Old Pre-Rookies?
Sports card collectors love old cards, old players, new cards and new players, especially if the future old players haven't even played yet!
Each “2024 Happy Hobby Newsletter” pack has 11 different sports cards, including one insert, and one chalky, tasteless stick of gum!
All card images come courtesy of BuySportsCards.com.
🏈 JUMBO CARD 1 – NFL DRAFT PRE-ROOKIE CARDS
I was a teenager in the ‘80s, which paints how I view my sports card collection greatly. If you’re like me, you might fondly remember Classic Draft Picks cards. Just the mention of this likely brings back memories of Arrested Development (the band, not the show), Hypercolor t-shirts, and Derek Jeter ready for a hot grounder in his maroon Kalamazoo Central High School jersey.
These Classic cards were the first pre-rookie cards and they were spectacular. Many might point to the minor-league baseball cards produced by random companies throughout the previous two decades, but even those were still cards of professional baseball players. Classic made cards of players before they were pros, in their college or high school uniforms, and as a young man fresh out of high school and obsessed with college sports and the NBA and NFL Drafts, these were amazing cards!
These days, people poo-poo on player’s cards in college or high school jerseys. No poo-poo! They put more value on cards with players in their pro uniforms for the first time, and I can understand that. It might have been the same sentiment way back then, for all I know. It just wasn’t how I felt.
College basketball and college football were a much bigger deal back then. We’re talking about a time when superstars would usually play for four years, which means we got to appreciate their development. This was an era when drafted quarterbacks would expect to sit for two years before a third-year breakout as a starter. Running backs were more important than wide receivers and tight ends the ‘80s and ‘90s. Things were different.
But the world is funny in how it often repeats itself.
Once again, we have pre-rookie cards in the form of Bowman University Football and Bowman University Basketball sets, and Topps Now cards available the day after a player gets picked!
You can even get cards of players before they ever get picked! I have a sweet Texas WR Xavier Worthy card I’ve been waiting over a year on to see where he’d play (Go Chiefs!). Bowman’s Best Basketball set records last year with some of Victor Wembanyama’s first ever sports cards. I have Colorado QB Shadeur Sanders cards in my collection, and he’s still a year away from playing in the pros!
It’s a new era!
That’s what makes this iteration of pre-rookie cards extra special and “worthy” of our attention.
We can now buy cards of players and not know where they’ll play – for two NFL Drafts or more! This adds an extra layer of fun to collecting, as you become invested in players whose pro landing spots are still undetermined.
Kudos to Topps/Fanatics for bringing back the Classic Draft Picks vibe, and seeing that “prospect” cards in football and basketball can succeed, much like Bowman Baseball cards have for decades.
Obviously, NIL deals have changed the college sports landscape (for the better or worse, we’re not sure yet), but collectors are happy to get this extra layer of excitement. Can you imagine getting a Bryce Harper card before he entered the pros, waiting and wondering which team would get to draft him?
I need to go buy me a Bowman U blaster.
⚾CARD 2 – NUMBERED CARD: 68,228
The production run of 2022 Topps Living Wander Franco cards – the largest run of any player in always running Topps Living set! Ouch!
For the unfamiliar, Topps Living is a set that runs without an end in sight. Players get one card created for them for with the team they are on, and that’s it – unless they change teams. For instance, Manny Machado was the first player to get two cards once he got traded from Baltimore to the Dodgers, then he got a third card once he got to the Padres.
The cards are released at different times on the Topps website, and they only produce as many cards for a specific player as are ordered. For instance, Corbin Carroll’s print run was just 4,035 cards – and he was one of the most printed card in the 2023 releases!
One of the most sought-after Topps Living cards on the secondary market it Shohei Ohtani’s rookie card from 2018, with a production run of 20,966.
Franco’s print run just seems to put an exclamation point on the card collecting boom, and how much his legal troubles have tainted that era greatly. Imagine if Ken Griffey Jr. got busted for off-the-field stupidity in 1991 and got banned from the game.
Plus, my Topps Living Wander Franco card came pretty off-centered, for an extra kick in the crotch.
⚾CARD 3 – HOLLIDAY ANXIETY
After just 10 games in the majors, the Orioles sent MLB’s top prospect, Jackson Holliday, back down to Triple-A after he struggled mightily in his first appearance in the majors. He went 2 for 34 with two walks and 18 strikeouts!
Holliday’s arrival was the headline of our last newsletter – and he got demoted before the very next issue! That’s fast!
Should collectors be worried? Not really. As a matter of fact, I think collectors should be a little excited about the demotion because I believe it’s going to depress his prices just a bit on eBay!
The Orioles are battling for the American League East Division title, so they couldn’t afford Holliday’s struggling bat in the lineup, and they couldn’t waste him not getting at-bats by sitting on the big-league bench – so they demoted him. It’s as easy as that.
Colton Cowser and Grayson Rodriguez also saw great success through the minors before a call-up by the O’s, only to be sent down for more seasoning. They both were much better for it on their second tour.
Rodriguez was the second-best pitching prospect in baseball last year, but when he got promoted, he finished with a 7.35 ERA in 10 starts before returning the minors for adjustments.
Cowser, a 2021 first-round pick, hit .115 in 26 games when he got called up last year before being sent back down for some tuning up.
