enjoy the most successful years of his career.
Kruk would earn NL All-Star honors from 1991 to 1993 and nearly helped lead the Phillies to a World Series title in 1993 until Toronto’s Joe Carter ripped a Series-winning three-run shot over the left field wall in Game 6.
He certainly wasn’t a Hall of Famer, but most players would dream of having a career like Kruk’s.
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1986 Topps Traded #101T Tom Seaver
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
Hall of Famer Tom Seaver’s twentieth and final MLB campaign in 1986 started with one color of “Sox” and ended with another.
Seaver made his sixteenth career Opening Day start for the Chicago White Sox on April 7 against the Milwaukee Brewers, but it was a rough one.
In 5.1 innings, Seaver gave up seven hits, two home runs and five earned runs in a 5-3 loss to the Brew Crew in front of the Comiskey Park home crowd.
He was inconsistent for the White Sox in 12 outings before they traded him to the contending Boston Red Sox ahead of the deadline for Steve Lyons.
Seaver wasn’t quite dominant in 16 starts for the Red Sox, but he held his own with a 5-7 record and a 3.80 ERA.
And as fate would have it, Boston would square off against the New York Mets in the World Series, the team for which Seaver debuted in 1967 and became synonymous for years.
A knee injury prevented Seaver from playing in the Series, but the Mets crowd quickly gave him a standing ovation before Game 1 at Shea Stadium.
The Mets even gave Seaver a look for a possible roster spot in June of 1987, but the three-time Cy Young winner finally called it quits after struggling in Triple-A ball.
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1986 Topps #300 George Brett
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $350
George Brett gritted his teeth through the 1986 season to put up All-Star numbers yet again.
The pain started for the Kansas City Royals’ third baseman on July 1st against the Seattle Mariners.
As per usual, Brett went all-out on a diving attempt at a defensive stop.
He landed awkwardly on his side and injured his right shoulder.
The Royals played it safe with Brett, giving him rest whenever possible.
The 33-year-old also opted out of the All-Star Game to rest up during the break.
Although he was still obviously hurt, Brett continued to rake in the second half.
He ended the year slashing .290/.401/.481 with 16 home runs, 28 doubles, 70 runs, 80 walks, and 73 RBIs in 124 games.
He also led the AL with 18 walks despite missing nearly a quarter of the season.
Brett’s ’86 numbers are even more impressive when you consider that Brett reaggravated his shoulder in late August and was forced to undergo offseason surgery.
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1986 Topps #520 Keith Hernandez
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $300
The 1986 season was huge for the New York Mets as they would go on to win the World Series title that year.
On a team that featured Darryl Strawberry and Gary Carter, Hernandez wasn’t necessarily their most explosive or powerful hitter.
But he was easily one of their most well-rounded and popular players and would go on to finish fourth in MVP voting that year.
I think this card featuring playing first base is fitting since that was arguably what he was best known for: the guy was a fantastic defender and would win 11 Gold Glove awards over his storied career.
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1986 Topps #400 Rod Carew
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $300
Rod Carew didn’t want to fade off into the sunset as another player past his prime.
So, when he didn’t receive a fair contract offer to start the 1986 season, the former Rookie-of-the-Year and MVP just kept waiting and pondering.
After all, Carew had over 3,000 hits in the bag, over 1,000 RBIs and walks, and over 1,400 runs scored.
He was a Hall-of-Fame contributor for both the Minnesota Twins and California Angels, amassing 18 consecutive All-Star appearances and seven AL batting titles.
Still, Carew didn’t get the contract love his sizeable resume called for.
Rather than taking over as a coach somewhere or settling for a chance unbefitting of his accomplishments, Carew took the hint and announced his retirement in early June.
“I don’t want people to see me looking bad,” Carew said. “I want people to remember me with good skills. I don’t want to relive the past.”
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1986 Topps Traded #12T Bobby Bonilla Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
While the Oakland Athletics duo of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco became known as the “Bash Brothers” during the late 80s and early 90s, another famous duo took shape in Pittsburgh around the same time.
Pirates’ superstars Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla quickly became known as “the Killer B’s” as their big bats and incredible play became a force to reckon with in the National League East.
