Though it may not rank high on many collectors' radars, the 1994 Bowman baseball card set is interesting for a few reasons.
First, it marked the first time since Bowman's reemergence in the hobby in 1989 that they went with a borderless design.
That may not seem all that interesting at first...
But it was a tell-tale sign of the times, with brands competing any way they could to grab collector attention in a challenging market.
Second, not only does it have some big-name rookies such as Jorge Posada, Torii Hunter, and Derek Lee, but it also now has a Hall of Fame rookie, Billy Wagner, as of 2025.
And last, you can find plenty of high-quality action shots of some of the biggest stars of the era inside the 682-card checklist as well as over 50 foil cards.
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 12 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
1994 Bowman #38 Jorge Posada Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $125
Not only did Jorge Posada become a five-time All-Star for New York, but he also became one of the most beloved players in franchise history.
Yet, had certain trade discussions during his days in the Minors gone differently, he never would've been a Yankee in the first place.
Not only did they include Posada in their attempt at pulling Tino Martinez away from the Seattle Mariners in 1995, but they also tried sending him and Mariano Rivera to the Reds for David Wells that same year.
Imagine if the Reds had accepted that deal.
Two of the biggest legends in Yankees history who were integral in bringing multiple World Series championships to the Bronx were nearly traded before they had a chance.
The Yankees had avoided a colossal mistake and didn't even know it.
Baseball's funny like that.
Though he wouldn't end up in the Hall of Fame like Rivera, Posada was a five-time All-Star, five-time Silver Slugger, and four-time World Series champ during his 17 seasons with the Yankees.
He was a critical piece of so many great Yankee teams, and for that reason, his rookie card sits atop this list.
1994 Bowman #642 Billy Wagner Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $125
Over his 16-year career, lefty fireballer Billy Wagner earned 422 saves in 903 innings pitched while sporting a 2.31 ERA, 0.998 WHIP, 11.9 SO/9 IP, and 0.187 BAA.
In other words, if you were in the batter's box, Wagner was one of the last guys you wanted to see on the mound.
The guy was simply incredible.
Had he stayed on beyond his age 38 season like Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera, he may very well have surpassed the 600-save mark like they did.
Who knows?
Yet, some of the knocks against him for enshrinement into Cooperstown were that he wasn't great for a long enough time period and that he struggled too much in the postseason.
During his first year of eligibility, Wagner received just 10.5% of the vote.
But that number climbed to 51% in 2022.
And, finally, in 2025, he was rightfully elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the only pitcher to do so having pitched less than 1,000 innings.
1994 Bowman #5 Ken Griffey Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $100
Ken Griffey Jr. was nothing short of brilliant during the 1994 season, giving fans one of the greatest first-half shows in baseball history.
In May alone, Griffey racked up an eye-popping 15 home runs.
By July 1, he stood with two more dingers (32) than Babe Ruth had when he set his record of 30 home runs by July 1 so long ago.
Everyone grew increasingly excited as he hit homer after homer, wondering if he could eventually surpass Roger Maris's single-season record of 61 home runs.
In the end, it wasn't meant to be.
Sadly, as it had done to so many other streaks and potentially significant milestones that year, the players' strike brought Griffey's chase to a crashing halt on August 12.
He'd finish with 40 home runs, making him the 22nd player in MLB history at the time with back-to-back 40-home run campaigns.
And Griffey was reaching the height of his popularity on and off the field.
That year, he appeared in his own videogame when Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball came out for the Super Nintendo.
Griffey also appeared on the hit television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and in various advertisement campaigns.
No one was hotter than Griffey that season.
1994 Bowman #633 Derek Jeter
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $100
When the New York Yankees drafted Derek Jeter out of high school with the sixth pick of the 1992 MLB Draft, they had high hopes for him after watching him dominate for Kalamazoo Central.
Yet, they likely never could have imagined he'd go down as one of the greatest Yankees of all time.
Over his twenty years in the Bronx, Jeter was the 1995 AL Rookie of the year, a five-time champion, a 14-time All-Star, a five-time Silver Slugger and a five-time Gold Glover.
He was the Yankees during his career.
Like Posada, his Hall of Fame teammate wouldn't make his MLB debut with the Yankees until the 1995 season after injuries to Tony Fernández and Pat Kelly left Jeter as the starting shortstop on May 29 that year.
Yet, Bowman featured his rookie card in their 1993 set and included him in this set checklist as well.
Despite not being as valuable as his Bowman issue that preceded it, this card is still highly-coveted by Jeter collectors as it features a look at the legend in a mainstream set before his MLB days.
