Collecting the Kings of Queens
At Topps RIPPED, we’re taking a look at How to Collect your favorite teams. If you’re new to the chase, take a look at our Team Collecting Primer. Not meant to be a definitive guide, these profiles aim to give team collectors, and those looking to get started, an idea of some of the charms of collecting each franchise.
This week, we’re heading to the Big Apple to take a look at collecting the New York Mets.
The Team of Queens
For Collecting on SI writer and avid New York Mets collector Matt Schilling, it’s been a lifelong passion. “It started off with T-shirts, sweatshirts, and grew into collecting cards, especially rookies of Darryl Strawberry, Doc Gooden, and Gary Carter,” Schilling says. A die hard Mets fan, he finds something unique about collecting the team.
While the Mets hail from New York, it’s the rival Yankees who have the bigger national following. Schilling enjoys the Mets’ more local flavor.
The fervor of Mets fandom creates opportunities and challenges when it comes to collecting. “As a seasoned collector and Hobby expert, you can find local fans have a personal connection to the team or a game, and unknowingly try to sell things at a higher perceived value than the cards are sometimes worth,” Schilling says. As someone who’s been collecting for a lifetime, he goes after everything Mets, but with a focus on premium and graded rarity.
Chasing the New York Mets Grails
As with any team, there are grail cards for collectors to chase. Schilling mentioned three of the best when it comes to the Mets. To start, there’s the famous Topps 1968 Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman dual Mets Rookies card. It’s Nolan Ryan’s most valuable card, with a PSA 10 selling for $600,000 in 2010.
An SGC 4 is currently listed on Fanatics Collect for $800.
Then there’s Tom Seaver’s 1967 Topps rookie card, also a dual card with Mets pitcher Bill Denehy. A PSA 3 is listed on Fanatics Collect for just over $1,000.
Eight-time All-Star and 1983 NL Rookie of the Year Darryl Strawberry’s 1984 Topps Tiffany Rookie Card is a must-have for Mets’ collectors. In February, a PSA 10 sold for $1,295.
The 1986 World Series Champions
The Mets made it all the way to the NLCS last season, before losing to the eventual champion Los Angeles Dodgers in six games. It’s now been almost four decades since the team last won the whole thing. It’s no surprise, then, that the 1986 team remains an essential piece to any Mets team collection. Strawberry was one of the stars of that team, but there are many other players to chase from the incredible season.
Young phenom ace Doc Gooden was coming off a historic two-season run to start his career, including 1985, when he won the Cy Young, going 24-4 with 268 strikeouts. He was great again in the 1986 campaign, going 17-6 with 200 Ks. His 1984 Topps Traded Tiffany card sold in April for over $3,000. A PSA 10 1984 Topps Traded Gooden RC is listed at Fanatics Collect for $920.
1979 NL MVP Keith Hernandez joined the Mets four years later and became a huge star as the Mets ascended. In 1986, Hernandez finished fourth in NL MVP voting. While his rookie card is more valuable, this Topps 1986 Baseball card is a fantastic addition to a Mets team collection, showing off that trademark Hernandez cool, shades and all.
And, of course, there’s World Series MVP Ray Knight, and Game 6 hero Mookie Wilson.
Meet The Mets
Although a title has since evaded the Mets, the franchise has had some great teams and great players who’ve captured the heart of the city. Whether it was leading the Mets to the 2000 Subway Series, or his iconic home run in the first sporting event in the city following the tragedy of 9/11, Mike Piazza remains a Mets legend.
Piazza’s 1992 Bowman Baseball rookie card from his time with the Dodgers is a favorite for collectors.
Schilling says signed Piazza and David Wright cards retain an important status among Mets collectors. Wright, a seven-time All-Star who battled serious injuries at the tail end of his career, is still a fan-favorite with a special place in the hearts of Mets fans.
A New Era for the Mets
The Mets have made the playoffs in two of the last three seasons and have been one of the best teams in baseball so far this year. This exciting roster is big on star power for collectors to chase.
Pete Alonso, 2019 NL Rookie of the Year and one of the game’s most fearsome power hitters, is featured with superstar teammate Francisco Lindor in a splendid color match 2024 Topps Chrome® Sapphire card.
Lindor, whose Game 4 grand slam against the rival Phillies sent the Mets to the NLCS last year, finished second in 2024 NL MVP voting. This fantastic action shot of Lindor is captured on 2024 Topps Black & White. A negative refractor sold for $55 on May 18.
Mets fans are right to think that, just maybe, superstar Juan Soto is the final piece to the puzzle for this team. Getting one over on the crosstown Yankees, the Mets pulled Soto from the Bronx with a massive free-agent deal in the offseason.
Topps NOW® commemorated the seismic shift for baseball in the Big Apple with a special card, which had a print run of about 35,000. A PSA 10 base version sold for $15 on May 22, 2025. The release also included on-card auto parallels numbered to 10, 5, and 1. This color match auto card features a “My first Mets auto” inscription.
Who’s Next for the New York Mets?
Luisangel Acuña, brother of 2023 NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr,. was acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers for Max Scherzer. Off to a solid start in his first MLB season, the second baseman’s rookie cards are available in 2025 Topps releases.
On May 13, a 2025 Bowman Baseball Crystalized color match insert card numbered to 25 sold for $1,250. This 2023 Bowman Chrome Prospect Autograph card numbered to 50 is listed for $1,500.
The Kings of Queens
The New York Mets, a big-city team with a local footprint, have a great history, and some legendary players. They also have an exciting present-day team with some of the game’s biggest stars.
They remain the Kings of Queens. The question now is whether not they can become the Kings of MLB.