From 1986 to 1991, Bonilla rose to superstardom with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was ultimately at his best in 1990 and 1991 when he finished second and third in the NL MVP vote.
Both times, he finished behind Bonds in the race.
And then, the dynamic duo split as Bonilla signed a five-year $29 million contract with the New York Mets in 1993.
Though he was a two-time All-Star for the Mets, his time at Shea Stadium seemed like a letdown compared to his days in Pittsburgh.
And so, the Mets dealt him to the Baltimore Orioles in a multi-player trade during the 1995 season.
Interestingly, the Mets traded for him during the 1998 offseason, bringing him back to Shea for the 1999 season.
And that’s where Bonilla became infamous.
After another sub-par performance, the Mets released him while still owing him $5.9 million.
So Bonilla negotiated a deal where the Mets wouldn’t have to pay him until 2011, but from then on through 2035, they’d have to pay him $1.19 every July 1, a day that has since become known as “Bobby Bonilla Day.”
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1986 Topps #661 Roger Clemens
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $275
Roger Clemens was a victim of his own success and his own mouth.
That’s what makes his best seasons so vexing.
In 1986, Clemens deserved the MVP award, which he won despite multiple media protests over a pitcher taking home the honors.
“The Rocket” won a career-best 24 games for the eventual AL champion Boston Red Sox, the highest total in the Majors.
He also led the Junior Circuit in ERA (2.48) and fell a handful of strikeouts short of a Triple Crown.
Clemens joined fellow ’86 Cy Young winner Mike Scott as the only two qualifying starters with a WHIP under 1.000 (0.969).
However, it wouldn’t be a Clemens season without drama.
After he set a new single-game record with 20 strikeouts, the 23-year-old asked the media to back off a bit.
“The attention I enjoyed and appreciated at first after breaking the strikeout record soon became stressful,” Clemens said.
The pressure cooker kept steaming, though, as the Sox marched to within a game of breaking the Bambino’s Curse.
Clemens remained Boston’s ace, but the mumbles around him were starting to get louder.
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1986 Topps Traded #108T Danny Tartabull Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round of the 1980 MLB Draft, Danny Tartabull made his official MLB debut as a pinch runner for the Seattle Mariners on September 7, 1984.
He’d spend most of the 1985 season with the Triple-A Calgary Cannons before the Mariners called him up again, this time for good, to play shortstop against the Yankees on September 2, 1985.
Tartabull was impressive in his 1986 rookie season for the Mariners, slashing .270/.347/.489 with 25 home runs, 76 runs scored and 96 RBIs.
Nobody was going to catch Jose Canseco for AL Rookie of the Year honors in 1986 but, if you look at Tartabull’s numbers, it seems strange that he finished in such a distant fifth place with only four vote points.
The Mariners sent Tartabull to the Kansas City Royals in a multi-player deal ahead of the 1987 season, where he developed a reputation as one of the MLB’s best.
While in Kansas City from 1987 to 1991, Tartabull was a routine threat for 25 home runs and 100 RBIs and finally picked up an All-Star selection in 1991.
From 1992 to 1997, Tartabull spent time with the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies before retiring.
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1986 Topps Traded #102T Ted Simmons
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
Since the Modern Era Baseball Committee elected Ted Simmons to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in December 2019, interest in his cards has trended sharply upwards throughout the hobby.
His 1971 Topps rookie card is understandably his most desirable, but this one offers a much cheaper way to enjoy a card of one of baseball’s greatest catchers in his later years with the Atlanta Braves.
Simmons never earned a Gold Glove during his 21-year career, but he made up for it with his bat on the offensive side of the ball.
When all was said and done, Simmons finished as a career .285 hitter with 2,472 hits, 248 home runs, 1389 RBIs and is currently tied with Chili Davis for 22nd on the all-time intentional walks list with 188.
Simmons hit .300 or better seven times in his career, earning eight trips to the All-Star Game and one Silver Slugger along the way.
As great as he was, Simmons’ achievements were often overshadowed by those of another Hall of Fame catcher in Cincinnati named Johnny Bench.
