TUFF STUFF '90 - Stone Cold, Lock Solid, Baseball

ranorama

Looks like you guys wanted to Baseball next, here are the top 30 baseball investments you should have made in 1990.

Presenting #1 thru #6:

ranorama

Admit it, you knew Strawberry was comin' soon or later...

here's #7 thru #12:

ranorama

here's #13 thru #18:

lawnmowerman

Man, I loved the straw-man when I was a kid. I pulled an 84 fleer rc and put it between two pieces of glass. I was 15, so I took it to school to show everybody and promptly dropped it on the floor. It shattered and sliced Strawberry's face. I was pretty upset and had to go and buy pack after pack till I got another one.

Matt

Stone193

ranorama

This list I do remember! It was also put in another Tuff Stuff article - it drove the price of the Brett and Yount cards thru the roof!

Now, they're down to earth again - at one time both cards were listed in Beckett - Nm at 200+ bucks!

Thanx for taking the time to scan this book!!!
mike

ranorama

Oh! here's a pitcher's name I recognize...

Here's #19 thru #24:

ranorama

<Stone193> No problem, I love digging up old time capsule pieces like this. I actually followed advice from these books back in the day, I was like a mind controlled robot. Must get Ripken Jr, Henderson, Boggs, must get quantity. I stopped doing it when I found myself following the Tuff Stuff football advice to the point when I had about 30 1988 Topps Football Bo Jackson's, Neal Anderson's, and Christian Okoye's. But then I noticed every dealer could sell me 100 count quantities of each.........hmmmm, I wonder if Topps produced alot that year?

Anyway, I digress...

Here's are #25 thru #30 (a.k.a. the bottom of the barrel):

Allen

Reading about Sierra makes me think of Pujols. He has an amzing start to his career and his Bowman Chrome rookie is a can't miss, but if he goes the way of Sierra it will be hard to swallow that $2500-$3,000 loss. I think the baseball list is far worse than the football. Ofcourse if you had bought the McGwires you could have cashed in your investment in 1998.

frankhardy

Sierra's first 5 seasons.

SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
1986 Tex 113 382 50 101 13 10 16 55 22 65 7 8 .264 .302 .476 .778
1987 Tex 158 643 97 169 35 4 30 109 39 114 16 11 .263 .302 .470 .772
1988 Tex 156 615 77 156 32 2 23 91 44 91 18 4 .254 . 301 .424 .725
1989 Tex 162 634 101 194 35 14 29 119 43 82 8 2 .306 .347 .543 .890
1990 Tex 159 608 70 170 37 2 16 96 49 86 9 0 . 280 . 330 .426 .756

Totals 114 HR; 470 RBI; .274 avg; 790 hits; 395 runs; 152 doubles;


Pujols' first 5 seasons.

SEASON TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2001 StL 161 590 112 194 47 4 37 130 69 93 1 3 .329 .403 .610 1.013
2002 StL 157 590 118 185 40 2 34 127 72 69 2 4 .314 .394 .561 .955
2003 StL 157 591 137 212 51 1 43 124 79 65 5 1 .359 .439 .667 1.106
2004 StL 154 592 133 196 51 2 46 123 84 52 5 5 .331 .415 .657 1.072
2005 StL 161 591 129 195 38 2 41 117 97 65 16 2 .330 .430 .609 1.039

Totals 201 HR; 621 RBI; .332 avg; 982 hits; 629 runs; 227 doubles.




Allen, I must respectfully disagree. Nobody, and I mean nobody has had a better start than Albert Pujols has had, and only a few can compare to it. Not only does he dominate, he does is consistently.

Bighurt4

Players Rueben Sierra is similar to thru age 25:
Sim Player From To Yrs G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG SB CS OPS+
+---++-------------------+---------+--+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+----+
Ruben Sierra 1986-1991 6 909 3543 505 993 196 37 139 586 253 529 .280 .325 .474 74 29 118
925 Cesar Cedeno 1970-1976 7 970 3735 597 1097 221 33 121 523 318 506 .294 .351 .468 313 98 132
923 Ron Santo 1960-1965 6 898 3359 433 933 168 35 137 524 385 512 .278 .351 .471 18 16 123
921* Al Kaline 1953-1960 8 1051 3919 598 1200 185 38 140 612 409 336 .306 .372 .480 70 35 128
916 Adrian Beltre 1998-2004 7 966 3462 456 949 176 18 147 510 286 590 .274 .332 .463 62 26 109
913 Andruw Jones 1996-2002 7 981 3520 574 940 188 23 185 559 377 745 .267 .342 .491 114 40 113
909 Vada Pinson 1958-1964 7 962 3899 661 1177 216 61 125 530 275 522 .302 .349 .485 139 47 123
901 Tony Conigliaro 1964-1970 6 781 2898 433 783 120 23 160 492 256 568 .270 .333 .493 16 20 125
898 Del Ennis 1946-1950 5 739 2875 411 858 168 35 115 485 238 294 .298 .355 .501 20 0 131
896 Ken Griffey 1989-1995 7 917 3440 570 1039 201 19 189 585 426 530 .302 .379 .536 92 43 147
893 Johnny Callison 1958-1964 7 780 2794 436 771 130 49 102 366 273 482 .276 .343 .467 35 18 123
Ruben Sierra 1986-1991 6 909 3543 505 993 196 37 139 586 253 529 .280 .325 .474 74 29 118
+---++-------------------+---------+--+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+----+
Average of all 10 Players 6 904 3390 516 974 177 33 142 518 324 508 .288 .350 .485 87 34 123
Avg of all 7 Retired Players 6 883 3354 509 974 172 39 128 504 307 460 .290 .350 .480 87 33 124

