Opening 25-year-old baseball cards with D-backs owner Ken Kendrick

Ken Kendrick has what is perhaps the greatest baseball-card collection in the world.

Kendrick is part owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks and serves as their day-to-day managing general partner. But that’s only partially what makes him a fascinating baseball figure. The other part is the baseball cards. The centerpiece of his collection is the famous Honus Wagner T-206, the most sought-after baseball card there is, for which Kendrick paid $2.8 million. 

[Elsewhere: The fascinating story of the world’s most famous baseball card]

His collection is so vast, that it’s currently on display at the Phoenix Art Museum — including famous (and very expensive) cards featuring Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle. There’s a list of the 20 most valuable cards in the world and Kendrick owns 16 of them, with his eyes set on acquiring the other four.

So when I marched into the Phoenix Art Museum with my box of 1991 Score, full of packs that haven’t been opened in 25 years, I was happy to see Kendrick’s eyes light up. Not because there’s any great value to the cards, but because any baseball collector enjoys ripping into a pack. Even if there’s nary a famous rookie card to be found inside, the thrill is still there.

Lucky for all of us, Kendrick agreed to open some 25-year-old cards. We didn’t find anything remotely close to a museum-worthy card, but we still found some great stories — including one ’90s player Kendrick currently employs and one player he counts as a friend. 

PREVIOUSLY IN THIS SERIES:
• Opening 25-year-old baseball cards with Rajai Davis
• Opening 25-year-old baseball cards with Brad Ziegler and Tyler Clippard
• Opening 25-year-old baseball cards with Adam Eaton

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz