Six essential Toronto Blue Jays rookie cards

With their dismantling of the Yankees on Sunday, the Toronto Blue Jays are one game away from returning to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2016. The Blue Jays had their inaugural season in 1977 and have since won two World Series titles, in 1992 and 1993, marking their only appearances in the Fall Classic.

The Jays have also had some of baseball's biggest legends wear their uniform. Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Rickey Henderson, Frank Thomas, and Roger Clemens, to name a few, all played north of the border. As the Blue Jays look to close in on a league championship appearance, we'll look at the six essential rookie cards from the franchise's proud history.

1. 1980 Topps Dave Stieb #77

Stieb is one of the great, but not-quite-Hall-of-Fame greats, who tends to be forgotten. Stieb, the second-winningest pitcher of the 1980s, played in 15 seasons for Toronto, appearing in seven All-Star games and finishing in the top seven of AL Cy Young Award voting four times. He finished with 176 wins, 103 complete games, 30 shutouts, and a 3.44 career ERA.

Strong arguments have been made that Stieb is a Hall of Famer when compared to his peers and several other pitchers who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Stieb has nearly the same WAR as Whitey Ford and a higher WAR than Jim Kaat, Sandy Koufax, Bob Lemon, Jack Morris, and Catfish Hunter. His WAR7, a sum of his seven best seasons, puts him equal to Mike Mussina.

Stieb's 1980 Topps rookie card has been graded 650 times by PSA. The most recent PSA 10 (population 62) sale was for $438 in May 2025. PSA 9s sell for about $100.

2. 1997 Bowman Chrome Roy Halladay #212

Halladay and Adrian Beltre headline the checklist for 1997 Bowman Chrome. This card is significant for Blue Jays fans because it is the first rookie card of a player wearing the Blue Jays uniform who was enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Halladay was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in 2017, without a logo on his cap, at the request of his wife.

He spent 12 seasons in Toronto, appearing in eight All-Star games and winning two Cy Young Awards, one in the American League and the other in the National League, with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2010.

There are 266 PSA 10s in the population report. The most recent PSA 10 sale was for $645 in Sept. 2025 at REA. For a lower price, there are 675 PSA 9s. The most recent PSA 9 sale was for $45.

3. 1984 Donruss Tony Fernández #32

1984 Donruss Tony Fernandez #32 — Image Courtesy of Card Ladder

Fernández played in Toronto for 12 seasons, including the first eight of his career from 1983 to 1990. After two years in San Diego, he went back to Toronto in 1993, helping the Blue Jays win their second consecutive World Series. Fernández had a 17-year career and made five All-Star teams. He had 2,276 hits, 1,057 runs, 844 RBI, and 246 stolen bases. Fernández is the Blue Jays' all-time leader in hits and games played.

Fernández has two rookie cards, the 1984 Donruss and 1984 Fleer, but for my money, the Donruss rookie is a superior card, mostly due to the close-up portrait of the smiling Fernandez. The population report bears this out. Fernandez's Fleer rookie card has been graded 240 times by PSA. His Donruss card has been graded 431 times by PSA.

According to Card Ladder, the most recent PSA 10 (population 68) sale of his 1984 Donruss rookie was for $165 in Aug. 2025. The PSA 9 most recently sold for $17.

4. 2016 Bowman Chrome Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #CPA-VG

Guerrero Jr. is already a Blue Jays legend. In seven seasons in Toronto, he's been named an All-Star five times, coming second in MVP voting in 2021. In the divisional series, he had a defining moment when his grand slam put the Blue Jays ahead 9-0 against the Yankees. Guerrero Jr. is still only 25 years old, and his career progression by age most closely resembles that of Eddie Murray, according to Baseball Reference.

Guerrero's most essential rookie card is his 1st Bowman Chrome. The base cards are plentiful, as are the number of parallels; however, we opted for his autographed refractor, numbered to 499. The last sold price for a PSA 10 was $875. A PSA 9 sold for $545; a solid choice for a card in great condition. A PSA 10 Bowman Chrome unnumbered autograph card last sold for $662 on Oct. 5.

5. 1992 Bowman Carlos Delgado #127

Delgado is the Blue Jays' all-time leader in home runs, RBI, runs, and slugging percentage. He's known as one of the most dangerous first basemen of his generation, but he started as a catcher.

His 1992 Bowman rookie card captures this early stage in his career. Delgado's career numbers compare favorably to players enshrined in Cooperstown. He was removed from the BBWAA ballot after his first year of eligibility, after receiving only 3.8% of the vote.

Delgado's card is one of the most popular from the 1992 Bowman set. It has been graded nearly 5,800 times, resulting in 479 PSA 10 Gem Mint grades. The most recent PSA 10 sale, according to Card Ladder, occurred in Nov. 2023, when two cards sold for $250. A PSA 9 sold for $35 in July 2024.

6. 1986 Donruss Rookie Rated Fred McGriff #28

1986 Donruss Fred McGriff — Image Courtesy of Card Ladd / REA

After appearing in three games for Toronto in 1986, McGriff spent the next four seasons with the Blue Jays, breaking out as one of the game's young stars. From 1988 to 1990, his last three seasons with the Jays, he garnered MVP votes, including two top-ten finishes. His 1989 season was the best, when he led the league in home runs with 36.

Although McGriff would most be remembered for his five years with the Atlanta Braves, in part because he helped the team win the 1995 World Series, his rookie card plays an important role in Blue Jays history because it became the second Hall of Fame rookie card of a player in the Toronto uniform. McGriff was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023.

A PSA 10 (population 489) sold for $307 on Sept. 2025 at REA.

June 5, 1989 - The Blue Jays played their first game in the brand-new SkyDome, a 5-3 loss to the @Brewers. Fred McGriff hit the first home run in the park, a 2-run shot off @DonAugust38 in the bottom of the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/bGtFKHu0k2
— Today in Blue Jays History (@today_jays) June 5, 2023