25 Most Valuable 1991 Topps Baseball Cards
I was well into my prime childhood collecting days when the 1991 Topps baseball cards were released.
And I was incredibly excited when these cards were released because of a special they were offering…
Because of their 40th anniversary of producing baseball cards, Topps randomly inserted a copy of every card they ever made into packs to help build hype.
That led collectors everywhere to “chase the Mick” in hopes of landing one of the most coveted cards of all time: the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle.
I was so pumped up and dreamed of pulling a vintage Mickey Mantle or any vintage star for that matter.
Although, I never pulled a single one of any of those randomly inserted cards, I always loved this set.
And in this guide, we take a look at the 25 most valuable.
Let’s jump right in!
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1991 Topps #588 Mark Whitten Hand Over Border Errror
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $150
This set was notorious for its numerous variations.
And the rarest of them all is the Mark Whiten card where his hand extends over the border of the card.
Other cards in the set also show hats, bats or body parts extended over the border as well but for some reason Topps decided to correct this on Whiten’s card.
And because they corrected it, the limited number of Whiten cards where his hand is over the border instantly became a rarity and have shot up in value as a result.
Whiten played 11 years in the Big Leagues but was never a star.
This is just another case of where the value of a card can be boosted by a simple variation.
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1991 Topps Traded #4T Jeff Bagwell Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
The Houston Astros gambled on Jeff Bagwell to start the 1991 MLB season.
And while it didn’t pay off in team success, it jump-started the career of a franchise legend.
Dealt from Boston at the end of the 1990 season, Bagwell moved from one logjam at third base to another in Houston.
The former fourth-round pick wasn’t going to see playing time in Beantown behind Wade Boggs and top prospect Scott Cooper.
And with Ken Caminiti entrenched at the hot corner for the Astros headed into the 1991 campaign, he appeared to be in another no-win situation.
Spring Training changed that.
Bagwell tore the cover off the ball over the first few weeks and earned a starting job.
However, it wasn’t at third.
The Astros devised a plan to get Bagwell’s bat into the lineup: move him to first and hope for the best.
The team put the 23-year-old rookie through a lightning-quick crash course with a sink-or-swim final exam.
He passed with flying colors.
A near-unanimous choice for NL Rookie of the Year despite Houston’s 65-97 record, Bagwell slashed .294/.387/.437 with 15 home runs, 79 runs scored, and 82 RBIs in 554 at-bats.
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1991 Topps #333 Chipper Jones Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $100
It may not be quite as valuable as the Mark Whiten variation but the Chipper Jones rookie card is easily the face of the entire set.
One of the most important rookie cards of the 1990s, this card is routinely in high demand.
And can you believe that the Desert Shield version of this card can sell for thousands of dollars?
It may be shocking, but it’s true.
As of this writing, only 32 examples of this card have been graded in PSA 10 condition, so collectors are willing to pay a premium to own one.
Jones spent the 1991 season with the Single-A Macon Braves, posting a beefy .326/.407/.518 slash line in with 15 homers, 24 doubles, 11 triples, 40 stolen bases, 104 runs scored, and 98 RBIs.
That was the good news.
The bad news was that Jones didn’t have it in the field.
He committed a double-take-inducing 71 errors at shortstop and booted balls all over the place.
Eventually, he’d move over to third base, a position that suited him much better as his Hall-of-Fame career progressed.
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1991 Topps Traded #101T Ivan Rodriguez Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
Ivan Rodriguez’s journey to Cooperstown started with a wedding.
Signed out of Puerto Rico at just 17 years old, Rodriguez quickly moved up the ranks of the Texas Rangers organization.
By the age of 19, he was the starting catcher and defensive standout for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers.
Tulsa loved Rodriguez, and he adored them so much that he planned an on-field wedding ceremony for him and his wife-to-be, Maribel, during a June 20th doubleheader.
You know what they say about the best-laid plans.
After Rangers starting catcher Geno Petralli fell to injury, the team looked past Triple-A and promoted Rodriguez to the big-league squad one day before he was set to tie the knot.
Instead of postponing, the two rescheduled the wedding for the next morning before flying to Chicago to join the Rangers.
It was an emotional whirlwind beginning to a great rookie season.
Finishing fourth in the AL Rookie-of-the-Year race, Rodriguez hit .264 in 88 games while providing Gold Glove-caliber defense to the 85-win squad.
And he did all of this as a newlywed in his teens.
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1991 Topps Traded #58T Bo Jackson
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
When Bo Jackson’s hip gave out in the Los Angeles Raiders’ 1991 AFC Divisional Game matchup, everything turned upside down.
The Kansas City Royals hedged their bets in the 1991 offseason, waiting to see if Jackson could make enough progress to justify keeping him around.
By the middle of Spring Training, it was clear that Jackson was months away (at a minimum) from getting back into baseball shape.
