In this month’s VCR “Kings James” slightly edges out “Sid the Kid”. These two define the sports card industry more than any 2 athletes on Earth.
The goal of the VCR (Veteran Cardboard Rankings) is to the Bi-Weekly (twice a month) counterpart to our RCR (Rookie Cardboard Rankings). We feel that creating a list for rookies and one for veterans offers a far greater degree of accuracy than a combined list. The VCR is composed of the Players who are at the pinnacle of their respective sports. This represents the big leagues, the RCR represents the Minors (Rookies). What will make this fun is to see who can make the jump from the RCR to VCR! In order to make the VCR, you gotta be the best of the best, all too often hot lists are filled with players who are simply hot, but will never get the call to hall.
Since the Last VCR.....
Drew Brees recently stamped his ticket to Canton. He already had the requisite numbers, now he has something far more important, a Super Bowl Ring. Although we don't realize it, most of us collect Hall of Famers. The second we realize a player is not a Hall of Famer, their value plummets. On the other hand, the second we realize a player is a Hall of Famer, their value sky rockets. Let's just say, collectors have realized which one Drew Brees is.
If cards could talk, Brett Favre's cards are screaming at him to come back in 2010! Favre fans are still eating up anything Favre, especially Favre's Vikings cards. I can't remember a veteran's base cards ever being this sought after. His Upper Deck 112B Vikings' Card (BV=$135) is destined to go down as one of the greatest Short Prints of all-time. Last Night Favre was on the Tonight Show and sounded excited about football. This is an encouraging sign considering that Favre is a Football Addict.
In the NBA, The Thunder's Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are on fire! Oklahoma City is for real and the scariest part is they are still growing. If I were a Lakers' fan, this is the team I would be most afraid of, both now and in the future. Durant might be the most un-guardable scorer in the league. He reminds me of a far more athletic Dirk Nowitzki.
It feels like LeBron James is going to will the Cavs to an NBA Championship this year. I don't think there's a single team in East with a chance at taking them out in the Playoffs. Losing to the Magic in the conference finals last year left a bad taste in the LeBron's mouth. LeBron is good enough to keep that taste from returning. "Greatness" finds a way to win Championships, it's that simple. I would recommend targeting LeBron's Short Printed and Numbered RC's. At the end of the day, the value of a card is almost completely determined by print run. There's too many of his Topps, Topps Chrome, Bowman, Bowman Chrome RC's in circulation. Don't get me wrong, there is no such thing as a "bad" LeBron Rookie! I just think the value of a LeBron RC with a print run under 1,000 has a far higher ceiling.
The U.S.A. Hockey team exceeded all expectations in winning the Silver Medal. The crazy part is that they didn't look over-matched against Canada! The Canadian team was billed as the greatest hockey team ever assembled and we beat them once and took them O.T. in the Gold Medal Game! If there's one thing collector's love, it's a national hero. Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, Eric Johnson, Brian Rafalski, and Dustin Brown have all captured the imaginations of both hardcore and casual hockey collectors. Perhaps hockey isn't as far behind basketball as previously thought.
In baseball, collectors are hoarding Joe Mauer Auto rookies while they still can. You simply don't see the amount of Mauer's on E-Bay that you would expect based on print run. This suggests that the collectors buying Mauer's cards have no plans on selling them now or perhaps ever. Collector loyalty is an underrated factor in book value. I would estimate that Mauer's 2002 Bowman Chrome and Bowman's Best Auto RC's are going for at least 33% more than their current book value. If I were doing the booking, I would put his Bowman Chrome Auto Rookie at about $300-$350 (currently $200). The pricing gods have some serious catching up to do. How often do the words "Beckett" and "Under-booked" fit into the same sentence?
On a side note, Minnesota is currently experiencing a shortage of Playstation 3's. There is not a retailer in the state with a PS3 on their shelves right now! This is due to Mauer's appearance on the cover of MLB 10: The Show, which is a Playstation 3 exclusive and hands down the best Baseball game on the market. Mauer is experiencing the same type of boom that Peyton Manning saw 4-5 years into his career.
- LeBron James
- Sidney Crosby
- Drew Brees
- Joe Mauer
- Alexander Ovechkin
- Brett Favre
- Albert Pujols
- Derek Jeter
- Kevin Durant
- Peyton Manning
- Kobe Bryant
- Carmelo Anthony
- Evgeni Malkin
- Patrick Kane
- Hanley Ramirez
- Zach Parise
- Evan Longoria
- Ryan Miller
- Ichiro
- Chase Utley
- Tom Brady
- Adrian Peterson
- Dwyane Wade
- Chris Johnson
- Alex Rodriguez
Honorable Mention:Eric Johnson, Russell Westbrook, Martin Brodeur, Tim Lincecum, Aaron Rodgers, Zack Greinke, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Steven Stamkos, Mariano Rivera, Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Monta Ellis, Dirk Nowitzki, Derrick Rose, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard, C.C. Sabathia, David Wright, Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Roy Halladay.
 |
|
|
 |
