Yount

For the past two-plus years, John Dudley and I have been penning this little newsletter with the hopes it will both inform and entertain you.

And, for the most part, I believe it has accomplished both these tasks.

Mr. Dudley is far and away the brains of this operation, writing articles on a weekly basis that are deeply thought-out pieces, backed by research, stats and numbers. 

I, on the other hand, mainly complain about things and write it down.

It’s a combination that has worked, and I am extremely proud to be a part of it. 

I know with an intro like this you’re probably thinking that I’m going to deviate from the course this week and write something very detailed and thought provoking.

You’re wrong — kinda.

You see, I actually map out what I’m writing a few weeks ahead of time, in most cases, so that I don't spend countless hours staring at a blank computer screen trying to come up with ideas for this space on the world wide web.

That said, this week I was dead set on delving deep into the topic of why I pay more for a Jackson Holliday card than a rookie of a Hall of Fame player. 

I had some numbers to compare and contrast, comps to illustrate my point, and a slew of other facts that would leave both impressed and inspired. 

It was going to be a wonderful expose into a topic that is one of life’s great mysteries.

Well, then Sunday happened.

There’s a local card show I’ve frequented for many years now, and although the show has changed quite a bit in that time, I still enjoy it and still know enough people there to make it a fun trip.

I always bring a few cards with me to wheel-and-deal with and sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. Either way, it’s always fun to jump into the negotiation-mode. 

This week, I brought four cards with me from the collection — a pair of Ethan Salas 1st Bowman Chrome Mojo refractors, each a PSA 10, a 2023 Bowman Chrome purple Jasson Dominguez PSA 10/250 and my 1975 Robin Yount Topps rookie, PSA 8. 

After cruising around the show for a while, I zeroed in on a few cards I was hoping to pick up, either through outright buying or through trade, or a combination of the two. 

I had no trouble unloading the Salas’, to a friend of mine set up there, giving him a very fair deal on those, then I was able to trade the Dominguez purple to a dealer for a 1983 Tony Gwynn Topps rookie PSA 8, which I had been looking for since I sold my last couple of Gwynns a few years ago, and some cash. 

Which left me with the ‘75 Topps Yount.

Now, this is an amazing card of an amazing player.

And you know wha?

No one wanted the card.

No one. 

In fact, I could’ve sold 10 Wyatt Langford Bowman Chrome 1st since everyone asked me if I had any of those somewhere in my possession. 

Yount is one of the game’s all-time greats.

He’s a Hall of Famer.

He’s done it all in the game, yet, the demand is for a guy who has yet to play 50 games in the Big Leagues. 

Someone, please help me to wrap my head around this…. please.