Wahmbulances are being dispatched to all corners of the world today, baseball card collectors are weeping.  Why you ask?  That dreaded dreaded name.  Tommy Freaking John. Tommy John is a “9 letter phrase.” Here, a picture is worth a thousand words and the first six images that appear in a Google Image Search for Tommy John are that of Stephen Strasburg.

Stephen Strasburg is out for the rest of this season and likely out for the entire 2011 season too.  No, he didn’t cut his finger on Bryce Harper’s sharp mohawk, he’s going to have Tommy John surgery.

In spite of the fact that he signed just over one year ago, Stephen has already had a Hall of Fame impact on the hobby.  Here are five ways Stephen’s presence has already been felt in the hobby and there are oh so many more.

1. 2010 Bowman w/Chrome base Bowmans selling for upwards of $15 each,Bowman Chromes selling for upwards of $30 at some points. Parallels and BGS 9.5s selling for incredible multiples.  These are prices unseen by anyone other than Mr. Pujols.

2. 2010 Bowman w/Chrome Cases selling for 3 times cost or more.

3. Case prices driven up by Stephen’s presence – 2010 Bowman w/Chrome, 2010 Topps Chrome, 2010 Allen & Ginter, 2010 Bowman Chrome, 2010 T-206 and many more in anticipation.

4. Exclusivity with Topps

5. Resetting the prospect ceiling even higher

So now thoughtful collectors must ask themselves, what is next?  The most immediate impact will be felt by case busters who break and then immediately sell on eBay to recoup their money.  Many of the cases listed above have lost a little luster.  Certainly, some of the hype will decline around 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft Cases.  This is truly unfortunate, it will be very interesting to see what Stephen’s cards settle at from a price perspective.  He is kind of baseball’s Blake Griffin in the sense that there’s no doubting the talent but the injury makes you wait and worry.

Two and a half months ago I wrote a story about 10 similarities between Stephen and Mark Prior, unfortunately, I think an 11th is in order: frequent trips to the DL and now surgery.

Get well soon Stephen,

Love,

All who love baseball cards