On March 18th, Kansas City placed the 28-year-old DH on waivers.
No team claimed him, and Jackson headed to free agency.
Eventually, the Chicago White Sox stepped in, signing Jackson to a three-year, $8.15 million deal with only $700,000 guaranteed.
It was a low-risk, high-reward move for the Sox.
It also allowed Jackson the chance to prove he still had it.
Bo continued rehab under the White Sox banner before returning on September 2nd for a late-season revival.
In his Chicago debut, he played in 23 games and hit .225 with a .732 OPS, three home runs, and 14 RBIs.
Jackson’s injury took a devastating turn when he developed avascular necrosis, a disorder that breaks down bone and cartilage while cutting off blood flow.
He failed an October 15th physical with the Los Angeles Raiders, ending his NFL career just like that.
It also left his MLB career in a precarious spot.
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1991 Topps #1 Nolan Ryan
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $95
In a way, Nolan Ryan was the blueprint for the late-career renaissances of megastars such as Tom Brady and LeBron James.
Remember, he was pitching in his fourth decade in 1991, which speaks to his longevity on the mound.
Somewhat surprisingly, the 1991 season was one of the best of his 27-year career and his finest in a Ranger uniform.
Gritting his teeth through an endless list of injuries, aches, and pains, the 44-year-old righty was utterly brilliant across 27 starts.
He went 12-6 with a 2.91 ERA, punching out over 200 batters for the fifth straight year (203) and topping all of baseball with a 1.006 WHIP.
He also did the impossible on May 1st, upstaging the ultimate showman, Rickey Henderson.
On the day that Rickey passed Lou Brock for the all-time stolen base record, Ryan threw his seventh no-hitter in unparalleled form, fanning sixteen while dealing with a bloody middle finger on his pitching hand.
At 44 years old, Ryan remained the ultimate baseball unicorn, never to be replaced or matched.
I always loved how Topps displayed Ryan on this card.
The horizontal layout perfectly framed Ryan in the final moments of delivering one of his signature heaters.
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1991 Topps #42 Chris Hoiles White Inner Frame
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $85
Chris Hoiles may not be a household name but he had a solid ten-year career with the Baltimore Orioles.
He was at his best from 1992 to 1996 and even finished as high as sixteenth in the MVP vote in 1993.
However, most collectors of this set will know him for the variation of his card that is found with a white inner frame.
The standard 1991 Topps Hoiles card features a dark gray inner frame and is likely worth less than $7 or $8 even in PSA 10 condition.
But if you’re lucky enough to find the variation with the white inner frame in PSA 10 condition, it has sold for a decent chunk of change historically.
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1991 Topps Traded #114T Darryl Strawberry
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
Darryl Strawberry left the New York Mets in 1991 for his hometown Los Angeles Dodgers.
He also left some hard feelings behind.
Strawberry never felt at home in the Big Apple.
When the team won, the credit seemed to go elsewhere.
When the team lost, he felt singled out by the media.
So when the Mets attempted to play hardball with their seven-time All-Star in free-agent negotiations, Strawberry waved goodbye and inked a five-year deal with LA.
“I wanted to be with a winner, which the Dodgers have always been,” Strawberry said. “I wanted to come home. People talk about the pressure of playing at home, but after going through what I went through in New York, nothing can be as bad as that.”
The 29-year-old right fielder got off on the right foot in ‘91 with his eighth consecutive All-Star campaign.
Strawberry posted a .265/.361/.491 slash line with 28 home runs, 22 doubles, four triples, ten stolen bases, 86 runs scored, 75 walks, and 99 RBIs in 139 games played.
Los Angeles fell one game short of an NL West tiebreaker with Atlanta yet still had an MVP-caliber talent on their hands, at least, for a while.
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1991 Topps Traded #77T Fred McGriff
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
The Toronto Blue Jays finalized a trade in the 1991 offseason that set them up perfectly for three years of October success.
All they had to do was give up a Hall-of-Famer and a three-time All-Star.
Toronto shipped 26-year-old first baseman Fred McGriff and shortstop Tony Fernandez to San Diego in exchange for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter, two legendary players in their own right.
It was a star-studded four-player swap that built a Jays dynasty.
However, losing Fred McGriff was undoubtedly a heavy price to pay.
An MVP candidate for three years running, McGriff kept killing baseballs in Southern California, slashing .278/.396/.494 for the third-place Padres.
The Crime Dog also chipped in 31 home runs, 19 doubles, a triple, 105 walks, 84 runs scored, and 106 RBIs in 153 games to finish 10th in the NL MVP race.
Toronto was well-equipped to deal with McGriff’s absence.
Yet, it still must have stung to see him continue his upward Hall-of-Fame trajectory on the other side of the border.
