I've taken a little break from some of my local shows because some of the inventory was being shown over and over. But, I've got a couple coming in the next month or so that I'll do.
Hey Graig, great job. Bringing up Cap Anson made me think of a book I couldn't recommend enough. If you get a chance to pick up The New York Game, you wont be disappointed. Mad Dog Chris Russo was talking about it a few weeks back and its awesome when you are collecting the guys which are highlighted throughout.
Graig, I absolutely loved your "Top 10 Fire Save!" cards! Speaking of fire, your '51 Bowman Ted Williams is fire! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Your '55 Jackie is a PSA 4-ever 4! So nice for any grade! I can never get tired of seeing your glorious Leaf Spahn! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Great stuff, Graig.....I'm a 'small hall' guy too, your case for TJ is very compelling, but he along with Reuschel and Tiant still make my "Hall of Very Good". When we look at modern players, the case for Zack Greinke is incredibly intriguing to me and worthy of lots of discussion!
awesome video Graig! I love talking hall of fame and cards. I agree on Luis Tiant and Tommy John. I also like kevin brown. I know here's a little more modern but he was awesome.
I also am a “small HoF” guy but we are close to that end and with the need to fill the off-season baseball news cycle the Hall of Fame will see two new classes of HoFs- the “better than Harold Baines” guys ( Boyer, Allen, Will Clark etc) and the first StatCast guys- Degrom, Oneal Cruz etc
Awesome Q&A as always! Your Monday and Wednesday videos are reliably some of my favorite weekly videos that I look forward to! Although I pretty much stick to 80s and 90s cards, so many of the hobby topics and questions apply to all eras. I appreciated you talking about paying above comps for extremely well-presenting or “undergraded” examples of cards. Even in the 90s insert space, I occasionally find myself doing the same. As a Maddux guy, I enjoy his refractor cards. Most of his ‘95 Finest refractors sell for around $50 ungraded. However, most of them are moderately to severely greened / hulked out, and/or horribly off centered - about 80-20. So when a very rare, well-centered copy hit eBay as an auction, I was absolutely willing to pay a big premium for it. I ended up getting it for $124, and I’m VERY pleased with that “overpaid” purchase. Great take on the HOF debate. It’s the inconsistency that bothers me. I’d completely understand either banning all PED users or allowing all of them (maybe with asterisks), but the fact that the voters went with Papi and Pudge and just said “no” to Bonds, Clemens, and Arod rubs me the wrong way. It’s not supposed to be the “Hall of well liked” but unfortunately, that’s what it has become. Just ask 80 WAR Curt Schilling.
Great breakdown of the questions as always. I think we all agree across the board on Tiant. Reuschel was a solid pitcher for sure and very underrated. I like using both of them regularly in the Immaculate Grid. Well, that 1945 rule basically eliminates any possibility of Albert Belle getting in the Hall ha! I completely disagree and feel he's deserving. This dude was an absolute monster; 1726 hits, 389 2B, 381 HR, 1239 RBI, .295 lifetime avg... all in "12" seasons. His first 2 seasons he only had 8 HR and 40 RBI total. That was all almost in a 10-year stretch entirely which included 10 straight seasons of 95 RBI or more, 9-straight 100+ before he had to retire. Bad temper or not he was a beast, his body just gave out from what I remember. Oh, and from what I've seen of the evidence (which isn't a ton) I think OJ's son may have done it...
@@MidLifeCards Maybe? I'm obviously not sure but the evidence is very compelling and intriguing. Rumor has it also that Khloe Kardashian is OJ's daughter. OJ's lawyer was Robert K... it's a deep rabbit hole. If you're ever bored sometime, check it out!
Enjoyed the discussion Graig! Enjoyed your top 10 cards! Some great 🔥!! Regrading pricing, I need to update my pricing lists weekly. Not major fluctuations, but 10-15% are common. I think the best steroid guys get in (Bonds, Clemens, Arod), and maybe McGwire get into the HOF.
Question for the future: I purchased a 1956 Ernie Banks in amazing shape a long time ago. I thought it would grade a PSA 7-8. I got it back a while ago from PSA and it came back Authentic Altered. The card has the natural rough edges - not trimmed and measures up, has not been colored, appears to be free from any cleaning (very very slight wax stains on the back), just no alterations from what I could see. I decided to crack it and send it to SGC. Of course, it came back "authentic altered" with no other information. I cracked it out and took a close look at it. Sure enough, the 4 corners of the card were ever so slightly shiny and was likely compressed in a screw down in its previous lifetime. I find it annoying that the compressed corners would designate an authentic altered when cards with chopped off corners can sometimes get a 1-2. Got me thinking.. would it be unethical of me if I accidentally "dropped" or sandpapered the card on all 4 corners to hide the compressed corners? I'm confident that roughing up the corners may give the card a chance at a 2-4 grade. I think I know your answer to this and mine would be the same. Its unethical to do this just for a grade or opinion from a company. I could never get myself to intentionally damage a nice looking card. I'm annoyed that grading companies find compressed corners as "altered" when cards with missing corners can receive a 1 grade. Just thought this was a strange instance where damaging a card could potentially 'increase' the grade.
