CC Sabathia
Date of Birth: 6/21/1980
Rookie Card Year: 1999
Investment Rating: 7.5
Overview
CC Sabathia has been one of baseball's best pitchers for well over a decade. Although he's a Cy Young winner and World Series champion, CC Sabathia cards still remain somewhat overlooked. Much like his career, Sabathia's cards have shared the spotlight with other players. First, it was Alfonso Soriano, who was huge for a few years before falling. More recently it was Josh Hamilton. And while Hamilton and Soriano are still popular in the hobby, neither have been nearly as consistent as Sabathia.
With key career milestones approaching in the not-so-distant future, now might be the time to collect CC Sabathia cards. While he is a pitcher, which carries some risk and doesn't always equate to huge values, the 300-win plateau is a very real possibility. Add to that the fact that he's the ace on the high-profile New York Yankees and you've got the signs of a more prominent place in the hobby for Sabathia.
CC Sabathia has a total of six rookie cards that can be found in 1999 Topps products. He has a fair number of autograph cards, but not the market certainly hasn't been over-saturated. Another consideration when going after autograph cards is the team. A lot of Sabathia's most plentiful autograph cards feature him in an Indians uniform. Relatively few sets have autographs from the ace wearing a Yankees jersey.
As far as autographed memorabilia goes, Yankees items represent the best opportunities. While he won the Cy Young with Cleveland, the Indians don't have the same mainstream appeal as New York. Cleveland items are still a solid choice. He's certainly recognized more for his place on the Indians than with the Milwaukee Brewers whom he spent just part of a season with.
CC Sabathia Rookie Card Checklist
1999 Bowman CC Sabathia RC #344
Looking for a low-end CC Sabathia rookie card simply to have something from the pitcher in your collection? 1999 Bowman fits the bill. It's not flashy but the cost is minimal. The card also has a pair of equally affordable parallels: Gold and International Foil.
1999 Bowman Chrome CC Sabathia RC #344
One of the key CC Sabathia rookie cards, 1999 Bowman Chrome is about as close to high-end as you're going to get. The card can be found in Series 2 boxes. True to form for the brand, Refractors make for pricier options. International Refractors (#/100) and Gold Refractors (#/25) are the rarest and most valuable.
1999 Bowman's Best CC Sabathia RC #171
With the increasing popularity of all things Chrome, 1999 Bowman's Best is somewhat overlooked. Rookies are slightly short printed, combining to fall one per pack. Parallels for the premium cards include Refractors (#/400) and Atomic Refractors (#/100).
1999 Topps Traded CC Sabathia RC #T33
The base version of the card will always be affordable. It's readily available, even though it was only distributed as part of a factory set. However, many were busted as each also came with an autograph. Although the 1999 Topps Traded CC Sabathia autograph may not be an official rookie card, it's the most iconic card of the pitcher. It's about as close to a must-have as you can get for anyone who is looking to build a Sabathia collection.
1999 Topps Chrome Traded CC Sabathia RC #T33
Along with Bowman Chrome, this is the best CC Sabathia rookie card to get. Like 1999 Topps Traded, it was only available as a part of a boxed set. The premium version did not include any inserts or autographs like the main Topps Traded set did. Despite a very strong checklist that also includes rookie cards of Josh Hamilton and more, prices have remained fairly stable since its release.
1999 Topps Finest CC Sabathia RC #294
Rookies are one of three short print subsets in 1999 Topps Finest Series 2. But that still hasn't made the CC Sabathia overly expensive. Sticking with the trend of the brand from the late 90s, cards came with a clear film protector. There isn't a huge premium placed on cards with or without the protector. That said, it's not advised that you try to remove them now as it's fairly easy to damage the corner when you're trying to take it off. Parallels include Refractors and Gold Refractors (#/100).
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Autograph Guide
CC Sabathia Autographed Memorabilia Buying Guide
Below you will find an example of what CC Sabathia's authentic signature looks like. This can be used as a first point of reference for determining the legitimacy of autograph memorabilia, but is not a substitute for having your items authenticated by a well-respected professional autograph authentication company. Some of the trusted sources within the sports memorabilia market include the following companies: PSA, JSA, Steiner, Tristar and Mounted Memories. Click on any of the images below to view full size photos.
CC Sabathia Cut Signature Exemplar
CC Sabathia Key Signature Attributes: An authentic CC Sabathia signature autograph will exhibit several distinguishing characteristics regardless of the item or time period in which the item was signed. A CC Sabathia autograph will exhibit at least some of the following signature features:
- The entire signature is written on a fairly flat, horizontal plane, at a slight right leaning angle.
- The signature consists of is "CC" initials, the letter "S" and the letter "t."
- The "C" letters are usually different with the first containing a line at the top end and a circle on the second.
- The pen does not lift as it flows into a capital letter "S."
- Several letters are implied with the last letter appearing to be the letter "t" written in dramatic flair with two lines moving back across the signature in an awkward, triangle-like shape.
- He often inscribes his jersey number "52."
CC Sabathia Signed Baseball Pricing:
Active Listings for CC Sabathia Signed Baseballs
CC Sabathia Signed Jersey Pricing:
Active Listings for CC Sabathia Signed Jerseys
CC Sabathia Signed Photograph Pricing:
Active Listings for CC Sabathia Signed Photographs
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Other Resources
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Allen
Hey Ryan I have a card of CC that I can’t find anything on it is an 03 topps #214 but it is gold, says “52 years of collecting” and has a serial number. Is this something you could help me with or send me in the right direction to find the value?
Ryan Cracknell
Allen » Sounds like the Gold parallel – a rarer version of the regular card that has a gold border and is numbered to 2003.