Nonsense Newsletter No. 92: The Value of Pitchers, the Community, Grading News & More.
Sponsored by SGC Cards gosgc.com
In this week’s edition, John Dudley takes a look at the real value of pitchers in the hobby. Meanwhile, I wax poetic about the community. Oh, and all of this is on top of another amazing Quick Hits section! So, let’s kick back and enjoy another edition of the Nonsense Newsletter!
Contributor: John Dudley
Don’t buy pitchers. That is the mantra of many collectors and there is some truth to it. I’ve always been a bit of a contrarian and so naturally have a nice collection of modern pitchers.Â
It helps that I started collecting in the 90s which was a high point for pitchers in the hobby. Nolan Ryan was the hobby king. Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson, and Pedro Martinez were all at their peaks. Numerous other pitchers like Hideo Nomo and Kerry Wood became hobby sensationsÂ
Given that the hobby has long supported dominant pitching, one must ask why we should avoid pitchers. You don’t have to look further than Stephen Strasburg and the long line of hobby darling pitchers that have flamed out to find a solid answer. Collectors decided en masse that predicting pitcher success was just too difficult.Â
That said, they should still be collecting the dominant vets, right? Well, they are to a degree. Future HOFs Greinke, Kershaw, Scherzer, and Verlander are all highly sought after. The bigger problem is that the next generation of hobby standout pitchers looks barren. Not only are collectors avoiding pitchers due to uncertainty. They are now avoiding them due to a lack of overall production. As pitchers pitch in fewer innings each year, counting stats suffer. Unfortunately counting stats is what the HOF lives off of and the HOF is what the hobby lives on.Â
There are some bright spots for modern pitching though. Looking at K/9 one finds that of the top 10 seasons of all time, seven belong to active players. This includes Spencer Strider at the very top. The other three names on the list are Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Kerry Wood. Two all-time greats and a guy who had one of the best debuts ever make for pretty good company. Using that metric one could argue that pitchers are better than ever.
Surely, I can find a few pitchers that are worth collecting. I love pitchers so obviously I can, but can I find some that the general collector will love as well? That’s a tougher ask. I hope I’m up for it.
Contributor: John McTaggart
Collecting cards can be a very complex thing.
In fact, all of us who love the hobby are inundated with facts, stats, tidbits of information and opinions on a daily basis.
Heck, on an hourly basis we can log on to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, Discord or any other social media platform not aforementioned and find out something new about the hobby and the industry spouted off by a wide range of people claiming to have it all figured out.
Someone is always there telling us what to buy, who to buy, what to sell, when to sell, how to sell and what to expect when we do any of these things.
There are tons of folks with graphs, charts, projections, stories and vlogs about their whirlwind adventures at a card show or trade night.Â
It’s all very nice, and mostly very self-serving.
After many years in this hobby I can honestly say the entire thing can be summed up in one word — community.
The hobby is, at it’s core, about the community.
I’m reminded of this several times a week during streams as I try to build the hockey hobby community on the Card Shop Live app.
Quick Hits
Grading News- SGC graded 83,300 baseball, basketball, and football cards last month. BGS has seen their overall numbers rebound, but in the big three sports they only graded 24,800 cards last month. They’ve had a hard time recapturing their volume and swagger since their pandemic shutdown and there still are no signs of a turnaround in their numbers. On the plus side, their TCG business is robust with 28,400. If you are curious about data like this (for free), check out the always-recommended GemRate.Â
Vintage- If you’re a vintage baseball collector you undoubtedly want to add Babe Ruth cards to the collection. Well, dozens of them are headed to Memory Lane’s Summer Auction! For more on this exciting vintage baseball offering, click here.
Hobby News- Leaf Metal Pop Century is back with a vengeance for another round of celebrity autos. This year’s features an impressive list of celebs including multiple Marvel heroes, Macaulay Culkin, and Joe Pesci. The big new name this year is Clint Eastwood. His cards will be highly sought after for sure, but there are lots of other big stars to chase as this might be their best crop of signers ever.Â
Hobby News- The hype for the USWNT died fast. Alex Morgan’s PSA 10 2011 Upper Deck MLS rookie sold for $230 during the run-up to the World Cup (most round $150). After the USWNT’s elimination, the card has sold for a much more pedestrian $87. It’s probably a good time to go searching for deals as collectors expecting to profit off the World Cup try to move their USWNT inventory.Â
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.