Great topics as usual Graig and my question to you would be. If you owned the 1954 Ernie Banks rookie, Which of the Top 5 would you pull from the list? Tough choice I'm sure my friend....lol Also feel Tommy John and Luis Tiant should be in the Hall, but then again there are so many others I feel should be in and others I feel are in that shouldn't be. So I guess we'll see. Have a great day and looking forward to seeing your answer to my question 👍👍 Two thumbs up
Love the video, Graig. As for the HOF question, I've always wondered why the Black Sox players aren't eligible now. I've always heard the ban described as 'lifetime' and, since their lifetimes are over, shouldn't they be eligible for induction? They can't be punished anymore than they already have been.
Hey Graig! I did think of a question. I began my vintage collecting just about 9 months ago. Prior to this, I PC’d just my favorite team…the Astros. I’m 44 (just today!) and getting a lot of cards on my list is going to be difficult from a budget standpoint. My wife just got tickets to the National and I am attending one other very small local show this year. I really want to go the graded route, but I know I can get more buying raw. My question is, would you (in my position) go the raw or graded route? It’s the age old quantity vs quality argument.
This is a great question. I’m in the editing phase of this week’s Wednesday q and a. Can you post this question in the comments of that video that will post Wednesday morning? I’d love to use it.
Good stuff Graig. Not sure if you have covered this topic but I know you like stats and numbers. Do stats and stories attract you to buy cards? Take Chick Gandil and his role in the Black Sox scandal, or Khris Davis, an average player who hit .247 four years in a row-seems almost impossible but he did it, or Adam Dunn who hit 40 HRs four years in a row. There’s a lot more examples but I find these stats and stories intriguing and I often buy their cards.
Great Q&A. You were thrown a couple of curveballs this week. I like the vintage fluctuation prices question. The 8's & 9's are valuable though, could see greater highs & lows too, due to volatility.... I don't think high end cards, are always that safe. Ty Cobb book by Charles Leerhsen, he makes a compelling case, Cobb was, not the 'bad guy.' Al Stump, who wrote some fabrications, after Cobb passed away. Leerhsen, wrote his book to debunk Stumps lies. The character clause for the HOF didn't exist when Anson was inducted. You're right about that. But a difficult conversation, for sure.
@@MidLifeCards Koosman also came in 2nd one season for CY Young Award to Randy Jones. A good Jeopardy trivia question....because I am too familiar with his game! Ironically, Jones ended his career as a Mets player. Interesting. The season before Randy Jones finished 2nd in CY Young to Tom Seaver. Wow
I think there are only 2 things that should exclude an otherwise deserving player from the HOF. 1. A player is convicted of a Hanis crime. 2. There is irrefutable proof that the player intentionally under performed for any reason. I do think that steroid use is cheating, and I think the effort MLB has made to minimize cheating is a good thing. I’d like to see them do even more to prevent steroid use in youth sports. That being said, I don’t think a HOF deserving career should be disqualified for Steroid use. I have a few points as to why I feel this way. 1. The HOF is full of cheaters. Guys who doctored balls. Used foreign substances on balls and bats, corked bats and stole signs. I am sure there were other more creative ways players bent or broke rules to get an edge. Should these players also be excluded also? 2. Steroids were developed in the 1930’s and fairly common in the U.S. by the 1950’s. Do you really think the great golden era players never Juiced? 3. Steroids “saved” baseball after the 94 strike and Bud got into the hall for looking the other way while it was going on. He might say he didn’t know, but Tony Kubek left the broadcast booth because Selig wouldn’t do anything about it when Kubek confronted him abut the steroid problem. 4. Very few people cared about steroids in baseball until a bunch of Capitol Hill grandstanders wanted to be on Sports Center. Here is where I end my ridiculous rant.
Q: Graig, regarding Clemens in the HOF, do you dismiss the PED factor when rattling off his astounding numbers? Or do you figure, not unreasonably, that if he had not cheated he would still have posted a HOF career? I suppose the same would apply to Bonds.He might never have broken Maris's or Aaron's HR records, but he was a great player even before he inflated his muscles and bat speed. I just don't know how much they should discount stats due to PED use.
I never considered Rick Reuschel a potential HOFer. I always thought of him as a good player, but no more than that. Considering how long he played for the Cubs I can’t believe I never bothered to research his career. The stats you presented are interesting. I don’t know if it’s enough for consideration, but it is definitely interesting.
Well under 300 wins, 3,000 strike outs, 0 CY Young Awards , and no World Series moments. A very good career. But not so dominant. Maybe should have had more support than just 2 percent from the voters, but falls short for me.
With your opinion that Tommy John and Luis Tiant belong in the Hall of Fame, I picked up both players Rookie Cards on eBay in incredible deals. Amazing how cheap those two still are. Thanks for the heads up. I always liked both players anyway.
A repeat question, rephrased: You buy a $100 card, shipping is $5 and tax is $8. Do you record that the card cost $113? Or do you keep shipping and tax separate in your records?
I have a question for future consideration, not sure if you ever covered this question. My question is have you ever considered or did you ever crack a slab you ever considered under graded? I ask this because recently I was bidding on eBay for a Koufax RC that was graded a SGC 1 PR. I looked this card over and over as best you can on EBay and for the world of me it was way under graded. My thinking was to get this card, which is a grail card of mine, and resubmit it. Well, everyone who looked at this card must have seen what I seen because I lost out on it, I bid up to $640 and lost out I believe it sold for $650. Would you have paid way more than comps go for a card that certainly seemed under graded?
