Arod....Good Investment?

[jg8422]

Does anyone think his cards will take off (or go up at all) once he approaches the all time HR record? Or will his stuff get lumped into the same category of the Bonds and McGwire cards?

Specifically, I am asking about his 1994 Upper Deck Auto Card. It is graded a BGS 9.5. I picked it up a few years ago for $600. Should I hold on to it for now or sell it to buy cards for the sets I am building?

Thanks for all your help.

[Big Six]

I don't see him having the value...of current players, only Jeter, Pujols and Suzuki come to mind as guys I would "invest" in...I would turn that A-Rod card in to something that will help you in your set building project...curiously, what set(s) are you building?

[jg8422]

Big Six,

Currently working on '34 Goudey, '57 baseball and football, '61 fleer hoops, '69 topps hoops, and seriusly considering '33 Delong. Maybe I should just try and finish one before starting another. Not to mention I have about 7-8 more sets that I want to build one day.

I don't normally do much modern stuff, but the AROD was selling at much more than 600 when I bought it. Neve got around to flipping it though.

Jeff

[scmavl]

I agree with Matt in that it will never have the value of Ichiro, Jeter, and other "clean" players. However, I don't know that I'd get rid of it quite yet. I think the difference in Arod and Bonds/McGwire is that everyone knows about his use NOW. It won't be a post or end of career surprise.

I think I still have one of his rookies ('94 SP maybe?) and I'm going to hang onto it for now. I wish I hadn't sold one of my two Jeter rookies last year, as NOW is the time.

[jg8422]

I wish I would have picked up some of those high grade SP Jeter's a few years ago. Now is the time for sure!

[Jay Wolt]

Question to ponder...will Arod ever be inducted in Cooperstown
Or will he be in the Raffy/Sosa/McGwire camp?

[39special]

I think he has a shot at the HOF.He admitted taking roids.Not that it makes
him any better then the other guys,but they flat out lied about it.If it was up to me,none of them would get in!

[Big Six]

Big Six,

Currently working on '34 Goudey, '57 baseball and football, '61 fleer hoops, '69 topps hoops, and seriusly considering '33 Delong. Maybe I should just try and finish one before starting another. Not to mention I have about 7-8 more sets that I want to build one day.

I don't normally do much modern stuff, but the AROD was selling at much more than 600 when I bought it. Neve got around to flipping it though.

Jeff

Great span of sets...the 57 baseball is a beautiful set! I'm doing a diamond stars set...Delong too rich for my blood ;). Great looking set, though...enjoy!

[jg8422]

Great span of sets...the 57 baseball is a beautiful set! I'm doing a diamond stars set...Delong too rich for my blood ;). Great looking set, though...enjoy!

The only reason I am thinking the delong is b/c the set is so small. Of course they will not be high grades, but I am perfectly fine with that. BTW, I enjoyed your earlier posts on the vintage board. I added to it.

[Big Six]

The only reason I am thinking the delong is b/c the set is so small. Of course they will not be high grades, but I am perfectly fine with that. BTW, I enjoyed your earlier posts on the vintage board. I added to it.

Thanks...wonder if I'll ever run in to "them" at the next Yankee game I go to??? ;)

[jg8422]

Just look for the foursome in the first row! Who the hell does "we" refer to anyway?

[Big Six]

One man and three empty seats...

[HRBAKER]

I think he has a shot at the HOF.He admitted taking roids.Not that it makes
him any better then the other guys,but they flat out lied about it.If it was up to me,none of them would get in!

I believe he lied about it initially as well, did he not?

[jg8422]

I believe he lied about it initially as well, did he not?

I believe you are correct.

[39special]

I believe he lied about it initially as well, did he not?

Yes he did.Then said he did them.When Sosa was asked,he couldn't speak English,Palmeiro said very strongly he didn't do steriods then got suspended
for testing positive,Mac pleaded the 5th.He finally came clean how many years later? I think all four of them are scumbags.But I still think A Roid has a better chance of making the HOF then the other three.

