1989 Upper Deck Griffey rookie card market is out of control
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Without a doubt the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr rookie card is the Hobby's most iconic card since the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. As a result, it's a card that has continued to see high demand long after Junior hung up his spikes and transitioned into the world of sports photography. Still, a handful of recent record-breaking sales have left the Hobby scratching its collective head.
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Heading into 2025, the highest recorded sale for the Griffey, according to tracking site CardLadder, was $6,600. Not surprisingly, it came at the peak of the pandemic buying frenzy in February 2021. In fact, it was one of 23 Upper Deck Griffey cards to top $5,000 that month! However, as with much during the pandemic, the high price tags didn't stick. In fact, it went into total free fall. Less than a year later, PSA 10 copies of the Grail card were selling for below $2,000, a discount of roughly 70%.
Fast forward to 2025 when the card spent the early part of the year at a relatively stable $2,500. Since that time, the trajectory of the Griffey--both upward and downward--has been volatile to say the least. In the past six weeks alone, there have been six confirmed eBay sales of the Griffey at or above $5,000.
- $5,999 - November 27
- $5,800 - November 11
- $5,600 - November 26
- $5,300 - October 26
- $5,245 - November 30
- $5,000 - November 27
In a Hobby known for "comps" (recent sales used to assess current value), the data certainly suggest the Griffey, at least in PSA 10, to be worth somewhere between $5K and $6K. It's not even crazy to look at these sales numbers and imagine the Upper Deck Junior once again topping its pandemic high of $6,600. At the same time, CardLadder, which operates off of comps, pegs the card's value at a mere $4,099. How does that even make sense?
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The short answer is it doesn't make sense. To be clear, what doesn't make sense are the sky-high sales themselves. While the buyers of the six cards above shelled out $5K or more for their gem mint cards of Kenneth, far cheaper cards of the Mariners icon were widely available. For example, here are eight confirmed eBay sales of Griffey in PSA 10 during the exact same time period.
- $4,000 - November 7
- $4,000 - November 9
- $4,000 - November 22
- $4,046 - November 28
- $4,099 - December 4
- $4,150 - November 15
- $4,200 - November 5
- $4,300 - November 30
For whatever reason, the Hobby is seeing an unusual period where buyers are choosing to pay $1,000 to $2,000 more for a card than they need to. Given a choice between a PSA 10 Griffey at $4,200 and $5,200, they are for whatever reason choosing the $5,200 option. Not that anyone ever accused the Hobby of being entirely rational, but there are really only two logical reasons buyers might do this.
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One is that they are spotting significant differences in condition that the graders at PSA missed. In other words, they are treating some PSA 10 cards as far more desirable than others. The other, which hopefully is not the case, is market manipulation. For example, the holder of several PSA 10 Griffey cards might overpay significantly for one or two more in hopes of shifting comps upward.
Whatever's going on with the Griffey card, it will be interesting to see whether the card's pandemic high of $6,600 is eventually toppled. And if it is, will there be other PSA 10s available for far less? At the moment, both seem not only possible but likely.
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.