30 Most Valuable 1992 Upper Deck Baseball Cards

1992 Upper Deck Heroes Ted Williams Autograph

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $1,750

Just as they did with their 1991 set, Upper Deck boosted collector interest by including autographed chase cards of different baseball legends.

To be clear, this is an insert, but I wanted to include it on this list since it's an amazing card and a piece of hobby history.

Hand-numbered to 2,500 copies, the autographed Ted Williams Upper Deck Heroes card came in low series boxes that encouraged collectors to "Find The Williams."

Those who were lucky enough to find one received a card with beautiful artwork and a genuine Ted Williams signature in blue ink across the top.

Upper Deck included many different Ted Williams inserts in this set, but there's no question that this one stands alone as the most desirable.

High-grade copies can easily sell for over $1,750 while those in even decent condition will sell for hundreds of dollars.

After all, the Splendid Splinter is one of baseball's most celebrated icons, so anything with his signature on it won't be cheap.

1992 Upper Deck Heroes Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench Autograph

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $600

Although this card features the autographs of both Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench, it doesn't quite surpass the Ted Williams auto card in terms of value.

That doesn't mean it's cheap, by any means.

Both Hall of Famers were instrumental in leading so many of those dominant "Big Red Machine" teams of the 1970s, and this card is a fantastic tribute to them.

Also numbered to 2,500 copies, collectors could "Find The Bench/Morgan" in high series boxes, like the example image at the top of this article.

In my opinion, this card's imagery provides much more eye appeal than the Williams card, but I would love to have either one of them.

1992 Upper Deck #SP3 Deion Sanders "Prime Time's Two"

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $215

Inserted into low series packs, the Deion Sanders SP3 card also featured a four-image overlay of Sanders on the basepath in both his Falcons and Braves uniforms.

It was one of two "SP" cards in the set, the other featuring Tom Selleck and Frank Thomas as New York Yankees in promotion of the film Mr. Baseball released in October that year.

The 1992 season was arguably Sanders' best on the baseball field as he set career marks in home runs (8), RBI (28), batting average (.304), and led MLB with 14 triples.

Sanders had explosive speed and this card does a tremendous job of capturing his talents as a two-sport star.

1992 Upper Deck #424 Ken Griffey Jr.

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $60

By the time the 1992 season rolled around, Ken Griffey Jr. was well on his way to becoming one of the game's biggest superstars after finishing 9th in MVP voting the year before.

He'd finish the year with 27 home runs and 103 RBI, which were impressive numbers, but weren't quite the monster stats he was putting up by the mid-to-late 90s (think 50+ home runs and 140+ RBI per season).

With this card, Upper Deck tried to reproduce The Kid in action by overlaying four images on top of one another that showcased him driving one deep.

This card is an excellent example of how Upper Deck was trying to separate itself from its competitors by including innovative design elements.

1992 Upper Deck #650 Ken Griffey Jr.

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $50

The Diamond Skills subset featured some of the game's most talented players in both the American and National League.

Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson had multiple cards in the American League group, but Griffey's is the most expensive today.

The reverse of his card reads, "Watch the highlight films long enough and you will undoubtedly see another incredible play from Ken Griffey Jr. From diving catches, to rifle-shot throws, the game-winning blasts, nobody provides more thrills."

That five-tool skillset was precisely what made him so fun to watch and elevated him to become one of the most popular players of his era.

1992 Upper Deck #655 Nolan Ryan

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $50

Usually, I prefer to see a Nolan Ryan card with a nice shot of him delivering one of his legendary heaters.

In this case, Upper Deck chose to showcase him resting his chin on top of a baseball with his hands crossed.

It's a much more tame image than we're used to seeing and certainly doesn't scream "The Ryan Express."

Regardless, he remains one of the biggest names in the hobby, and collectors will pay $25 or so for this card in high grade.

At the age of 45, Ryan would win five games while striking out 157 batters with a 3.72 ERA during his second-to-last season as a Major League pitcher in 1992.

1992 Upper Deck #85 Griffey Family

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $45

.

1992 Upper Deck #18 Pedro Martinez Star Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $40

Had the Los Angeles Dodgers not needed a second baseman so badly before the 1994 season, they may have never traded Pedro Martinez to the Montreal Expos for Delino DeShields.

He would've likely gone on to join the ranks of Koufax, Drysdale, Kershaw, and so many other Dodger pitching legends had he remained in LA.