@@MidLifeCards Tiant and Tommy John are the only vintage pitchers I think I would put in, unless you're getting into the Negro Leagues which are a bit more complex to examine
I have a question. What happened to Jack Kemp cards? I've been out of the hobby for the last decade. Just in the last 9 months have I starting buying. I'm not very proficient in checking comps. The only price guide I have access to is 20 years old. It at least gets me in the ballpark on 90% of the commons and mid level cards I look at. I've struggled to find a comp that's 50% of the book. I've bought several Kemp cards in the past 9 months. They've all been a 1/4 or less of the price in my book. I'm not looking for Kemp, just a good deal. What happened?
Sometimes when players get involved in politics their cards go up in value. Sometimes they go down. I think the road of spiking and dropping is probably attributed to that.
Individual vintage cards may not shoot up suddenly relative to their peers, but vintage as a category might well shoot back up as it bounces from the significant slide. Just not suddenly like the flavor of the week in ultra-modern. Crazy money is being spent on super-refractor-prizm-chrome etc. (Do they even make regular sports cards any more?) Could this give vintage a shot in the arm? Sure.
Good discussion Graig and I'm biased since I lived in Vandalia, Ohio the hometown of Roger Clemens and grew up watching Pete Rose and meeting him at a Caesar's casino in Vegas in '07 go figure lol that they do deserve the HoF. But I believe you left out a fine pitcher from the Topps '77 set rookie deserving of the HoF with 245 wins 2149K's and 3.70 Era and 4x all-star - MLB wins leader once and pitched a perfect game do you know who he is?
I hate that Clemens wife did HGH, he is innocent! 😂 Jokes aside, when you picked your 10 cards, I couldn’t believe how nice the eye appeal was, you really picked some great cards out! All great centering too! Question for next week-Your at a garage sale and find a box of prewar cards. Theres some HOF cards in it, your rough estimate is 10k of value for the box. There’s a sign on it for $1 a card. You go up to an older lady and say, where did you get the cards? She says, they were my husbands, he’s no longer with us. You say, what do you want for the box? She says- how about $50? You open your wallet and you have $150 in it……….(So how do you proceed? How should others in the community proceed?)
I got two of the three pitchers when you showed the stats before their names (Tommy John and Luis Tiant). Both should be in the hall of fame. Interestingly enough, I recently saw a Tiant rookie card (signed) on eBay for $50 or $55. The accusations of racism against Ty Cobb are based solely on Al Stump's hatchet job of a biography. Other Cobb biographies dispute the allegations.
RR was a TOUGH one. I agree. I hate throwing stones unless something is a known fact,....like Anson. But, Cobb seems like a couple of isolated people making claims. So, unless proven, I believe someone is innocent.
@@MidLifeCards Cobb was born (1895) and raised in Georgia in the late 1800s ad early 1900s. He likely had similar views to most Georgians of that time period. It makes no sense to me to judge people from earlier time periods by current standards, as standards change over time.
Great set of top cards! It bums me out to see you besmirch Papi merely because of your Pedro bias, hahaha. Another dramatic question for next week. If your lovely wife came in and said, "Graig I am done with your hobby and you need to find something else BUT you can make one last purchase before you are completely done." What would be your last card purchase in the hobby to "complete" your collection? Hopefully it is a lot harder than just answering the Banks card.
The thing with Ortiz is he is rumored to be on the list of players testing positive when MLB gave nameless test's to all the players to see how much of an issue steroid were. Worst case, Ortiz took steroids early in his career before it was illegal.. Best case, he didn't test positive or tested positive from a different supplement that unknowingly had steroids as part of it. Either way, it's rumored that he's on a list from a test that officially has no names connected to any specific test from a time before steroids were illegal.
The article I posted on the screen is from ESPN. According to them, he was on the list of people who took PEDs during the "anonymous" testing period. That's their journalism. I'm simply sharing it.
I think there are deserving players from the pre-1900 era for the HOF, compared to the modern era which is over represented. Pre-1900's pitchers needed to be incredibly durable as well as being effective. The ones that I would select (in order) would be: Jim McCormick (265-214) 2.43 ERA 4275.2 IP 76.2 WAR Bobby Mathews (297-247) 2.86 ERA 4956.0 IP 55.4 WAR Tony Mullane (284-220) 3.05 ERA 4531.1 IP 66.6 WAR All have won over 30 games in a season at least 4 times (McCormick twice over 40, Mathews over 40 once). Sadly, there aren't too many cards of these guys to get a HOF price bump, despite a lot of recent retro sets. Most don't address more than the existing 19th century HOF players. In addition to these, obviously Roger Clemens is deserving. The other modern pitchers are hard to separate from one another, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Curt Schilling.
I believe the 4 players you referenced will eventually get in --- as there are a group of current HOF players who have been vigorously opposed to their induction(s) and these former players are getting way up in years. My reasoning: these players had HOF careers prior to the reported nefarious activities - gambling and steroids. But I also respect the game and the opinions of people and the players who disagree with me.
Question: Since you're a NoCal guy I have to get your opinion on this and to see if you got any insight on why 49ers running back Roger Craig is not in the pro football 🏈 HOF? Did something go on behind the scenes? Did he piss off the wrong person? Did he have an affair with one of the voters wife? For the life of me I can't figure out why he wasn't first ballot.
If Harold baines is in.. If Lee Smith and Bruce Sutter is in... Tommy John and Luis Tiant seems just fine to me.. Oh yes by all means put in everyone's favorite brave Dale Murphy in.. Nobody will complain to see his smiling face for baseball..
