12 Most Valuable 1987 Topps Traded Baseball Cards
Though many often overlook the 1987 Topps Traded baseball card set, several things stand out when taking another pass through it.
This checklist has it all: Hall of Fame rookie cards, legends on the back end of their careers, superstars in new uniforms, and multiple could-have-beens…
When it comes to design, the cards feature the same wood-grain layout as the 1987 Topps base set, a design that can be polarizing at times.
Some collectors love the look.
Others cannot stand it.
Personally, I’m a big fan of the 1987 Topps look and feel, as it brings back so much nostalgia.
As do the players themselves.
And in this guide, we’ll take a look at the 15 most valuable.
Let’s jump right in!
1987 Topps Traded Baseball Set Snapshot
SET DETAILS
132
Greg Maddux, Fred McGriff
Steve Carlton, Andre Dawson, Dennis Eckersley, Reggie Jackson
GRADING ANALYSIS
23,237
TOTAL GRADED BY PSA
7,149
PSA 10 Population
30.8%
PSA 10 Grade Rate
MOST GRADED CARDS
1
#70T Greg Maddux
77.8%
18,088
2
#74T Fred McGriff
4.9%
1,131
3
#24T Dave Cone
3.2%
741
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Ross Uitts – Owner
- #2
1987 Topps Traded #70T Greg Maddux Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $150 – $155Total PSA Population 18,088PSA 10 Population 5,005PSA 10 Grade Rate 27.7% (Set Avg: 30.8%)The qualities that made Greg Maddux a Hall of Famer are the same ones that got him roughed up during the 1987 MLB season.
Selected by the Chicago Cubs in the second round of the 1984 MLB Draft, Maddux quickly built a reputation for his singular, almost backward pitching style.
As his former pitching coach Dick Pole used to tell everyone, the righty had the guts and smarts to throw any pitch at any time and in any count.
It was a unique approach that yielded four Cy Young Awards and eight All-Star appearances.
In ’87, though, it was a liability.
Maddux outsmarted himself more often than not.
He missed his spots and regularly left fat off-speed pitches right over the heart of the plate.
It was a year full of lumps, and his stat line took it on the chin.
The 21-year-old Texas native pitched to a career-worst 5.61 ERA in 30 starts, surrendering 181 hits and striking out 101 in 155.2 innings.
His 1.638 WHIP was also a personal worst, over 43% higher than his eventual career mark.
In the end, it didn’t matter all that much.
Maddux eventually established himself as one of the most dominant pitchers in MLB history, making his rookie card a must-have.
- #3
1987 Topps Traded #31T Dennis Eckersley
PSA 10 Value $67 – $68Total PSA Population 149PSA 10 Population 69PSA 10 Grade Rate 46.3% (Set Avg: 30.8%)Dennis Eckersley was a different man in 1987.
In 1986, the then-Chicago Cubs starting pitcher waged war with demons on and off the field.
In the middle of one of the worst seasons of his career thus far, Eckersley binge-drank on a near-daily basis.
Once he saw a videotape of himself stumbling around his daughter, Mandee, he knew it was too much.
The 12-year MLB veteran checked himself into rehab and cut alcohol for good and Eckersley’s fresh start continued into the ’87 MLB season.
Dealt to the Oakland A’s before Opening Day, Eck found himself as a reliever for the first time.
As luck would have it, it was a Hall of Fame career change.
Named Oakland’s closer after Jay Howell went down to injury, Eckersley went 6-8 with a 3.03 ERA in 54 appearances (2 starts).
He tied Howell for the team lead in saves (16), striking out 113 batters in 115.2 innings pitched.
It was a great first act, but the real fun was yet to come.
- #4
1987 Topps Traded #109T Benito Santiago Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $54 – $56Total PSA Population 77PSA 10 Population 18PSA 10 Grade Rate 23.4% (Set Avg: 30.8%)You can stack up Benito Santiago’s rookie season with that of any other first-year backstop.
That’s how great the San Diego Padres youngster was in 1987.
Santiago started 146 of the team’s 162 games behind the plate and never looked over his head.
His defense was still a year off, but his bat was on a different plane than pretty much any catcher in the game, let alone a rookie.
