’30-YOC Top Ten Lists’ – Top Ten Topps Traded Rookie Baseball Cards!!!
This Top Ten list stems from a few emails between myself and loyal ’30-YOC’ reader Matt. Matt and I traded emails earlier in the week about our favorite cards and sets from the 1980’s. The conversation was fun and it took both of us back to our childhood when we both rabid collectors.
It was during that email string that I thought it would be fun to rank my favorite Topps Traded rookie cards from the 1980s. There are some fantastic cards that fit that mold, and it will shock you to see which ones only made the ‘Honorable Mention’ list.
The way that I complied my list is that I tried my best to recall how popular the card was when it was released and then also look at how it is treated in today’s hobby. I also discounted any player that had a multi-player rookie card in a Topps base set and then an individual card in the traded set that is also known as a rookie card, so cards like Tim Raines from the 1981 Traded set and Cal Ripken from the 1982 Traded set were purposely skipped.
Ready to get started? Let’s go!!!
Honorable Mention – Julio Franco (83), Bret Saberhagen (84), Ozzie Guillen (85), Andres Galarraga (86), Wally Joyner (86), Kevin Mitchell (86), David Cone (87), Benito Santiago (87), Fred McGriff (87), Jim Abbott (88), Mark Grace (88), Ron Gant (88), Tino Martinez (88), Robin Ventura (88), and Deion Sanders (89).
10 – Roberto Alomar, 1988
9 – Vince Coleman, 1985
8 – Will Clark, 1986
7 – Darryl Strawberry, 1983
6 – Ken Griffey, Jr., 1989
5 – Jose Canseco, 1986
4 – Greg Maddux, 1987
3 – Bo Jackson, 1986
2 – Barry Bonds, 1986
1 – Dwight Gooden, 1984
And there you have it.
Did I get it right or screw it up royally?? Let me know what you think of my picks.
30-Year Old Cardboard 
Nice list. I concur!
Like a lot of your card selections! My list would be:
10. Alomar 1988
9. Sanders 1989
8. Clark 1986
7. Strawberry 1983
6. Maddux 1987
5. Canseco 1986
4. Bonds 1986
3. Jackson 1986
2. Griffey Jr. 1989
1. Gooden 1984
Matt- nice picks by you! Ultimately, I did not think the Griffey lived up to the hype of the UD card which is why it was much lower on my list. I think that still holds true today.
The Griffey isn’t like the UD, but it is still a Griffey RC and any Griffey RC is worth picking up over just about any other RC over the past 30 years.
Matt- Topps really missed out by not having him in the base set. By the time the Tradef card was released, UD was king. And the Donruss RR was pretty highly sought after too.
Gotta throw in the 1981 Topps Traded Danny Ainge
Rob- Really? In the Top 10?
In no particular order:
1. 81 Fernando Valenzuela
2. 82 Cal Ripken Jr.
3. 83 Darryl Strawberry
4. 84 Dwight Gooden
5. 86 Bo Jackson
6. 86 Barry Bonds
7. 87 Greg Maddux
8. 88 Roberto Alomar
9. 89 Ken Griffey Jr.
10.81 Tim Raines
Rich- awesome list! Very well done.
The Gooden card deserves to be number 1