15 Most Valuable 1994 Topps Stadium Club Baseball Cards

1994 Stadium Club #85 Ken Griffey Jr.

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75

During the 1994 season, legendary lefty Ken Griffey Jr. was at the height of his popularity.

That year, Nintendo released a videogame called Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball for their SNES platform, giving kids a chance to play as their baseball idol.

He also tried his luck at acting, making a cameo on the hit television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

And by the time the All-Star break rolled around, fans rewarded the superstar centerfielder with 6,079,688 votes, crushing Rod Carew's previous record of 4,292,740 votes in 1977.

For most Griffey fans, the 1994 season was all about his pursuit of Roger Maris's single-season home record.

By July 1, his 32 home runs had already put him ahead of Babe Ruth's record pace of 30 by that date.

Tick marks above a mural of Griffey on a downtown Seattle building began keeping his home run count, helping to build and maintain excitement as the season progressed.

In the end, Griffey had forty home runs (and 40 tick marks above his mural) when the players' strike went into effect on August 12.

No one will ever know if he could've tied or surpassed Maris that season.

But it was fun to watch while it lasted.

1994 Stadium Club #34 Nolan Ryan

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $50

It's difficult (for me, at least) to tell when this image was taken, but it was certainly an intentional symbolic choice on Topps' part to use it on Ryan's 1994 Stadium Club card.

With a tip of the cap, Ryan is shown saluting the crowd, almost as if to say goodbye.

Though he'd already announced early in 1993 that his 27th season in the Majors would be his last, his career ended early on September 22, 1993, when he tore the UCL in his elbow against the Seattle Mariners.

But it obviously didn't end the way he wanted.

After the game, Ryan said, "Yeah, it was a sad moment. I knew my career was going to end, but that certainly wasn't the way I wanted it to, ending on that disappointing note."

Over his historic 27-year career, Ryan pitched 5,386 innings in 805 games, with 324 wins to go along with records for no-hitters (7), strikeouts (5,714), walks (2,795), and hits per nine innings (6.6).

Reggie Jackson summed up Nolan Ryan perfectly: "Every hitter likes fastballs just like everybody likes ice cream. But you don't like it when someone's stuffing it into you by the gallon. That's how you feel when Nolan Ryan's throwing balls by you."

1994 Stadium Club #107 Rickey Henderson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $45

When most people think of Rickey Henderson, they don't usually think of him as a Toronto Blue Jay.

Either they picture him in Oakland green and yellow or Yankee pinstripes.

Yet, in the second half of the 1993 season, the Blue Jays found themselves in a position to make a run at a second consecutive World Series title.

And Oakland was in the middle of what turned out to be an eventual last place finish in the AL West with a dreadful 68-94 record.

So, since the Blue Jays felt like Henderson was one of the pieces that could help them return to championship glory and Oakland had nothing to lose, the two teams agreed to a multi-player trade.

Henderson didn't fare as well at the plate in Toronto, but he was as solid as expected on the base paths for the Blue Jays.

And Rickey did help them repeat as expected.

In the end, he and Paul Molitor crossed home plate in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series when Joe Carter blasted that historic series-winning three-run homer into the stands.

1994 Stadium Club #195 Don Mattingly

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $45

No one particularly enjoyed the MLB players' strike that derailed the 1994 season and resulted in the longest work stoppage in league history.

Yet, some teams and individuals were affected in ways that weren't always immediately understood or fully appreciated.

Don Mattingly was one of those guys.

Since making his MLB debut on September 8, 1982, against the Baltimore Orioles, Mattingly had never experienced what it felt like to make the playoffs.

But as the 1994 season progressed deeper into the year, it looked like Donnie Baseball might finally get his big break.

With just under two months left to play, the Yankees sat 6.5 games in front of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the AL East with a 70-43 record.

Sadly, fate just wasn't on Mattingly's side.

Unable to see eye to eye with league ownership, the MLB Players Association soon kicked off the longest strike in league history, forcing commissioner Bud Selig to cancel the rest of the season.

