We all know that baseball cards have the potential to be a nice long-term investment if the player reaches their full potential and you happen to own some of the harder-to-find cards in your collection. Knowing that you are in possession of a collection that gains in value a little bit each day is a nice feeling. However, there are many ways to invest money, so that isn’t the only thing that calls us to back to baseball cards time and again. Along with the financial aspect is the possibility of finding great cards that bring up fun memories, introduce you to new players, complete a set, and more. If you are a long-time baseball card collector you have probably had your share of memorable finds over the years. In fact, as you read through our list of the most exciting baseball cards to find, try to think back to when you experienced these exact situations and just how exciting it was. 

The Card that Completes a Set

No matter if you are trying to complete a small set of 10 or 20 special issue cards, or a full 700+ card set from Topps or another card maker, getting that final card that brings it all together is a great feeling. There is something about the finality of having a full set of cards that is satisfying and makes for a great display as part of your overall collection. When you are searching for just one or two more cards to finish off a set, that quest can be exhaustive and lead you to places you never considered – so when it is all said and done, the accomplishment is worth at least a moment of celebration.

Your Favorite Player

We all have our favorite players. Sometimes they are among the best players in the game, and other times they just happen to play for our favorite team and have a personality that we appreciate. No matter how you came to pick your favorite player, finding their card in a freshly opened pack is an exciting moment. You probably have countless different cards of the player already, but there is always room for one more.

The Rare Special Edition

This one is exciting because the card is usually valuable, and you will know that you are in possession of something that very few other people own. Most card makers have special series within their sets that are hard to find and valued above the standard card sets. If you are lucky enough to land one of these cards within a pack that you have purchased, it will quickly become a prized part of your collection.

The Nostalgic Moment

If you go to a trade show or find an old pack of cards to purchase online, you might find the card of a player whose name you haven’t thought of in years. Maybe they used to be a favorite player of yours and have fallen off the radar. Maybe they played for a rival and you couldn’t stand them. Whatever the case, baseball cards can bring surprisingly strong emotions to the surface when they are first opened – and that is one of the things that we all love so much.

Catchers have a special place within the realm of Major League Baseball, whether it is the famous quips of Yogi Berra or the sweet swing of Johnny Bench.  They not only have to navigate their team’s pitching on a nightly basis but also figure out a way to get on base themselves, and all of the intricacies involved with the position make it one of the most important, if not the most important, roles on a team.  Throughout the decades there have been many great catchers to have played the game, and this article will delve into a handful of them.

Mike Piazza

Mike Piazza will easily go down as the best power hitting catcher of the modern era, and was arguably one of the greatest power hitting catchers of all time as well.  Piazza hit 427 home runs over the course of his career along with driving in 1,335 runs to go with a dazzling .308 average as well.   Mike was selected to the All Star game 12 times over his 16 year career along with winning the Silver Slugger award on 10 different occasions as well.  Piazza’s memorabilia value should continue to climb as the years progress and is already highly popular among many fans of the game today.

Yogi Berra

Berra is not only one of the most well-known New York Yankees players of all time but also one of the best catchers of all time as well.  More than that, he may well be known for his famous quips, such as “I really didn’t say everything I said.”  In nearly 20 years in Major League Baseball Berra put up many impressive numbers, including over 350 home runs, 1,400 RBIs, and a .285 average as well.  Yogi was selected to the All Star game 18 times, and won the AL MVP award in 1951, 1954, and 1955.

Johnny Bench

Bench was the quintessential catcher who could practically do it all, whether it was hitting or playing defense.  In 17 seasons Bench hit .267 with nearly 400 home runs and over 1,300 RBIs as well.  He was selected to 14 All Star games and earned 10 Gold Gloves along with winning the NL MVP award in 1970 and 1972.  His memorabilia continues to be among the mostly highly valued among catchers with Yogi Berra.

Ivan Rodriguez

If Piazza was one of the best power hitting catchers of the modern era, Ivan Rodriguez will more than likely go down as one of the greatest all-around catchers during this time period.  Similar to Johnny Bench Rodriguez could do it all, hitting nearly .300 with 2,844 hits, over 300 home runs, and 1,332 RBIs as well.  He was selected to 14 All Star games over his career and won 13 Gold Gloves along with seven Silver Slugger awards and a lone MVP award in 1999.  Ivan should easily make it into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, and will likely continue to rise in popularity among both memorabilia collectors and fans alike as the years progress.

What makes an outfielder one of the best in Major League Baseball of all time?  Is it the ability to hit for power?  What about having a great glove?  In reality it is a combination of both offensive and defensive skill sets that truly sets certain outfielders apart from others, and what makes their memorabilia so valuable in the eyes of baseball collectors.  What follows are just a few of those special outfielders who changed the way we think about the game.

Ken Griffey Jr.

The sweet swinging Ken Griffey Jr. may likely be among the few outfielders of the modern era to not be linked to steroids and make it into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot, which can only mean his memorabilia will become more collectible over time.  Griffey Jr. was not only an amazing hitter but also one of the best defensive center fielders the game has ever seen.  He hit 630 home runs for his career along with winning 10 Gold Gloves, a feat that may not be surpassed ever again.

Frank Robinson

Robinson was known for his bat more than anything else, and boy did he have a great bat.  Frank hit almost .300 for his career along with nearly 600 home runs and 3,000 hits, a true mark of a great hitter.  He is still the only player to win an MVP award in both leagues, and truly defined an era in baseball alongside Mickey Mantle.

Hank Aaron

Another person who was known to be pretty good with the bat was Hank Aaron, who some say is still the all-time home run king given Barry Bonds’ links to performance enhancing drugs.  Over his 21 year career Aaron hit 755 home runs, but the more impressive feat was the fact that he averaged over .300 with nearly 3,800 hits to his credit as well.  It is truly difficult finding someone who could consistently hit for both power and average over such a long period of time, and that is what makes Aaron’s memorabilia so valuable these days.

