Phillies Prospect Scott Kingery Might Truly Be "Mike Trout 2.0" (Re-Post with Footnote)

Hi Folks,

   Welcome Back!!
 
   How many of you have heard of a fella by the name of Mike Trout? He's just the best player on the planet! Do you have any of his early Rookie cards, Baseball Cards, autos, etc, or did you miss the boat? What if you had a second chance with someone revving up to be just as good or maybe even better than Trout?

   Before I get too far ahead of myself, I'd like to take a look at one of the brightest stars in the Minor Leagues right now, and then see how he ranks vs. the Game's greatest.

   First we'll do numbers. Then, the name.

   2016 A+ and AA .281 BA, 5 HR, 46 RBI, 30 SB.
   He slapped 149 hits, with 36 doubles, 3 triples, and an On Base % of .335

   The most recent season stands out and shows hard work results in improvement;

   2017 AA + AAA .304 BA, 26 HR, 65 RBI, 29 SB.
   He also scored 103 Runs, smashed 165 hits, including 29 doubles and 8 triples,
   on his way to a .530 Slugging % and an On Base % of .359

NOT BAD, RIGHT?!

   Before I give you his name, he plays a hard-nosed 2nd Base, with 11 errors in 2016, but down to 6 Errors in 2017, along with some dazzling plays. Overall, a formidable batter, runner, defender.

   The Mystery Prospect (In case you didn't read the Title of this Post)? Scott Kingery of the Philadelphia Phillies farm system. Kingery just jumped 18 spaces in the latest Top 100 MLB prospects, with him coming in at #35, and #31 with Baseball America. Not too shabby, considering Aaron Judge was much further down the list at this stage.





   I have watched countless videos of this kid playing ball and I've seen some truly mature hitting, staying away from some dirty pitches that others may swing at, and watched him launch some powerful home runs. His patience at the plate reminds me of Michael Conforto, of the New York Mets. In April of 2016, I wrote in an article on Conforto, one of the Bright Young stars of the New York Mets ("Conforto Factor")

   "... there is one factor that simply awes me, and it is not the power and consistency that we want in our hitters, both of which Conforto has. It is the "no fear" mentality with eyes always open watching and observing. Mike Trout has this. Bryce Harper has it. Going further back, Tony Gwynn certainly had it as well. It's almost as if an older, wiser soul resides within him. Pull up some of his at-bats online. How can he take pitches like that and know they are not strikes? He's a tough out, and he makes each pitcher earn their pay. Let me be clear. He's 23. What 23 year old has an eye like that?"

   So, after almost 2 years have passed, we know the potential of Confortos patience and power, barring the freak accident he had swinging the bat.

   There is that common thread among good hitters, really good hitters, and it's like they have a few spare seconds more "mentally" than the next guy, and when the pitch comes, it's a beach ball they see sailing over the plate.

   I can't help it when I watch Kingery play to think to myself this is the next Mike Trout. This is the next version of Mike Trout. I put my money where my mouth is and stocked up big on Kingery. They are already going up since recently, the MLB Top 100 Prospects for 2018 were released, and Kingery jumped about 18 slots to #35 of 100 and #31 of 100 for Baseball America. That's higher than Aaron Judge was ranked before being called up.

   Another factor contributing to his increasing popularity is that the MLB named him the Top 2nd Base Prospect in all of Baseball.

   Every interview that's been done with him shows a well-spoken, humble guy with a desire to play the game and just be happy. This positive attitude reminds me of Ken Griffey Jr. Between Trout and Griffey Jr., he's in good conversation company.

   Earlier, I was wondering if I had a conflict of interest because I bought so many Kingery cards, but then I realized I don't need to write a story to make his card value increase, because it's driving itself on it's own. Second, I'm not even selling one of these cards until he fully develops in the Major Leagues, so you can rest assured this is truly a post from the heart. I did feel that it is my responsibility with the volume of readership I have, to inform everyone of the opportunity so they, too, could get in while the prices are still reasonable.

Why Mike Trout ?

