Nonsense Newsletter No 72: The MLB East, Break Dancing, Topps Big League News and more!
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In this edition of the Nonsense Newsletter John Dudley continues his deep dive into the MLB and takes a look at the league’s Eastern divisions while I wax poetic about my new crush — breaking. All this, plus we have the Quick Hits that’ll blow your mind. So, now that Spring has finally arrived let’s celebrate that with the newest installment of the Nonsense Newsletter!
Contributor: John Dudley
With the amazing 2022 baseball season, the WBC, a stupendous crop of under-25 talent, and the baseball card market performing well, I haven’t been this excited for a season since I was still a kid. This week, it is the Eastern divisions’ turn for my 2023 hobby preview. If you haven’t already seen them, feel free to check out the Western and Central previews.
AL East
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles have gone from one of the cheapest teams in breaks to the most expensive for the 2023 year thanks to two great rookies. Adley Rutschman is the one I want to focus on though. He’s got all the tools but he plays a position that makes collectors nervous. I don’t think catchers should make collectors
wary though. The hobby has long had room for about three catchers to have hobby value. With Mauer, Molina, and Posey gone, the door is open for a new class with only J.T. Realmuto a lock to be one of the three. More worrisome than his position is his age. He’s older than Juan Soto and can’t afford to take a year or two to develop if he is going to have hobby value. I think he’ll perform great but I also think his current pricing is way too inflated. I can’t foresee a season that justifies current pricing with his Topps Gold RC /2023 going for $75-$100 and even more raw. At those prices, he’s already priced higher than Bo Bichette which seems silly. My prediction is that his Topps Gold /2023 will be available for well under its current value at the end of the season.
Contributor: John McTaggart
For a very long time, I was in the “breakers are ruining the hobby,” camp.
And that was mostly because I am old.
Way back when, when I first began this gig, back in the late 1980s, the process was fairly straightforward – buy wax, break down wax, sell the singles from said wax at shows, and then repeat the process all over again.
If you were big enough, you could buy in such a quantity that you could buy wax, break down some of that wax, pack out some of that wax, and then sell the remaining wax as sealed boxes.
It was gloriously simple, and nearly fool-proof.
Grading was 100% not a factor.
Breaking was not a thing at all.
The term “comps” was non-existent, and the only online selling was something out of Star Trek.
Quick Hits
Hobby News- Collectors waited forever for Topps Big League 2021. Luckily, Topps isn’t playing the waiting game any longer and are going forward with the 2023 version on March 31. While some might muss the 2022 version, the 2023 edition shows that Topps has made kid-friendly Big League a priority. From the addition of rare case hits, to including the opportunity to have MLB players follow you on social media, Topps has beefed up their most budget of products. It’s always been a fun product but it is great to have it back at the start of the season where it belongs.
Vintage- Okay, I thought I had seen it all when it comes to vintage cards. I’ve seen cards with cupcakes, with break, with tobacco products. I’ve seen them affixed to the bottom of slurpee cups, too. But this product from the early 1970s might be the coolest yet — Topps Basketball Rulers! You have to check these out by clicking here.
Pop Culture News- 2023 Topps Star Wars Signature Edition is a one-card-per-pack autograph product that highlights the best the Star Wars universe has to offer. Recently Topps has been experimenting with price points with some products being inexplicably overpriced and sitting on their website and others being underpriced and flying off the shelves. At $75 a pack, these did not last long even with the dreaded sticker autos.
Grading News- A PSA 10 Signed Alpha Black Lotus recently sold for $540,000!!! It belonged to a super collector who will be auctioning off many other MTG rarities in the upcoming months. It’s hard to figure out exactly what could top this sale, but expect many of his other sales to set the bar for individual card and set records.
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.