Yankees Legend Don Mattingly's Cards You Need to Buy Now

If you asked a 1980s baseball fan who the most underrated player of that era was, the name you would most likely hear is Don Mattingly. "Donnie Baseball" was dominant both at the plate and in the field during the pre-steroid era of Major League Baseball. From 1984 to 1987, he may have been the best all-around player in the league. As Mattingly continues to try and inch closer to Hall of Fame consideration, here are five of his cards that have quietly flown under the hobby's radar.

RELATED: Top 5 Rare Don Mattingly Cards

1993 Finest Refractor

Yankees, Manttingly, Finest, Refractor, PSA 10 — 1993 Finest Don Mattingly Refractor PSA 10 | Card Ladder

The 1993 Topps Finest set introduced collectors to the hobby's first premium chromium cards and marked the debut of the refractor. At the time, many collectors did not fully grasp the set's rainbow-foil refractors' long-term cultural significance. These cards were challenging to pull, inserted into packs at a rate of 1 roughly one per box. Hobby experts estimate that approximately 240-250 copies of each refractor exist.

1991 Topps Desert Shield

Yankees, Topps, Desert Shield, Mattingly, PSA 10 — 1991 Topps Desert Shield Don Mattingly PSA 10 | Card Ladder

Late 80's and early 90s baseball products were infamously mass-produced, and the1991 Topps set is no exception. However, the Desert Shield version is significantly more challenging to find. These cards were produced and distributed to U.S. soldiers serving during Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and 1991, making them far more difficult to find today. Desert Shield cards are notorious for counterfeiting; authenticated examples are especially challenging to obtain. To date, PSA has graded only 449 copies.

1993 Donruss Elite Dominator Autograph

Yankees, Don Mattingly, Donrusss, Elite, PSA 10, Auto, Autograph — 1993 Donruss Elite Don Mattingly Autograph PSA 10 | Card Ladder

Early-1990s Donruss products were mass-produced, but hidden within some of the millions, possibly billions, of packs were Dominators autographed cards. This 1993 Donruss Dominators Mattingly autographed version was limited to 2,500 copies. While that number may seem significant by today's standards, it was considered rare and highly desirable in 1993. Of those 2,500 copies, many are believed to be lost or destroyed, leaving the actual number of cards in circulation today likely much lower than the serial number suggests.

2008 UD Premier Premier Logos 1/1 Logo Man

Logoman, 1/1, Yankees, UD, Upper Deck, — 2008 UD Premier Logo 1/1 Don Mattingly | Card Ladder

Logoman cards have exploded in popularity across the hobby, particularly in the game-used basketball department, and baseball jersey and patch cards have continued to grow alongside that trend. Today, high-end baseball patches are increasingly collectible, and rare 1/1, chunky patches and logoman cards are commanding top dollar on the secondary market. This UD Premier Logo 1/1 Mattingly is a stunning example and would command a pretty penny if sold today! The last confirmed sale was in 2009 for only $722.

1999 Bowman Best Franchise Favorites Don Mattingly/Derek Jeter Auto PSA 10

Yankees, Jeter, Mattingly, Bowman Best, PSA 10, Auto, Autograph — 1999 Bowman Best Franchise Favorites Auto Don Mattingly Derek Jeter | Card Ladder

For more than 30 years, from 1983 through 2014, Yankees lineups almost always featured one of these two players in pinstripes. Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter epitomized what it meant to be a Yankee throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Despite their shared legacy, they played together for only a brief stretch, appearing in 15 games together during the 1995 season.

This dual on-card auto is a major card for Yankees fans from this era. On-card autographs from the late 1990s with this level of color, clarity, and penmanship are rare! While dual, triple, and quad autograph cards are standard in today's hobby, a pre-2000 dual on-card auto, especially one graded PSA 10, is incredibly rare.