15 Most Valuable 2012 Topps Baseball Cards
Whenever I think of the 2010 Topps baseball card set, one word always comes to mind: “balance.” The design itself is clean and straightforward, void of any over-the-top features that leave it with a solid, conservative look and feel.
The 660-card checklist has a nice mix of big-name rookies, short-printed retired legends, and star players of the day.
And Topps also introduced its now well-known “Rookie Card” icon with the MLB logo to help collectors more easily spot them.
Yes, the mid-season inclusion of the Stephen Strasburg rookie was a bit unusual.
But, when you add it all up, 2010 Topps baseball is a well-rounded set that presents a fun and great-looking collecting experience.
And in this guide, we’ll take a look at the 15 most valuable.
Let’s jump right in!
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Ross Uitts – Owner
- #1
2012 Topps #661 Bryce Harper Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $2,500Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)It would be easy to pick apart Bryce Harper’s rookie season for holes.
After all, the Washington Nationals outfielder slumped something fierce in the dog days of summer and struck out in 120 of his 597 plate appearances (for a strikeout rate of over 20%).
However, context is key.
Harper was just nineteen for every game of the 2012 campaign, both regular season and postseason.
And no 19-year-old in MLB history has ever put together an all-around season as potent and productive as Harper.
Harper’s 5.0 WAR for the 2012 season outstripped Hall-of-Fame luminaries like Mel Ott (3.7), Ken Griffey Jr. (2.9), Ty Cobb (2.3), and Mickey Mantle (1.3).
After a brief April stint in Triple-A, Harper debuted with the Nationals as the calendar turned to May.
From there, Harper flashed every tool in the book, hammering 22 home runs, scoring 98 runs, swiping 18 bags, and gunning down 8 baserunners for outfield assists.
Altogether, the Las Vegas teen was a ready-made sensation from day one, making him an easy pick for an All-Star spot and earned him a close victory in the NL Rookie of the Year race.
Topps later added this card to the end of the Series 2 print run, deciding to print far fewer copies than the other 330 base cards.
So not only does it get its value from being Harper’s rookie card, but it also gets an added boost from being a short print.
- #2
2012 Topps #30 Derek Jeter
PSA 10 Value $25Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)On the heels of an injury-plagued 2011 season in which Jeter notched his 3,000th career hit, the 38-year-old shortstop turned back the clock one last time in 2012.
Jeter was as durable as ever in 2012, leading the Majors in plate appearances (740) and at-bats (683).
He was very productive in that sizeable sample size, leading the Majors in hits (216) while finishing fifth in the AL in batting average (.316).
Now a 13-time All-Star and five-time Silver Slugger, Jeter finished seventh in a star-studded AL MVP field.
And buoyed by The Captain’s fantastic year, the 95-win Yankees sidestepped past the Orioles and Blue Jays for a well-earned AL East championship.
Now in the 17th postseason of his 18-year Yankee career, Jeter was desperate to finish the story with a sixth World Series ring.
It started well enough.
Jeter came up big in a five-game ALDS win over the Orioles, hitting .364 with a team-leading eight hittings.
However, it was all downhill from there.
In the top of the 12th of a thrilling, back-and-forth ALCS Game 1 against Detroit, Jeter shattered his ankle on a fruitless dive for a Jhonny Peralta base hit.
His season was done, and the Yankees were too, losing the game and the series in a clean 4-0 sweep.
- #3
2012 Topps #187 Jose Altuve
PSA 10 Value $25Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%) - #4
2012 Topps #200 Miguel Cabrera
PSA 10 Value $25Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)It’s wild to think that Miguel Cabrera’s historic 2012 Triple Crown season might have been his worst all-around hitting campaign of the decade’s first four years.
The legendary Detroit Tigers third baseman just missed the 1.000 OPS plateau in 2012.
In 2010, 2011, and 2013, Cabrera posted an OPS no worse than 1.033.
In addition, Cabrera’s 164 OPS+ was a full fourteen points less than the next-closest campaign (2010).
This isn’t a knock on Cabrera’s mind-blowing 2012 campaign.
It’s more of a testament to how epic he was at his athletic peak.
The particulars of Cabrera’s Triple Crown feat are jaw-dropping.
The first player to win a Triple Crown in either league in 45 years (Carl Yastrzemski), Cabrera was the first to accomplish the Crown in the 30-team era.
A comfortable pick for AL MVP over Mike Trout (despite Trout’s superior defensive impact), Cabrera led the AL in batting average (.330) and slugging percentage (.606) and paced all of baseball in home runs (44), RBIs (139), and OPS (.999).
The last player to win a Triple Crown and one of just 14 players to do so since the establishment of the NL in 1876, Cabrera was as close to statistical perfection as one can get in 2012.
- #5
2012 Topps #331 Albert Pujols
PSA 10 Value $25Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)In 2012, the St. Louis Cardinals lost a generational superstar to a text message.
