What would you do - Mike Trout?!

[Rich Klein]

It may expensive and an iconic card but I don't think the interest is what it was when Pujols was the best player in the game.

I think you would have a difficult time selling the card for full BV at this time

Rich

[Exhibitman]

If you aren't into it for real money and you like it, why not ride it out? I pulled this Jeter card from a pack and I am pleased that I kept it; when I think about a Jeter card to own, I realize I am done:

[steve B]

So true on that Jeter!

I have the 94 Signature rookies signed card I got from a pack, but that one you've shown is a nicer looking card.

Steve B

[ls7plus]

Trout is the closest thing I've seen to a young Mickey Mantle (power, speed, hitting for average, fielding and on-base-percentage) in 50+ years of waiting for the next one to come along (can you say Rick Reichardt, Bobby Murcer, Kirk Gibson--Sparky's words--and well, you get the idea). Mantle, at Trout's age, however, was winning the triple crown with a .353 BA, 52 HR, and 130 RBI, to go along with 112 walks (the walk total is the best I can remember, off the top of my head). And the Mick followed that up with .365, 34 HR and 146 walks--OBP's and OPS's off the charts. I don't see Trout approaching those heights, even making any adjustment for era that should be made. Even a year like Mantle's '61 campaign--.317, 54 HR, 128 RBI, 126 (?) walks is probably out of his reach (Mantle, by the way, was actually easily the best player not only in '61 over Roger Maris, but for a total of 10 seasons in the AL, per Bill James' win shares system). He also hit tape measure HR's to match McGwire's, but without the artificial additives.

Typically, the demand for the young phenoms is speculative and transient for a significant number of years, artificially inflating their true collector value early on--by "transient," I mean that it tends to move on to the next hotter than hot item. Trout is likely no exception to this phenomenon (pun intended).

The time to buy, if he continues to excel, will be when he inevitably enters his downhill slide in his mid-thirties. By then, his real status will have revealed itself, and the speculative and transient demand will have long since departed. An example--Frank Thomas' 1990 No-Name On Front rookie was priced around $1600 or more in the early to even mid '90's. By 2008 or so, when he was 40, a nice one could be had for less than $600. That was the time to buy. Following his rather recent election to the HOF on the first ballot, what I recall as being an 8.5 sold for just a bit under $3,000, although that price was probably inflated by the recent hullabaloo created by his election.

I too would sell now, put the proceeds into quality vintage items (NOT THE OVERPRICED, LOW TO MIDDLE GRADE MID-FIFTIES KEY ROOKIES! Choose rare and significant pre-war instead, an area where the market is currently much quieter). Chances are you will be able to get the Trout back later for less, perhaps a lot less.

However, Adam is also right--if you really like it, and are not primarily concerned with what the price of the card does, keep it. I have a few cards like that, but also consider my only recent foray (read in the last 12-15 years) into a current player/hot phenom's purchase one I greatly regret. That one was a red refractor of Brennan Boesch in 2010, when he was hitting over .320 in July of that year with 12 HR's, as memory serves. $229.00!!! Though only one of 25, I doubt even Boesch's immediate family would pay $10 for it now! Still have it, but its been kicked under a heavy chest surrounded by other items too troublesome to move. Out of sight, out of mind. Lot's of things can go wrong with young phenoms, even though Trout's track record does continue to be impressive--I definitely enjoy watching him, but still wouldn't consider trading anything of value in the vintage category for such a card.

Best of luck on your decision,

Larry

[djsatu]

Nice to see a mix bag of statements from fellow collectors. This is one of a few baseball cards that I have in my collection, and im happy to keep it for now, even though if the right offer came along I would sell and invest that money into vintage or 90's inserts which im buying a bunch of right now. Trout is the guy to have in modern baseball right now, and I hope the Angels at least try to build a solid winning team around him. Time will tell, but im really hoping he continues his hot play as of late because he really is the real deal.

[chaddurbin]

trout is a force of nature by himself stuck on a very bad team, he's suffering from lebron syndrome. you take what he does for granted year in and year out. slap any of his year on another sub-25 age hot prospect and the card would just explode (xander betts cards have doubled this year). my advice is to hope he does something good next week at the AS game and put a reasonable bin on it right away. that's his last exposure at the national stage for awhile. he's probably not even top 5 mvp with the way his team is playing.

i would trade down on the card. it's tough to trade $1 for a couple quarters a few dimes etc but i'd probably try to get a reg chrome gem and some other high end machado harper xander brady where i can flip fast to sell off 50% of the card while i still have a trout to play with.

[djsatu]

Looks like this card and many other of his 2009 RC's have gone up even more.