Sports Card Geek Heaven
Special Features
Get Yourself a Jack Hoffman Rookie Card Immediately!
May 9th
If everyone remembers the cool story about the seven year old with a inoperable brain cancer being handed the ball to score a touchdown at the Nebraska spring game you’ll think this is cool too.
Proceeds go to the Jack Foundation. As some of you know I’m a sports card nerd. This is so awesome. Original video of Jack’s TD:
You can get a much cheaper copy ($10) of Jack’s Rookie Card and still support Pediatric Brain Cancer research here.
I guarantee no RC you purchase today or even in the next year will make you feel as good as getting little Jack’s RC.
The Final Personal Collection- The 25 Greatest Cards in My Collecting World
Nov 6th
BOLD MEANS I OWN IT
1. 1958 Topps Jim Brown RC Graded
2. 1955 Topps All American Jim Thorpe RC Graded
3. 1950 Bowman Joe Perry RC-GOT IT! PSA 5
4. 1984 USFL Steve Young RC- GOT IT! PSA 8
5. 1979 Topps Earl Campbell RC Graded- GOT IT! PSA 7
6. 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr RC Graded
7. 2005 Exquisite Auto Patch Frank Gore
8. 2007-08 SP Authentic Kevin Durant Patch Auto
9. Larry Bird/Magic Johnson Topps RC Graded
10. Steve McNair Autograph- GOT IT!
11. Eddie George RC: 1996 Topps Chrome Refractor, 1996 Bowman’s Best Refractor or Atomic
12. Jerome Bettis Autographed Card GOT IT! 
13. 1996 SP (BGS 9.5) or Bowman’s Best Atomic Refractor(Raw or Graded) Terrell Owens RC
14. TJ Oshie SPA Auto RC Graded GOT IT! BGS 9.5
15. 2004 Topps Chrome Refractor or Black Refractor Larry Fitzgerald RC Graded-HAVE RAW
16. David Backes Ultimate RC Graded
17. 1950 Bowman Y.A. Tittle RC Graded
18. 1986 Topps Jerry Rice RC GOT IT! PSA 8
19. 1981 Topps Joe Montana RC Graded GOT IT! PSA 7
20. 2005-06 Hot Prospects Jaroslav Halak Auto Patch Graded…have this but not graded
21. Reggie Miller RC Graded GOT IT! – PSA 8 Fleer
22. Randy Johnson RC Graded GOT IT! BGS 9 Upper Deck
23. Shaquille O’Neal Autograph
24. Cris Carter Autograph GOT IT! 1999 UD Century Legends
An Interview with Sage President Tom Geideman: 2012 Sage Low Series Available SOON!
Mar 9th
How many products will you have for 2012? Is 5-Star making a return?
We have four football products lined up for 2012. HIT 2012 Football – Low Series is first (shipping March 7) followed in late March by HIT 2012 Football – High Series. SAGE Autographed Football will be out prior to the draft (which is April 26-28. We will have a fourth product as well in mid-to-late May, but we haven’t ironed out the details of that issue yet. We want to tailor that product, like we did with SAGE 5-Star to how collectors react to our initial products and to try and continue to give them great value at an affordable price. We know that money is tight in most households and we want to continue to develop products that give collectors that great value at affordable prices.
In the early SAGE years there was a lot more memorabilia available in products it seems. While the autograph is king have you given much thought to turning out a product that has a game-used card in each pack as well as an autograph?
We have considered doing the memorabilia cards, but quite honestly we believe that the real value is with autographed cards. Part of that is that our production numbers are very low – to keep products collectible. The typical jersey can yield so many pieces of fabric that it’s not really feasible to produce them. Some of the jersey origins are also murky at best. Plus the costs of producing those cards is very high, even if the jerseys were free, and we all know they’re far from that.
Has SAGE given much thought to delving into other sports again (haven’t done anything other than football since basketball ended in 2005)? Hockey seems to be a good area in terms of prospects and a lack of professional licensing hasn’t hurt other companies (ITG).
