Best 30 Cards From All 30 Teams; AL East

At first, I wanted to create 1 post featuring my best card from all 30 MLB teams. I thought it would be really interesting to have 1 card from every Baseball team in 1 total post, but I soon discovered how difficult it would prove.

When the idea of showcasing all 30 cards together in 1 post was still a reality, I began brainstorming which cards I'd select for each and every club. Some teams, like the Cubs, Yankees, and Angels, had a ton of different options to choose from.

Others, like the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, seemed to have no legitimate candidate for the "best card." While it doesn't necessarily have to be a hit, relics and autographs usually make up the top tier cards in my collection, though this isn't always the case.

Anyway, before I get to the post itself, I should briefly go over what this series is going to be like. Basically, for the next 6 posts, I'll be showing off my best card from all 30 MLB teams. However, I won't be going strictly off of value since there are numerous factors that come into play.

As you'll soon see, my best doesn't always mean necessitate an extremely valuable card, for there are a couple of teams of which I don't own a highly sought after rookie card or autograph.

I'll be writing these posts on and off for the next 10 days or so, in between the Baseball card show recap posts that I'll start tomorrow. I'm hoping, through these posts, that the viewers will gain insight into my collection and learn things that even I didn't know about my collection.

I'll be making my way through the league, so these posts will start with the 5 AL East clubs; the Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays. 

While I have marquee cards from some of these teams, this isn't the case for the latter 2, forcing me to do some digging to discover the top card from each of these franchises.

Baltimore Orioles

This pick shouldn't really come as a surprise, for I placed this 2018 Topps Archives Rookie History auto of Jim Palmer at #1 on my top 5 Orioles relics/autographs list a couple of weeks ago. Out of all 5 AL East teams, this was by far the easiest decision for me to make.

This card, more so than any other Orioles card that I own, has a distinct story behind it; I purchased a redemption card for this autograph at the Baseball card show a few months back for the same price as a blaster box of cards. Now, this rookie reprint auto has become the best Orioles card in my collection.

There's different serial numbering for each of the Topps Rookie History autos, and Palmer's happens to be out of 125 copies. While I'd prefer to pull a card like this from a pack myself, I paid far less for this than I would for a hobby box of Archives, and Palmer's a better name than most of the guys in the set.

Boston Red Sox

In this series, I'm most excited for the chance to display cards that I haven't had the chance to or decided not to showcase on the blog beforehand. One of these cards is an absolutely gorgeous encased autograph relic out of Topps Luminaries, an on-card auto that I picked up at the Baseball card show earlier this year,

Admittedly, this was a splurge purchase from the Mansfield show earlier this year, but I opted not to feature it on the blog until now. Numbered 2/10, the card is absolutely breathtaking, and it features an autograph of one of my favorite Red Sox players of all-time.

New York Yankees

Although I've only just begun this series, I'm certain that choosing my best New York Yankees card will be one of the most challenging decisions that I'll have to make. Considering the wide variety of Yankees cards that I have, from vintage cards to printing plates, deciding on just 1 wasn't easy.

However, my 1962 Topps Mickey Mantle card is on a higher level than every other Yankees card that I own. Vintage Mantle base cards can hold a tremendous value depending on the card's condition, and a 3.5 isn't too shabby considering how profound the damage is on the wood-bordered set.

Even though I have some pretty awesome Yankees cards of guys like Whitey Ford, Gleyber Torres, and even Babe Ruth, there's something about Mickey Mantle that makes him the most collectible player in Baseball history. I cherish this unbelievable '62 Topps base card that I have of his, and that's why I selected this card as the best New York Yankees card in my collection.

Tampa Bay Rays

Although I love the style of these mojo refractor cards from 2019 Bowman, I'm hoping that this Wander Franco card won't be the best Tampa Bay Rays card in my collection for long. I hope to sell this card on eBay very soon, for I'd rather cash in on this card while these mega box exclusive parallels are still hot.

This card was an extremely recent pull, for I landed it out of a Target mega box last weekend. Immediately, I listed it on eBay, and I've since had 4 people start "watching" the item. Franco is a top tier prospect at just 18-years old. 

The chances of him living up to the hype surrounding him now, in my opinion, are slim, so I'd rather sell this card and choose the Gypsy Queen framed relic that I have of Evan Longoria to take Franco's place on this list.

Toronto Blue Jays

The final team, the Toronto Blue Jays, was an extremely difficult one to decide on. I don't have any valuable Blue Jays cards or Vladimir Guerrero Jr rookies. This forced me to be more creative when it came to my choice since there were no immediate options that came to mind.

After pondering this decision for a while, I decided on my 1 and the only rookie card of the late Roy Halladay. A member of the 2019 HOF class, my one rookie card of Doc is from 1999 Topps Finest, and it still has the protective coating over the chrome card.

Highly-desired Blue Jays cards aren't exactly common like the Red Sox and Yankees, so it definitely required more thinking as to which card I'd choose for Toronto. Nevertheless, I'm pleased with my decision, because Halladay's rookie truly is the best Blue Jays card in my collection.