Yeah, I wish Baines didn't make the baseball HOF. Not that there weren't a few other questionable names who made the baseball hall of fame before, but it does open the door to well Harold Baines is in the HOF, so these players should also too, when no, most of them should not. Baines too. But it is what it is.
@@royakard8536 I could see Lou possibly making the HOF thru the veterans committee. Lou Whitaker has a higher WAR than Trammell too, 75 to 70; but maybe, I am missing something.
Hey Graig not Craig! Ive got just a "filler" question. You don't have to spend a lot of time on it but maybe you have couple of minutes to fill on your video. My question is Do you prefer portrait shot(head shot) In game action shots or a posed shot on your cards?
The Hall of Fame is a human construct which by definition means it is going to be imperfect. In the old argument that the Hall of Fame has flawed players already in and therefore there is no reason to keep other flawed players from being admitted, it’s like saying well some people cheat on taxes and get away with it so we shouldnt try to catch tax cheaters. Doesnt sound very cogent. Moreover, since the Hall is mostly but not completely performance based, a player using PEDS that inflates their numbers and performance, these players should especially be kept out. Just my opinion, kno you dont agree Graig.
I think all/most of the mentioned gamblers and PED players should get in eventually, maybe somehow tell the story and both sides of the arguments. What I think is really two faced is MLB supporting gambling websites, to the detriment of many of our young people. Unreal!! Cheers.
Please everyone try and remember that being “elected” to the hall of fame is an honorific. The “story” of baseball is told in depth at the hall museum including ALL of the players mentioned. Bonds, Clemens, etc are ALL over the hall of fame. They have simply been denied the honorific title of hall of famer due to their transgressions against the integrity of the game.
Major League Baseball"s hypocrisy is bewildering. Oh, how times are a changing. MLB supports gambling but not to or for players betting on their teams etc.. (Shohei and his predicament) Do they just sweep that under the carpet because he is today's biggest star???. I know as for now what they are allowing. Pete bet on his teams "to win".. "not to lose", where he could of had an effect on the game. TO WIN!!! Something that is out of his control, to be honest with you. He could do "HIS" best to put the players in the right positions to succeed, but he didn't play the game. Shoeless Joe played an exceptional World Series so did he throw any games??? Other players certainly did. Make an example of the biggest stars so other's will think twice about doing it themselves. Fay Vincent??? Anyway... you get my gist. Hypocrisy!! Even in today's game there are very many questionable things taking place and who knows which direction they'll lean.
Great video Graig but where's the shows you used to go to we miss watching you go from table to table enjoying beautiful vintage cards, NY Lou
I've taken a little break from some of my local shows because some of the inventory was being shown over and over. But, I've got a couple coming in the next month or so that I'll do.
Great discussion this week. I really enjoyed it. Thanks, Graig!
Thanks so much. I really appreciate that. These videos are a LOT of fun and I look forward to them each week.
@MidLifeCards I look forward to them every week, too!
Hey Graig, great job. Bringing up Cap Anson made me think of a book I couldn't recommend enough. If you get a chance to pick up The New York Game, you wont be disappointed. Mad Dog Chris Russo was talking about it a few weeks back and its awesome when you are collecting the guys which are highlighted throughout.
I'll have to check it out. Thanks!!
Awesome top cards in your collection. Beautiful cards, congrats. Always enjoy your answers to the questions
Thanks Orlando. I really appreciate that.
Love the discussion on potential future hall of famers! Would love to see you talk more about it.
It's a fun topic, but at times hard to predict what veteran committees will do.
Thanks for answering my question! They are AMAZING cards that I would save as well.
Thanks for taking the time to ask it!!
Graig, I absolutely loved your "Top 10 Fire Save!" cards! Speaking of fire, your '51 Bowman Ted Williams is fire! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Your '55 Jackie is a PSA 4-ever 4! So nice for any grade! I can never get tired of seeing your glorious Leaf Spahn! 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Thanks so much. Appreciate the love. :-)
Gave a video like - Always enjoy these, thanks for sharing your thoughts
I appreciate that. Thanks!!
Great stuff, Graig.....I'm a 'small hall' guy too, your case for TJ is very compelling, but he along with Reuschel and Tiant still make my "Hall of Very Good". When we look at modern players, the case for Zack Greinke is incredibly intriguing to me and worthy of lots of discussion!
I think Greinke is a great on. Dominating at times, but all time numbers aren't up there with others.
Greinke should b in maybe not 1st ballot but I would b shocked if he didn't make it in, in his first 10 yrs on the ballot
awesome video Graig! I love talking hall of fame and cards. I agree on Luis Tiant and Tommy John. I also like kevin brown. I know here's a little more modern but he was awesome.
Kevin Brown was absolutely incredible. So dominant for a few years. He certainly should be considered.
Even Greg Maddux talks about how good Kevin Brown was!
@@HighPopProfessor If Greg Maddux says someone was, a HOF pitcher. They are a hall of fame pitcher.
I also am a “small HoF” guy but we are close to that end and with the need to fill the off-season baseball news cycle the Hall of Fame will see two new classes of HoFs- the “better than Harold Baines” guys ( Boyer, Allen, Will Clark etc) and the first StatCast guys- Degrom, Oneal Cruz etc
Will Clark is a guy I think deserves more recognition.
Awesome Q&A as always! Your Monday and Wednesday videos are reliably some of my favorite weekly videos that I look forward to! Although I pretty much stick to 80s and 90s cards, so many of the hobby topics and questions apply to all eras.
