#Honus Wagner Rookie Year

[pittsburghbeautiful]

Honus Wagner

Honus Wagner Johannes Peter ” Honus ” Wagner, also known as Hans Wagner, was a German-American baseball shortstop who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for 21 seasons from 1897 to 1917.  In 1911, Wagner won his eighth (and final) batting title, setting a record in the National League that still stands today and has only been matched once, in 1997, by Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging…

[whovewor]

Octgn image packs

OCTGN IMAGE PACKS INSTALL

… Today they still produce a few Hanafuda card decks including the popular Daitouryou variant, which features the portrait of Napoleon. Nintendo’s Hanafuda cards became so well known across Japan that Nintendo eventually started to develop other classic Japanese and Western card games. The earliest indigenous karuta was invented in the town of Miike in Chikugo Province at around the end of the 16th century. These early decks were used for trick-taking games. Playing cards were introduced to Japan by Portuguese traders during the mid-16th century. Shinobu became Queen after defeating Yumi Yamamoto. Shinobu is a left-handed person, which makes Chihaya Ayase so engrossed in her first match with the Queen that she didn’t even realize this. ICv2’s Top 10 Collectible Games (Hobby Channel) – Spring 2021 What is the most popular trading card game 2021? Magic is bigger in the american regions, and has had a extremely large player-base for years. World wide yes yugioh is the biggest card game. In North America, Magic has overall a larger player base, but worldwide it still goes to yugioh as the OCG player base (Japan and Korea) is quite large. A T206 Honus Wagner baseball card became the most expensive trading card ever when it sold for $6.606 million on Monday. Honus Wagner Card Sells for $6.606 Million, Becomes Most Expensive Trading Card Ever. … The game gained so much traction with Japanese fans, that the price of Magic’s cards began to spike in Japan well before they did in the USA. The popularity of Magic The Gathering is large enough in Japan that it is MTG’s second-largest fan base. What is the most powerful card in Yugioh?.How much is a Michael Jordan rookie card worth?.How much is a Kobe Bryant rookie card worth?.Where did Magic The Gathering originate from?.Does Nintendo still make hanafuda cards?.What is the most popular trading card game 2021?.What is the most expensive trading card?.So that What is the biggest trading card game?

OCTGN IMAGE PACKS INSTALL

Click ‘Add Image Packs’ in GAMES MANAGER and install the image pack file you downloaded. Install Duel Masters OCG from the games list. In OCTGN, open the GAMES MANAGER tab and in the drop down menu on top-left select « Community Games ». Then How do you play Duel Masters Octgn? Start OCTGN and create an account. When it comes to a conventional deck of cards, there are several games of Japanese origin. Manga is rapidly becoming one of Japan’s most popular exports, and the art form is an increasingly common sight across the world. What are the Most Popular Card Games in Japan? With over 350,000 total tournaments held and 6.5 billion total cards printed worldwide, the popular Duel Masters trading card game comes to smartphones with nationwide online battles, deck building, custom character creation, a single-player mode, and the appearance of legendary duelists like Shobu Kirifuda, Kyoshiro …īesides, What is the most popular TCG in Japan? While the best game is going to depend on every person’s individual tastes, Duel Masters has consistently been one of the most popular throughout the country and is still played almost two decades after it was first released.

[aestheticvoyage2022]

Day 172: Tuesday June 21, 2022 - “Road to Cooperstown”

Cooperstown sits down a long curvy road, through rolling hills, alongside a finger shaped lake and we wound our way there today, and it feels like winding our way back into time, as you hear the story of the first baseball game being mythologized here.  Whether Doubleday started the game here or not, hardly matters. Its the perfect place for the Hall of Fame.  And after walking the streets and getting ice cream, and adoring the charm of the place, I think we all would agree.  

We started our afternoon visit with the Hall of Famers, and browsing the bronze plaques.  David Ortiz is going into the hall this year, and in prep for next month’s induction, the empty place holders had already been hung and were signed on the marble under which the plaques will hang.  Wow!  I thought that was really cool and wondered how far back that tradition goes and how many hall of famers signed the back of their plaque!   Neat seeing this little easter egg.  Last time I was here Ken Griffey Jr., one of my favorite players as a kid, went into the hall - no doubt he had signed his too!

In the Great Hall, William practiced his walking as he cruised around, curious about this special, unique room.  Baseball sanctuary, I told him, as we showed him pictures of Alan Trammel, Hank Aaron, Kirby Puckett (Mom’s favorite non-3rd baseman), and Babe Ruth.  In one of his newest tricks, he said in context, “Wow” - yea buddy, wow.

On to the exhibits we all quietly took our own routes, reading whatever was interesting or eye-catching.  From the first exhibit with Honus Wagner’s Pirates Jersey to the last exhibit with all the World Series rings that we let William crawl on and get a closer look, the Hall is the keeper of the game, telling a story of how its evolved and changed.   My favorite parts were the same as last time, the old lockers and game worn jerseys; we saw Hank Aaron’s whole uniform, Babe Ruth’s, Stan Musial’s, and Jackie Robinson’s.   We saw a Mickey Mantle signed baseball and I told AC about how I wrote to him when I was in grade school and got a signature back in the mail and how because of that, for a long time I was a Mickey Mantle and Yankees fan... for a short while.  We had heard that Miggy’s jersey from his 3,000th hit this Spring had been sent to the hall, but it wasn’t on display yet - instead his Triple Crown jersey was here.  I told William about how someday soon, he’d have his bust in Cooperstown but that last night we saw him swing in Fenway.  I enjoyed seeing Dave Robert’s shoes that he stole 2nd with with my Mom after having shown her the video of that moment in baseball history earlier in the truck on the way here - and there they were in the (leather) flesh.   There were a few new things, or things I hadn’t noticed last time - like the display of Fantasy Baseball, David Freese’s 2011 WS Jersey, the section on the Negro Leagues, and even a whole room dedicated to Baseball Cards.

We visited the gift shop so that we could get a pin for Wm’s hat, and several packs of Cards to add to his budding collection.  We then ventured out into town where I found a bat shop that does engraving and got a special bat to surprise everyone that commemorated William’s first game on a Louisville Slugger mini-bat.  We also visited some card shops and got a Dylan Carlson rookie card to go with William’s signed shoe.  But the big prize was a visit to a candy store for four double scoop waffle cones!  Sorry buddy - maybe next time we’re here you can have one too.  Maybe when that guy Miggy, is in the parade!