The 22-year-old Puerto Rican native hit .300 for the first and only time in his 20-year career, adding 18 home runs, 33 doubles, two triples, 21 stolen bases, 64 runs scored, and 79 RBIs.
Santiago rarely walked, yet the Padres likely preferred it that way.
His 34-game hitting streak from August 25th through October 2nd remains the record for Padres players, catchers, and rookies, a feat made more impressive by the demands of his position.
“Every player but the catcher gets to rest and contemplate his next at-bat,” Tony Gwynn once said.
Santiago was the no-doubt choice for NL Rookie of the Year, sweeping all 28 votes to become the fifth unanimous selection in league history.
- #5
1987 Topps Traded #24T David Cone Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $51 – $52Total PSA Population 741PSA 10 Population 265PSA 10 Grade Rate 35.8% (Set Avg: 30.8%)Heading into the 1987 season, David Cone had two new pitches and a near-guaranteed spot in the Kansas City Royals starting rotation.
And then, he was suddenly off to New York with no guarantees whatsoever.
Shipped to the defending World Series champion Mets in a five-player deal, the young right-hander worried he’d be dropped to Triple-A within weeks.
That was far from the case.
Cone’s new side-arm slider/split-finger fastball combo was the talk of the Mets’ Spring Training facility.
According to Cone, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre’s jaw was “literally dropping” at the sheer movement of his arsenal.
Cone opened the season out of the bullpen and got his first start in late April, a doozy five-inning nightmare in which Cone surrendered ten runs (seven earned).
He rebounded nicely, though, and notched a complete game two weeks later for his first MLB win.
Just when it felt like the rookie had it made, Cone took an Atlee Hammaker fastball off his pinky and underwent surgery in late May before returning in mid-AuguSt. For the season, Cone made 21 appearances in a hybrid role for the second-place Mets, finishing 5-6 with a 3.71 ERA.
- #7
1987 Topps Traded #74T Fred McGriff Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $47 – $48Total PSA Population 1,131PSA 10 Population 405PSA 10 Grade Rate 35.8% (Set Avg: 30.8%)What happened in 1987 made Fred McGriff a household name for decades to come, and it had little to do with what transpired on the baseball field.
The Toronto Blue Jays DH/first baseman had a fine rookie season, slashing .247/.376/.505 with 20 home runs, 16 doubles, 58 runs scored, 60 walks, and 43 RBIs in 107 games.
His platoon with Cecil Fielder provided welcome pop to a 96-win Jays team that fell just two games short of an AL East crown.
McGriff was well on his way to becoming a middle-of-the-order regular.
He was also on the verge of becoming a video star, an instructional video star, that is.
During the season, the 23-year-old slugger received a call from his former swing doctor, Tom Emanski, who needed help with a little project.
That project developed into a commercial for the iconic Tom Emanski’s Defensive Drills series, a cash cow that brought McGriff into millions of homes daily.
“I’m in the big leagues and we’re playing in Chicago,” McGriff said.
“After the game, he picks me up right outside the stadium and we go to a Little League park.
He just gives me this shirt and this hat and says put them on.
He had his own little video camera so he shoots the video.
At the time I was just like, OK give me one percent.
I didn’t know it was going to turn into anything.”
- #8
1987 Topps Traded #52T Reggie Jackson
PSA 10 Value $43 – $44Total PSA Population 463PSA 10 Population 167PSA 10 Grade Rate 36.1% (Set Avg: 30.8%)There was no better place for Reggie Jackson to say farewell than Oakland.
Jackson debuted with the A’s back in 1967, the franchise’s final year in Kansas City.
When the Athletics opened their doors in Oakland in 1968, Reggie infused them with a swagger and personality that captivated their new fan base.
After three World Series titles and an AL MVP, Jackson was unceremoniously dumped to Baltimore by A’s owner and long-time rival Charlie Finley in 1976.
Over a decade removed from his last days in the green and gold, the 41-year-old DH/outfielder returned to the Bay for a final victory tour.
It turned out to be the best move for Reggie’s legacy.