We are always exploring additional products that can fill a void for collectors including different sports or multi-sport products. While that hasn’t seem to merit producing them in the past few years we continue to research those avenues.
Give me three reason SAGE football products are a must have for fans of the 2012 NFL draft.
I’m going to ask for a mulligan on this one, because there are far more reasons than just three for SAGE to be a must have for fans of the 2012 NFL draft.
1) Value – There is no greater single value per dollar in the trading card market like SAGE products. Authentic autographs are very frequent and of the top players that you want now (like RG3, Trent Richardson, Justin Blackmon, etc.) and in the future (like Lamar Miller, Ryan Tannehill, or even the “Danny Woodhead of college QBs” Alex Tanney)
2) Timing – SAGE is always first to market with the next year’s rookie cards. We have three products that will be in collectors hands PRIOR to the draft even occurring.
3) Authenticity – SAGE guarantees the authenticity of every autograph (which I should add are all inserted directly into packs without a single redemption card – always have and always will)
4) Photography – The photography in the SAGE products is far-and-away superior to what you will find in any other product. It’s just simply amazing…
Are inscriptions or ink variations going to be involved in any 2012 products? Collectors love their variations, especially when the company releases the numbers and types of variations a week or two after the product has been released.
There are some variations that will be available in the 2012 products. We do have some naturally occurring variations such as when players include their uniform numbers on a select few (or vice versa having a select few without them). In the past when we had players add inscriptions or varying the ink color of their signatures we didn’t ever see as much clamor or increase in value for those cards versus the standard though. Therefore we tend to create more straight forward alterations such as a unique three-card RG3 autographed insert (#’d to 10) that will be forthcoming.
The Artistry cards in 2012 Low Series are very cool. Will there be autographed versions?
Thank you very much for saying that. There are definitely autographed versions of the Artistry insert cards. Each is numbered to 100. We were trying to draw inspiration for these cards through previous art cards collectors have seen along with channeling the old posters that were so prevalent in the 1980s & 1990s that so many of us had on our walls growing up.
Which players were you most excited to get signed for SAGE Low (or 2012 in general)?
Lamar Miller was the very first player we signed in 2012. That first player is always exciting, but even more so when it’s a player of his incredible skill level. He posted the fastest 40-time at the combine by a running back and I believe cemented himself as the #2 RB on the board behind Trent Richardson. I’m always excited about the top players signing like RG3 or Richardson, but the main guys for me are the diamonds in the rough. I already mentioned Alex Tanney (QB from Monmouth IL, a D3 school). We got a hot tip from his trainer in Florida – Brian Martin of TEST. Brian said he was a real sleeper and that we had to take a good look at him. From that info I did, and was impressed. If you google Alex Tanney and see his youtube videos you will be impressed also. Tanney also holds several NCAA records including all-time passing TDs. However, the one single player I was most excited about was Vontaze Burfict from Arizona State. He not only went to the local high school for us (Centennial in Corona – which is a big powerhouse program), but he was named the Meanest Man in College Football by The Sporting News. If you check out his viral videos you’ll be impressed. He plays smart and delivers some huge hits.
What exactly is a microprinter and explain the kinds of things it limits or expands your options when producing sets?
In a nut shell being a Micro-Printer means that we have very few staff, that are all very passionate about trading cards, and with decades of experience with cards. We don’t just make product to make product, we enjoy what we do and we enjoy crafting our products. An example of that is since day 1 SAGE has witnessed every single packaging of our products. Some companies just ship their files and cards to a factory (that does packaging for many other companies) and has them just run it. We don’t think that’s good enough for SAGE products, so we make sure we attend all of them and stay there until each is done – correctly. Collectors may not be aware that we spend the time to watch all of those cards drop into every pack – making corrections in-line as they occur, or that we hand-collate the autographs to ensure a proper blend of players in each package. Those are the types of things that we’re able to do as a Micro-Printer.
Are on card autographs a possibility in the future?