Song:  Merle Haggard - Thats The Way Baseball Go

Quote: “Major League Baseball has done as much as any one thing in this country to keep up the spirit of the people.” President Franklin Roosevelt

[dallaszwfc147]

Buzzwords, De-buzzed: 10 Other Ways to Say Derek Jeter rookie cards

Derek Jeter was signed up due to the New york city Yankees with the sixth overall choice in the 1st round of the 1992 MBL Draft.He is without a doubt and also away looked at among the best well-liked players ever to use the Yankees Pin Lines if certainly not one of the most well-known of perpetuity (Infant Ruth and also Mickey Mantle could have one thing to mention concerning that).

The Leader, Mr. Nov, Leader Link-- whatever you would like to refer to as Derek Jeter, he is among the absolute most important sportsmens of his age group and one of the greatest baseball gamers of perpetuity.

Our Top Derek Jeter Rookie Card Picks

Greatest Derek Jeter Rookie Cards So, Derek Jeter has the numbers, the background, and also the future on his side. It's one of the trademark baseball cards of its entire creation as well as arguably, Derek Jeter's best rookie card.The art depicts Jeter hustling to make a play against a fantastic aluminum foil background.As a top-tier investment, this card possesses additional than doubled in value over the past 5 years, with optimals at three-way value.NY Yankee Future All-Star? Get Jasson Dominguez Rookie Cards If you require to possess the absolute best Derek Jeter memory cards on the market, this memory card possesses to be in your portfolio.This must-have Jeter novice memory card click here is actually an absolute jewel coming from top to bottom.

The craft, including a younger, eager Derek Jeter makes this an excellent display part for the severe, but a soft-sell real estate investor. It's unsubstantiated just how youthful Jeter looks here, however that is actually part of the attraction.

This card is traditional in every the correct methods and also will certainly enhance your collection both fiscally and aesthetically. Derek Jeter Little Sunshine High College Vehicle Autograph Novice RC

This card features a Derek Jeter therefore younger, he looks very likely to strike your doorbell and run than to strike home runs, however it's an outstanding assets. "Along with only 250 authorized copies of this particular memory card, it is actually rather rare, especially in best situation" exciting woodgrain trend behind Jeter additionally makes this memory card a noteworthy show piece, as there are really few like it.1993 Derek Jeter Coliseum Nightclub Murphy Novice Memory Card # 117.

CONTRIBUTE TO pushcart Derek Jeter arena club novice memory card Coliseum Club memory card had a more restricted release than most of the various other Jeter rookie memory cards, thus this has actually strengthened in worth especially effectively.

Along with refined gold lettering as well as neighboring at the bottom, yet no side perimeter, the card is actually both attractive and also challenging to locate in great problem.

For those who perform discover a top-quality version, this card will certainly be a sound expenditure for years to happen. As the gold aluminum foil model of among Derek Jeter's most preferred newbie cards, this is a staple assets for Jeter supporters and also intelligent financiers alike. The art here is actually definitely symbolic as a younger Derek Jeter rises towards his bright future. When this card was actually imprinted, no person had any clue they were looking at a newbie whose title would certainly be in debates along with Honus Wagner and Cal Ripken Jr

. The 1993 Derek Jeter Bowman Novice Memory Card can have incredibly easily been in our top 5 and also costs an expenditure at much higher grades. The 1993 Epitome Derek Jeter Novice Card is one more one that rarely missed out on out on the leading 5 ... our team like the close-up appearance together with the smug smile Jeter carries his skin ... the card rather advises our team of some of the greatest novice cards ever published in the 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Upper Deck Rookie Card.1992 Derek Jeter Front Row Gold RC # 55.

You will definitely certainly not, I repeat will certainly not locate this card very commonly on ebay.com public auctions. You may locate it up on eBay acquire right now for an extremely high rate however finding it on eBay public auctions is like locating a needle in a haystack.However, if you carry out see the 1992 Front end Row Gold Derek Jeter RC up on eBay public auctions our company recommend trying (and also email our team at info@goldcardauctions.com as well as allow our team know).

Why Acquire Derek Jeter Newbie Cards?

Our experts'll respond to those inquiries and also additional in this thorough Derek Jeter Expenditure Report. Significant aspect that makes Derek Jeter a fantastic expenditure is his affiliation with the Yankees." Derek Jeter Novice Cards are some of the ideal expenditures in the activity ... in certain the 1993 SP Jeter RC" Jeter invested even more than a decade as the Yankee's group Leader as well as led the team to 5 Globe Series Championships in that span.

Sustained effectiveness in such a high-profile placement made Jeter a somebody, even for people that recognize absolutely nothing else about baseball.Also, playing in the huge The big apple City media market aided Derek Jeter connect with an astoundingly big reader as both an athlete and also media individuality.

[mrpackripper]

👉Good morning all my wonderful #Instagram friends!👋 Hope you are all having a splendid start to the week!🤙 👉#HonusWagned would also like to wish you are good day!😁 👉The reason why Honus Wagner is joining me for my daily morning shout out to you all is because I wanted to use today’s “good morning” post to include some hobby info!😉👊🏻 👉This #baseball card is the Honus Wagner T206! For many years this card was the most valuable card in the #baseballcardhobby! 👉The most popular Honus Wagner T206 card was the “Gretzky T206 Wagner”! You can probably guess why the card inherited that name! 🤔 Yes, because it was owned by #waynegretzky!🏒 . . #baseballcards #footballcards #basketballcards #hockeycards #soccercards #topps #upperdeck #tradingcards #sportscards #contest #paniniamerica #paniniprizm #thehobby #whodoyoucollect #rookies #mrpackripper #giveawaytime #giveawayalert #freegiveaway 👉Please follow me for more great sportscard content & awesome free giveaways: @mrpackripper https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ8oz7fMpsI/?utm_medium=tumblr

[orbemnews]

An autographed Tom Brady rookie card got auctioned for $555,988 The rare 2000 Playoff Contenders card shows Brady with the NFL’s New England Patriots and is rated as a PSA Gem Mint 10, which means it’s in virtually perfect condition. The card, listed by PWCC Market, was purchased by a private bidder on eBay for $555,988. (Plus $8 shipping.) The sale happened January 25, a day after Brady, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, beat the Green Bay Packers and clinched a spot in the Super Bowl for a record 10th time. Once an unheralded 199th pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady has won six Super Bowl titles and three Most Valuable Player awards to stake a claim as the greatest player of all time. Rare sports cards, like works of fine art, have sharply risen in value in recent years. A rookie LeBron James card sold last year for $1.845 million, and a Honus Wagner baseball card from a century ago recently sold for $3.25 million. Source link Orbem News #988-CNN #auctioned #autographed #Brady #Card #Rookie #Tom #TomBradyautographedrookiecardauctionedfor$555 #us

[cardssaleonline-blog]

Graded Baseball Cards

Every Little Thing Regarding The Pricey Graded Baseball Cards

Collecting of Graded Baseball Cards starts just as a hobby. But later we look out for distinct alternatives, to maintain our interest higher in them and to offer our interest some value. The value of a card is determined by different aspects just like the year in which they may be made, player featured around the card as well as the number inside the set.