After hitting free agency following the 2011 MLB campaign, Albert Pujols was courted by the Cardinals, Marlins, and Cubs among others.
And, why not?
The 32-year-old first baseman had already secured a future bust in Cooperstown, topping the all-time charts for home runs by a player in their first eleven seasons (445).
To further explain the Dominican Republic native’s seismic impact from 2001-11, Pujols trailed only Willie Mays (87.4) for the highest WAR total by a player in their first decade-plus-one.
So, when the Angels swooped in and signed Pujols away from the favorite Cardinals, it was an earth-shaking moment.
Inking the slugger to a ten-year, $254 million pact, the Halos were informed of Pujols’ free agency decision by a short, professional text.
A few words were all it took.
Pujols had a fine year, albeit a subdued one by his standards, hitting .285 with a .859 0PS, 30 home runs, 50 doubles, 85 runs scored, and 105 RBIs in 670 at-bats.
Despite the down-ballot MVP finisher’s best efforts, the Angels couldn’t get over the hump in a deep AL WeSt. That would be a going theme for Pujols during his time in Southern California.
- #6
2012 Topps #498 Joey Votto
PSA 10 Value $25Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%) - #7
2012 Topps #305 Chipper Jones
PSA 10 Value $20Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)Chipper Jones’ farewell tour in 2012 was equal parts sweet and sour.
Let’s get the sour out of the way.
The 40-year-old third baseman missed Opening Day with a meniscus tear suffered during a team stretching session.
A rough ending bookended his bad start, a 1-for-5 outing complete with a crucial error in the Atlanta Braves’ NL Wild Card Game loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Everything in between all this, though, was sublime.
Showered with gifts and adoration in every town the Braves visited, Jones played his best baseball in nearly a half-decade.
Posting his highest average (.287) since winning the NL batting title in 2008, Jones cracked 14 home runs in just 387 at-bats.
He also tallied 23 doubles, 58 runs scored, and 62 RBIs in 112 games.
Ending his storied career with his eighth All-Star nod and a smattering of down-ballot MVP support, Jones remains on the very shortest of lists for the best switch-hitters of all time.
The only switch-swinger with more than 1,000 plate appearances to hit .300 or better from both sides, Jones ended his journey to Cooperstown with 468 home runs and an on-base percentage just north of 40% (.401).
- #8
2012 Topps #446 Mike Trout
PSA 10 Value $20Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)Whereas Bryce Harper took home the NL Rookie of the Year award in a tightly-contested race, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout torched AL pitching to win the Junior Circuit’s first-year honor.
In arguably the greatest rookie year in the annals of baseball, Trout became the first player in Major League history to hit 30 home runs (30), score 125 runs (an MLB-best 129), and steal 45 bases (an MLB-best 49) in the same season.
Furthermore, he’s the only player to post a .320 average (.326) with 45 stolen bases and 30 bombs in the same campaign.
The Angels couldn’t reward the first-time All-Star with a playoff berth, sliding into third in a stacked AL West with an 89-73 record.
However, that doesn’t dull the sheer blunt-force impact of Trout’s historic rookie year.
The first-time Silver Slugger finished second in the league’s MVP race only because of Miguel Cabrera’s stunning Triple Crown season.
He finished in the AL’s top five in nearly every important offensive category, and became the first player to win Baseball America’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards in the same season.
It was a statement of intent by one of the most impressive natural talents to ever grace a big-league field.
- #9
2012 Topps #535 Joe Mauer
PSA 10 Value $20Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%) - #10
2012 Topps #600 Clayton Kershaw
PSA 10 Value $20Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)The encore to Clayton Kershaw’s unreal 2011 Cy Young season was just a shade less momentous but otherworldly nonetheless.
After securing a two-year, $19 million deal in the offseason (which bought out two years of arbitration), the Los Angeles Dodgers southpaw picked up where he left off.
Named to his second consecutive All-Star game, Kershaw became the first pitcher since Arizona’s Randy Johnson (2001-02) to lead the league in ERA (2.53) for back-to-back seasons.
He also became just the fifth Dodger hurler to notch three consecutive 200-K seasons (229) and the first pitcher since Randy Johnson (1999-2002) to post four straight sub-3.00 ERA seasons.
To put it mildly, Kershaw was damn near unhittable in 2012.
In an NL-best 33 starts for the 86-win Dodgers, Kershaw topped the Senior Circuit in WHIP (1.023) and ERA+ (150) and led the Majors in hits-per-nine (6.7).
It took an unbelievable streak-laden effort from New York Mets knuckleballer R.A.
Dickey to deny Kershaw back-to-back Cy Young wins.
He’d get right back at it in 2013 and 2014.
