11 Best MLB Rookie Cards To Own Since 2020! - Ep. 3.22

From Rookie to Farewell: Every Mickey Mantle Base Card Has a Story! - Ep. 3.26

The Complete Mickey Mantle Base Card Story: Looking at All 21 Base Cards Over 19 Seasons! Mickey Mantle had 21 base cards across an 18-year career. Twenty-one little rectangles of cardboard that tell the story of the greatest switch-hitter who ever lived — from a wide-eyed rookie in 1951 to a legend saying goodbye in 1969. Today we’re going card by card through all of them. Bowman, Topps, oil paintings, TV-set borders, wood grain, ocean-dumped rarities — it’s all here. And every single one has a story worth knowing. 1951 Bowman — The True Rookie This is the last card depicting a fully healthy Mickey Mantle. He tore his ACL in Game 2 of the 1951 World Series and played the remaining 17 years of his career without a fully intact ACL — and still became one of the greatest players who ever lived. 1952 Topps — The Mona Lisa Legend has it that Topps couldn’t sell the high-number series, so they loaded boxes onto a barge and dumped them into the ocean — taking cards of Mantle, Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, and the Eddie Mathews rookie card down with them. The scarcity that created is a big reason this card is worth more than Mantle’s actual rookie. 1952 Bowman — The Consolation Prize Imagine cracking a pack, pulling a 1952 Mickey Mantle — and realizing it’s not the Topps. That’s the collector’s equivalent of pulling a Griffey Jr. rookie and finding out it’s the Topps Traded instead of the Upper Deck. Times a million. 1953 Topps — The $25 Masterpiece Many collectors consider this Mantle’s best-looking card. Every image in this set was an individual oil painting commissioned from New Jersey artist Gerry Dvorak — who charged Topps just $25 per painting. 1953 Bowman — Color Comes First Contrary to popular belief, the first color photographs on baseball cards didn’t appear in 1957 Topps. They were right here, in 1953 Bowman — four full years earlier. PSA considers it among the most beautiful sets of the modern era. 1954 Bowman — The Contract Year Mantle was locked into a Bowman-only contract, meaning if you wanted a Mantle card in 1953 or 1954, Bowman was your only option. Topps fans had to wait. 1955 Bowman — The TV Set Bowman framed this card to look like a television set — and if you look closely at the bottom of the frame, it says “Color TV.” Interesting, given that color TVs had only just reached consumer markets in 1954 and wouldn’t go mainstream for another decade. 1956 Topps — Topps Takes Over Topps purchased Bowman in January 1956, ending the card wars for good. This is Mantle’s first Topps card in three years — and the first Topps card where he’s actually smiling. 1957 Topps — The Card That Set the Standard This set standardized the 2½” × 3½” card size. The same dimensions every trading card still uses today, more than 65 years later. 1958 Topps — The Only Time It Happened This is the only year that Mantle, Ted Williams, and Stan Musial all appeared in the same Topps set together. It never happened before, and it never happened again. 1959 Topps — The Red Border Sometimes the fact is simple: that red border just works. Compared to the yellow background on the 1958 card, this one pops in a way that makes it one of the most visually satisfying Mantle cards of the decade. 1960 Topps — Circus Tent Mantle’s last landscape-format card features a beautiful main photo — and then an inset that cuts off the top of his bat and hides his feet behind the Yankees logo, all against a coral background. It’s a lot. 1961 Topps — Six Cards Deep The 1961 Topps set contains more Mickey Mantle cards than any other — six in total, including base, league leader, All-Star, and two separate home run highlight cards. Topps knew what they had. 1962 Topps — The Wood Grain The iconic wood-grain border became so beloved that Topps brought it back exactly 25 years later in 1987 — creating another iconic set for a whole new generation of collectors. We’re still waiting on 2012. 1963 Topps — Already a Legend The back of this card notes that Mantle already ranked seventh all-time in home runs. He was 31 years old. He had six seasons left to play. Worth thinking about the next time you watch Shohei Ohtani, who is that same age right now in 2026. 1964 Topps — The Accessible One The bold team names across the top divide collectors, but there’s an upside: this set isn’t particularly condition-sensitive, making it one of the more budget-friendly ways to land a Mantle card in solid shape. 1965 Topps — First Homer in the Dome Mantle played in the exhibition game that inaugurated the Astrodome — the world’s first domed stadium — and hit the very first home run ever struck inside that building, on April 9, 1965. 