When it comes to catchers, Mike Piazza is one of the greatest hitters of all-time. In his prime, the hobby took notice and put him among the hobby’s elite. The fact that he spent most of his career in Los Angeles and New York certainly helped. Over the years, there have been plenty of great Mike Piazza baseball cards. And a few stinkers too.

Let’s take a look at some of the most memorable for reasons both good and not so good.

Greatest Mike Piazza Baseball Cards — The Biggies

1989 Salem Dodgers Mike Piazza #25

While Mike Piazza is one of the kings of ’90s cardboard, his hobby start dates back to 1989. This team-issue card may not look significant on the surface, but it’s the first official card of the Hall of Famer. For that reason along, it’s an important piece of Mike Piazza baseball card history.

1992 Bowman Mike Piazza RC #461

With just two rookie cards to his name, both are important. Of the two, his 1992 Bowman is worth less but it’s probably the more recognized. The fact that it’s more readily available plays a role, as does the fact that Bowman is still around and more synonymous when it comes to modern rookies. But this is also a classic set that took the brand in a new direction. While he has lots of great company on the checklist, Mike Piazza is a big reason why.

1992 Fleer Update Mike Piazza RC #92

It’s tough to say that any baseball cards printed in 1992 are rare. But 1992 Fleer Update took things down a notch. The factory set, while not scarce, is noticeably tougher to find than other products from the year. And it’s largely a one-card set — the Mike Piazza rookie card. Like the Bowman card, values peaked a long time ago but this one still captures strong prices, particularly when you get into the graded realm.

1993 Finest Refractors Mike Piazza #199

1993 Finest was a game-changer, bringing chromium to the mainstream. And while the base Mike Piazza card is no slouch (when it comes to second-year cards), it’s the Refractor parallel that still outsells the vast majority of all his other cards. That includes many autographs and premium memorabilia cards. The card is believed to have a printed run of 241 copies. Today, that’d be considered high for a premium card but back then, cards numbered to 5,000 and even 10,000 were still considered “rare.”

1994 SP Holoview Red Die Cuts Mike Piazza #29

In the mid-1990s, the early part of Piazza’s career, holograms were a go-to insert for Upper Deck, especially when it came to premium products. 1994 SP Holoview Red Die Cuts are a tough parallel (1:75 packs) of the regular Holoview inserts. The rounded top might not be as intricate as some of the die-cut designs we see today, but back then it was something that made the cards stand out more, even when they had rotating (and sometimes winking) faces.

1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold Mike Piazza #30

Limited to 30 copies each, 1996 Select Certified Mirror Gold parallels helped the hobby further down the rabbit hole of rarity. Needless to say, these don’t show up very often and are some of the key inserts of the era. In addition to the regular base card, Piazza also appears later in the set in the Pastime Power subset. It also has a Mirror Gold parallel.

1996 SPx Mike Piazza Autograph #MPA-1

This might not be the most valuable Mike Piazza autograph on the market, but it is the first. And it looks pretty cool as well. During his playing career, Piazza signed relatively few cards. Even then, most of those came in the twilight of his career. For those looking to add the 1996 SPx Mike Piazza autograph to their collection, the card has a couple of small differences differentiating it from the regular Mike Piazza Tribute insert. First off, the signed card has the prefix “MPA” versus the regular card’s “MP.” All signed versions should have a hologram sticker from Upper Deck as well. Finally, the regular insert has a picture of Piazza on the back. The pack-inserted autograph does not.

2004 EX Clearly Authentics Signature Tan Patch Mike Piazza #MP1 /31

Starting in 2003 and 2004, Mike Piazza autographs started appearing in more products. They were still tough to find, but they were out there. This was also an era when sticker autographs were becoming more and more common, often on foil that hasn’t held up in the design department. This card stands out for a couple of reasons. First off, it looks good. While the signature is on a sticker, it’s clear and melds right into the design. There’s also the integration of acetate, a patch swatch and a low (but not impossible to find) print run.

