1980 Topps Baseball

 Topps 1980 release of 726 cards was its cleanest design in several years. The team name appearing in a fluttering banner on the front harkens back to the classic 1965 banner motif. The set was not widely distributed and is more difficult to find today than the 1978 and 1979 sets that proceeded it. The set's key rookie card is that of (love him or hate him) all-time great Rickey Henderson.

1981 Topps Baseball

 Facing competition for the first time since 1963, Topps responded with its worst set in its 30 year history. Printed on poor quality cardboard and sporting a ticky-tack "cap" design, the 1981 Topps set is the least admired set of the decade. To make matters worse, the set was vastly overproduced and features very few rookies of note. Oh yes, there was also a baseball strike in 1981 - making the whole affair the low water mark for the company. The sets key rookies are Tim Raines and Harold Baines, who used logevity and have potential as future HOFers. Former "hot" rookie cards include Steve Sax, Fernando Valenzuela, Kirk Gibson and Steve Howe.

1982 Topps Baseball

 Topps' famed "Hockey Stick" set, the 1982 Baseball set of 792 featured the return of "In Action" cards after a 10 year absence. Although the set's design was much maligned at the time, it has held up well against the truly pathetic 1982 releases by its main competitors as the set to own of the three. The key card to the set is the rookie card of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken.

1983 Donruss Baseball

 For its 1983 set, Donruss simply flipped the design from the previous year and replaced the Bat and Ball motif with a Bat and Glove, while improving slightly the overall photo quality. The set is complete at 660 cards, and again included a 26 card Diamond Kings subset and 7 unnumbered checklists. The set contains the rookie cards of Wade Boggs, Tony Gwynn and Ryne Sandberg.

1983 Topps Baseball

 Topps 1983 motif was a homage to its classic 1963 2-photo style, and a welcome relief for collectors after poorly designed sets the previous two seasons. Complete at 792 cards, the set introduced a clever subset - Super Veteran - contrasting early career photos along side current photos of many superstars. The set features the rookie cards of Hall Of Famer Tony Gwynn, and future HOFers Wade Boggs and Ryne Sanberg.

1984 Donruss Baseball

 After three very poor sets, Donruss caught lightning in a bottle with its 1984 set. With a classic design and scarce distribution, the sets key rookie card became one of the first modern cards to fall victim to counterfeiting. This set coincides with the beginning of 'rookie mania' in 1985 - with wax boxes increasing 10 fold in value over a single year. Of course the card everyone was chasing was the Don Mattingly rookie, possibly the most admired card of the decade.

1984 Topps Baseball

 Topps 1984 release continued the clean design and 2-photo motif from the previous year. Complete at 792 cards, the set featured many popular Hall of Fame and 2nd year cards. The major rookie card is that of former Yankee captain and all-time great Don Mattingly.

1984 Topps BB Tiffany

 In 1984 Topps introduced a limited edition version of its baseball card set. Specially packaged in a gold-sealed box, the set featured higher grade stock and a super high-gloss finish. Unlike subsequent Tiffany sets, the initial release was limited to only 10,000 - making the set reasonably scarce today. The Tiffany Set cards bring premiums of between 300% and 600% over their regular card counterparts.

1985 Topps Baseball

 Topps third consecutive strong effort was its 792 card release in 1985. Issued at the height of "rookie mania" - the set was also the first to face major wide spread competition in terms of mind share with its Donruss and Fleer competitors. Despite the fact that the hot rookies of the time - Dr. K, Eric Davis, Hershiser, Saberhagen and the immortal Shawn Abner - have given way to bona-fide hall-of-fame rookies such as Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire - the set remains then as now a collector's favorite.

1985 Topps Tiffany

 Topps issued its 1985 set in a limited edition version of its baseball card set. Specially packaged in a gold-sealed box, the set featured higher grade stock and a super high-gloss finish. Unlike subsequent Tiffany sets, only 5,000 sets were produced - half the number from the previous year - making the set reasonably scarce today. The Tiffany Set cards bring premiums of between 250% and 400% over their regular card counterparts. The Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire rookie cards are highly sought by collectors.

1986 Topps Baseball

 Got your "Black Border Jones" - Topps was hoping so with their 792 card released in 1986. Printed on an all-black background reminiscient of the 1971 Baseball and 1962 Football issue, the 1986 Topps set is *by far* the most difficult to find in sharp condition. The 1986 set has a grand total of 13 Tens!!! Still don't believe it, open a 12,000 card vending case and see how many 9s and 10s you get! Despite its over production, clearly the key "condition" set of the decade.

1989 Upper Deck BB

 Upper Deck created a stir in 1989 with the release of the first-ever "High End" card set. Printed on high glossy paper and sporting color photos on both the card front and back, Upper Deck paved the way for the wave of premium card sets to follow. The buzz created by the sets inclusion of a hologram - to thwart counterfeits - was matched by its honoring super rookie Ken Griffey as its first card. Hard to believe its been 15 seasons since these classics first appeared!

1990 Leaf BB

 Donruss joined the high quality card wars kicked off by Upper Deck the previous year with its 526 card Leaf baseball set. Issued in two series, 1990 Leaf was a distinct improvement in card quality, photo gloss and design from the previous Leaf-Donruss issues. The set gained significant buzz at the time due to the inclusion of the rookie card of Frank Thomas. Today the set's key card is the rookie of Home Run hero Sammy Sosa. Other key rookies include Larry Walker, John Olerud, and David Justice.