Friday Five: My Favorite 1988 Topps and Topps Traded Cards

I got a copy of the 1988 Topps set from my parents for Christmas that year. I was excited about getting a complete set, so I opened the set box and sorted out all of the cards. Everyone from the 1980s knows you are supposed to leave your complete Topps sets sealed, right? I was in fifth grade and baseball cards are fun, of course I opened the box. Also, it's the 1988 Topps set.  You can probably find a copy of the set at your local thrift shop for $5.  

There are probably multiple copies for less than $5 at your thrift shop.  

Is the 1988 Topps set unpopular because it's really that bad, or because it lacks a signature rookie card Truth be told, I kind of dig the 1988 Topps set. The design is underrated.  

Topps is using the 1988 design as an insert set with the 2023 Topps set. Many have not liked the 1988 Topps set for the past thirty years, but you're going to love it now and buy all the retail packs from Target and Wal-Mart.  

I personally like the Nolan Arenado card.  

Now, let me get to the countdown. I am going to include cards from the 1988 Topps Traded set in this post, because there are some good cards in there and it is also a $5 set.  

Shall we?  

5T. 1988 Topps Traded Andy Benes #14T 

5T. 1988 Topps Traded Ron Gant #39T 

I did not touch the 1988 Topps Traded set until the Cardinals signed Andy Benes and Ron Gant as a free agents before the 1996 season. There was a high-end card store that was a few minutes from my house back in the 1990s. When the Cardinals signed Benes and Gant, they set out a huge stack of 1988 Topps Traded sets on one of their counters with all the sets costing $10. I bought the set expecting it to have a Ron Gant rookie and a bunch of junky cards. 

Not the case.  

As a Cardinals fan, I got cards of Jose DeLeon, Luis Alicea, and Tom Brunansky on top of Gant and Andy Benes. There was also David Wells, Jim Abbott, and Roberto Alomar amongst others. It's a pretty good set and I have no idea how it is only crispy Alexander Hamilton.  

4. 1988 Topps Traded Robin Ventura #124T

Robin Ventura is not quite a Hall of Famer. One of the best third baseman from the 1990s and early 2000s, just a step below players like Scott Rolen. In the aftermath of the 1982 Topps Traded set, every Topps Traded set had a potential Cal Ripken waiting to rising from the checklist. This was the "it" card from the 1988 Topps Traded set. Not sure it was every really all that expensive at any point, but the fact that the card costs less than a dollar is insanity.  

This card should cost at least a dollar at a minimum.  

3. 1988 Topps Vince Coleman #1 

I loved the design of the Record Breakers cards in the 1988 Topps set. That red background really pops and it was great to see a Cardinals player on the first card of a Topps set.  The Record Breaker was for Coleman's third consecutive season with more than 100 stolen bases. I believe that Topps has reused this design in one of their Throwback/Customer Direct products.  

Here is the moment.......

The previous record was held by Rickey Henderson.  

2. 1988 Topps Mark McGwire #580 

Mark McGwire with a Topps All-Star Rookie logo in the corner. It was a no-brainer. No goatee or crazy muscles, just skinny Mark McGwire holding a bat and posing for a picture. This is one of my favorite early McGwire cards. Topps also used a picture from this same photo shoot on McGwire's 1988 Glossy Mail-In card and the A's Team Leaders card.  

I am sure if I looked hard enough, Topps has probably recycled these photos on modern McGwire cards as well. It would be borderline shocking if they have not.  

1. 1988 Cardinals Leaders #351 

Great picture here with long-time Cardinals player, manager, and coach Red Schoendienst standing next to catcher Tony Pena. Most coaches do not get cards, so it was nice to see someone as high-profile as Red get the nod from Topps. It is somewhat surprising that Pena appeared on this card over some of the more popular 1980s Cardinals players like Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, or Vince Coleman. 

Still, not a complete reach.  

If you weren't around for 1980s baseball, Pena was the premier defensive catcher in the league and the Cardinals were loaded with Gold Glovers. The Cardinals had outfielders to spare, but no catcher. Prior to the 1987 season, the Cardinals traded Andy Van Slyke to the Pirates for Pena. The Cardinals ended up winning the National League that season, but injuries caught up with them in the World Series and they lost in seven games. 

A card back.  

Solid numbers on the Cardinals Team Leaders. I am sure Red helped somehow, someway. 

2000 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects Scott Rolen and Robin Ventura Autographs

I picked up a pair of really cool cards this past weekend from the 2000 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects set.  If you aren't familiar with this set, it is definitely worth your time to become a little better acquainted.  The set features plenty of autographs that are all on card with a nice white background and all of them include a piece of game jersey.  In many ways the design reminds me of a vertical version of the 1999 SP Signature Series autographs.  

