Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Cards For Smart Budgets

Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards are what got most baseball collectors of the past half-century hooked on the hobby! In 1989, the four major sports card manufacturers were churning out baseball cards at a record pace, trying to keep up with demand. Griffey was a hot prospect for the Seattle Mariners who hadn’t played baseball above the Double-A level, but Upper Deck chose to place him first in their inaugural release, and two other manufacturers followed suit, including him in their 1989 product, too. (Topps waited until their Topps Traded box, though.)

Nicknamed, “The Kid,” Griffey wouldn’t disappoint as a young baseball player, and his backwards hat and contagious smile gave ‘90s kids someone to grab onto as their own. His father, Ken Griffey Sr., was a three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion with the Reds and Yankees, making the “Ken Griffey” name an important one in baseball. Griffey Sr. would end up playing for the Mariners, which meant he was a teammate of Junior’s in 1990 and 1991!

The first overall draft pick in the 1987 MLB Draft, Junior would eventually become a 13-time All-Star, hit 630 home runs and win 10 Gold Glove Awards, playing 22 seasons in the majors, with the Mariners and Reds.

At a time when baseball fans were moving away to basketball and football, mostly due to the 1994 labor dispute, Griffey kept many fans excited about the game. Injuries would slow him down in his later years, and other home run hitters, like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa allegedly used PEDs to steal the home run spotlight, Griffey still remains one of the most collectable athletes of the 20th century.

Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Cards

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice, as I am not a financial planner. These are my observations as a sports card collector. Please make your own decisions. Note that we usually reference “mint” PSA 9 slabs, as opposed to the “Gem-Mint” PSA 10 slabs. If you can afford the PSA 10 version, those are almost always better investments. These cards rank among the very best baseball rookie cards ever.

Flagship True Rookie Card: 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. #1 Star Rookie PSA 10 – $2,400

Despite being created at the peak of the junk wax era and becoming the most graded card in PSA’s history, with over 100,000 copies graded so far, this first card from Upper Deck still holds value. PSA 9s cost around $180, but the most common grade, PSA 8s, can be purchased for about $85, which makes one of the most iconic baseball cards in sports history a great value.

This card has a rich history, though, with some amazing facts you might not already know!

Budget-Friendly Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Cards

I proudly invented “The Griffey Grand Slam,” which means one Griffey Jr. RC from each of the four main baseball card manufacturers at that time (not including Bowman). Depending on the grades, you can buy all four of them graded for less than $200, and you can buy a small baseball card display devoted specifically to this four-card collection for under $40.

1989 Donruss Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card #33 PSA 9 $30

• This Donruss card, along with the Upper Deck, Fleer and Topps Traded Griffey cards, rank among the top-10 all-time most-graded sports cards by PSA.

1989 Fleer Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card #548 PSA 9 $25

• While this ’89 Fleer set is more notable for the Billy Ripken F-Face card and Randy Johnson’s Marlboro billboard variations, but Griffey’s rookie card is still highly sought-after.

1989 Topps Traded Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card #41T PSA 9 $25

• Topps fumbled the ball on this one, not having Griffey in their initial flagship release of 1989. They amended it in their Traded set, but people couldn’t pull a Griffey card from a Topps pack until 1990, when he thankfully also had the Topps All-Star Rookie Cup.

1989 Bowman Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Card #220 PSA 9 $30

• Another nice, cheap option is the Bowman card of Griffey, which was a brand Topps purchased in 1956 and rekindled in the late ‘80s.

Injuries robbed us of seeing Griffey chase down Hank Aaron’s home run record, but The Kid still hit 660 home runs, and he is one of just 31 players to have played in four different decades. Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards are still a huge part of the hobby, just like Michael Jordan in basketball, Tom Brady in football and Wayne Gretzky in hockey. Of course, Griffey ranks among the very best baseball rookie cards ever.