Who knew that a list of the 10 best baseball cards from 2001 Topps Baseball would be so Hall-of-Famer laden!?! Even the ones that aren’t in the Hall of Fame – probably should be, if not for baseball writers not wanting to reward players who used some questionable supplements!
Most of the sports card links on this page will take you to eBay. That means I will get a commission on the sales from this page. If you end up buying from these links, I personally thank you for supporting my website! Even if you don’t buy anything, thank you for reading my article! Enjoy!
What Happened in 2001?
“Zoolander” perfected his Blue Steel look, and Jack Bauer showed us how he could hold his bladder for “24” consecutive hours while fighting terrorists. But 2001 was also the year of 50th Anniversary of Topps Baseball Cards!
Before the 2001 Topps release, we were just coming off a Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees, and steroids were still in full effect, as there were more home runs hit in 2000 than any other season before it.
This 2001 set was the first year Topps started numbering their gold parallel cards the same number as the year. So, in this case, the 2001 Topps Baseball gold cards were numbered out of 2001!
Topps also continued its practice of using non-white borders during this era, which really affected the number of high graded cards.
Frozen Bricks of Cards!
The gloss on the 2001 Topps Baseball cards also caused a lot of bricking, which means the cards were sticking to each other inside the packs and in collections that weren’t separating cards with penny sleeves.
DG’s Pro Tip: Rumor has it that you can put unopen packs in the freezer, and it will help the cards release from each other.
Also, card No.7 in this 50th Anniversary set was skipped in honor of Mickey Mantle, the most collectable athlete ever.
Stick around to the end when I deliver some David Ortiz trivia that might just blow your mind!
10 Best Baseball Cards From 2001 Topps Baseball
For our card value rankings, we’re only talking about PSA 10 slabs of these cards, and we used the values from PSA’s online price guide. The card images are provided by BuySportsCards.com. We’re not going to share weird, random cards that are expensive because of a variation.
Note that looking back on cards from the early 2000s, prices on a lot of these graded cards get a little goofy, and sales are few and far between. The only card PSA shows in their Price Guide is the Ichiro rookie, so check their value before investing, and just know I’ve done my best to rank them according to price.
We’re also including the Traded Series in this set because I don’t plan on doing videos/articles based on individual releases. This is about the whole year!
A. Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals RC #T247 – $2,450
One of the most iconic cards of the past 25 years also happens to be a rookie card of the greatest home run hitter this 21st Century!
View 2001 Albert Pujols Cards on eBay!
B. Albert Pujols/Ichiro Suzuki RCs #T99 – $1,500
If you can’t have both of their singular rookie cards, why not get a combo of each of them on one card!?!
View 2001 Topps Traded Albert Pujols/Ichiro Suzuki Cards on eBay!
10 Best Baseball Cards From 2001 Topps Baseball
1. Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners RC #726 (HOF) – $1,350
28 seasons pro bb, 19 in MLB, multiple continents/cultures, first-name only guy – Ichiro, Babe, Reggie
In 2001, Ichiro won the first of back-to-back AL batting titles by hitting .350 in his first season in America. Ichiro joined Red Sox OF Fred Lynn as the only two players to ever win his league’s Rookie of the Year and MVP Awards.
Ichiro would go on to play 19 seasons in the majors – which meant he was a professional baseball player (including his time in Japan) for 28 professional seasons! He was a star on multiple continents and in multiple cultures, and he became a first-name famous guy. Ichiro. Babe. Reggie. Shohei.
That’s a big deal.
View 2001 Topps Ichiro Suzuki Cards on eBay!
2. Ken Griffey Jr., Cincinnati Reds #593 (HOF) – $2,900
You’ll note that the price I show is $2,900 – it’s the only sale price I could find on a PSA 10 of this card. I refuse to list this above the best rookie card of the set! My article – my rules! The Kid left Seattle a couple years previous, but coming to Cincinnati, where his dad played, apparently did not dampen his hobby heat!
View 2001 Topps Ken Griffey Jr. Cards on eBay!
