20 replies to this topic

[Oswego Chris]

If you have been following my series then you know what "crype" means. Our All-Time Cub Crype roster is nearing completion. We add another player today, and a cautionary tale.

LANCE DICKSON-P 1ST ROUND 1990 23RD OVERALL

Lance was a typical over-hyped Cub prospect. Drafted in 1990, his Cub career numbers were a brutal 0-3, 7.15 ERA. This is usually where I bedazzle the reader with all of the great people drafted after our yearly piece of crype. The 1990 draft really wasn't all that impressive though, so we are going to take a different approach. Lance was so hyped, he had 5 different Rookie Baseball cards.

Now aside from devoting time to writing on BN, and my actual job(which gets less, and less time), I also dabble in buying and selling sports memorabilia on EBAY. In fact, I enjoy helping people with their collections, and I have gotten good enough with the grading of cards that I can appraise them pretty well.(the grading of cards has made collecting a potentially lucrative hobby)

Unfortunately I get many people who tell me about all of their great cards...Griffey rookies etc...and well, here is the bad news: If you have any baseball cards from 1987-the early 90's you have crap. They are worthless. Maddux and Griffey graded high would be the only thing worth having. Everything else is more than likely garbage, with a couple of exceptions.(if you would like to know if you have crap or not...I can give you the graded values of any cards that are worth having)

Case in point, our boy Lance Dickson...gettting 5 cards, one with "Future Star" boldly on the top of it, is absolutely worthless...even graded at a PSA 10.



CRYPE ROSTER-

PITCHERS- HERMAN SEGELKE, RICK JAMES, BOBBY BROWNLIE, MARK PAWELEK, BEN CHRISTENSON, LANCE DICKSON

INFIELDERS- Ty Griffen, Gary Scott, Bobby Hill, Hee-Seop Choi, Luis Montanez

OUTFIELDERS- Earl Cunningham, Ryan Harvey, Darrin Jackson, Brooks Kieschnick

[Bails17]

LOL...I like the lesson to go along with that. On another note...do you dabble in minor league sets at all. I am looking for teams sets for the 1997 Lakeland Tigers and the 1995 Billings Mustangs...any help would be appreciated.

[Brett]

The cruelty of the worthless 1987 to 1994 era of baseball cards is that so many of us still have those cards - which, of course, is the very reason they're worthless.

So there's a whole lot of us who've got boxes and boxes of crap, but damned if we're going to be one who gets rid of them.

[Hawkeye]

I tried to sell my whole lot of baseball cards the other day for $100. Over 10,000 cards. Couldn't find a single taker at any dealers...

[Oswego Chris]

here are some examples from that era that aren't total crap:

graded cards of 1991 Topps Desert Shield(which are very rare)

1990 Leaf Frank Thomas PSA 10(50$)

all 1987 Maddux Rookies PSA 10 sell between $35-$100

the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr(the one many people have as a retirement plan)...if you are lucky enough to have them graded PSA 10 they are $220...my 2 graded at an 8 and a 9(which go between $30-50)...so I sold them....there are over 15,000 graded Ken Griffey Jrs...

my membership in PSA allows me to see the total population of these cards...there is a pretty rare Jordan Insert from the 90's that there are only 4 PSA 10's...and I have two of them...

YES, I AM A 43 YEAR OLD GEEK

[Brett]

So, if I wanted to buy a '52 Topps Mickey Mantle as an investment, how much would I be looking to sink into an 8 or a 9, and is that worth it over settling for a 4 or a 5?

This is 99% hypothetical, because I doubt I could pull it off.

[TWC]

The cruelty of the worthless 1987 to 1994 era of baseball cards is that so many of us still have those cards...

Because they'll be worth millions some day!

...which, of course, is the very reason they're worthless.

Damn! So much for that theory.

So there's a whole lot of us who've got boxes and boxes of crap, but damned if we're going to be one who gets rid of them.

Exactly!

[Oswego Chris]

52 topps mantle psa 5 goes for 16,000

an 8 goes for 175 k, and a 9 goes for 300,000

[Dave]

So it isn't really worth the investment to create time travel to get a couple Mantle rookie cards, but it is worth it to steal them and sell them on the black market?

[Oswego Chris]

actually(another example of my geekiness) I have had a bit of success "day trading" with these cards on ebay....you buy one on a "best offer", I keep throwing out low ball offers until I get a taker...

example.....I offered and got someone to accept $260 on a 1957 PSA 8 Banks that books for 310..

sold it the next week for $295...you have to know what you are doing...and the best offer option can be tedious...but find a bank where you can get 14% on your money in a week

[Dave]

One thing about these Crype posts, they really make you wonder how the Cubs, in their entire existence, are 532 games over .500.

[Oswego Chris]

Because they were really good many years from 1900-1945..

[Dave]

Since1903 (when they became the Cubs) they have had 56 (of 108) sub-.500 seasons. And are a total of 180 games over .500,the 532 is including time served as the Orphans, Colts, and White Stockings. I wont argue that they were really, really good that first half of the century, but my god they were atrocious the second half.

[Brett]

Since1903 (when they became the Cubs) they have had 56 (of 108) sub-.500 seasons. And are a total of 180 games over .500,the 532 is including time served as the Orphans, Colts, and White Stockings. I wont argue that they were really, really good that first half of the century, but my god they were atrocious the second half.

Just in time for us!

[Brett]

52 topps mantle psa 5 goes for 16,000

an 8 goes for 175 k, and a 9 goes for 300,000

Well, shit buckets.