A Lost Art Revived By Jimmy Fallon & Bob Costas

Granted, they are '89 Topps, but if you're looking for an easy and fun way to knock your baseball cards right out of mint condition, Jimmy Fallon and Bob Costas bring an age-old game back to life.......

Sign your name across my card

In an era of exclusive card company autograph deals and multimillion dollar athletes who have long since lost touch with the fans who brought 'em to this dance, it's good to know at least one is still grounded in the real world.  I actually had an encounter with one of the future Hall of Famers mentioned in this article, who was one of my favorites growing up.  I didn't even ask for an autograph, but I can tell you the experience was NOT pleasant, and probably would have been even less so if I had asked.  On the flip side, it's nice to see a guy so well connected to his fans make it to Cooperstown........

Moyer never mails it in but always mails it out

This Week In Sports Cards

Happening this week in the hobby and industry.......

• For those with high end card collections, you might wanna make sure they're properly insured
• A father and son's shared love of baseball leads to a very unique card set
• For those headed to the National, there are a couple of treasures to be had.......including a present and future King and "decision" maker and the "next big thing" (courtesy of another top notch baseball card blog, A Cardboard Problem)
  
• And from earlier in the week, if you're thinking about taking a shot @ the Strasburg 1/1 Auto Superfractor, so-called "financial experts" aren't sure that's such a good idea.
  

This Week In Sports Cards

Among this week's happenings in the hobby and sports card industry........

• The usual suspects are driving the vintage card and memorabilia market
• Another reason to visit Yankee Stadium's Museum this summer
• And on that same trip to the Big Apple, a reason to visit the New York Public Library
• Yankee players weren't the only ones to be pictured on a baseball card
• What started as one of the ultimate yard sale finds.........
• .......turns out to be a nightmare for the woman who paid $5 for it & sold it for nearly $10,000
  
• ........and, ultimately, might turn out to be stolen property

For more on the other big stories of the week, read Airwaves, Baseball Cards, and Me each day! Thanks for taking a look! We hope you enjoy stopping off here each day, and please let us know if you have any ideas for blog topics and/or ideas.

Before & After (& Back To Before)......Armando Galarraga

Ebay often provides the ultimate roller coaster ride of memorabilia value for players who suddenly find themselves in the spotlight for all the right or wrong reasons.

Our spotlight today is on Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga, artist of Major League Baseball's greatest "perfect game that wasn't actually a perfect game" on June 2nd. A look at his 2008 Bowman Sterling Autographed rookie card is a perfect example of how fleeting some moments can be in the ebb and flow of card values. Hours before the blown call heard around the world, the card could be had for just over $3.oo (a little over $6.0o w/ shipping). Several hours later, impulse buyers caused a 483% spike in the value of that same card!! Not quite 2 weeks removed from the moment, and following a far more pedestrian outing in his next start, we're pretty much back where we started.

Moral here? If you happen to be in front of the TV on any given night and hear that sports history is in the making, scour through that card collection, put everything you've got with the face of the player involved on eBay (1 day auction would be recommended in this case), and don't worry about your indirect involvement in someone else's buyer's remorse a week later :-)

The madness continues.....

With 2 pretty dominant major league starts behind him now, Stephen Strasburg continues to bring the sports card collecting hobby attention unseen since the arrival of the recently retired Ken Griffey, Jr. 21 years ago.

The first major cash-in on the rarities of all things Strasburg came on May 29 with the $16,000+ haul on a 2010 Bowman Strasburg "superfractor".....a true 1/1. Now the other major Strasburg treasure, the 2010 Bowman Red 1/1 autographed card, has been found and can be yours on eBay......for a small fee that can be negotiated.

My best advice for anyone holding anything Strasburg and looking to make money is SELL NOW!!! As anyone who discovered the hobby in the 80's and 90's can tell you......holding onto rookie cards has its ebbs and flows as value goes, and most collectors don't make their living on Wall Street for a reason :-)

From the Fringe to the Mainstream,,,,,,For Now

For possibly the first time since the arrival of Upper Deck and the ensuing boom of the early 1990's, sports card collecting is getting the attention of the mainstream media, and not for a bad reason. TV had "The $25,000 Pyramid", and now the hobby has "The $16,103 Baseball Card". And all the hoopla is for a guy who has yet to spend a day in The Show.

Stephen Strasburg could be the next Nolan Ryan or the next Brien Taylor. But for the moment, he's providing a much needed boost for the hobby and bringing it attention in places where it rarely commands it. When is the last time you read about or saw coverage on the hobby in......

USA Today?
Fox News?
Bloomberg?

The term "phenomenon" definitely applies here, and while a Strasburg chase card won't be affordable on the average kid's weekly allowance, it definitely seems to be signaling a possible renaissance for baseball card collecting. That can only be a good thing. But for a full-fledged return to the halcyon days, card companies need to find a way to bring back the one group that brought them to the dance........the kids. Topps Attax seems to be a pretty good start toward accomplishing that end. Hopefully it provides a building block.

The Strasburg SuperFractor card isn't the only current "holy grail" among collectors. The 2010 Bowman red-bordered autographed Strasburg card is still out there. Best of luck to all who search for it!!

Here's hoping better days are ahead for card shops, collectors, and online dealers! Strasburg Mania is a step in that direction

Uh oh

The news continues to get worse for Upper Deck. Their problems have been well-documented, from lawsuits to settlements to losing both the Major League Baseball AND NFL licenses.

Now, according to the New York Times, they're also running out of money and haven't paid Major League Baseball players for autograph deals. It's becoming more and more impossible every day to envision a scenario under which the company will be able to survive. A merger or buyout might be possible, but short of that, the beginning of the end is underway.

It's sad for me as a collector and fan of their work from their initial 1989 baseball set to see this happen to a company that set the gold standard for the hobby. It's even more disappointing to see this play out the same way that killed many other companies in the past decade beginning with Enron.......shady leadership at the top, lots of great employees loyal to the company seeing their lives disrupted by layoffs in an ailing economy, and a CEO who was playing the fiddle while Rome was burning and will walk away with millions nonetheless.

As a radio guy by trade, Upper Deck reminds me of a station that launches in a market to try and take down the #1 station. If they succeed, which is rare, it's a testament to their people and their expertise. If they fail, at worst you hope they've at least made the #1 station earn it by shoring up their weaknesses and becoming a better station. Hopefully Upper Deck has raised the stakes and made Topps, Panini, and the others bring their "A" game, which makes the customers the winner.

Celebrity Card Collectors, Vol. 1

From time to time, I will spotlight those who are far more rich and famous than us who are also among the sports card collecting community.

First up.....perhaps the greatest player of the post-Jordan NBA.