Five rare and affordable Cal Ripken Jr. cards
In this story:
Cal Ripken Jr. broke one of baseball's greatest records on Sept. 6, 1995, when he played in 2,131 consecutive games. He broke what was once thought to be an unbreakable record set by Lou Gehrig, The Iron Horse, from June 1, 1925, to April 30, 1939.
RELATED: Five rare and affordable Ken Griffey Jr. baseball cards
When Ripken broke Gehrig's record, he became known as the Iron Man. He would go on to extend his streak to Sept. 19, 1998, finishing a remarkable 2,632 consecutive games played. Since Ripken's streak, Miguel Tejada has had the longest consecutive games played with 1,152. Tejada was 44% of the way to Ripken, and remains the only player to go over 1,000 games in the 21st century.
RELATED: Five incredible vintage Baseball Cards under $50
Ripken's brand is as strong as ever with a burgeoning Little League empire. He's also one of the most collectible retired Hall of Famers. Below are five affordable cards with limited print runs.
5. 1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection #50 Print Run /6500
Every base card in the 1994 Pinnacle set came with a Museum Collection parallel. The parallel had a print run of 6,500 and incorporated Pinnacle's Dufex technology. In PSA 10, the card sells for $250, but in ungraded condition, it can sell for as little as $10. In the picture, Ripken is seen taggin a runner out with the shimmering beauty of the Dufex finish.
4. 1993 Donruss Elite Dominator #19 Print Run /5000
According to Baseballcardpedia, "1993 Donruss Elite Dominators was a 20-card insert set that was separate from, but supplemental to, the 1993 Donruss set, offered exclusively for sale on the Shop at Home television network.
"In a series of programs broadcast during December 8th - 13th, 1993, viewers were offered the opportunity to purchase a factory-sealed box of either1993 Donruss Series One or Series Two that came with one Elite Dominator insert card placed in an envelope and shrink-wrapped directly to the box. 5000 serial-numbered sets were produced and half (2500) of the Nolan Ryan, Juan Gonzalez, Paul Molitor, and Don Mattingly cards were autographed by the player."
Ripken's card was #19 in the set. Ungraded cards sell for $30-$50 while sellers on eBay ask $500 or more for PSA 10s.
3. 1995 Pinnacle White Hot #WH1
Again, referencing the hub of knowledge that is Baseballcardpedia, "This 25-card set fully paralleled the Red Hot insert set and featured the same player photos but utilized a blue and white fire-themed background with a Dufex finish. The back of each White Hot card also featured a foil finish."
This Ripken insert is, well, absolute fire. The Dufex finish lends the card movement to go along with Ripken's throwing action. The number of inserts made is unknown, but ungraded versions sell on eBay for $35 - $50.
2. 1995 Leaf Limited Lumberjacks #16 Print Run /5000
Lumberjacks' odds were 1:23 packs. They were serial numbered to 5,000 and were printed on a "wood-like substrate." Ungraded versions of the card sell for $20 - $30 on eBay.
A PSA 10 copy sold for $215.
1. 1999 Topps Finest Milestones #M2 Print Run /3000
The Milestones inserts were found in the 1999 Topps Finest Series 2 set. The odds were 1:29 packs.
According to Baseballcardpedia, "Similar to the Prominent Figures insert in Series One, this 40-card set features the players who have the highest statistics in four categories: Hits, Home Runs, RBI and Doubles. The cards are printed with Refractor technology and are serial-numbered based on the category as follows: Hits to 3000, Home Runs to 500, RBI to 1400, and Doubles to 500."
Ripken's card, numbered to 3,000, commemorates his approaching 3,000th career hit. He achieved the career feat, the 24th player ever, on April 15, 2000.
Recent sales of ungraded "Milestones" inserts sell for $3 and up to $15. A PSA 9 sold for $45 on Sept. 1 on eBay.
Horacio is an avid sports card collector and writes about trending card auctions and news across several major hobby sites, including Sports Collectors Daily and Collectibles on SI.
Follow murphreeman