SAGE developed a patented autographed process that many people have since copied or used in violation of that patent. There are so many perks to that process that collectors may not be aware of. The main one is authenticity. When a trading card has the old-school on-card autograph process they need to print the authenticity on the card PRIOR to it being sent to the players to be signed. That means that any person who gets one of those raw printed cards can just sign anything on the front and the company is authenticating it. As a collector I’ve even received unsigned cards like that in my packs. If I didn’t have morals I could easily have just signed anything on that card and sold it as authentic because the back of the card says it is. Our process avoids that by never having the printed cards and autographs in the hands of any non-SAGE person. We also avoid having dings and scratches to the cards that are caused during the signing process because the players aren’t experts in trading card handling. They are experts in playing their sport, and often have no clue or desire to handle the cards with the care than a passionate collector would.
I had no idea you oversaw the packing out of the cards. That is incredible attention to detail. Since you are so intimately involved in the process do you ever get a hankering to drop a couple extra autographs in a pack just as a special surprise for a collector? I know I would.
We have done some very fun things during packaging before such as an all-Adrian-Peterson pack (and many other single-player packs) with insert cards, autographed card, etc. We have done all one-player packs and/or mirror packs (where you’d have in a 5-card pack one player on the outside top and bottom, another in the middle top and bottom and the insert card of one of them since the start in 1998. We always drop in extra insert cards randomly in packs while watching the packaging line also. Doing that helps keep us sharp and focused on the packs we’re watching and provides more of a perk to the collectors who get them. We have even gone so far to drop in hand-written notes on blank white card stock in packs asking collectors to email us at the email address provided (special for those cards). One year we even created 1/1 trading cards to give to collectors when they emailed us at the address with the info from the note. Most collectors responded, but some collectors didn’t. I know on that specific Adrian Peterson pack a collector posted what he found on a popular card message board, but said he wasn’t going to email us. That’s his choice (and his loss in that case). We don’t try and up-sell anyone or pester them when they contact us with those. It’s really interesting to know where the cards ultimately land and how collectors opened them. It’s sort of like putting a message in a bottle or attaching it to a balloon hoping the person on the other end who finds it lets us know. We always drop in the really rare cards by hand also because we want to make sure the machinery is running smoothly at the time to avoid damaging those cards and we don’t want them dropped from the machine because there is zero chance they can get damaged (feeding by machine always creates more of a chance of damage because they are machines, and get hot or wear or whatever).
Overall I’d say that your average collector can appreciate the hard work Mr. Geideman and his staff put into each set. There is a lot of legwork done to create these sets. No Redemptions and virtually no errors make for a very quality set time and time again.
700+ Peyton Manning Items Listed in the Last 24 Hours
Mar 7th
AND COUNTING! While I admit the press conference and the gravity of the situation has made me want to snatch a few more of his RC’s the less impulsive and calculating part of my brain is telling me to hold off. You should do the same. That is unless of course this flurry of items being listed doesn’t bring about a flurry of interest. The number of people wanting Peyton RC’s may actually decrease with his departure from Indianapolis or at the very least Colt’s fans who previously were holding 15-20 Peyton RC’s may decide it’s time to trim their collection. While big news rarely results in lowered prices this is a situation where prices may actually drop or at least a few will slip through the cracks with the insane amount available at the moment. Clear out your watch list and wait for one of those to slip through the cracks and fall into your lap. Happy hunting!
PEYTON MANNING CARDS ENDING SOONEST
NFL Draft Preview: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Texas A&M
Feb 20th
For those that don’t know Ryan Tannehill already, he is ranked as a top 5 QB heading into the draft. Teams like Kansas City and Miami are be eyeing him in the 2nd round if he lasts until then. It is widely posited that he will be a late first rounder but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that if I were you. If you are a fan of any other team in need of QB you would be very happy to have one of those two take him. He’s not very accurate, not very experienced, and has a slow-medium release. He is pretty athletic and sees the field well it seems. He saw a lot of good spots against LSU in the Cotton Bowl last year but missed a lot of them. A year has passed since then but the clips I’ve seen don’t appear to provide evidence that his accuracy has gotten all that much better. All that being said he was only a few points away from taking T&AM to a BCS bowl this year with a lot of tough, close losses.
