Nonsense Newsletter No. 159: Resolutions, revelations and the destruction of Panini cards.... and more!
Yo! Happy New Year all! After a week of R & R for the staff here at the newsletter, we’re back and charging into 2025! In this week’s edition, John Dudley talks resolutions. I wax poetic about revelations, and the Quick Hits section is pretty darn good, too! So, for the first time in 2025, let’s kick back and enjoy this week’s edition of the Nonsense Newsletter!
By John Dudley
t’s time for New Year’s resolutions to make their appearance before being forggoten. Losing weight, exercising, spending more time with kids, having less screen time, reading more, and numerous other resolutions that are doomed to fail will be made and broken in the next two weeks. I’m not doing those. I like making hobby resolutions as those are the ones I actually follow. With that in mind, let’s check out a few possibilites.
Buy Less Wax
My guess is that this is the most common one amongst collectors. Buy singles is up there with get more exercise and eat healthy as advice mots folks ignore despite the known benefits. It’s one I’ve done before and one I’d consider, but I hardly bought wax in 2024 so this one isn’t great for me.
Buy More Wax
Maybe wax buying brings you the most joy in the hobby. If so, drive the “buy singles” brigade batty and make 2025 the year you stop buying singles and rip packs in massive quantities like your ten-year-old self always wanted to. My guess is that this is one of the more fun resolutions here even if it isn’t the most financially sound.
By John McTaggart
ach year, about this time, I like to sit down and think, for just a second or two, that I’m a smart guy when it comes to this hobby.
I pour over some stats, look at some of the moves within the MLB, and try to come up with a list of veteran players I really think can make some strides both statistically and in the hobby, and reignite their hobby.
This year, there’s one player in particular that caught my eye, and that player, to me anyhow, is clear — it’s Mike Trout.
Trout is a no-doubt first-ballot Hall of Fame player, and among the best of his generation, and yes he’s stuck with the Angels, which isn’t helping his hobby, and yes he can’t seem to stay healthy.
Still, his market is slumping right now, and it’s hard to believe Trout, at 33-years old, is washed up. I’m betting there are still a couple more years in those bones to perform at a level that makes him such a unique and rare talent.
Quick Hits
Hobby News- Panini memorabilia cards are being destroyed at a high rate as the hobby’s newest social media fad. Collectors are up in arms (rightfully so) that the relics on Panini cards have backings that identify their origin, and many don’t match the player on the card. Sure, there has always been a bit of wiggle room with what is game-used and player-worn, but collectors should have been able to rely on the fact that the jersey swatch isn’t from a completely different player. It’s a horrible look with ongoing ramifications. My big question is if Panini’s malfeasance is enough for the unions to sever their contracts and move on to Topps earlier than expected.
Vintage- If anyone knows about being underappreciated, it’s me (just kidding, kinda). Well, so do these handful of Goudey cards from back in the day. Check out the article here.
Hobby News- Gem Rate always has some interesting grading numbers, but the fact that BGS’s most graded card for December is a 2019 Prizm Wilt Chamberlain might be the most surprising tidbit this month. Only 1 had been previously graded and 279 were this month. My only guess is that these are being used in a repack or something. It’s a head-scratcher for sure.
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.