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1991 Topps #100 Don Mattingly
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $85
Don Mattingly seemed to pack several different seasons into one year in 1991.
Battling a chronic back issue that cost him sixty games the year before, the 30-year-old first baseman was both determined and incensed.
Named the 14th captain in New York Yankees history, Mattingly took the role seriously.
He spent hours trying to tweak his swing to find his former power, pushing his teammates to be better and think smarter.
It wasn’t to be.
The team crashed to 71 wins and a third consecutive losing season.
As you might expect, Mattingly got more angry as the campaign dragged along.
He called out the entire front office, questioning the franchise’s direction and will to win.
He publicly sought a trade in the summer, but the Yankees quickly denied the request.
What followed was a tabloid mess that peaked when Mattingly refused to adhere to the team’s personal grooming policy and was suspended for a game.
Nothing went right, not for Mattingly or the Yanks as a whole.
Distracted and unable to get his swing where he wanted it, Mattingly slashed .288/.339/.394 with nine homers, 35 doubles, 64 runs scored, and 68 RBIs.
He took home his sixth Gold Glove, but that was little consolation for yet another season from hell.
Mattingly’s base card is generally worth around $45 or so in PSA 10 condition but if you find the variation that says he had 10 hits in 1990 on the reverse side, it can sell for almost double that.
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1991 Topps #790 Ken Griffey Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $80
One year after securing his first All-Star nod and a smattering of down-ballot MVP votes, Ken Griffey Jr. emerged as the game’s most tantalizing and popular talent.
A unique blend of charisma, speed, defense, power, and patience, Griffey went from a prized prospect to a full-blown superstar in 1991.
The surge in popularity didn’t come without its caveats.
After periodically firing back at his critics throughout the year, Junior leaned on veteran teammate Harold Reynolds for some life/career advice.
“We were in Toronto right before the break and Harold sat me down,” Junior said. “He told me I wasn’t having any fun. He was right.”
The top vote-getter in the American League, Griffey loosened up among his peers and inspirations in Toronto.
The weight of his personal and professional struggles appeared to slip off his shoulders, and Griffey entered the latter half of the schedule in a freer, clearer head space.
Griffey torched the Junior Circuit in the second half, hitting a blistering .373 with 13 homers and 64 RBIs.
The Mariners bounced back from a 40-42 first half, finishing with 83 wins and the first winning record in franchise history.
Junior was the catalyst for the team’s sudden fortunes.
The 21-year-old slashed .327/.399/.527 on the season with 22 home runs, 42 doubles, 18 stolen bases, 76 runs scored, and 100 RBIs in 154 games.
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1991 Topps Traded #2T Roberto Alomar
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25
Padres, Roberto Alomar felt safe that he was part of the team’s plans for years to come.
So, when the Padres shocked the world and dealt Alomar to Toronto in a four-player mega-trade, the 23-year-old second baseman was taken aback.
“I didn’t expect it,” Alomar said. “I didn’t understand it.”
Once the shock wore off, Alomar locked in and gave the Padres a case of seller’s remorse.
Finishing sixth in the AL MVP race and earning both a Gold Glove and All-Star nod, Alomar posted a .295/.354/.436 slash line with new career highs in doubles (41), triples (11), stolen bases (53), hits (188), runs scored (88), walks (57), and RBIs (69).
He was arguably the best-hitting second baseman in baseball and an essential piece of the Jays’ second AL East title in three years.
Alomar kept the hits coming in the ALCS with a 9-for-19 explosion (.474) against Minnesota.
However, the rest of Toronto’s attack couldn’t keep pace, and the Jays fell in five to the Twins.
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1991 Topps #740 Ryne Sandberg
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $65
A year after leading all NL players with 2.26 million All-Star votes, Ryne Sandberg continued to earn his keep as the best second baseman in the game.
The beloved Chicago Cubs infielder was always a next-level defensive marvel.
In 1991, he did himself one better by committing just four errors over the course of 157 games.
It was by far his best full-season total, and it was more than enough to earn him a ninth straight Gold Glove.
Sandberg was just as reliable at the dish as he was in the field.
The 31-year-old hit to a .291/.379/.485 slash line in ’91 with 26 homers, 22 stolen bases, 32 doubles, 104 runs scored, and 100 RBIs.
The 77-win Cubs were the epitome of mediocre, yet Sandberg was anything but.
The Cubs star’s good looks and pleasant personality made him a national favorite.
His Hall-of-Fame credentials were all but nailed down, and his steady hand kept the Cubs from devolving into laughing-stock territory.
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1991 Topps Traded #94T Tim Raines
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15
The Montreal Expos had four outfielders for three starting jobs as the 1991 MLB season approached.
It was Tim Raines who ended up drawing the short straw.