Perhaps that had something to do with how long it took Simmons to get his call to Cooperstown.
But, fortunately, he got it.
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1986 Topps #386 Cecil Fielder Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $250
The Toronto Blue Jays never figured out how to get the most out of Cecil Fielder.
Their indecisiveness eventually became the Detroit Tigers’ gain.
After an impressive 1985 cameo at the Skydome, Fielder was a player to watch in 1986 Spring Training.
New Jays manager Jimy Williams was impressed by the 22-year-old’s dedication, especially considering he dropped nearly 20 pounds during the offseason.
Williams was intrigued by the possibilities with Fielder, but never found much of a place for him.
The Toronto skipper wondered aloud if the kid would be best as a left fielder, but Fielder only saw one game in left across his two ’86 Big-League stints.
Fielder bookended the campaign with brief appearances in Toronto, ending up with just 90 plate appearances in 34 games.
He played primary DH most of the time with a few exceptions around the diamond.
Fielder’s numbers never really justified the DH role, especially his bleak .157 average and .222 on-base percentage.
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1986 Topps #730 Ozzie Smith
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $225
1986 was the valley between two NL pennants for the St. Louis Cardinals.
It was a very deep valley.
For some reason, nearly the entire Cardinals club forgot how to hit from April through September.
St. Louis placed dead last in the Majors in several offensive categories, including runs per game (3.73) and batting average (.236).
The only reason they even sniffed .500 was the team’s fourth-ranked pitching staff.
Giving up a run or two often proved lethal, so they had no choice but to pitch lights-out.
Oddly enough, it was the oft-maligned hitting of Ozzie Smith that bailed the Cardinals out throughout the year.
Smith led all St. Louis starters with a .280 average and trailed only utility infielder Jose Oquendo (.297) among lineup regulars.
If Smith had any sort of power, the Cardinals might have put together a winning season.
However, “the Wizard” went 0-for-the-season in home runs for the fourth time in his first nine Big-League seasons.
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1986 Topps #329 Kirby Puckett
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $225
When Kirby Puckett put his mind to something, there was little the rest of the American League could do to stop him.
Think about this.
In 1984, Puckett was a light-hitting rookie center fielder with zero home runs and only 17 extra-base hits in 583 plate appearances.
With 1985 factored in, the future Hall-of-Famer tallied just four homers in his first 1,327 PAs.
That’s when Puckett went to work.
Partnering with Minnesota Twins hitting coach Tony Oliva, the 26-year-old added several new wrinkles to his swing, the most important being his signature leg-kick.
Just like that, Puckett was an elite slugger.
He won AL Player of the Month for April with a .396 average and a league-best eight home runs, four more than he hit in the first twelve months of Big-League games.
Puckett concluded 1986 with a career-best 31 home runs to go along with a pretty .328/.366/.537 slash, 96 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, 223 hits, and 119 runs.
He started in his first All-Star Game and took home both a Silver Slugger and a Gold Glove.
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1986 Topps #250 Dwight Gooden
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $225
New York Mets ace Dwight Gooden had a “letdown” season during arguably the greatest season in franchise history.
To be honest, he set himself up for it with one of the greatest Cy Young campaigns of all time.
One year removed from winning the pitching Triple Crown with MLB bests in wins (24), ERA (1.53), and strikeouts (268), Gooden had the shadow of one of history’s greatest pitching seasons looming over his head.
He still had an impressive All-Star year, mind you.
Despite a WAR (4.5) around a third as big as the season before, Gooden finished 17-6 with a 2.84 ERA in 250 innings pitched.
The 21-year-old tossed 12 complete games and struck out 200 batters for the third straight year to open his career.
The magic, though, was more about the rest of the team and less about Gooden.
He took losses in three of his four postseason starts, compiling an unsightly 1.615 WHIP.
It didn’t matter.
The Mets picked Gooden up in a six-game NLCS win over Houston and a seven-game Series victory over Boston, bringing home the franchise’s second world championship.
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1986 Topps Traded #77T Phil Niekro
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
It’s incredible to think that Hall of Famer Phil Niekro’s MLB debut occurred in 1964 when he was 25 years old and he played in his final game in 1987 at nearly twice that age at 48.