A number of essentially the most pricey Baseball cards:

1909-11 T206 “Jumbo” Honus Wagner

It realized about $3.two million in September 2016. It earned the value as a result of the mis-cut which created it of huge size and so it really is named.

1909 11 Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner

It realized $2.eight million in April 2015. This can be also named as Jumbo but not around the basis of mis cut of shape.

1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle

It realized $ 1,135,250. It really is scarce card as a fewer larger number of cards have been printed on this number.

1915-16 Sporting News M101-5 Babe Ruth

It realized $717000. It really is useful not since it is actually a Rookie card, but since it shows him as a player on Boston Red Sox.

1909 American Caramel E90-1 Joe Jackson.

It realized $667189. Joe Jackson was banned from baseball following the “Black Sox”, a significant league baseball fixing incident. So the cards have been fewer in quantity and this improved the demand for Rookie cards.

Cards value guide:

Baseball card for sales value is depending on several criteria aside from players more than it. Other aspects like scarcity, condition, errors, and value variation impacts the value too as Worth.

All these situations are causes for ups and downs in rates which we must contemplate although picking the cards. These value guides offer you the thorough information over the baseball cards.

[sportscardsforsale-blog1]

Graded Baseball Cards

All the things About the Highly-priced Baseball Card

Collecting of Graded Baseball Cards starts just as a hobby. But later we appear out for different alternatives, to keep our interest high in them and to provide our interest some worth. The worth of a card is determined by various things just like the year in which they are created, player featured on the card as well as the quantity within the set.

Some of one of the most expensive Baseball cards:

1909-11 T206 “Jumbo” Honus Wagner

It realized about $3.two million in September 2016. It earned the worth as a result of the mis-cut which made it of massive size and so it can be named.

1909 11 Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner

It realized $2.eight million in April 2015. This can be also named as Jumbo but not on the basis of mis reduce of shape.

1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle

It realized $ 1,135,250. It is scarce card as a fewer greater quantity of cards have been printed on this quantity.

1915-16 Sporting News M101-5 Babe Ruth

It realized $717000. It's important not because it is often a Rookie card, but because it shows him as a player on Boston Red Sox.

1909 American Caramel E90-1 Joe Jackson.

It realized $667189. Joe Jackson was banned from baseball following the “Black Sox”, a significant league baseball fixing incident. So the cards have been fewer in quantity and this increased the demand for Rookie cards.

Cards price tag guide:

Baseball card for sales value is depending on numerous criteria aside from players more than it. Other factors like scarcity, situation, errors, and cost variation impacts the price tag too as Worth.

All these circumstances are reasons for ups and downs in rates which we have to take into consideration though choosing the cards. These cost guides offer you the thorough know-how over the baseball cards.

[junker-town]

Ichiro’s unmatched career, glimpsed in 27 stats

There is only one Ichiro. And it’s going to stay that way.

Ichiro is a legend. He is a pioneer. He’s a king. He’s style. He’s grace. He’s intent. He’s a mood.

For 27 professional seasons in the United States and Japan, he was inevitable and improvisational. He played professional baseball — and hit and caught and hit and threw and hit and sometimes even pitched baseballs — with an excellence that endured over time and across continents.

He might be done. But, also, he might not. Because Ichiro is inscrutable even in the spotlight.

No, Ichiro can’t be fully comprehended by looking at his career statistics. But, damn those numbers are impressive. So let’s look back on just some of the stats and numbers that stand out from an iconic career:

27

Ichiro made his MLB debut on April 2, 2001 at age 27. He got two hits in his first game.

It's only right that this week's #TBT goes out to Ichiro's 1st year in @MLB. https://t.co/mfIxhNKDDo pic.twitter.com/vg4zssy4ux

— Cut4 (@Cut4) May 3, 2018

9

Ichiro’s Baseball America ranking before the 2001 season was No. 9.

162

A pioneer as a position player coming over from Japan, doubters didn’t think Ichiro could withstand the physical toll of the 162-game MLB season due to his slight frame.

18

Ichiro has played 18 MLB seasons, so far.

27

Ichiro received 27 first-place votes (of a possible 28) to be named the American League’s rookie of the year in 2001. Pitcher CC Sabathia received the only other first-place vote.

11

Ichiro received 11 first-place votes received in to also be named the American League’s Most Valuable Player in his rookie year.

3,089

Ichiro notched the 22nd-most career MLB hits.

Ichiro Suzuki has 3,089 career hits, most in MLB since 2001, his rookie season. Albert Pujols is 2nd with 2,998. They both debuted on April 2, 2001. pic.twitter.com/LYKbG6D6Lv

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 3, 2018

262

Ichiro established a new MLB single-season record with 262 hits in 2004. The previous record of 257 had stood since 1920.

.311

Ichiro’s career MLB batting average is .311.

385

Number of at-bats Ichiro would need to go hitless in to drop his career MLB average below .300.

Ichiro has a career batting average of .311. He would have to go hitless in his next 385 (!) at-bats to drop below .300. pic.twitter.com/gOjbzXXcPY

— MLB Stat of the Day (@MLBStatoftheDay) May 3, 2018

18

In his mound debut, Ichiro threw 18 pitches in relief for the Miami Marlins on Oct. 4, 2015.

11

Ichiro threw 11 strikes in his inning of work. He surrendered one run on two hits without issuing a walk.

509

Ichiro racked up 509 career MLB stolen bases, including a league-leading 56 as a rookie.

7

There have only been seven MLB players with 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases: Ichiro, Rickey Henderson, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins, Paul Molitor, and Lou Brock. The other six are in the Hall of Fame.

10

Ichiro won 10 Gold Glove Awards playing outfield for the Seattle Mariners.

123

Ichiro has 123 career MLB outfield assists, including this introductory laser beam in his first week with the Mariners. That’s only three fewer than noted cannon-arm haver Vladimir Guerrero.

10

Ichiro put up 10 consecutive seasons with 200+ hits, from 2001-2010. No other player in MLB history has 10 straight seasons with 200+ hits. Only Pete Rose has 10 seasons during an entire career with 200+ hits.

18

Ichiro made his professional debut at age 18 with the Orix BlueWave in Japan. This was in 1992.

1,278

Ichiro has 1,278 career NPB hits, including 210 in just 130 games in 1994.

