The One-Sheet Collections idea is a simple concept with infinite possibilities. Take a single nine-pocket sheet and a reasonable $100 budget, and build a nine-card collection with a unifying theme.
This week’s article takes a deeper dive into some of the game’s all-time great sluggers who went largely overlooked when it came to Hall of Fame voting, failing to receive the five percent of support necessary to stick around on the ballot for a second year.
The following nine players have the highest home run total of any players that went one-and-done in Cooperstown voting, and this is a collection of their Rookie Cards.
1992 Bowman #127 Carlos Delgado RC ($8)
HR Total: 473 (34th all-time)
HOF Vote: 3.8% in 2015
One of the most consistent power hitters of his era, Delgado logged 10 straight seasons with at least 30 home runs during his time with the Blue Jays, Marlins and Mets. That stretch included a trio of 40-homer campaigns, with a career year in 2000 when he hit .344/.470/.664 with 41 home runs and 137 RBI.
His only Rookie Card is part of the star-studded 1992 Bowman set that also includes rookies of Mariano Rivera, Mike Piazza, Trevor Hoffman and Manny Ramirez, as well as sought after early cards of Pedro Martinez and Chipper Jones.
1986 Topps Traded #20T Jose Canseco XRC ($15)
HR Total: 462 (t-39th all-time)
HOF Vote: 1.1% in 2007
A dynamic power-speed threat early in his career, Jose Canseco was the first player to log a 40/40 season with 42 home runs and 40 steals en route to AL MVP honors in 1988. He later became the face of the Steroid Era, registering the final 30-homer season of his career as a 34-year-old in Tampa Bay during the 1999 season.
He made it into the 1986 Donruss and 1986 Fleer base sets, but his first Topps card was part of the 1986 Topps Traded set. It doesn’t hold quite the same value as his iconic Donruss rookie, but it’s easily his No. 2 early card.
1999 Topps Traded #T50 Adam Dunn RC ($4)
HR Total: 462 (t-39th all-time)
HOF Vote: 0.3% in 2020
Adam Dunn had five straight 40-homer seasons at his peak with the Cincinnati Reds, and while he struck out a ton and was a middling defender, he had some of the best raw power in recent baseball history. He only played until he was 34 years old, and he had a 115 OPS+ with 22 home runs in his final big league season, so a run at 500 would have been doable if he had decided to hold on.
Dunn has Rookie Cards in the 1999 Bowman and 1999 Topps Traded sets, as well as the corresponding Chrome versions of both sets.
1972 Topps #147 Dave Kingman RC ($20)
HR Total: 442 (43rd all-time)
HOF Vote: 0.7% in 1992
One of baseball’s first all-or-nothing hitters, Dave Kingman was an imposing 6’6″ slugger who played for seven different teams over his 16-year career. He was the NL leader in home runs in 1979 when he hit 48 with the Cubs and 1982 when he tallied 37 with the Mets, and he was a dangerous power hitter right up until his retirement with a 35-homer campaign as a 37-year-old in 1986.
While Carlton Fisk is the marquee Rookie Card in the 1972 Topps set, Kingman’s rookie is extremely affordable, especially considering he doesn’t have to share it with any other players.
1991 Topps Traded #45T Jason Giambi USA RC ($8)
HR Total: 440 (44th all-time)
HOF Vote: 1.5% in 2020
Tasked with replacing Mark McGwire at first base and in the middle of the Oakland lineup, Jason Giambi quickly developed into one of baseball’s most feared sluggers in his own right. He won AL MVP during a 43-homer, 137-RBI season in 2000, finished runner-up the following season with 38 home runs and 120 RBI, then signed a seven-year, $120 million deal with the Yankees where he hit 209 of his 440 home runs.
His only Rookie Card pictures him as part of the US National Team in the 1991 Topps Traded set, and he appeared in the Topps Traded set again the following year before his first cards as a member of the Oakland Athletics were included in 1994 products.
1994 Topps Traded #112T Paul Konerko RC ($15)
HR Total: 439 (45th all-time)
HOF Vote: 2.5% in 2020
Paul Konerko was 22 years old with seven career home runs when the Reds traded him to the White Sox in exchange for Mike Cameron. He would spend the next 16 years with the South Siders, launching 432 home runs and earning six All-Star selections while putting together one of the most underrated careers of the last 30 years.
Konerko was the No. 13 overall pick in the 1994 draft, and his only Rookie Card was included in the 1994 Topps Traded set.
1970 Topps #621 Rookie Stars Darrell Evans RC ($15)
HR Total: 414 (54th all-time)
HOF Vote: 1.7% in 1995
Darrell Evans ranked 21st on the all-time home run list when he retired following the 1989 season, slotted between Hall of Fame legends Billy Williams (426) and Duke Snider (407). He racked up his impressive home run total with only four 30-homer seasons, as his career numbers are more about longevity than peak performance. He launched an AL-leading 40 home runs as a 38-year-old in 1985.
His Rookie Card is part of the 1970 Topps set, which also includes rookies for Thumran Munson and Bill Buckner.
1999 Topps Traded #T65 Alfonso Soriano RC ($5)
HR Total: 412 (55th all-time)
HOF Vote: 1.5% in 2020
Alfonso Soriano arrived as a superstar during the 2002 season when he hit .300/.332/.547 with 51 doubles, 39 home runs and 102 RBI while leading the AL in hits (209), runs scored (128) and steals (41). Over an extremely productive 12-year peak that began with that 2002 campaign, he averaged 32 home runs and 88 RBI per season with the Yankees, Rangers, Nationals and Cubs.
He has 11 Rookie Cards in 1999 products, all of which fall somewhere between $5-15 and are readily available.
2001 Donruss Rookies #R91 Mark Teixeira RC ($10)
HR Total: 409 (56th all-time)
HOF Vote: 1.5% in 2022
Mark Teixeira was the No. 1 prospect in baseball at the start of the 2003 season, and he lived up to the hype with nine 30-homer seasons over the course of a 14-year career. His peak output came in 2005 when he launched 43 home runs, and he also had an AL-leading 39 long balls in 2009 when he finished runner-up in AL MVP voting.
Teixeira does not have a Bowman or Topps flagship rookie, but he does have 15 different Rookie Cards, 11 of which are serial numbered with print run of 2,500 or fewer.
Total: $100
