Category Archives: Hockey

Sports Card Hot List for April 7th 2013

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Opening Day has come and gone, but the baseball card market is once again on fire! “Chicks dig the long ball”, but so do card collectors. Chris Davis hit 4 home runs this week, Will Middlebrooks hit 3 in one game, Justin Upton hit a walk-off, and Bryce Harper hit 2 on Opening Day. This week’s list reflects that “collectors dig the long ball.”

chris davisChris Davis Rookie Autographs & Refractors

Chris Davis has been the hottest hitter to start the regular season. He hit 4 home runs in the first 4 games with 16 RBIs, including a grand slam to defeat the Twins on Friday afternoon. He seemed to be underrated last year when he hit 33 home runs, but now he is getting the credit he deserves. Once considered a top prospect for the Texas Rangers, he was traded two years ago for Koji Uehara. It has turned out to be a lopsided trade so far with the Orioles running away with this one.

Davis’ cards have heated up with his bat. Buy it nows have been hit for his 2007 Elite autographs for crazy money. One numbered out of 50 sold for $100 and ones /374 were being hit for $48. These were selling for about $20 for the past month. Davis also has Bowman refractors in 2006 and 2008. These have also been selling for big bucks.

Bryce HarperBryce Harper Autographs

“He is the youngest guy to do this, he is the youngest guy to do that” seems to be common phrase when mentioning Bryce Harper’s name. Harper hit 2 bombs on Opening Day against the Marlins and was yet the youngest player to do that too. He looks to be on a torrid run to do what Mike Trout did last year, but is that even possible. Harper looks to have more power than Trout, but we will see if he can keep up this pace.

It seems like every hour a Bryce Harper autograph is sold on eBay, but it’s reality. His 2011 Bowman Chrome autographs are up to the $450 mark, when they were only selling for $300 during Spring Training. Even though the market is flooded with Bryce Harper autographs, it does not stop them from selling for a huge chunk of change.

Jackie BradleyJackie Bradley Jr. Anything

Yes, this guy returns again this week after an impressive hitless performance on Opening Day. He ended up walking 3 times in his debut, showing patience at the plate. The Red Sox hope he can be a catalyst in the lineup in hopes of being able to make a playoff run this year.

Anything, I mean anything Jackie Bradley Jr. was heating up shortly after his debut. Even base Chrome cards were going for $5-$10. 2012 Bowman base autographs were up to $100 this week when they were around $70-$80 last week. Even 2011 Elite autographs have eclipsed the $40 mark. His first cards showed up in 2010 when he was a member of the 2010 Team USA Collegiate team, and those have also been selling well.

Harvey2010 Bowman Chrome Matt Harvey Autographs & Refractors

Matt Harvey is projected to be a future ace by many scouts. He showed his ace stuff the other day when he pitched 7 innings of one-hit shutout ball including 10 strikeouts. If he can keep this up, it could be the second year in-a-row that a Met wins the Cy Young, but then again, he does play for the Mets who could very well sit at the bottom of the NL East.

Harvey’s performance raised awareness of his dominance. 2010 Bowman Chrome autographs were selling between $35-$40 last week, but have risen to $70 after his recent performance. 2010 Elite autographs are also on the rise up to $55 when they were selling for $30 a couple of weeks ago. A 2010 Bowman gold refractor non-autographed sold for $56 recently as well.

Brian ColeBrain Cole Autographs

If you don’t read Sports Illustrated, you might not know who Brian Cole is because he is “the best player you’ve never seen.” Sports Illustrated dedicated 8 whole pages to his story in the Baseball Preview issue. Brian Cole died in a car crash at the end of Spring Training in 2001 after a seatbelt malfunctioned in his Ford Explorer. He batted .306 with 42 homers and 135 stolen bases in 3 minor league seasons before he passed away. He was a very promising prospect in the Mets organization, and the family settled with Ford for $131 million, which was his projected major league earnings.

Brian Cole has two main autographed cards. One is a 2001 Upper Deck SP Prospects Chirography which sold for $50 after the article was run, which sold for $5 the previous week. The other is a 2001 Fleer which sold for the same prices both presently and previously. A touching story rightfully deserved a spike in his cards.

