That twice yearly time is upon me/us once again as Beckett was back in town this weekend for a Raw Card Review event which I always attend as there are discounts that you only see at these. This time though there was more to be had as my friends from the Twitter and Blogosphere Derek and Frankie had me submit cards on their behalf which dropped the costs for all of us. Win win for everyone. I wish them great luck on having many great returns on their cards as I am sure they hope the same for me.
With their involvement in this batch I myself am submitting my biggest amount of cards yet to take advantage of the discount. I sold a couple of cards and a batch of paperbacks on eBay to cover the costs which makes any and all gem mint returns all the sweeter. Usually at these events I submit some cards for review and if I like their results then I submit them for slabbing but instead of "paying" twice I decided I am going to just send them all in for full grading and crossed my fingers. Of course with that mentality I KNOW there will be some results I won't like per se as there will be mint 9's which normally I wouldn't even bother sending in the first place but I can't resist not using the discount factor. I "might" be using the review portion of their event to see if I can get some bumps on some already graded cards and if I do I will do a separate post on that. (edit: see yesterday's post)
Well let's get to the cards. Like usual I will predict what grades they will receive from "worst" to best with thoughts on why that is my thinking for that particular card. Knocking on wood for great results.
2013 Topps Five Star Ernie Banks Autograph /50
No way no how. That is the chance that this card has in earning a gem mint 9.5 from BGS. 30/70 is the chance in my opinion that it comes back as a 9 as I am looking at a possible 8.5 from Beckett with this great looking Banks card but maybe the hobby Gods will be on my side and give me a 9 which I will be more than happy to receive. This was going to be a raw review card but it got bumped into the full submission stack once the volume got higher and higher. There are two corners that have issues and I am hoping that they are minor enough that they can earn an 8.5 so the card can achieve an overall 9 but there is a possibility they earn an 8 which I am hoping I am wrong.
2014 Allen Ginter Yasiel Puig Mini Metal /10?
Here is another card that could go either way and one that was going to go the raw review route first before I changed my mind. Metal cards have a history of having surface issues which obviously affect grades from BGS and since I haven't seen any of these Ginter cards in person other than this one I have none to reference when it comes to the surface. I think there is nothing wrong with it nor anything else on the card for that matter but I am not going to hold my breath. I think it could and should be a gem mint card but at the same time BGS can come back and say no and slap an 8.5 on it. Well here's hoping for the former and not the latter.
2014 Topps Five Star Miguel Cabrera Autograph /50
Miguel here was another one of the cards I was going to do a raw review and if it came back as a 9 or God forbid a 8.5 I would not submit it for full slabbing but the massive discount the group is getting I decided to send it in for a full slabbing treatment. The issue I know that this card will have are the corners. As most Five Star cards are subject to that this one has not the sharpest corners. As long as they come back with a 8.5 on that sub grade I am confident everything else will grade out to at least a 9 if not 9.5 for an overall 9 return, If the corners come back as an 8 then I will be irritated and probably will crack it open and try again with another Cabrera card.
2013 Topps Five Star Bryce Harper Autograph /25
I'm hoping with Frankie being in this group submission that his presence will give me good luck on this card but I am not holding my breath. I acquired this from Frankie awhile back with every intention to send it to BGS for grading and once in hand it looks great to me except for one corner. Always the problem with Topps Five Star. Just like the Cabrera if it can hold to a 9 I think everything else will come out to a 9.5 for an overall 9.5 but at the very worst I will getting a mint 9 card back from BGS of this likely 2015 NL MVP.
2012 Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw / Matt Kemp / Dee Gordon Autograph /18
Yet another card that was going to go the raw review route till the discounts kept piling up. As many of you know I despise sticker autographs and the only reason I acquired this one was that I made a trade when Joc was hot and my rationale was that even though it's a sticker it's still a Kershaw autograph which trumps a Joc autograph any day of the week. The other reason that I was not going to do a full submission is that Clayton's autograph comes ever so close to the bottom of the sticker and if BGS deems it does then they will knock it down to a 9 instead of the desired 10. Also one of the corners is slightly frayed. So while I would love a 9.5 on this card if I was to get a 9 overall with a 10 autograph I would be content. Please surprise me Beckett and give me a gem mint.
