Baseball Card Market Report for March 21-27, 2024 - Top eBay Sales

PLUS -- Do Political Careers Affect Baseball Card Prices?

Mar 29, 2024

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Are Collectors Betting on Pete?

Shohei Ohtani has been in the news this past week as much as he has been any time over the last several months. Only this time, it’s not for all the usual good reasons.

The negative press and suspicions around the ongoing betting scandal involving Ohtani’s interpreter haven’t tumbled his cards out of the top echelon of the market, though. Ohtani still shows up plenty of times on our list of the most expensive baseball cards sold on eBay last week (see bottom of post).

But you know who shows up as sort of a surprise entry?

None other than Pete Rose himself.

Maybe that’s really not so surprising, considering that Charlie Hustle, and references to him, have been all over the interwebs ever since the Ippei story broke.

Does that mean Rose’s cards are getting a boost, or about to?

Probably too early to say, but it’s something to keep an eye on. And maybe we’ll even dive into it a bit in the coming weeks.

Now, for something else with a baseball card/current events tie…

Do Political Careers Affect Baseball Card Prices?

After years out of the limelight, Steve Garvey has been back in the news lately. Running for a U.S. Senate seat out of California tends to boost a person’s profile.

Regardless of your own political views, Mr. Clean’s run for office brings up some interesting possibilities for his cards and gives us a chance to dig in to other players who have jumped into the political arena.

In particular, does holding a political office — or running for one — boost card values?

To start finding out, I hunted up six other players who have held office, then compared their rookie card values of guys with similar careers (by reckoning of Baseball Reference and/or WAR).

I used our old friends, card value multipliers and Multiplier of Multipliers (the ratio of one multiplier to another multiplier — MoM) to get the job done.

Here is what I found out:

Jim Bunning v. Mickey Lolich

1957 Topps Jim Bunning (#338) - PSA 7

Office: U.S. Representative
Value: $200
Common Value: $35
Multiplier: 5.71

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1964 Topps Mickey Lolich (#168) - PSA 8

Value: $100
Common Value: $14
Multiplier: 7.14

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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 0.8

Raul Mondesi v. Von Hayes

1991 Bowman Raul Mondesi (#593) - PSA 10

Office: Mayor
Value: $30
Common Value: $3
Multiplier: 10

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1982 Topps Von Hayes (#141) - PSA 10

Value: $40
Common Value: $10
Multiplier: 4

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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 2.5

Vinegar Bend Mizell v. Tom Underwood

1952 Topps Vinegar Bend Mizell (#334) - PSA 5

Office: U.S. Representative
Value: $450
Common Value: $200
Multiplier: 2.25

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1975 Topps Tom Underwood (#615) - PSA 8

Value: $20
Common Value: $15
Multiplier: 1.33

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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 1.7

Randy Bass v. Mike Stenhouse

1979 Topps Randy Bass (#707) - PSA 9

Office: Oklahoma Senate
Value: $12
Common Value: $5
Multiplier: 2.4

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1984 Donruss Mike Stenhouse (#29) - PSA 10

Value: $20
Common Value: $8
Multiplier: 2.5

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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 0.96

Steve Garvey v. Kent Hrbek

1971 Topps Steve Garvey (#341) - PSA 8

Office: Running for U.S. Senate
Value: $400
Common Value: $12
Multiplier: 33.33

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1982 Topps Traded Kent Hrbek (#44T) - PSA 8

Value: $20
Common Value: $2
Multiplier: 10

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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 3.3

Frank White v. Bill Mazeroski

1974 Topps Frank White (#604) - PSA 8

Office: County Legislature
Value: $25
Common Value: $4
Multiplier: 6.25

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1957 Topps Bill Mazeroski (#24) - PSA 7

Value: $225
Common Value: $20
Multiplier: 11.25

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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 0.56

—

A couple of notes…

I listed just one office for each of the politicians in our lineup, even though some of them may have held others, too.

Some of these guys have other potential card-boosting or card-sapping factors at play, beyond just their political offices. Bass, for example, has the whole cult-hero-in-Japan thing going.

And Mondesi’s political career came crashing down with a corruption conviction. And Garvey himself has supporters who think he should be in the Hall of Fame and detractors who think he should be officially shunned.

So, as usual, take these results with a grain of salt.

Overall, though, the MoMs above check in at an average of 1.6. That means the politicians are 1.6 times further away from being “commons” than their non-office-holding (or -seeking) counterparts.

That might mean further price bumps are in store for Garvey and his 1971 Topps rookie card. Of course, the former Dodgers All-Star already has the largest MoM on this list by a wide margin.

He’s already more than carrying his weight in this game, in other words.

Still, it’s hard to imagine that Garvey’s cards won’t see more attention at least as the November election draws near. At the very least, it will be an interesting hobby side story to watch.

Now, here are some other big-number hobby threads that could blossom into full-blown sensations at the drop of, say, an errant betting card…

Top Baseball Card Sales on eBay for March 21-27, 2024

(Quick note — this list contains affiliate links to the original eBay listings.)

If you want to see updated 30-day market toppers anytime, we have a couple of resources over on WaxPackGods.com:

Most expensive baseball cards sold in the last 30 days
Most expensive football cards sold in the last 30 days
Most expensive basketball cards sold in the last 30 days

Now, on with the show …

Baseball Card Values Newsletter

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