1989 Rookie Cards

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

I don't know if this is the place to post this, but I figure that it is.

My uncle bought a big box of baseball cards for $10. Most of them are garbage, but there are a bunch that are of interest. There are 5 Score rookie cards from 1989: Randy Johnson, Gary Sheffield, Tom Gordon, Sandy Alomar, and Edgar Martinez. All of them are in mint condition, as far as I can tell.

Does anyone here have any idea what they're worth? There are also a bunch of Cal Ripken Jr. cards, and some Roger Clemens cards.

Thanks for any help/advice!

-Geoff

[cubsfan1073]

Well I have a Randy Johnson 89 Rookie. I think it's 1989 Fleer Rookie and Traded, but I'm not positive. It's worth at least $5, somewhere between 5 and 10.

[gosox55]

Hi

According to the Big SCD Standard Catalog (2007)

1989 Score:
Sheffield $1.50
Johnson $2.00
Alomar $.50
Gordon and Martinez 5c - 10c

The Sheffield and the Johnson are the two highest value cards in the set. The set’s value: $9


Hope this helps

Richard

[Dalkowski110]

"I think it's 1989 Fleer Rookie and Traded, but I'm not positive."

If it shows him with Seattle (which the R&T card does), it's not his RC. His RC shows him with the Montreal Expos.

[DaClyde]

Edgar Martinez had a card in the 1988 Fleer set.

[Dalkowski110]

No...he had a card in the '88 Fleer Update set. That's his XRC (Extended Rookie Card), so any '89 card he had would be his RC.

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

Wow, so they're not worth very much at all... I've never really bought or sold any cards, so I really had no idea.

What kind of card do you need to command over $20?

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

Hi

According to the Big SCD Standard Catalog (2007)

1989 Score:
Sheffield $1.50
Johnson $2.00
Alomar $.50
Gordon and Martinez 5c - 10c

The Sheffield and the Johnson are the two highest value cards in the set. The set’s value: $9


Hope this helps

Richard

By the set, I assume that you mean the full set of Rookie cards (which I have). This is what the catalogue says. Is this what I can intend on getting if I were to put them up on eBay?

[DaClyde]

No...he had a card in the '88 Fleer Update set. That's his XRC (Extended Rookie Card), so any '89 card he had would be his RC.


No, Edgar Martinez is card #378 in the regular 1988 Fleer set.

[Dalkowski110]

I stand corrected...checked my '88 Fleer Update set and I don't have very many '88 Fleer (although I do have the Edgar Martinez card), so I just figured automatically that it was his XRC. Oops.

[DaClyde]

One of those rare occasions where one Fleer issued someone's first card and it wasn't a double with another rookie or in an update set.

[Dalkowski110]

Donruss also rarely issued good RC's of anyone/beat anyone to the punch. They finally did in 1986 with Kevin Brown, though they didn't even bother to make the notation "Rated Rookie" on his card.

[gosox55]

Hi Richmond
Sorry for the late response, Christmas all day today, going out of town tomorrow.

Nope, the 9 bucks is for the complete 89 score set not just the rookies. I doubt if you could get much, if anything on the bay for the the five 89 cards, there was just too much of the late eighties and early ninety stuff made.
I think your best bet would be to package the whole box into team sets, team collectors would at least look at the listing I think, I know I check out white sox lots. A lot of all the rookies from the 89 set might also be attractive to someone specializing in rookies.

I would pick up a beckett plus baseball at the magazine rack, it should give you a idea of any worthwhile cards to look for, (clemens and ripken are always desirable).

Richard

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

Thanks for the info. I really had no idea what it would be worth... My uncle isn't planning on selling them, but he was considering selling one or two of them if they were worth anything.

What kinds of things should I look for, in general, when it comes to finding cards that are worth more than a few bucks?

[gosox55]

From about 85 through 94 there was a lot of over production. A couple of good cards that come to mind are 89 Upper Deck Griffey, 1990 Topps Frank
Thomas no name on front, 1985 topps McQuire and 1990 Leaf cards of Thomas, Sosa, and a few others. 1989 Upper Deck Set has a few rookies, Smoltz, Johnson etc that are decent. Some of the rookies in 1998 Leaf Rookie & Stars 2d Series book quite a bit. Some error or variation cards have a good value, but most do not.
After about 2000 look for game used and autographed cards. Other than that a good way to check value is year and player searchs on ebay, it will reflect what collectors are looking for. Unfortunely book value seldom reflects actual value in modern cards. I think about 10-20% of book for most modern stuff seems to be the norm on the auction sites.
Anyways, good luck with the cards and happy holidays.

Richard