I appreciated you talking about paying above comps for extremely well-presenting or “undergraded” examples of cards. Even in the 90s insert space, I occasionally find myself doing the same. As a Maddux guy, I enjoy his refractor cards. Most of his ‘95 Finest refractors sell for around $50 ungraded. However, most of them are moderately to severely greened / hulked out, and/or horribly off centered - about 80-20. So when a very rare, well-centered copy hit eBay as an auction, I was absolutely willing to pay a big premium for it. I ended up getting it for $124, and I’m VERY pleased with that “overpaid” purchase.
Great take on the HOF debate. It’s the inconsistency that bothers me. I’d completely understand either banning all PED users or allowing all of them (maybe with asterisks), but the fact that the voters went with Papi and Pudge and just said “no” to Bonds, Clemens, and Arod rubs me the wrong way. It’s not supposed to be the “Hall of well liked” but unfortunately, that’s what it has become. Just ask 80 WAR Curt Schilling.
I appreciate the kind words a lot. The Monday and Wednesday videos are some of my favorites to me, as well.
Thanks for answering my question! Great show
Thanks for taking the time to ask.
Great breakdown of the questions as always. I think we all agree across the board on Tiant. Reuschel was a solid pitcher for sure and very underrated. I like using both of them regularly in the Immaculate Grid. Well, that 1945 rule basically eliminates any possibility of Albert Belle getting in the Hall ha! I completely disagree and feel he's deserving. This dude was an absolute monster; 1726 hits, 389 2B, 381 HR, 1239 RBI, .295 lifetime avg... all in "12" seasons. His first 2 seasons he only had 8 HR and 40 RBI total. That was all almost in a 10-year stretch entirely which included 10 straight seasons of 95 RBI or more, 9-straight 100+ before he had to retire. Bad temper or not he was a beast, his body just gave out from what I remember. Oh, and from what I've seen of the evidence (which isn't a ton) I think OJ's son may have done it...
Woah!! OJ's son!!?? Interesting.
@@MidLifeCards Maybe? I'm obviously not sure but the evidence is very compelling and intriguing. Rumor has it also that Khloe Kardashian is OJ's daughter. OJ's lawyer was Robert K... it's a deep rabbit hole. If you're ever bored sometime, check it out!
Enjoyed the discussion Graig! Enjoyed your top 10 cards! Some great 🔥!! Regrading pricing, I need to update my pricing lists weekly. Not major fluctuations, but 10-15% are common. I think the best steroid guys get in (Bonds, Clemens, Arod), and maybe McGwire get into the HOF.
Agree.
Question for the future: I purchased a 1956 Ernie Banks in amazing shape a long time ago. I thought it would grade a PSA 7-8. I got it back a while ago from PSA and it came back Authentic Altered. The card has the natural rough edges - not trimmed and measures up, has not been colored, appears to be free from any cleaning (very very slight wax stains on the back), just no alterations from what I could see. I decided to crack it and send it to SGC. Of course, it came back "authentic altered" with no other information. I cracked it out and took a close look at it. Sure enough, the 4 corners of the card were ever so slightly shiny and was likely compressed in a screw down in its previous lifetime. I find it annoying that the compressed corners would designate an authentic altered when cards with chopped off corners can sometimes get a 1-2. Got me thinking.. would it be unethical of me if I accidentally "dropped" or sandpapered the card on all 4 corners to hide the compressed corners? I'm confident that roughing up the corners may give the card a chance at a 2-4 grade. I think I know your answer to this and mine would be the same. Its unethical to do this just for a grade or opinion from a company. I could never get myself to intentionally damage a nice looking card. I'm annoyed that grading companies find compressed corners as "altered" when cards with missing corners can receive a 1 grade. Just thought this was a strange instance where damaging a card could potentially 'increase' the grade.
I think that's a really good question....topic.
Great topics as usual Graig and my question to you would be. If you owned the 1954 Ernie Banks rookie, Which of the Top 5 would you pull from the list? Tough choice I'm sure my friend....lol Also feel Tommy John and Luis Tiant should be in the Hall, but then again there are so many others I feel should be in and others I feel are in that shouldn't be. So I guess we'll see. Have a great day and looking forward to seeing your answer to my question 👍👍 Two thumbs up
Well....I ranked my cards in order from MOST likely to save, to least. So, the banks would jump the others, and my 5th would fall to 6th.
Graig The new Baseball Card HOF came out. Any surprises for you and should the 5 card limit stay or be expanded? Thanks Bret
Graig, I hope you pick this question. I haven't asked you yet on your thoughts of the YT sport card HOF ballot results. #JusticeForGreenberg
Great question. I'll use this one soon.
Love the video, Graig. As for the HOF question, I've always wondered why the Black Sox players aren't eligible now. I've always heard the ban described as 'lifetime' and, since their lifetimes are over, shouldn't they be eligible for induction? They can't be punished anymore than they already have been.
Interesting question about the definition of "lifetime"...
Love the new logo!!
Thanks. Skaght at @reindeerstudios did a great job.
Hey Graig! I did think of a question. I began my vintage collecting just about 9 months ago. Prior to this, I PC’d just my favorite team…the Astros. I’m 44 (just today!) and getting a lot of cards on my list is going to be difficult from a budget standpoint. My wife just got tickets to the National and I am attending one other very small local show this year. I really want to go the graded route, but I know I can get more buying raw. My question is, would you (in my position) go the raw or graded route? It’s the age old quantity vs quality argument.
