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Top Five Baseball Teams for a Group Break

Posted on April 22, 2013 by in Sports Cards

Congratulations, you’ve decided to join a group break.  Because your wife somehow got ahold of your last credit card statement and despite that Bryce Harper being numbered “want of one,” the kids are sick of eating ramen noodles.  But that’s okay, because you were somehow able to scrounge up enough money for one spot in a group break.  Now the only question is, what team do you pick in order to get the most bang for your buck?  Obviously you can pick your home town team, but what if your favorite team is the Astros? (Sorry Astros fans, but you know it’s true) Well lucky for you, I’ve gone ahead and put together this list of the best options available when picking teams for a group break.  The results are based on recent eBay sales as well as checklists from recent hot products.

 

#5) Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles have proven to be a hot commodity lately, thanks in large part to young rookie prospects.  This past week a Manny Machado/Dylan Bundy Heritage Gold refractor sold for just over $600.  The O’s were also lucky enough to sign this Cal Ripken Jr. kid a few years ago and he’s really beginning to pay off for them now and his autos are going strong.  Although Baltimore may not be as prominent on set checklists as other teams on the list, the combination of young prospects and legendary fan favorites have made a worthy investment.

#4) New York Yankees

Despite signing Rip van Winkle to a five year, two hundred million dollar contract this past offseason, Yank cards are still selling strong and featured heavily in many set checklists.  There are 58 different Yankees’ gehrigcards featured in the 2013 Topps Tribute set, which includes 30 different relic/patch cards.  Leading the Evil Empire in card sales is Derek Jeter, as some of his recent Tribute patches have been sold within the $200-300 range.  They’ve been going strong for the last twenty years and there’s still no reason to ignore them now.  Well, besides that it’s the Yankees, but you get my point.

#3) Los Angeles Angels

With so many ball players seemingly taking their talents to Los Angeles lately, the Angels are coming through strong in recent card sales.  However, it’s a combination of the team’s home grown talent and free agent acquisitions that put the Angels on the list.  Yes, I’m talking about Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.  Trout’s and Pujols’ short printed refractors and relics have seen return on investment. The team is fairly decently spread across sets but has a good presence in Topps Gypsy Queen, which features eleven different Angels’ autograph cards.  It will be interesting to see how Angels’ cards fare with the slow start to the season this year

#2) San Francisco Giants

By combining two of the last three World Series titles and some of the most storied players to ever play the game, the Giants have refused to card collectors forget about this franchise.  Hits for the Giants have been spread more evenly across several sets than any other team on the list.  Despite what they’ve accomplished in recent years, today’s players continued to be overshadowed by past Giants, notably Willie Mays whose Topps Heritage real one autograph special edition has recently topped the $600 mark.

#1) Washington Nationals

C’mon, what did you expect?  Of course the Nats are the hottest team to pick right now.  Bryce Harper continues to lead the way in terms of volume for Nationals cards but currently it’s not just his autos and patches that are hot.  While Tribute autos and parallels will surely go big money as they come out, The Washington Senators variation cards featured in this year’s Topps Heritage set are proving to be quite popular as well.  Harper’s Senator’s error variation has been sold for around $600-$700 and Ryan Zimmerman’s Senators Variation have even gone for upwards of $500.  Not bad, considering the Nationals and Senators were never even the same team.

Article by Michael Roche

2012 Bowman Platinum Baseball Case Break 6 Box Break

Posted on June 17, 2012 by in Sports Cards

Its almost here. Little more than a month from now 2012 Bowman Platinum will be popping with tons of Box Breaks. Get your Case Break on with MOJO! Not only will they have all the big name prospects such as: Bryce Harper, Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Bubba Starling, and Trevor Bauer. They will also have some amazing veterans like: Adrian Gonzales, Justin Verlander, Buster Posey, Mike Trout, Eric Hosmer and so much more

By the Box Break

2 Refractor on card auto
1 Refractor Relic auto

The same format as last year with a much improved checklist. The big draw and most unique part to the product will be the redemptions for full game used items from the Arizona Fall League. 52 redemptions in total. Player on subset checklist have yet to be named but this will be a nice addition.

