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Tommy John cards plentiful, affordable after death of pitching legend
You could make the case that Tommy John should have been voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame years ago. His statistics alone make a convincing case.
John came a mere 12 games away from winning 300 games, finishing with 288 Ws. And some of those White Sox teams for whom he toiled early in his career left him starving for runs, easily costing him a dozen victories. (To wit: From 1967-69, he had a record of 29-29, despite ERAs of 2.47, 1.98 and 3.25.)
John’s career ERA was 3.34, and he spun 46 shutouts among his 162 complete games. Icing on the cake? His willingness to undergo innovative surgery to repair a damaged torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his elbow. His success—he won more games after his surgery than before—led to a standardization of what quickly became known as Tommy John surgery. Countless professional hurlers have had their careers rescued. In fact, MLB Network reports that 25 percent of today’s MLB pitchers have had Tommy John surgery.
Yet Hall of Fame voters haven’t deemed John worthy of induction, so he missed out on baseball’s highest individual honor. His passing on Aug. 15 saddened the baseball world and elicited a barrage of moving tributes.
Surprisingly, John’s passing didn’t translate into a rush of buying activity on eBay. The first 24 hours after the announcement saw just a smattering of sales—and most (but not all) fell between $5-$50. Even autographed cards and baseballs were staying under $100.
Even more surprisingly, John’s first card—a 1964 Topps “Rookie Stars” issue on which outfielder Bob Chance also appears—was absent from eBay in the aftermath of his death. We saw just a handful and they sold on Aug. 15-16 for just $18, $15 and $10. Granted, all were ungraded. But even at major auction houses, 9-grade specimens of that card sell for only $1,000-$1,500—a fraction of the value of rookie cards of Hall of Fame hurlers.
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Why such a soft market? Despite John’s accolades, accomplishments and sterling reputation as a player, analyst, minor-league coach and manager, the Hall of Fame snub has always depressed his memorabilia value. No matter how beloved John is, the collecting market likely won’t kick up values until there’s a call to the Hall.
The good news: You can build a worthy stash of Tommy John cards at bargain-basement prices. A starter list follows.
• 1965 Topps: The year after his Rookie Stars card, Topps gave us John’s first solo card. We did see a PSA 9 specimen change hands in a Buy It Now deal for $195, but otherwise, it’s budget-friendly; a handful of ungraded examples sold last week for $10 to $25.
• 1966 Topps: John’s third card features the young hurler in his White Sox uniform at Yankee Stadium. In early August, a PSA 9 example brought $225 on 21 bids; another PSA 9 went for $222 a few days later. But again, ungraded examples were changing hands for under $25 after John passed.
• 1967 Topps: Earlier this summer, this one inspired some action on eBay. A PSA 8.5 example went for $700 on 41 bids.
• 1969 Topps: In this card’s photograph, note the detail of a baseball hidden in John’s mitt. He posed as if he had just thrown a pitch, but the ball is in plain view in the pocket of his glove. In high grade, it’s only around $50. Ungraded, it’s under $10.
• 1969 Nabisco: If you can find this blank-backed card, which was printed on cereal boxes, it’ll be hand-cut and probably not in great shape. As such, it’s not likely to cost you more than $10 or $20.
• 1971 Milk Duds: Another blank-backed food-package example. Finding examples of this one takes a little digging, but it’s a cool oddball piece to have. We saw a PSA 6 example get away for $17 on 13 bids just after John’s passing.
• 1971 Topps: The black borders make this classic condition-sensitive. Even so, it's not a budget-buster. One PSA 8 specimen got away on eBay for $107 on Aug. 15. The card features a game-action shot of John delivering a pitch.
• 1974 Topps: We’ll jump ahead to the year of John’s momentous surgery. This card, picturing John with the Dodgers, is a cheapie, going for $15 to $50 on eBay, even in high grade.
• 1980 Topps: Here’s another you’ll find for well under $50. It’s John’s first card appearance as a Yankee. The reverse shows he not only recovered from his eponymous 1974 surgery, but he had become one of baseball’s top pitchers. The three most recent seasons documented (1977–79) show he posted records of 20-7, 17-10 and 21-9. In 1980, he got even better, going 22-9 for the AL East champion Yankees.
• 1988 Donruss Diamond Kings: The year before he retired, John appeared on this Diamond Kings card. It’s another easy addition to a collection, selling for under $50 even if autographed. We did see a PSA 10 specimen sell for $90, however.
• 2022 Topps Archives: The autographed version of this card, based on the 1983 Topps design, was selling for $55 to $60 even after John’s passing.
That’s just a small sampling of John-related memorabilia you can find. And why not build a collection based on one of the truly good guys in baseball?