Fortunately, Mattingly would finally get his postseason shot in 1995, though the Yankees fell to the Seattle Mariners in five in the ALDS.

1994 Stadium Club #151 Tony Gwynn

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

Usually, it's nice to see a card capture a given player in action doing what he was best at.

Whether that means seeing Nolan Ryan throwing heat, Rickey Henderson racing along the base path, or Griffey Jr. sending one deep, it can make a card more enjoyable.

And, then, there are cards like this that can strike differently.

This image of Gwynn certainly lacks any action of him as a hitter.

Yet he almost looks like a proud knight resting his chin on his hands, clasping his sword.

In a way, Gwynn acted as a knight for 20 years in San Diego as he used his sword (bat) to battle for the Padres to try and bring a World Series title to their loyal fans.

During the 1994 season, Gwynn arguably fought harder than ever, turning in career highs in batting average (.394), on-base percentage (.454), slugging percentage (.568) and OPS (1.022).

It was an impressive effort, no doubt.

Unfortunately, the Padres struggled to capitalize on Gwynn's success to turn it into wins, as San Diego finished with the worst record in the Majors at 47-70.

1994 Stadium Club #167 Bo Jackson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

When Bo Jackson injured his hip during a 1991 playoff game for the Los Angeles Raiders, many wondered if he'd ever play professional sports again.

Though his football days were over, the Chicago White Sox offered him a three-year deal to keep playing baseball on the South Side.

Jackson played in just 25 games for Chicago in 1991 before sitting out the entire 1992 season to have hip replacement surgery and recover.

During the last year of his contract with the White Sox in 1993, Jackson played in 85 games, slashing .232/.289/.433 with 16 home runs and 45 RBIs.

Though he wasn't the All-Star he'd been with Kansas City, he still played well enough to help Chicago to the postseason while earning the 1993 AL Comeback Player of the Year award.

Heading into the 1994 season, Jackson jumped at the chance to return to Southern California, signing a one-year $1 million with the California Angels on January 31, 1994.

Though he'd developed an affinity for the city of Chicago during his time on the South Side, the appeal of heading back to the Los Angeles area helped seal the deal.

1994 Stadium Club #262 Ken Griffey Jr.

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

The ten-card "HR Club" subset featured ten of the players with the most home runs during the 1993 season.

Barry Bonds and Juan Gonzalez tied for the lead that season with 46 while Ken Griffey Jr. finished right behind them with 45.

The subset included Bonds, Gonzalez, Griffey, Ron Gant, Dave Justice, Fred McGriff, Rafael Palmeiro, Mike Piazza, Frank Thomas and Matt Williams.

Mike Piazza was the only one in the group who didn't finish among the top ten leaders in home runs in 1993 as his 35 dingers were eleventh-best overall.

Albert Belle hit 38, which tied him with Matt Williams but, for some reason, Piazza made the subset instead of Belle.

1994 Stadium Club #359 Kirby Puckett

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

Throughout the history of the Minnesota Twins franchise, there has been no bigger superstar than Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.

With a joy and passion for the game and a determination to produce as best as he could, Puckett was easy for Twins fans to like.

It certainly helped that he helped bring them their only two World Series rings in franchise history with his clutch play in the 1987 and 1991 postseasons.

But, during the 1994 season, despite Puckett's consistently great performance at the plate, there just wasn't much winning going on in Minneapolis.

At 53-60, the Twins finished in fourth place in the AL West, a distant 14 games behind the division-winning Chicago White Sox.

Still, there were individual bright spots for Puckett.

For starters, he drove in runs at a blistering pace to lead the AL with 112 RBIs in just 439 at-bats.

He also slashed .317/.362/.540 with 20 home runs, 32 doubles, and three triples on the heels of a notable uptick in power.

In the end, Puckett would earn a seventh trip to the Midsummer Classic and a sixth Silver Slugger.

The individual awards were sweet, but not nearl as sweet as the championship rings from years past.