The A’s sunk into obscurity for a decade and a half, while Jackson cemented his status as “Mr. October” in back-to-back Series wins with the Yankees.
By 1987, he had done it all.
Now, it was time to come full circle.
Jackson played in 115 games in front of adoring home and away crowds, slashing .220/.297/.402 with 15 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Declining numbers and a .500 finish meant little compared to the celebration of one of the most important players of the 70s and 80s.
- #9
1987 Topps Traded #14T Ellis Burks Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $35 – $36Total PSA Population 171PSA 10 Population 88PSA 10 Grade Rate 51.5% (Set Avg: 30.8%)The Boston Red Sox tried to run it back in 1987 after a magical 1986 AL pennant run.
But after a 9-12 start, it was clear that the veteran core that got them to the Fall Classic wasn’t up for an encore.
Instead of waiting things out, Boston’s front office reversed course, calling up several youngsters with one eye on the present and one for the future.
One of those young talents was five-tool center fielder Ellis Burks.
Burks had a fantastic Spring Training with the club, yet was sent down to Triple-A with Dave Henderson manning the eight.
Burks played only 11 games at Pawtucket before the Red Sox gave him a look and Henderson soon took him under his wing as the two took over shared duties in center.
“Henderson’s home run put us into the World Series,” GM Lou Gorman said.
“He did everything we asked of him, but Burks just came along and took his job.” A 20/20 rookie season will do that for you.
Burks slashed .272/.324/.441 with 20 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 133 games played, becoming just the third Red Sox player with 20 or more bombs and 20 or more swipes in a single season.
- #10
1987 Topps Traded #129T Matt Williams Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $34 – $35Total PSA Population 697PSA 10 Population 182PSA 10 Grade Rate 26.1% (Set Avg: 30.8%)Matt Williams’ rookie season was terrible statistically, but his value to the NL West champion San Francisco Giants went far beyond his .188 average and .578 OPS.
To put it simply, he was San Francisco’s clubhouse clown.
He impersonated Howard Cosell.
He put on exaggerated batting practice displays mimicking famous swings from baseball lore.
Anything to get a laugh and to loosen up the room, including a pitch-perfect imitation of Giants manager Roger Craig.
The first-year infielder got everything down, including Craig’s signature walk and high-pitched voice.
The act was so good that teammates egged him on to perform it on the day the Giants brought home the division title.
“They asked me to get up on the table to imitate Roger Craig,” Williams said.
“I had to do that.
I believe he was there.
In front of my teammates.
It was quick, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be back in the big leagues for imitating the manager.” Craig loved it.
And while Williams didn’t see a plate appearance in San Francisco’s seven-game NLCS loss to St. Louis, he’d get the last laugh soon enough.
- #11
1987 Topps Traded #27T Andre Dawson
PSA 10 Value $33 – $34Total PSA Population 231PSA 10 Population 115PSA 10 Grade Rate 49.8% (Set Avg: 30.8%)Andre Dawson’s 1987 NL MVP campaign remains a sore spot for many baseball historians.
After four straight Silver Sluggers and three consecutive All-Star nods, Dawson fell off sharply from 1984 to 1986.
Then a member of the Montreal Expos, Dawson labored through knee injuries and was forced to take his Gold Glove talents from center field to right.
Unable to play 81 games on Olympic Stadium’s harsh artificial turf any longer, Dawson left the Expos looking for a fresh start.
He took a massive pay cut to join the Chicago Cubs, looking to prove himself on a $500,000 salary.
He did more than that.
The last-place Cubbies were still a laughing stock, but The Hawk’s MLB-best 49 home runs and 137 RBIs were not.
However, was he really the MVP?
The only other player to win Most Valuable Player on a losing team was fellow Cubs legend Ernie Banks (twice).
And his massive counting stats lose a little luster when you consider the dizzying home run pace of the 1987 campaign.
Regardless, RBIs and home runs still reigned supreme and Dawson edged out two members of the NL champion St. Louis Cardinals (Ozzie Smith and Jack Clark) for his first and only MVP award.
- #12
1987 Topps Traded #91T Matt Nokes Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $31 – $32Total PSA Population 55PSA 10 Population 43PSA 10 Grade Rate 78.2% (Set Avg: 30.8%)Music has its one-hit wonders.
