Topps Now.......Later

2016 Topps Now Jung Ho Kang

I really liked the idea of Topps Now. When I first heard about it I was excited about the possibilities. As collectors we are all up for something new that doesn't involve an ultra premium $400 type of purchase. When they announced the price of $9.99 my initial response was a little skeptical, but I held out hope. 

The Pirates actually had the first card of the set, but I didn't pull the trigger on the Francisco Liriano card. I waited for other bloggers to be the guinea pigs. I was a little upset when the reviews were lukewarm. Consensus was that for 9.99 the cards weren't really that special. No special design, serial number or card stock. It left people wanting a little more.  Add in some curious choices for the checklist and you have another failed opportunity to take advantage of a great idea. 

I pretty much told myself I was going to avoid it unless something really cool happens with the Pirates....let's just hope it is not on the same day David Ortiz hits a homerun. 

With all that being said we are already beginning to see secondary market prices fall well below the $9.99 retail price. Being the opportunist that I am I went ahead and purchased the Kang at a discounted price. I'm happy to own the card, but these are definitely not special enough for the 9.99 price tag. I think the only exceptions are cool rookie moments and obscure baseball moments. Triple plays, Bartolo Colon homeruns and perfect games are nice examples. 

Did you know that the Francisco Liriano sells for around $45 on eBay.  That is some crazy stuff.  I could buy every good Franky card for that amount. People are weird.  

Thanks for reading. 

Korean Import

2016 Topps Museum Collection Jung Ho Kang Auto Dual Relic /299

I probably made the mistake of not paying attention to Kang cards while he was out. He has been featured in enough sets now that you can find nice autos around the $20 mark. While for most players I would consider $20 on the high side, for Kang I feel like that is going to be as cheap as they get for the foreseeable future. 

When Kang debuted I was cautiously optimistic because several scouts gave favorable reviews based on what he did in spring training. It took about a month for him to get playing time, but once he did he produced. The scouts that had reservations were worried that he couldn't catch up with big league fastballs because of his extreme leg kick. He has handled them so well that he rarely sees fastballs during his at bats. 

As for this year it was nice to see Kang hit the ground running after coming back from his horrible leg injury last year. He is doing a nice job to pave the way for more and more KBL players. I'm sure the Pirates will be priced out now. 

Finally!

It feels good to sit and relax. After a whirlwind Christmas full of family gatherings things are getting back to normal. I took off work today which means I'm done until Monday! Have all kinds of fun stuff planned as one of my good friends is coming in from DC to stay with me tonight. We are going to sample a bunch of beers, hit a local brewery taphouse and watch some football.

Now to something even more exciting...

2015 Immaculate Jung-Ho Kang Auto /99

Patience finally paid off for adding a Kang auto to my collection. For the longest time his autos were outrageously priced, but he eventually signed enough cards to help bring the price to a more respectable amount. This card set me back just less than $20. 

For as long as I've collected the Pirates their really hasn't been a comparable to Kang in terms of cardboard prices. Being that Kang was the first position player to make the jump from the KBL I was expecting high prices. The thing that caught everyone by surprise was how good he turned out. This caused even more price increases. Pirate players that come up in the system generally have lulls in which card prices fall. Even stars like McCutchen and Cole had times where it was a buyers market. Kang immediately went to Pittsburgh and prices reflected that. 

It will be interesting to see how he does in his sophomore campaign. He'll have an extra challenge of returning from a broken leg and MCL tear as well. Generally speaking the second year in the league is hard on hitters as pitchers adjust and have better scouting reports to exploit weaknesses. What Kang did last year was a huge bonus for the Pirates, but expectations will be much higher this year. If he struggles that would open the opportunity to purchase more cards, but if he succeeds Kang has a chance to price himself into the stratosphere. For the sake of the Pirates I hope he prices himself out of my collection.  

Thanks for reading!