Player: Cal Ripken Jr.
Set: 1982 Fleer, Donruss and Topps
Card Number: 176, 405 and 21 respectively
Why is These Cards are Must Have?: Since 1984 this has been a must have set of cards. Ripken will go down in history as one of the best players to ever grace the field. Personally I have all three versions, but my favorite has always been the Donruss. The Fleer one looks like it was taken on a High School baseball field and the Topps one makes him look kind of sickly. I like the Donruss one because it’s a great shot of him and he looks all business, like he was in real life. As far as what he did on the field, you have The Streak, his two MVPs and the Rookie of the Year awards, 19 consecutive All Star selections, eight Silver Slugger awards, two Gold Glove awards, 3184 hits and 431 home runs. Interestingly, there are three players on his top ten in similarity who are not in the Hall of Fame Biggio, Kent, and Dawson. Biggio and Kent are in, so now what about Dawson? Yet another argument in his favor.
On a Scale of 1 to 10, How Must Have Are These Cards?: A 10 for all the cards, it’s the Ironman, as close to a Legend as our generation may ever see. Someone whose name will stand the test of time, someone who you can tell your grandkids you saw play and they would look at you in awe. You can find these cards on eBay for about $10 for Fleer and Donruss, but expect to pay between $25 – $35 for the Topps version.
The ’82 Topps traded card of Ripken is worth a lot more than these three, as I’m sure you know.
I am well aware of the 82 traded. However when talking about must have cards, does this one come to mind or the 82 traded? For me it’s this one. As I could get it from a pack of cards. Topps never issued the traded cards in a set, so I always felt this card was better than the traded one. Even if the traded one was worth 3 times as much.
[...] Why is These Cards are Must Have?: Since 1984 this has been a must have set of cards. Ripken will go down in history as one of the best players to ever grace the field. Personally I have all three versions, but my favorite has always been the Donruss. The Fleer one looks like it was taken on a High School baseball field and the Topps one makes him look kind of sickly…..” [Click here to read the rest] [...]
I just wanted to say that I love your sections on The Definitive Collection and Tales from The Bargain Bin. You do fantastic reviews that really interest me. I go to your website every day. Great job in keeping the hobby interest up.
Thanks for the words of encouragement! Also thank you for being a daily blog reader.