12/26/24
June 02, 2008
Junior Mint: The enduring popularity (and ubiquity) of the 1989 upper deck Ken Griffey Jr. Card: When Griffey hits home run No. 600, don't look for the value of Upper Deck No. 1 to skyrocket. After all, there's likely a card in circulation for every person living in the city centers of Cincinnati and Seattle. That sheer quantity, though, does mean that the lasting image of Ken Griffey Jr. won't be anything he does on the baseball field. It will be a picture of an overjoyed teenager in an airbrushed Mariners hat.
There was a time when my young mind thought I had a fortune in waiting with Frank Thomas' Leaf rookie and this Junior rookie. The fact is that if I sold both of these today I may get a tank of gas or two. Now if I had one of those blue Griffey's, that might be worth something.
posted by curlyelk at 03:01 PM on June 02, 2008
I've got a McGwire 1984 Team USA card. Thanks for nothing, Big Mac.
posted by igottheblues at 03:30 PM on June 02, 2008
I put all my Barry Bonds rookie cards to good use as drink coasters.
posted by irunfromclones at 03:40 PM on June 02, 2008
As someone who sold dozens of pre-1915 cards in pretty good condition last year, I recommend everyone give up on the sport card market as their ticket to riches. What's strange to me, is that I still think of KGJ as a young guy and he has nearly 20 years under his belt. Damn, I'm old.
posted by scully at 05:42 PM on June 02, 2008
What's strange to me, is that I still think of KGJ as a young guy and he has nearly 20 years under his belt. Damn, I'm old. Its hard NOT to think of Griffey as a young kid. And he's been playing Pro ball for almost as long as I've been alive. (I'm 22)
posted by freeze_over98 at 06:00 PM on June 02, 2008
It's probably the most thinking Geideman ever did compiling a checklist, save for the 1992 Upper Deck set when he assigned numbers that ended in 69 to players with porn-star-sounding names. (Dick Schofield at No. 269, Heathcliff Slocumb at No. 569, and Dickie Thon at No. 769.) Awesome. It's too bad Rusty Kuntz wasn't playing in 1992.
posted by blarp at 11:03 PM on June 02, 2008
Rumor has is that Geideman is now working on a new set for Upper Deck NASCAR, including cards of Kurt & Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and a tribute card for Dick Trickle.
posted by gdvbranz at 08:21 PM on June 03, 2008
It's probably the most thinking Geideman ever did compiling a checklist, save for the 1992 Upper Deck set when he assigned numbers that ended in 69 to players with porn-star-sounding names. (Dick Schofield at No. 269, Heathcliff Slocumb at No. 569, and Dickie Thon at No. 769.) Awesome.