   An interesting article was written in May 2017 titled, "Reading’s Scott Kingery Battling With Mike Trout For Baseball’s Home Run Lead, Game by Game" in which it said, "It seems with almost a third of the Eastern League season in the books, the Phillies have a budding superstar in their minor league midst in Scott Kingery.  All he is doing is matching the best player in baseball, Mike Trout, for the home run lead almost “game by game!"

   He's got the power, speed, fielding agility, intelligence, and a profound love of the game, so not only was the author correct in comparing Kingery to Trout, I take it a step further and I see Kingery emerging as big or even a bigger star than Trout. It is not a shot in the dark. I have chewed up his stats and spoke with many others in the industry that are thinking the same thing about Kingery and his future.

  Scott Kingery was invited to 2018 Spring Training, and that should make for another show like the one he put on last year for Spring Training. This Rookie is a crowd-pleaser, hustles, and can make or break a game. That's Power!! Mike Trout 2.0 Power!

FOOTNOTE ADDED 7/29/2018:

   First of all, I am still a huge fan of Scott Kingery, even though he did turn a blind eye at Citi Field when I was trying to get his attention by yelling out his Twitter handle!

   Look, I think he might need the "Conforto Crunch", as I call it, named after Michael Conforto, who came to the Mets from the Minors and was on a mega roll. Somewhere along the line, he lost his usually perfect knowledge of the strike zone. After a while, he got sent down, hit everything they threw at him, and came back after 2 weeks like a brand new Conforto!

   I think the solution is the combination of a dose of reality, nerves, and re-adjustment, and I think it's something Gabe & the GM should consider. With Kingerys natural talent, it would do a world of wonders for him.

Have a great week, enjoy, and be safe!!

Many thanks and Regards,
Your friends at CardboardandCoins.com

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Encore! Bitcoin Meets Baseball Cards: A Cryptocurrency Love Story

The Impact of Cryptocurrency on the Collectibles Market... 

(ORIGINALLY POSTED 12/22/2017. DUE TO MULTIPLE REQUESTS TO
RE-POST THIS BLOG ARTICLE, WE HAVE REMASTERED
IT AND SENT OUT THIS UPDATED VERSION) 

Hi Folks,

    For the sake of this discussion, I’ll assume you have some understanding of what Bitcoin is (a Cryptocurrency), or at least that it has become a popular new payment method

   The Hobby and Collectibles sub-category used to be the largest component of its parent category, the Antiques market Category. In decades past, people from all different walks of life compulsively accumulated large quantities of Antique collectibles. Baseball cards, sports cards, Pokémon cards, U.S Coins, and Comic Books (Sounds all too familiar for me!!). The market had been super-saturated first with collectors-turned-vendors, and then came the over-saturation by moonshot figures of overproduced products. The “Big Boom” of this ‘era’ ran between 1986-1993. During that time in the early 90’s, housewives covered their home furniture with Hummel miniature figurines, antiques and a variety of other shelf-sitters.  Their husbands collected U.S. Coins, vintage toys, and stamps.  Their daughters turned their rooms into shrines to porcelain horse figurines or seashells while their young sons avidly hoarded baseball cards, marbles, Pokémon cards, Comic Books, or G.I. Joe action figures.

   There was a push and shove in the market as time went by, and the faith and love in the Hobby and Collectibles sub-category began to wane, in part, due to the result of over-production and dissatisfaction with where prices had gone (more commonly, prices had not appreciated due to excessive production). People held firm to their pride and refused to settle for less than what they wanted in terms of specifically needed items. Another issue was that folks naturally want things done yesterday, and quite often, desired items were almost never in the locations where they were needed. Stores with antique collectibles that were sought after by many individuals were not being found, as many shops had little or no publicity and even those with some publicity were confronting other issues occurring in a flooded market with wide distribution, namely, lack of trust.

   “What could make our market soar again?” folks wondered. Even the big boys in the market were losing, as a result of the fog of this era, due to the way things were going. So what was the way forward they pondered? Many ideas were put forward , all in a bid to awaken the somber giant. Some ideas were simple, like to slash production and offer more exclusive sets. Some examples during this time was the Topps Tiffany elite glossy offering, which was mimicked by Fleer on one level and by Score on a similar level. The increasing use of the Internet was a shot in the arm for the collectibles industry and the ability to find what you need wherever it is located. Some other ideas were more forward-looking, and ideas began brewing and had not truly percolated until many, many years later.