1994 Stadium Club #373 Cal Ripken Jr.

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

Whenever I think of the magnitude of just how incredible Cal Ripken's streak of 2,632 consecutive games was, I often wonder how he felt during certain points along the way.

More specifically, I wonder how he felt before breaking Gehrig's record of 2,130, as each additional game brought him closer and closer.

How did he deal with the increasing pressure and anxiety?

I also wonder how he felt during the 1994 season when the players' strike paused his streak at 2,009 games.

Surely he would've liked to keep playing, especially seeing as how the Orioles sat just 6.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East.

Obviously, a guy with the nickname "Iron Man" always wanted to keep playing anyway.

But deep down, was there a part of him that felt even slight relief at the chance to pause and get some additional rest?

The season was more than halfway over, and, at that point in the year, the aches and pains of grinding through every game were surely only getting worse.

The additional rest from the extended offseason probably benefited Ripken somewhat.

But knowing the type of player he was, having to wait so long probably caused more unnecessary anxiety than he may have already had.

1994 Stadium Club #529 Ken Griffey Jr.

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

The "Division Leaders" subset featured six players, Joe Carter, Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr., Dave Justice, Gregg Jefferies, and Barry Bonds, for leading their division in a particular category in 1993.

Griffey's card highlighted his 359 total bases as the most in the American League West division.

That was also the highest total in the American League, twenty more than Juan Gonzalez but six behind Barry Bonds, who had the most in the Majors.

It would be the first of two times Griffey led the American League in total bases in his Hall of Fame career, the other being the 1997 season in which he racked up an eye-popping 393 total bases.

As impressive as those 393 total bases were, they were still 16 less than Colorado's Larry Walker, who had 409 of his own.

1994 Stadium Club #547 Bo Jackson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

As an Angel, Jackson set career highs in batting average (.279) and on-base percentage (.344) while hitting 13 home runs with 45 RBIs in just 201 at-bats.

Clearly, the 31-year-old former two-sport phenom still had plenty to offer on the baseball field.

Unfortunately, the Angels weren't all that great under managers Buck Rodgers and Marcel Lachermann, finishing the abbreviated season at 47-68 and in fourth place in the AL West.

Still, Jackson gave Angels fans and the rest of the baseball world plenty to enjoy.

When the strike kicked off on August 12, 1994, Jackson used the time to get closer to his family than he otherwise would have, something he placed a premium on as a husband and father.

So, by the time the 1995 MLB season finally arrived, Jackson decided he would much rather maintain his role as a more dedicated family man.

And just like that, he was finished with professional sports.

He wouldn't play, coach, or work in an administrative fashion for any team in any sport ever again.

And Jackson was 100% at peace with his decision, earning a whole new level of respect from sports fans everywhere.

1994 Stadium Club #638 Chipper Jones

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones stepped onto the field for the first time on September 11, 1993, replacing starting shortstop Jeff Blauser in the ninth inning of a 13-1 blowout of the San Diego Padres.

As the 1994 regular season approached and Spring Training got underway, the Braves had fully expected Jones to compete for a starting spot.

Unfortunately, he tore the ACL in his left knee and had to miss the season entirely.

After rehab and preparations to get his knee back to 100%, Jones readied himself for the Braves' home opener against Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants on April 26, 1995.

Jones got the start at third base and gave Braves fans a glimpse of how great he would be for years to come.

On the day, Jones went 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored to help the Braves destroy the Giants 12-5.

It was the start of a rookie campaign that saw Jones lead all rookies in games played (145), games started (123), plate appearances (602), at-bats (524), RBIs (86) and runs scored (87).

He'd finish a close second to Hideo Nomo in the 1995 NL Rookie of the Year vote but went on to have one of the most outstanding careers of any switch-hitter in baseball history.

1994 Stadium Club #5 George Brett

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35

Hall of Famer legend George Brett began his career for the Kansas City Royals in 1973 at 20 years old and ended it at the age of 40 in 1993.

During those 21 seasons, he became nothing short of a Kansas City Royals icon and the most heralded player in franchise history.