Rodriguez now has a 3.09 ERA in 18 starts since getting called back up late last year (4-1 with a 3.71 ERA in six starts this season). And Cowser has a 1.004 OPS through April 30, which is top-five in the AL! Here’s links to their rookie cards: 2023 Topps Update Grayson Rodriguez and 2024 Topps Series 1 Colton Cowser.
We still believe in Holliday – and now we believe in some cheaper prices, too!
⚾CARD 4 – HOBBY NEWS: MORE ONMANTEL
Mantel CEO Evan Parker shared more thoughts about how OnMantel.com can be helpful for collectors! (And I agree, by the way!)
“Our goal is to make the platform safe and cogenial. That doesn't mean people can't disagree with each other on the platform, but we find so much of the internet has become incredibly toxic, and we want to create a place where people can go an ask questions without fear of ridicule, or show off items they own without worrying that the community will make fun of them. Let's face it- collecting is a hobby! Yes, there's money involved, but if it isn't fun, why are we doing this?
“We talk to collectors every day about Mantel and how to make it better. This isn't lip-service... users of our platform truly have an opportunity to help us make it better, more fun and more useful. We want to create something collectors will love and want to check every day, so we're focused on taking all feedback- good and bad!- and using it to create a better platform.
“The company was named Mantel after the mantelpiece above the fireplace where people put mementos and items that mean the most to them, BUT it's also a wink to Mickey Mantle (different spelling!) and the impact he's had on our industry.
“You can find us at www.onMantel.com and it's completely free to join and use all of our features. Early members will have access to the best usernames, so sign up before yours is taken! Our social channels are @onMantel (X, IG, TikTok, FB), and we have a newsletter, and our YouTube channel.”
⚾🏈🏀🏒CARD 5 – RANKINGS: TOP 11 ROOKIE CARDS CLICKED ON IN APRIL
I posted articles on my website detailing the best rookie cards from each year for baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. Here are the top 11 rookie cards (from all four pages!) that the most people clicked on to check their pricing on eBay:
🎧CARD 6 – PODCAST PARTY ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY!
I mentioned last week that we now have a podcast that lines up with this bi-weekly newsletter, but I wanted to mention that our podcast is now available on both Apple and Spotify! (You can also listen to the podcasts on the Substack app!)
While these podcasts follow along with what I write in these newsletters, I do add a lot to them as I read them. Sometimes, things come to me as I’m reading, or I have notes that didn’t make it into the newsletter, so I add it in the podcast.
The podcasts are pretty easy to produce, so I will be producing episodes that aren’t just the newsletter.
My first few episodes are going to be the past few newsletters, though, as I try to get caught up! There’s a lot of great info in our past episodes that I feel people might want to hear about!
⚾CARD 7 – CARDS THAT MAKE US HAPPY: 1975 TOPPS HERB WASHINGTON #407
The only card in Topps history to list a player’s position as “Pinch Run.”, which stands for Pinch Runner. Washington was a speedster for Charlie Finley’s Oakland A’s in a time when specialization was starting to take hold. While Washington hadn’t played baseball since his junior year in high school when the A’s signed him, he was a world-class sprinter.
Washington appeared in more games (92) than plate appearances (zero), and he was only successful stealing a base 31 times over 48 attempts. This card is an intriguing one, and we mention it while Topps Heritage honors the 1975 set with the 2024 series. A decent copy of Herb Washington’s 1975 Topps card costs about $5-$10 on eBay!
⚾CARD 8 – NUMBERED CARD: 2-1/4” x 3-1/8”
That’s the size of the Topps Mini parallels for the 1975 Topps set! Since Topps Heritage is copying that design for its 2024 issue, Topps just released this week the new 2024 Topps Heritage Mini boxes! You get 12 packs with 10 cards in each pack! They sold out within a couple hours on Topps.com, but there are already boxes available for purchase on eBay for less than $100.
⚾CARD 9 – FREE CARD GIVEAWAY OF THE WEEK!
Last week’s random winner of the 2014 Topps Triple Threads Legends Relic Joe Morgan card #12/18 is Hayden Hendricks! I shot him an email to let him know! Congrats, my friend!
We’re changing things up this week, though, and the only people eligible for the giveaway will be those who commented on this post!
This week’s card giveaway is a beaut! It’s a 2003 Playoff Prestige “Inside the Numbers” Ichiro Suzuki acetate insert IN-5, #102 / 2002.
If you want a chance to win this card, drop a comment below – and it must be something of value, not just a Thumbs Up emoji, haha! Your odds of winning this card just increased greatly because not all my subscribers will comment!
⚾CARD 10 – POLL OF THE WEEK!
🏈CARD 11 – THIS WEEK’S “HAPPY HOBBY” MOMENT!
Have a HAPPY HOBBY!
Podcast Music: "I dunno" by grapes - 2008 - Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (3.0)
Great stuff Mr. Gonos! I particularly have been researching into the prerookie stuff and it’s insane how many products will capture hype of all the top collect stars from freshman to senior and market them big time! I believe it pulls some collectors in to viewing more college sporting events. I don’t think it’s all bad but with the amount of money some of the college kids are getting to play the games. You have to believe that has some influence as well!
Have a great day my friend! 👍💪👊
-Jon (JAJA’s)
I’ not a fan of the pre-rookie cards. There’s not a reason, just not.
Holliday will be fine. I just think they are moving too fast with him.
Haven’t heard of onmantel before, so now I’m going to check it out.
In your survey, I went with 2011 Topps Update because I’m a Trout fan and his rookie card is on my grail list