7

After becoming a full-time player in 1994, Ichiro led the Pacific League in Japan in batting for seven seasons.

.353

Playing seven full seasons — winning a batting title in each — and parts of two other seasons, Ichiro finished his career in Japan with a .353 batting average.

.600

Ichiro played for Japan in the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009. Japan won the tournament both times. Ichiro went for 6 for 10 in championship games.

Ichiro now holds record for most runs scored by a Japanese player. So here’s home plate: http://t.co/OUEL3APFU8 pic.twitter.com/N1502hn3nD

— WBC Baseball (@WBCBaseball) April 27, 2015

2

Ichiro won two American League batting titles: 2001 and 2004.

44

Ichiro was 44 years old when he made this catch.

4,367

Accounting for his seasons in Japan and the United States, Ichiro has 4,367 career professional hits.

0

There are no players with more top-tier professional hits than Ichiro. He is the hit king.

1

Ichiro ranks first in Mariners history in batting average, hits, triples, and stolen bases,

Thank you, Ichiro. pic.twitter.com/Lpla1hqzrJ

— Mariners (@Mariners) May 3, 2018

[mastcomm]

It’s an Investment, Yes. But for One Day, It’s a Time Machine.

Fred Baumann stepped outside to look for the truck. It was nearing noon, which meant that collectors across the city would soon be heading to the Upper East Side on their lunch breaks.

It was the first day of baseball card season, and Mr. Baumann, one of the owners of Alex’s MVP Cards and Comics, still remembers the time a shipment was accidentally delivered to a nearby restaurant and sat undiscovered for a week, provoking a near meltdown for a small group of adult men.

Running one of the last sports-card stores in the city means constantly disappointing people. Most often it’s the guys who think the baseball cards collecting dust in their closets might be worth big money. Mr. Baumann gently deflates the expectations of about 20 would-be sellers every day, having to tell them that only about four cards from their childhoods are worth anything now.

“People think if it’s old, then it must be worth money,” Mr. Baumann said. “I try to explain it to them, but they just don’t stop talking. That’s the painful part.”

For most of the year, the baseball card market today is a highly esoteric and high-tech affair. But on the opening day of a new trading season, when baseball card companies like Topps release the new cards, the hobby becomes pure again. It’s the one moment that no one knows what any single card is worth, and collectors get to experience the simple pleasure of ripping open a pack of cards.

The Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide, started by a statistician in the 80s, first codified the price of trading cards. A 1909 Honus Wagner (shortstop, Pittsburgh Pirates) sold for $100,000 in 1988, and by the time independent grading agencies started to spring up in the ’90s, people were treating vintage cards like blue-chip stocks.

Memorabilia companies rushed to capitalize on the demand. They flooded the market with new products, and thus today almost none of them are worth much more than the cardboard they were printed on.

As a way to re-inject scarcity into the market, card companies came up with the concept of “hit cards.” These cards might feature embedded bits of memorabilia — a splinter of a player’s bat, say, or a swatch of a game-worn jersey.

True completists, then, must rely on baseball-card brokers to track them down. Mr. Baumann would prefer not to sell the few packs he has on hand to someone who’s just looking at them as an investment. At least not until the actual fans have had their chance to get their hands on some.

“I don’t want to have to explain to some kid that a guy I’ve never seen came in and cleaned me out,” he said. “Some of those kids might be 35 years old, but I still don’t want to have to break it to them.”

As it turned out, Mr. Baumann’s fears were unfounded. The cards arrived at the tail end of the lunch hour and no professional speculators showed up.

“I don’t know what any of this stuff is,” said 32-year-old Daniel Rocco of his two new jumbo boxes. “Beckett’s guide has nothing on these cards, so you have nothing to compare them to. It makes you feel like a kid again.”

The phone rang again, and Mr. Baumann picked it up.

“When you say old, what years are you talking about?” he asked. Then he said that he would have to pass on any cards from the ’90s unless they were the rookie cards of Derek Jeter or Ken Griffey Jr. The guy on the other end pleaded his case.

“They don’t listen,” Mr. Baumann said after hanging up. “They’re like 5-year-olds.”

Ralph Schneider is a typical customer. He already pays for two storage units to house his 50,000 baseball cards and probably shouldn’t be buying more of them at all; he can barely afford to keep up with the hobby on his teacher’s salary.

But the beginning of the baseball card season is his favorite day of the year.

“Teaching’s not an easy profession,” he said, “and big release days keep me going.”

A native of Marine Park, Brooklyn, his eventual goal is to collect every player who has ever played for his beloved minor-league Cyclones.

Mr. Schneider also runs a YouTube channel where he opens cards on camera, what is known as “breaking.” As he waited for Mr. Baumann to ring him up, the 24-year-old explained that he’ll start filming as soon as he gets home.

Videos of people breaking new packs of cards helps speculators set prices on the secondary market, because it lets them know who has already found what. But Mr. Schneider, who is also an aspiring actor and Frank Sinatra impersonator, just likes being on camera.

Before Mr. Baumann gave him his $4 in change, he pointed out to that $4 would also get Mr. Schneider another single pack of baseball cards.

The young collector paused, thought about it, accepted. The videos could wait, but he couldn’t. “This one’s just for me,” he said, tearing open the pack right at the counter.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/sport/its-an-investment-yes-but-for-one-day-its-a-time-machine-2/

[elizabethcariasa]

'Justin' Bieber and other collectible baseball cards face a special capital gains tax rate

Oops! Someone at Topps was thinking about someone else when Shane, not Justin, Bieber's baseball card was produced.

Did your mom throw out your baseball card collection when you went off to college?

If so, you can start anew today, National Baseball Card Day, by picking up some brand spanking new cards.

The Topps Company, the official trading card partner of Major League Baseball, is celebrating today by giving out free specially-made cards at MLB stadiums across the country, local hobby shops and a couple of major retailers.

The new packs feature MLB stars and up-and-coming rookies. Lucky fans also will find randomly inserted autographed cards in the new packs.

Bieber boo-boo: One card that won't be Topps packs today is Cleveland Indians' pitcher Shane Bieber.

As the photo at the top of this post shows, the company erroneously referred to the righthander as Justin on the back of the card.

Bieber, the major league ball player, took it in stride and with good humor.

He posted the mistaken identity card on Twitter, simply noting "Nice Topps" with an added smiley face emoji. That got a quick, contrite "Is it too late to say sorry?" response from the card company.

Shane's good humor probably comes from the fact that such confusion and jokes have been around for a while. During last year's MLB Players' Weekend when players replace the names on their jerseys with their nicknames, Shane's read Not Justin.