 

Join a break here

2012 Rookie Premier Early Investment Guide Pt 1

Posted on May 19, 2012 by in Sports Cards

Last year the 2011 Rookie Premiere class was very strong with lots of guys achieving greatness.  Success on the field translates to higher values in the hobby. The 2012 Stage has been set. We are all waiting to see who is going to be the guy this year. Obvious names come to mind like:  Andrew Luck, RGIII, and Trent Richardson. There is 35 guys at the 2012 NFL Rookie Premiere. These 35 gents will be in every single product from now till the last product comes out in April of 2013. Last year there was over 31 licensed NFL products. This year there maybe more. Get yourself acquainted with these gentlemen because your going to be seeing there mugs in wax for along time. You don't want your auto jersey card to be the 2012 version of  Bilal Powell or Jordan Todman . What I've done here is compiled some stats and formulated an opinion on who to buy,sell, and or hold. This will be a 3 part segment as I cover all the guys who participated in the premiere. Keeping check back!

I look forward to the first products that come out. 2012 Panini Prestige looks amazing. They did much better with it this year. The checklist mix of veterans to rookies is great . 2012 Bowman Signatures Football seems to be a killer as well. 5 autos per pack and the product is sold out and climbing in price.

Joe Adams WR/PR
Team: Carolina Panthers
4th rounder 104th Overall
HT 5-11 Investment Rating  5
College  Arkansas

Home-run potential with great speed. Adams will have first crack at Punt Return job. Joe's small size may prevent him from being a number one. He is similar size wise to Steve Smith who will mentor him. Carolina's receiving core is crowded with "premiere" busts such as: Edwards, Lafell, Gettis. At best i see him as a 2012 Randall Cobb. Which isnt a bad thing. He will be a low investment at the beginning of the season due to being a 4th rounder. If the price range is a low enough it may be worth the investment.

Coby Fleener TE
Team: Indianapolis Colts
2nd rounder  Overall 34th
HT 6-6 Investment Rating  8
College  Stanford

Indianapolis is Getting the band back together. I can hear the song "reunited" playing while Indy makes this pick... but truly  they never really were separate. The love affair in Stanford continues in Indy. The best friend a rookie Quarterback can have is his tight end. Fleener is already being shown on early depth charts as the number one Tight End. He could have a monster season. From a collectors stand point he could achieve Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, or Aaron Hernandez status next year. Good long term investment but you wont be getting him cheap as this guy is in no way flying under the raidar. I wonder how many dual Luck/Fleener Autos there will be this year? Im buying and waiting for a big game or two.

Michael Floyd WR
Team: Arizona Cardinals
Round 1 Overall 13
HT 6-1 Investment Rating  6
College  Notre Dame

Who better to learn from than the great Larry Fitzgerald. The only problem i have here is i don't see Kevin Kolb being a great Quarterback. Michael is big and physical and can make tough catches. You just need someone reliable to throw to him. The Manning sweepstakes had Card fans dreaming of 18 and after it didn't happen they chose the only option they had left in Kolb.  Floyd will more than likely be the teams number two or at least third wide out on the depth chart. He will get alot of looks as Larry will more than likely be quadruple covered. If I was any defending team I'd put Eight on Larry and count alligators haha. From a collecting standpoint this could be a great long term investment. Odds say most Rookie Wide Receivers will not get 1000 yards in there first season. There has only been 5 or so in the last 15 years. Like most successful wide outs i see him on the three year plan. Cardinals players don't have a high value for autos/mem  unless your Larry. I'd buy in on a few and take the chance. He will get plenty of opportunities I just don't see him ever being a  top ten with Kolb. Im buying at a good deal and holding.