Panini Select2012-13 Panini Select Basketball Boxes

At presale, these cases were selling for $1555, and now they have risen to over $2000. Why? Because this product brings today’s stars and Hall of Famers together to make for some great hits. Kyrie Irving is the main draw in the product with autographs aplenty. A green prizm rookie card non-autographed /15 recently sold for over $2000 at auction. Anthony Davis, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant also makes for good pickups. This product could still be on the rise in the upcoming weeks.

jose fernandezJose Fernandez Autographs

It was a surprise last week when Fernandez’s contract got purchased by the Marlins. Fernandez is the #5 prospect according to Baseball America and he showed why on Sunday striking out 8 in only 5 innings. He has been the one bright spot in the Marlins organization so far this season.

Many buy it nows were being hit after his stellar performance. 2011 Bowman Sterling autographs were being sold for $30, 2011 Bowman Chrome Draft autographs were getting hit for $100, and even Leaf Valiant autographs were selling for $25. Big league debuts equals big money.

 

MiddlebrooksWill Middlebrooks Autographs

In short, this guy hit 3 home runs in one game against R.A. Dickey and the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. The guys was simply on fire and he showed why the Red Sox organization is so high on him.

Middlebrooks’ cards have been selling left and right. 2012 Bowman Sterling autographs were selling for $40, after only selling for around $22 just the day before. 2007 Elite autographs were being hit for $75 each, and they were only selling for $22 yesterday.

justin upton2006 Bowman Chrome Justin Upton Autographs

It’s not everyday you get to follow up a home run your brother hit with a walk-off home run yourself. In fact, it’s never happened before. Justin Upton launched a walk-off home run off of the Chicago Cubs’ Carlos Marmol on Saturday night to give the Braves a victory. Oh yeah, remember that trade with the Diamondbacks? Seems to be lopsided now.

Just Upton’s cards have been hot just like his bat. His 2006 Bowman Chrome autographs are being hit for $90 after only selling for $55 last week, and refractor autographs /500 are up to $130 after selling for $91 last week. Not just 2006 Chrome autographs are selling, because most of his autographs are selling like hotcakes including 2011 Gypsy Queen for $50, 2004 AFLAC Autographs for $649, and 2006 Bowman Sterling autographs for $60.

kadri2010-2011 Nazem Kadri Rookie Cards and Autographs

Nazem Kadri is leading the Toronto Maple Leafs in scoring, and is towards the top of the NHL. He has 3 hat tricks for the Maple Leafs this season and is becoming one of the best naturals in the NHL. As a result, Kadri’s cards have the opposite of ice. His 2010-11 Upper Deck Young Guns rookie card is selling for $23 after selling for $13 last week. Many of his autograph cards have been selling, specifically after his last hat trick, but he is definitely hotlist-worthy.

 

 

 

FCB Weekly Hot List June 15th 2012 Edition

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Do you ever find yourself in a conversation with someone where they tell you a fact that kind of rocks your world?  90+% of the paper money in the U.S. has traces of cocaine on it, millions of people use a prescription drug of some sort and so on and so forth.

Now it’s not quite that far out there but a stunningly low amount of people have rotator cuff, tommy john and other throwing related surgeries.  Way, way less than you think.  (Wait Phil, I didn’t think that there were that many people that needed that anyway…).  Well, given the amount of stones thrown in anything related to the professional sports industry today, I would have to imagine there would be lines out the doors of clinics.

It’s a theme that hit home this week.  First, in spite of the hate the Miami Heat made the NBA Finals.  You just read that sentence and nodded (probably in your head, I’m guessing you aren’t sitting at your desk doing a bobble head routine here).  But here’s the thing about you nodding, you are acknowledging that hate is almost synonymous with the Miami Heat and lets get even more specific, Lebron James in particular.  The next question I have to ask you is why?

