Observations while hunting for a Ryan rookie....

[Kutcher55]

I just picked up a beater Ryan RC for a bit under $300. Yeah I agree it’s worth more than maybe it “should” be and the pop count for this card is crazy high. That all said, it is a Ryan RC. If you asked anyone what their top ten most iconic baseball cards are between 1950 and 1990 this card would be a lock to be on the list IMO. The Seaver RC, although considerably more scarce, would simply not be on that list. Ryan is held in higher regard by collectors certainly, even though you could make a case Seaver was the better pitcher. There’s also the strike out thing.

Heck I never wanted to pay for this card because I do feel it’s overvalued based purely on data. But maybe it actually isn’t overvalued after all. The card has gravitas.

Top 10 most iconic cards from 1950-1990 IMO: 51B Mantle. 52T Mantle, Mays and Robinson. 54 Hank Aaron. 55 Clemente. 68 Ryan. 75 Brett. 80 Henderson. 84D Mattingly.

Honorable mentions: 56 Mantle. 63/64 Rose. 67 Seaver RC. 73 Schmidt. 54 Banks. 89 UD griffey. 89 Ripken FF. 90T F Thomas RC. 85T McGwire.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

If you asked anyone what their top ten most iconic baseball cards are between 1950 and 1990 this card would be a lock to be on the list IMO. The Seaver RC, although considerably more scarce, would simply not be on that list.

Agreed. When I was 13, the Ryan RC was every kid's dream card. I still remember the first copy I had as a young adult, because I remember thinking I would never own it. But I'm also old enough to remember when I first started collecting - and Tom Seaver was still active and was held in way higher regard than Nolan Ryan. It's just crazy to me how that changed over the last 35-ish years or so.

Another who hasn't necessarily aged well per se is Joe DiMaggio. When I was a kid he was routinely mentioned in top 10 lists, etc. Not so much today. Certainly in his prime though in the 1940's - he was one of the single most popular Americans, not just ballplayers.

[profholt82]

He was dominant into his 40s, still regularly leading the majors in strikeouts as one of its oldest players, and he still holds the all-time record. In 27 seasons, he maintained an ERA in the low 3s. Yet, some of you are sitting here diminishing him? "People collect him for the memories he created, like Joe Namath or Roger Maris." Seriously?

Tom Seaver had a long, brilliant career, but by the time he was into his 30s, he was just a solid pitcher in the rotation, no longer dominant. And there's nothing wrong with that, he was great, and pitched for 20 years. But Ryan led the league in strikeouts for 4 straight seasons IN HIS 40s! The guy was a superstar. And not just to the kids of the 70s, but to the kids of the 80s and 90s as well. The same simply can't be said of Tom Seaver.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by profholt82

Yet, some of you are sitting here diminishing him? "People collect him for the memories he created, like Joe Namath or Roger Maris." Seriously?

Curious why you put that in quotes, when that wasn't remotely what I said?

For the record, Ryan would have been my favorite pitcher of that era. If I were to start collecting any pitcher during that time, it would be Ryan.

I wasn't sh*tting on him, I was just making a point for why players who you could argue were more effective then him, such as Seaver and Carlton (hardly a revolutionary idea), are not collected as aggressively as Ryan.

[G1911]

Strikeouts don’t matter if you’re walking 150 guys. Ryan’s ERA+ is 112, 12% better than the league. He wasn’t that good at not giving up runs, a pitchers central job. Strikeouts are one way to not give up runs, but if a pitcher is walking huge numbers of batters, he apparently ends up not saving many runs.

That said, pitching effectively for 27 years is Hall worthy alone. Being 12% over the league for a quarter century is nuts. The legend of Nolan and his statistical value are miles apart, but by even the most negative reading of him he’s a star. I don’t think anyone is dumping on him.

I’d take a Seaver rookie over his any day. I need both for my sets, the price on Nolan’s is annoying because that series of 68 Topps is extremely common, and that he was one of the 66 in the MB’s makes it even more common than most to basic set collectors. Seaver’s is a pain to find (by Topps standards, there is no such thing as a rare basic Topps card).

Carlton, Palmer, Jenkins, all are still cheap. I think they’re a bargain. Pitchers tend to be, usually.

[carlsonjok]

I finally finished my 1968 set this week and the Ryan RC was the last card. I've been working on the set for 5 years and have been sitting at 2 cards left for the last two years. I've been waiting and watching for a Ryan in reasonably decent condition and also in my price range. Unfortunately, those were conflicting goals until a copy came up in the most recent Collector's Connection auction. It was a solid VGEX to EX card, except for some fading on the left side of the card. The loss of color isn't all that noticeable, at least to me, and I consider it a steal at under $350. I was starting to despair about having to give up on finishing the set or opening my wallet wider than I was comfortable.

[deweyinthehall]

Under $350?? That was a steal for a card that looks that nice in today's environment. Great job!

Update - I just checked their auction site - they used the word "poor" in the item description?? Madness!!

But still, your lucky day I think. When you receive it please let us know if there are any unobserved defects.