1994 Bowman #80 Rickey Henderson
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75
When Rickey Henderson stole third base against the New York Yankees on May 1, 1991, to break Lou Brock's record with his 939th swipe, he immediately removed the base and hoisted it in the air.
This card always makes me think of that iconic moment.
At least, at first.
Yet, clearly, the image on this card was from a different time in his career.
When he broke Brock's record, he was wearing sunglasses, dark batting gloves and a green sleeve on his right arm.
Not to mention, he broke the record years before Bowman printed this card and it would have been a bit strange for them to use an image from so long ago.
While that historic moment on May 1, 1991, is one of the most frequently re-run clips in baseball history, Henderson's other career stolen base records doesn't get as much attention.
On June 16, 1993, Henderson stole second base against the Chicago White Sox for career steal number 1,066.
That gave him one more than Nippon Professional Baseball legend Yutaka Fukumoto for the world record.
To celebrate, Henderson again removed the base and hoisted it with pride.
This image is from that exact moment.
1994 Bowman #104 Torii Hunter Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $60
Torii Hunter was one of the best outfielders of his era who possessed great offensive and defensive skills.
In nineteen MLB seasons, mainly with the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels, Hunter hit 353 home runs with 1,391 RBIs and 1,296 runs scored on offense.
He also racked up an impressive nine-consecutive Gold Gloves on defense from 2002 to 2009, finishing with nine overall.
Only Willie Mays (12), Ken Griffey Jr. (10), and Andruw Jones (10) had more Gold Gloves than Hunter at the center field position.
As a nod to his incredible range and ability to scale the outfield fence to rob would-be home runs, Hunter rightfully earned the nickname "Spiderman."
During the 2002 MLB All-Star Game, Hunter infamously robbed one off of Barry Bonds, who then proceeded to jokingly act like he was going to body slam Hunter in frustration.
However, the question remains as to whether Hunter was a Hall of Famer or not.
In 2022, on his second year on the BBWAA ballot, Hunter received just 5.3% of the vote, signaling that his chances of getting in that way are doubtful.
Hopefully, "Spiderman" will eventually get the call, even if it's by committee sometime in the future.
1994 Bowman #25 Don Mattingly
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $50
With Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada appearing in this set, it's interesting to witness the transition underway in New York at the time.
Of course, no one could see it at the time, though.
Neither of them would appear in a Yankees uniform during the 1994 season, but both would eventually be key cogs in future Yankees squads that brought multiple rings back to "The Big Apple."
And one of them, Jeter, served as team captain from 2003 to 2014.
But in 1994, the Yankees' beloved superstar, Don Mattingly, was in his fourth year as team captain, looking to lead the team to the playoffs for the first time since 1981.
And in a resurgent year at the plate, he hit .304 with six home runs, 51 RBIs and 62 runs scored to go along with 20 doubles and 60 walks (one shy of his career-high).
Not since his final All-Star campaign had he hit over .300.
Yet, more than anything, Mattingly wanted to experience the MLB playoffs.
On August 12, 1994, with New York sitting 6.5 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East, it looked like he might finally get his wish.
Unfortunately, the MLBPA soon kicked off its strike, and Mattingly would have to wait one more year to get his chance at postseason play.
1994 Bowman #75 Cal Ripken Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $50
For the eighth time in his historic career, legendary Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. turned in a season at the plate worthy of a Silver Slugger award.
In 112 games, Ripken slashed .315/.364/.459 with 13 home runs, 75 RBIs and 71 runs scored for an Orioles team that finished 6.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East.
For his efforts, Ripken finished twelfth in the MVP vote, the highest he'd finish for the rest of his career since winning the award for the second time in 1991.
Yet, as it usually was, the story with Ripken remained centered around his chase for Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played.
When the Orioles beat the Yankees 8-1 on the road in New York on August 10, 1994, it marked the 2,009th consecutive game in which Ripken played.
He needed "only" 121 more to tie Gehrig.
But, when the strike took effect a couple of days later, he and the rest of the baseball world were forced to wait until April 26, 1995 for the streak to resume.
And resume it did.
Not only would he pass Gehrig on September 6, 1995, he'd go on to finish his iconic career with 2,632 consecutive games.
1994 Bowman #120 Tony Gwynn
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $50
Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn dedicated an incredible amount of time and discipline to the craft of hitting throughout his twenty seasons in Major League Baseball.
Whether that meant studying tape, taking live batting practice, or spending hours hitting off the tee, Gwynn honed his skills like no one else of his era.