Well, Phil, “The Decision,” I mean the guys so full of hot air and ego it’s really hard to deal with.  And the “not 5, not 6, not 7″ quote that was said when he and Chris Bosh descended upon Miami.  Well, Lebron’s said numerous times that he regrets “The Decision”, as he ought to.  And you are telling me that “not 5, not 6, not 7″ you’ve never heard another professional athlete act overly confident in front of thousands who worship them?  And you wouldn’t be inclined to do the same?  naaawwww.  Lebron’s actually got a pretty compelling life story and frankly is one of the most gifted athletes ever and yet, hate.  I honestly believe that many would like him more if he had become an all out drug addict and homeless at some point in time and then come back to be a good basketball player.

Now it is a fact that hate, nuisance, annoyance, sarcasm, synonym, synonym and synonym are all cottage industries in the U.S. media today.  Famous conservative columnist George Will when being advised by famous conservative columnist William Buckley on how to come up with content for the bi-weekly articles he was signing up to write “just find two things that annoy you each week, it shouldn’t be hard.”  We all know, it’s not.  In the words of the famous Marshall Mathers “I guess words are a motherf***** they can be great, or they can degrade, or even worse, they can teach hate.”  Indeed Marshall.

We’ve now approached the point where you are asking yourself “has Phil abandoned the Hot List just to stand on a soap box” or more likely “sweet mother, where is this going?”  But that’s the beauty of it, instead of writing each week about how annoyed I am with a certain athlete’s behavior, a certain call made by an official or how much I dislike something done in the card industry, I instead get to write about all the awesome reasons that card values rose.  Perfect games, great debuts, incredible seasons and so on and so forth and to me, that’s refreshing.  So with that, lets get to it.

Side note:  If you were paying attention last week you might be thinking “weren’t there stones thrown regarding inclusion of certain players in the Hot List?”  Why yes, there were indeed and for the record (and likely not the last time), about percentage increases here.

 

1. Tyler Moore 2011 Bowman Chrome Refractors

Moore

Comments: Look it is a young Washington Nationals star in the top spot!  But wait, it’s not Bryce, nor Stephen, heck it isn’t even Gio.  Tyler provided the pop (2 HRs) while Stephen provided the pitching.  There’s a lot to be excited about with the Nationals this season and the fact that I named off three Nationals who had already made the Hot List this season is indicative of what many D.C. area folks hope is a changing of the tides in regards to baseball.  In Stephen and Bryce they already have 2 of the best young players in baseball and with guys like Tyler, I’m sure they are feeling like the more the “Mary”er. Tyler’s cards last week sold for a buck and those same Purple Refractors that sold for a buck last week sold for $10 this week. 

2. Trevor Plouffe 2004 SP Prospects Autos

Plouffe

Comments: I often have the chance, when placing cards on the Hot List to pick from a host of different brands.  For instance Trevor’s 2004 rookie autos include SP Prospects, Elite and Bowman Sterling.  However, who knows how many more times we’ll have a chance to talk about SP Prospects, so SP Prospects it is.  Trevor has been on fire since May and already has 10 home runs this season and his cards are just starting to catch up.  SP Prospects hit $10 this week after selling for $2 the previous week.

3. Henry Hill 2010 UD Spectrum Autos

Hill

Comments: One of the only consistent negative reasons that some show up on the Hot List is a death.  From a simple economic perspective this means no more auto signing and thus a limited quantity.  Previously guys like Gary Carter and Junior Seau have shown up on the list for this sad reason and this week it is Henry Hill.  He played SS for the Orioles in the ’60s, you know, that guy?  Actually, Henry didn’t play baseball at all but he is the subject of one of the all time iconic movies in my book, “Goodfellas.”  I’m sure it will be on AMC on 24/7 repeat soon enough but a google search can provide you hours of entertaining reading if you are so inclined.  The Mafia code of omerta was one of silence, no rats.  Henry broke that and if there was a code regarding the signing of cards, well he broke that too.  He’s actually feature on a UD Sports Icon card and that card rocketed from $10 to $50 this week with Henry’s passing.

4. Marcell Ozuna 2011 Bowman Chrome Parallels

Ozuna
Comments: Marcell has always had good power, as a 19 year old he hit 22 home runs in 320 at bats.  However, this season with 15 home runs already, on pace to set new career highs and in spite of the fact that it is is his 4th minor league season Marcell is still just 21 and on a tear.  Blue Refractors rose from $2 buck to $10 this week.

