25 Most Valuable 1990 Fleer Baseball Cards
I remember having stacks and stacks of 1990 Fleer baseball cards as a kid…
Despite their plain look and feel, I didn’t care.
I just wanted to acquire as many cards of the game’s biggest stars of the day.
After all, isn’t that what collecting baseball cards should be about?
Time has not treated this set very well as most of the cards in it have no value at all due to how they were massively overprinted…
But, despite that, I still managed to find the 25 most valuable 1990 Fleer baseball cards and write about them.
Let’s jump right in!
1990 Fleer Baseball: Market Analysis and Value Guide
1990 Fleer Baseball Set Snapshot
Next Set:
1990 Fleer Grading Analysis
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1990 Fleer #74 Jose Uribe
PSA 10 Value: $40
Total PSA Population: 402
PSA 10 Population: 54
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 13.4% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
I honestly hesitated to mention this card…
But, due to all the strange hype around it, I’ve received many emails from people asking if it truly is worth a lot of money.
At some point, these cards started popping up on eBay listed for sale for well into the six figure price range.
Jose Uribe was an average player and the card is not rare…
So, why on Earth would this card be worth so much?
Some people have suspected that money laundering is somehow involved.
Others just suspect it’s nothing more than a hobby joke that’s gotten carried away.
No matter the reason, the card is not worth thousands of dollars…
I’ve recently seen these cards graded in PSA 10 condition sell for around $50…so, in some strange way, this card has generated some value after all.
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1990 Fleer #313 Nolan Ryan
PSA 10 Value: $40
Total PSA Population: 812
PSA 10 Population: 432
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 53.2% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Nolan Ryan is another one of those guys who is amongst the most highly demanded within any baseball card set.
The fireballer is a baseball icon whose popularity is timeless.
Ryan also appeared in this set on a “300 Strikeout Club” card with former Astros teammate, Mike Scott.
I always found this odd because Ryan had most recently eclipsed that mark the season before in 1989 but Scott did so back in 1986…
And, he’d also be included in the “Update” set that year which paid tribute to his no-hitters across three different decades.
I also found that odd because Ryan had eclipsed the 5,000 career strikeout mark the year before in 1989 as well but Fleer, unlike Topps, Donruss, and Upper Deck did not create to recognize this monumental achievement.
Not that throwing a no-hitter in 3 separate decades was no big deal but still…5,000 strikeouts is probably worth mentioning, too.
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1990 Fleer #513 Ken Griffey Jr.
PSA 10 Value: $35
Total PSA Population: 4,666
PSA 10 Population: 1,248
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 26.7% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
During the 1990s, there was perhaps no bigger name in Major League Baseball than Ken Griffey Jr. His towering home runs and incredible defensive ability in center field left fans in awe.
Given his size, you wouldn’t think Griffey Jr. would be one of the game’s best power hitters of all-time…
But, because of that sweet swing of his (arguably the most beautiful swing the game has ever seen) he was able to generate enough power and torque to send 630 baseballs over the fence over his career.
Griffey was one of the most popular players of the era and his cards were always in high demand.
This one is no exception and still holds some value, especially in its Canadian version.
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1990 Fleer #447 Don Mattingly
PSA 10 Value: $35
Total PSA Population: 206
PSA 10 Population: 142
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 68.9% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Don Mattingly could flat out play–he could hit for average and a bit of power while at the same time maintaining a solid glove at first base (he won 9 Gold Gloves in his career).
He’d never get a World Series ring but during the mid to late 80s, he was one of the sport’s best players and his cards were on fire in the hobby as a result.
Everyone wanted Don Mattingly cards when I was a kid.
His 1990 Fleer card was no exception and has enough value left in the tank to earn a spot on this liSt.
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1990 Fleer #3 Jose Canseco
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 90
PSA 10 Population: 40
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 44.4% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Even after he gave them a Silver Slugger in the regular season, it was clear the rest of the Oakland A’s were tiring of Jose Canseco’s act.