Hitching their wagon to the young trio of Dave Martinez, Marquis Grissom, and Larry Walker, the Expos dealt Raines to the Chicago White Sox as part of a four-player trade.
The former four-time NL stolen base champ was now 30 years old and coming off a season in which he was limited to 130 games due to injury.
His offensive numbers slipped since his 1987 peak, and the Expos were unsure if he still had the juice to be a franchise player.
Montreal’s misgivings ended up Chicago’s gain.
Raines posted new career lows in batting average (.268) and OPS (.703) yet finished third in the AL with 51 stolen bases.
He also proved quite durable, playing in 155 games for the second-place Sox while placing ninth in the Junior Circuit with 102 runs scored.
It wasn’t quite the campaign to put Raines back in the MVP conversation.
That didn’t matter, as the White Sox had the perfect left fielder at the perfect time.
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1991 Topps Traded #89T Dave Parker
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15
Throughout his 19 years in Major League Baseball, Dave Parker was consistently one of the top players in the league.
And that goes for both sides of the game.
A seven-time All-Star and the 1979 MVP, Parker won two batting titles and three Silver Sluggers on the offensive side of the ball while picking up three Gold Gloves on defense.
Parker could do it all.
He did most of his damage during a fifteen-year stretch that included 11 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and four more with the Cincinnati Reds.
However, though many counted him out during the last part of his career, he was still good for 20+ homers and 90+ RBIs for both the Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers.
But, as they say, all good things must come to an end.
And the end for Parker came in 1991.
Despite making the 1990 All-Star team as a reserve with the Brewers in 1990, the club traded Parker to the Angels for Dante Bichette before the 1991 season.
In 119 games for the Angels, Parker slashed .232/.279/.358 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs before the team sent him to Toronto late in the year.
At 40 years old, the former All-Star decided to call it quits after the season.
Parker was an incredible baseball player, but many felt his career numbers weren’t quite Hall of Fame caliber.
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1991 Topps Traded #82T Jack Morris
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15
There was no way, in the biggest moment of his career and maybe his life, that Jack Morris would not stay in and get the job done.
The longtime Detroit Tigers ace signed a free-agent deal with his hometown Twins before the 1991 season and became the rotation’s backbone as the Twins surged from worst to first in the AL West.
The now five-time All-Star and fourth-place Cy Young finisher pitched a team-leading 246.2 innings, posting an 18-12 record with a 3.43 ERA.
He followed up his brilliant regular season with wins in Games 1 and 4 of the ALCS, propelling Minnesota to a 4-1 pennant win.
Morris won the opener of a breathtaking Series showdown with the Braves and received a no-decision in a Game 4 loss.
No one remembers any of that.
All they remember is Morris’ iconic ten-inning Game 7 shutout.
The 36-year-old righty matched zeroes all night long with Braves ace John Smoltz but got the last laugh in a 1-0, extra-inning classic.
Morris brushed off manager Tom Kelly’s attempts to pull him after nine, staying in for a scoreless tenth.
Gene Larkin did the rest, sending the Metrodome into joyous madness with a Series-winning walk-off single.
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1991 Topps Traded #48T Luis Gonzalez Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15
Luis Gonzalez made five All-Star teams in 19 years in the Majors.
All five of those came in the back half of his career.
Nine years before he made his first Midsummer Classic as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, a 22-year-old Gonzalez joined the Houston Astros for an uneventful 12-game debut.
The former fourth-round pick hit just .190 for the 19’90 Astros, an inauspicious start, to say the least.
Regardless of his light-hitting introduction to the Bigs, Houston’s front office and management team still saw something in the young left fielder that was worth a second look.
Gonzalez made the team out of Spring Training in 1991 and emerged as one of the best hitters on a mostly punchless squad.
The Tampa native broke Joe Morgan’s 1965 rookie franchise record with 50 extra-base hits, and his .753 OPS was second-best among Astros regulars.
Houston finished with an NL-worst 65-97 record, nine games behind the fifth-place Cincinnati Reds.
Gonzalez, though, was one of the few highlights of the Astros’ lost campaign and had guaranteed himself a starting job for years to come.
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1991 Topps Traded #45T Jason Giambi Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15
Before he became a top MLB prospect, Jason Giambi was a top-notch collegiate slugger with a born hitting advantage.
A lefty swinger with 20/13 vision in his right eye, Giambi could spot a pitcher’s grip and release with hawk-like precision.
It informed a patient, measured hitting approach that would serve him well for two decades at the big-league level.
In 1991, Giambi’s golden eye made him a hot commodity.
He hit a conference-best .407 for California State University at Long Beach and set a school record with 57 walks.
After CSULB was bounced from the second round of the College World Series, he joined Team USA for their run through the Pan Am Games in Havana, Cuba.
The college sophomore ranked second on the team with a .340 batting clip and led the Stars and Stripes to a bronze medal.
