Is Baltimore really that much more of a HOT bed for collecting than Toronto??

artistlost · September 8, 2009 5:48AM

I know most here are not modern collectors but thought I would see what people say to this topic in regards to two youngish players.

Baltimore's Adam Jones and Toronto's Aaron Hill.

Both players top rookie card's are from the 2003 Upper Deck Prospect's Autograph set and Jone's sells from $60 to $70 while Hill's sells for $15 to $25

Now for the numbers...

Now I know that Jone's is younger but Hill does play 2nd and is still pretty young himself...

Any thoughts as to why Hill's cards are so low?

mathew

billwaltonsbeard · September 8, 2009 6:05AM

Aaron Hill's brother everyone.

CNote · September 8, 2009 6:25AM

Not saying this because I'm a Griffey fan, but when Jones got traded from here (Seattle) to Baltimore he got tremendous hype to the point of some calling him the second coming of Ken Griffey Jr. He's already years behind Griffey, so THAT type of hype has died down, but he still has the goods to be a solid CF for a long time.

richtree · September 8, 2009 6:25AM

Hill is an overachieving 2b man that has topped out his potential

Jones could be a 10 time all star

gtgrad99 · September 8, 2009 6:28AM

I see 2 factors, but could be dead wrong on both

First, much of the price difference could be attributed to how hyped each player was when the set was first issued. It seems that, especially with modern releases, most of the price is set before the player even reaches AA ball.

Second, it looks like the prices for both cards have spiked at around the same time. It just so happens that the spike happened during a stretch this year when it seemed like Jones was homering every day, while Hill has been pretty consistent this year. The Hill is priced at 2x what it was 3 years ago, but the Jones is now 4x its price from 3 years ago. In both cases, the vast majority of the increase is attributed to this spike from this past June.

Having never been to Toronto I don't know how popular collecting is up there, but I do know that it is pretty big in Baltimore. I was up there earlier this year and the shop I was in (Baseball Card Outlet, by the way, has a pretty good selection and tends to lean more toward vintage) was packed on a Wednesday evening. I haven't seen that in quite a while and probably never will as long as I live in ATL.

There's my $0.02.

lsutigers1973 · September 8, 2009 6:28AM

<< <i>Any thoughts as to why Hill's cards are so low? >>

It's the "Ben McDonald - LSU" effect. Everyone assumes that former LSU players will have one or two good seasons then get kidnapped by aliens.

QUITCRAB · September 8, 2009 6:47AM

I think Baltimore is a great place for the National show-Camden Yard, Babe Ruth house, Md sports museum....Md has horse racing, lacrosse, colleges (hopkins), a beautiful inner harbor.....Ft Mc Henry...fells point historic district...35 minutes to annapolis and 45 minutes to DC...It could be a wonderful experience for the first time visitor. Plenty of card stores in Md along with Orioles fans (though they are losing a few hundred fans each day!),Ravens fans and still a old time Baltimore Colt fan.
I used to live in Baltimore....I think its a great town, great people, great food (CRABS), and great sports fans !
Scott

nam812 · September 8, 2009 6:52AM

<< <i>............great food.......... >>

.

Except for that one dive in Ellicott city.

jimrad · September 8, 2009 7:20AM

OMG The best !!

Link

QUITCRAB · September 8, 2009 7:57AM

I cant belive the link to G&M restuarant...I used to ride my bike there as a kid...it was just a pizza place then....now I stop and get the crab cakes every time Im in town!!!
I still have friends living in Linthicum.
Scott

lanemyer85 · September 8, 2009 8:46AM

prospects = hype and Jones still has prospect status as this is his first full season. Jones is over 3 years younger while Hill is in his 5th pro year (minus the half season he lost last year with post-concussion syndrome).

Prior to this year Hill averaged .279/.337/.398 & 7 HRs so he's been subpar and less flashy version of the guy whom he replaced in TOR - Orlando Hudson's .283/.347/.431, 13 HRs career avg line.

So that said, how many O-Dog collectors are out there? I don't agree that Hill is an "over achiever" he was a 1st round pick (13th overall) in 2003, he's always had the skill set, but he's just now putting it all together. Until this season he was known more for his glove than the bat. If his 2010 season mirrors his 2009 numbers then you'll see a bit of a spike and people will note that it's more than just a career year. It also doesn't help that he's playing in TOR where even the Roy Halladays of the baseball world are scarcely collected. I know TOR is the center of Canada's universe and all, but in MLB TOR is a mid-market team with no recent success so that also plays a role.

GoDodgersFan · September 8, 2009 10:17AM

Baltimore is a great city and I am glad the National is going there next year. Jones is younger and has
the potential to be a real good player.

Potential = hype

hotmush · September 8, 2009 3:05PM

Well, being from Toronto, I can say that there isn't a lot of love for baseball collecting here. 95% hockey. Which is fine, but players in T.O. tend to get pushed to the wayside a lot. (Still waiting for a This Week in Baseball shout-out in '09).
The fact that there's such a 'rights' issue with broadcasters coming north of the border, is why you hardly ever see a Toronto home game on Sunday night baseball or Saturdays on Fox (well, that and the Jays have sucked since July, but I digress).
But it does speak to the issue: over the years, Toronto has had a number of players that have been just as good if not better than many of the 'stars' you see listed in Beckett. No, I'm not being biased. In fact, I'd put Dave Stieb up against a guy like Jack Morris any day of the week during the late 80s. The fact is: losing team + Canada = no love.
That being said, it's been a joy to watch Aaron Hill this year (paired Trammell/Whitaker-like with our new daily shortstop Marco Scutaro). Their defense and their batting have been two of the highlights in an otherwise dismal year. But it's not hard to see why a superstar like Roy Halliday (yes, superstar, he's the best pitcher in baseball) wants to be traded. If Roy (or Aaron) played for anyone else (and I mean VIRTUALLY ANYONE else) they'd be the talk of their respective big-media towns.
It's odd, too, that Aaron and Roy are best of friends and live down the block from each other in Florida (Aaron had a baby this past labor day of all days). And I hate to say it ÐÊas a Jays' fan ÐÊbut I see a time when they both fly south for bigger and better things... much like best buds Shawn Green and Carlos Delgado did in the early '00s.
Just my 6 cents.

Is Baltimore really that much more of a HOT bed for collecting than Toronto??

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