The slugger was a magnet for bad publicity.
From his multiple run-ins with the law to accusations of domestic violence to his frankly irritating fling with Madonna, Canseco brought a sideshow with him.
The problem with cutting him loose, though, was just how valuable his bat was.
Canseco finished 12th for AL MVP in ’90, slashing .274/.371/.543 with 37 home runs, 19 stolen bases, 72 walks, and 101 RBIs in 131 games.
He was the power source for Oakland’s high-speed offense, and he was one of the main reasons the team captured its third consecutive pennant.
And then, Canseco bricked in the World Series with just one hit in 12 at-bats.
He also misjudged an easy fly ball that fueled a game-saving rally for the Reds in Game 2, drawing the public ire of pitcher Dave Stewart and manager Tony LaRussa.
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1990 Fleer #10 Rickey Henderson
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 204
PSA 10 Population: 113
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 55.4% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Excitement comes in all different forms in baseball, which is what makes this game so great.
On the base paths, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who was more exciting than Rickey Henderson.
Rickey wasted no time showing you the type of career he was going to have as a base stealer after he swiped a jaw-dropping 130 during the 1982 season.
Nobody even comes close to stealing 100 bases in a season anymore.
Henderson is also widely known for speaking in the third person…
But, hey, if the guy is the career leader in stolen bases I guess he’s earned it.
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1990 Fleer #40 Ryne Sandberg
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 133
PSA 10 Population: 85
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 63.9% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
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1990 Fleer #110 Bo Jackson
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 416
PSA 10 Population: 169
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 40.6% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Remember how Bo Jackson seemed to be everywhere back in the late 80s and early 90s?
Television commercials, videogames, merchandise…you name it, he was on it.
His two-sport stardom created astounding hype and his popularity soared through the roof.
While his career was cut short due to injury and we’ll never know just how great he could have been, kids who were collecting in those days are now adults.
And those adults will never forget Bo Jackson and are still keeping his cards in strong demand.
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1990 Fleer #157 Tony Gwynn
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 156
PSA 10 Population: 108
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 69.2% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
It felt odd seeing a batting champion that wasn’t Tony Gwynn.
The San Diego Padres legend won three consecutive batting titles from 1987 to 1989, completing the first half of his NL record eight crowns.
You just kind of expected it to be Gwynn in any given year.
Yet, 1990 wasn’t one of those years.
It was Gwynn’s worst season by average since his sophomore campaign in 1983.
To be fair, he still hit .309, good for eighth in the Senior Circuit race.
Even at the right fielder’s worst, he was still an All-Star hitter (and Gold Glove defender, for that matter).
However, he was obviously worn down by injuries and much less patient as he pushed through pain.
Gwynn posted a .357 on-base percentage in 141 games, 31 points worse than his career mark.
His total walks also continued to dip, falling from a career-high 82 in 1987 to just 44.
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1990 Fleer #187 Cal Ripken Jr.
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 358
PSA 10 Population: 217
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 60.6% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
What was the secret to longevity for Cal Ripken Jr.?
Was it weight training?
Was it extra cardio or batting practice?
Maybe, it was…
…milk.
”The milk thing was the first that came my way because I did drink a lot of milk,” Ripken said of his 1990 milk ad campaign.
”The reason I didn’t smoke and drank a lot of milk was that I wanted to be an athlete.” If milk builds strong bones, then perhaps Ripken was the perfect spokesperson.
After all, the legend he passed for the all-time consecutive games record, Lou Gehrig, played first base, objectively one of the less taxing defensive jobs.
As for Ripken, he played the vast majority of his streak at shortstop, perhaps the most physically demanding defensive position in the game other than catcher.
And he did it exceedingly well.
In 1990, Ripken’s .996 fielding percentage at short set a new single-season record.
Milk does a body good.
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1990 Fleer #217 Darryl Strawberry
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 91
PSA 10 Population: 58
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 63.7% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Darryl Strawberry didn’t wait till the offseason.