1966 Topps — Just the One This was the first time since 1956 that Mantle appeared on just a single card in an entire Topps set. No All-Star card, no league leaders, no combo. Just this one. 1967 Topps — Wrong Position, Right Story The card lists him as “Outfield” — but Mantle played first base the entire 1967 season because his body was too worn down for the outfield. The DH rule was still six years away. One has to wonder how many more seasons it might have bought him. 1968 Topps — Limited Stats The vertical card back returned for the second straight year, limiting how much of Mantle’s career stats collectors could see. Topps fixed it the following year — just in time for the farewell. 1969 Topps — The Last One Mantle announced his retirement on March 1, 1969 — and it’s noted right on the back of this card. His final stat line: 536 career home runs, third all-time behind only Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. This card also shares a set with Reggie Jackson’s rookie card — the passing of one Yankee legend, the arrival of another. Which Mickey Mantle base card is your favorite? Reply and let me know — or drop it in the comments! If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed: 🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆 We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s. The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World * 📺 YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/davidgonos]: 9.1K Subscribers * 📬 Newsletter [https://gonos.substack.com/]: 1.6K readers * 🎙️ Podcast [https://gonos.substack.com/podcast]: 500+ podcast downloads/episode * 🌐 DavidGonos.com [https://davidgonos.com/] - 1K daily visits Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/basketball-card-podcasts/], Top 10 Football Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/football-card-podcasts/] and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/hockey-card-podcasts/]! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts! Happy Hobby! Build a better sports card collection on a real-world budget! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gonos.substack.com [https://gonos.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Sports Card Collection Pillars: How to Define, Refine, and Avoid Common Mistakes - Ep. 3.25

How to define your collecting focus, avoid random buys, and build a collection with real identity. What Are the Pillars of Your Sports Card Collection? Every sports card collection needs a backbone. Without one, it’s easy to drift into impulse buys, chase hype, and end up with a stack of cards that doesn’t really tell a story. That’s why understanding the pillars of your collection matters so much: they give your hobby purpose, focus, and staying power. The good news is that pillars are not complicated. They’re simply the main themes, standards, and goals that define what belongs in your collection and what doesn’t. What are “Collection Pillars? Your pillars are the core lanes of your collection. They might be built around players, teams, eras, sets, grades, card types, or a combination of those things. For example, a collector might focus on: * Favorite players from childhood. * Hall of Famers from the 1980s. * Rookie cards only. * Graded cards in strong condition. * A specific team or franchise. A pillar becomes more powerful when it includes a standard, not just a subject. “Michael Jordan cards” is a theme. “Michael Jordan cards from key sets in PSA 8 or better” is a pillar. Why Pillars Matter Pillars make your collection easier to manage because they act as a filter. When a card comes up for sale, you can quickly ask whether it fits your lane or whether it’s just an attractive distraction. They also help with budgeting. Instead of spreading your money across random cards, you can concentrate on the cards that matter most to your goals. And just as important, pillars make your sports card collection more satisfying. A focused collection feels intentional, while a scattered one can feel like a pile of unrelated purchases. If you ever want to explain your collection to another collector, or even to yourself a year from now, having clear pillars makes that much easier. How to Choose Your Pillars The best place to start is with your why. Ask yourself what you actually enjoy most in the hobby: * Nostalgia. * A favorite team. * A favorite era. * Rookie cards. * Vintage cards. * Graded cards. * Rare inserts or parallels. * Autographs. * A specific set build. Then narrow that into a few lanes you can realistically sustain. Most collectors do better with three to five pillars