By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

A copy of Alex Rodriguez‘s 2009 World Series ring given as a gift by the slugger to his cousin, Yuri Sucart, is on the auction block through Goldin Auctions and already has topped $30,000 with more than a month remaining in the sale.

Sucart is the cousin who was linked to Rodriguez’s steroids confession. He’s selling the ring, which is one of several that Rodriguez had made for relatives, according to statement by the New York Yankees in an ESPN report.

After nine bids, the ring sits at $30,597 through the West Berlin, N.J.-based company. The 14-karat gold ring has 95 princess cut diamonds, 39 2.2 mm diamonds and 52 additional diamonds embedded into the design.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor | Commentary

In the ninth inning of last night’s Orioles-Yankees playoff game, Raul Ibanez came to the plate with the world watching.

Why? Because he was pinch-hitting for the Yankees’ $275-million man, Alex Rodriguez, with the game on the line. That’s not the conventional move — even if A-Rod isn’t hitting Justin Bieber‘s weight in the postseason.

Ibanez homered to force extra innings before he came to the plate again in the 12th and won the whole darn thing with a second home run swing. Three pitches, two home runs.

That’s something that had never happened in postseason history and was something that instantly catapulted him into postseason and Yankees lore.

But it didn’t do much for his baseball cards, particularly his Rookie Cards.

You see, Ibanez arrived on the scene in the awkward years, the tween years, of the hobby’s evolution toward what it is today.

He appears on six Rookie Cards from 1996 — none serial-numbered, none signed, none with game-used memorabilia pieces attached.

And none that typically sells for more than $5. (Need an Ibanez checklist or Online Price Guide? Click here.)

The highest completed eBay auction for Ibanez and 1996 Bowman? A total of $25 for a lot of 22 cards from 1996. A 1996 Bowman’s Best Refractor sold for $15, while a lot of five Bowman rookies — his best RC — sold for $15, or $3 apiece. That’s not to say there’s not some potential upward movement, though. One auction — for a pair of his Bowman RCs — ended at $13.50, but that probably won’t be the norm in the coming days.

Instant-gratification purchases and plenty of available Rookie Cards for a readily available player equate to something that just can’t last. Even with Yankees pinstripes on his back.

Well, unless he does it again — or the Yanks rally and win it all with him continuing to play a key role.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor | Commentary

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again — nothing is perhaps more perfectly symbolic of a home run hitter than a game-used baseball bat.

And, unlike cards, jerseys and other pieces of memorabilia, the more beaten and worn out a bat is, the more impressive it is — as long as it remains complete.

For card collectors and game-used cards, bats are not always as impressive. It’s not always a love-love relationship. But Topps is intending to change that with its upcoming Tier One release arriving later this month. While bats can yield hundreds, if not thousands, of anonymous-looking wood chips to be placed into cards, the most-special pieces of chopped up gamers are the nameplates — the spot on the barrel where the player’s name is burned into the bat — and the bat knob where a player’s perhaps most-personalized touches can be seen via numbers, initials or sayings.

In Tier One, there will be a 100-card set of 1/1 knob cards for collectors to chase, including some of the biggest names in the history of the game. It’s not an accident, said Topps Vice President Mark Sapir.

“The goal was to add special content, over-deliver value on this release,” Sapir said Tuesday night. “To create buzz and excitement in hobby, provide a special chase.”

Bat knob cards are not a common thing in the hobby today — even as game-used memorabilia cards are much more commonplace than they were even a decade ago. Today, there are just 629 total bat knob cards in the Beckett.com database. (Click here for a complete checklist and to get an OPG) Many of them are 1/1 cards that few of us ever see.

Topps previously billed this release as “one of the most significant memorabilia inserts ever offered in a product” and the company already is the runaway leader in bat knob cards made previously. There are 491 different Topps knob cards in existence, while the old Donruss/Playoff made the second-highest total with just 92. The remaining companies all have made fewer than 20 knob cards.

Among the legendary bat knobs to be inserted into Tier One will be Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and many more. Oh, and you can find new sluggers, too, such as Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Bautista, Josh Hamilton, Matt Kemp, Jay Bruce, Carlos Gonzalez and others.

It’s an impressive array — largely retired greats — and it will be a pricey one, too. In the cases of some modern sluggers the knob card might outpace the price of a complete game-used bat. (I’m expecting that as I’ll fight — and lose — to deep-pocketed Yankees fans online for what will be just the third Nick Swisher bat knob card to ever be released. It will likely surpass what I paid for even the most-expensive of my 10 or so complete game-used bats.)

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Feast on a massive gallery of the actual Tier One bat knobs below and then take our poll.

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By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor

Only two times in New York Yankees history has the team worn throwback uniforms.

The last being April 20 when the Boston Red Sox celebrated Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary. On that day, the Yankees were Boston’s opponent — so both teams wore the uniform of their 1912 franchise.

The uniforms that the Yankees players wore that day on now on sale through Steiner Sports, which has an exclusive deal with the historic baseball franchise to sell its game-used memorabilia. (Need a Yankees card checklist or OPG? Click here.)

The Yankees weren’t around back then, but the New York Highlanders were. So during the celebration for Fenway Park, New York became the Highlanders for a day and wore the basic uniforms – minus the heavy cotton of the day.

Those interested in getting one of these unique items can contact Steiner via email at jmolesso@steinersports.com.