3. Tony Gwynn, San Diego Padres #220 (HOF) – $485
This set is full of great ‘80s players wrapping up their careers, as Gwynn joined Ripken on the Retirement Tour in 2001. The NL batting title winner now wins an award named after Gwynn, who won it an NL-record eight times in his career.
View 2001 Topps Tony Gwynn Cards on eBay!
4. Roger Clemens, N.Y. Yankees #170 – $470
In Clemens’ third season with the Yankees, he would go on to win his sixth Cy Young award on his way to another 20-win season. The junk wax era. The steroid era. Clemens would’ve been better off playing in the ’60s.
View 2001 Topps Roger Clemens Cards on eBay!
5. Derek Jeter, N.Y. Yankees #100 (HOF) – $405
Jeter was still on the front 9 of his career with the Yankees, but by this time, The Captain already had three World Series rings.
View 2001 Topps Derek Jeter Cards on eBay!
6. Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore Orioles #1 (HOF) – $400
Always a hobby legend, as evidenced by his place in our Dandy Dozen Modern list, 2001 was the final year of Ripken’s baseball career. After being an All-Star 19 times, Ripken hung it up after 2001.
View 2001 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. Cards on eBay!
7. Rickey Henderson, Seattle Mariners #105 (HOF) – $375
Can you imagine Rickey and Ichiro in the same dugout? I would love to hear Rickey advise Ichiro, who led the league in stolen bases that year. I wonder if Ichiro understood when Rickey spoke in the third person.
View 2001 Topps Rickey Henderson Cards on eBay!
8. Frank Thomas, Chicago White Sox #240 (HOF) – $350
The Big Hurt only played 20 games in 2001, but he knocked in 143 RBI in 2000, which is the season this card detailed.
View 2001 Topps Frank Thomas Cards on eBay!
9. David Ortiz, Minnesota Twins #136 – (HOF) $250
Hearing the words “Big Papi” and “twins” near each other just makes me cringe at whichever mother gave birth to those boys. But the Red Sox superstar was still slugging away in obscurity with the Twins in 2001 – don’t forget to stick around to the end, when I share a Big Papi trivia nugget!
View 2001 Topps David Ortiz Cards on eBay!
10. Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants #497 – $75
While this 2001 Topps set was based off the 2000 season, it was in 2001 when we saw Bonds have the greatest offensive season at the plate in Major League history. Steroids or not – Bonds mashed MLB records of 73 homers and a 1.379 OPS!
View 2001 Topps Barry Bonds Cards on eBay!
Other Great 2001 Topps Baseball Cards to Consider:
- Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves (HOF) #2 #: The Braves won their seventh consecutive NL East crown in 2001, and Chipper Jones was a huge part of that as their offensive leader. His arrival during the junk wax era seems to have quieted his hobby appeal some.
- Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox (HOF) #60: Horizontal card!
- Ivan Rodriguez, Texas rangers (HOF) #150
- Alex Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners #612
- Greg Maddux, Atlanta Braves (HOF) #660
- Mike Piazza, N.Y. Mets (HOF) #706
Trivia Time!
OK, I promised you a great piece of David Ortiz trivia, so here you go! Most people know Big Papi was with the Twins before they released him and the Red Sox picked him up. But did you know the Mariners actually signed Ortiz first back in 1992, then traded him to Minnesota in 1996!?! If the Mariners held onto him, they could have paired him with Edgar Martinez! And then, maybe Ken Griffey Jr., Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez stick around!!!… And then eventually maybe they still sign Ichiro!?!
OK… calm down, Dave… calm down. But for real, that’s a great WHAT IF!?!
Articles For Other Years of Best Topps Baseball Cards
This is a series we’ve created where we look at the most valuable baseball cards from different years in Topps Baseball history! Here are the years we’ve already covered:
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 1952 Topps Baseball
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 1953 Topps Baseball
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 1954 Topps Baseball
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 1956 Topps Baseball
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 1960 Topps Baseball
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 1972 Topps Baseball
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 1978 Topps Baseball
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 1984 Topps Baseball
- 10 Best Baseball Cards From 2001 Topps Baseball
Have you picked up any of the best baseball cards from 2001 Topps Baseball, or are you still hoping to pick some up, like me?
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