He told the Mets straight up, early in the 1990 campaign, that he had no intention to return in free agency.
Things were strenuous in the Mets clubhouse.
Strawberry’s addiction issues and late nights were a source of friction, and there seemed to be tabloid-baiting infighting before every game.
When manager Davey Johnson, an ardent supporter of Strawberry, was canned early on, the bad vibes boiled over.
Strawberry went straight to the press, stating that he was as good as gone.
Years later, he’d call the decision the “biggest mistake” of his career.
At least he built up his value on the market before the move.
Strawberry slashed .277/.361/.518 with 37 home runs, 92 runs, 70 walks, and 108 RBIs in 152 games.
The Mets faded to second place in the NL East late, but the 28-year-old still reaped plenty of rewards, an All-Star nod, his second Silver Slugger, and a third-place finish for NL MVP.
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1990 Fleer #383 Kirby Puckett
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 109
PSA 10 Population: 57
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 52.3% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
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1990 Fleer #461 Barry Bonds
PSA 10 Value: $30
Total PSA Population: 363
PSA 10 Population: 98
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 27.0% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Barry Bonds didn’t lack for pedigree.
Having Bobby Bonds as a father and Willie Mays as a godfather came with the expectation of wild success.
With that expectation came a natural confidence.
Often, it was more arrogance.
“I decided this year was time for me to get the respect I deserved for myself,” Bonds said of his 1990 MVP season.
He wasn’t wrong, per se.
In 1989, the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder placed third in the NL WAR and finished a homer shy of a 20/30 season.
In Bonds’ mind, he was the uncrowned MVP headed into ’90, and there was no other option but to bludgeon his way to the award.
That’s exactly what he did.
Bonds captured all but one first-place vote, that going to teammate Bobby Bonilla.
Bonds topped multiple statistical categories for the NL West-winning Pirates, including WAR (9.7) and OPS (.970).
His 33 homers and 114 RBIs both placed fourth in the Senior Circuit, and his 52 stolen bases landed third.
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1990 Fleer #645 Human Dynamos
PSA 10 Value: $30
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1990 Fleer #103 George Brett
PSA 10 Value: $25
Total PSA Population: 183
PSA 10 Population: 122
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 66.7% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Did George Brett fix the 1990 AL batting race?
No, but his closest competition still had a few legitimate gripes.
Oakland A’s leadoff legend Rickey Henderson was the easy wire-to-wire MVP for the ’90 season, and it looked for a long stretch that he’d have a batting title to go with it.
Henderson had a commanding lead for a good chunk of August and September, that is, until Brett happened.
A hot stretch in early September pushed the Kansas City Royals’ first baseman/DH ahead of Henderson.
At that point, Brett began sitting out to nurse nagging injuries.
However, it’s also pretty clear that he benched himself multiple times to preserve his lead while Henderson kept playing.
In winning the title, Brett made history, becoming the only player with a crown in three different decades.
As for Henderson, it all left a sour taste in his mouth.
“I still respect George because he’s still a great hitter,” Henderson wrote later.
“But I do think he should have battled me game by game.”
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1990 Fleer #265 Ozzie Smith
PSA 10 Value: $25
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1990 Fleer #268 Wade Boggs
PSA 10 Value: $25
Total PSA Population: 80
PSA 10 Population: 39
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 48.8% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
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1990 Fleer #363 Larry Walker Rookie Card
PSA 10 Value: $25
Total PSA Population: 1,414
PSA 10 Population: 286
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 20.2% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
As a kid, there were few hitters I enjoyed watching more than Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs and Larry Walker.
Sure, Griffey Jr., Bonds, McGwire and those guys were all fun to watch because of their power but the other guys were fun to watch because of their pure mastery at the plate.
How would you like to face a guy during a season in which he hit 49 home runs, 143 runs scored, 130 RBI and a .363 batting average?
That was the season Walker had in 1997–not quite good enough for the Triple Crown but he did win the MVP.
