The Most Valuable Topps Baseball Cards of 1978
The 1978 Topps baseball card set, with 726 cards, holds a distinctive place in hobby history thanks to its clean design, iconic rookie class, and connection to baseball’s late-1970s stars. The design is straightforward yet stylish with a moderately think colored line framing the player and the team name written ins colorful, cursive lettering at the bottom left. The layout gives the cards a polished, uncluttered look that feels very “classic Topps.”
What truly makes the set special is its rookie lineup. Headlining the set is the “rookie shortstops” card that includes Paul Molitor and Alan Trammell, which is the only Topps rookie card to include two future Hall of Famers on the same card.
In addition, the set features stars at the height of their careers: Nolan Ryan, George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, and Reggie Jackson, among others. Its balance of design simplicity, star power, and historic rookie debuts makes the 1978 Topps set one of the most enduring and collectible issues of the decade.
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#707 Rookie Shortstops - $25,100
This is one of the most unique cards ever, being the only rookie card with two future hall of famers on it as both Paul Molitor and Alan Trammell were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It took Trammell longer to get into the Hall of Fame, but their numbers are similar as Molitor had a career WAR of 75.7 and was a seven-time all-star while Trammell had a career WAR of 70.6 and was a six-time all-star. Ironically, Molitor was not a shortstop for very long, being moved to second base early in his rookie year. He played more games at second base, third base, first base, outfield, and designated hitter in his career than he did shortstop.
#400 Nolan Ryan - $14,899
Like every other year in the 1970s, Nolan Ryan’s card is amongst the most valuable in the set. Ryan continued to lead the league in strikeouts, walks, and wild pitches in 1978, something he did three times. Overall, he led the league in strikeouts eleven times, walks eight times, and wild pitches six times.
#100 George Brett - $10,830
Brett was a thirteen-time All-Star, including both the 1977 year referenced on this card as well as 1978, the year of this card. 1978 was a bit of down year for Brett as he only hit .294 in 1978 and was still two years away from his magical .390 year of 1980. For the third straight year, the Royals lost to the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Brett was stellar each year, but particularly in 1978, where he hit .389 with an OPS of 1.144.
#200 Reggie Jackson - $9,100
This is the first card after Jackson hit three straight home runs on three straight pitches in the clinching game for the Yankees in the 1977 World Series. Most baseball cards in the 1978 set were still of the staged variety, so it is particularly fitting to have Jackson caught in his dramatic backknee down exaggerated overswing after his dramatic heroics in the 1977 World Series.
#34 Willie McCovey - $4,049
By 1978, McCovey was a legend in San Francisco, but he was now 40 years old and nearly a decade past his MVP season. McCovey was Rookie of the Year in 1959, MVP in 1969, and a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1986. He hit 231 of his career 531 home runs in the Giants then-home stadium (Candlestick Park) and he is so respected in San Francisco that they have named the water beyond the right field stands at the new park as “McCovey Cove.”
#704 Rookie Second Basemen - $3,300
This is the rookie card of Lou Whitaker, a player most consider worthy of being in the Hall of Fame. Whitaker won Rookie of the Year honors in 1978, was a five-time All-Star, and won three Gold Glove awards, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Whitaker has seventh highest career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) of all-time for second basemen. If we restrict that to the post WWII era, only Joe Morgan and Rod Carew have higher career WARs. Whitaker’s WAR is higher than Hall of Famer second baseman Ryan Sandberg, Jackie Robertson, Sandy Alomar, and Craig Biggio.
#724 Royals Team - $3,120
The value of this card could be because it pictures an early George Brett, but the reality is it is one of those cards that is very hard to find in gem mint condition.
#690 Mickey Rivers - $3,000
Rivers was in his prime and was the starting center fielder for the back-to-back World Series champion New York Yankees. While only getting one All-Star nod in his career, he racked up MVP votes in 4 different seasons and had a career Wins Above Replacement of 32.7. While a starting player on a Yankees World Championship team will always add some value to a card, much of this card’s value is due to the challenge in finding it in gem mint condition.
#40 Carl Yastrzemski - $2,936
A first-ballot Hall of Famer, “Yaz” was at the end of his career and somewhat overshadowed by the younger outfielders, Jim Rice and (to a lesser degree) Darrell Evans. An eighteen-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glove winner, and most impressively of all, the winner of the 1967 batting triple crown (led the league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in).
#580 Rod Carew - $2,691
Carew led the league in batting seven times, with 1978 being his last year. He was the 1977 American League MVP when he was the firs person to seriously approach hitting .400 in a season since Ted Williams flirted with it in 1957. Like Williams in 1957, Carew ended up hitting .388. This is the third highest average since Williams hit .406 in 1941. Carew made the All-Star team an astonishing eighteen straight times and was an easy first-ballot Hall of Famer.