Ranking the G.O.A.TS - ROOKIE BASEBALL CARD EDITION
- Doug Karlberg-Erlien
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Welcome back to this excersise in researching the top 10 G.O.A.Ts in the four major sports. I knew that baseball was going to be the trickiest as the names are vintage. Again, we aren't in for an argument about who is omitted and put in, the ten (with a bonus) can easily be argued to be an all time great!
Looking for a longer play? Here we go!
Data comes courtesy of our friends over at SportsCardsPro.com!
With out question, a grail card, the 33 Goudey is a perfect investment card. While raw cards are rare (1 sale Since January 1) there are lower graded cards available on eBay! A SGC Authentic just sold for $3,850 on April 21. While higher graded cards go for millions, let's look lower graded options.
Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Comps | $18,700 | $15,925 | $7,489 |
Pop | 163 | 197 | 304 |
Sales (Since 1/1) | 4 | 2 | 6 |
Say hey Willie! A Mays rookie will run you just over $3,000 in raw condition. There have been nine sales since January 1 so finding a raw copy online is tricky. The lower the grade, the higher the pop count giving you an opportunity to grab one.
Grade | 6 | 5 | 4 |
Comp | $28,620 | $17,595 | $9,758 |
Pop | 244 | 314 | 319 |
Sales (Since 1/1) | 4 | 8 | 7 |
Plenty of lower grade Aaron rookies exist and can be had on eBay. a PSA 1 most recently sold for $1,869 on March 18. While there isn't a whole lot of movement, you can find several on eBay and ComC.
Grade | 6 | 5 | 4 |
Comp | $11,575 | $7,339 | $4,601 |
Pop | |||
Sales (Since 1/1) | 4 | 9 | 2 |
Teddy Ball Game has had one raw card sold since January 1, it went for $3,250. Like so many of the other all-time greats, graded plays are the way to go. It'll be tricky finding one as there have only been 13 graded sales since January 1.
Grade | 5 | 4 | 3 |
Comps | $9,783 | $8,463 | $5,825 |
Pop | |||
Sales (Since 1/1) | 4 | 4 | 1 |
In a word, RARE! One PSA 9 sold through Heritage Auctions in September 2024 for $870,000. One raw card sold through Heritage on 2026 selling for $3,416.
Grade | 4 | 3 | 2 |
Comp | $10,512 | $6,413 | $5,030 |
Pop | 177 | 212 | 0 |
Sales (Since 1/1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The only modern player on the list, Bonds rookie card is affordable across both raw and graded. You can scoop his Fleer rookie for right around $5. This card has sold more the 30 times since January 1. Raw to grade plays are a bit risky as you'll need to hit a 10 to make money. Anything else, you'll be under water.
Grade | 10 | 9 | 8 |
Comp | $525 | $29.76 | $14.25 |
Pop | 1,295 | 11,499 | 13,017 |
Sales (Since 1/1) | 12 | 30+ | 30+ |
If you find one, grab it! There are only eight recorded sales which makes this card a unicorn! There was one PSA 7 sale in June, 2024 for $48,000.
Similar to Johnson, scarce. One raw card sold on March 16 for $5,246. Most recently, an SGC 2 sold for $3,399. Sales are rare finding one seems to be even more so.
Here we go...back into some data. the 33 Gehrig has moved 8 times in raw condition since January 1. A PSA 9 sold on March 16 for $225,700. You can find plenty of Gehrig available graded on eBay!
Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Comp | $7,599 | $4,990 | $3,025 |
Pop | 226 | 284 | 336 |
Sales (Since 1/1) | 3 | 1 | 12 |
If you are going to scoop a Musial rookie, already graded options are probably your play although there have been five raw sales since January 1. Pop counts aren't too high for lower graded cards either.
Grade | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Comps | $1,216 | $1,094 | $915 |
Pop | 226 | 284 | 336 |
Sales (Since 1/1) | 3 | 1 | 12 |
Another holy grail card in the hobby. The 52 Mantle can be had but be prepared for the price tag! The Mantle has sold raw through Goldin three times since January 1 for an average of $47,000 and change.
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