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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#ScottKingery #Philadelphia #Phillies #Prospect #Rookie #MLB #MikeTrout #KenGriffeyJr #Reading #Philadelphia #AaronJudge #Conforto #Mets

A Message; Collectors of Baseball Cards, Pokémon Cards, Coins & Comics

Hi Folks,
   The Holiday season is right upon us, and I hope you've been enjoying yourselves, or at the very minimum, coping well with the crowds on the roads and in the malls.

   This is a special message for each collector of Baseball Cards/Sports Cards, Pokémon Cards, Coins, and Comic Books.

   To our friends who collect Baseball Cards and Sports Cards, hello my people! May your 2017 be bright, may the paint on your cards be glossy and shiny. May your Chrome cards be void of finger-prints. May all 4 of your corners be sharp, May 2017 be centered, with solid borders all around. May all of your grades contain the word "Mint". Just "Mint", with perhaps a Gem included, as well. May you stock up on the right prospect rookie card, but most of all, may your year be full of Joy!

   To the Pokémon Card collecting segment of our customers, who adore those glistening Ex Cards. I hope 2017 brings you nothing but Rare and Uncommon success, possibly even Ultra Rare. May your booster packs bring you many a Charizard, and may your decks be full of Secret Rares! Most importantly, I wish you a 2017 filled with Happiness!

  Are you one of our Coin collecting customers? Then I hope 2017 brings you pockets full of wonders, with shiny new undiscovered errors, and silver Washington Quarters. May the joy of Doubled-die errors fill your collection, and may you come across a 1914-d Lincoln Wheat Cent and a 1922 with truly no "d"! May you continue your numismatic ventures in 2017, and may it always bring a smile to your face.

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   We love all of our customers and we thank you for making 2016 special. I am glad to hear from many of you regarding the quality of the items you received, and we aim to top that (somehow!) in 2017. I've said it before and I'll say it again; when you are visiting CardboardandCoins.com, we welcome you to relax and just be yourself. You're family, and you're always at home with Cardboard and Coins.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year 2017 to all of you!
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The Worst Advice About Baseball Cards I've Ever Received

Hi Friends and Fellow Collectors,

   They say it's good to dwell on the positive things in life, but sometimes, it's healthy to hop over to the dark-side for a bit and reflect on some of the wacky (but with good intentions) advice I've received over the years regarding baseball cards, from buying, collecting, investing, and selling. I'll share some of these events chronologically so you can appreciate the time and setting in which I was the recipient of these tidbits of advice.

   Well, about 30 years ago, my aunt and uncle used to come over to my house a couple of times per week, and they brought up the idea that I was spending too much time organizing my cards, building sets and preparing for and selling at card shows. They started hinting about how it might be best for me to start tapering down my collecting habit, since it might be hindering my schoolwork, and really, where was I going in life by collecting and selling baseball cards? Why was that bad advice? What a 15-year old should not do is talk back, so I decided to keep on with the cards, since I was carrying a 90 average and I always finished my schoolwork before working on my cards. Yakkity Yak, don't talk back! So, the breaking news on that advice they gave me is that the college degree looks great on the wall and I am proud of it, but that baseball card "habit" of mine has been working out pretty darn good. It's slightly evident to them and I make sure to slip a baseball card in their birthday cards and their anniversary card every single year. You see that? Baseball cards do bring smiles!

   During the years of 1986-1991, an era that some folks in the business refer to as the over-production or "junk" years, I had conflicting advice from some fellow collectors. I was warned by some as if I was to avoid the bubonic plague to not throw a single penny into cards until the printing press slowed down. Of course, I did not heed that advice. Good thing, because if you do a quick eBay search for 1987 Topps Baseball cards and select only "sold items" and eliminate Tiffany cards from the search, you will see some pretty high selling prices for cards that folks wanted to wallpaper their homes with. That is selling prices as both graded and ungraded. I'm stocked to teeth and now the waiting and patience is starting to have a value attached to it. Listen to your little voice inside.

   During that same time, I did take bad advice two times, and paid the price for it. The first time, I was advised by two collectors who followed the Minor Leagues very closely via publications that they ordered in those pre-Internet Stone Age times. They told me to put everything behind the 1988 Topps Mike Campbell cards. There was one bulk vendor, and I bought $100 worth, a lot of money for a 16 year old in 1988 dollars. Needless to say, Campbell flopped and I phased out those two woodpeckers from my circle!

   The second time, I had my eyes on a promising rookie coming up through the Yankees organization, by the name of Derek Jeter. I had as much info as I could find by making calls, but I needed to get in touch with actual die-hard followers of the Yankees, since I am a die-hard follower of the Met's only! I made contact with a friend of a friend, and this fella was like a book of everything Yankees. I quizzed him on the most obscure stuff I could find at the Library (do those still exist?). He knew his stuff cold, and knew all of the upcoming prospects. Bingo! I was now 21 and had a little bit more money to play with, and I was going to plunk down $750 as an investment. He was so dead-set against Jeter, saying he was injury prone, and was going to choke when he hit the Majors, and he set out some really reasonable arguments against Jeter. He seemed valid and I took his advice. Fast forward all of these years, and I am still quite upset with myself for that bad advice, because I was going to be spreading my purchases across the Rookie Cards of Jeter from all of the main card companies, and I had a guy who had 25 of the SP Jeter cards. Yes, 25, and they were going at $8 per card (slightly jacked up New York City pricing). Oddly, I lost Mr. Yankee Advice's phone number. It's still a mystery today as to how I could have lost it .

   So, as you can see, I dodged some bullets, but got caught between the eyes with some others. I remember a friend in the business warning me not long ago about mixing in (selling) Pokemon Cards and Coins, in addition to the cards. He failed to realize that many folks collect a couple or all of these items simultaneously, and if you can be the person helping them get everything they need in one shot, they'll come back again and send their friends, as well.

   Overall, as I said in the beginning, all of this advice was done with good intentions, but still, that was just some of the worst advice I've ever received about baseball cards.

   Ummm....anybody want to buy some 1988 Topps Mike Campbell Rookies?
Many thanks and Regards,
Your friends at CardboardandCoins.com

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