[Exhibitman]

About the only players mentioned whose cards hold any interest to me are Jeter and Ichiro; the rest just make me mad/sad. In terms of value, with the production numbers and scandals I do not see the steroid era players as having any real future value. To the extent that I feel compelled to collect them I limit my post-1989 collecting to autographed cards.

[steve B]

I'm becoming more interested in collecting Jim Thome. Nearly 600HR, and so far no connection to steroids at all.

Sad that he gets less credit because of the actions of the other guys.

Steve B

[Big Six]

I'm becoming more interested in collecting Jim Thome. Nearly 600HR, and so far no connection to steroids at all.

Sad that he gets less credit because of the actions of the other guys.

Steve B

He is a great player and someone my conscience wouldn't have any issue with collecting...from an investment standpoint, you could add frank Thomas to the list...you could corner the market in leaf rookies!

[Brendan]

Yes he did.Then said he did them.When Sosa was asked,he couldn't speak English,Palmeiro said very strongly he didn't do steriods then got suspended
for testing positive,Mac pleaded the 5th.He finally came clean how many years later? I think all four of them are scumbags.But I still think A Roid has a better chance of making the HOF then the other three.

I agree. It's really about how well someone handles the issue. Andy Pettitte for example, handled it very well. Now, he probably isn't a Hall of Fame level player, (especially when you add steroids into the equation) but if he was I bet he'd get in. Same thing with Arod.

[ls7plus]

A-Roid has every bit as much chance of getting into the HOF as Bonds, McGwire and Sosa! Seriously, I have no idea as to what to do with these guys, as they were the best of their era at a time when probably more of the stars were using than not--that was simply the culture. As Chris Rock said in Ken Burns "The Tenth Inning," if there was a pill that you could take that would make you better at your job and make more money, you'd take it too. And I'm certainly no Bonds fan--I consider him 100% purebread asshole! But he and McGwire were most probably the hardest workers of that era, and there's more involved in getting maximum results from the 'roids than just shooting yourself in the butt.

Back to the main point of the thread, though. I think it will be every bit as difficult for A-Roid's cards to appreciate, even the rarest ones, as it has been for those of Bonds and McGwire recently. Even if you like the guy, its like the homers were really an illusion, Siegfried and Roy homeruns, sort of. I always loved McGwire, and now am really conflicted about him for just that reason. There is simply no getting around the fact that the homeruns were something less than legitimate.

On the other hand, while I usually put a lot of stock in what Adam says, should Bill James be right, and these guys come to be looked upon as pioneers by generations that care far less about such things as performance enhancing drugs than we do, McGwire perhaps has the most potential to be looked upon as an iconic figure, just as he was before the scandal broke. I saw him take batting practice at old Tiger Stadium while seated in the left field upper deck, and his balls and his alone came at us with such cannon-ball velocity even at that distance that we decided we really wouldn't want to try to catch one without a glove. Another Joe Jackson type in the making, to a different generation with a different set of values? In terms of the production runs, McGwire has some very tough significant cards, such as the 1999 Chrome commemorative refractor series, with one card for each of the 70 homeruns, limited to print runs of 15 (I paid way too much for the #70 card, but may always have it). The 1998 season was the most exciting one I followed in all my years as a baseball fan at the time. Now, as stated, I really don't know what to make of it or how to deal with it in my mind.

Comments and thoughts most appreciated.

Larry

[bbcard1]

I got thinking about this...with the exception of Pujols and Ichiro, virtually no players whose rookies have appeared post baseball strike have been that actively collected with the exception of an occasional Strasburg. I have just recently started throwing a very few dollars at Votto, Howard, Holliday, Kemp and guys like that...I picked up a Kemp rookie and a David Price rookie for $2 for the pair this weekend at a local show. Something to keep me busy when there is no vintage to be found.