But even better, baby, baby, baby, was that Justin Bieber chimed in on the Topps confusion, too, telling Shane that he felt like they now have a special connection.

I feel like we have a special connection https://t.co/fv80Lf8ABu

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) August 5, 2019

Shane will be wearing the Not Justin nameplate again this coming (Aug. 23-25) Player's Weekend, but maybe for future events he'll be known as Justin's Pal.

Valuable collectibles: Anyone who has one of the reported 25 Shane/Justin Bieber cards could cash in on Topps' mistake. Several eBay sellers are asking several hundred dollars for the erroneous card.

While that's still a way to go from some of the most valuable baseball cards, like Mickey Mantle's 1952 Topps that sold last year for nearly $3 million, it's still impressive.

So if you do have one, make sure your mom or spouse knows that it's not to be tossed.

Also note that you'll face some special tax considerations on profits made from the sale of a collectible.

If you hold the item long enough, it qualifies for the generally lower capital gains tax treatment.

Special tax treatment of collectibles: The applicable capital gains tax rate, however, is not one of the commonly referenced rates we pay for traditional assets.

Those are the 0 percent, 15 percent and 20 percent rates that were left intact by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

These rates still apply to any profit you make on assets you sell after owning them for more than a year, although the law did change the income brackets (which are adjusted annually) to which each of these now apply.

The TCJA also left in the tax code the special 25 percent tax rate on unrecaptured section 1250 gain from selling section 1250 real property and the 28 percent tax rate for profits from the sale of section 1202 qualified small business stock and, for this post's purpose, collectibles.

Capital gain tax differences: Why the special, higher rate for collectibles? The public policy argument for a different, and less advantageous, tax rate for profit on collectibles is that such sales don't have any broader economic impact.

True, culturally society benefits from preservation of works of art, antiques and other collectibles.

But, goes the tax argument, there isn't a larger-scale economic gain on investment in collectibles like we often see from investments that produce innovative techniques, new products and higher productivity.

So Uncle Sam rewards those more economically focused long-term investments that benefit the country's gross domestic product with lower capital gains tax rates.

Defining a collectible: So what exactly is a collectible? The short, and some might say smart-ass, answer is simply that it's an item worth collecting.

The IRS, however, has some guidelines. Here are some things that for tax purposes (and noted in IRS Publication 17) are typically considered collectibles:

Art Gems Rugs  Stamps Coins Precious metals (such as gold, silver, and platinum bullion) Antiques  Fine wines or other alcoholic beverages

No, baseball cards are not specifically listed in IRS documents. Neither is that Babe Ruth autograph that's been handed down through your family for decades.

But those and other sports memorabilia generally are considered collectibles when they have an additional value based on their rarity and market demand. Essentially, the opinion of other collectors and experts, based on what they are willing to pay for your collection, determines its value and collectability and tax rate.

For example, a typical one-ounce gold coin is worth about $1,500 today based upon the value of the metal. It's not considered a collectible by the IRS. However, a rare 19th century gold coin could be worth many times more to a collector, even though it is made of exactly the same amount of gold as the common coin.

The same approach applies to sports-related items. Your autographed MLB card of Al Bumbry is valuable to you on a sentimental basis because you saw him when he played on the Baltimore Orioles 1983 World Series championship team. But it won't net you much on the sports memorabilia market.

If, however, you ever get your hands on one of the only 75 Honus Wagner cards issued in 1909 by the American Tobacco Company, you are set for life. One of those cards was privately sold earlier this year for $1.2 million. 

Figuring your tax: As with all investments, you're taxed on the profit. That's what you sell it for minus its basis.

Basis begins with your acquisition cost, which for collectibles generally include auction and/or broker's fees along with what you paid for the item. 

If you inherited the collectible, your basis is the item's fair market value at the time of bequeathing owner's death.

Note, too, that if your collectible item requires special care, for example, added costs to maintain the piece or restore it, those expenses also are part of your basis in the collectible.

What you get when you sell the item, less the accumulated basis, is the amount upon which you'll owe taxes at 28 percent.

That rate, of course, is if you sell it more than a year after buying or inheriting it. As with all capital gains calculations, if you sell a collectible you've owned for a year or less, your profit is taxed at your ordinary income rate.

Also note that you might not owe the 28 percent rate.

If you figure your tax using the maximum capital gain rate and the regular ordinary tax rate for your income level and find that the ordinary tax is lower, then that's what you pay.

Why you collect: Finally, the approach you take to your collecting also could affect any potential taxes.

Collectors of valuable items do so because they are (1) dealers in the goods, (2) see the items good investments or (3) simply enjoy collecting as a hobby.

The tax treatment for each circumstance is different  and discussed in the CPA Journal's article Planning and Tax Considerations for Collectibles, which earns it this weekend's Saturday Shout Out.

You also might find these items of interest:

Estate gets $14 million tax refund on value of art

Lawmaker goes to bat for Texas Rangers' ballpark tax break

Celebrating MLB Opening Day 2019 with a glance at how taxes affect America's Pastime

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[jodyedgarus]

Mike Trout Should Have Won A Playoff Game By Now

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is a positive outlier in far too many ways to count. But one of the rare negatives in his career to date has been a lack of postseason success — or practically any postseason action, period. The lone playoff appearance of Trout’s career happened back in 2014, when the Angels were unceremoniously swept by the pennant-bound Kansas City Royals in the American League division series. Trout hit 1-for-12 in the series, and his teammates fared little better, bringing Los Angeles’ playoff journey to an end just three games after it began.

It’s hard to believe that those three winless games represent the sum total of playoff experience for a player who, by the numbers, is the greatest of this generation. Even though it’s impossible for any single baseball player to carry a championship team the way stars can in other sports, it is highly unusual for the best player of any given MLB era to go without as much as a single victory in the postseason. The last time it happened was 100 years ago, and that was back when the “postseason” was simply the World Series — so it’s especially shocking to see it happen with today’s expanded playoff structure in which 10 teams make the postseason each year. Even worse, there’s a very good chance that the drought will continue this season for Trout and the Angels, as the decade comes to a close.

