Top 5 Justin Verlander Cards to Celebrate His Retirement Announcement and All-Star Nod
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When Justin Verlander debuted on July 4th, 2005, and gave up seven hits, three walks, four total earned runs, and a loss after just 5.1 innings, the signs of the potential Hall of Fame inductee might not have been immediately obvious. He would bounce back, though, in his first full year, 2006, going 17-9 and winning the Rookie of the Year award. After 21 years in the majors, that all is coming to a close at the end of the 2026 season.
Verlander had this wonderful thing I fell in love with watching him as a kid, where he’d register 99 mph on the radar gun in the first or second inning, and yet somehow top it out around 100-101 by the fifth or sixth. I hadn’t seen someone who only threw it harder as he worked his way further through the lineups a second or third time. With news of his retirement today, we wanted to look at his top 5 cards.
1. 2006 Topps/Topps Chrome RC
2006 was the first year I started buying baseball cards, so perhaps that's why I rank this card number one. That being said, the Superfractor 1/1 of his Topps Chrome card seen above is the most recent highest sale Verlander has had. The 2006 paper copy of this rookie card was a staple of my early collection (along with Papelbon, Prince Fielder, a lot of those 2006 rookies).
The Superfractor sold at auction in August 2024 for $21,532.
2. 2005 Bowman Chrome /5 Red Auto
With a final sale in 2025 of $18,660, it comes in lower than the 2006 Topps Chrome Superfractor. Regardless, this card is gorgeous and, as a 2005 card, still registers as a prospect card and thus pre-rookie.
3. 2012 Topps Chrome Kershaw and Verlander Dual Autograph
For an entire generation, if asked to pick one left-handed pitcher and one right-handed pitcher from the last 20 years to throw one “do or die” game, perhaps many folks might pick these two right here. For this 2012 Topps Chrome card, it also helps that it features the two pitchers in their dual-autographs card the year following each of their historic seasons: Verlander winning Cy Young and MVP, and Kershaw taking home the NL Cy Young from 2011 as well. Verlander would surpass Kershaw in strikeouts that year, 250 to 248. However, it was Kershaw who would take the total wins 24 to Verlander's 21, as well as the MLB ERA title from Justin with his 2.28 ERA to Verlander’s 2.40. The two of them linked up for a couple of dual autos in 2012, Chrome and Topps Finest to name just two sets.
This card as a PSA 10 sold in June of 2026 for $2,000.
4. 2005 Topps Chrome Draft Picks Black Refractor
This black refractor variation of the Topps Chrome Draft Picks card is practically perfect. While the base of this card does well on its own in terms of sales, something about the black border is truly something to stare at.
A PSA 10 version of this card sold August of 2024 for $6,300.
5. 2006 Topps ’52 Signatures Red Ink Auto /52
While not the most valuable card on the Verlander market, the inclusion of the Topps 52 Signatures red-ink auto comes from the classic design, which has truly stood the test of time. The card was released with a facsimile auto, regular blue-ink auto, and a red-ink /52 auto, a format that would become familiar for the Topps Heritage sets released starting in 2006 as well.
The highest sale on this card as a PSA 9 sold for $1,000 in March of 2024.
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Jonathan Klinger is a collector and baseball historian based in Texas. Jonathan has been a lifelong Yankee fan and his love of collecting goes back over two decades. His collection is focused primarily on Yankees team sets, vintage memorabilia, and other unique pieces. He is a member of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research). When he’s not writing or collecting, Jonathan spends his time with his family, coaching his son’s Tee-ball team.
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