The Five Essential Baseball Cards of 1988 Topps
Look up Junk Wax Era in the baseball card encyclopedia and you're bound to find a picture of the 1988 Topps set. With print quantities seemingly in the billions, only a single Hall of Fame rookie card, and a design most collectors consider "meh" at best, the entire 1988 Topps set migth well be found in card show dollar bins if only it didn't take up so much space. And if it were in the dollar bin, good chance the buyer would be picking it up for the 800-count box more than the cards inside. Still, every set has its jewels and hidden gems, even this one, not to mention its Five Essential Cards.
1988 Topps Tom Glavine
Good chance you can find this card for less than a quarter, but here's the thing. Tom Glavine is one of the greatest pitcher's of all time, and this is his rookie card (or one of them, anyways). Never mind that Topps seemingly printed ten billion of them. It's still a card every collection needs.
1988 Oakland Athletics Team Leaders
It would be hard to find a pair of superstars whose stock dropped more than this duo, but back in 1988 the Bash Brothers was baseball! Sure, hindsight is 20/20, but Canseco was 40-40! And how about Big Mac, coming off a 49-homer season as a rookie! Whether you think the PED era saved baseball or ruined it, the history of the game is the history of the game. To the extent an Essential card documents that history, there's no more Essential card than this one.
1988 Topps Eric Davis Box Bottom
First off, EVERY Eric Davis card is awesome. That's just the truth. But second, his (relatively) short-printed box bottom card, which highlights his 30-30 season, hints at some amazing baseball history. True, Eric Davis went 30-30, but he did better than that. In 1987, Eric the Red became the first ever member of baseball's 30-50 club! Still, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Over a stretch of 162 games played between June 18, 1986, and July 10, 1987, Eric the Red hit 49 home runs and stole 93 bases. Try that, Shohei Ohtani!
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1988 Topps Andre Dawson All-Star
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Hawk gets the nod here for his 1987 National League MVP season and the sweet color match between the card design and Cubs cap. Still, feel free to swap in any 1988 All-Star card if you prefer. Showing that bright yellow need not be the kiss of death, the All-Star cards in 1988 Topps were certainly among the decade's best.
1988 Topps Jay Baller
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True, the 1988 Topps checklist has top-shelf immortals like Nolan Ryan, Mike Schmidt, and Tony Gwynn, so the choice of Jay Baller here can at best be seen as a "wild card." On the other hand, here's what 1988 Topps set guru David McEllis of the 1988 Topps Podcast had to say about this card:
First, his name is Jay Baller, which reads like a great rap name but is actually pronounced to rhyme with “valor.” Second, his entire look on the card gives Kenny Powers and Andrew Chafin a run for their money. Jay’s hair, mustache, chest hair, and gold chains are all impeccable. It looks like he pulled his Trans-Am up to the Spring Training facility for the photoshoot. Finally, Jay’s story along with this card is interesting and mysterious. Shortly after this card was produced, Jay Baller had a serious medical scare. He collapsed while Christmas shopping in December 1987, he had a 107-degree fever and spent three days in a coma. His heart stopped twice. After that experience he was released in Spring 1988 and never played again for the Cubs. He bounced around and had a few appearances with the Royals and Phillies, as well as in Japan, before retiring in 1994. His big league career only included 94 appearances, but his 1988 Topps card is Hall of Fame worthy.David McEllis, 1988 Topps Podcast
Fun name and chest hair aside, the card is a reminder that there's really no such thing as a "common player." And in a set where no card is worth more than a nickel, all 792 cards are within just four or five cents of being the most valuable card in the set!
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.