Baseball

High-End Aaron Judge Rookie Cards May Hang on 2021 Wild Card Game

Sports collectors have seen some serious ups and downs in baseball cards and other sports cards in 2021. Now the so-called modern sports collectibles investors are going to get a historic match-up between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to kick off the playoffs. Those sports investors are likely going to focus one key metric, and it’s the metric that all sports investors seem to lobe – Home Runs!!!

After looking up the stats between the two teams, it almost seemed a bit odd that none of the starters had a .300 batting average on either team. What both teams do have lots of are home runs. Oh wait a minute, that’s what what many sports card collectors and sports card investors care about.

The Boston Red Sox (do we need to even say the teams’ cities?) will host the Yankees and this is a winner take all game. As of last look, an ankle injury for J.D. Martinez will keep him out of the game according to ESPN – and he was third place on the home run count (28) behind Hunter Renfroe (31) and Rafael Devers (38). Devers is the youngest of the starters at age 24.

On the other hand, the Yankees have Aaron Judge (age 29) with 39 dingers and Giancarlo Stanton (age 31) with 35 home runs. Gleyber Torres is the youngest starter for the Yankees, and he has just 10 homers and a .259 batting average. Gerrit Cole is set to pitch for the Yankees against Nathan Eovaldi for the Red Sox.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. If there are rookie cards selling for tens of thousands of dollars, this is money that just as easily could have been invested in stocks or bonds. And that puts the high-end recent sales of Aaron Judge under the microscope. His sales are just handily higher than rookie card sales of Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole.

There is also one thing sports card investors need to know. it can be dangerous chasing all the hot rookie cards, even if they win Rookie of the Year.

CBSSports pointed out that Cole has struggled in recent starts by giving up 15 earned runs in his last 3 starts. And while Boston won the first 7 games of their regular season games, the Yankees have won 9 of the last 12 games. And for that 9 of the last 12 games, it was actually the last 6 games in a row and CBS noted that the Yankees scored 31 runs versus just 14 combined runs for the Red Sox.

NBCSports said the Sox and Yankees tale of the tape couldn’t be more even. That said, NBC’s call is that Boston’s deeper batting roster will win the day to take the team to Tampa later this week to kick off the real 2021 playoffs.

Aaron Judge has seen several higher profile sales in the two months or so, but eBay’s “or Best Offer” makes some of the sales harder to judge. Below are some of these top sales from auctions.

On September 22, a 2013 Bowman Chrome Orange Refractor Aaron Judge rookie AUTO 8/25 graded BGS 10 (just .5 away from the black label) sold for $19,299.99 after 55 bids.

Prior to that, a 2013 Bowman Chrome Aaron Judge Autograph Gold Refractor /50 graded 9.5/10 by BGS sold on July 15, 2021 for $7,200.00 after 37 bids. An example of the same card with the same grade (but different BGS serial number) sold for $6,855.55 after 7 bids on September 19, 2021.

And more recently, on October 3, 2021, a 2013 Bowman Chrome Aaron Judge Auto True Black Refractor /35 graded BGS 9.5/10 sold for $3,250.00 after 21 bids.

A 2013 Bowman Chrome Refractor Aaron Judge RC Rookie AUTO PSA 10 sold for $2,730.00 after 44 bids on September 13, 2021.

Another variation of Judge’s graded rookie-auto sold on Sold July 28, 2021. This was the 2013 Bowman Chrome #BCA-AJ BLUE WAVE Refractor Auto graded BGS 9.5/10 for $2,550.00 after just 43 bids.

The final sale we are looking at on eBay is from August 18, 2021 and it isn’t even a rookie card. This was a 2021 Topps Now card of Aaron Judge, 651F On-Card Auto Corn Relic 1/1 Field of Dreams. This card sold for $2,324.00 after 30 bids.

There is another high-end Aaron Judge card that sold. This was the 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks #AJ Aaron Judge Superfractors Signed Rookie Card that sold for $161,130.00 in a Goldin Auctions sale. This population is just 1 of 1 and its grade was BGS GEM MINT 9.5/10. (Image below from Goldin Auctions) The Goldin Auction description included:

A caption on the card’s front declares, “Topps Certified Autograph Issue,” attesting to the authenticity of the signature and serving as Topps’ COA. The wholly unique, limited-edition piece is serial-numbered “1/1.” An incomparable memento of an outstanding young athlete, in blazing Gem Mint condition.

Giancarlo Stanton’s cards do not sell for the same premium as Aaron Judge. That almost seems odd considering his age is 31 versus 29 for Judge, and Stanton’s 347 Homers is against 158 for Judge.

Modern sports card investors seem to follow the ups and downs of the stats and wins for player interest. That has driven prices substantially higher for the payers who are crushing the ball. You know what else that means if players do not live up to expectations.

Aaron Judge 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Pick Auto