5. Joe Kelly 2010 Bowman Platinum Autos

Kelly

Comments: Lance Lynn has made this list quite a few times and so have other Cardinals pitchers that have emerged from the nameless ranks of many to pitch really well.  Joe Kelly is the latest one of those names to fare very well in his big league debut and the Cardinals just have a knack for putting the right pieces in the right places when it comes to pitching (minor allusion to Good to Great).  There’s another side effect that occurs as a result of this – it’s that guys who previously sold for very little (Mom:  hey Tommy, what did you get out of your Bowman Platinum pack?  Tommy: awww, all I got was this crummy Joe Kelly autograph and a refractor numbered to a number that’s too big for me to read) now sell for a little more.

6. Matt Cain 2002 Bowman Chrome

Cain

Comments: Yeah, it took this long to get to the guy who threw a perfect game.  Lincecum and Cain and pray for rain?  Well maybe not so much this year.  Matt Cain has always had “stuff” what he hasn’t had is run support or just general good luck which has resulted in no seasons with over 14 wins and array of other statistics that would surprise you for a pitcher of his caliber (3.28 career ERA).  Apparently, like a runner who runs a fairly conservative race only to finish with a dizzying final kick, Matt wanted to use up some of his good fortune all at once with two amazing catches that benefited his perfect game which he threw Wednesday night.  2002 Chrome is undoubtedly an iconic set at this point and it’s not because of all the Jeremy Hermida rookies I had stashed, it’s because cards like Matt Cains 9.5s go from $45 to $125 with such news and base chromes over $125 is news indeed.

7. R.A. Dickey 1997 Bowman Chrome Rookies

Dickey

Comments: R.A., Robert Allen in case you were wondering holds a couple interesting big league records – most wild pitches in an inning (4, tied with Walter Johnson) and most home runs given up in a game (6, tied with Tim Wakefield).  Just as surprising, R.A. is tied for the national league lead in wins this year with 10 already and at 37 seems to finally be coming into his own.  Although his rookie cards were produced way back in 1997 with that first Bowman Chrome release – they are moving now, just like Jose Cruz Jr. (oh wait, he’s on BBTN).  R.A.’s Chromes are up to an amazing $10 from $5 last week.

8. Chris Sale 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft Autos

Sale

Comments: If you opened 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft you know that one of the bigger pulls was Chris Sale, that bubble deflated rather quickly as there was much speculation around whether he was a reliever or not.  However, Chris is putting all that talk quickly to rest with his 2.05 ERA this far into the season.  It’ s not just the ERA, or 8 wins either, opponents are batting .188 against him with a WHIP of .85, pretty incredible on both fronts.  This means Chris’ cards are no longer on…oh yes, I did.  Sale.

9. Jonathan Quick SP Authentic RC /999

Quick

Comments: Remember who was on this list last year?  Tim Thomas.  No, not the basketball player from Villanova, the Stanley Cup winning goalie.  Well, let me just say that if you could predict the Stanley Cup winner you would be wise to snap up cards of their goalie like it was going out of style.  Jonathan Quick’s SP Authentic cards, even the base /999 are absolutely on fire moving from $110 to $150 this week.

An “Oops We Missed it”:  Carlos Ruiz 2005 Rookies: With all of the Phillies fans on the board I would have expected that someone would have mentioned the fact that Carlos Ruiz is hitting .361 and has 2005 Elite Autos that sell for near $30 but nay…

 

FCB Weekly Hot List May 18th 2012 Edition

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Each and every week I read a lot of online content in the form of articles, blogs, forums,  Facebook posts and other assorted websites.  It ranges from history to politics, to pop culture, to theology, to sports (lots and lots of sports) and a whole other range of topics.  The one thing that they mostly have in common is that what’s being said, has already been said before, in largely the same way.