2015 Topps Strata Signature Patches Mike Piazza #SSPMP /25

Finally, Mike Piazza autographs are starting to show up with greater frequency. And they’re appearing on some slick cards. His 2015 Topps Strata Signature Patches card has a shadowbox effect layering a large patch underneath a signed piece of acetate. It’s numbered to 25. Piazza also has another shadowbox-style card in the product that doesn’t have the patch. It still looks good and comes at a cheaper price tag.

2014 or 2015 Topps Dynasty Mike Piazza Autographed Patches

Autographs, larger-than-normal patches, and a print run no higher than 10. Those are the reasons that make Topps Dynasty their most expensive baseball product to date. Other than the dark look of 2014 versus the light of 2015, the concept of both years are the same. It’s kind of like a pick your poison for Piazza fans. While the print runs of individual cards is ten or less, Piazza is featured on multiple cards in the product.

These Mike Piazza Cards Might Not Be Worth Much But They’re Fun

1995 Topps Mike Piazza #466

The majority of Mike Piazza baseball cards show him at the plate. And that’s fine because he’s known more for his work at the plate rather than behind it. His 1995 Topps Baseball card is different. It’s posed, but it gets down to his level. And even though there’s no play, the angle and clouds give it plenty of drama.

1996 Pinnacle Skylines Mike Piazza #7

Looming over downtown Los Angeles like something out of a Godzilla movie (or a smog cloud), this is actually a tough insert to find today. Done with acetate, it has plenty of personality to boot.

1996 Upper Deck V.J. Lovero Collection Mike Piazza #VJ17

Cereal, really big cordless phone, mini doughnuts, tucked in T-shirt, cardboard cutout of Tommy Lasorda playing towel holder — there’s a story going on here and I don’t exactly know what to make of it. That doesn’t mean it’s not a fantastic, fun and unforgettable Mike Piazza baseball card.

1997 Collector’s Choice Big Shots Mike Piazza #18

Mike Piazza came along a little late to have a truly great Costacos Brothers poster. This might be the next best thing.

Memorable Mike Piazza Cards, But Not in a Good Way

1994 Rembrandt Ultra-Pro Mike Piazza #5

Sometimes posed shots on baseball cards look cool. Other times, not so much. The back of the card talks about Piazza’s health regiment and attention to nutrition. Perhaps a bigger dumbbell would have done the trick.

1994 Upper Deck Fun Pack Mike Piazza #208/1995 Collector’s Choice Mike Piazza #87

Both of these cards have some definite artistic style. Whether that’s a good thing for a baseball card, I’m not so sure. What’s the call? I’d say awkward.

1997 Donruss Preferred Staremasters Mike Piazza #5 /1500

The name alone is on the cringe-worthy side. But what makes this one of the worst Mike Piazza baseball cards ever is how it tackles said stare. The design incorporates two types of foil with the separation coming in the form of a triangle. Yes, it draws attention to Piazza’s eyes, but it’s also very out of balance to the rest of the card.

2014 Topps Supreme Mike Piazza Wrong Autographs

Mike Piazza doesn’t have the best penmanship. He doesn’t have the worst either but a small number of cards in 2014 Topps Supreme Baseball told a different story. His signature appeared to go from a wild scribble to something where each and every letter was legible. Great news, right? Not so fast. It was the wrong Mike Piazza. Topps was fast to replace the cards that were sent in, but some of the wrong autographs are still out there.

2015 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Series 1 Baseball Character Autographs Mike Piazza #MP

For many years I thought mashing up baseball players with Garbage Pail Kids could be fun. Needless to say I was excited to hear they were done with a few surprise autographs in 2015 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Series 1 — until I saw them. They look like generic Garbage Pail Kids playing baseball, not GPK-ed stars. The intentions may have been there, but licensing likely came in the way. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that it’s one of the cheaper Mike Piazza autographs on the market.