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1990 Fleer #454 Deion Sanders
PSA 10 Value: $25
Total PSA Population: 644
PSA 10 Population: 309
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 48.0% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
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1990 Fleer #548 Sammy Sosa Rookie Card
PSA 10 Value: $25
Total PSA Population: 10,015
PSA 10 Population: 1,899
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 19.0% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Because of the PED scandal that rocked baseball at the turn of the century, Sosa’s legacy will forever hang under a cloud.
But, there’s no question that he was one of the game’s most popular players of his era.
Seeing Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and him going toe-to-toe trying to break the single season home run record was exciting to watch and his notoriety grew as a result.
Because of that, he still holds a certain degree of popularity amongst fans and his rookie card from this set makes our list of the valuable as a result.
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1990 Fleer #591 Dale Murphy
PSA 10 Value: $25
Total PSA Population: 91
PSA 10 Population: 61
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 67.0% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
Dale Murphy’s career hit its nadir in 1990, just when it felt he should be cementing his Hall-of-Fame candidacy.
Ripped apart by knee injuries and associated arthritis, Murphy was a season-long slump waiting to happen.
The worst of it came in June when the 33-year-old hit just .173 with a .223 on-base percentage in 104 games.
That was enough for the rebuilding Braves to finalize the end of the Murphy era.
After two MVPs and two home run titles, the former face of Atlanta baseball was dealt to the Phillies on August 3rd, 1990.
Philadelphia was in a little better spot than the Braves, and felt like Murphy was well worth a low-risk flier.
It didn’t do much of anything, to be honeSt. Murphy played 57 games for the Phillies to close the year, posting a blank 0.0 WAR with a .266 average and seven home runs.
Philadelphia settled into a tie for fourth place in the NL East at 77-85.
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1990 Fleer #636 300 Strikeout Club
PSA 10 Value: $25
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1990 Fleer #638 American League All-Stars
PSA 10 Value: $25
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1990 Fleer #297 Juan Gonzalez Rookie Card
PSA 10 Value: $20
Total PSA Population: 4,061
PSA 10 Population: 1,035
PSA 10 Grade Rate: 25.5% (Set Avg.: 30.6%)
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1990 Fleer #485 Albert Belle Rookie Card
PSA 10 Value: $20
Albert Belle’s MLB career was tumultuous, to say the leaSt. His struggles with alcoholism, associated addictions, and emotional regulation surfaced time and time again in his 12 years between Cleveland, Chicago, and Baltimore.
At his best, Belle was among the greatest home run hitters of the era.
He hit nearly 100 combined home runs (98) in 1995 and 1996 alone.
However, Belle’s demons were often trailing close behind.
And they forced their way ahead more often than not.
In 1990, Belle missed most of what could have been his rookie season with the Indians due to an extended rehab stay.
He spent ten weeks at the Cleveland Clinic, working on problems with “concentration, motivation, attitude and temper.” Upon leaving the clinic, the former Joey Belle asked to be referred to by his given name, Albert, a hopeful attempt at a fresh start to his professional baseball career.
He played nine games to close out the ’90 campaign, going 4-for-25 (.160) with a homer.
1990 Fleer Baseball Cards In Review
So there you have it, the 25 most valuable 1990 Fleer cards.
As you can see, it will take them being professionally graded in gem mint condition to be worth much.
And by the time I got to the end, you could say any number of guys like Roger Clemens, Cal Ripken Jr., Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire or any other number of stars from the day could be on the list.
The truth is, cards from this list just don’t have much value anymore…
This set was large with a 660 card checklist and was massively printed.
That’s what’s ruined the value over the years.
Within the set were also several different subsets, including:
- Checklists
- Major League Prospects
- Player of the Decade
- Several Speciality Cards (ex. Ryan 300 Strikeout Club)
The set is rather unexciting compared to Topps and Donruss of that same year.
But, for those of us who grew up collecting these as kids, they’ll always have a huge nostalgic factor to them despite not having the most monetary value.
