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A Squirrel Baseball Card is Selling for Hundreds of Dollars
Sports card collectors have seen this before. A novelty card comes along and becomes the new hot thing. For a short period it sells for a bundle before people come to their senses. It could be a card featuring the hot wife of a basketball player, a card of a superhero in a sports uniform, or even a baseball card with an infamous swear word in the picture. Well, be prepared to hear about the dumbest novelty card of all time.
Behold: The 2012 Topps Skip Schumaker Rally Squirrel Baseball Card...
Now, it is not crazy to assume that Topps wanted to grab a little publicity for their newly released 2012 Baseball Card set by adding a strange picture variation of a light hitting utility man and trying to capitalize on a memorable moment from the 2011 playoffs in a cheap and effective way. What is crazy is that people are paying hundreds of dollars for this card. Yes, a baseball card of a squirrel.
Don't believe me? Check out this Rally Squirrel Baseball Card eBay Auction
That is just one auction you say? Maybe the seller bid up the price to draw a sucker into grossly overpaying on a whim? Nope. Just check out all these auctions on this short print card.
Collectors, bid at your own peril. Don't say I didn't warn you when this card is worth 20 bucks in six months.
Jorge Posada to Retire
Jorge Posada, the long time catcher for the New York Yankees, apparently intends to hang up his cleats. Though there is a slight chance that he will catch on somewhere as a part time DH type of player, many media outlets are saying it's the end of the line for one of the tougher players to ever put on the pinstripes. The five time All Star and four time World Series Champion ends his 16 year career with 275 home runs.
Though Posada will garner some Hall of Fame consideration, he will probably fall short. Long term, Posada will probably be as popular with collectors as late Yankee catcher Thurman Munson has been. The value of both players is not reflected in their career stat lines, and both starred for high profile Yankee teams. Though critics will say that he was never a superstar, rookie cards of Posada, such as the 1994 Bowman Jorge Posada rookie card should remain fairly popular for years to come.
How Will Ryan Braun's Potential PED Suspension Affect His Card Values?
It has been revealed that Ryan Braun, the 2011 National League MVP, tested positive for synthetic testosterone and is facing a fifty game ban in 2012. It is rather disconcerting that something like this would happen just as Braun is being recognized as one of the premier stars in the game. Baseball card collectors everywhere should be wondering how this will affect the demand of cards of the Milwaukee slugger (like this 2005 Topps Chrome Update Ryan Braun rookie card).
Ryan Braun is not the first superstar to be affected by the performance enhancing drugs epidemic that has plagued baseball for the last twenty years or so. Manny Ramirez was suspended last year (he ultimately decided to retire). Alex Rodriguez has admitted to using PEDs. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Mark McGwire have all been accused of partaking in the festivities.
How will this affect his long term collectibility outlook? Let's look at the track record. Collectibles of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens cooled significantly since accusations came out a few years back. It may be a little early to look at the Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez situations at this time. The most telling case is that of Mark McGwire...
Once one the most sought after collectibles were that of the one time single season home run king. However, strong accusations have sapped the popularity of the one time superstar and his collectibles (like the 1985 Topps Mark McGwire rookie card) have come down in value greatly. Perhaps the biggest single influence on this is his failure to garner enough votes to make it into the Hall of Fame. Induction into the Hall of Fame is among the most important criteria for long term popularity among baseball card collectors. We may have to wait a long time to see if this affects Ryan Braun the same way it affected McGwire.
**It is worth noting that Braun is disputing the test results at this time.
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