than with a dozen loosely connected ideas. A simple formula helps: I collect subject in format/standard from era or set because reason. * Example: I collect graded rookie cards of my favorite players from the 1980s and 1990s because that era brings back the best memories. That kind of statement gives your collection direction. How to Improve Your Pillars Once you have them, the next step is refining them. You improve collection pillars by making them: * More specific. * More realistic. * More aligned with your budget. * More consistent with your taste. * Easier to buy for over time. If your focus is too broad, narrow it down. If your standards are too loose, define them more clearly. If your budget keeps getting stretched, adjust the lane so it fits your actual collecting life instead of your fantasy collecting life. A good pillar should feel both exciting and sustainable. If it only works when the market is hot or your wallet is full, it probably needs refinement. Common Mistakes to Avoid The biggest mistake is making your collection too broad. Collectors often start with a vague idea, then keep expanding until the original focus disappears. That’s how “collecting my favorite team” turns into buying anything that looks cool. Other common mistakes include: * Copying someone else’s collection instead of building your own. * Chasing hype instead of staying true to your goals. * Setting too many rules and making the hobby feel like homework. * Changing direction so often that the collection never develops an identity. Refining your collection should make it stronger, not more confusing. A Simple Decision Test Before you buy a card, ask: * Does it fit one of my pillars? * Does it meet my standards? * Would I still want it if the price did not move? If the answer is yes to all three, it probably deserves a place in your collection. If not, it may just be a distraction. That little check can save you a lot of money and a lot of regret. Build Your Story The best collections are not just piles of cards. They’re stories. Your pillars are what give that story shape. They tell you what to chase, what to pass on, and how to keep the hobby fun without losing focus. So if your collection feels scattered, don’t just buy more cards. Step back and define the backbone first. Once the pillars are clear, everything else gets easier. The strongest card collections are not the biggest ones — they’re the ones with the clearest identity. I want to know — what are the pillars of your sports card collection! Let us know in the comments below! If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed: 🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆 We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s. The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World * 📺 YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/davidgonos]: 9.1K Subscribers * 📬 Newsletter [https://gonos.substack.com/]: 1.6K readers * 🎙️ Podcast [https://gonos.substack.com/podcast]: 500+ podcast downloads/episode * 🌐 DavidGonos.com [https://davidgonos.com/] - 1K daily visits Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/basketball-card-podcasts/], Top 10 Football Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/football-card-podcasts/] and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/hockey-card-podcasts/]! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts! Happy Hobby! Build a better sports card collection on a real-world budget! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gonos.substack.com [https://gonos.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

What Two Weeks of Getting Hacked Taught Me About This Hobby (and Myself!) - Ep. 3.24

After two weeks of going dark because a hacker hijacked our YouTube channel and Gmail account, we finally regained control and our brains are clearer because of it! Well, I’m back. Build a better sports card collection on a real-world budget — that’s what this whole Happy Hobby world is about, and for two weeks, I genuinely didn’t know if I’d get to keep doing it. If you missed it: my YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@davidgonos] got hacked. Not just the channel — my Gmail too. When those two things go down at once, your entire digital life goes down with them. For a few days, somebody else was me. It took almost two weeks to untangle it. Here’s the story, what it cost me, and what’s changing going forward for the channel, the podcast, and this newsletter. How It Happened! It was 3:30am on a Friday — June 12th, a date that’s now burned into my brain. I have trouble sleeping sometimes, so I got up, sat down at my computer, and started going through email. There was a message from