Sunday Question

With Bowman retail hitting the market last week, Bryce Harper has been the hot topic of conversation. His autographs (though, paper ones) are on eBay.

The cards will likely go for a serious amount of money (including this one up for auction right now) and not just his autographs though.

The first chrome card non-auto to appear on the Bay sold for around $130.

The base non-chrome autos are selling between $20-$25 right now.

So, here's my question ... how much would you pay for a 2011 Bowman Bryce Harpercard?

Where will you find Bryce Harper?

Topps did a little clarifying today over on their Twitter account.

Even though Bryce Harper was not on the Bowman checklist, the stud prospector has an autograph in the set.

Harper will have on-card (!), non-chrome autographs in hobby and retail Bowman products.

Bowman Prospect autographs are available in retail ONLY.

Bowman Chrome prospects are available in hobby ONLY.

Bowman is set to release May 18.

With the way everything went down last year with Stephen Strasburg, has anyone tried to get in early with these cards? Buy any cases or hobby boxes? Or are you waiting to see what will happen with the prices once the product comes out.

I would imagine that these autographs are going to be highly sought after cards.

2011 Topps Pro Debut Info

Today Topps released some new information on the 2011 Topps Pro Debut cards along with the first image of Bryce Harper on a base card. This set appears to mimic the base set of 2011 Topps which I think is a great idea considering how successful sales have been on the product.



Here is the information:

HARPER HIGHLIGHTS 2011 TOPPS PRO DEBUT

Topps, the exclusive producing of Minor League Baseball cards, is confirming that highly-touted prospect Bryce Harper will appear on his very first minor league card in the upcoming
2011 Topps Pro Debut (6/1). The base card will feature Harper in his Hagerstown Suns uniform. (image attached)

In addition, Topps is seeding a unique 1 of 1 Harper Cut Signature into packs of Pro Debut. The cut signature comes from a baseball used in his first professional game in the Arizona Fall League and features an MLB authenticity hologram.

Pro Debut carries a $3.00 SRP for each 8-card pack and guarantees 2 Autographs and 2 Relics per box!

Hellooooo Bryce ...

2010 Bowman Sterling was released this week. While this is a product for high-end collectors, there was one card in particular I think that a few collectors would find interesting.

The Bryce Harper Topps  60th Anniversary autograph.

It's Topps 60th birthday this year and the company will have autographs from different players wishing them a very happy diamond anniversary seeded throughout the product this year.

The first Harper autograph has appeared on eBay.

I honestly thought it would go for more money and I figured it would have been snatched up right now.

There is one card up for auction and already past half of what the first card's asking price.

What do you think this card will sell for?

I wonder if I could get a personalized auto from a player saying Happy Birthday.

Buyer of Harper superfractor adds to his collection of rare refractors

First, there was the Stephen Strasburg superfractor sale.

Then came Bryce Harper.

The Washington Nationals drafted Harper as their top overall pick in June out of junior college. His 2010 Bowman Chrome USA Baseball superfractor 1/1 recently sold for $12,500.

A tremendous price for a baseball card no doubt, but the buyer Aaron Marcus of Long Island, N.Y., had no problem putting out that kid of cash.

He became interested in Harper when he read about him in a Sports Illustrated cover story.

“He has been referred to as a once-in-a-generation talent and a more talented high school baseball player than Alex Rodriguez, Justin Upton and Ken Griffey Jr.,” Marcus said in an email. “I feel as though the sky is the limit with him. He also has a tremendous work-ethic, and is a hard-nosed baseball player that plays with intensity.”

As a New York Mets fans, Marcus started collecting his favorite players in the early 1980s and continued his collection with some of baseball’s best players. But like many young collectors, he left the hobby for a while before he came back in 2007 when he started a collection of Mets prospect Fernando Martinez.

Marcus owns other rare Harper cards not just the 1/1. He has a 2010 Bowman Chrome red refractor BGS 9.5, orange refractor, gold refractor BGS 9.5, blue refractor BGS 9.5 and a regular refractor BGS 9.5.

Marcus says he has no plans on grading the super.

“I really do not see the point in getting it graded as it is the only one that exists,” Marcus said. “I know that some people would probably disagree with this logic. I generally buy graded cards, but I don't send my cards in for grading.”

Here’s some more from Marcus:

Are there any other players, teams or sets you collect?
I mostly collect high-end Mets cards, as I am a huge Mets fan. I also collect Miguel Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, Albert Pujols, and top prospects. I am also a fan of football cards, as well as UFC cards.

What made you want to get back into collecting?
I left the hobby for about 14 years. One day I started to look into collecting baseball cards again in 2007 when Fernando Martinez's cards came out (as I am a big Mets fan). I discovered all of the changes that took place in the hobby (as far as rare parallels being manufactured are concerned).