So, it's no surprise that he finished his career tied with Honus Wagner for the second-most batting titles (8) in MLB history.
And at no point in his career did he hit better than in 1994.
Not only did he nearly become the first player since Ted Williams in 1941 to bat above .400 by finishing just shy with an incredible .394 average, but his power numbers were up, too.
Gwynn retired with a career slugging percentage of .459 and with a reputation as a pure contact hitter.
Yet, in 1994, the legendary lefty saw his slugging percentage soar by more than 100 points, setting a career mark of .568.
His OPS of 1.022 was easily a career-best as well.
When the season ended, Gwynn had his fifth batting title in hand, kicking off a series of four-straight years of winning the title.
1994 Bowman #489 Chipper Jones
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40
Leading up to the 1994 MLB season, the Atlanta Braves organization fully expected Chipper Jones to make a strong bid at a starting role after left fielder Ron Gant broke his leg in the offseason.
But during Spring Training that year, disaster struck when Jones tore the ACL in his left knee, ending his 1994 season altogether.
The future Hall of Famer worked to get back on track and found himself as the team's starting third baseman on Opening Day against the San Francisco Giants on April 26, 1995.
Jones was terrific in his first Major League start, going 2-5 at the plate with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored to help the Braves defeat the Giants in a 12-5 blowout in front of the home crowd.
Hideo Nomo narrowly defeated Jones in the race for 1995 National League Rookie of the Year honors, but Jones quickly got over it by earning a World Series ring after defeating the Cleveland Indians in six.
Jones and the Braves would appear in the postseason every year after that through the 2005 season and again in 2012.
And he'd get another crack at a World Series ring in 1996 and 1999 but it just wasn't meant to be.
1994 Bowman #15 Frank Thomas
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
In 1993, Chicago White Sox legend Frank Thomas became the first player to win AL MVP since Dick Allen in 1972.
The Big Hurt also became just the fifth player in MLB history to post a .300 batting average, 20+ home runs, and more than 100 walks, RBIs, and runs scored in three-straight seasons.
The other four guys to do so were none other than Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, and Ted Williams.
By 1993, Thomas was clearly elite and on a historical trajectory at just 25 years old.
But somehow, he managed to outdo himself in 1994 by continuing that streak for the fourth year in a row, batting .353 with 38 home runs, 109 walks, 101 RBIs, and 106 runs scored.
It was truly amazing that he could put up those numbers in a strike-shortened season to keep his streak intact.
In the end, Thomas would set the record for most consecutive seasons with numbers like those when he did it seven years in a row from 1991-1997.
Yet his 1994 campaign was arguably the most impressive of those seven seasons since he produced those stats in just 399 at-bats.
1994 Bowman #232 Derrek Lee Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30
Though the San Diego Padres drafted Derrek Lee with the 14th pick of the 1993 MLB Draft and Bowman issued this rookie card in their 1993 set, he wouldn't suit up for the Padres until the 1997 season.
After the draft, Lee methodically progressed from rookie ball in 1993 to the Triple-A Las Vegas Stars, with whom he played 125 games in 1997.
Along the way, Lee developed a reputation as a guy with legitimate power and the ability to drive in runs, which would serve him well during his time in the Majors.
And then, on April 28, 1997, the Padres called him up to be their starting first baseman for an away game against the Florida Marlins.
On the day, Lee went 1-3 at the plate with two walks, two runs scored and one strikeout in the Padres' 9-12 loss to the Marlins.
Lee would go on to have a successful 15-year career in the Majors, playing for six teams in total.
Though he won a ring with the Marlins in 2003, his best season was undoubtedly in 2005 with the Cubs.
That season, Lee won the batting title (.335), his only Silver Slugger, and his second Gold Glove while finishing third in the NL MVP vote.
1994 Bowman Baseball Cards In Review
With Billy Wagner's election to the Hall of Fame in 2025, collectors will likely give this set a bit more attention than they used to.
For years, many had waited to see if guys like Wagner, Posada, or Torii Hunter would ever make it to Cooperstown, and finally, that question has been answered.
So, expect a bit more noise regarding this set, at least in the short term because of Wagner.
Still, for the diehard collector, 1994 Bowman baseball will continue to be interesting if only for all the big-name stars and the improved design.
It was clear that Bowman was ramping things up aesthetically to compete with other brands.
And including over 50 foil cards in the set to highlight stars prospects was a great touch.
Overall, the 1994 Bowman baseball set offers exactly what you'd expect: tons of prospects and rookie cards with the bonus of future Hall of Famers throughout the checklist.