someone wanting me to join their advertiser network — connect your YouTube, they match you with sponsors, that kind of thing. This wasn’t unusual. As the channel grew past 9,000 subscribers, I’d been getting more outreach like this. I’d used legit tools before — VidIQ, Opus Clip — that ask for the same kind of YouTube access. So I Googled the company, found a real-looking website, started signing up, and connected my YouTube. Within 60 seconds, I was locked out of everything. Gmail, YouTube, gone. It was instant, and I knew immediately I’d made a mistake. Whoever did this didn’t just lock me out — they changed my recovery email, my recovery phone number, everything. Fast, practiced, methodical. This wasn’t his first time. This wasn’t just a stolen email — it was stolen identity. A police report had to be filed, in case further issues develop with our credit, bank accounts or tax information. It was a nightmare! What I Lost Almost everything tied to that Google account, which I’d had since 2011: * 15 years of Gmail and contacts * Google Keep — where I kept 100+ video and article ideas, years of sports card history research, website plans, podcast season plans * Google Sheets — every spreadsheet I had (and I love my spreadsheets!) * Every account I’d ever signed into with “Continue with Google” * The backup codes I’d saved for account recovery — which, ironically, I’d also stored in Google Keep That last one still makes me laugh. Write your passwords down somewhere safe that isn’t tied to the account that just got stolen. Use different passwords for different things. I know how obvious that sounds. I learned it the expensive way anyway. My YouTube channel got fully shut down a couple of days later for “violations,” which actually turned out to be a small blessing — the hacker could no longer use my channel, and he’d already posted a live stream of an Elon Musk SpaceX video with a sketchy QR code in the corner. If you ever see something like that: don’t scan it. Apparently that’s exactly how this kind of thing spreads further. Give Me Back My Channel! After days of thinking I was done with sports card content creation (I wasn’t going to start over!), I got some hope via X/Twitter! I tweeted @TeamYouTube [https://x.com/teamyoutube], explained what happened, and they walked me through a recovery form — though even finding my own YouTube ID (different from my handle) took digging through old emails I could barely access. Our buddy Patrick Imhoff [https://substack.com/profile/206781767-patrick-imhoff] — the VP of the Happy Hobby world, and someone I’d given limited posting access to once while I was traveling — posted a video for me explaining the situation to you all, then deleted his own access afterward so the hacker couldn’t use him as a backdoor. That was a genuinely selfless move and I owe him for it. Slowly, things came back. Gmail first, which was the biggest relief because it unlocked Keep and Sheets and everything else. Then, a few days later, YouTube flipped back on — at 11pm on a Friday night, of all times, which meant two videos I’d spent a long time on got auto-posted back-to-back and basically wasted (see The Dandy Dozen Vintage Baseball video below!). You can’t plan for everything. The Community Made This Bearable While all this was happening, I told the Substack readers in the chat [https://substack.com/chat/1332612] what was going on as soon as I could. The response was honestly overwhelming — people reaching out, people sad to see the channel possibly gone for good, people just being kind. It felt like writing a eulogy for something that wasn’t dead yet, and that’s a weird feeling. But it also reminded me why this whole thing is worth doing. This is a genuinely good community. People are kind to each other here. That’s not nothing. This is a genuinely good community. People are kind to each other here. That’s not nothing. What This Forced Me to Notice For the first time since the late ‘90s, I wasn’t creating something every single week. No video, no podcast, no newsletter to get out the door. That’s been my rhythm since I wrote fantasy sports newsletters for my league, fantasy articles for CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, The Athletic, and now 5-plus years of creating Happy Hobby card-collecting content. With that pressure gone for two weeks, I unwound. I read more physical books. I spent more quality time with my wife Shelby. I connected more with my mom, who recently moved in with us. It was a rough way to get there, but it was a real reminder that all this content creation — which I love — takes a lot out of the week. What’s Changing Going Forward I’m not starting over, and I’m not stopping. But