Trout has, without question, been the best individual player of the 2010s. Over the decade thus far, he leads all hitters in on-base plus slugging and ranks No. 1 among all players — both batters and pitchers — in wins above replacement (WAR).1 But among his peers atop the WAR leaderboard, Trout stands alone with that goose egg under the postseason win column:2

Trout is the best — but his playoff record isn’t

Major League Baseball leaders in total wins above replacement (WAR) — including both batting and pitching — from 2010 to 2018

WAR Team Postseason* Rk Player Batting Pitching Total Wins Losses 1 Mike Trout +64.5 0.0 64.5 0 3 2 Clayton Kershaw +2.8 55.7 58.5 31 30 3 Max Scherzer +1.5 48.6 50.0 21 27 4 Robinson Cano +49.4 0.0 49.4 10 13 5 Joey Votto +49.3 0.0 49.3 2 7 6 Justin Verlander -0.2 47.5 47.3 32 32 7 Adrian Beltre +47.2 0.0 47.2 12 14 8 Miguel Cabrera +43.3 0.0 43.3 17 21 9 Chris Sale +0.0 42.6 42.6 12 6 10 Zack Greinke +4.3 38.3 42.5 14 20 11 Andrew McCutchen +42.5 0.0 42.5 5 8 12 Buster Posey +40.3 0.0 40.3 36 17 13 Giancarlo Stanton +39.0 0.0 39.0 2 3 14 Cole Hamels +0.9 37.7 38.6 9 14 15 Paul Goldschmidt +38.2 0.0 38.2 3 6 16 Evan Longoria +38.0 0.0 38.0 5 9 17 David Price -0.3 38.0 37.7 22 27 18 Ian Kinsler +37.5 0.0 37.5 29 22 19 Josh Donaldson +37.4 0.0 37.4 14 20 20 Ben Zobrist +36.6 0.0 36.6 31 27

* Includes all games played by a player’s team, regardless of whether the player appeared in the game

Sources: Baseball-Reference.com, FanGraphs

When it comes to the best players of this decade, longtime Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, whose teams have won just two playoff games during his tenure, and New York Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton come closest to Trout’s zero-win postseason record. (Stanton used to be in the zero-win club, too, before winning two playoff games with the Yankees last year.) Most of the other top players of the 2010s crack at least double-digits in the playoff win column — headlined by Buster Posey, Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw, whose teams have all won at least 30 playoff games this decade.

Granted, Trout has had comparatively fewer chances — he’s played only eight of the decade’s nine possible seasons (through 2018), and one of those was an abbreviated rookie year during which he appeared in just 40 games. In a way, it’s only by virtue of how individually brilliant Trout has been that we’re even in a position to compare playoff records with his rivals like this. But Trout also started his career by joining a team that had been one of the winningest of the previous decade, so you might think that advantage would have helped him make up for the lost time.

Instead, the Angels have consistently surrounded Trout with one of the worst supporting casts of any star ever, largely squandering the windfall his historic output (and cheap price tag) should have offered them. Thanks to a series of terrible free-agent signings, weak drafts and — Shohei Ohtani aside — an inability to add prospects through the international pipeline, Los Angeles has somehow won an average of only 83.8 games per season since Trout’s debut campaign. Even when the Angels looked like they might finally have some promising players around Trout in 2018, they still found a way to finish around .500 in spite of Trout’s MVP-level numbers.

All of which is to say that very little of Trout’s zero-win postseason record is actually Trout’s fault. But it would still be historically notable if the best player of a decade (by WAR) ends up being on a team that wins no playoff games that decade. The best player of the 2000s, Alex Rodriguez, was on teams that won a whopping 26 playoff games, for instance, which is the same number as the best player of the 1950s (Mickey Mantle). Most decade leaders win fewer than that, especially as we go back in time — Willie Mays was the best of the 1960s, but his team won only three postseason contests that decade because, for most of it, the playoffs were World Series or bust. Even so, the last decadelong MLB WAR leader whose teams won zero playoff games was Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators in the 1910s.3

Trout is the rare decade’s-best with no playoff wins

Best player of each decade according to wins above replacement (WAR), along with playoff record* of player’s team(s)

2010s W L WAR 2000s W L WAR Mike Trout 0 3 64.5 Alex Rodriguez 26 22 76.5 Clayton Kershaw 31 30 58.5 Albert Pujols 29 27 72.2 Max Scherzer 21 27 50.0 Barry Bonds 12 13 60.6 Robinson Cano 10 13 49.4 Randy Johnson 17 19 50.8 Joey Votto 2 7 49.3 Carlos Beltran 12 10 50.6 1990s W L WAR 1980s W L WAR Barry Bonds 8 15 80.8 Rickey Henderson 11 4 69.4 Greg Maddux 39 29 68.9 Wade Boggs 7 11 60.0 Ken Griffey Jr. 6 9 66.7 Mike Schmidt 13 12 56.6 Roger Clemens 11 8 66.0 Robin Yount 8 9 52.7 Jeff Bagwell 2 9 56.9 Alan Trammell 8 5 50.9 1970s W L WAR 1960s W L WAR Tom Seaver 6 9 68.3 Willie Mays 3 4 82.2 Joe Morgan 22 15 66.6 Hank Aaron 0 3 78.4 Johnny Bench 26 19 59.4 Frank Robinson 9 8 63.8 Bert Blyleven 7 6 59.3 Roberto Clemente 4 3 62.0 Gaylord Perry 1 3 57.1 Bob Gibson 11 10 59.2 1950s W L WAR 1940s W L WAR Mickey Mantle 26 21 67.9 Ted Williams 3 4 68.0 Stan Musial 0 0 60.0 Lou Boudreau 4 2 60.4 Robin Roberts 0 4 59.4 Stan Musial 13 10 58.2 Willie Mays 6 4 57.7 Hal Newhouser 7 7 56.2 Warren Spahn 7 7 56.5 Joe Gordon 13 8 46.9 1930s W L WAR 1920s W L WAR Jimmie Foxx 7 6 74.9 Babe Ruth 18 15 104.9 Lou Gehrig 20 3 74.7 Rogers Hornsby 5 7 95.1 Mel Ott 7 9 69.4 Harry Heilmann 0 0 55.4 Lefty Grove 7 6 66.1 Frankie Frisch 14 15 55.4 Charlie Gehringer 7 6 60.8 Tris Speaker 5 2 50.6 1910s W L WAR 1900s W L WAR Walter Johnson 0 0 100.3 Honus Wagner 7 8 81.5 Ty Cobb 0 0 84.3 Christy Mathewson 4 1 68.0 Tris Speaker 8 4 75.6 Cy Young 5 3 66.4 Eddie Collins 19 15 72.5 Nap Lajoie 0 0 64.1 Pete Alexander 3 8 63.5 Rube Waddell 1 4 53.2

* Includes all games played by a player’s team, regardless of whether the player appeared in the game

Sources: Baseball-Reference.com, FanGraphs

It’s certainly more possible for baseball’s best players to come up short in the postseason than in, say, basketball. Going back to the start of the NBA in 1949-50, no best player of any decade (according to a mix of value over replacement player, win shares and estimated wins added) ever played on teams that posted fewer than 30 playoff wins during that span.4 Yes, more than 50 percent of NBA teams make the playoffs each year, but we’re still talking about a handful of playoff wins per season as the minimum baseline — at the high end, LeBron James’s teams have 120 playoff wins this decade (though he won’t be adding to that tally this year). But several moves to add more postseason slots since 1994 have theoretically made it easier for MLB to show its best players in the games that matter most. For the most part, you can see the effects of that bearing out in the playoff records for top stars since the 1990s — except in the case of Trout.

