Ken Griffey Jr. has a variety of rookie cards from 1989 that are engrained in the collective memories of a generation. However, they weren't his first baseball cards. This 1988 Best San Bernadino Spirit card arrived while he truly was still just a kid. The minor league issue is believed to have a print run of 5,000 total copies, which might sound like a lot be today's standards. For the period, that puts it on the rare side.
As one of Griffey's earliest cards, there's already a lot of importance placed on this card. However, what really makes this particular copy stand out is its condition. Of the 967 times that PSA has assessed this card, this is one of just 5 to earn a Gem Mint 10 grade.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 04/30/2026.