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Continuing a multi-year trend of using non-white borders that began in 1998, Topps opted for deep blue borders for their 2003 Topps baseball card set design.
To say the hobby had mixed reactions is an understatement...
It was the first time Topps had used a blue-border design for one of their base sets.
And, like with any hobby first, some collectors loved the design while others didn't care for it at all.
It certainly isn't the most popular Topps set of the 2000s, but the controversial border design isn't the only culprit.
The lack of any landmark rookie cards also doesn't help.
Still, within the 720-card checklist, there are many great cards of stars and Hall of Famers to keep many collectors interested.
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 15 most valuable.
Let's jump right in!
Ross Uitts - Owner
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Let's be clear: most of the cards from this set do not have any value these days.
Like the 2003 Bowman, Finest, Stadium Club and Upper Deck sets, large print runs saturated the market with these cards, driving down their values.
So, for the cards on this list to be worth much, they'll have to be graded by PSA to be in perfect, gem mint condition.
That means the card needs to be flawless.
Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the list:
2003 Topps #400 Derek Jeter
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $600
After a quick Division Series exit against the Angels in 2002, Derek Jeter and the Yankees sought redemption in 2003.
Things didn't start great when just three innings into the regular season, Jeter dislocated his shoulder on a head-first slide into third base, costing him 36 games.
Named the Yankees' 15th captain (and the first since Don Mattingly), Jeter returned and had a fine age-29 season.
Receiving several down-ballot MVP votes, Jeter slashed .324/.393/.450 with ten home runs, 11 stolen bases, 25 doubles, 87 runs scored, and 52 RBIs in 119 games.
AL East champs for the sixth consecutive year, the 101-win Yankees dispatched the Minnesota Twins in four to set up an epic rivalry clash with the Boston Red Sox.
After going 6-for-14 (.429) against Minnesota in the ALDS, Jeter was much less effective overall against Boston, hitting just .233 in the teams' back-and-forth ALCS classic.
However, he saved the biggest hit for when it mattered most.
Down 5-2 in Game 7 with one out in the bottom of the 8th, Jeter laced a double that sparked a game-tying three-run rally.
Aaron Boone's iconic walk-off bomb in the 11th completed the comeback, sending the Yankees to another Fall Classic at the expense of a shellshocked Red Sox squad.
Ultimately, it all ended badly.
The Yankees fell in six in the 2003 World Series to a molten-hot Florida Marlins team, despite Jeter's .346 average in the loss.
2003 Topps #72 Rickey Henderson
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $500
Rickey Henderson's unparalleled 25-year Hall-of-Fame career ended in 2003 with a unique swan song befitting his unique personality.
After playing a part-time role for the Boston Red Sox the year before, Henderson entered his age-44 season without a team.
Unlike previous years, though, no one called before Opening Day, leaving Henderson in free-agent limbo.
Instead of sitting out and taking time to relax, Henderson latched on with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League.
Taking a salary of just $3,000, the all-time stolen base king hoped to catch the eye of an MLB suitor.
"If I don't feel I have the skills, I'd be happy to hang up my shoes and go be with my kids," Henderson said. "But I know I have the skill. The speed guys who can score runs? I think I am better than the guys in the major leagues."
The Los Angeles Dodgers agreed with Rickey, signing the veteran outfielder in mid-July.
However, Henderson's body couldn't back up his bluster in his final big-league stint.
In 30 games with the Dodgers, Henderson hit just .208 with a career-worst .627 OPS, two home runs, five RBIs, and three stolen bases.
And just like that, in an uncharacteristically quiet manner, Henderson was gone from the game he helped to shape.
2003 Topps #390 Ken Griffey Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $350
Dogged by trade rumors all offseason long, Cincinnati Reds outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. clapped back before the 2003 campaign.
"I don't play for a GM, I don't play for a manager," Griffey said. "I don't play for an owner. I love playing baseball because I love playing baseball."
The truth about Griffey's first three years in Cincinnati was a bit more complex than that.
Injuries had marred his last two seasons with his hometown team, leading many to believe his multi-year deal was an albatross around the neck of a Reds franchise going backward.
And the 2003 season didn't help to dispel those concerns.
Griffey played in just 53 games before rupturing an ankle tendon rounding first in a July 17th game against the Cardinals.
It was the season-ending cherry on an injury-filled sundae for Junior in 2003.
He had also reaggravated his previously-ruptured patella, suffered tears to both hamstrings and dislocated his shoulder.
Altogether, Griffey played in just 53 games in 2003, posting a .247/.370/.566 slash line with 13 home runs and 26 RBIs in 201 plate appearances (166 at-bats).