It was a fitting conclusion to a watershed year for the future AL MVP, one that would set him up for a second-round draft selection in 1992.
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1991 Topps Traded #19T Gary Carter
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15
You’d think Gary Carter would feel content after 11 All-Star appearances, five Silver Sluggers, three Gold Gloves, two All-Star MVPs, and a World Series title.
That was far from the case.
The Hall-of-Fame catcher was determined to go out on his own terms after the New York Mets released him in 1989.
After a solid part-time showing for the San Francisco Giants in 1990, Carter kept grinding and looking for another job.
The job found him in the spring of 1991 when Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda offered him a non-roster camp invitation.
If the 36-year-old backstop could win a backup role behind Mike Scioscia, he’d earn a one-year, $500,000 pact.
Carter beat out Barry Lyons for the gig and got his deal.
He played 101 games at catcher and first base for the second-place Dodgers, slashing .246/.323/.375 with six home runs and 26 RBIs in 101 games.
He also remained a viable defensive presence behind the dish, throwing out 32% of attempted base stealers.
Carter wasn’t the MVP candidate of old, but he was still a valuable veteran asset to the Dodgers cause.
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1991 Topps #398 Ryne Sandberg All-Star
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $50
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1991 Topps #79 Frank Thomas
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
Is it any coincidence that the Chicago White Sox rose from the ashes while “The Big Hurt” rose to prominence?
After a head-turning debut in 1990, Frank Thomas joined the conversation with the league’s elite hitters in ’91.
The 23-year-old DH/first baseman was already a complete player in his first full year.
Thomas boasted extraordinary power and an innate knack for coming up big in clutch situations.
He also had a painter’s eye in the batter’s box, unwilling to chase much of anything out of the zone.
He led all of baseball with 138 walks, forcing pitchers to come into the zone so he could bludgeon them accordingly.
And bludgeon them he did.
Thomas topped the game in on-base percentage (.453), OPS (1.006), and OPS+ (180).
He finished the season with a .318 average, 32 home runs, 31 doubles, 104 runs scored, and 109 RBIs in 158 games.
With the former first-round pick driving the lineup to new heights, the second-place White Sox kept within shouting distance of the division-champion Minnesota Twins for most of the year.
They’d fall eight games short, but they’d have been nothing more than an afterthought without Thomas in uniform.
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1991 Topps #540 George Brett
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
George Brett’s third batting title was his swan song as one of the game’s elite hitters.
The Kansas City Royals third baseman went full throwback in the final months of the 1990 campaign, putting a mediocre first half behind him en route to the AL crown.
The hope was that Brett could parlay that momentum into a big 1991.
However, the 38-year-old’s body just wasn’t up to the task.
Brett played through dozens of injuries throughout his career, and they finally called in their debts in ’91.
The future Hall-of-Famer missed just over 30 games with a variety of ailments.
When he played, Brett didn’t have the pop to live up to his former exploits.
In 131 games, Brett hit a career-worst .255 with 10 homers and 61 RBIs.
His 40 doubles placed him near the top of the AL leaderboard yet again, but his .327 OPS told the story of a legend past his prime.
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1991 Topps #570 Barry Bonds
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
If it weren’t for Terry Pendleton, Barry Bonds would have won four NL MVP awards in a row twice.
To put that into dizzying perspective, no other player in MLB history has four career MVP awards in total.
Bonds did his part in ’91 to capture his second consecutive MVP, leading the 98-win Pittsburgh Pirates to a second consecutive NL East crown.
He led the Senior Circuit in on-base percentage (.410), OPS (.924), and OPS+ (160) and crossed 100 walks (107) for the first of a record 14 times in his big-league career.
Add in a second straight Gold Glove, a second straight Silver Slugger, a .311 batting average, 25 homers, and 116 RBIs, and you seem to have a recipe for an MVP-winning year.
However, 1991 was a different era, and batting average often reigned supreme in voters’ minds.
Pendleton’s batting title proved the difference in a razor-thin vote, giving the Atlanta third baseman the nod by a scant 15 points.
It would have been his award if two voters had flipped Pendleton for Bonds.
Instead, we’re left with one of the more obvious MVP snubs in modern history.
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1991 Topps #670 Rickey Henderson
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $45
The 1972-74 Oakland Athletics were a dynasty.
Three years, three World Series championships.
The 1988-1990 Oakland A’s also had dynastic qualities.
However, their 1989 World Series title was bookended by brutal losses to the underdog Los Angeles Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds.
1991 was supposed to be a revenge tour.
Instead, Oakland’s pitching staff flamed out, dragging the A’s to a just-above-mediocre 84-78 finish.
It wasn’t just Dave Stewart, 1990 Cy Young winner Bob Welch, and the league’s second-worst pitching staff that sunk Oakland in ’91.