Ryan will be featured in the upcoming release of the SAGE low series. See the full checklist here.
Mike Sherman recently compared Ryan Tannehill to Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre saying he makes everyone around him better. While it seems a bit outlandish it is important to note that Texas A&M had several close and tough losses this season otherwise they would have been in contention for the Big 12 title. OSU by 1, Arkansas by 4, Mizzou by a TD, Texas by 2 and K-State by a FG in 4 OT’s.
Here he is in the 2011 Cotton Bowl, scout for yourself.
Lastly it is important to consider that Tannehill is definitely a winner. Even if he loses on the field he gets to come home to this, his fiance:
Give Hockey a Chance!
Oct 12th
If you’re a card collector who hasn’t ventured into the Hockey world yet you are missing out. No sport has such dedicated and knowledgeable fans. It truly has been a remarkable experience as I have moved into the hockey world. I have been a St. Louis Blues fan for quite some time but hadn’t ventured into their cards much. Recently I’ve started picking up the young stars the Blues have to offer like T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and Alex Pietrangelo. It’s been a blast. Here are a few reasons you should check out hockey cards.
1. The collector’s are second to none when it comes to kindness. Check out online forums like CloutsnChara and you’ll see all kinds of friendly posts, contests and good reading. Sports Card Forum also has a decent hockey population. I’m sure there are others but these are the two I have been checking out. I have yet to see a “flamewar” between members like you see on baseball, football, and hockey boards at nearly every forum.
2. The patches are gorgeous! No sport has better patches than hockey. It’s indisputable. Do an ebay search for patches under the hockey category and enjoy.
3. Topps isn’t there to mess it up. Or at least they haven’t been for a little while. There aren’t twenty different rookie cards like you see in Topps baseball products
4. You would be shocked at the value of cards from sets you would deem worthless in other sports. Upper Deck Young Guns Rookie Cards are the best example. They are 1:4 packs typically and a good one will easily pull you $25-50 depending on the player. Compare that to Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers who is pretty much on top of the football card world right now and his UD SP RC is not even $20. For reference a 2010-11 Taylor Hall Young Gun will cost you $40-50.
5. Most sets aren’t seeing the insane overproduction of other sports. The aforementioned Young Guns wouldn’t hold such great value if they were being printed at the same rate.
6. For the most part these cards aren’t being “paralleled” to death. This probably is a function of Topps’ absence from the hockey market but to use our UD Young Gun example yet again these nice rookies only have the following parallels:
- Exclusives #’d 100
- High Gloss #’d 10
- Starting this year they are adding Canvas Young Guns which fall one per two boxes.
That’s it. Nothing #’d to 499 then 399 then 199 then 99 then 49 then 29 then 9 and so on.
7. Nearly every hockey product you see has on card autographs. There are of course a fair share of exceptions but there are plenty of beautiful on card autographs to be found.
8. If you still aren’t convinced, watch some hockey. It’s a fantastic sport and the fact that their are 3-4 lines of players that see the ice throughout a game makes it all the more interesting to follow them and collect their cards. You won’t see most players go straight from the draft to the NHL but when you do you at least get to watch them play. No sitting on the bench waiting for Brett Favre to retire in the NHL. It’s either you’re on the roster and on a line or you’re with a minor league affiliate playing. The playing never stops.
Playoff Peformers: Mr. October 2011 Nominees
Oct 5th
Cardinals
Albert Pujols- The Cardinals lost 3-2 on Tuesday and had 12 hits despite only scoring two runs. Albert had four of those hits.
Ryan Theriot- The St. Louis second baseman accounted for four hits himself. Pujols and Theriot have 13 of the team’s 32 hits this series despite Theriot only playing in Games 2 and 3. The utility man has a .667 average heading into Game 4 on Wednesday.