2003 Topps #100 Ichiro
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200
Ichiro Suzuki's third MLB season was his worst statistical campaign thus far.
However, it was still a fantastic individual effort by any standard other than his own.
The 29-year-old right fielder eclipsed 200 hits for the third consecutive year (212) and tied for 7th in the AL batting race with a .312 average.
Ichiro also showed more pop than he had since making the trip Stateside, hitting 13 home runs and driving in 62.
The former three-time Pacific League MVP and seven-time Pacific League batting champ also stole 34 bases, scored 111 runs, and rapped 29 doubles for a 93-win Mariners squad that fell just two games short of a Wild Card berth and three games shy of a division title.
To top things off, Ichiro also won his third straight Gold Glove, landed a handful of down-ballot MVP votes, and added another All-Star Game to his resume.
So much for a down year for the certain-to-be first-ballot Hall of Famer.
2003 Topps #200 Albert Pujols
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200
In any other season, Albert Pujols would have run away with the 2003 NL MVP award.
The youngest player in over 40 years to win the NL batting title (Tommy Davis, 1962), the 23-year-old superstar led all of baseball with a .359 average and led the entire NL in All-Star fan voting.
Showered with "M-V-P" chants at home and on the road, Pujols did everything in 2003 and then some.
He became the first Cardinals hitter since Rogers Hornsby to put together a 30-game hitting streak and led the NL in doubles (51), runs scored (137), and hits (212).
He also drove in 124 RBIs (4th in the NL) and crushed 43 home runs (4th as well), once again slotting himself alongside Hornsby as the only Cardinals players to hit 40 homers and tally 200 hits in the same season.
Pujols crushed his 114th career homer on September 20th, tying him with Ralph Kiner for the most by a player in their first three MLB seasons.
Yes, the Cardinals couldn't pitch worth a lick and finished just third in the NL Central with an 85-77 record.
But, they would have been in much more dire straits without Pujols.
Amazingly, his efforts weren't quite enough to take home his first MVP award, especially in a world with Barry Bonds doing Barry Bonds things.
2003 Topps #370 Chipper Jones
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $125
Moved from the three-hole to the cleanup spot after the acquisition of Gary Sheffield in free agency, Chipper Jones reaped the rewards of a boosted Atlanta Braves lineup.
Adding Sheffield to the mix with Chipper Jones, Andruw Jones, Javy Lopez, and Vinny Castilla morphed the Braves’ offense from a league-average unit to the highest-scoring attack in the National League.
One of just two teams to eclipse 900 runs in 2003 (Boston), the Braves mashed their way to their ninth consecutive NL East title.
Jones was a key contributor to that offensive surge, receiving a smattering of MVP votes after slashing .305/.402/.517 with 27 home runs, 33 doubles, 103 runs scored, 94 walks, and 106 RBIs in 656 plate appearances (555 at-bats).
Perhaps predictably, at this juncture, the 101-win Braves failed to parlay regular-season success in the playoffs, falling to the Chicago Cubs in a tension-filled five-game NLDS.
Jones hit just .167 in the series loss but still cracked two home runs and drove in six to give the Braves a fighting chance.
2003 Topps #109 Frank Thomas
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $100
The 2003 Chicago White Sox gave the Minnesota Twins a run for their money, and "The Big Hurt" played a big part in that for the upstart Southsiders.
In pursuit of the team's second NL Central title since the division's inception in 1994, the White Sox leaned on hulking DH/first baseman Frank Thomas to blast their way toward relevancy.
Thomas delivered by turning in one of his strongest seasons since his mid-90s peak, hitting .267 with 42 home runs, good for 2nd best in the American League.
The ball jumped off his bat all year to the tune of an MLB-best 54.9% fly-ball percentage.
The 35-year-old also finished in the league's top ten in OPS (.952), slugging percentage (.562), walks (100), and extra-base hits (77).
The foursome of Thomas, Magglio Ordonez, Carlos Lee, and Jose Valentine combined for 130 home runs in '03, nearly bludgeoning their way past the Twins and into the playoff field.
Minnesota held off the challenge to win the division by four games, taking five of seven against Chicago in September, including a back-breaking three-game sweep in front of a delirious Metrodome.
2003 Topps #304 Cliff Lee Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $100
Cliff Lee’s 2003 season was a trying and painful one, to say the least.
After making his MLB debut late in the 2002 season with two impressive starts, the young Cleveland Indians lefty entered ‘03 with hopes for a breakout rookie campaign.
Lee’s body had other ideas.
Early in spring training, the 24-year-old was sidelined with an abdominal strain.