2013 Topps Musem Hanley Ramirez / Adrian Gonzalez Autograph /15
The return grade on this one will be surprise to me in some way as I have no idea since past returns on Topps Museum have not been kind to me. I have submitted a dual autograph in the past and came back a 9 when I thought it would get a 9.5. I submitted a Kershaw autograph expecting a 9 but it came back an 8.5. So while I see nothing wrong with this card as centering and surface looks good. Corners while not pointy sharp are still pretty good in my opinion. Almost any other card I would "expect" a 9.5 back but if it comes back a 9 I will be more than happy to take it. Considering I paid nothing for it all this is gravy anyways.
1999 SP Adrian Beltre Autograph
I am actually submitting two copies of this Beltre card as I picked one up on trade (actually my card being reacquired) and one from eBay when I was void of Beltre autographs. This is the oldest (16 years) card I have ever submitted and while they both look exactly the same condition wise I don't know what years of being passed around does for my chances to have at least one of these if not both come back as gem mints. At the very least I think they come back as strong mint 9's.
2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager X-Fractor
These next two are place holders for my collection and normally I wouldn't be sending either in to get slabbed but considering the amount of cards going it is too good a deal not to. I am getting ever so close to completing my rainbow project for Corey and I want all of them to be at least in certified mint condition. I know this card has no chance at gem mint as the centering is off enough that it will probably earn an 8.5 but even with that I believe the overall will still be a mint 9. I will gladly put that into my collection till I get my hands on a gem mint at some point down the road.
2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Refractor
Just like the X-Fractor of this card I am only getting this slabbed due to discount on this batch. I also believe that do to the centering that this card will also earn an overall grade of a mint 9 just like its X-Fractor brother. And just like that one this one is a place holder till I get my hands on a gem mint copy at some point down the road.
2013 Topps Tribute Buster Posey Autograph /25
This is another border line card in my mind on whether it will receive a 9 or a 9.5. The autograph is crisp so I see no issue there but where I have pause on it earning a gem mint grade is the top left hand corner is slightly frayed. With the naked eye you can't see anything but under the loop you can see the "damage". My belief is if the corners hold to a sub grade of 9 then it earns a gem mint overall grade as I see nothing else wrong with the card.
2015 Allen Ginter Clayton Kershaw Mini Flag Back /25
Allen Ginter has always been boon or bust for me so I always submit them with a grain of salt and with this batch that means I have a lot of salt to send as I have plenty of Ginters. As per the norm nowadays I want all my limited/numbered Kershaws to be graded and slabbed and I believe this has a good chance for a gem mint return. Everything looks great except that on the lower right hand corner there is a slight speck that I don't know if it belongs there or not. We shall see but hopefully at worst surface comes back as a 9 and everything else is a 9.5.
2014 Allen Ginter EXT Mini
Another Ginter, another Kershaw and another expected return of the bare minimum of mint 9 but if push came to shove I would say this is border line gem mint. I see nothing wrong with surfaces and edges so they should earn 9.5's but the corners and centering might just be a tad off on both that they both earn a 9 which would make it an overall 9. Hoping one if not both can garner a 9.5 so I can have another gem mint mini Kershaw in my collection.
2015 Allen Ginter Mike Trout Mini Red Border /40
Another Ginter but one that I hope just a little higher hope that it will grade to gem mint compared to the flag back Kershaw. The only issue I see that might arise is that it is not perfectly centered but its not too bad. Corners look good and surface seems fine other than the fact that there seems to be some blotches but I have seen that on a lot of these so I'm thinking it's part of the process. Here's hoping I am right.
