Today we take our first venture into cards from the more recent past; a card which was only released 10 years ago but is just as iconic and has a good a story behind it as any other on this list.
Mike Trout is - quite rightly - regarded as the best player in baseball today and is certainly in the conversation for best of all time. But there was a time not that long ago when he wasn't regarded all that highly.
Sure, he was drafted by the Angels in the first round. But no fewer than 21 teams had the chance to draft him but elected not to. We're sure that every single one of those 21 teams would do anything possible to rewind time and draft Trout instead.
But it was the same initial underestimating which led to many a baseball card collector not realising the potential future value of their 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout card.
From a layman perspective, this card really isn't all that special. It isn't autographed and there was a decent enough chance of finding him in packs which didn't make it that difficult to come across in 2011.
So what makes it so special? Quite simply, Mike Trout does.
His career so far has been simply incredible.
In 10 seasons with the Angels, Trout has been an 8 time All-Star (which very probably would have been 9 had the game not been cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), won the Rookie of the Year, been a 3 time MVP & hit over 300 HR with 74.6 WAR.
The top 3 most similar batters in history to Mike Trout at time of writing (according to baseball-reference.com) are Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle & Ken Griffey Jr. All Hall of Famers. There is absolutely no reason not to think that Trout wouldn't join them on his first ballot.
So just like the 21 teams that passed on him in the 2009 draft, there are plenty of baseball card collectors who wish they knew then what they know now.
A card which you could easily have picked up for less the a fiver in 2011 is now worth over £500 ungraded.
Will this upward trend continue? Who knows? Every year there has been someone saying that this is the year the value will peak. But, so far, every year they've been wrong.
The value has to peak at some point. But as long as Mike Trout keeps being Mike Trout, we wouldn't bet on that happening anytime soon.
Do you think that the value of the 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout card will go up or down from here?
Is there an iconic baseball card that you think should be featured here?
Let us know in the comments or on twitter.
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