Coupled with a sports hernia, the strain cost Lee nearly two months of action.
After pitching well both in a Double-A rehab stint and for Triple-A Buffalo, Lee was called up in late June for a one-off start.
He dazzled in his showcase appearance, carrying a three-hitter into the 7th against the Royals en route to picking up his first Major League win.
Lee returned to Buffalo with renewed confidence, earning another promotion in mid-August.
This time, it was to stay.
Overall, Lee made nine starts for the 68-win Indians in ‘03, wrapping things up with a 3-3 record and a 3.61 ERA.
It was even more admirable that Lee did it while pitching through his sports hernia, an issue requiring surgery as soon as the season concluded.
2003 Topps #548 Mariano Rivera
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $100
Mariano Rivera, the greatest October reliever of the modern era, added another chapter to his unrivaled postseason story in 2003.
It all began with yet another brilliant regular season on the bump for the New York Yankees closer.
Earning several down-ballot AL MVP votes, Rivera pitched to a new career-best 1.66 ERA with just 61 hits and ten walks surrendered in 70.2 innings pitched.
Rivera made 64 appearances in '03 for the Yankees' juggernaut, saving 40 games for the fourth time in seven years.
As it always is in Yankeesland, the regular season was just window dressing for the upcoming postseason.
And when the chips were down, Rivera came up huge yet again.
After the Yankees came back to tie Game 7 of the ALCS at five, Rivera outdid himself with three shutout innings to keep the game knotted.
When Aaron Boone ended the series with a curse-extending crush of Boston's collective hearts, Rivera crumpled near the mound in joy and sheer exhaustion.
Named ALCS MVP, Rivera picked up two saves and pitched to a 1.13 ERA in eight max-pressure innings against the Sox.
2003 Topps #1 Alex Rodriguez
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75
Although he wouldn't officially be linked to PED accusations until the end of the decade, Alex Rodriguez's alleged steroid use was reportedly an "elephant" in the room during his final year with the Texas Rangers.
Regardless, Rodriguez put on an award-winning show in '03 and brought positive media attention to an otherwise imbalanced 71-91 Rangers team.
After narrowly missing out on the AL MVP award in '02, Rodriguez took home the trophy in 2003, leading all of baseball with 47 home runs while pacing the AL in runs scored (124) and slugging percentage (.600).
A-Rod ended the campaign hitting .298 with a .396 on-base percentage, 30 doubles, six triples, 17 stolen bases, 87 walks, and 118 RBIs in 161 games.
With Rodriguez in peak form and plenty of punch elsewhere, the '03 Rangers could hit with the best of them.
It didn't matter much, considering Texas' pitching staff had the worst composite ERA (5.67) in the Majors by a healthy margin.
The Rangers needed a rethink.
And to the team's management, that meant that A-Rod and his growing elephant had to go.
Texas eventually traded him to the Yankees in February 2004 for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later.
2003 Topps #61 Roger Clemens
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75
2003 seemed like a fitting end to Roger Clemens' legendary career.
And that appeared to be the plan until it wasn't.
The New York Yankees' 40-year-old ace had a strong year in 2003, earning his 9th All-Star appearance and pitching to a 3.91 ERA in 33 starts.
Finishing the year at 17-9 with 190 strikeouts and a 1.214 WHIP in 211.2 innings pitched, Clemens more than held his own against batters half his age.
He also made history twice on the same day, becoming the first pitcher to notch his 300th win and 4000th strikeout in the same game in a June 13th victory over St. Louis.
Telling reporters repeatedly that he was retiring after the 2003 campaign, Clemens was pretty good in what was supposed to be his final October, going 2-0 in four postseason starts with a 3.52 ERA and 19 Ks in 23 innings pitched.
However, Clemens' farewell tour wasn't what it seemed to be.
He retired for less than three months before following friend and Yankees teammate Andy Pettitte to Houston.
A late-career renaissance followed shortly after that.
2003 Topps #105 Greg Maddux
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75
Greg Maddux's last year in an Atlanta Braves uniform provided some telltale signs that the future Hall of Famer was shifting down a gear.
Nearly a decade removed from the end of his streak of four straight NL Cy Young awards, Maddux was losing some of the late movement that boosted his deception and made up for his lack of top velocity.
The 37-year-old could still sequence and hit the corners with the best of them, but he was much more hittable at this advanced stage of his career.
Maddux went 16-11 for the NL East champions with a 3.96 ERA, his worst earned-run average since 1987.
He surrendered 225 hits in 218.1 innings, striking out 124 batters and pitching to a 1.182 WHIP in an MLB-best 36 starts.