2015 Allen Ginter Clayton Kershaw Mini Red Border /40
Just like the Trout I see nothing wrong with this Kershaw red border mini and I am looking to score yet another gem mint limited Kershaw for my collection. Corners even look better on this one that they do on Trout but I still believe they should both earn 9.5's but at the very worst it should be a strong mint 9 but to be honest if it does receive that I will be disappointed. Don't disappoint me BGS.
2013 Allen Ginter Sandy Koufax EXT Mini
My one and only Koufax of the batch as I still don't have a lot of the man in my collection but the ones I do have are all limited in some way or another. This is the EXT mini parallel that could only be found in rip cards and I picked this up in a trade that was in my favor or at least I believe it was. As now just like then I believe this is a solid candidate for gem mint status as everything seems to check out. Corners are sharp, no surface issues and centering looks spot on. Hoping and semi expecting another gold banner here.
2014 Bowman Draft Alex Verdugo Silver Wave /25
First of two Verdugos in this batch and even though I rank this lower on the list of earning a gem mint return I still think it has a very good chance of doing just that. Everything looks good from my point of view on this rainbow card and hoping to keep the streak alive on Verdugo graded cards in my collection as all of them are gem mint as of now. Come on BGS, no silver banner here please.
2013 Bowman Chrome Corey Seager Gold Refractor /50
When I first acquired this card I thought it had a great chance to earn a 9.5 grade and once I took it out of it's plastic holder to clean up the surface (dust, fingerprints, etc) I still come away with the thinking. The card might be ever so slightly off centered but not enough to knock it down. Corners are crisp so I hope to add yet another gem mint card to my Seager rainbow project.
2014 Bowman Chrome Clatyon Kershaw Bubbles Refractor /99
Bubbles, bubbles, give me more bubbles. This is basically a throw in for the batch. Having it come back as a gem mint (as expected) doesn't really add any resale value to the card other than to hardcore Kershaw collectors but since it is numbered and limited why not have another gold banner of Kershaw to file away? This is not the prettiest of cards but I still want it slabbed and this is the perfect time to do just that.
2015 Bowman Chrome Alex Verdugo Twitter Refractor /10
Going back to back on these Twitter parallels Alex here gets the 2nd spot (edit: I took out the other one as I sold it for a premium that I couldn't pass up) as he is further out from the big leagues but he did quite well in Rancho Cucamonga so he might make it sooner than I and others think. Condition wise this cards looks to be in fine form and say there is more than a 50/50 chance that it earns a 9.5. Only the centering on the front gives me a little concern but everything else should prop it up.
2015 Topps Heritage Yasiel Puig Black Refractor /66
The first of two black refractors from this year's Topps Heritage brand. Though this one is ever so slightly better centered than the other the reason Puig is up first is because the other one is Trout. Puig is good (when healthy) but Trout is great and even when hurt is still better than Puig when healthy. That said I still think Puig can and will have a very good career and I believe this is a gem mint card ready to happen and would love a gold banner atop Puig's smiling face.
2015 Topps Heritage Mike Trout Black Refractor /66
Another Trout card for the submission and one of the ones that I think has a better than not chance earning a gem mint grade. I picked this up "basically" for free and would love to turn it into yet another gold banner Trout card for my collection. Being numbered out of only 66 and highly sought after makes this the only real chance I have at that grade as I won't be looking to replace it if it comes back with a mint 9. With that said I don't really see an issue other than it's not 50/50 on the front but in my opinion not bad enough to knock down the overall grade.
2015 Topps Chrome Mike Trout Photo Variation
The Trouts keep on coming for this batch and after 3 years of tracking down a photo variation of Mr. AL MVP I have high hopes that it will come back as a gem mint beauty. Chrome is usually good to me in these submission but the last one I had a 2014 Chrome of Mike and it came back as a disappointing mint 9. The only thing I see that could possibly give this card a problem is that one of the corners is not the sharpest but you can only see that under a loop so we shall see what Beckett thinks.
