How does the Baseball Hall of Fame selection impact collectors?

January 8th 2014 Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were selected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. All three very deserving of this honor. The question we thought during this time was "Will this impact collecting cards of these players?"

All the time in our hobby we've seen a slew of cards hit eBay and other trading sites when someone has broken a record, dominated their sport or has done something in the public eye. Will the Hall of Fame selection be any different?

Lets look at each player within the hobby and see how this might impact your collection.

Frank Thomas;
The "Big Hurt" has been a hobby superstar since coming into the league. Most of his base cards are around the $1.00 mark with the serial numbered cards going for much high amounts. His 1990 Leaf RC is the most popular still (except for the No Name Topps). You can still find some good deals on them and even graded cards are decent prices to pick up for your HOF collection. Game Used Jersey and Bat cards are in the middle range depending on if it is a serial numbered card or not. You can find a Bat or Jersey swatch for around the $3-5 range and there are many to choose from. Autograph cards currently have been in the $30+ range and have been hitting $100+ for certain cards. His autograph cards are very popular and do very well in the secondary market. Since making the HOF, his cards have stayed in the same price range except for his autographs. They have jumped up a bit and are around the $50-$120+. A little surprised the 1990 Leaf hasn't gone up to the levels is was at years ago but maybe it will in a few more years.

Greg Maddux;
Maddux collectors have had it a bit easier than Thomas collectors over the years. His base cards have been really good prices at .50 cents or less on most. Even his RC cards from 1987 are in really good ranges. Graded cards have been around the $18 mark for some time for 9.5 grades which is a steal when your talking about a HOF player. Game Used Jersey and even some Bat relics are out there and are around the same as Thomas prices. There are fewer Maddux relics out of the three players so they are tougher to find a nice patch or multi-color jersey. As for Autographs, these are the toughest. prices start around $60 and jump up close to $200 on some cards. There just isn't a lot of his penmanship out there. The same holds true for Maddux since the HOF selection and his prices have been the same. Autographs continue to lead the pack with very strong secondary market. As for his XRC cards, they are still very cheap. graded or not try and pick these up for future value.


Tom Glavine;
Out of the three players, Glavine is the least expensive overall. His base cards are always in the "10 for a $1.00" bin or packaged in with commons. His RC cards from 1988 are always the cheapest as you can find a very crisp ungraded card for less than $1.00. Even the graded 9.5 or 10's are under $20.00 sometimes. Jersey and Bat relics are easily found and are consistent within the $3.00 range, but there are a number of really nice patch cards out there which fetch some decent money. Autograph cards are out there but can be scarce at times. They are in a nice $20-30 range with some hitting close to the $80 range for low serial numbered cards. The one difference between the three is that Glavine's autographs and patch relics have risen since being named to the HOF. not by huge amounts but you now find autographs hitting the $50 range and patch cards in the mid $20 to $30's. Most of the draw has been towards his Brave's relics compared to his Mets. His graded RC's are still affordable and could see some nice returns down the road.


Overall there hasn't been a significant jump in any prices among the three players. There has been an increase in listings overall which is very common right after this announcement each year. With the influx in listings your bound to find some decent prices on anything from base to autographed cards. Typically autographed memorabilia is where the increases are seen and you will see an increase in new items with "HOF" inscriptions. Card companies are not too often to jump on the inscriptions but could see this in the future with brands like Topps Five Star, Triple Threads and Panini Cooperstown. The three players will be showing up in more new card sets as HOF players which will increase the number of cards to your collection.

Next years ballot has another monster list of potential selections with the likes of Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, Nomar Garciaparra, and Gary Sheffield. Lets not forget those who also could make it in that are close like Biggio, Bagwell, Piazza, and Tim Raines. It may not be until the 2016 ballot when Ken Griffey Jr. makes his first appearance that we may see a bigger influx in prices after a selection. With a big name like him going in with cards already at superstar prices we could be in for a hobby boost.

Thank you for your support towards The Pack Gambler

Make sure to visit our storefront at www.packgambler.com, or our COMC account ThePackGambler