This is a great question. I’m in the editing phase of this week’s Wednesday q and a. Can you post this question in the comments of that video that will post Wednesday morning? I’d love to use it.
Good stuff Graig. Not sure if you have covered this topic but I know you like stats and numbers. Do stats and stories attract you to buy cards? Take Chick Gandil and his role in the Black Sox scandal, or Khris Davis, an average player who hit .247 four years in a row-seems almost impossible but he did it, or Adam Dunn who hit 40 HRs four years in a row. There’s a lot more examples but I find these stats and stories intriguing and I often buy their cards.
I think that's a very interesting topic/question. Same with Cecil Fielder hitting 50 Homeruns after a long drought in the majors of 50 HR hitters.
Great Q&A. You were thrown a couple of curveballs this week. I like the vintage fluctuation prices question. The 8's & 9's are valuable though, could see greater highs & lows too, due to volatility.... I don't think high end cards, are always that safe.
Ty Cobb book by Charles Leerhsen, he makes a compelling case, Cobb was, not the 'bad guy.' Al Stump, who wrote some fabrications, after Cobb passed away. Leerhsen, wrote his book to debunk Stumps lies.
The character clause for the HOF didn't exist when Anson was inducted. You're right about that. But a difficult conversation, for sure.
Well said.
Jerry Koosman has comparable or better numbers than all three pitchers you listed… problem is his RC prices are already to the moon!
Wasn't he runner up for Rookie of the Year?
@@MidLifeCards that’s right! A bum named “John Bench” beat him out!
@@MidLifeCards Koosman also came in 2nd one season for CY Young Award to Randy Jones. A good Jeopardy trivia question....because I am too familiar with his game! Ironically, Jones ended his career as a Mets player. Interesting.
The season before Randy Jones finished 2nd in CY Young to Tom Seaver. Wow
I think there are only 2 things that should exclude an otherwise deserving player from the HOF. 1. A player is convicted of a Hanis crime. 2. There is irrefutable proof that the player intentionally under performed for any reason.
I do think that steroid use is cheating, and I think the effort MLB has made to minimize cheating is a good thing. I’d like to see them do even more to prevent steroid use in youth sports. That being said, I don’t think a HOF deserving career should be disqualified for Steroid use. I have a few points as to why I feel this way. 1. The HOF is full of cheaters. Guys who doctored balls. Used foreign substances on balls and bats, corked bats and stole signs. I am sure there were other more creative ways players bent or broke rules to get an edge. Should these players also be excluded also? 2. Steroids were developed in the 1930’s and fairly common in the U.S. by the 1950’s. Do you really think the great golden era players never Juiced?
3. Steroids “saved” baseball after the 94 strike and Bud got into the hall for looking the other way while it was going on. He might say he didn’t know, but Tony Kubek left the broadcast booth because Selig wouldn’t do anything about it when Kubek confronted him abut the steroid problem.
4. Very few people cared about steroids in baseball until a bunch of Capitol Hill grandstanders wanted to be on Sports Center.
Here is where I end my ridiculous rant.
@@mookiechillson 🤣
I agree on Shoeless Joe, Rose and Bonds.
But not Clemens?
Q: Graig, regarding Clemens in the HOF, do you dismiss the PED factor when rattling off his astounding numbers? Or do you figure, not unreasonably, that if he had not cheated he would still have posted a HOF career? I suppose the same would apply to Bonds.He might never have broken Maris's or Aaron's HR records, but he was a great player even before he inflated his muscles and bat speed. I just don't know how much they should discount stats due to PED use.
That's a fair question. I can certain give my thoughts on that topic soon.
Question for next week. Any chance we could have a Football Card Hall of Fame? I would love to vote on that.
There is one!! Ray from Philly does that and the voting is around the Super Bowl. I'll help promote it next year.
I never considered Rick Reuschel a potential HOFer. I always thought of him as a good player, but no more than that. Considering how long he played for the Cubs I can’t believe I never bothered to research his career. The stats you presented are interesting. I don’t know if it’s enough for consideration, but it is definitely interesting.
Well under 300 wins, 3,000 strike outs, 0 CY Young Awards , and no World Series moments. A very good career. But not so dominant. Maybe should have had more support than just 2 percent from the voters, but falls short for me.
I agree. I'm not suggesting he "should" make the HOF. But, I think if more pitchers were to get in, he's one that could be considered.
With your opinion that Tommy John and Luis Tiant belong in the Hall of Fame, I picked up both players Rookie Cards on eBay in incredible deals. Amazing how cheap those two still are. Thanks for the heads up. I always liked both players anyway.
There are a lot of amazing players that aren't hall of famers, and they're certainly still worth collecting!!
Question ... Your friend Mookie sends you a Ernie Banks rookie with a pinhole. Do you pin it on your hof board or grade it?
Interesting question...
A repeat question, rephrased: You buy a $100 card, shipping is $5 and tax is $8. Do you record that the card cost $113? Or do you keep shipping and tax separate in your records?
I don't really keep tax records. Maybe I should. But, I'd say that "yes"....if I were keeping tax records, I'd list it at $113.
I have a question for future consideration, not sure if you ever covered this question. My question is have you ever considered or did you ever crack a slab you ever considered under graded? I ask this because recently I was bidding on eBay for a Koufax RC that was graded a SGC 1 PR. I looked this card over and over as best you can on EBay and for the world of me it was way under graded. My thinking was to get this card, which is a grail card of mine, and resubmit it. Well, everyone who looked at this card must have seen what I seen because I lost out on it, I bid up to $640 and lost out I believe it sold for $650. Would you have paid way more than comps go for a card that certainly seemed under graded?