Phillies
Jimmy Rollins- Rollins hasn’t done all that well in the postseason historically (.250 career average if you include this series) but is off to a great start against the Cards staff hitting .583 with five Runs scored and two stolen bases in only three games. Assuming the Phillies roll on to the next round you can expect his 1998 Bowman Chrome RC and parallels to pick up steam
Diamondbacks
Paul Goldschmidt-If I have to choose someone I guess it’s him. 5 RBI in Game 3 to avoid elimination makes him their savior for now. He has a .375 average on the series. Goldschmidt’s prices have been volatile this season as they were sky high before his call up and then experienced the usual lull after he performed at a level less than that of a Hall of Famer. Prospectors are fickle and not all that interested in holding on to players past callup making it so almost every time a guy hits the big leagues his cards crash. Well thanks to his Grand Slam in Game 3 his 2011 Chrome Autos are going bonkers yet again.
Brewers
Ryan Braun- Who else? What a stud this guy is. He continues to get the job done batting .545 this postseason and leading his team to a near sweep of Arizona.
Prince Fielder- Who else to go with Braun? These two are the centerpieces of the Brewers franchise and are showing everyone why this October. We’ll see if they can close out Arizona and carry their momentum to most likely Philadelphia. Neither Braun or Fielder’s cardboard is seeing much of a hike due to the Arizona series but it still would be wise to pick up a couple just in case they make the World Series. The 2002 Prospect Premieres Auto of Fielder and 2005 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Auto of Braun are of course the way to go if you’re looking to grab their key RC’s. Don’t pay more than $100 for the Fielder or $150 for the Braun and you should do alright.
Rays
Matt Moore- The rookie made a heck of a postseason debut dominating the Rangers in Game 1. Sadly for Rays fans that was the only bright spot of the already finished series. His base 2009 Bowman Chrome RC’s are selling for over $5 apiece following his debut and subsequent stellar performance out of the pen in Game 4.
Rangers
Adrian Beltre- He was having an awful series until Game 4 when he blasted three HR’s in his first three AB’s and made this October even worse for beleaguered Red Sox fans. Now that the Rangers have advanced it would be a good time to pick up his 1997 Bowman Chrome RC or Refractor RC’s. Refractors can be had for about $10 when they pop up which isn’t all that often.
Yankees
Curtis Granderson- Granderson is finally getting the recognition he deserves. I’m a big fan of his despite my distaste for the Yankees. Whether it’s making fantastic catches or doing the dirty work on offense you want him on your team. Grab anything you can of him but my favorite is the 2002 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks RC and it’s parallels.
Tigers
Granderson’s former team isn’t going away easily and can knock of the titans of the sport with just one more victory on Thursday night. There isn’t much of hero for Detroit at this point other than Delmon Young who hit the game winning HR in Game 3 but is still hitting a paltry .267 in the series. Ace Justin Verlander piled up the K’s in his victory but gave up four runs and would have lost had it not been for Young’s long ball. Stay tuned for the Tiger’s playoff performer and know that basically any core player like Verlander, Scherzer, Young, Martinez, Magglio or Miguel Cabrera would be good to have a stash of should they knock off the Yanks.
Top 5 Most Underrated Players: NL East
Aug 16th
This is the sixth in a six part series that will be covering every division in Major League Baseball. We are evaluating these players purely from a card value standpoint based on their on-field performance. You can find any of the other articles by typing “Top 5″ into the search bar.
Players are listed in random order, not by who is the most underrated.
1. Jimmy Rollins
Best RC: 1998 Bowman Chrome
Why he is undervalued: Veterans at this point in their career often get overlooked and will continue to get overlooked until they are inducted to the Hall of Fame. Rollins isn’t a shoo in but he certainly has a very good chance of getting into the HOF someday. Three Gold Gloves, One MVP, and Three All Star appearances to go with a World Series victory. Assuming he doesn’t call it quits to early, he’s only 32 right now, he should be able to put up decent numbers for a few more years and cement his bid to the Hall. His Bowman Chrome RC’s can generally be had for roughly the cost of shipping $3 while International and Refractor Parallels cost you $6 and $20 respectively.
