Nonsense Newsletter No. 73: Opening Day in the Big Leagues, the rookie-vs-sophomore debate, 572 1968 Topps PSA 10s, Boxing... and more!
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In this week’s tantalizing edition of the Nonsense Newsletter, John Dudley goes all-in on the rookie/sophomore debate for collectors, I get all nostalgic on Opening Day in the Major Leagues, we fill your head with facts in Quick Hits, and… aww heck, it’s opening day weekend! So let’s grab our favorite beverage, kick back, flip on the TV to a baseball game, and enjoy this week’s edition of the Nonsense Newsletter!
Contributor: John McTaggart
It’s Opening Day.
And note that I capitalize the “O” and the “D,” in the term.
Why?
Well, because it’s worthy of capitalization.
Although Opening Day is not a federally recognized holiday, complete with a halt of mail service and a day off for all government workers, it should be.
There are few things I can think of off the top of my head that are more deserving of official holiday status than Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season.
I dare say, I believe it’s more deserving than even the Monday after the Super Bowl. That day is more about recovery while opening day is more about a celebration.
Admittedly, I was never the type to head down to the ballpark district, camp out in a bar all day, and never actually go to the game itself.
Contributor: John Dudley
Figuring out whether the 2021 or 2022 draft class is better in the NBA has never been more important. It’s always important to have a good grasp on the new crop of NBA stars, but that knowledge has gained importance as the delays in the 2021-22 products mean that both 2021-22 products and 2022-23 products are releasing at the same time. Sure, you can always buy both (not a bad choice) but with most people on some kind of a hobby budget, it makes sense to choose the better class to focus on.
One of the quickest ways to evaluate hobby potential is by looking at total points, rebounds, and assists per game. I like this combined stat for hobby evaluation as just pure scorers tend to not get as much hobby love unless they are putting up close to 30 points a game. It also does a great job of identifying the top players in the league. The current top five are Doncic, Giannis, Embiid, Jokic, and Lillard, which is pretty accurate in terms of how hobbyists have perceived performances this year.
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Quick Hits
Grading News- PSA is now grading all Star basketball cards and many sketch cards in a reversal of policy. They had eschewed grading most Star cards due to the problem of identifying ones that were printed in the initial run of cards and ones that were printed at a later date. They’ve worked with experts familiar with the Star cards to be confident in their grading. The fact that PSA refused to grade these cards kept prices down for years so it will be interesting to see if these cards get a nice bump. Sketch cards have also been hard to differentiate between pack-pulled cards and ones made by artists for commissions. It should be noted that the sketch card must appear on a checklist issued by the card company to be graded.
Vintage- Who doesn’t like a good vintage PSA 10? The answer is — no one! More than that, who doesn’t like 1968 Topps baseball? The answer is — no one, right? Well, what if I told you you could have the chance to acquire up to 572 of the 598 cards from the aforementioned set, all in PSA 10 condition? You can. Click on this link to find out how.
Boxing News- Leaf is one of the more interesting card producers. Their upcoming Leaf Ring Kings is a simple product but a strong one. Each box has a Mike Tyson autographed glove, a George Foreman autographed glove, and a Floyd Mayweather autographed card. It’s a great way to add to or start a HOF-level boxing collection. It’s currently available for around $400 which seems reasonable given the star power involved.
Pop Culture News- Rittenhouse has a new Dr. Who product coming out at the end of April. It focuses on the David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston seasons of the long-running series. The highlights are the autos which are generously seeded at four per box. Rare autos featuring autos from both the Doctor and his companion are sure to be the highlight and fall one every six cases. If you just have to have those, it is guaranteed that you will get both combo Doctor/companion autos if you buy twelve cases.
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.