Author Archives: Matthew Lug - Page 4

2017 Biggest Pulls: 33-50

Posted by on 8 January 2018 Comments Off on 2017 Biggest Pulls: 33-50

Suck it, 2016

What a year… After a dismal 2016, 2017 turned things around and delivered possibly the best group of hits I’ve ever seen. I bought a bit more unopened product than usual, somewhere around $4,000 if my estimates are right, but that yielded $1,550 in eBay sales, several nice Mets hits, and a few other big cards that I’m holding on to for various reasons. And that’s before getting to the various sets I’ve completed or gotten very close to completion (including a few extras to sell, trade, or give as gifts). And two dozen more Aaron Judge RCs on top of what’s in the sets or listed here. All told, I probably got at least $3,000 worth of cards for that $4,000. That actually doesn’t sound too good… But it was sure better than last year.

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Product Spotlight: 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League

Posted by on 31 December 2017 Comments Off on Product Spotlight: 2017 Topps Heritage Minor League

Who needs Aaron Judge when you have Tim Tebow?

I’m never really sure what to make of the minor league edition of Topps Heritage. I love seeing the variety of team names that can be found in the minors and there are always a few interesting oddities that show up, but the nostalgia factor doesn’t quite work as well as it does for the big league product. It’s not like the Binghamton Rumble Ponies had any vintage 1968 cards (or even 2016 cards). Retro style cards of players with little or no major league experience seems a tad bit presumptuous, especially considering how many of them will go on to careers in the big leagues of scouting, coaching, car sales, or plumbing rather than baseball. Minor league baseball toys with your expectations to the point of cruelty sometimes, as does this incarnation of Heritage. Every once in a while though, things pan out.

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Product Spotlight: 2017 Topps Clearly Authentic

Posted by on 17 October 2017 Comments Off on Product Spotlight: 2017 Topps Clearly Authentic

A clear winner?

After being threatened with multiple iterations of Topps Archives Signature Series in 2017, it was a surprise to see the first $50/card autograph product turn out to be Clearly Authentic. Topps borrowed the Archives Signature Series format for what amounts to a Tek-style acetate autograph parallel of base 2017 Topps with reprint autographs like those previously seen in Tier One released under a name used in 2015 and 2016 for authenticated memorabilia cards in Strata. It’s a mishmash of elements from other products, but the end result is surprisingly coherent and straightforward. But is it enough to carry an entire product?

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2017 Mets Debut Autographs

Posted by on 26 September 2017 Comments Off on 2017 Mets Debut Autographs

The kids are all that’s left

So this is how the 2017 season ends, not with a playoff appearance, but with Travis Taijeron in the starting lineup… With the Mets effectively (if not mathematically) eliminated by the All-Star Game, a selloff was inevitable. After a slow July, August saw the departure of just about every healthy veteran on a seven figure contract without a no-trade clause. Except for Asdrubal “Trade Me” Cabrera. Irony is alive and well in the Mets’ clubhouse, if nothing else. Meanwhile, the remaining veterans saw their numbers thinned out by a rash of improbable injuries worthy of Homer at the Bat. Michael Conforto swung his arm out of its socket (shoulder surgery, 6 month recovery minimum), Wilmer Flores fouled a ball off his face (broken nose, out for the rest of the season), and Yoenis Cespedes, oh who the hell can keep track of it all? Let’s just go with the Springfield mystery spot.

On the plus side, the departures cleared room for top prospects Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith. And basically the rest of the 40-man roster or anyone due to be a minor league free agent. And Norichika Aoki? Eh, sure, why not? At least we can take comfort in the fact that the front office will make the necessary moves to bring the team back into contention in 2018. You can stop laughing now. Seriously, it wasn’t that funny. Watch out, you’re going to… Well, enjoy your time on the DL. You’ll have plenty of company.

Paul Sewald* Adam Wilk Tommy Milone Neil Ramirez
8 April 2017 7 May 2017 10 May 2017 20 May 2017
Tyler Pill* Chasen Bradford* Chris Flexen* AJ Ramos
27 May 2017 25 June 2017 27 July 2017 30 July 2017
Amed Rosario* Dominic Smith* Kevin McGowan* Travis Taijeron*
1 August 2017 11 August 2017 22 August 2017 26 August 2017
Jacob Rhame* Jamie Callahan* Norichika Aoki Phillip Evans*
2 September 2017 2 September 2017 2 September 2017 8 September 2017
Tomas Nido*
13 September 2017

*MLB Debut
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2017 Mets Draft Class Autographs

Posted by on 30 August 2017 Comments Off on 2017 Mets Draft Class Autographs

Easy as 1-2-3

Full list of 2017 Mets draft picks

When you don’t pick until late in the first round, most of the intriguing names will be off the board by the time it’s your turn. Despite several forfeited picks ahead of them, the Mets had to wait to the 20th pick to start their 2017 draft due to a strong 2016. That probably won’t be a problem next year… And so I know nothing about first round pick David Peterson other than his assortment of autographs and memorabilia in various Panini products. Mark Vientos followed in round 2 with autographs and memorabilia from Panini and Leaf and then Quinn Brodey went in round 3 with autographs from Leaf (from 4 years ago). And that’s about it for this draft class. The Mets would go on to sign all three plus 29 of their other 37 picks, but that didn’t include the only other two picks with autographs at the time of the draft, CJ Van Eyk and Jake Eder.

1 David Peterson 2 Mark Vientos 3 Quinn Brodey 4 Tony DiBrell
5 Matt Winaker 6 Marcel Renteria 19 CJ Van Eyk (DNS) 34 Jake Eder (DNS)

Back to Mets Draft Class Autographs

2016 Biggest Pulls

Posted by on 15 July 2017 Comments Off on 2016 Biggest Pulls

End of the Line?

2016 will go down as they year when I just couldn’t take it anymore. Ever-diminishing returns (even with the annual Kris Bryant autograph) already had me cutting back on hobby boxes. The proliferation of the same things in every product and the lack of anything new (Michael Conforto, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Matz autographs in everything and no new prospect autographs until December) certainly gave me plenty of reasons to pass even on old favorites. And with the focus on the high end more than ever ($22,000 for one box?), nothing new was drawing my interest. And that’s just on the input side of the equation.

On the output side, rising postage rates and eBay fees (and new requirements pushing Top Rated Seller status beyond the reach of most mere mortals) made the prospect of selling unwanted cards something to dread. Why pay for a box that guarantees a hit when the hit will either be worthless or require dealing with eBay? I listed 12 items in 2016. 6 sold. And one of those got sent back, despite my listings clearly stating that returns are not accepted. That was the last straw.

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