Willie Mays

Willie Mays is arguably the greatest player to have ever put on a baseball glove, period.  He had not only an outstanding bat that saw him hit over .300 for his career along with over 3,200 hits and 650 home runs, but as a precursor to Griffey Jr.  won a dozen Gold Gloves and was selected to the All Star game for nearly a quarter of a century, which goes to show that he was a consistently great player and deserving of the Hall of Fame.

Babe Ruth

We can’t forget about one of the most iconic baseball players of all time in Babe Ruth, right?  Ruth’s numbers speak for themselves, with a .342 average, 714 home runs, and nearly 2,900 hits over a 22 year career in the Major Leagues.   Let us not forget that he wasn’t too shabby of a pitcher either, going 94-46 with a 2.28 ERA, which truly makes him one of the more unique players to collect memorabilia for in this day in age.

The Atlanta Braves were one of the most successful franchises ever during the 1990’s, and many prized baseball collectibles for the team can be found during this era when many future Hall of Famers played.  To put it into perspective how great the Braves were during the decade, the team averaged 93 wins per season, and won the division title in eight out of the ten years, along with five National League pennants and one World Series title in 1995.  What follows are the top five Atlanta Braves players from the 1990’s.

1. Greg Maddux

Greg Maddux was a part of the “Big Three” starting pitchers that were the foundation of Atlanta’s success during the decade, and will more than likely go down as one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game.  From 1993-99 when he was with the Braves, Maddux earned an amazing 7 Gold Glove Awards, three Cy Young awards, and went to five All-Star games as well. He compiled a record of 136-51 (.712 winning percentage) with an ERA of only 2.34 to go with over 1,200 strikeouts and 15 shutouts as well.  His best season came in 1995 for the Braves, when Greg went 19-2 with a 1.63 ERA and 10 complete games with over 200 innings pitched and a WHIP of only 0.896.

2. Tom Glavine

Tom Glavine played more of a role with the Braves during the 1990’s than Maddux as he was brought up through the team’s farm system, but didn’t put up quite as good of numbers as Greg did during his time with the team, hence him being in the number two position. From 1990-99 Glavine went 164-87 (.653 winning percentage) with a 3.21 ERA, 38 complete games, and nearly 1,500 strikeouts as well.  Tom went on to make six All-Star teams and won two Cy Young Awards, and should easily make it into the Hall of Fame in 2014 on the first ballot with Maddux.

3. John Smoltz

Like Glavine Smoltz spent the entire 1990’s with the Atlanta Braves having come up in their farm system, and put up equally good numbers as well.  Smoltz went 143-95 from 1990-99 (.601 winning percentage), with a 3.32 ERA, 42 complete games, and nearly 1,900 strikeouts as well.  His lone Cy Young Award came in 1996 when John went 24-8 with a 2.94 ERA, comprised of over 250 innings pitched and an amazing 276 strikeouts (or 9.8 strikeouts per 9 innings).  With over 200 wins and 150 saves for his career, Smoltz will likely join the former two in the Hall of Fame as well, making their memorabilia that much more important to get right now before it skyrockets.

4. Chipper Jones

Last but certainly not least there is Chipper Jones, who came up with the team in the 1993 season and soon made a name for himself at third base.  Through the decade Jones averaged .301 with 26 home runs, 87 RBIs, and nearly 150 hits, playing an important role for the team during their run to the 1995 World Series title.  His best year came in 1999 when Chipper hit .319 with 45 home runs, 110 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases, winning the MVP and Silver Slugger awards.  Having just retired in 2012, Jones’ memorabilia should also increase in the coming years as he will also look to join the Hall of Fame with the Big Three.

Curtis Granderson – Baseball’s Global Ambassador

Growing up in a city south of Chicago, one might expect Curtis Granderson to have been a White Sox fan. However, he made a personal choice to follow the Atlanta Braves instead. The Cubs were never an option due to their interfering with him watching his favorite after school TV show, “Saved by the Bell’ when one of their games was broadcast on WGN preempting it.

Today, as a member of the New York Yankees he has travelled the world in the support of MLB. England, Italy, China and New Zealand are just a sampling of the trips he has made in support of Major League Baseball International. This worldwide recognition has contributed to the popularity of his memorabilia. His number 14 jersey is already being prominently displayed in Europe and Asia.

Curtis Granderson began his professional career as a center fielder with the Detroit Tigers. He was promoted to the big league squad for the third time in August of 2005. In September of that year he had an inside the park homer, a 5 hit game and then a walk off round tripper within a 12 day stretch. Curtis was in the majors to stay. He won the starting center field spot in spring training of 2006.

In his first full season with the Tigers they reached the World Series. He had 2 home runs in the 2006 AL Divisional Playoffs and added another during the AL Championship Series. Unfortunately Detroit came up short in the series itself, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in 5 games.

In 2007, Granderson established himself as one of baseball’s premier all-around players. His defensive prowess had already been shown at the beginning of his pro career. He was error free in the field for the first 151 games he participated in. During the 2007 season his offensive abilities became apparent as well. His batting average was .302 and he hit 23 home runs. Along with the 23 homers were 23 triples and 38 doubles. He also stole 26 bases and was caught stealing only once. The combination of these assets officially showed him to be a 5 tool player. He could hit for average, hit for power, run the bases, throw and field. During the 2007 campaign he joined one of the games historic 5 tool players, Willie Mays, as one of only 2 other ball players at the time to hit at least 20 home runs, 20 triple, 20 doubles and steal 20 bases.