10 Career-Defining Derek Jeter Baseball Cards – Instant PC
Derek Jeter spent 20 seasons with the New York Yankees, winning five World Series rings and racking up 3,465 hits while serving as team captain and one of the most recognizable players in the sport. He remains as popular in the hobby as any retired player from his era.
All told, there are more than 20,000 Derek Jeter cards, according to the Beckett database. So where does one start putting together a Derek Jeter PC?
These 10 cards serve as an excellent representation of his playing career and footprint on the hobby, making them a great place to start.
10 Derek Jeter Cards That Help Tell the Story of His Career
1992 Upper Deck Minors #5 Derek Jeter
The Yankees selected Jeter with the No. 6 overall pick in the 1992 draft out of Central High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan, behind Golden Spikes winner Phil Nevin, Paul Shuey, B.J. Wallace, Jeffrey Hammonds and Chad Mottola.
The 1992 Upper Deck Minors set was Upper Deck’s first minor league product, and Jeter is the headliner on a checklist that also includes Chipper Jones, Manny Ramirez, Carlos Delgado, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Trevor Hoffman and Shawn Green.
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1993 Topps #98 Derek Jeter RC
Jeter began the 1993 season at the No. 44 prospect in baseball, and he spent his first full professional season at Single-A Greensboro where he hit .295/.376/.394 with 30 extra-base hits, 71 RBI and 18 steals in 128 games.
He has eight different Rookie Cards in 1993 products, and while it doesn’t carry the same high price tag as his SP or Stadium Club rookies, his 1993 Topps flagship card is iconic and a must-own for any collector.
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- Beckett Marketplace
- eBay
1995 Bowman #229 Derek Jeter FOIL
After hitting .344 while reaching Triple-A in 1994, Jeter began the 1995 season as baseball’s No. 4 prospect. He made his MLB debut on May 29, 1995, hitting .234/.280/.340 in 50 plate appearances before he was optioned back to the minors once veteran Tony Fernandez returned from injury.
The 1995 Bowman checklist features 439 cards, and 54 of those have a foil design and feature baseball’s top prospects that year. Jeter is part of that group, and it makes for a great-looking early card at a reasonable price. There is also a Gold parallel that was a 1:4 packs pull.
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1996 Donruss #491 Derek Jeter
Following his cup of coffee the previous year, Jeter took over as the Yankees everyday shortstop in 1996, hitting .314/.370/.430 with 25 doubles, 10 home runs and 78 RBI to win AL Rookie of the Year honors on a team that went on to win a World Series title.
Donruss abandoned the iconic “Rated Rookie” logo following the 1993 release, but they still included a Rated Rookie subset in the years that followed, and Jeter is part of the 1996 class.
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1997 Topps #13 Derek Jeter
Jeter followed up his stellar rookie campaign with another strong season in 1997, posting a 103 OPS+ with 31 doubles, 10 home runs, 70 RBI, 116 runs scored and 23 steals to receive some down-ballot AL MVP support.
His terrific rookie season earned him a spot in the 1996 Topps All-Star Rookie Team and his 1997 Topps card features the iconic gold cup logo. For a few bucks, it’s a no-brainer pickup for any fledgling Jeter collector.
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1999 Crown Royale Pivotal Players #15 Derek Jeter
During the 1999 season, Jeter set career-high marks in batting average (.349), OPS+ (153), hits (219), home runs (24), RBI (102), runs scored (134) and WAR (8.0). The 25-year-old finished sixth in AL MVP voting, with Texas Rangers catcher Ivan Rodriguez taking home the hardware.
Pacific Trading Cards released some awesome looking sets during the 1990s, including the Crown Royale set that featured a fully die-cut base checklist. The Pivotal Players inserts were a one-per-pack pull in hobby packs, making them a great low-cost insert.
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2000 Pacific Prism #99 Derek Jeter
It was during the 2000 postseason that Jeter earned the “Mr. November” moniker, going 9-for-22 with two doubles, one triple, two home runs, two RBI and six runs scored in the Subway Series against the New York Mets to win World Series MVP honors.
The 2000 Pacific Prism set was ahead of its time with a holographic base product that also came in 12 different versions of various colors and designs.
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2010 Topps Heritage #411 Andy Pettitte/Jorge Posada/Derek Jeter/Mariano Rivera
The Yankees “Core Four” of Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada were all homegrown stars who made their MLB debuts during the 1995 season and developed into key cogs in the team’s late-’90s and early-’00s dynasty. There is no denying that the Yankees front office spent a ton of money in free agency during that era, but without that homegrown core they wouldn’t have been as successful.
The four stars are immortalized on a 2010 Topps Heritage card that often sells for $10-20 on eBay, despite being a base card with a standard print run.
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2011 Topps Update Diamond Anniversary #US252 Derek Jeter
On July 9, 2011, Jeter joined the illustrious 3,000-hit club in dramatic fashion, going 5-for-5 on the day and homering for the milestone knock. He would go on to finish his 20-year career with 3,465 hits, good for sixth on the all-time list.
The 2011 Topps Update checklist included a milestone card honoring that moment, and I’ve opted for the extra-sparkly Diamond Anniversary parallel version.
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2020 Stadium Club Chrome #302 Derek Jeter
In his first year of eligibility in 2020, Jeter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 396 of 397 possible votes. He wrapped up his storied career with a .310/.377/.440 line while tallying 260 home runs, 1,311 RBI, 358 steals and 71.3 WAR. He also holds the all-time record with an even 200 hits in the postseason. He hit .308/.374/.465 in 734 trips to the plate in the playoffs.
His 2020 Stadium Club Chrome base card serves as a nice book end to his career while also recognizing his induction year.
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