So goes the internet 24/7 news cycle, you have to be lightning quick to report the news, then you have to be even faster to get the first opinion pieces out on it and then the rest spend time rehashing the original news or even more likely, what the other opinion writers said.  This can make for a lot of boring reading and probably accounts for the abundance of pictures, .gifs, photoshopped images and other things on the Internet designed to keep our attention.  Without either a. interesting writing b. a new subject matter or c. some other hook that sucks you into the story you are either 1. bored or 2. on another website.

So, all that said I’m going to risk being repetitive and say Josh Hamilton is really good.  Oh, you haven’t watched ESPN this week?  Well let me make a list of simple comments/questions to update you on the sports world and the card hobby.

1. Josh Hamilton is indeed all that and a bag of chips, heck, he’s a Big Grab (you know the kind that you can hardly believe contains over 700 calories?  that one) – his lead in the Triple Crown categories is astounding, even this early in the season (uniformed fan:  wait, Pujols isn’t leading?)

2. Brett Lawrie is really stupid.  I’m a lifelong Cubs fan, that means I’ve had to endure the ups and downs of Carlos Zambrano and even he didn’t throw his helmet into an umpire

3. 2012 Bowman singles are selling for astounding amounts of money, the autographs that is.  More on that in the Hot List later

4. I hope the Lakers lose just to see James Harden triumph over Metta World Peace and for no other reason.

5. Speaking of which, the NBA playoffs – do you follow them?  We don’t have a lot of commentary on the site but if so comment here on what you think.

6. One of the more enduring topics here on the boards has been the successes/mistakes of Leaf (the producer formerly known as Razor).  You haven’t heard much about them lately but they’ve knocked it out of the park with Leaf Metal Draft and Leaf Valiant Draft in the football arena and to say I’m excited for 2012 Leaf Army is an understatement.

7. Yu Darvish =  best Japanese pitching import ever, eat your heart out Hideki Irabu!!

And on that note, away we go.

 

1. Xavier Avery 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Parallels

Avery

Comments: It’s not often that you write about and see the #1 subject on the Hot List play in the same day but that’s exactly what I did when I saw Xavier Avery play in Kauffman Stadium Thursday afternoon.  Frankly, it wasn’t like he stood out as the best player on the field but that was overshadowed by two other pieces of information.  First, he was in the big leagues and second, prior to his call up to the big leagues his cards were selling for darn near nothing.  Avery’s been up for several games now, one of those games included a double and triple where he got to show off the wheels.  Avery’s emergence in the big league lineup caused collectors to remember him and thus the Blue Refractor that sold last week for $1 sold $15 this week.

2. Josh Hamilton 1999 Topps Traded Autos

Hamilton

Comments: Honestly, a couple weeks ago all the buzz was about Matt Kemp, who had began the season on a tear.  Pffffft, Matt Kemp isn’t even first in the NL in HRs anymore, now it’s Carlos Beltran (yes, that one).  Buzz is not a word to describe Josh Hamilton, neither is on fire, it’s almost like Josh has dropped an atomic bomb on the rest of the American League, or gone Blitzkrieg, or insert your own war analogy here.  Josh’s start to the season is awe inspiring and if you had those 1999 Topps Traded cards laying around, it is time to break them out.  Base Topps cards are selling for $10 and Autos that were at $350 last week, hit $600 this week.

3. Corey Seager 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft Autos

Seager

Comments: In case you are wondering, the presses at Topps are still glowing red from all the USA sets they printed.  you would have thought Topps was forced to adopt some patriot cause the way flags were being printed at that place.  For many of us that busted products like 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft (my hand is raised, 20 times, for 20 cases) this meant that USA Autos usually sold for something like a nickel.  However, as the draft draws near and people start to sniff out their favorite prospects certain players are rising.  One of these players is Corey Seager whose Refractor Autos from 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft were selling for $8 or so last week and $15 this week.

 

4. Brandon Beachy 2011 Topps Chrome Refractor Autos

Beachy

Comments: I had a roomate in college who made an awful lot of bad jokes and the really unfortunate thing was that it didn’t stop him from trying.  However, as they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes right?  I have to imagine that this theoretical blind squirrel would die before finding his nut….I digress.  Anyway, he did find a nut once when talking about a couple of girls whose last name was Beach.  “Hey Phil, imagine if they were men, they’d be sons of Beaches.”  Say it out loud, it will make more sense then.  This is just a small insight into my mind as it illustrates what I think when I hear names like Brandon Beachy.  However, the only ones left cursing are opposing teams as Brandon is having a fantastic year for the Braves.  His 2011 Topps Chrome Refractor Autos moved from $14 to $21 this week.