There was also the curious case of reigning AL MVP Rickey Henderson.
The stars aligned for Rickey in 1990.
He posted career bests in most major statistical categories and wrested the MVP award from Cecil Fielder in a photo finish.
In 1991, Henderson was a different player.
His batting average dropped from .325 to .268, and his OPS plummeted nearly 20% from a career-high 1.016 to .823.
Yes, the most enduring moment from ’91 was Henderson holding second base over his head, celebrating his new MLB-record 938th stolen base.
Passing Lou Brock was the cover story heading into the year, and Rickey was always one to make a headline count.
However, even Henderson’s AL-best 58 stolen bases and 105 runs scored seemed to fall flat in 1991.
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1991 Topps #6 Nolan Ryan Record Breaker
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
Nolan Ryan’s “1990 Record Breaker” card is also high up on the list of cards from this set.
So what was the record he broke?
On the back of the card, Topps paid tribute to Nolan Ryan becoming the oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter, a feat previously held by none other than the legendary Cy Young.
Ryan was 43 years, 4 months and 11 days old when he threw that record-breaking no-hitter (his sixth) against Oakland on June 11, 1990.
The funny thing was, he would waste almost no time breaking his own record when he threw his seventh and final no-hitter against Toronto on May 1, 1991.
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1991 Topps #130 Ozzie Smith
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
The best defensive shortstop of the 1980s and 1990s was more sure-handed in 1991 than any of his 11 consecutive Gold Glove campaigns prior.
St. Louis Cardinals superstar Ozzie Smith committed double-digit errors in each of his first 13 big-league seasons.
His lowest total over that span was ten, which came in ’87 when he finished second in the league’s MVP voting for St. Louis’ NL-pennant winning squad.
Double-digit errors are to be expected at shortstop.
Out of the four infield positions from first to third, shortstops receive the most defensive chances on average.
So, looking back at what Smith accomplished in an otherwise nondescript 1991 campaign is absolutely bonkers.
Smith committed just eight errors all year long and tied his career-best fielding percentage from ’87 with a .987 mark.
He was a human vacuum cleaner and the highlight of every night for an 84-win Cards team that left something to be desired.
The 36-year-old also had a fine year at the plate by his standards, hitting .285 for the second-place Cards with three homers, 30 doubles, 96 runs scored, and 35 stolen bases.
Smith had incredible range and could get rid of the ball with lightning speed.
He also did backflips and other acrobatics on the field which always amazed me as a young kid.
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1991 Topps #600 Bo Jackson
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
The end of the Bo Jackson two-sport experience came brutally and swiftly.
When Jackson hit the turf in the LA Raiders’ playoff win on January 13th, 1991, Jackson’s two-sport showcase was over.
Down with a severe hip injury, the 28-year-old would never play another down in the NFL.
The Kansas City Royals closely monitored Jackson’s progress during the offseason.
After tendering a one-year, $2.4 million deal to avoid arbitration, the Royals entered wait-and-see mode.
Jackson’s hip never came around, and Kansas City placed him on waivers on March 18th.
Question marks abound, Jackson remained a lottery ticket for any team willing to take a risk.
The Chicago White Sox jumped at the chance, signing him to a three-year deal for just over $8 million.
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf equated the deal to “buying an insurance policy,” including just $700,000 in guaranteed money.
The insurance proved valuable.
Jackson didn’t ditch his crutches till the middle of June and didn’t suit up for the Sox until September.
He was limited to a DH role upon his return, hitting just .225 with three homers and 14 RBIs in 84 plate appearances.
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1991 Topps #392 Ken Griffey Jr. All-Star
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
Topps did a great job with its All-Star card design for its 1991 set.
The “All Star” callout at the top with the starry sky in the background adds a very nice design touch to this card.
And the fact that Griffey Jr. appears on this list twice goes back to what I was saying earlier: he was one of the most popular athletes in the world at the time and collectors wanted any card on which he appeared.
I’d like to imagine him having just blasted one of his towering home runs by the looks of him in this image…
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1991 Topps #200 Darryl Strawberry
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
Nine years into his big-league career, Darryl Strawberry appeared destined for a date with Cooperstown.
After winning the 1983 NL Rookie of the Year award, Strawberry rattled off eight straight All-Star appearances and four top-ten MVP finishes.
His name was synonymous with Eighties baseball.
Sadly, things ground to a halt after the 1991 season.
After Mets manager Davey Johnson was fired during the 1990 campaign, Strawberry made it clear he wouldn’t return in 1991.
He tested free agency after the season, eventually inking a five-year, $20.25 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 29-year-old right fielder appeared to be a match made in Hollywood heaven.
And he lived up to the billing in year one, finishing ninth in the NL MVP race while notching yet another All-Star trip.