This is a super fun question. I'll use it soon. Thanks so much for taking the time to ask it.
My top vintage choices for Hall of Fame would be Tiant and Dick Allen
I agree about Dick Allen, but I was asked specifically about pitchers. That's the main reason I listed just those three pitchers.
@@MidLifeCards Tiant and Tommy John are the only vintage pitchers I think I would put in, unless you're getting into the Negro Leagues which are a bit more complex to examine
I have a question. What happened to Jack Kemp cards? I've been out of the hobby for the last decade. Just in the last 9 months have I starting buying. I'm not very proficient in checking comps. The only price guide I have access to is 20 years old. It at least gets me in the ballpark on 90% of the commons and mid level cards I look at. I've struggled to find a comp that's 50% of the book. I've bought several Kemp cards in the past 9 months. They've all been a 1/4 or less of the price in my book. I'm not looking for Kemp, just a good deal. What happened?
Sometimes when players get involved in politics their cards go up in value. Sometimes they go down. I think the road of spiking and dropping is probably attributed to that.
Individual vintage cards may not shoot up suddenly relative to their peers, but vintage as a category might well shoot back up as it bounces from the significant slide. Just not suddenly like the flavor of the week in ultra-modern. Crazy money is being spent on super-refractor-prizm-chrome etc. (Do they even make regular sports cards any more?) Could this give vintage a shot in the arm? Sure.
Fair points.
If you buy a graded card you think has been significantly undergraded, cant you always 30:01 crack it out and get it graded again?
Yeah. That's true. Maybe I can talk about (answer?) this one next week.
Good discussion Graig and I'm biased since I lived in Vandalia, Ohio the hometown of Roger Clemens and grew up watching Pete Rose and meeting him at a Caesar's casino in Vegas in '07 go figure lol that they do deserve the HoF. But I believe you left out a fine pitcher from the Topps '77 set rookie deserving of the HoF with 245 wins 2149K's and 3.70 Era and 4x all-star - MLB wins leader once and pitched a perfect game do you know who he is?
Is that Dennis Martinez?
@@MidLifeCards Yes indeedy that's the puppy!
Hall of very good.
I hate that Clemens wife did HGH, he is innocent! 😂 Jokes aside, when you picked your 10 cards, I couldn’t believe how nice the eye appeal was, you really picked some great cards out! All great centering too!
Question for next week-Your at a garage sale and find a box of prewar cards. Theres some HOF cards in it, your rough estimate is 10k of value for the box. There’s a sign on it for $1 a card. You go up to an older lady and say, where did you get the cards? She says, they were my husbands, he’s no longer with us. You say, what do you want for the box? She says- how about $50? You open your wallet and you have $150 in it……….(So how do you proceed? How should others in the community proceed?)
Good questions, Theo
I really like this question, Theo. I'll use this question next week.
@@MidLifeCards Thanks Graig!
I got two of the three pitchers when you showed the stats before their names (Tommy John and Luis Tiant). Both should be in the hall of fame. Interestingly enough, I recently saw a Tiant rookie card (signed) on eBay for $50 or $55. The accusations of racism against Ty Cobb are based solely on Al Stump's hatchet job of a biography. Other Cobb biographies dispute the allegations.
RR was a TOUGH one. I agree. I hate throwing stones unless something is a known fact,....like Anson. But, Cobb seems like a couple of isolated people making claims. So, unless proven, I believe someone is innocent.
@@MidLifeCards Cobb was born (1895) and raised in Georgia in the late 1800s ad early 1900s. He likely had similar views to most Georgians of that time period. It makes no sense to me to judge people from earlier time periods by current standards, as standards change over time.
Billy Pierce
I almost included him.
Tommy John is a must for the HOF. 288 wins and broke the ground on the surgery that has extended the careers of many a great player.
He will make it. Just praying for Thurman Munson, too.
I agree.
Great set of top cards! It bums me out to see you besmirch Papi merely because of your Pedro bias, hahaha.
Another dramatic question for next week. If your lovely wife came in and said, "Graig I am done with your hobby and you need to find something else BUT you can make one last purchase before you are completely done." What would be your last card purchase in the hobby to "complete" your collection? Hopefully it is a lot harder than just answering the Banks card.
Hopefully his wife remembers she's married to a guy named, Graig.
I am a donkey, corrected, thanks
@@789cards Not your fault. He's not wearing the name tag.
@@ACD1994 but I know better
@@789cards I respect that. We can all do better
The thing with Ortiz is he is rumored to be on the list of players testing positive when MLB gave nameless test's to all the players to see how much of an issue steroid were. Worst case, Ortiz took steroids early in his career before it was illegal.. Best case, he didn't test positive or tested positive from a different supplement that unknowingly had steroids as part of it. Either way, it's rumored that he's on a list from a test that officially has no names connected to any specific test from a time before steroids were illegal.
The article I posted on the screen is from ESPN. According to them, he was on the list of people who took PEDs during the "anonymous" testing period. That's their journalism. I'm simply sharing it.
Tommy John should be in the HOF
Hey Graig, since you said that you are more of a smaller HOF guy, if you could remove 10 players from the Baseball HOF, who would they be and why?
Wow. Super interesting question.