In his last of 27 postseason starts for Atlanta, Maddux gave up six hits and two earned runs in a hard-luck NLDS Game 4 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
It wasn't exactly a bad year to go out on.
Yet, it wasn't much more than solid for one of the greatest pitchers of the era.
2003 Topps #396 Barry Bonds
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75
It was the best of times and the worst of times for Barry Bonds in 2003.
The good times were unreal, maybe too much so.
Bonds continued to rewrite the parameters of hitting for the 100-win SF Giants, leading all of baseball in walks (148), intentional walks (61), on-base percentage (.529), slugging percentage (.749), OPS (1.278), and OPS+ (231).
Bonds also hit 45 home runs in just 130 games, adding 111 runs scored, 22 doubles, and 90 RBIs.
The easy pick for NL MVP for the third consecutive year, the 12-time All-Star and 11-time Silver Slugger was on a level all his own.
And then, the good times got ugly all too quickly.
In September, federal agents raided the Bay Area Laboratory Collective, a company targeted for selling and dispersing illegal PEDs for nearly a half-decade.
And BALCO president/founder Victor Conte Jr. named Bonds as one of the high-level athletes on his company's client sheet.
A black cloud gathered over Bonds and his accomplishments.
Bonds hit just .222 with no home runs in a four-game NLDS loss to the Florida Marlins, sending him home early in October to watch the madness (and questioning) unfold.
2003 Topps #671 Cole Hamels Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $65
Selected 17th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2002 MLB Draft, Cole Hamels brought plenty of upside but many questions with him in his first year of professional baseball.
The young lefty dazzled scouts in high school with his high-octane fastball and strong breaking stuff.
However, some MLB teams wrote him off after he broke the humerus bone in his pitching arm during his sophomore year.
The Phillies weren’t scared off, grabbing Hamels as soon as they could on draft day.
And in his first year within the organization, he rewarded their confidence with a stellar run through low-A and high-A ball.
In 18 starts for the Lakewood BlueClaws and Clearwater Phillies, Hamels went 6-3 with a microscopic 1.34 ERA.
He gave up just 61 hits and surrendered zero home runs in 101 innings pitched.
While the 19-year-old sometimes lost command of his fastball (to the tune of 39 walks), he quickly erased most baserunners with his evolving pitch arsenal.
Named the Phillies’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Hamels was well on his way to doing big things in the big leagues.
2003 Topps #311 Kevin Youkilis Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $45
Selected in the eighth round of the 2001 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis made up for his lack of flashy tools with his uncanny instincts and patience at the plate.
And in 2003, Youkilis cemented his future spot on Boston’s big-league roster with a historic tear through the high end of the Minors.
The 24-year-old third baseman got on base at a record pace with Double-A Portland in ‘03, setting a new club record with a .487 OBP.
Named to the Eastern League All-Star team and the 2003 All-Star Futures Game, Youkilis was third in the league in batting average (.327) before being promoted to Pawtucket.
Finishing the year with Pawtucket, Youkilis continued to do his job, tying Kevin Millar’s record for consecutive games on base at 71.
He also concluded the season with the third most walks (104) in all of Minor League Baseball.
Named to Baseball America’s Double-A All-Star team, Youkilis capped his blockbuster year on the farm with a trip to Mexico to play winter ball in the Mexican Pacific League.
2003 Topps Baseball Cards In Review
In many ways, the 2003 Topps baseball card set has been overlooked.
But, when I take a closer look at it, I think it's underappreciated.
Sure, the rookie cards of guys like Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Kevin Youkilis don't quite get the same hobby love they once did when those guys were at the heights of their careers.
And that lack of any big-time rookie card hurts this set.
But there is no shortage of big-name cards of guys like Rickey Henderson, Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Albert Pujols and Ichiro who are either in the Hall of Fame or soon will be.
There were also several subsets that kept things interesting by highlighting key players, coaches and memorable moments, including:
- Managers (#262 - 219)
- First Year Players (#292 - 321)
- Future Stars (#322 - 331)
- Season Highlights (#332 - 336)
- League Leaders (#337 - 348)
- Postseason Highlights (#349 - 355)
- Sporting News All-Stars (#356 - 367; #709 - 719)
- Team Cards (#630 - 659)
- Draft Picks (#660 - 674)
- Prospects (#675 - 684)
- Award Winners (#685 - 708)
- World Series (#720 - 721)
Overall, I don't think this set will ever take off and completely win the hearts and minds of the entire hobby.
But, for the hardcore hobbyist who is always looking for the silver lining in a given set, there are certainly some bright spots within the checklist.