But with arguably the greatest knuckleball in baseball history in his pitching arsenal, it seemed like Niekro could pitch forever.
“Knucksie” spent twenty seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, leading the NL in wins twice while earning four All-Star nominations, five Gold Gloves and an ERA title (1967).
After an 11-10 season and earning his fifth Gold Glove for the Braves in 1983, the team decided to release him, setting up Niekro to sign a two-year deal with the Yankees in 1984.
Seeing Niekro in Yankee pinstripes seemed strange, but he shone in his first year in the Bronx, going 16-8 with a .309 ERA and earning his fifth and final All-Star appearance.
During his second season in New York in 1985, Niekro joined the 300-win club when he shut out the Blue Jays on October 6.
After stints in Cleveland and Toronto, Niekro’s career came full circle when he signed with the Braves in late 1987.
Knucksie pitched three innings for them on September 27, 1987 before retiring after the season with 318 career wins, the sixteenth most all time.
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1986 Topps Traded #127T Todd Worrell Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
Todd Worrell spent eleven seasons in the Big Leagues, six with the St. Louis Cardinals and five with the Los Angeles Dodgers, earning a reputation as one of the top closers of his era.
Worrell wasted no time putting his name on the map during his 1986 rookie season for the Cardinals.
In 74 games and 103.2 innings pitched, Worrell went 9-10 with a 2.08 ERA, 73 strikeouts and an NL-best 36 saves to pick up NL Rookie of the Year honors.
Worrell would make three All-Star appearances during his career and finished as high as fifth in the Cy Young vote when he led the Majors in saves (44) and games finished (67) for the Dodgers in 1996.
Though he picked up 35 saves during his final season with the Dodgers in 1997, he blew nine, resulting in frequent boos from Dodgers fans and a shaky grip on the closer role late in the season.
And then, after only eleven seasons in the Majors and enjoying a lot of success as one of the game’s best finishers, Worrell made the noble decision to retire and spend more time with family.
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1986 Topps #600 Dale Murphy
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $200
The first half of the 1980s was Dale Murphy’s time.
The second half was much more challenging.
Three years removed from the second of his back-to-back MVP wins in 1983, Murphy remained in his usual middle-of-the-order slot.
However, the rest of the team was in flux, and the team’s talent pool was pretty dang shallow.
The Braves weren’t world beaters from 1980 to 1984, but they still had a playoff appearance and three winning seasons to show for themselves.
By 1985, the team’s roster crumbled, and the Braves entered one of the worst periods in their long franchise timeline.
Things were so bad in 1986 that Murphy actually sat out a game to cut his consecutive games streak at 740.
Murphy’s numbers were fine enough otherwise.
The 30-year-old made it five straight All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves, slashing .265/.347/.477 with 29 home runs and 83 RBIs for the last-place Braves.
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1986 Topps #170 Gary Carter
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $200
Gary Carter had two good years for the New York Mets.
The second of those is why he remains one of the most beloved players in franchise history.
Carter was the epicenter of New York’s formidable 1986 batting attack, finishing third for NL MVP with a .255/.337/.439 slash line, 24 home runs, and 105 RBIs in 132 games.
The former three-time Gold Glove recipient also ushered the Mets’ pitching staff to the Majors’ best ERA (3.11)
However, Carter’s NY immortality rests on one improbable swing during one improbable rally that turned the 1986 World Series on its head.
Carter had eight hits against Boston, but there was none bigger than his two-out, tenth-inning single in Game 6.
Down 5-3 and an out away from a Red Sox celebration, the Mets plated three to shock the Sox and set up a Game 7 party.
“If you watch the video with Gary walking to the plate, you see that sense of determination,” teammate Bob Ojeda said. “He was not going to make that out.”
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1986 Topps #53 Len Dykstra Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $175
The 1986 New York Mets were known for two things: winning and nightlife craziness.
Center fielder Lenny Dykstra was right there for both of those pursuits.
On the field, Dykstra earned a regular spot in center as Mookie Wilson labored through injury rehab.