He concluded 1991 slashing .265/.361/.491 with 28 home runs, 99 RBIs, and a healthy 140 OPS +.
It seemed like Strawberry would be at the center of another Dodgers renaissance.
Instead, 1991 proved a last gasp for his Hall-of-Fame aspirations.
A bad back and a laundry list of personal demons derailed the 6-foot-6 slugger from 1992 on.
He played just 335 games over his final eight seasons, an average of just under 42 per year.
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1991 Topps #180 Tony Gwynn
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
The steadiest hitter of the 80s and 90s kept on keeping on in 1991.
Two years removed from his third consecutive NL batting title, San Diego Padres right fielder Tony Gwynn continued to dink, dunk, slap, and sting balls to every blade of grass in the outfield.
By early September, he was cruising at a .317 clip and looked poised to bring home his fourth batting crown in five years.
And then, his troublesome left knee finally proved too much.
Regular cortisone shots kept him in the lineup for the season’s first five months.
Come mid-September, he finally had to shut it down and undergo arthroscopic surgery.
Gwynn still had a chance to win the batting title, but Atlanta’s Terry Pendleton (.319) and Cincy’s Hal Morris (.318) eked past him by season’s end.
Instead of regaining his mount as the NL’s top hitter, Gwynn faced the surgeon’s knife and renewed criticisms about his weight.
Detractors pointed to his 5-foot-10, 217-pound frame as the reason for his ongoing knee problems.
“I knew that crap would come up again,” a defiant Gwynn said. “They can analyze me all they want. I don’t give a damn. I’m not going to worry about what other people think.”
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1991 Topps #150 Cal Ripken Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40
In 1983, Cal Ripken Jr. won his first AL MVP award as the lynchpin of a World Series champion.
In 1991, he won his second MVP, a testament to his unwavering spirit and talent, even as the Orioles finished as the second-worst team in the American League.
It takes a monster season for a player to overcome the rest of his team’s failings.
Ripken’s 1991 campaign was just that.
Ripken tore a hole in the Junior Circuit’s pitching ranks from Opening Day on, scorching the ball to all fields.
Not only that, he also compiled a .986 fielding percentage and staked his claim as the AL’s best defensive shortstop.
The 30-year-old slashed .323/.374/.566 in ‘91 with 34 home runs, 46 doubles, five triples, 99 runs scored, and 114 RBIs.
Ripken topped 200 hits for the first time since his ‘83 MVP year (210) and led the Majors with 368 total bases.
He also made the All-Star Game his personal playground.
Reluctant to join the Home Run Derby field at first, Ripken blasted 12 bombs to become the first shortstop to win the event.
He followed that up with the deciding three-run blast in the Midsummer Classic, starting a new club as the only player to win the Derby and the All-Star Game MVP in the same season.
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1991 Topps #700 Jose Canseco
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
As the rest of the A’s flailed around him, Jose Canseco’s star shined brighter than ever in 1991, for better and worse.
The “Bash Brother” bashed accordingly in the middle of the Athletics lineup, hitting an MLB-best 44 home runs.
He slashed .266/.359/.556 on the year with 32 doubles, 115 runs scored, 26 stolen bases, and 122 RBIs in 154 games.
In a vacuum, Canseco’s 1991 season was a beacon of light on an otherwise drab season in Oakland.
With Canseco, though, nothing was ever as it seemed.
With his celebrity at its peak, the 26-year-old right fielder leaned in hard.
Married at the time, Canseco made international headlines by engaging in an alleged affair with Madonna.
Both parties denied the tryst, yet it only fueled the tabloid flames.
Canseco was taunted with “Ma-donn-a” chants all year and made off-handed comments that only made things worse.
It was the story of his career.
As naturally talented a slugger as you’ll ever see, Canseco often knowingly (and unknowingly) played the fool, disregarding his legacy and career.
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1991 Topps #530 Roger Clemens
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
As much as Roger Clemens invited controversy, he still knew how to deal.
The Boston Red Sox right-hander was a media punching bag at the turn of the 1990s.
He openly played chicken with the media and talked trash about his teammates, Boston’s front office, and the Red Sox fan base.
Rather than falling in love with his legendary pitching exploits, Clemens was a magnet for self-inflicted damage at every turn.
That’s what makes his 1991 Cy Young season so intriguing.
The year started off on the wrong foot when Clemens was arrested for obstructing an off-duty police officer in the officer’s attempt to arrest his brother.
He was later acquitted of charges, but his critics sure didn’t forget.
The 28-year-old remained as defiant as ever as the ’91 season got rolling and backed up his bluster with his arm.
Clemens led the Majors in strikeouts (241), innings pitched (271.1), and ERA+ (165).
He won his third AL ERA title (2.62) and paced the league in starts (35), shutouts (4), and FIP (2.57).