2015 Topps Series 1 Yasiel Puig Framed /20
Thee Puigs in this batch and two happen to be metal based. Go figure. Unlike the Ginter mini though I am confident that this one will come back as a 9.5. I hope the combination of my past history with Puig and these metal framed cards will translate into yet another gold banner card. Puig is low in the hobby right now but if and when he comes roaring back this is a nice little card to flip for something I really want and if it's a 9.5 I might be able to get something really nice. We shall see.
2015 Topps Series 1 Mike Trout Framed /20
Same as the Puig before this one. I believe all of these framed (metal) cards from Topps should come back from BGS with 9.5's but I have seen (not my cards) that is not the case as. Edges and corners are metal and are "sharp" and clean with the surfaced cleaned up with a tissue. I hope to par this with my other gem mint Trout from Series 1.
2015 Gypsy Queen Clayton Kershaw Mini Frame Autograph /25
Oh yeah. Time again for another potential gem mint Kershaw autograph to be added to the collection. This card really becomes a deal if/when it comes back with a gold banner as the original "purchase" was a steal and once it made to my grubby little hands I could see no flaws but from past history mini frames at times have cause me problems. The autograph is perfectly centered as well as the card itself and I don't see anything else to worry myself over but I am still crossing my fingers.
2015 Allen Ginter Clayton Kershaw EXT
We come to the last Clayton of the batch and the one that I am most confident will return to me in gem mint form and I think it actually has an outside chance of a pristine 10. If it does come back that way it would be the second card that came from Asia that received a 10 and to me that is amazing considering it being handled by multiple people and going through customs, etc. I see nothing wrong with this card and anything less than a gold banner would be a major disappointment.
2014 Topps Tribute Pedro Martinez Autograph /99
Here is a card that falls under the "I'm pretty damn sure it should be graded gem mint" category. I first thought there was a surface issue but after some research I found out all of these Tribute cards have this attribute so no worries there. Corners are a non issue as there are no corners that need to be sharp as they are rounded. Autograph is perfect so I am hoping/expecting that my one and only Pedro autograph will come back with a gold banner.
2015 Topps Series 2 Clayton Kershaw Framed MVP /20
Is it wrong for me to expect a pristine return? Well if it is I then say I expect a solid gem mint then as I see nothing wrong with this card. With the Trout framed card there is the smallest of surface issue that I saw but with this Kershaw one I see absolutely nothing. Half way expect a pristine but will be happy with a 9.5 to par with my other Kershaw framed cards.
2013 Allen Ginter Josh Hamilton Mini Frame Autograph Red /10
Normally I would never put an Allen Ginter card this close to the top of the stack on an expected gem mint return from BGS BUT since I actually owned this card once before and submitted to Beckett and it came back from them with a 9.5 I am expecting it once again. Yes, this is the same card I submitted once before but I traded it and that person cracked it open but kept it in its sleeve so it was never handled so I am expecting another 9.5. To say I would be disappointed if it didn't come back with that would be an understatement.
2015 Topps Series 2 Clayton Kershaw CY Young /20
Yeah... I'm just gonna copy and paste here from the previous Kershaw card :
Is it wrong for me to expect a pristine return? Well if it is I then say I expect a solid gem mint then as I see nothing wrong with this card. With the Trout framed card there is the smallest of surface issue that I saw but with this Kershaw one I see absolutely nothing. Half way expect a pristine but will be happy with a 9.5 to par with my other Kershaw framed cards.
Different card same mentality. The only reason this one gets a higher rung on the ladder to greatness is I like this picture better.
=)
And there we go. The biggest batch I have ever sent in for grading. Bigger batch means more of a chance of less than 9.5's but at least this time I am expecting that result on some of the cards so I won't be overly disappointed. when I see those silver banners unless it is on a card I expected a gold one though.
I always say that I am close to being done with submitting cards to Beckett but 6 months in between these events is a lot of time to pick up more to grade. With that said if Topps fulfills my redemptions by the next time BGS rolls into town I can already ear mark another 4 for grading. So I guess I will be back here in March talking about my next batch. Ha Ha.
Thank you for reading and have a blessed day.
-Penguin
