The $10,000 Question

Here's what I've been thinking about these last few weeks...

A reader sent me an e-mail last week looking for advice. He wanted to spend about $10,000 but only purchase four or five cards. Here were the other parameters: At least one of them should be a T206, all should be from earlier than 1970, and all should have solid PSA grades. Which should he buy? I told him he couldn't go wrong with popular hobby stalwarts like Clemente, Koufax, Aaron, and Rose. As for the tobacco card, I have no experience buying or selling T206's, and couldn't give him a recommendation. But this got me thinking: What cards would I have chosen for myself? Buying cards as investments goes against my outlook and reasons for collecting, but it would be nice to have that kind of dough to play with. Which cards would you choose?...

...I've been searching for a new set to collect. I thought 2015 Allen & Ginter would be that set, but right now the price tag is steep. I might have to wait a year for things to settle. One set I've always enjoyed is the Archives line from 2001 and 2002. I had dipped into it as part of the mega master sets I've put together for 1976, 1978, 1986, 1987, and 1988 Topps, but never for its own sake as a set. A few weeks ago I purchased a group from 2001 series one and I'm digging it. This may be my new set. That said, there are a few players who seem to be missing, or maybe I've just overlooked them? Guys like <b>Jeff Burroughs, Dave Stewart, Charlie Hough</b>, and <b>Manny Trillo</b>. Burroughs was the 1974 AL MVP, Stewart won 20 games in four straight seasons, Hough was a knuckleball workhorse, and Trillo was one of the best second basemen of his generation. Additionally, all four had retired before 2001, and each had a rookie and last card issued by Topps. Granted, none was elected to the Hall of Fame, but neither was <b>Wilbur Wood, Jim Maloney, Johnny Antonelli</b>, or <b>Bucky Dent</b>, and all four of them are in Archives. Maybe I'll do some custom Archives...

...There are two questions I think about when I'm falling asleep: 1) If we projected today's salaries on players from the past, who would've been paid what? For example, someone like Bobby Shantz. Would he have been a max-contract guy? And 2), are there any players today who will make the Hall of Fame? Besides Alex Rodriguez's steroid-fueled sideshow, I can identify 10 players who are legitimate Hall of Famers: <b>Miguel Cabrera, Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Ichiro, CC Sabathia, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina,</b> and <b>Mike Trout</b>. But which of these players will be remembered by Hall of Fame voters in 10 to 20 years when they're up for election?

You may scoff at the insinuation that an otherworldly talent like Albert Pujols would be forgotten in 10 years, but look at the example of <b>Duke Snider</b>. The Duke of Flatbush was elected in his 11th year on the Hall of Fame ballot, which means he had been retired for 17 years before election. Or how about someone like <b>Jim Bunning</b>? Over 200 wins, author of a perfect game (as well as another no-hitter), All-Star in each league. Seems like a shoo-in for the Hall. Instead he was on the ballot for 15 years, always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Twenty-five years after he retired he was elected by the Veterans Committee. A situation like that seems unthinkable today, but could it be possible for someone like Sabathia, or even <b>Roy Halladay</b>? It seems today that if a player's not elected on the first ballot, then they're not true Hall of Famers. I hope someone like <b>Graham Womack</b> will tackle this question...

...I feel like a dolt. A few weeks ago I purchased a large stack of exclusive Target Topps coupons on eBay for a couple bucks. Now my local Target has stopped carrying Topps products. Not sure what to do with these coupons...