Then came Cryptocurrency:

   Out of these days, there was a need for something more substantial and wide-spread and effective.  Cryptocurrency, or for example, Bitcoin (or BTC, which is the most popular of all Cryptocurrencies), had a slow start. In it’s infancy, you could barely buy a snack using BTC, even as it boasted back then to already be what it is popularly known as today, which is “the universal currency”. In the present day, Cryptocurrency boasts the most reliable, fastest and efficient way to make payment and receive your items.

   The interesting thing is that ever since its inception, there has not been one breach in the servers nor any incidents with unforeseen circumstances occurring, which would have forced many of us to think of Bitcoin as unsafe. Based on the topic at hand, public domain blocks are created for companies with strict registration patterns which can always be trusted, placing them in a position where they can not only be seen by the general market,  but also trusted by all that see them.

   Building on this, there are very impressive developments, with some major players now accepting Bitcoin, for example, Overstock, Expedia, and Dish, are among many other retailers being added daily. This has started to catch the attention of some major players in the collectibles/hobbies sub-market, and they have started following the same path. The results have been stunning in terms of their profit, ability to bring on more staff, and the new-found trust of customers, as well as the influx of customers strictly preferring to use Cryptocurrency.

   The result? The collectibles market is once again rising to its rightful place in the world markets, again, with the help of Cryptocurrency at the foundation of it all. Many of us in the same line of business, seeing the trust and the exciting positive outcomes stemming from accepting payments in Cryptocurrency, began looking into the feasibility of implementing it as another option/form of payment. 

   This brings us to an exciting moment for us, where we are officially sharing our own Cryptocurrency news:

   We here at CardboardandCoins.com are glad to announce that we have decided to adopt Cryptocurrency as a form of payment, with an option to use Coinbase or some other method, directly to our Paxful Wallet. We already accept PayPal, Amazon Payments, Credit Cards, and various other payment methods, in addition to Bitcoin (we are amenable to even accepting Ripple coin/XRP and a few other Cryptocurrencies...just ask). Remember, in addition to any coupons you use on our site, you still get 5% off additional when using Bitcoins/Cryptocurrency.

  How do you pay for your order using Bitcoin? When you arrive at checkout, look for the payment option titled,
"*** BitCoin Accepted *** (with a 5% price discount!!)"

  From there, it's just 3 Simple Steps to easily make a payment securely and instantly using Bitcoin (BTC)...

Step 1: Remit Payment for the cart amount, less 5% discount, to our Paxful BitCoin Wallet (address provided at checkout screen).

Step 2: E-mail us at info @ cardboardandcoins.com with your reference #, the items you purchased, and any discount codes you have used.

Step 3: We confirm payment, securely pack your order, and Ship your items. It's that simple!

   We've always had the pleasure of offering you the best of everything in the collectibles market, and are providing you with the platform of not only viewing what you desire, but also paying for it with no worries or concerns about the payment used, as the Bitcoin option is now live and working on our site during checkout. Now you can get all you've ever wanted for the right price and at the right time, all in one place. So don’t let anything hold you back from getting the collectible items that you love, whether it’s baseball cards, sports cards, Pokemon Cards, U.S. Coins, or Comic Books…it’s all accessible at your fingertips and on your own terms!!


REMEMBER:
Have a great week, enjoy, and be safe!!

Many thanks and Regards,
Your friends at CardboardandCoins.com

CardboardandCoins.com - From Baseball Cards
to Wheat Cents, and everything in-between.
* * * * * * * * * * *
FREE U.S. Shipping Always
NO Minimum Order Size
www.CardboardandCoins.com


Tags:

bitcoin, btc, cryptocurrency, hobbies, collectibles, baseball cards, ripple, currency, coins, pokemon, comic books, doge, dogecoin

#bitcoin #btc #cryptocurrency #hobbies #collectibles #baseballcards #ripple #currency #coins #pokemon #comicbooks #dogecoin #doge

1975 Topps Mini Baseball Cards; Flawed, Scarce...& Enamored by Collectors

 

  

                       

Hi Folks,
   Today, we are going to take a fun ride together back to 1975, no bell-bottoms or disco ball required! To that, I promise!