And this season may not remedy the situation. The Angels are desperately trying to put Trout in a position to drive more runners in, and Ohtani could be part of that equation as a hitter again by May. But for now, FiveThirtyEight’s early preseason MLB forecast projects Los Angeles to win 81 games, with a 25 percent chance of making the playoffs. If we assume they’d have about a 45 percent chance of winning any given playoff game,5 there’s an 85 percent chance they won’t win a playoff game this year either, continuing Trout’s dubious streak through the end of the decade.

If that does happen, it shouldn’t reflect poorly on Trout’s own greatness. In fact, it’s a testament to how far we’ve come in analyzing players that we no longer ask postseason records to carry anywhere near as much weight as they used to in these kinds of debates. But it won’t make Trout’s record any less of a historical anomaly. In an era where making the playoffs is easier than ever, baseball should be able to showcase its greatest player winning games on the postseason stage. That hasn’t happened yet — and the Angels are running out of time to change Trout’s fate before he potentially leaves town for good.

from News About Sports https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/mike-trout-should-have-won-a-playoff-game-by-now/

[junker-town]

When did the likely Baseball Hall of Fame inductees become Hall of Famers?

A search for the tipping points for the likely Hall of Fame Class of 2018.

There’s a chance that when the Hall of Fame results are announced, more players will have been elected in any year since the inaugural class of 1936. That class was Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Babe Ruth, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson, and it’s been 82 years since there’s been a class that big.

Which is a fancy way of saying that Edgar Martinez probably isn’t getting in this year. Which is going to make me want to punch a wall again.

Still, there’s a great chance that four Hall of Famers will be elected on Wednesday night, which would be just the second time since 1955. Our goal today is to determine when these Hall of Famers became Hall of Famers. For example, we know the exact moment Jack Morris became a Hall of Famer. It was October 27, 1991, when he pitched a 10-inning shutout in Game 7 of the World Series. He won 21 games the next season, which was his last good year, but you know that he was essentially inducted on October 27, 1991.

What’s that? Rules?

6. Automatic Elections: No automatic elections based on performances such as a batting average of .400 or more for one (1) year, pitching a perfect game or similar outstanding achievement shall be permitted.

We don’t need no rules. And it was an unofficial automatic election, so it’s technically fine. It was just something that added to Morris’ aura and pushed it over the top.

It won’t be like that for these (or most) inductees. It won’t be a moment. It will probably be a season. After a great season, one of several in a row, Chipper Jones became Chipper Jones, Hall of Famer. When did that happen?

My best guesses ...

Chipper Jones

One of the ideas kicking around in the ol’ SB Nation MLB Slack was to do a retrospective on the most famous/memorable moments of each player’s career. At the same time, a couple of different people typed, “Wait, what was Chipper Jones’ most memorable moment?” and hit enter. It wasn’t proof of anything, but it sure said something.

For me, I’ll always remember his Super Bowl party:

In which Brad Clontz was the celebrity with the longest bio.

So, no, he doesn’t have a Jack Morris moment. Few players, if any, do.

What we know: Chipper Jones played 19 seasons. In all of those seasons, he was a badass hitter. That’s incredible consistency, and he went from a first-overall pick to a 40-year-old man who could still hit the snot out of the ball, without a single break in the middle.

It’s tricky to find that tipping point, though, because he didn’t get to 3,000 hits or 500 homers. His was not a career of raw accumulation. He just hit and walked and hit and hit. And ran, at least early in his career!

It’s tempting to suggest that it was his .364 season in 2008, when he was 36, that got him in, but that’s what will get him in with better than 95 percent of the vote. He was a career .307/.403/.546 hitter before that season, which is first-ballot stuff.

My pick is the 2004 season, which was one of the worst of his career. He hit .248/.362/.485, which was good for a 116 OPS+ that was the worst since his rookie year, and it was the contrast that made people realize that Jones had eight stellar, full seasons in a row. He had nine straight years with at least one MVP vote, five years where he finished in the top 10, and five All-Star appearances. He had made the postseason in every full season of his career, which he had an awful lot to do with.

It was that down season that made you realize that if he finished his career like Dale Murphy, he was still in.

Then he got better.

Jim Thome

Huh. Turns out there was an easily defined tipping point for this Hall of Fame case after all.

Unless it came a little earlier. I promise you, there was a time when people were debating Thome’s Hall of Fame case. Check out this thread from the number one source for baseball and running conversation, LetsRun.com:

I think he might be the first guy with over 500 Home Runs who does not get in the Hall.

To which the response came:

I think Mark McGwire beat him to that. And no on Thome.

And it continued ...

Thome is not a first ballot HOF’er. Not by a long shot. Voters will really discount him for his poor (non-existent) defense and one-dimensionality.

And continued ...

Jim Thorpe was an amazing athlete!!

And ... dammit, Carl. But you get the idea. As of 2009, when Thome was 38 and a career .277/.404/.557 hitter with 564 home runs, there were people still wondering if he would make it. After that season he played parts of three years, hitting for a 904 OPS while being limited to pinch-hitting and DH duties, so that didn’t do it.

I’m starting to think those running enthusiasts don’t know a lot about baseball.

Over at Reddit, just a couple of years later, the question was dismissed as if it was about Ken Griffey, Jr. Of course Thome was getting in. What a stupid question. Next. This was the correct response.

My pick is, look at that, the 2004 season, just like Jones. It was Thome’s 10th straight season of absolutely MASHING. Not just hitting better than most of his peers, in that Dwight Evans kind of way, but MASHING. Lead-the-league-in-slugging mashing. Call-the-lefty-in-from-the-bullpen-in-an-11-0-rout mashing.

I don’t care if the hitter in question has a glove on his foot and tries to kick the ball around the bases with his other foot: He gets consideration for the Hall of Fame after that. Thankfully, Thome was just fine in the field. Not especially good, not even average, but his MASHING made up for it.

Vladimir Guerrero

The trickiest one of all. He didn’t have 3,000 hits, and he didn’t come especially close. He finished with 449 home runs, so that’s no help.

