The Underrated Baseball Rookie Card List

by Joeyd011 - 286 cards (Last updated on Feb 6, 2020)



51. 1959 Topps #102 Felipe Alou


Felipe Alou - 2,101 Hits, 359 Doubles, 206 HR's, 852 RBI's, .286 Career Hitter, 3 Time All-Star, 1994 NL Manager of the Year.

Father of Moises Alou, and the first Dominican born manager in major league history (Montreal Expos).


52. 1959 Topps #518 Mike Cuellar


Mike Cuellar - 1969 CY Young Award, 185 Wins, 1,632 SO's, 3.14 Career ERA, 4 Time All-Star, 1 WS Ring.


53. 1960 Topps #136 Jim Kaat


Jim Kaat - 283 Wins, 2,461 SO's, 3.45 Career ERA, 3 Time All-Star, 16 Gold Gloves! 3 Time All-Star, 1 WS Ring.

This Jim Kaat rookie can be found very cheap, and is a great addition for any collector. I'm not a professional baseball writer or analyst, but if anyone on this list deserves to be in the HOF who isn't already inducted, it is Jim Kaat.


54. 1960 Topps #132 Frank Howard


Frank Howard - 1960 NL ROY, 1,774 Hits, 245 Doubles, 382 HR's, 1,119 RBI's, .273 Career Hitter, 4 Time All-Star, 1 WS Ring.


55. 1960 Topps #509 Tommy Davis


Tommy Davis - 1962 and 1963 NL Batting Title, 2,121 Hits, 153 HR's, 1,052 RBI's, .294 Career Hitter, 3 Time All-Star, 1 WS Ring.


56. 1960 Topps #316 Willie McCovey


Willie McCovey - HOF Career, 1959 NL ROY, 1969 NL MVP Award, 2,211 Hits, 521 HR's, 1,555 RBI's, 4 100+ RBI Seasons, 6 Time All-Star.


57. 1960 Topps #389 1959 World Series Game #5 - Luis Swipes Base


Maury Wills - 1962 NL MVP Award, 2,134 Hits, 586 SB's, .281 Career Hitter, 2 Gold Gloves, 7 Time All-Star, 3 WS Rings.

Some of you may or may not know why this Game 5 World Series card would be on the list. The fact is that this card is Maury Wills first card, that's him covering second.

Back in the day, Topps signed players to baseball card contracts. As far as Maury was concerned, Topps only saw him as an under-performing minor league player and did not wish to sign him to the $5 contract.

However, in 1959, Maury was called up for his first major league start when Don Zimmer, the Dodgers shortstop got injured. His triple A coach, Bobby Bragan, was already helping develop the struggling A baller, and when he was called up finally (at the age of 26), Wills proved to everyone that he was big league caliber.

By the end of 1959 Wills became the starting shortstop, and played in the World Series as shown on this card. The moron executives at Topps wanted to sign him now, but Wills had already signed a contract with Fleer.

Even still, his very own card was not produced by Fleer until 1963, and his first official Topps card wasn't produced until 1967.

Maury was the first player to steal over 100 bases in the 20th century, with 104 steals in 1962.


58. 1961 Topps #506 Willie Davis


Willie Davis - 2,561 Hits, 395 Doubles, 138 Triples, 182 HR's, 1,053 RBI's, .279 Career Hitter, 3 Gold Gloves as Outfielder, 2 Time All-Star, 2 WS Rings.


59. 1961 Topps #327 Matty Alou


Matty Alou - 1,777 Hits, 1966 NL Batting Title, .307 Career Hitter, 2 Time All-Star, 1 WS Ring.

Alou had a very strong mid-career surge, especially after receiving more playing time.


60. 1961 Topps #141 Billy Williams


Billy Williams - HOF Career, 1961 NL ROY, 1972 NL Batting Title, 1972 POY Award, 2,711 Hits, 434 Doubles, 426 HR's, 1,475 RBI's, .290 Career Hitter, 6 Time All-Star.

One of the Chicago Cubs greatest players of all time. Williams was inducted into the hall of fame in his sixth year of eligibility.

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Comments

Sep 1, 2018 - 7:55PM
Vvvergeer

I swear I've commented on this excellent list in the past. Perhaps I'm confusing it with another. Anyway...outstanding work. I love a lot of your choices -- not sure how "underrated" the cards or players are in some cases, but great list, nonetheless. 

v3

Sep 1, 2018 - 9:27PM
Joeyd011

Thanks Vvvergeer.  Yes, you have definitely commented and made suggestions to this list in the past.  I believe Rick Reuschel was one of them.  Over the years I have made additions, used suggestions, and revamped the list overall.  Part of the revamp work was cleaning up the statistical information, and doing some updating regarding the many little fun facts and/or thoughts on certain players.  It has been a while since I've updated the list with new additions, and the previous comments made were from a few years ago (time flies)....so, I decided to continue with a fresh comment section.  Thanks again for revisiting the list.

Joe

Dec 14, 2018 - 8:50PM
switzr1

Cool list Joey. I want to go after some of these cards, especially some from the 70s. I would point out that Bernie Williams was ALCS MVP, not AL MVP, in 1996.

Dec 15, 2018 - 1:59PM
Joeyd011

Thanks for revisiting this list Switzr1.  I corrected the Bernie Williams error, and will be adding more cards soon.

Dec 29, 2018 - 5:08AM
Alomar_Collector

How can you leave out the '88 Score Rookie/Traded & '88 Score Rookie/Traded Glossy of Roberto Alomar? They both sell for peanuts considering the print run. Best overall 2nd baseman of all time (offense and defense). Most Gold Gloves of any 2nd baseman in history. Would have reached 3,000 hits if he'd have had better seasons offensively during his 2 years in New York. But he faded fast after 2003. His mind was no longer in the game and he was ready to move on.

Feb 7, 2020 - 8:17AM
DarkSide830

That Young one is certainly interesting. Say, is Willians Astudillo eligible for this list yet, or too early in his career?

Feb 12, 2020 - 3:50PM
Joeyd011

DarkSide830, thanks for checking out this list.  This particular list consists primarily of retired players, or players near the tail end of their career.  An active player 'underrated rookie card' list is something that I have thought about doing, but haven't quite got around to it.  It's a great idea that would definitely generate a whole lot of opinions, and constantly evolve I'm sure.  But if you have any recommendations for this list that you can think of, I'd be glad to see what they are.

Joe  



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