Do u, or anyone, know why Jackie Robinson is wearing a Dodgers jersey, but Koafax is wearing a "pajama" jersey in the 1955 Topps cards?
Interesting question. I'm not sure.
I think there are deserving players from the pre-1900 era for the HOF, compared to the modern era which is over represented. Pre-1900's pitchers needed to be incredibly durable as well as being effective. The ones that I would select (in order) would be:
Jim McCormick (265-214) 2.43 ERA 4275.2 IP 76.2 WAR
Bobby Mathews (297-247) 2.86 ERA 4956.0 IP 55.4 WAR
Tony Mullane (284-220) 3.05 ERA 4531.1 IP 66.6 WAR
All have won over 30 games in a season at least 4 times (McCormick twice over 40, Mathews over 40 once).
Sadly, there aren't too many cards of these guys to get a HOF price bump, despite a lot of recent retro sets. Most don't address more than the existing 19th century HOF players.
In addition to these, obviously Roger Clemens is deserving. The other modern pitchers are hard to separate from one another, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Curt Schilling.
Good choices!!
I believe the 4 players you referenced will eventually get in --- as there are a group of current HOF players who have been vigorously opposed to their induction(s) and these former players are getting way up in years.
My reasoning: these players had HOF careers prior to the reported nefarious activities - gambling and steroids. But I also respect the game and the opinions of people and the players who disagree with me.
Well said. I agree.
No brainer HOF pitcher..... Schilling....for vintage....Tiant....TJ
I think both probably deserve to be elected.
Question: Since you're a NoCal guy I have to get your opinion on this and to see if you got any insight on why 49ers running back Roger Craig is not in the pro football 🏈 HOF? Did something go on behind the scenes? Did he piss off the wrong person? Did he have an affair with one of the voters wife? For the life of me I can't figure out why he wasn't first ballot.
Boy is this a good one, for a variety of reasons.
I like the people more that think Clemens, Bonds, Rose and Shoeless Joe should be in the Hall. 😀
:-)
If Harold baines is in.. If Lee Smith and Bruce Sutter is in... Tommy John and Luis Tiant seems just fine to me.. Oh yes by all means put in everyone's favorite brave Dale Murphy in.. Nobody will complain to see his smiling face for baseball..
Yeah, I wish Baines didn't make the baseball HOF. Not that there weren't a few other questionable names who made the baseball hall of fame before, but it does open the door to well Harold Baines is in the HOF, so these players should also too, when no, most of them should not. Baines too. But it is what it is.
@ACD1994 keep lou whitaker out? Wow.. In my opinion the baseball hof is just way too limiting for its own good.. And far too many rules..
@@royakard8536 I could see Lou possibly making the HOF thru the veterans committee.
Lou Whitaker has a higher WAR than Trammell too, 75 to 70; but maybe, I am missing something.
I completely agree.
Hey Graig not Craig! Ive got just a "filler" question. You don't have to spend a lot of time on it but maybe you have couple of minutes to fill on your video. My question is Do you prefer portrait shot(head shot) In game action shots or a posed shot on your cards?
That's a good question!!
The Hall of Fame is a human construct which by definition means it is going to be imperfect. In the old argument that the Hall of Fame has flawed players already in and therefore there is no reason to keep other flawed players from being admitted, it’s like saying well some people cheat on taxes and get away with it so we shouldnt try to catch tax cheaters. Doesnt sound very cogent. Moreover, since the Hall is mostly but not completely performance based, a player using PEDS that inflates their numbers and performance, these players should especially be kept out. Just my opinion, kno you dont agree Graig.
I totally respect where you're coming from.
I think all/most of the mentioned gamblers and PED players should get in eventually, maybe somehow tell the story and both sides of the arguments. What I think is really two faced is MLB supporting gambling websites, to the detriment of many of our young people. Unreal!! Cheers.
Hard to argue.
Billy Wagner
I think he'll get in Next year.
Please everyone try and remember that being “elected” to the hall of fame is an honorific. The “story” of baseball is told in depth at the hall museum including ALL of the players mentioned. Bonds, Clemens, etc are ALL over the hall of fame. They have simply been denied the honorific title of hall of famer due to their transgressions against the integrity of the game.
A valid point.
I totally respect this point of view. Totally.
Major League Baseball"s hypocrisy is bewildering. Oh, how times are a changing. MLB supports gambling but not to or for players betting on their teams etc.. (Shohei and his predicament) Do they just sweep that under the carpet because he is today's biggest star???. I know as for now what they are allowing. Pete bet on his teams "to win".. "not to lose", where he could of had an effect on the game. TO WIN!!! Something that is out of his control, to be honest with you. He could do "HIS" best to put the players in the right positions to succeed, but he didn't play the game. Shoeless Joe played an exceptional World Series so did he throw any games??? Other players certainly did. Make an example of the biggest stars so other's will think twice about doing it themselves. Fay Vincent??? Anyway... you get my gist. Hypocrisy!! Even in today's game there are very many questionable things taking place and who knows which direction they'll lean.
What is there to sweep under the rug with the Shohei situation? His ex-interpreter admitted to taking the money, Shohei was, the victim here,
My only request with any person or any group is "consistency."
BB Card Hall of Fame = Bad idea. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I think it's a great ideal. And most people probably voted on eye appeal I did.
I totally respect where you're coming from. I think it's a fun way to talk about cards and what makes them "important" to the hobby.
Allie Reynolds's
Interesting choice.