   What started out as a test across a few states, grew into a cult-like following, with popularity among investors that has spiked of late.

   It was literally a carbon copy of the main set, but the cards were approximately 20% the size of the mother/base set.
 
   What cards am talking about? The 1975 Topps Mini Baseball Card Set, of course!!

   Some notable cards stand out on the lips of any baseball card collector when they hear the words "1975 Topps Mini" uttered, and their thoughts sway to the mini George Brett and Robin Yount Rookie Cards. That's followed with a chaser of Jim Rice, Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez, and the Hank Aaron cards that start and end the set, in light of his major Home Run milestone accomplishment of passing Babe Ruth on the All-Time Home Run Leaders list in 1974.

   These scarce cards are tough finds to begin with, and even more-so in mint condition, because, similar to the 1971 Topps solid Black border that chipped and showed cardboard easily, the rainbow of colors that form the borders of the 1975 Topps Minis suffer the same existence. Add to that some bad color mixes and smudging, and also, the imprecise sheet-cutting of the time (making for off-center and diamond-cut cards), and you have a tough find if you are looking for Gem Mint Cards.

   Talk about a test run...you would think Topps would have been more careful, but a lot of these cards left the factory disheveled, in terms of cut and other factory flaws usually weeded out via the old "Inspector #5" method. I believe there was a certain color combination that was more likely to have issues, such as size, but I was not sure of which combo. I believe it was one of the combos with Yellow in it. If you know, please chime in with your comments below.

   One example, per PSACard.com, is the #647 card of Claudell Washington, which at the time they wrote their article, only one PSA 9 was found, and no PSA 10's. Another card is the #16 card of Frank Tanana, of which there are just two in PSA 9 or better. We have an amazing Tanana card, ungraded, and we have made that card available on CardboardandCoins.com

   Some other cards, per PSA, that have been scant in the high-level grades are the George Brett Rookie Card (#228), and also the last card, Hank Aaron (#660), the latter of which shows up often as diamond cut.

   Prices run somewhat higher than the standard size cards from 1975, yet, there are a few players that flip flop between being more expensive as a mini and more expensive as a base set card.

   Overall, there is an inverse relationship, because as more folks are investing in these, the scarcity increases.

   On a personal level, I love the 1975 Topps Minis, and they are truly an Epic part of the baseball card collecting landscape. Within a few more years, I am positive that these cards will be viewed in the category of "Elite" cards, in the company of the 1952 Topps Set and other such pillars of our hobby. Mini cards are issued each year now, but the imitations always pale in comparison to the real father of Minis, the 1975 Topps Mini cards.

   Per PSA's price guide, you can notice some of the more expensive commons, and we have listed a few NM & close to NM rare cards for your review, including:

#16 Frank Tanana (Rookie Card) 

#246 St. Louis Cardinals Team Card with Red Schoendienst (Deceased)

#253 Jesus Alou

#306 1974 Batting Leaders (Carew/Garr)

#545 Billy Williams, a HOF'er


What are your thoughts on the 1975 Topps Mini set?

REMEMBER: 20% Off + FREE SHIPPING (Use code 20LESS at checkout) 

Have a great weekend, enjoy, and be safe!!

Many thanks and Regards,
Rob Eisenstein and your friends at CardboardandCoins.com

CardboardandCoins.com - From Baseball Cards
to Wheat Cents, and everything in-between.
* * * * * * * * * * *
FREE U.S. Shipping Always
NO Minimum Order Size
www.CardboardandCoins.com


TAGS: #Topps #Mini #BaseballCard #1975 #Set #Brett #Yount #Carter #Hernandez #Rice #Aaron #Ruth #HomeRun #1971 #off-center #diamondcut #PSA #graded #factory #ClaudellWashington #FrankTanana #collecting #1952 #Cardinals #Schoendienst #Alou #Batting #Carew #BillyWilliams