Regardless, Martinez became one of the game's greatest and most dominant fireballers of all-time, picking up three Cy Young Awards and a Triple Crown along the way.

His "Star Rookie" card features a nice image of the skinny youngster warming up and ready to release a two-seamer.

1992 Upper Deck #5 Jim Thome Star Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35

Best known for his towering home runs, Jim Thome smashed 612 long balls over his 22-year career, which places him 8th on the list of all-time home run leaders.

His "Star Rookie Card" shows a young Thome in his early twenties, hoisting two bats over his shoulder while tossing a ball into the air.

A native of Peoria, Illinois, Thome played basketball and baseball at Illinois Central College and showed just enough promise for the Cleveland Indians to draft him in the 13th round of the 1989 draft.

Initially, his career got off to a slow start, but thankfully Charlie Manuel saw enough potential in Thome to spend time transforming him into the dominant hitter he later was.

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, his first year of eligibility, Thome was one of the best power hitters in the game's history and was always fun to watch.

1992 Upper Deck #155 Rickey Henderson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35

I always love it when a baseball card captures a player doing what he does best, and this Rickey Henderson card is an excellent example with its fantastic shot of the legendary speedster swiping third base.

Henderson sits atop the career leader board with a jaw-dropping 1,406 career stolen bases, and many believe it's a record that nobody will come close to breaking.

For perspective, Lou Brock still sits in a distant second place with 938, and the game doesn't place as much value on the stolen base anymore.

Time will tell if that changes, but Henderson can likely rest easy that nobody will ever steal as many bases as he did.

1992 Upper Deck #254 Kirby Puckett

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35

.

1992 Upper Deck #274 Tony Gwynn

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35

.

1992 Upper Deck #333 Jose Canseco

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $35

.

1992 Upper Deck #90 Rickey Henderson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #92 Nolan Ryan

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #165 Cal Ripken Jr.

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #166 Frank Thomas

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #356 Don Mattingly

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #444 George Brett

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #555 Bo Jackson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #640 Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #645 Cal Ripken Jr.

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #648 Rickey Henderson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #717 Tony Gwynn

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #782 Rickey Henderson

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $30

.

1992 Upper Deck #63 Manny Ramirez Rookie Card

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25

Although Manny Ramirez's Hall of Fame chances will forever remain in doubt due to testing positive for PEDs in 2009, there is no question that he was one of the most talented hitters of all-time.

Ramirez ranks 15th in career home runs (555) and 18th in career RBI (1,831) while his .312 career batting average shows how disciplined he was at the plate.

He was especially known for coming up big during the playoffs as his 29 postseason home runs are the most ever and well ahead of Bernie Williams' 22 in second place.

Luckily for Red Sox fans, he had a monster year in 2004 and helped them eventually snap the team's decades-long World Series drought with a title that year.

Part of the "Top Prospects" subset, his rookie card showcases him with a bright smile, kneeling in his Cleveland Indians uniform where he spent the first 8 seasons of his career.

1992 Upper Deck #134 Barry Bonds

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25

.

1992 Upper Deck #145 Ryne Sandberg

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25

.

1992 Upper Deck #153 Mark McGwire

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25

.

1992 Upper Deck #177 Ozzie Smith

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25

.

1992 Upper Deck #443 Wade Boggs

Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $25

.

1992 Upper Deck Baseball Cards In Review

So there you have it, the ten most valuable 1992 Upper Deck baseball cards.

The Hall of Famers, rookies and fantastic photography provide plenty to enjoy and a steep nostalgic value.

In total, it contained 800 cards with the first series running from cards #1-700 while the high number second series finished things off from card #701-800.

Within the set were also several plenty of subsets to enjoy, including:

• Star Rookies (#1 - 27)
• Top Prospects (#51 - 77)
• Bloodlines (#79 - 85)
• Diamond Skills (#640 650 / #711 -721)
• Diamond Debuts (#770 - 780)

Inserts included:

• SP
• College Players of the Year Hologram
• Heroes Highlights
• Heroes of Baseball
• Home Run Heroes
• Johnny Bench /Joe Morgan Baseball Heroes
• Ted Williams Baseball Heroes
• Ted Williams Hologram
• Ted Williams' Best
• Scouting Report

Cards released in factory sets each had a gold hologram on the reverse side instead of the standard silver holograms and can be worth a bit more.

Say what you want about this set, there's no questioning its aesthetic appeal and nostalgic value that remain to this day.