it’s going to look a little different: * Fewer, less-produced videos. Less of the heavily edited, cards-flying-in style videos, more of me just talking with you — sharing what I’ve learned, rankings, research. The podcast, video, and newsletter are converging into one combined post, which I was already moving toward. * A rebrand. The YouTube channel is moving from “David Gonos” branding to Happy Hobby Sports Cards as the primary identity going forward. I’d wanted to do this for a while but worried about disrupting the algorithm. Well — starting from near zero now, there’s no better time. * More tools for paid subscribers. I’m leaning into the apps and tools I’ve been building for budget collectors — things that stay valuable long after they’re published, unlike a video that has a short shelf life before people stop searching for it. Paid subscribers will start seeing more of these. * Buddy breaks continue. We just posted one on the 2026 Topps Series 2 Hobby Box [https://youtu.be/_EUeU6-W8uE?si=uPTB7fS8YLhUfmtV], and that’s not going anywhere. * Selling off some of the collection. Partly a security decision — I’ve shown enough of what I own on camera, and I don’t want to be more of a target than I already am. (For what it’s worth: I sold my 1992 Stadium Club Michael Jordan Beam Team for the most I’ve ever sold a card for, which softened the blow considerably.) Keep an eye out — more is coming up for sale. One Ask From You! I’d like to bring in some other voices for the newsletter. If you’ve ever wanted to write something for the Happy Hobby Sports Cards Substack, let me know — email me at gonoscards@gmail.com [gonoscards@gmail.com]. Pitch me an idea. Show me you can put some sentences together! Do you already have a Substack about sports cards? Pitch me an idea for an article where we all benefit — you, me and the Happy Hobby readers! Finally, Thank You! Thank you for sticking around, for the kindness while this was falling apart, and for wanting this thing to come back. It’s not really about me — it’s about the community we’ve built here. I’m just glad I get to keep being part of it. I’m back. Thank you, Happy Hobby. Have you ever been hacked or had something you love hijacked or stolen for a period of time? How did you handle it? If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed: 🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆 We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s. The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World * 📺 YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/davidgonos]: 9.1K Subscribers * 📬 Newsletter [https://gonos.substack.com/]: 1.6K readers * 🎙️ Podcast [https://gonos.substack.com/podcast]: 500+ podcast downloads/episode * 🌐 DavidGonos.com [https://davidgonos.com/] - 1K daily visits Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/basketball-card-podcasts/], Top 10 Football Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/football-card-podcasts/] and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/hockey-card-podcasts/]! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts! Happy Hobby! Build a better sports card collection on a real-world budget! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gonos.substack.com [https://gonos.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

12 Best 2026 Topps Series 2 Baseball Rookie Cards To Target! - Ep. 3.23

While most Series 2 flagship releases seem to pale against their Series 1 and Update counterparts, this year’s 2026 crop appears to be solid! If you want to find all the great rookie cards over the past 70-plus years, check out our article here, listing the Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year! [https://davidgonos.com/who-are-the-best-rookies-from-each-topps-baseball-set/] 12 Best 2026 Topps Series 2 Baseball Rookie Cards To Target! As a member of the eBay Partner Network, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases through the links on this article. Thank you! It’s certainly a nice crop of 2026 Topps Series 2 rookie cards coming in, which I have detailed over at my website DavidGonos.com [https://davidgonos.com/best-2026-topps-series-2-rookie-cards/]. But reading about it isn’t as fun as talking about it, so I turned it into this week’s podcast episode! We want to hear from you — which 2026 Topps Series 2 rookie cards are you chasing? If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed: 🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆 We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s. The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World * 📺 YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/davidgonos]: 9K Subscribers * 📬 Newsletter [https://gonos.substack.com/]: 1.6K readers * 🎙️ Podcast [https://gonos.substack.com/podcast]: 500+ podcast downloads/episode * 🌐 DavidGonos.com [https://davidgonos.com/] - 1K daily visits Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/basketball-card-podcasts/], Top 10 Football Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/football-card-podcasts/] and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/hockey-card-podcasts/]! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts! Happy Hobby! Build a better sports card collection on a real-world budget! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gonos.substack.com [https://gonos.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

11 Best MLB Rookie Cards To Own Since 2020! - Ep. 3.22

Baseball cards are the heart of any great sports card collection – and we’re looking at about a dozen great rookie cards with upside to spare. If you want to find all the great rookie cards over the past 70-plus years, check out our article here, listing the Best MLB Rookie Cards From Every Year! [https://davidgonos.com/who-are-the-best-rookies-from-each-topps-baseball-set/] Counting Down the 11 Best MLB Rookie Cards To Own Since 2020! As a member of the eBay Partner Network, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases through the links on this article. Thank you! Just Missed the Top 11! * 21. Cam Schlittler, SP, N.Y. Yankees (Age 25) – 2026 Topps Card No. 111 * 20. Jacob Misiorowski, SP, Milwaukee Brewers (Age 24) – 2026 Topps Card No. 10 * 19. Cal Raleigh, C, Seattle Mariners (Age 29) – 2022 Topps Card No. 277 * 18. Michael Harris II, OF, Atlanta Braves (Age 25) – 2023 Topps Card No. 226 * 17. Jackson Merrill, OF, San Diego Padres (Age 23) – 2024 Topps Update Card No. US210 * 16. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Chicago Cubs (Age 24) – 2024 Topps Card No. 407 * 15. Wyatt Langford, OF, Texas Rangers (Age 24) – 2024 Topps Update Card No. US151 * 14. Riley Greene, OF, Detroit Tigers (Age 25) – 2023 Topps Card No. 31 * 13. Jackson Chourio, OF, Milwaukee Brewers (Age 22) – 2024 Topps Update Card No. US240 * 12. Tarik Skubal, SP, Detroit Tigers (Age 29) – 2021 Topps Card No. 92 11 Best Baseball Rookie Cards To Own Since 2020! The teams listed are their CURRENT MLB teams. 11. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics (Age 23) * 2025 Topps Update No. US201 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/vAI3ij] Kurtz took the American League by storm in his rookie year, batting .290 with 36 home runs, 86 RBI, and a 1.002 OPS in just 117 games. The A’s scouting director compared him to Matt Olson even before the draft, and scouts envision a Jim Thome-type ceiling if he reaches his peak. At only 23 and coming off a unanimous AL Rookie of the Year award, a parallel of Kurtz’s RC is a legitimate highlight for any collection on the rise. 10. James Wood, OF, Nationals (23) * 2025 Topps No. 181 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/u8PdEF] At just 22, Wood set a new Nationals/Expos franchise record for a rookie with 31 home runs, drove in 94 runs, and swiped 15 bases across 157 games, earning his first All-Star selection. He could go down as the best player Washington received in the Juan Soto trade, and with his massive 6-foot-7 frame still filling out, the power ceiling on his rookie card is enormous. 9. Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros (28) * 2020 Topps No. 276 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/V0JHUX] Since his debut, Alvarez has posted the second-highest wRC+ (164) of any hitter in baseball, trailing only Aaron Judge. He’s a career .297 hitter with 185 home runs, 532 RBI, and a .578 slugging percentage. His 2020 Topps rookie card was printed in the early days of what’s looking more and more like a Hall-of-Fame career, and it only gets more valuable with time. 8. Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays (22) * 2024 Topps No. 628 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/nSRg1h] No one could have predicted Caminero clubbing 45 homers in 2025 during his first full MLB campaign. Baseball America rated his raw power at 80, making him the only player in the minors at the time to receive the top-level power grade. At just 22 years old with that kind of pop already on display, this rookie card is getting hotter by the month. 