Imagine if he has the rookie season of Mark Fidrych...

He may well see something in his mechanics.

Or Doc Gooden.

But Gooden had a pretty good(en) hahaha, 10 year run (154-81, 3.04 ERA) while Fidrych was arguably done after his fantastic rookie year.

If Skenes is the next Gooden, that card retains / gains value for awhile, if he is the next Fidrych, then bicycle spokes await considerably sooner...

Similarity scores for Fidrych are Satchel Paige his rookie year, then Gus Krock the next.

Gooden has Kid Nichols, Drysdale, Clemens, Verlander in his as he gets older

Personally, I wouldn't want to own either (meaning I had to pay for it--a gift is OK). I'd rather have a card of Gil on the Yankees than that guy. As for the Young it is an early photograph of Cy Young, not, in my mind, a baseball card. Do we even know if its issuance was related to baseball? I'd MUCH MUCH rather own the Just So.

Fair enough, although in context I still consider Gooden as a huge bust relative to his beginning and otherworldly talent.

100% agreed, I'm just saying he had a "career" while Fidrych only graced us with a season. Poor guy. Still a legend.

For 80K you could buy a solid group of five vintage cards in lower grades and still have money to spare. Modern continues to boggle my mind. Even more so the fact that he's a pitcher. He can easily go the way of Strasburg, or Lincecum, have multiple dominant seasons and then fall off the rails due to injuries.

Nobody is buying this for his collection, it's just a commodity to try to flip at the right time. It feels too early to me even for that, but then again I don't have four social media accounts, three devices, endless t shirts or a three day growth of beard and a backwards ball cap.

Peter,

I fully know that, and I hate that part of the hobby has essentially turned into some gamified version of the stock market.

I don't consider it a part of the hobby, it is it's own entity.

When Upper Deck perfected the chase card in 1989 (or was it 1990) it caused me to mostly stop buying cards in packs, and aimed me backwards (more than I had been), so I thank them for helping me accumulate a lot of cool old stuff, most of which isn't worth much, but sure is fun.

As an example, I discovered a new Bobby Doerr m114 variation today. Woohoo!

Greater fool theory.

I think 1991 was the first autograph inserts but may be recalling wrong.

Remember Jasson Dominquez hadn't even played a major league game and his stuff was selling for crazy money years ago. He still hasn't played a major league game and if called up to the Yankees tomorrow, he would be a bench player.


.

He did play in 8 ML games last year. Hit 4 HR. So he is on the way!!

In the absence of a quick and profitable flip, a single injury will quickly turn a jewel buyer into a fool buyer. And that scenario is exponentially more likely to happen when the player is a pitcher.

That was last year though. Long after his cards were selling for thousands. I'm talking about back then, he hadn't played a single ML game yet.

ETA: sorry, I did misspeak when I said he still hasn't played a ML game. My bad. But regarding his cards selling for so much, that was before that. :rolleyes:;)



.

Wander Franco was hyped to the moon, stars and sun long before he played his first game. That worked out well.

The reason I don't collect much new stuff is because it's not just gambling now (and for years), it's massively skewed toward gambling. I buy a few packs or blasters a year...sometimes a hobby box.

Even simple entry-level product like flagship Topps, you're looking at $90+ for a hobby box and you're going to need 2 of them to get most of the set complete, and that's just for 1 of the 2 series. You're better off waiting for the compete set to be sold at less cost than even a single hobby box if you're just in it for the cards.

Some people don't even save base. They toss everything but the hits and maybe save some of the current hot RCs.

I leave the busting of packs to others and fill my personal collection with singles. The tipping point between the fun of putting together a set vs the cost to do it is way out of whack to the point it's not fun.

I'm near positive a scout called him a cross between Bo Jackson, Mickey Mantle and Mike Trout. I'll believe it, when I see it.

Really hope he stays healthy. His power and movement is just filthy. Fun to watch.

See the following:

Kerry Wood

Walker Buehler

Steven Strasburg


Steve

Fidrych was even better his second season before getting hurt. He had a 1.70 ERA and was 5 innings deep into a shutout when he got hurt. After that, he was finished.

Fidrych found out years later he had a torn rotator cuff.

Not that it matters but I am quite confident that Kershaw and Verlander's Bowman Chrome Auto 1/1's are worth well north of $80K. Possibly north of $500K.

