Nonsense Newsletter No. 140: Robin Yount, Parallels, a Ty Cobb greeting worth a lot of dough and much more!
Howdy folks! In this weeks sweltering hot edition of the Nonsense Newsletter, John Dudley looks at the world of Parallels (well worth the read, people, seriously). I, on the other hand, complain about my Robin Yount collection for the ump-teeth time to whoever will listen (If I only had one article to read, I’d read Dudley’s first, but mine ain’t too shabby.) Plus, the Quick Hits is on point yet again! So, as you wake this morning, and notice this newsletter in your email, ask yourself: “Does it get any better than this?” Don’t answer that right now, but I’d say it doesn’t!
By John Dudley
“Stop buying base and only buy parallels,” has been the mantra of many an influencer and hobby
prognosticator in the past couple of years. I’ve always had a contrarian streak and like to pick apart
prevailing wisdom. It’s a bit of an irritating habit, but it’s useful for writing about sports cards. So, this
week I want to test this strategy to see if it actually makes sense or if it is just people parroting mindless
platitudes.
The Numbers
To examine this, I need some data. I looked at the graded population of a key Panini Prizm rookie for the
years 2018-2023 and a key Topps rookie for the same years. I also looked at how many parallels of each
had been graded. I included autographed and image variations as parallel cards but the numbers don’t
change much if they are omitted.
By John McTaggart
For the past two-plus years, John Dudley and I have been penning this little newsletter with the hopes it will both inform and entertain you.
And, for the most part, I believe it has accomplished both these tasks.
Mr. Dudley is far and away the brains of this operation, writing articles on a weekly basis that are deeply thought-out pieces, backed by research, stats and numbers.
I, on the other hand, mainly complain about things and write it down.
It’s a combination that has worked, and I am extremely proud to be a part of it.
I know with an intro like this you’re probably thinking that I’m going to deviate from the course this week and write something very detailed and thought provoking.
You’re wrong — kinda
Quick Hits
Hobby News- The big news this week is the release of Topps Chrome. The product has been hot out of the gate with the SCN crew breaking like mad in their first ever early product release! They got access a day early and boy have they pulled some awesome cards. Of special note, is the inclusion of some stunning vet on-card autos from vets like Griffey Jr. and Koufax. Box prices are indeed high, but the design this year works great with the chrome effect and this might be the overall nicest-looking chrome product Topps has done in a while.
Vintage- Having a rookie-year Ty Cobb card is a cool enough thing. That said, how cool would it be to have a rookie year Ty Cobb card with a handwritten greeting on it? Super-cool, right? Well, thanks to the world of Heritage Auctions, you could be that cool real soon! Read more about this incredible auction here.
Hobby News- Where Topps Chrome is a thing of beauty, 2024 Donruss was also unleashed into the wild this week. The lack of licenses has hampered the product for sure. Panini is gamely carrying on with the one product that is likely to bring out the nostalgia in their stable. The licenses aren’t the problem here. Rather, the problem is the overly busy design. If this was still a mainstream release the hobby cared about, the design would be being mentioned along with 1991 Fleer and 1990 Donruss for the worst ever. Panini’s designs have been dreadful since Topps raided their employees. Maybe it’s time to give A.I. a shot. Maybe they already did. Regardless, it’s a shame Panini punted on the design as 2023 was surprisingly fun and the product is chock full of Paul Skenes. It’s a missed opportunity for a company that can’t afford them while trying to remain relevant in the baseball world.
The Sports Card Nonsense newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors and contributors. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation for purchases or of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any assets.