Ken Griffey Jr.'s Most Graded Cards and Their Prices
In this story:
He drew in a generation of children to baseball. Kids in the schoolyard and on their blocks put their caps on backwards, imitating the sweet swing. Ken Griffey Jr.'s impact on the game is still present now that the kids have grown up and are in their formative years. Those kids can now tell their stories about how they watched him, imitated him, and bought his baseball cards.
Ken Griffey Jr. and the Enduring Sports Cards of the 80s and 90s
Griffey's 1989 Upper Deck Star Rookie card is the most iconic of the past 35 years. He has seven rookie cards, all part of his most graded cards. We'll examine the numbers behind his graded cards, the prices, and potential bargains.
Sorry, Upper Deck. That Griffey Ain't His Rookie Card!
1. 1989 Upper Deck Star Rookie #1 (PSA - 116,496; Beckett - 40,795; SGC - 15,771)
The Star Rookie has been graded more than 172,000 times. PSA has a 4% Gem Rate with 4,285 PSA 10s in existence. According to Card Ladder, the last 61 PSA 10 sales have averaged $2,330. PSA 9s, with a whopping population of 32,716, have sold for an average of $180 in the past three months. The prices are a testament to the card's influence.
The Most Impressive Ken Griffey Jr. Collection in the World
2. 1989 Topps Traded #41T (PSA - 88,282; Beckett - 10,800; SGC - 9,141)
Griffey's Topps Traded card is another iconic card reminiscent of Mickey Mantle's 1952 Topps bat-on-shoulder card. There are 14,491 PSA 10s, which brings down the price of this card to about $120. The price drops to $25 for PSA 9s, which has a population of 48,932.
3. 1989 Fleer #548 (PSA - 66,392; Beckett - 12,410; SGC - 8,294)
The Fleer base card is the third-most graded sports card. There are 5,799 PSA 10s with an average sale price of $148. It's a bargain when comparing it to the Upper Deck rookie card. There is also a Fleer Glossy version with 121 PSA 10s, which sell on average for $4,000. PSA 9 (pop. 691) Fleer Glossys sell for about $210.
4. 1989 Donruss Rated Rookie #33 (PSA - 48,706; Beckett - 13,808; SGC - 6,425)
The PSA 10 population on this card is 2,185, and it sells on average for $328. The card continues the trend of the bat leaning over his left shoulder. On this card, he also appears to be wearing the same practice jersey as on his Fleer card. However, the Donruss card has more vivid colors and shows Griffey staring at the viewer from afar. PSA 9s (pop. 14,185) sell for $28-$30. Of all of Griffey's rookie cards, his Upper Deck Star Rookie and this Donruss card have the lowest Gem Rate at 4%.
5. 1989 Score Traded #100T (PSA - 30,044; Beckett - 10,801; SGC - 2,750)
This card is Griffey's lone action shot among his rookie cards. The card is also the most affordable of all his rookie cards in PSA 10. The average sale price in the past 3 months has averaged $65. Gem Mints have a population of 5,552, similar to the 1989 Fleer rookie but half the price. PSA 9s sell for about $20.
6. 1989 Bowman #220 (PSA - 30,841; Beckett - 6,905; SGC - 3,968)
The PSA 10 has an average of $325 per sale and a population of 2,615. My colleague Jason Schwartz wrote that the Bowman card is Griffey's only true rookie card. It's worth a read!
7. 1989 Donruss The Rookies #3 (PSA - 15,522; Beckett - 3,224; SGC - 1,288)
This 55-card set featuring rookies was released later in the year by Donruss. Griffey is the headliner, accompanied by Randy Johnson, Gary Sheffield, and Deion Sanders. The PSA 10 (pop. 1,869) sells for about $200.
8. 1990 Topps #336 (PSA - 15,007; Beckett - 1,542; SGC - 1,671)
1990 Topps is Griffey's most-graded non-rookie card. It is yet another one of his iconic cards, continuing the bat-on-shoulder motif. In some ways, it's a perfect card - the perfect design and player for the time. PSA 10s (pop. 591) have sold for an average of $330. PSA 9s (pop. 4,588) sell for just $20.
Ohio State football's National Championship is being commemorated by ONIT Athlete
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