This one doesn’t really have a deep dive attached to it for two reasons:

The biggest boost to his Hall of Fame candidacy came when he was born with the name “Vladimir Guerrero” and had a badass nickname of “Vlad the Impaler.” If he were, oh, something plain like “Larry Walker,” he would have had a difficult time. If you think I’m kidding, I’ve written entire articles on the Catfish Hunter Theorem.

The second biggest boost to his Hall of Fame Candidacy probably happened when he got 600 plate appearances in his fifth year with the Angels. There’s nothing voters like than a player who is around every season.

Realistically, Guerrero gets the boost over Walker because of his preternatural ability to hit over .300 while swinging at baseballs that were thrown at his toes. To be able to do that is special and fun. Guerrero was an incredibly fun player.

Where’s the tipping point for fun, though?

I’ll guess the 2007 season, which was his 13th year in the majors. He was a career .325 hitter to that point, with 365 home runs, and he’d generally stayed healthy for most of his career. While he would rest as a DH occasionally, he was still showing off his delightful arm and making the sport easier to watch. He wasn’t quite a second-balloter by then, but he was at least going to get in before his 10 years were up.

Trevor Hoffman

This one is relatively easy. In 2006, Hoffman led the league in saves with 46, and he finished second in the Cy Young voting, somehow. He wasn’t that far from winning, either! He was clearly thought of as something more than the typical closer.

In a bit of foreshadowing, Billy Wagner finished sixth in the Cy Young voting that year, but with a higher WAR. That’s ... perfect.

And in 2006, this happened:

There you go. He broke the record that would eventually be broken a couple years later, but that was enough to vault him into the “Future Hall of Famer” class. There were a couple years after that, but that was the day he truly became president. Of the Hall of Fame of Closers.

Until Mariano Rivera pushed him out.

But still.

Edgar Martinez

He might not be a Hall of Famer after this ballot! I’m guessing he doesn’t get in. He should. And he probably will on his final year on the ballot next year. But I’m guessing he falls agonizingly short this year.

He’ll be the Tim Raines of next year. And, yes, that annoys the hell out of me too.

So I’ll have to save this section for next year. Next year needs #content, too.

Barry Bonds

Like, 25 years ago, buttheads.

Roger Clemens

Same.

But for the players who will get in, those are the tipping points. They weren’t as obvious as others, and there’s definitely some room for debate. When those seasons happened, though, it was probably about time for them to start daydreaming about the kind of speech they were going to make.

I probably nailed the J.G. Taylor Spink Award down with that Chipper Jones Super Bowl Party article, if we’re being honest.

[mastcomm]

It’s an Investment, Yes. But for One Day, It’s a Time Machine.

Fred Baumann stepped outside to look for the truck. It was nearing noon, which meant that collectors across the city would soon be heading to the Upper East Side on their lunch breaks.

It was the first day of baseball card season, and Mr. Baumann, one of the owners of Alex’s MVP Cards and Comics, still remembers the time a shipment was accidentally delivered to a nearby restaurant and sat undiscovered for a week, provoking a near meltdown for a small group of adult men.

Running one of the last sports-card stores in the city means constantly disappointing people. Most often it’s the guys who think the baseball cards collecting dust in their closets might be worth big money. Mr. Baumann gently deflates the expectations of about 20 would-be sellers every day, having to tell them that only about four cards from their childhoods are worth anything now.

“People think if it’s old, then it must be worth money,” Mr. Baumann said. “I try to explain it to them, but they just don’t stop talking. That’s the painful part.”

For most of the year, the baseball card market today is a highly esoteric and high-tech affair. But on the opening day of a new trading season, when baseball card companies like Topps release the new cards, the hobby becomes pure again. It’s the one moment that no one knows what any single card is worth, and collectors get to experience the simple pleasure of ripping open a pack of cards.

The Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide, started by a statistician in the 80s, first codified the price of trading cards. A 1909 Honus Wagner (shortstop, Pittsburgh Pirates) sold for $100,000 in 1988, and by the time independent grading agencies started to spring up in the ’90s, people were treating vintage cards like blue-chip stocks.

Memorabilia companies rushed to capitalize on the demand. They flooded the market with new products, and thus today almost none of them are worth much more than the cardboard they were printed on.

As a way to re-inject scarcity into the market, card companies came up with the concept of “hit cards.” These cards might feature embedded bits of memorabilia — a splinter of a player’s bat, say, or a swatch of a game-worn jersey.

True completists, then, must rely on baseball-card brokers to track them down. Mr. Baumann would prefer not to sell the few packs he has on hand to someone who’s just looking at them as an investment. At least not until the actual fans have had their chance to get their hands on some.

“I don’t want to have to explain to some kid that a guy I’ve never seen came in and cleaned me out,” he said. “Some of those kids might be 35 years old, but I still don’t want to have to break it to them.”

As it turned out, Mr. Baumann’s fears were unfounded. The cards arrived at the tail end of the lunch hour and no professional speculators showed up.

“I don’t know what any of this stuff is,” said 32-year-old Daniel Rocco of his two new jumbo boxes. “Beckett’s guide has nothing on these cards, so you have nothing to compare them to. It makes you feel like a kid again.”

The phone rang again, and Mr. Baumann picked it up.

“When you say old, what years are you talking about?” he asked. Then he said that he would have to pass on any cards from the ’90s unless they were the rookie cards of Derek Jeter or Ken Griffey Jr. The guy on the other end pleaded his case.

“They don’t listen,” Mr. Baumann said after hanging up. “They’re like 5-year-olds.”

Ralph Schneider is a typical customer. He already pays for two storage units to house his 50,000 baseball cards and probably shouldn’t be buying more of them at all; he can barely afford to keep up with the hobby on his teacher’s salary.

But the beginning of the baseball card season is his favorite day of the year.

“Teaching’s not an easy profession,” he said, “and big release days keep me going.”

A native of Marine Park, Brooklyn, his eventual goal is to collect every player who has ever played for his beloved minor-league Cyclones.

Mr. Schneider also runs a YouTube channel where he opens cards on camera, what is known as “breaking.” As he waited for Mr. Baumann to ring him up, the 24-year-old explained that he’ll start filming as soon as he gets home.

Videos of people breaking new packs of cards helps speculators set prices on the secondary market, because it lets them know who has already found what. But Mr. Schneider, who is also an aspiring actor and Frank Sinatra impersonator, just likes being on camera.

Before Mr. Baumann gave him his $4 in change, he pointed out to that $4 would also get Mr. Schneider another single pack of baseball cards.

The young collector paused, thought about it, accepted. The videos could wait, but he couldn’t. “This one’s just for me,” he said, tearing open the pack right at the counter.

from WordPress https://mastcomm.com/sport/its-an-investment-yes-but-for-one-day-its-a-time-machine/