“DAR-RYL! DAR-RYL!”
Every Mets fan that had the privilege of watching Darryl Strawberry don the Orange and Blue knows that chant. They remember that chant. They’ve participated in that chant.
Whether it was on their couch, their backyard at a summer barbeque, a block party, or in the car. In a bar in any of the five boroughs, or in the Tri-State area. In the Mezzaine at Shea, or on the road at Veterans Stadium, or Three Rivers, or the bleachers at Wrigley.
Whether it was the looping lefthanded swing that launched a ball to Manhattan, the slow home run trot or the one-handed catches, the chant of “DAR-RYL! DAR-RYL!” reasonates in the memories of every Mets fan in the 1980s. My earliest memory of that chant, came from an unlikely source.
The legendary Vin Scully.
It was the 1986 World Series and Vin Scully did what he always did, describing every aspect of the game to the viewers at home. I had just started kindergarten the month before and Scully began sharing with the viewers what all of the Mets-faithful were chanting that magical night at Shea.
Strawberry didn’t just provide memories to Mets fans, but he also brought memories to collectors throughout the baseball card industry with his iconic rookie cards that every collector wanted in there collection.
Much like another superstar from Queens in the 1980s, Darryl’s first rookie card was an an extended rookie card that appeared in the 1983 Topps Traded release. The 1983 Topps set is one of the most quintessential Topps releases of the decade as it featured rookie cards of future Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn, Ryne Sandberg, and Wade Boggs, but the Topps Traded set would have fallen flat had it not been for Strawberry’s inclusion in the release.
A card design that I originally wasn’t a fan of until it was released as an insert set for Topps 2018 to celebrate the product’s 35th anniversay, Topps used a design that included a head shot in either the bottom left or right corner of the card with the player’s name opposite in red over white, their position, and then their team name in white over blue.
In the mid to late 80s, this was one of the most expensive modern baseball card’s on the market with an asking price starting north of $70. In the early year’s of the Topps Traded release, Topps only released the product as a set and not in packs. So, in order to get your hands on this Strawberry rookie card, collectors were forced to purchase the full set that aside from Strawberry included rookies cards of 1983 American League Rookie of the Year Ron Kittle, Julio Franco, Tony Phillips, and Alejandro Pena.
Those collectors that made those purchases ended up losing out on their investment as Strawberry’s off-field issues tanked his card values. When I started getting back into collecting, this card was at the top of my list and I was able to add it to my collection for under $15. With card values rising over the past few years, this card has been steadily climbing upward in value and unless you get lucky in an eBay auction, you would be hard pressed to find this card ungraded for under $35.
With the release of the three 1984 baseball card products, collectors found themselves with more options to track down a rookie card of the budding superstar. First, came his 1984 Donruss rookie card.
Strawberry’s youth was fully on display in this card as the picture on this card was an up close shot of him in his blue batting practice jersey. Defintiely one of Donruss’ best card designs with a minimalistic design on the front was followed up with an awful shade of green on the back of the card.
The 1984 Donruss set was its first release to include their famous subset, the Rated Rookies. Although Strawberry’s card was not inculded in the Rated Rookie subset, his teammate Ron Darling was. The Rated Rookie subset also included rookie cards for future Mets Tony Fernandez (Blue Jays), Kevin McReynolds (Padres), Dick Schofield (Angels), Tim Teufel (Twins), and Sid Fernandez (Dodgers). All of the 1984 products were packed full of rookie cards, but it was Strawberry and a first basemen from the Bronx that collectors were most interested.
If you are looking to add Strawberry’s 1984 Donruss rookie card to your collection, you can easily find this card ungraded for under $15.00.
What seems like a forgotten card, Strawberry’s 1984 Fleer rookie card is underrated. Fleer quite yet released a product that attracted collectors, but that would change when they released their first update set after the 1984 season. Using a simple, yet different design throughout Fleer’s first decade in the industry, the 1984 design uses a blue stripe on the top and bottom of the player picture with thres of the card’s design in white.
The picture of Strawberry featured on the card displays an even more youthful appearance than his Donruss rookie card as he is pictured on one knee with his left arm resting over his bat. This product, much like every product released in 1984 were buoyed by the inclusion of Strawberry, along with Don Mattingly. The success of Fleer’s update release brought belated attention to this set, and rightfully so, as it is a highly underrated release with mostly posed photos of the players included in the set.
Of all of Strawberry’s rookie cards from 1984, his Fleer rookie is one of the most affordable. If you are looking to add this card to your collection, it can be yours ungraded for under $10.
Arguably the most recognizable of Darryl Strawberry’s 1984 rookie cards, his Topps rookie card is also one of my personal favorites in my collection. Unlike his Donruss and Fleer rookie cards, Strawberry’s Topps rookie card features an action photo of him following thru on his swing in the Mets pinstriped home uniforms. The orange and blue racing stripes make the slender young rookie appear ten feet tall and not six and half feet.
One of the the most popular baseball cards in the hobby in the the mid to late 1980’s, Starwberry’s 1984 Topps card was a card every kid wanted and could have been there’s for $20.00-$25.00. Topps has reprinted this card several times over the past two decades, including receiving a slight redesign in 2014 for an insert set called Future Stars That Never Were.
Then he left New York and his off the field issues increased significantly, his on-field production fell, and the value of his rookie cards dropped. Much like other cardboard treasures from the 1980’s, Strawberry’s 1984 Topps card has been seeing an uptick in value, moreso when the card is has been professionally graded. Ungraded, this card can be yours for under $10.00.
Despite how much Strawberry’s rookie cards may have dropped in value or the slow increase from the past few years, his rookie cards are among some of the most iconic of the 1980’s and they are definitely cards that any Mets would want in their collection.