2000 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects Scott Rolen Jersey/Autograph

I will start with the Rolen card since I have actually collected him at one point in my career.  The signature on the card isn't the best for Rolen and it appears slightly faded, but I still love this card.  This is actually the second copy of this card that I own, but my other copy has a plain white piece of jersey.  I like the red pinstripe from the Phillies uniform.  Copies of this card a plentiful, inexpensive, and worth a look for your collection. 

2000 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects Robin Ventura Jersey/Autograph

The Ventura card might be a little bit more popular then the Rolen card at the moment given his success as the White Sox manager this season.  I've never collected Ventura cards, but he was on a bunch of teams and collectors of the White Sox, Mets, Dodgers, and Yankees all kind of dig his cards from my previous experiences.  I like this card a little bit better than the Rolen, especially since the signature seems to be in better shape.  It's also my first Ventura autograph that wasn't a 1997 Donruss Signature Series or a really bad in-person autograph.  

2000 Skybox Metal Robin Ventura Autograph (in-person)

The texture of the Skybox Metal cards makes them less than ideal for signing.  

30 Year Top 50: 1988 Topps Traded

#41-There cannot be any ties on my Top 50 countdown of the past 30 years, but this was by far the set I tossed over in my mind the longest.  Mainly because I am trying not to duplicate sets on the countdown.  So, if you read this write up for this set and like the set below, the 1988 Score Rookie/Traded, better I understand.  A similar thing happened back on #46 with the 2004 and 2005 Bowman Heritage set.  With those two sets I gave the nod to the 2004 set because of style.  Today, I am going with content.  No style involved in this post.

In my opinion the most important rookie card in the 1988 Topps Traded set is the Roberto Alomar.  Despite spitting in the face of an umpire, Alomar is one of the best second baseman of the modern era and was a part of two World Championships in Toronto and a good run of playoff teams in Cleveland. Alomar probably stuck around a few too many years at the end of his career, but still had a great overall career.

1988 Topps Traded Roberto Alomar

Besides the Alomar, there were a few other solid rookies cards in this set that are worth the time and expense to add to your collection.  Especially given that, like other late 80's wax, this set was overproduced and is easy to find on the cheap.  If you pay more than $10 you've probably spent too much.  It also means that if you are a single card collector, these cards are all easy to find and inexpensive.

Now, Alomar is the only Hall of Fame rookie in this set, but the other important rookies in this set were solid Major League players.  Perhaps one of them played a long time for one of your favorite teams.  First up is Tino Martinez.  As a Cardinals fan my memories of Tino are not good, but I also understand that he was apart of a good run of Yankees teams that won multiple championships.  Not a Hall of Famer, but a good player and certainly a favorite target of many collectors.

1988 Topps Traded Tino Martinez

My sleeper card in this set belongs to the current White Sox manager Robin Ventura.  At the time this card was printed Ventura was a pretty hot commodity coming off a great college career at Oklahoma State which included the 1988 Golden Spikes Award for the top college player.  

1988 Topps Traded Robin Ventura

Ventura is another player who is short of Hall of Fame credentials as a player, but certainly had some great moments in his career.  Most famously, his walk off Grand Slam while playing for Mets which was later ruled a single after the Mets players mobbed him and did not allow him to circle the bases.  He also charged the mound against Nolan Ryan.  Turned out poorly.  I put Ventura in my sleeper category because of his potential as a manager.  This year was Ventura's first year in the dugout and most would have to agree that he far exceeded expectations.  Worth watching.

There are a few other solid rookies in the set beyond the three pictured above including: Andy Benes, Charles Nagy, Jim Abbott, and Brady Anderson.  

Like the 1988 Topps Traded set?  Not in my Top 50 countdown in the 1988 Score Rookie Traded set.  This set is similar to the Topps Traded set in many ways, but each set has some unique features.  First, the Topps Traded set has more rookie cards.  Ventura, Martinez, and most of my other key rookies from the list above on the 1988 Topps Traded set are not included in this set.  However, there is still a Roberto Alomar rookie card.

1988 Score Rookie Traded Roberto Alomar

I have seen some collectors put a premium on the Score Alomar rookie, but both the Topps and this card generally sell for the same price currently.  The other attraction to the Score Rookie set is the addition of Craig Biggio to the set who is not included in the 1988 Topps Traded set.

1988 Score Rookie Traded Craig Biggio 

Biggio should get into the Hall of Fame at some point considering he played several seasons as a catcher, a second baseman, and an outfielder.  I believe he was one of a handful of players to make an All-Star team at different positions.  Biggio was also able to reach 3000 hits during his final season in the Majors.  All spent as an Astro.  

Both the Alomar and Biggio are inexpensive rookie cards and, like the 1988 Topps Traded set, the 1988 Score Rookie Traded set is an easy find and shouldn't cost anymore than $10.  The style of the Score cards leaves a lot to be desired, but I was never a big fan of the 1988 Topps set either.  Still, both sets are great additions to any collection.