7. C.J. Abrams, SS, Nationals (25) * 2022 Topps Update No. US34 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/nYqhqt] Abrams slashed .257/.315/.433 with 19 home runs and 31 stolen bases in 2025, his second consecutive near-20/30 season, and remains under team control through 2028. Alongside James Wood in Washington’s young core, he represents one of the most exciting power-speed combinations in the National League. He’s exactly the kind of player whose card collectors love to hold onto for the long haul. 6. Corbin Carroll, OF, Diamondbacks (25) * 2023 Topps No. 401 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/aDEqz0] Carroll had a breakout 2025, hitting .259 with 31 homers, 17 triples, and 32 stolen bases, becoming just the 10th player in MLB history to reach 30+ doubles, 15+ triples, and 30+ home runs in a single season (the third player to do it since 1947 — Jimmy Rollins and Stan Musial). With Carroll’s barrel rate doubling to 14.5% and his hard-hit rate jumping nine points, the power surge appears to be here to stay. This card belongs in the conversation with any young superstar in the hobby right now. 5. Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds (24) * 2024 Topps No. 141 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/tkczdR] De La Cruz hit .264 with 22 homers, 86 RBI, and 37 steals across a full 162-game season in 2025. Still just 24 years old, the potential for a true 30/50 season someday is very much alive, and collectors who believe in that upside have every reason to hold. He’s a blast to watch play, which helps his cardboard upside, too! 4. Gunnar Henderson, SS, Orioles (24) * 2023 Topps No. 206 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/ucCdWq] Henderson’s MVP-caliber 2024 saw him bat .281/.364/.529 with 37 home runs, 118 runs scored, and 92 RBI, finishing fourth in AL MVP voting. While 2025 was a step back, he still posted a 121 OPS+, stole 30 bases, and was worth 5.3 bWAR, numbers that only feel disappointing against the sky-high standard he set himself. At 24, with his best years clearly ahead, this rookie card is a long-term hold. 3. Julio Rodriguez, OF, Mariners (25) * 2022 Topps Update No. US44 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/fUUVfJ] J-Rod hit .267 with 32 home runs, 95 RBI, and 30 stolen bases in 2025, led all center fielders with 6.8 bWAR, and earned a third All-Star selection, all while helping Seattle win its first AL West title since 2001. He’s locked in through at least 2029 on a club-friendly deal, with player options potentially keeping him a Mariner through 2034. That kind of stability makes this card easy to hold with confidence. 2. Paul Skenes, SP, Pirates (24) * 2024 Topps Update No. US100 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/iNkoUV] Skenes posted a 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 216 strikeouts across 32 starts in 2025, leading the NL in ERA and winning the Cy Young Award unanimously. He became only the second pitcher ever to win Rookie of the Year one year and Cy Young the next, duplicating Dwight Gooden’s 1984-85 feat. Through just 55 career starts, he owns a 1.96 ERA. The player makes parallels of this rookie card one to chase, but the photo and card design make it a modern classic. 1. Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals (25) * 2022 Topps Update No. US100 - View current prices on eBay! [https://ebay.us/wosKSy] Witt has won back-to-back Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, been named to the All-MLB First Team twice, and is a career .290 hitter with 107 home runs and 158 stolen bases through age 25. He led the league in hits (184) and doubles (47) in 2025 and has finished in the top seven of AL MVP voting in three straight seasons. The scary part for those not collecting BWJ? The best of Bobby Witt Jr. may genuinely still be ahead of us. We want to hear from you — which great baseball player’s rookie card (from 2020 on) should’ve been on this list? If you enjoyed this post about great baseball rookie cards, check out these posts you might have missed: 🏆 BEST ROOKIE CARDS FROM EVERY YEAR! 🏆 We list the best rookie cards from each flagship release in all four major sports since the 1950s. The Happy Hobby Sports Cards World * 📺 YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/davidgonos]: 9K Subscribers * 📬 Newsletter [https://gonos.substack.com/]: 1.6K readers * 🎙️ Podcast [https://gonos.substack.com/podcast]: 500+ podcast downloads/episode * 🌐 DavidGonos.com [https://davidgonos.com/] - 1K daily visits Our podcasts were ranked by MillionPodcasts.com as one of the Top 10 Basketball Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/basketball-card-podcasts/], Top 10 Football Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/football-card-podcasts/] and Top 10 Hockey Card Podcasts [https://www.millionpodcasts.com/hockey-card-podcasts/]! And we’re aiming to get ranked among the Top 10 Baseball Card Podcasts! Happy Hobby! 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