Clemens ran away with his third Cy Young award, capturing 21 of a possible 28 first-place votes.
It should have made him a hero.
It didn’t.
Regardless, his card is one of the most memorable and creative in the set.
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1991 Topps #450 Wade Boggs
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
Before 1990, Wade Boggs hit no worse than .325 in a single season.
Already a living legend in Beantown, the Boston Red Sox third baseman took a step back in ’90 with an uncharacteristic .302 average.
Boggs’ personal life was always tabloid fodder, especially a well-publicized four-year extramarital affair that ended with a messy palimony lawsuit.
The weight of the public scrutiny finally broke his stride in ’90.
However, he’d put that away in 1991 and right the course with another brilliant season-long performance.
The most dangerous hitter in the Red Sox order, Boggs led all of baseball in intentional walks for the fifth consecutive year with a career-best 25.
When teams dared to pitch to him, the 33-year-old made them pay, slashing .332/.421/.460 with eight homers and 51 RBIs in 641 plate appearances (541 at-bats).
Boston was inconsistent all year, ending the campaign with 84 wins, tied for second in the AL East, and seven games back of division-winning Toronto.
Boggs kept them within sniffing distance for most of the year, but an otherwise punchless lineup ended their undoing.
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1991 Topps #300 Kirby Puckett
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
After finishing last in the AL West in 1990, all signs pointed to another rough go in the Twin Cities.
So much for projections.
The Twins cleared the rest of the AL West by eight games for just their second division crown in 21 years.
Kirby Puckett was perhaps the more crucial contributor to the team’s improbable turnaround.
The now six-time All-Star posted a .319/.352/.460 slash line with 15 homers, 29 doubles, six triples, 11 stolen bases, 92 runs scored, and 89 RBIs.
He also won his fifth Gold Glove in six seasons and finished 7th in the AL MVP race.
Puckett also saved his best for last.
After starting just 1-for-8 in Minnesota’s ALCS showdown with Toronto, Puckett went 8-for-15 the rest of the way to secure a five-game series win and series MVP honors.
Atlanta took a 3-2 series lead into Minnesota, looking at a potential clincher in Game 6.
Puckett had other ideas, following up a run-saving grab now forever known as “The Catch” with a walk-off homer in the 11th.
The image of Puckett celebrating around the bases remains an enduring image of Minnesota sports lore.
It also set up a classic 1-0 pitcher’s duel in Game 7, won in ten by the Twins on a Gene Larkin walk-off single.
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1991 Topps #270 Mark McGwire
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $35
Mark McGwire was one of the game’s hottest players in the early ’90s because of his constant display of power and towering drives.
Consider his 1987 season, for example, when he hit 49 home runs, drove in 118 runs and boasted a slugging percentage of .618.
That slugging percentage is what actually gives this card much of its value.
Originally, Topps listed his slugging percentage for the 1987 season on the back of the card as 618 (missing the decimal point).
Eventually, Topps corrected the error, and most versions of this card have a .618 slugging percentage instead.
Those “618” error cards are much more rare and valuable.
Despite the interesting history behind his 1991 Topps baseball card, Big Mac’s year wasn’t all that great.
In retrospect, McGwire calls ’91 “the worst year” of his life.
The A’s first baseman struggled with vision issues, a failing marriage, and a lack of self-confidence throughout the campaign.
Depressed and overburdened as the year went along, the hulking slugger stopped lifting weights.
McGwire didn’t hit a homer in April and bottomed out in July with a .173 month.
Overall, he slashed just .201/.330/.383 with 22 homers and 75 RBIs in 154 games.
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1991 Topps #575 Robin Yount
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
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1991 Topps #391 Rickey Henderson All-Star
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
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1991 Topps #5 Cal Ripken Jr. Record Breaker
Estimated PSA 10 Value: $30
Cal Ripken Jr. also has a “Record Breaker” card in this set which acknowledges his achievement of setting the record for most consecutive games by a shortstop without an error at 95 games in a row.
Mets shortstop Kevin Elster had the previous record at 88 consecutive games.
Ripken’s streak has since been broken multiple times.
Anyway, Ripken Jr. will always be known for that “other streak”, the one in which he played in 2,632 consecutive games.
1991 Topps Baseball Cards In Review
So there you have it, the ten most valuable 1991 Topps cards in both their base and Desert Shield forms.
Keep in mind, most cards from this set have no value–there were millions of each card printed.
This set was a monster and contained a 792 card checklist in total and that is not counting the enormous amount of errors and variations, some of which are still being discovered today.
Sadly, this was the last set in which Topps inserted gum into wax packs.
Within the set were also several different subsets, including:
- All-Stars
- Record Breakers
- Checklists
- Draft Picks
- Managers
They may not have much value today but this was easily one of my favorite sets growing up during that time period.