Albert Pujols thru age 25

Sim Player From To Yrs G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG SB CS OPS+
+---++-------------------+---------+--+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+----+
Albert Pujols 2001-2005 5 790 2954 629 982 227 11 201 621 401 344 .332 .416 .621 29 15 169
905* Joe DiMaggio 936-1940 5 686 2827 613 970 171 58 168 691 260 147 .343 .402 .623 17 3 156
894* Frank Robinson1956-1961 6 888 3286 618 994 177 34 202 573 392 491 .302 .384 .561 81 24 146
891* Jimmie Foxx 1925-1933 9 959 3323 737 1127 196 66 222 830 556 470 .339 .435 .638 31 35 171
883* Hank Aaron 1954-1959 6 886 3524 612 1137 205 46 179 617 281 315 .323 .372 .559 20 9 151
874 Hal Trosky 1933-1938 6 773 3085 541 970 200 45 155 663 274 279 .314 .372 .559 17 11 132
871 Vladimir Guerrero1996-2001 6 731 2755 464 879 169 29 170 512 234 361 .319 .378 .587 74 46 142
870* Orlando Cepeda 1958-1963 6 920 3566 571 1105 196 20 191 650 209 533 .310 .352 .537 83 41 140
865 Ken Griffey 1989-1995 7 917 3440 570 1039 201 19 189 585 426 530 .302 .379 .536 92 43 147
862* Mickey Mantle 1951-1957 7 952 3418 763 1080 164 49 207 669 670 653 .316 .427 .574 59 19 174
849* Joe Medwick 1932-1937 6 788 3224 573 1101 258 65 110 634 154 291 .342 .374 .564 22 0 148
Albert Pujols 2001-2005 5 790 2954 629 982 227 11 201 621 401 344 .332 .416 .621 29 15 169
+---++-------------------+---------+--+----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----+-----+-----+----+---+----+
Average of all 10 Players 6 850 3244 606 1040 193 43 179 642 345 407 .321 .386 .573 49 23 149
Avg of all 8 Retired Players 6 856 3281 628 1060 195 47 179 665 349 397 .323 .388 .576 41 17 150

I disagree as well. Pujols is doing something that is historic at this point in his career and barring injury will be mentioned in the same breath as the greats of all time.

Brent

helionaut

I have to say that there was some very solid investment advice here. There is no real dog on the list until #13 with Coleman. Blyleven was a chic HOF pick back in the day. He's still is the subject of strong debate. While some picks look bad in hindsight like Sierra, Strawberry, and Gooden, Sierra had everything in place and 87F was seen as a scarce set, and no one cold say they predicted both the Mets' falls from grace. Yep, it's safe to say that if you followed the advice in this booklet, bought high-grade material at the right price and sold at the right time (which really is the hardest part in investing), you made a ton of money. Of course, it was publications like this that lead to the huge expansion in the market up through 1994.

It is interesting to see how the investment game has changed. Having only 1 to 5 sets in a given year definitely kept things focused. The emphasis was not on rookies per se, with 8 or 9 cards being 2nd year or at least non-Beckett-RC cards, but 2nd year cards were not looked on as dirt like they are today. The old rule of thumb of 2nd year cards being worth 20-40% the rookie card was definitely in play. As Henderson's RC took off to over $100 in the next year, his 1981 cards were booking for about $20. Less cost = less risk, but almost as much reward on a percentage basis. And everything was "get this before he gets elected to the Hall." Nowadays, people assume every 1st round pick is going to be a megastar and price things accordingly. Established stars that have anything like HOF credentials are scrutinized and there are no surprises about Cooperstown candidates. I remember when like clockwork one year after the next people realized that Brett, Yount, Murray, Winfield, and Fisk were likely HOFers and their cards took off. Not so today, and those that are "discovered" by the hobby at large like Craig Biggio have RCs from an era of overproduction, at least in today's environment, so their cards have little movement. When people dealt in cards in 100-card bricks, it's tough for singles today to hold much value.

Great nostalgia find. I've been thinking of going back and trying to find some old Becketts from when I got back into the hobby. They should be fun. I remember one article in particular that rated the update sets of the 1980s. They ranked 1983 Topps Traded #1 just ahead of 1984 Fleer Update on the strength of Straw and Gooden. Heehee.