5. Dustin Brown 2003-04 Young Guns

Dustin Brown

Comments:  I watch hockey highlights on SportsCenter and that’s about the extent of my knowledge of the sport.  As it pertains to the Hot List I hope that our resident hockey fans keep me informed.  However, that being said it doesn’t take a lot of attention to realize that the Kings are surprising people this year and that Dustin Brown is at the center of that.  There’s a terrible pun there related to his position and I should be chastised simply for pointing it out I think.  However, as with all hockey rookies, when the player starts making news, so do the Young Guns rookies.  Dustin’s Young Guns all the way back from 2003-04 moved from $5ish last week to $10-$15 this week.

6. Wil Myers 2010 Bowman Chrome Autos

Myers

Comments: What Josh Hamilton is to the Major Leagues, Wil Myers is to Double A.  Well, ok, it’s not that crazy but he does lead the Texas League in 2 of the 3 Triple Crown categories but is being held out of the big leagues by the stunning Royals offense (or not).  Wil just keeps producing wherever he is at – both league and position and his cards reflect this, Refractor Autos jumped from $45 to $65 this week.

7. Christian Friedrich 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Parallels

Friedrich

Comments: The 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft non-auto CL was much maligned, the big star was Rick Porcello and yeah, that’s about all we need to say about.  However, with Xavier and now Christian we appear to have a resurgence on the Hot List.  Christian has started his big league career with 2 starts and a 1.38 ERA and that will get almost anyone’s attention.  His 2008 Draft Parallels have really started moving as a result, everything from Refractors selling for $5 to 9.5 Gold Refractors selling for over $100.  Couldn’t this guy be Jamie Moyer’s grandkid?  :)

8. Yu Darvish 2012 Bowman Chrome Autos

Yu

Comments: It’s official, I’ve run out of Yu jokes.  But wouldn’t it be funny if Yu talked about himself in the third person like the famous “Jimmy” episode of Seinfeld.  It would be so confusing.  “Yu’s got a crush on Elaine.”  “Yu’s down, Yu needs help.”  People wouldn’t really know what to do with Yu at all and now even I’m confused.  I guess that’s what I get for trying to cross Seinfeld with a Japanese pitching import.  All that said what’s yous got (slang for Texas Rangers’ management) is a guy who is having a fantastic start to 2012.  Yu is tied for the ML lead in wins and is a receiving a great deal of very positive publicity on ESPN.  Yu’s Blue Refractors were selling for $650 when we featured them last week, then they started tailing off and hit the $550 range but with more spectacular performances, back to $650 they go.

Now for a couple new features that will rotate in and out of the Hot List from time to time.

Blast from the Past:

Gio Gonzalez 2004 Bowman Chrome Autos

Gio

Comments: A little insight into the Hot List.  One of the things I do each week is to check the leader board in the MLB from a statistics perspective.  If you look at the National League you will note that a Washington National is on top in the K’s category.  Right, Stephen Strasburg…but actually, wrong, it’s Gio Gonzalez.  Gio, although only 26 is already on his 3rd team and seems to have moved it up a notch in 2012.  He’s 5-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 60 K’s in 48 innings.  Once again, Gio’s 2004 Chrome Autos are on collectors minds as they surge to the $20 range.

Ooops, we missed it:

2010 Donruss Elite Drew Smyly Autos

Smyly

Comments: When you write a list like this, missing a spike is inevitable, there is just too much data out there.  Sometimes these misses get pointed out but often not.  Therefore, an oops we missed it category that makes a debut on the Hot List seems appropriate.  This go round it is Drew Smyly Elite Autos that sell for $30 now and weeks ago sold for half of that.  Drew’s maybe not a name you have heard of but after seven starts, his ERA is in the l0w 2s, even though the Tigers have so far given him only one win!