Susan Lulgjuraj is a contributing editor for Beckett Media. You can email Susan here. Follow her on Twitter here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

McFarlane Toys is going uptown with a limited edition statue of one Bronx Bomber.

Each limited edition statue of New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter will be signed by Todd McFarlane himself when they are available for pre-order to the public beginning on April 7.

The 12-inch resin statue is the first sports figure of that type made by McFarlane, though the program started in November. It will have a pair of plaques on its base (see full image after the jump) with Jeter’s achievements during his past 17 years in pinstripes noted with the figure trimmed with a facade fitting only for a Yankee.

The pieces will all be numbered — with no more than 500 made — and will cost $225 with preorders beginning at noon Eastern time on April 7. They can only be purchased via the McFarlane Toys online store (click here). The ordering window will close at 5 p.m. Eastern on April 14 unless the statue sells out sooner. The statues will begin shipping in August and those who order them will not be charged until they are shipped.

McFarlane also is planning future releases for fellow Yankee Alex Rodriguez, Tim Lincecum, Albert Pujols, Matt Kemp and David Ortiz.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Topps has announced its sixth HTA Prime 9 card of the year, and it’s Alex Rodriguez who is the newest player to be part of its hobby shop redemption card program.

The New York Yankees third baseman is entering his 19th season in the majors and has 629 career home runs, placing him sixth on the career list. With his first home run of the year, he will tie Ken Griffey Jr. for fifth on the list.

All collectors who found a Week 6 redemption card in their 2012 Topps packs (two per hobby or HTA Jumbo box) can exchange their cards for the Chrome Refractor seen here at a participating hobby shop.

Topps will announce the remaining nine Home Run Legends each Friday.

RECAP
Week 6 — Alex Rodriguez
Week 5 — Mickey Mantle
Week 4 — Reggie Jackson
Week 3 — Hank Aaron
Week 2 — Babe Ruth
Week 1 — Willie Mays

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

This year’s edition of the hobby’s annual throwback to yesteryear, Topps Heritage, isn’t set to arrive in hobby shops until March 14, but we got our hands on an early retail box and cracked it without the cameras rolling.

We’ll hold off on any in-depth analysis of what we found until our forthcoming Box Busters episode and instead let you examine some of what we found for yourself among the colorful throwback cards in the style of 1963 Topps.

After the jump, you can find a massive 40-card preview gallery of what we found inside … and you just might notice some quirks among the cards seen here to get you guessing what Topps might have up its sleeve in this year’s set. Also be sure to take our poll (and leave a comment) to offer your first impressions.

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Click on the images below (twice) for a larger and unobstructed view.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

Topps‘ Prime 9 redemption card program returns once again for 2012 with cards for nine stars from the past and present to be found at participating hobby shops around the country.

Beginning Feb. 13, collectors can take the redemptions that they find in packs of the 2012 Topps flagship set, arriving Wednesday, and exchange them for that week’s card.

The redemptions note which week the card is good for. They can can be found two in every hobby box.

But that’s not all that can be gained out of this one. Collectors can also fill out a form on the backs of the cards for a chance to win a trip to this year’s MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby.

The nine stars include Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor

The Nicktoons MLB video game from 2K Sports arrives in stores today with a little something extra that just might create a collecting challenge for a few.

Each specially marked copy of the game comes with a pack of Topps baseball cards.

Each game includes three of nine specially produced cards featuring MLB stars in their digital form alongside a Nicktoons character.

Beckett Media’s sneak peek at the cards revealed Boston Red Sox star Adrian Gonzalez alongside Sheen Estevez, New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez alongside Aang and Los Angeles Angels pitcher Dan Haren alongside SpongeBob Squarepants.

Each card showcases the player’s strength in the game on the back and tells a bit about their adept play as well.

The game is available on the XBox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS — no word on whether the packs are collated exclusively to the platforms.

Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball magazine. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

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By Susan Lulgjuraj | Contributing Editor

After two months of talking, designing and meetings, fans have an opportunity to own clothing designed by some of baseball’s biggest stars.

Major League Baseball’s Players Choice Signature Series jerseys and T-shirts are back for a third year. This time, the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera are putting their ideas on these unique products.

In addition, players from the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants have designed apparel for the 2011 season, including Carl Crawford, Kevin Youklis, Cliff Lee, Carlos Ruiz, Tim Lincecum, Cody Ross and Matt Cain.

The pieces of clothing are interesting because you have players’ direct input going into the product. Because the players are putting their personalty on shirt, the designs are uniquely different between players.

Look at Cano’s shirt where he uses one of Yankees radio broadcaster John Sterling‘s catchphrases with the New York second baseman simply standing there. Most of the other players use action shots.

The Posada shirt is much different with a picture along the side and the player’s name on back in a trendier design.

Youkilis’ shirt has more going on than any of the other players with his nickname ‘Dirt Dog’ on the front and the player in grayscale with red thrown in on the back in celebration.

The Phillies’ Lee showed exactly what he’s into with his camouflage shirt. It’s just has his name and number on the back with a silhouette of the Liberty Bell on the front.

The only questionable shirt – taste aside – is Ruiz’s jersey. The Phillies catcher has a jersey that more resembles the New York Mets color than the Phillies. The jersey is the opposite of what the Phillies have now with blue lettering and red piping, but the blue makes it seem more like their rival’s jerseys.

Susan Lulgjuraj is a contributing editor for Beckett Media. You can email Susan here. Follow her on Twitter here.