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Take one look at the 2007 Topps baseball card set design and you'll notice something right off the bat:
for the first time since 1971, Topps went with a black-bordered design.
Some collectors didn't like the design when they first saw it, but I thought it was creative and changed things up quite nicely.
Regardless of your opinion, the design is undoubtedly unique.
Within the 661-card checklist, you'll find plenty of stars and Hall of Famers as well as a few decent rookie cards, most notably anchored by that of Alex Gordon.
And in this guide, we'll take a look at the 12 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 2007 Bowman, Fleer 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.
You'll also find several limited parallel versions of the base cards, including red backs, gold, copper, platinum, printing plates, and first editions, but we'll stick with the base cards for this write-up.
Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the list:
2007 Topps #40 Derek Jeter
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value With Bush & Mantle: $200
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value Without Bush & Mantle: $100
In an attempt at humor, or perhaps just a stunt to build additional hype for their Series One release, Topps inserted an image of Mickey Mantle in the dugout and President George W. Bush in the stands on Derek Jeter's card.
Some collectors enjoyed the gimmick while others hated it.
No matter your opinion, the move had the desired effect of spiking the interest of both collectors and non-collectors alike.
Many anticipated that Topps would eventually correct the error, and prices soared as collectors scrambled to get their hands on this perceived "rarity."
Topps never did correct the error, though, and prices eventually fell back to Earth.
Only in factory sets were collectors able to find a version of the card without Mantle and Bush.
As for Jeter himself, he indeed lived up to the hype of being one of the best in baseball during the 2007 season as he earned his eighth All-Star appearance and second Silver Slugger.
However, Jeter was uncharacteristically bad during the postseason, as he went just 3-17 with one RBI and zero runs scored during the Yankees' 3-1 ALDS loss to the Cleveland Indians.
With Bush and Mantle
Without Bush and Mantle
2007 Topps #450 Ken Griffey Jr.
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200
From 2001 to 2004, Ken Griffey Jr. suffered injury after injury, causing him to miss substantial amounts of time on the field.
Fortunately, beginning in 2005, Griffey's health returned, and he was able to put together a string of seasons through 2009 in which he was able to play in more than 100 games every year.
During the 2007 campaign, Griffey appeared in 144 games, the most since his first season with the Cincinnati Reds in 2000, when he played in 145 games.
Before the season, Reds manager Jerry Narron made Ryan Freel the team's center fielder while moving Griffey to right, which could have helped Griffey's durability.
The Kid made the most of those 144 games as he belted 30 home runs, drove in 71 runs, and batted .277 while earning his thirteenth and final trip to the All-Star Game along the way.
It was one of his most productive seasons with the Reds but far from one of his trademark seasons with the Seattle Mariners during the 1990s.
At the age of 37, Griffey's best days were behind him, and by mid-season in 2008, the Reds would trade him to the Chicago White Sox to bring his days in Cincinnatti to a close.
2007 Topps #661 Barry Bonds
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $200
For Barry Bonds, the 2007 season was all about trying to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record.
After finishing the 2006 season with his career home run count resting at 734, Bonds entered the year needing to hit 21 to tie Aaron's record of 755 and 22 to break it.
On August 7, with the count full during the bottom of the fifth inning of a home game against the Washington Nationals, Bonds blasted a pitch of Mike Bacsik into the outfield bleachers of AT&T Park that sent 43,154 fans into a frenzy.
After rounding the bases, a video of Hank Aaron congratulating Bonds played on the screen while Willie Mays joined him on the field before he addressed the crowd with a short speech.
Bonds would eventually hit six more long balls to finish the 2007 season with 762 career home runs.
Unfortunately, after testing positive for amphetamines before the season started, Bonds' entire legacy rested under a cloud of doubt and distrust from that point on.
At the age of 43, he was ready and willing to play beyond the 2007 season, but no MLB team would sign him during the 2008 or 2009 seasons.
Bonds later filed a grievance with MLB in 2015, stating that teams had colluded to not sign him after 2007, but the league ruled against him.
2007 Topps #130 Albert Pujols
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $125
While Barry Bonds was finishing off his chase of Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, the baseball world watched and wondered if Albert Pujols might be the next guy to make a run at it in the future.
Beginning with his rookie campaign in 2001, Pujols took the league by storm as a guy who could hit for both power and average.
