Strasburg and his comeback

scmavl

Let's say Stephen Strasburg begins pitching again late this season or early next season. And let's say he's good... really good. Like "as good as people thought he would be in 2010" good. Do you see his card prices going back to where they were when he first hit the majors? Higher? Lower? Will Strasburgmania come back?

I'm interested to hear thoughts on this. I picked up his /299 Topps Auto RC after he was injured for a good price. I wonder if I'll see a return on my investment?

Sorry for the phone pic.

jeffcbay

If he ended up being twice as good as Nolan Ryan, his cards still wouldn't reach what they were during the hype last year. Never. As for your card, it all depends on what your good price was.

scmavl

That's kind of what I was thinking too. If he seems to be coming back strong, I'll have it graded. Not sure if it's too OC or not for a PSA 10. Other than that, it's flawless.

mikeschmidt

Agreed. His cards and Bryce Harper [to a lesser extent] were selling for in excess of what Albert Pujols RCs are currently worth. I think all would agree that Pujols is bonafide superstar with a HOF plaque in his future. He has three MVPs and eleven seasons under his belt consistently performing as the best player in the game. And his cards are not worth more than Strasburg's were at the peak. I can't create any argument that would make me believe Strasburg's cards will ever reach the pinnacle of the mania last year.

With all the "potential" built into the price already, anything short of consecutive perfect games or a 25 strikeout game performance will leave him short of the mark.

Just my $0.02

stevek

Unless he strings together a good number of seasons for a long time with great success, i think there will be the fear that he could get injured again...

...so the answer to the question of "Do you see his card prices going back to where they were when he first hit the majors?"...I'd have to say "No" or at least "Very unlikely"

miconelegacy

No those crazy prices will not be realized ever again on his cards IMO. But, I believe his cards won't go much lower, and think right now is a good time to buy. If he starts next spring the hype will begin long before he pitches again.

If you have the cash buy some if his low numbered auto cards in high grade. As long as he comes back, you should make a nice profit well before he throws his first pitch in 2012.

scmavl

<< <i>No those crazy prices will not be realized ever again on his cards IMO. But, I believe his cards won't go much lower, and think right now is a good time to buy. If he starts next spring the hype will begin long before he pitches again.

If you have the cash buy some if his low numbered auto cards in high grade. As long as he comes back, you should make a nice profit well before he throws his first pitch in 2012. >>



This is the philosophy I took in buying the auto RC I picked up. Worst case scenario, I'm out a couple hundred bucks and have a signed .02 piece of cardboard.

Dpeck100

This is a tuff call.

Modern card prices move up and down a lot and if he returns and comes in and dominates there will certainly be a short term rally in his cards.

The real question is long term. Unless he becomes a major long term pitcher his card values will be lower 15 years from now and may still be even if he comes in a dominates.

Modern card collecting is about what is hot at that moment in time.

Good luck with your purchase.

otwcards

I think if he comes back strong and makes a couple of stellar starts either at the end of this season or early next season, there will be an immediate spike in his material. However, because of the injury history, I seriously doubt that we will see anything resembling the prices from last season. He could be at 14-0 at the All-Star break and it wouldn't make a difference.

History tells us that once the first wave of hype wanes (due to injury or poor performance) the subsequent waves rarely peak near the previous levels.