- #11
2012 Topps #174 Yadier Molina
PSA 10 Value $15Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%) - #12
2012 Topps #396 Yoenis Cespedes Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $15Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)After eight years of star-quality play in Cuba’s national baseball league, Serie Nacional, 26-year-old outfielder Yoenis Cespedes made waves in 2012 by signing a four-year, $32 million deal with the Oakland A’s.
The Athletics swooped out of seemingly nowhere, plucking Cespedes away from the presumable favorite Marlins.
And it was one heck of a get, considering the righty slugger’s five-tool arsenal and the fact that he hit .300 for all but one season in Cuba.
Immediately, Cespedes became a centerpiece of one of baseball’s most thrilling success stories.
Mired in a half-decade of mediocrity after their 2006 ALCS appearance, the A’s put together a ragtag mixture of underappreciated veterans and young talents for the 2012 campaign.
It worked.
The white-knuckle A’s had a knack for drama, pacing baseball with 15 walkoff-wins.
Clawing their way to an improbable one-game AL West title with a season-ending sweep of the second-place Texas Rangers, Oakland was party central in 2012.
And Cespedes was a great hoSt. Finishing second in the AL’s Rookie-of-the-Year race to Mike Trout and tenth in the AL MVP balloting, Cespedes slashed .292/.356/.505 with 23 home runs, 25 doubles, five triples, 16 stolen bases, 70 runs scored, and 82 RBIs in 487 at-bats.
- #13
2012 Topps #506 David Ortiz
PSA 10 Value $15Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)In a savvy business move, the Boston Red Sox avoided salary arbitration and inked David Ortiz to a low-risk one-year, $14.575 million deal.
The 36-year-old slugger sought a two-year pact, but Boston’s management decided a wait-and-see approach was better.
After all, Ortiz’s overall production tapered off in 2008-2010 before a strong bounce-back in 2011.
In the end, Ortiz eventually got his two-year bag thanks to a brilliant three-plus month performance to open 2012.
With the Red Sox mucking around the .500 mark, Ortiz did his best to keep the sinking ship afloat.
He hit .318 in 90 games with a beefy 1.026 OPS, 23 homers, 26 doubles, 65 runs scored, and 60 RBIs.
Who knows what those numbers could have looked like if Big Papi had stayed healthy?
However, a badly strained right Achilles tendon effectively ended his season by July 16th.
With Ortiz sidelined, the Red Sox nosedived, losing 49 of their last 72 games for one-and-done manager Bobby Valentine.
One year later, a healthy Ortiz would lift the Red Sox out of the last-place muck and into the championship penthouse once more.
- #14
2012 Topps #537 Ichiro Suzuki
PSA 10 Value $15Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)In 2011, Ichiro finally looked human.
After a decade of .300-plus seasons to open his Hall-of-Fame career, the Seattle Mariners megastar saw his average drop to .272.
By the All-Star break in 2012, it was clear this was less an outlier and more a trend.
The 38-year-old right fielder struggled to a .261 average in the season’s first half, and his .645 OPS was on pace to be his lowest by over 100 points.
With Suzuki’s stock on the wane and the Mariners mired in yet another mediocre campaign, Seattle shipped him to the New York Yankees for relievers Danny Farquhar and D.J.
Mitchell.
Perhaps driven by the move and a refreshing change of scenery, Suzuki recaptured some of his former glory in the final two-plus months of the regular season.
As the Yankees streaked to a 20-11 finish from September 1st on, running down the field to capture the AL East by two games, Suzuki was on another level.
He hit .362 in the season’s final 31 games, notching 38 crucial hits for a team in desperation mode.
Altogether, Ichiro slashed .283/.307/.390 with nine homers, 28 doubles, six triples, 29 stolen bases,77 runs scored, and 55 RBIs in 162 games between the M’s and Yankees.
- #15
2012 Topps #660 Yu Darvish Rookie Card
Rookie CardPSA 10 Value $15Total PSA PopulationPSA 10 PopulationPSA 10 Grade Rate 0.0% (Set Avg: 0.0%)
Ross’s Take
If you’re looking for a great-looking set that is simple, straightforward, and won’t break the bank, 2010 Topps could be a good option for you.
The checklist is solid and contains multiple big-name rookies.
There are plenty of superstars, relics and autograph cards to chase.
And if you like inserts, Topps introduced nine new inserts in this set that helped boost the collecting experience.
There were also several different subsets in the checklist, including: Leaders Franchise History All-Star Rookies Award Winners Team Checklists Had Stephen Strasburg and Jason Heyward’s careers continued on the trajectory at which they were hyped, this set may be much more popular than it is today.
Those two guys were arguably two of the most hyped-up athletes of any sport during their era.
Unfortunately, injuries and a bit of bad luck held them back from their true potential, though both went on to have solid careers.
Overall, the 2010 Topps baseball set delivers a great collecting experience but isn’t typically remembered as one of the biggest of its era.
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Ross Uitts – Owner