Besides the Harper superfractor, is there another card you're happy to own?
I have a bunch of cards that I am quite fond of. I have a few 2000 Topps Traded Miguel Cabrera Auto RCs that are graded BGS 9.5, a Bowman Chrome Albert Pujols Auto RC PSA 9, and a 2002 David Wright Gold Ref Auto RC.

Why midnight will be important for cards

Today, is the signing deadline for this year's baseball draft picks. As of noon, 17 of the 32 picks have been unsigned, which may seem like a lot of people, but it was the same number last year.

MLB is funny with its draft. MLB has an idea of how much a player should be paid according to their draft status. When a player agrees to terms, MLB goes over the contract and it could anywhere from a few days to a few weeks if MLB thinks a team is giving too much money to a player.

We're all waiting on top pick Bryce Harper (where too much was made of what Stephen Strasburg said about him).

More than anyone else, Topps might be sitting on their computer clicking refresh to see who gets signed.

2010 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects information was released last week. In the checklist released, more than half of the Future Stars slots were marked TBD. In addition, of the 25 Future Stars autos in the set, we only know 12.

Topps likely knows who will fill these spots based on who signs, but they have to wait until tonight when the rest of the announcements are made as to who that will actually be.

Prospectors, just a few more hours and you will know if you're going after this product or not. 

Although, I wonder why Topps released the information on 2010 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects early when they could have waited four days for a more complete checklist?

Is there any prospect you hope signs and gets included in this year's checklist?

You can stop buying 2010 Bowman

Man, all of the big cards have pretty much bell pulled. The 2010 Bowman Bryce Harper superfractor has been spotted on Freedom Cardboard (link).

This card actually looks reaaaally good. Looks better than the Stephen Strasburg, I think.

Hard to pull Harper

I did an unscientific survey, which is really the only kind that should be done because you get the exact results that you wanted.

First I spoke with a cardshop owner that busted a case of 2010 Bowman hobby boxes (not the jumbo).

Me: Did you get any Bryce Harpers out of the case?

Him: Just one.

ONE?!

I was mildly surprised by the news. One Harper chrome in all the jumbo. Wow.

I was at a card show today. Few dealers had 2010 Bowman, so I asked.

Me: Did you bust any cases?
Him: One hobby and one jumbo.
Me: Get any Harpers?
Him: Just two, including a refractor. I got lucky.
Me: In two cases you just got two of him, how is that lucky?
Him: A guy down the way busted three cases, he didn't get any.

No wonder why I can't get any Harpers, but other clowns from USA Baseball are stalking me.

Bryce Harper hits for the cycle

Bryce Harper.

I mostly just wanted to say his name because he's going to be one of the highly-touted prospects that no one will stop talking about until he makes it to the Major Leagues. Then, we'll find a new guy to talk about because Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper will no longer be prospects, but (hopefully) professional baseball players.

Harper hit for the cycle last night and drove in six runs in the College of Southern Nevada's 22-8 win over Lamar Community College.

Despite the fact that Harper is still in college, there are baseball cards to be had of his. He appears in a few products from 2009 all under the guide of Team USA cards. There are roughly 45 different cards of Harper's right now.

And --- AND --- they are somewhat affordable. When I looking through eBay to find Harper cards, I also checked completed listings and was surprised to see that some of his auctions ended without any bids. It's a Team USA card, but that does make it less valuable.

He's still a pretty big name, especially when that article was done on him by Sports Illustrated.

Here are some cards to chase:

1. 2010 Bowman Chrome refractors

2. 2009 Aflac autos

3. 2009 Upper Deck inscription autos

2010 Bowman is live with rookie cards galore

I'm not sure there has been a Bowman set in recent years that have had such a large number high-profile rookie cards or prospects (although, saying these cards are actual rookie cards is up for debate). 2010 Bowman is fake live on eBay and collectors are snatching up lots of the hottest young stars. It's fake live because the sellers who have the cards out there haven't put up any real pictures of the cards, just a stock photo with different auction titles.

Bowman doesn't officially go live until tomorrow.

Here's a look at some of the hottest auctions on The Bay right now.

1. Stephen Strasburg Bowman blue border auto /250 (this is actually the card and not a stock photo). This cards ends at 7 p.m. Tuesday (tonight) and, as of right now, already up to $365.

2. Jason Heyward Bowman Chrome blue refractor auto /250 (actual card, and since it's the first on eBay it should be a 1/1!!!!!) End at 7:30 Tuesday (tonight).

3. 20-card lot Bowman Chrome Stephen Strasburg (stock photo of Strasburg) This auction is already past $100 with a day left on it. There are more of these type of auctions on eBay and they are headed north quickly.

4. Starlin Castro Bowman Chrome auto (actual card)

5. Julie Teheran Bowman Chrome blue refractor

6. Bryce Harper Bowman Chrome USA Baseball cards

7. 10-card lot of Bowman Chrome Dustin Ackley