George Brett was the Royals.

Over his phenomenal career, Brett was a 13-time All-Star, 3-time Silver Slugger, Gold Glover (1985), MVP (1980), World Series champion (1985), and 3-time batting champion.

And those three batting titles put him in a unique territory all by himself.

Since they occurred in three separate decades, Brett remains the only player in MLB history to accomplish that incredible feat.

He also sits alongside Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, and Dave Winfield as the only four players with more than 3,000 hits, more than 300 home runs, and a batting average above .300 over their careers.

In 1993, Brett was playing well for a decent Royals team that ultimately finished 84-78, ten games behind the Chicago White Sox for third in the AL West.

Then, during a press conference on September 25, 1993, Kansas City legend George Brett announced he would retire from baseball at the end of the season.

1994 Stadium Club #521 Chan Ho Park Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35

After seeing Chan Ho Park's success on the mound as a member of the South Korea national baseball team in 1992 and 1993, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed him as an amateur free agent in 1994.

When Park debuted on April 8, 1994, against the Atlanta Braves, he became the first South Korean-born player in MLB history.

Park entered the game in relief in the top of the ninth and immediately gave up walks to Dave Justice and Fred McGriff before Terry Pendleton drove them both in with a double to left field.

He'd soon calm down, striking out Javy Lopez, causing Mark Lemke to ground out and striking out Kent Mercker to end the inning.

It was a rough day for Park.

But it was a rough day for the Dodgers in general.

Speaking of Kent Mercker, he no-hit the Dodgers that day as the Braves won 6-0.

Park would get one more chance on April 14 against the St. Louis Cardinals but gave up another three earned runs and was then sent down to the Minors.

He wasn't ready for Major League Baseball then, but he'd be back eventually, going on to have a successful 17-year career and earning All-Star honors for the Dodgers in 2001.

1994 Stadium Club #417 Ozzie Smith

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25

Ozzie Smith was a Gold Glover at shortstop for the Padres and Cardinals for thirteen consecutive seasons from 1980 to 1992.

He also made the National League All-Star team with those two franchises for twelve-straight seasons from 1981 to 1982.

Both streaks came to an end in 1993.

Then, at 39 years old and in his seventeenth season in the Majors, Smith got back on the All-Star track in 1994.

His .262/.326/.349 slash line left something to be desired, but his three home runs, 30 RBIs and 51 runs scored put him on an impressive trajectory during the shortened season.

He'd win the starting job at short for the National League All-Star team, beating out Montreal's Will Cordero and Cincinnati's Barry Larkin for the role he'd held every All-Star Game from 1983-1992.

It was nice to see him back on the field for the National League to open the All-Star Game once again.

After nineteen incredible seasons in which Ozzie Smith put on acrobatic displays of defensive wizardry at shortstop, he retired after the 1996 season, leaving a legacy as one of the greatest ever.

1994 Topps Stadium Club Baseball Cards In Review

While this set doesn't contain any significant rookie cards, it certainly does stand out in its design.

Within the 720-card checklist, many high-quality action shots capture players in a way that makes them almost jump off the cardboard.

And then there are the instantly recognizable cartoonish nameplates and other callouts on the cards that take you right back to the early 90s.

The set was divided into three separate series and there are multiple interesting subsets scattered throughout, including:

• Home Run Club (#258 - 268)
• Tale of Two Players (#525 - 526)
• Division Leaders (#527 - 532)
• Quick Starts (#533 - 538)
• Career Contributors (#541 - 543)
• Rookie Rocker/Rocket (#626 - 634)
• Fantastic Finishes (#714 - 719)

If you're a big-time rookie card collector, again, this set will come up short.

But, it's still packed with plenty of superstars and Hall of Famers.

Overall, this set delivered on the Stadium Club brand regarding print quality and imagery, though some of the other design elements may turn away some collectors.

It's a decent set, but the lack of rookie cards and the fact that MLB endured a player's strike in 1994 has kept this set from getting more attention than it might have otherwise.