Not that it makes the Skenes purchase more likely to look like a good deal in 5 years from now.

That's pretty funny because I was thinking the exact same thing when I was watching him lol. He whips that elbow pretty ferociously.

I just watched some clips, not that I am an expert in pitching mechanics, but it sure looks that way. He doesn't seem to me (amateur assessment to be sure) to be getting enough drive from his legs.

80K for a card of a rookie pitcher? That’s ridiculous.

You lost me at "superfractor"...; I gather that is some form of shiny crap?

I'm holding out for the "SuperDuperFractor".

Just wait until you learn about the TacoFractor.

(it's a real thing)

Tacofractor.......:rolleyes:

Dave lol

"Superfractor"; maybe it's a remake of an ABBA song?

https://e.snmc.io/i/1200/s/247c30533...cb5943/4810349

Wish I coulda been in on THAT pitch meeting.

Did they start at Hot Dog and Eggplant and then work their way back to Taco as a compromise?

It's even stupider, but makes some sense. If you have the *sigh* Tacofractor card of the first player to steal a base during the World Series you win Taco Bell for life.

This is not a joke. This is what we're doing in the hobby right now.

Whatever. Room for everyone in the hobby and all that.

I kind of figured Taco Bell must have had something to do with it. Do you also win Wet Naps for life?

Skenes could be one pitch away from Tommy John Surgery, which would keep him out for 2 years. Complete gambling by spending 80k on that card. Batters aren’t as risky as pitchers, but it’s all a gamble. Heck, look at Acuna who is gonna be out for another year now for the second time with a major injury, of his young career.

Big Congrats to Ryan on picking up that amazing Cy Young Rookie Cabinet. Cards, cabinets, postcards, photos, supplements, Programs, Magazines, etc… It’s all paper related with an image. It’s ALL good if Cy Young is on it. Heck, we can add bats, pins, balls, autographs to the list as well with him. His stats aren’t going to change and he will forever be one of key pitchers to ever be elected to the HOF. Very safe investment and there wasn’t too much available from 1891-1902 with a Cy Young image on it.

Did you lose your ball cap?

What happens if Skenes has a career ending injury this year (no, let's hope that doesn't happen). What would that refractor be worth? I can't imagine anybody would pay much for it. Total speculation. Even if he goes on to have a decent career, let's say borderline HOF worthy, what will the card be worth in 15-20 years? It just blows my mind people have this kind of money to just piss away. But then again, what if he has a prolific pitching career and is a first ballot HOFer. What would it be worth then? Well, to me, not much.

What happens if Skenes has a career ending injury this year (no, let's hope that doesn't happen). What would that refractor be worth? I can't imagine anybody would pay much for it. Total speculation. Even if he goes on to have a decent career, let's say borderline HOF worthy, what will the card be worth in 15-20 years? It just blows my mind people have this kind of money to just piss away. But then again, what if he has a prolific pitching career and is a first ballot HOFer. What would it be worth then? Well, to me, not much.

It is just another silly game of hot potato. Some will win big, some will win small, and someone will be left holding something worth less than a potato.

I used to go on BO because there are always these beyond silly cards being hyped up. I remember all the experts telling me how amazing Yasiel Puig was and how at 30k/40K(can't remember) his superfractor was a steal. I am guessing a cup of coffee and a five spot could own it now.

How are those 1/1 Wander Franco rookie cards tracking?

It would be interesting to see some sort of index that tracked these 1/1 cards that sold before the players had much, if any, MLB experience.

On his 2nd go at Ohtani, Shohei sent it back at him at 105 and over the fence in dead center

Crash Davis: Man that ball got outta here in a hurry. I mean anything travels that far oughta have a damn stewardess on it, don't you think?

I would love to see Skenes be a freak like Nolan Ryan and pitch for 20 years. I guess Randy Johnson was as close to Nolan as I've gotten to see in terms of a guy who throws that hard that often for that long, but it would be great to see a guy with a super arm harness it again.

Look at some clips and would be curious your take on his mechanics.

Yasiel who?

Wander became worthless, but not because of his production in the majors - the hype was proven well founded there. Dude was elite.

Absolutely Ridiculous - IT'S A PIECE OF CARDBOARD with a picture of a guy that has a total of 4 games under his belt?