300 All-Time Stars Baseball Cards in 1988 (3)

This is a continuation of a series of cards listed in the 300 All-Time Stars Baseball Cards published by Consumer Digest as an investment guide for baseball card collectors. See the previous post here. To recap, any text in quotations is a direct quote from the book. I give an inflation adjusted value for the 1988 price in parentheses. And a note on price comparisons from 1988 to now. I don't know where Consumer Digest got their prices but I'm using Beckett for current prices because it's convenient. If you really want to know what a card is worth try looking for it on eBay.

In my last post, I missed 2 players, so let's pick them up and go on. One thing I noted is that they completely missed Barry Bonds.

Bert Blyleven - "Though not as hot as the cards of other pitchers, Blyleven's pasteboards are attractive to collectors because of their low prices now and their potential for increased value in the future". "Pasteboards"? Blyleven was a pretty good picture who amassed a 287-250 record over a 22 year career, which ended in 1993. The book speculates that he might reach 4,000 strikeouts, which I think, is what they are basing their supposition that his cards would increase in value. He didn't reach 4,000 but a respectable 3,701, good enough for number 5 on the career all time list. They list his 1971 Topps card at $5.50 ($14.61). Beckett lists this card at $20.00 today, easily beating inflation.

Wade Boggs - "His most recent cards start out at about 90 cents and climb upward quickly. With little room for upward price movement, we can't recommend buying his cards. But hang onto those you find in packs - they're like money in the bank". Maybe more like money in a failed savings and loan perhaps. Boggs had an 18-year career and a life time batting average of 0.328. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2005. Despite the book raving about his stats, they make no mention of a possible HOF berth. They list his 1983 Topps card at $23 ($42.50) which they say isn't worth buying. Well, Beckett lists that card currently at $15, so I guess they were right. You can get an ungraded card on eBay right now for less than $10.

Gary Carter - "If he should make it into the Hall of Fame, those who invest in his cards now will enjoy a nice profit at that time". I sure don't have any definitive data on this, but its not been my experience that getting elected to the Hall of Fame automatically helps a player's card prices. It didn't seem to do much for Wade Boggs cards. Carter was an 11-time All Star whose career spanned 19 years. And he was elected to the Hall of Fame, in 2003. How has his rookie card held up? The book lists his 1975 Topps card at a hefty $32 ($59.19). Beckett says $15. So much for the HOF bump. Although maybe if you had a real nice copy of the card you'd be happy. There are 2 PSA 9 cards on eBay with an asking price of $450. Sounds way over priced to me.

Joe Carter - "Wise collectors will snap up his cards while they are still ten to 20 cents as Carter undoubtedly has a great future". In Beckett land, Joe Carter is a minor star so those mid to late 1980s cards are still ten to 20 cents. Carter retired in 1989 after a 16-year career. His 0.259 BA and 396 homer runs are probably not going to get him into the Hall of Fame. They list his 1984 Donruss rookie card (a nice looking card for sure) at $6.50 ($12.02). Beckett lists it at $8.00 so not much of an investment in 1988.

Jack Clark - "Cardinals' fans and card collectors can look forward to further heroics from Jack Clark in coming seasons - it they can keep him healthy - which would do good things to the value of his cards". Clark actually played for the Yankees in 1988, hitting 27 home runs and batting 0.241. He also struck out 141 times. Clark hit 340 home runs in his 18-year career, good for 81st on the all time list, but he also struck out 1,441 time, good for 51st on the all time list. With a career batting average of 0.267 and having retired 16 years ago, he seems unlikely to get into the HOF. The book lists his 1977 Topps rookie card at $10 ($18.50), which Beckett lists today at $3.00.