He quickly grew into a down-ballot MVP candidate, posting a .295/.377/.445 slash line with 31 stolen bases, 27 doubles, seven triples, and 77 runs scored.
Dykstra was even more crucial to the Mets’ fortunes in the playoffs.
After hitting just eight homers in 147 regular-season games, Dykstra added three huge ones in 13 October contests, including a walk-off bomb to stun the Astros in Game 3 of the NLCS.
The Mets eventually won the title in a seven-game classic against Boston, and the party was on.
Oh boy, was the party ever on.
Dykstra was one of the ringleaders of New York’s most notorious group of revelers and played a key role in organizing much of the gambling that went on among the players and their hangers-on.
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1986 Topps #780 Robin Yount
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $175
Robin Yount spent his first eleven years as one of the game’s best shortstops.
Injuries cut that short in 1984, but the Milwaukee Brewers icon was not deterred.
Not wanting to be stuck as a DH for the remainder of his career, Yount threw himself doubly hard into his offseason work before the 1986 season.
When he emerged during Spring Training, he was healthy, happy, and ready to do whatever the team needed out of him.
That included moving to center field full-time.
“He’s a manager’s dream,” Brewers skipper George Bamberger said at the time. “Never complains, never wants to sit out, just shows up every day and plays.”
Yount brought his lunch pail with him, and the numbers reflected his work ethic.
The 30-year-old became the seventh youngest player to reach 2,000 hits in early September and finished the regular season sixth in the AL with a .312 batting average.
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1986 Topps #200 Mike Schmidt
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $175
Only three National League hitters have won three or more MVP awards: Barry Bonds, Stan Musial and Mike Schmidt.
Schmidt’s third MVP win came in 1986 and was a bit of an upset, considering the Mets finished 22 games ahead of his second-place Phillies in the NL East and had two legit MVP candidates of their own in Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez.
In the end, Carter and Hernandez basically canceled each other out, and Schmidt finished comfortably ahead of Astros first baseman Glenn Davis for the historic honor.
Schmidt ended the ’86 MLB season as the NL champion for home runs (37) and RBIs (119).
The 36-year-old third baseman also led the Senior Circuit in slugging (.547), OPS (.937), intentional walks (an MLB-leading 25), and OPS+ (153).
Schmidt did all of this while once again putting on a defensive clinic.
After snapping his Gold Glove streak at nine the year before, the Hall-of-Famer got his eleventh in twelve seasons.
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1986 Topps #30 Eddie Murray
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $150
The 1986 season was a nightmare for Eddie Murray and the Baltimore Orioles.
The O’s placed dead last in the AL East for the first time in the Divisional Era (1969).
They were an average-hitting team and a bad pitching squad, and that added up to 73 wins.
Gone was a four-year streak of winning seasons.
And gone were nearly all of the good vibes.
Much of that had to do with the infighting between Murray and O’s owner Edward Bennett Williams.
After Murray was sidelined for a month in July and early August with a hamstring injury, the bickering really took center stage.
Murray called out Williams for dismantling the team after Baltimore’s 1983 World Series win.
Williams countered by publicly chastising Murray for a perceived lack of effort.
The toxicity between the two would only intensify until Murray was traded to the Dodgers after the ’88 campaign.
1986 Topps Baseball Cards In Review
For years, the 1986 Topps baseball set didn’t get much attention in the hobby as many collectors thought the design wasn’t all that great.
In fact, some even believed this set is one of the ugliest of any Topps ever produced.
However, in recent years, that opinion has changed.
And many of the cards in this set are now hugely popular.
Loaded with Hall of Famers, it will take them being professionally graded in gem mint condition to be worth much.
This set was a monster and contained a 792-card checklist in total.
Within the set were also several different inserts and subsets, including:
- Rose Special (Cards #2 – 7
- Turn Back The Clock
- Record Breakers
- All-Stars
- Glossy All-Stars (1 per rack pack)
- Team Leaders
- Managers
- Checklists
As you can see, some of the cards in this set can fetch a huge price tag in pristine condition.
But for those of us who grew up collecting these as kids, they’ll always have a huge nostalgic factor even if they don’t have the most monetary value.