2. Jordan Zimmerman
Best RC: 2008 Bowman Chrome Auto
Why he is undervalued: Probably because he wasn’t very highly touted in his comeback from Tommy John surgery. He tweaked some parts of his delivery to avoid further injury and lost 2-3 MPH on his fastball as a result. With his new style he has improved immensely focusing on pitching strategy and solid movement on each of his pitches to get outs. His performance thus far in 2011 has been fantastic. A 3.23 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and sadly a 7-10 record thanks to playing for the lowly Nationals. His 2008 Chrome Autos only cost you about $8-10 and his 2007 Donruss Elite Autos are even less. He is still only 25!
3. Cliff Lee
Best RC: 2002 Ultimate Collection RC /550
Why he is undervalued: Because he isn’t a homegrown Phillies pitcher? Maybe he is overshadowed by Roy Halladay (he definitely is)? Or maybe it’s because none of his RC’s are all that attractive being from 2002 and not autographed while showing him in that gross Cleveland Indians uniform? Whatever the case his Ultimate Collection Rookies should sell well over the $15 they go for right now considering it is his best and most limited true RC.
4. Craig Kimbrel
Best RC: 2011 Topps Lineage (Also his only MLB card at this point)
Why he is undervalued: Somehow there is a young MLB star who doesn’t have Bowman Chrome! GASP! Usually young stars have three different Bowman Chromes by the time they have 70 appearances like Kimbrel does. A 1.49 career ERA with 129 K’s in under 80 IP. WOW! He plays in a fantastic market but a very new product, and not a very good one, is his only MLB RC. He also has a 2010 Topps Pro Debut card of him in a minor league jersey. He has a certified packed out autograph but it was in 2010 TriStar Obak. It would be silly for him to somehow not be in the coming October release but alas he isn’t on the Autograph or Rookie checklist. They slipped him into Lineage and Pro Debut is also a Topps Product so how could they miss this one right? We’ll have to wait and see. For right now collector’s will have to settle for Topps Lineage RC’s for $3 apiece with no parallels. You read that correctly as well, a Topps product without the standard 4-6 parallels.
5. Jose Reyes
Best RC: 2001 Bowman Chrome “Refractor”
Why he is undervalued: The player most believe should win the NL MVP but probably won’t due to playing on a non playoff team is having a fantastic season in his contract year. You hate it when a guy finally puts it together in his contract season but in reality he has been good when he has played and you can’t blame him for injuries. Well, you can, but you shouldn’t. Something to note about his Bowman Chrome RC is all of his RC’s from this set have a refractor finish. Don’t pay more than you should because you think you’re getting the refractor in comparison to the base RC.
Top 5 Most Underrated Players: NL Central
Aug 8th
This is the fifth in a six part series that will be covering every division in Major League Baseball. We are evaluating these players purely from a card value standpoint based on their on-field performance. You can find any of the other articles by typing “Top 5″ into the search bar.
Players are listed in random order, not by who is the most underrated.
Best RC: 2000 Topps Chrome Traded
Why he is undervalued: At about a quarter each these Chrome RC’s are a steal. He also has a 2000 Bowman Chrome that will cost you about the same amount. PSA 10′s and BGS 9.5′s sell for less than $10 despite there only being 42 BGS 9.5′s in existence.
2. Matt Garza
Best RC: 2005 Bowman Chrome Draft Autograph
Why he is undervalued: Boy oh boy does this guy get screwed every time he takes the mound for the Cubs in 2011. With more than a K per inning and a 3.78 ERA he has a 5-8 record to show for it. In three of his eight losses he has given up ONE earned run and still somehow taken the loss. Pathetic. He has done his part and right now is a fantastic time to snatch up his Chrome Autographs before he gets appreciated a bit more. Just make sure you get the 2005 Chrome Auto and not the 2006. The 2005 will set you back around $15 with even the nicer ones like Blue Refractors still under $50.