Year after year, Pujols was capable of putting up 40+ home runs, scoring 120+ runs, and driving in 120+ runs while competing for the batting title.
However, Pujols "struggled" in 2007 as he put up arguably the worst of the first eleven seasons of his career as a St. Louis Cardinal.
His .327 batting average was as steady as ever, but his power dropped significantly as his slugging percentage fell to .568 versus his career-best .671 the year before.
As a result, Pujols hit just 32 home runs with 103 RBI, the lowest and second-lowest totals of his first stint in St. Louis.
Still, he made it to his sixth All-Star Game and finished ninth in the NL MVP race, his lowest finish in the vote during his first round as a Cardinal.
That should paint a pretty clear picture of just how incredibly dominant Pujols was at that point in his career.
2007 Topps #305 Frank Thomas
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $100
Frank Thomas entered the 2007 season on a two-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays looking to continue playing at a high-level during his age-39 season.
Gone were the days of Thomas contending for a batting title as his .277 average was well below his career .301 average, but he still managed to bring a good amount of pop with his bat.
His 26 home runs and 95 RBI weren't the monster numbers he had steadily produced during the 1990s but that level of output was some of his highest of the 2000s.
Perhaps most notable were Thomas's two significant milestones that he achieved during the year.
On June 17, in a game against the Washington Nationals, Thomas snapped Edgar Martinez's then-record of 243 home runs as a DH when he hit the 244th of his career.
And less than two weeks later, Thomas became the 21st member of the 500 home run club after he sent a three-run shot off of Minnesota's Carlos Silva into the stands.
2007 Topps #135 Troy Tulowitzki
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75
With the seventh pick of the 2005 MLB Draft, the Colorado Rockies selected Troy Tulowitzki out of California State University, Long Beach.
With the size and skills that many were comparing to legends like Cal Ripken Jr., Derek Jeter, and even Alex Rodriguez, the Rockies had high hopes for their young shortstop.
During his 2007 campaign, Tulowitzki did not disappoint as he finished with a .291 batting average, 24 home runs, 104 runs scored and 99 RBI to finish just two points behind Milwaukee's Ryan Braun for second in the NL Rookie of the Year vote.
Tulowitzki also showed off his incredible glove on defense as he led all NL shortstops in fielding percentage (.987), putouts (262), total chances (834), assists (561), double plays turned (114), and range factor (5.39).
Despite his incredible defensive stats, he lost the Gold Glove to Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins.
After thirteen seasons in the Majors, he would retire with the second-highest fielding percentage (.9846) for shortstops and two spots ahead of Rollins (.9834).
Tulowitzki finished his career as a five-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glover, and two-time Silver Slugger with a reputation as one of the best shortstops of his era.
2007 Topps #400 Ichiro Suzuki
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75
Since his MLB debut in 2001, Ichiro Suzuki eclipsed the 200 hits mark for the seventh straight season during the 2007 campaign with an incredible MLB-best 238 base hits.
That would turn out to be the third-highest total of his nineteen years in the Majors and it was all thanks, in large part, to his .351 batting average, which was also the third-highest of his career.
With an impressive .396 OBP to his name, Ichiro also proved to be a significant threat on the basepaths as he stole 37 bases and scored 111 runs.
The season marked yet another efficient and productive performance in the future Hall of Famer's storied career.
Unfortunately, there would be no postseason in store for him as the Seattle Mariners finished second in the AL West at 88-74.
After the season, Ichiro placed eighth in the MVP race while earning his seventh-straight Gold Glove and second Silver Slugger.
2007 Topps #634 Alex Gordon Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $75
In 2006, the MLBPA insisted that sports card manufacturers only include players in base sets after making their Major League debuts.
However, Topps still decided to produce an Alex Gordon card for Series One of their 2006 flagship release, perhaps assuming he would make the Kansas City Royals roster anyway, given how great he was expected to be.
Unfortunately, Gordon didn't make the Royals' roster and Topps had to pull his card from production.
Still, some found their way into packs and circulation, making his 2006 Topps rookie card one of the more infamous error cards of the 2000s.
Gordon did make the team's roster for the 2007 season, making this his official Topps rookie card.
As you can imagine, it sells for much less than his 2006 Topps card since there is nothing erroneous or special about it.
Gordon batted a paltry .247 with 15 home runs, 60 runs scored and 60 RBI during his 2007 rookie campaign and from that point on, the hype surrounding him slowly wained.
Though he may not have lived up to the lofty expectations MLB had for him, Gordon still turned in a fine career that saw him become a three-time All-Star, eight-time Gold Glover, two-time Platinum Glover, and 2015 World Series champion.
2007 Topps #50 Miguel Cabrera
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $60
As the newest member of the 3,000 hit club, Miguel Cabrera doesn't have anything left to prove to make his case for eventual enshrinement into Cooperstown.
Not that he would've had a hard time getting in without 3,000 hits anyway, seeing as how he is an eleven-time All-Star, seven-time Silver Slugger, two-time MVP, four-time batting champion, 2003 World Series champion and Triple Crown winner (2012).
Oh, and he boasts a career batting average above .300 and has eclipsed the 500 home run and 1800 RBI marks, too.
But, his 3,000th hit during a home game against the Colorado Rockies on April 23, 2022, only served to cement his legacy as one of the greatest players of all time.
At just 24 years old during his last year with the Florida Marlins in 2007, Cabrera batted .320 with 34 home runs and 119 RBI, earning his fourth-straight All-Star appearance during the process.
However, during the offseason leading up to the 2008 season, the Marlins decided to part ways with the young superstar in a multi-player trade that sent him to the Detroit Tigers, where he's been ever since.
2007 Topps #90 Chipper Jones
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $60
Chipper Jones was outstanding during the 2007 season and finished sixth in the NL MVP race, his highest finish since the 1999 season when he won the award.
The season also marked the only time in his Hall of Fame career that he led the NL in OPS (1.029) and OPS+ (165).
As usual, Jones brought both power and discipline to the plate, which resulted in the second-best batting average (.337) and third-best OBP (.425), and slugging percentage (.604) in the National League.
Combine all that, and it's easy to see how Jones was able to belt 29 home runs and eclipse both the 100 runs scored (108) and 100 RBI (102) plateaus for the final time in his career.
With a potent offense led by Jones, Briann McCann, Andruw Jones, Jeff Francoeur and even Mark Teixeira, thanks to a mid-season trade with the Rangers, the Braves finished the season 84-78.
Unfortunately, they fell five games short of the Philadelphia Phillies for first place in the NL East to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row.
2007 Topps #301 Derek Jeter
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $60
Surprisingly, Derek Jeter didn't rank among the top shortstops in any of the major defensive categories in 2006 but still brought home his third of five career Gold Gloves.
Many often criticized Jeter as being a below-average shortstop and argued that he did not deserve this Gold Glove or any of them.
Many felt that his popularity and the fact that he was the face of the Yankees played more of a role in the decision than it should have.
Regardless of everyone's opinions, Derek Jeter still won the award, and Topps included him in their Gold Glove Winners subset along with the rest of the winners in 2006.
2007 Topps #510 Alex Rodriguez
Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $45
The 2007 season turned out to be a career year for Alex Rodriguez, and much of that was due to his physical preparation and some adjustments he made to his batting approach.
His efforts paid huge dividends as he led the Majors in home runs (54), RBI (156), runs scored (143), slugging percentage (.645), OPS (1.067), and OPS+ (176).
Each of those stats turned out to be career bests for A-Rod, and when the season wrapped up, he earned his ninth Silver Slugger and third MVP awards.
In short, he was a one-man wrecking crew at the plate that year and, despite some controversy in the way he handled negotiations, resulted in a new, ten-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees after the season.
Though he was undoubtedly one of the most talented and productive players in MLB history, A-Rod's legacy will unfortunately always be tarnished by his ties to PEDs.
2007 Topps Baseball Cards In Review
As you can see, there aren't really any big-time cards in this set but, if graded in PSA 10 condition, there are several that can command a decent price tag.
And the Derek Jeter card with Mantle and Bush in the background is, without a doubt, the face of this set in the absence of any blockbuster rookie cards.
To be a big fan of this set, it really comes down to having to like the controversial design.
If nothing else, you can find plenty of Hall of Famers like Derek Jeter, Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey Jr. and Chipper Jones scattered throughout the checklist.
There were also some subsets, including:
- Gold Glove Winners
- Combo Cards
- Team Cards
- Managers
- League MVPs
- Rookies of the Year
- Award Winners
Overall, I think this is a decent set with a unique design and enough stars and Hall of Famers inside to keep things interesting.