Lamichael James RB
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Round 2 Overall 61
HT 5-7 Investment Rating  7
College  Oregon

If you can't beat em join em. Coach Jim Harbaugh suffered two losses to Oregon when he was head coach at Stanford. James left a good enough impression on him to get him to draft James into a already super crowded back field. The 49ers have Frank Gore, Brandon Jacobs, Kendall Hunter, and Anthony Dixon already on the depth chart for running backs. Some may say this will be too hard for James to make an impact. Frank does not have much left in the tank. Jacobs is a one year goal line solution. I can see the future of the 49ers running game two years from now being based on Hunter and James. I can even see James being a top ten. Harbaugh is very creative with his play calls and may even get James in 10 snaps a game early on. James is a few injuries a way from being last year Demarco Murray. Demarco's cards sold very well and continued to sell even after the injury. 49ers have a big fan base and would be considered a larger market team. This translates to higher values in the card industry. Im buying and holding.

Brock Osweiler QB
Team: Denver Broncos
Round 2 Overall 54
HT 6-7 Investment Rating  9
College  Arizona State

The heir to Peyton Manning in Denver. Unlike Tebow Elway has came out and said how much he likes Brock and that Brock is the QB of the future. That speaks volumes because Elway is the Obama over in Colorado. He basically hated Tebow's face and next thing you know Tebow is bunking with Sanchize. Brock will have no problem seeing over the offensive line. He can also take a hit or two. His mechanics are clean and some claim he was the biggest steal in the draft. Why I see him as a 9. The hype over RGIII, Luck, Tannenhill, and even Weeden will have collectors forgetting about Brock. Once some of the first products get released everyone will have the same Cam Newton fever with RGIII. With Osweiller you may have to wait 3-4 years for this investment to pay off but the kids upside is Tom Brady-esque. I know who I am PCing this year.

Trent Richardson RB
Team: Cleveland Browns
Round 1 Overall 3
HT 5-11 Investment Rating  5
College  Alabama

I can hear the boos already. I have a couple reasons at having Trent at a 5. From a collecting standpoint he will have so much hype that people will overpay for his first cards. Not much room to grow there. He's very talented don't get me wrong. He's built like Steven Jackson and even comes with the dreads. Getting him out of a pack means payday. I think he's a sell candidate on the investment scale. The other reason i have him so low is that i had a chance to meet him at the Industry Summit in Las Vegas. Panini was kind enough to bring him there and have him sign for free. My partner is a big Rams fan and some mock drafts had the Rams possibly interested in getting him. I asked him about St Louis and his reply was "I don't care who picks me as long as I get paid". At the end of the day money is important to athletes don't get me wrong. I just don't think you need to portray it that way to the media and fans. It made me put him into the Chris Johnson category. Has a few good years and then lets the money get to him. Im selling hard.

Ruben Randle WR
Team: New York Giants
Round 2 Overall 63
HT 6-3 Investment Rating  6
College  LSU

The Giants have an eye of drafting talented wide outs. Hakeem Nicks was selected after Percy Harvin, Michael Crabtree, Darius Heyward-Bey, and Jeremy Maclin in 2009. Same with Randle he fell farther than some thought. He was touted at the beginning of the combine but fell as he had a lackluster combine. Its a good thing that games aren't won at the combine. He's already predicted to be number 3 behind Cruz and Nicks. Eli Manning as we know shows no favoritism to any receiver. Get open and he will get you the ball simple as that. Like San Francisco The Giants are a large market team and they tend to pay for there rookie cards. Jerel Jernigan sold for way more all year last year just because he plays for the football Giants. Film guru Cosell claims Randle is very smooth and athletic and can line up on the outside. This translates into big plays. Big plays equal big pays in the card industry. I think he may need to mature so im buying and holding.

Check back as the rest of the rookies are put under the microscope

2012 Topps Archives Super Groovy!

Posted on May 15, 2012 by in Sports Cards

Want to own a Kobra Kai autograph? Now you can. Topps has amped up 2012 Archives with some late additions. Wax on wax off! Billy Zapka and Martin Kove both from the karate kid have signed dope looking cards! Makes me wanna bust out my Ninja Turtles Lunch pail and yellow sony walkman. The Karate autos will be lucky box loaders. They also announced ten one of one book cards. These will feature 6 autos per book.

They also have picked up on the Har-vish (creative!) hype and inserted Harper and Darvish. They used the 84 Topps design for Harper and 86 Design for Darvish. Sweet looking cards. I'm a fan of the 86 look as i have a few Barry Bonds rookies from that year. The Checklist on this product looks great!

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