3. Lance Berkman
Best RC: 1997 Bowman Chrome
Why he is undervalued: If you read our description of Todd Helton in the NL West article it’s pretty similar with Berkman. While he has worn more uniforms than Helton he has racked up more accolades in a few less seasons with six All-Star appearances, a few near misses at MVP, RBI Champion once and a .295 career average. The 1997 Bowman Chrome which has refractor and international parallels is less than $5 in it’s base card form and less than $10 for an international.
4. Jaime Garcia
Best RC: 2006 Bowman Chrome FG #44
Why he is undervalued: The 25 year old from Mexico was lights out in 2010 and has continued to do very well throwing two complete game shutouts in 2011 so far. Third in 2010 NL ROY voting he was heavily overshadowed by Buster Posey and Jason Heyward who play in bigger markets on the coasts Garcia had every right to feel robbed out of the award. His RC situation is not a very good one as his first auto is from 2006 Bowman Signs of the Future and sells for about $10. His 2006 Bowman Chrome’s are less than $1 each.
Best RC: 2009 SP Authentic Autograph /500
Why he is undervalued: Both his 2009 SP Authentic and Sweet Spot Autographs are good looking cards of this young gunslinger and both of them can be had for under $5. The Pirates were an upstart this season and were the story of the year until a huge slide in late July and early August derailed their cinderella story. McDonald was huge part of their success and even while the rest of the team was faltering he kept it rolling. Only 25 years old he is another high upside pitcher who gets a solid amount of K’s. If the Pirates make another run in 2012, and with that loaded crop of young talent you can count on it, McDonald is sure to be their Ace.
Top 5 Most Underrated Players: NL West
Aug 8th
This is the fourth in a six part series that will be covering every division in Major League Baseball. We are evaluating these players purely from a card value standpoint based on their on-field performance. You can find any of the other articles by typing “Top 5″ into the search bar.
Players are listed in random order, not by who is the most underrated.
1. Clayton Kershaw
Best RC: 2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto
Why he is undervalued: It is completely inexplicable why Kershaw’s Chrome Auto isn’t at the same level as Tim Lincecum’s. In fact Lincecum is a full 30-40% higher than Kershaw. Kershaw is in a tight race with Roy Halladay for the 2011 NL Cy Young award and until his last outing the race didn’t even look very tight. The kid is still only 23 compared to Lincecum’s 27 years of age. Lincecum made his debut when he was 23. This is a stupidly easy buy at this point.
2. Todd Helton
Best RC:1993 Topps Traded
Why he is undervalued: His 1993 Topps Traded USA RC sells for about $3-4 and is a very tough grade with top to bottom centering almost always being a problem. To get a better picture of the situation at hand though you have to realize this guy has played with the same organization for 15 years, a .323 lifetime average, almost 350 Home Runs, three Gold Gloves and five All-Star appearances. His autograph will only set you back about $10. Rockies fans must be excited to be able to collect a future HOF’er so cheaply.
Best RC: 2005 Bowman Chrome Draft Auto
Why he is undervalued: Who the heck really knows? This 26 year old stud is almost a lock to become a member of the 30 HR/30 SB club this season and already earned his first All Star appearance this July. Fantastic in every aspect of the game it is tough to say what is keeping Kemp’s cardboard from reaching the levels of guys like Arod other than the market he plays in. LA is far from a small market but their cards don’t get as much love as other big cities.
4. Mat Latos
Best RC: 2007 Donruss Elite Auto OR 2008 Bowman Chrome Auto
Why he is undervalued: He plays in San Diego and actually isn’t all that undervalued but there aren’t many candidates in the NL West for this discussion so he makes the cut. His stats are on par with many solid pitchers around the league and he is still only 23 years old. Both of the autos mentioned are solid buys and can be had under $30.
5. Andre Ethier
Best RC: 2003 Prospect Premieres Auto
Why he is undervalued: He isn’t all that undervalued but as stated earlier the NL West is severely lacking in major talent that isn’t already spiked in value. The 2003 Prospect Premiere Autographs sell in the $40-50 neighborhood and they aren’t a recommended but at that level.