The baseball world has Matt Nokes.
A 20th-round selection of the San Francisco Giants back in 1981, Nokes finally got his first true big-league shot with the ’87 Detroit Tigers.
The 23-year-old catcher was no match for the record-breaking power of fellow rookie Mark McGwire, but he still had one hell of a debut campaign.
An All-Star and Silver Slugger for the first (and last) time, Nokes slashed .289/.345/.536 with 32 home runs, 14 doubles, two triples, 69 runs scored, and 87 RBIs in 135 games played.
The Tigers leaned heavily on their rookie backstop both at the plate and behind the dish, and he proved plenty capable, helping push Detroit to its second AL East title in four years.
However, Nokes hit .143 (2-for-14) with a homer in the Tigers’ five-game ALCS loss to Minnesota.
And that was that for his time in the All-Star spotlight, but it wasn’t like he just fell off the face of the earth.
Nokes played parts of ten more seasons with the Tigers, Yankees, Orioles, and Rockies but he never came remotely close to recapturing the form of his ’87 breakout.
- #13
1987 Topps Traded #19T Steve Carlton
PSA 10 Value $29 – $30Total PSA Population 158PSA 10 Population 104PSA 10 Grade Rate 65.8% (Set Avg: 30.8%)After a brief flirtation with retirement in 1986, Steve Carlton returned for year #23 in 1987.
The 42-year-old lefty was nearly a half-decade past his prime but still found a home with the Cleveland Indians to start the campaign.
But, there wasn’t much good to Carlton’s four-month stint in Ohio.
There was, however, one notable bit of history.
Carlton and teammate Phil Niekro became the first 300-game winners in MLB history to pitch in the same game for the same team, a 10-6 loss to the New York Yankees in the Bronx.
Other than that, it was a grind.
And things didn’t change much when the soon-to-be World Series champion Minnesota Twins took a chance on the aging Carlton at the trade deadline.
Carlton went 6-14 in 32 games (21 starts) between Cleveland and Minnesota, pitching to a career-worst 5.74 ERA and 1.651 WHIP in 152.0 innings pitched.
From a four-time Cy Young winner to a playoff scratch, Carlton’s Hall of Fame career was all but over.
- #14
1987 Topps Traded #81T Kevin Mitchell
PSA 10 Value $25 – $26Total PSA Population 117PSA 10 Population 57PSA 10 Grade Rate 48.7% (Set Avg: 30.8%)Traded from the New York Mets to his hometown San Diego Padres before the 1987 season, young third baseman/outfielder Kevin Mitchell never felt right in his old digs.
The future NL MVP was immediately called upon to make the leap from youth to power-hitting star.
And he didn’t have much room for growth with what the Padres had to give up to get him.
So it was a blessing when San Diego eventually punted on him later in the year, trading him to the rival Giants.
“It was good for me to get traded again,” said Mitchell.
“I had a lot of pressure on me to hit home runs in San Diego because they’d lost (Kevin) McReynolds (in the trade with the Mets).
And under Bowa, you couldn’t make a mistake without him hollering at you.
He put a lot of pressure on a lot of younger players.” Mitchell responded quite well to the change in scenery, hitting .306 with 15 home runs and 44 RBIs in 69 games with his new club.
With their new middle-of-the-order bat leading the way, the Giants went from a .500 team to NL West champions in just over two months.
Ross’s Take
While the 132-card checklist pales in comparison to that of its 792-card base set counterpart, the 1987 Topps Traded set packs just as much excitement and variety.
Whether you like star rookies, superstars, or hobby youngsters who never quite panned out, there is something for everyone inside this set.
The Greg Maddux and Fred McGriff cards are the top rookie cards in the set but collectors of that era still love the Ellis Burks, David Cone, Matt Williams and Benito Santiago rookies.
If you were a collector back then, you know how huge those names were.
Topps flooded the market with over-produced cards like these in the late 80s and early 90s, which has certainly put a dent in their monetary values over time.
But if you’re willing to look past the relatively lower dollar values, there is plenty of nostalgic value to keep things interesting.
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