[jonathani]

Just collect players and teams you like and avoid the public blitzkreig.

Bingo.

[rjcj2017]

How much is his relatively old age (rookie season at 25) going to impact the values of his cards? Players like Trout and Harper got started pretty much half a decade earlier than Judge, and we still dont know how much higher their cards can go.

It depends ... if he keeps playing the way he is and wins the Triple Crown, I'm pretty sure no rookie has ever done that, right?

So obviously there would be value there.

Also, if he won Rookie of the Year, you can only win that once (obviously), so he would be "tied" with Harper and Trout.

And if he wins MVP, he'll be tied with Harper at one apiece (unless Harper wins it this year), and they were born about six months apart.

If Judge wins AL MVP , he would be one behind Trout, but Trout will be 26 in August, so technically he's a year "ahead" of Judge in that sense.

So say Judge wins back to back MVPs this year and next ... he will have matched Trout (and surpassed Harper) by the end of 2018.

For comparison, Kris Bryant is almost four months older than Judge, about nine months older than Harper and about five months younger than Trout.

He has a ROY and MVP award to his credit, both of which Judge could win this year.

And the Yankees could conceivably win the World Series this year, so if that happened, Judge would be right there with Bryant at a younger age and would have one more ring than Trout or Harper.

But that's a lot of "ifs" ... and doesn't count career stats.

Plus, Trout and Harper did not go to college (other than Harper's one year at JC before the draft), so they had a head start playing pro ball.

But all four of those guys are playing basically the same caliber ball at the same time at the same age, so I just try to enjoy it for what it is for as long as it lasts.

[Nintari]

Just wondering how many are joining the "All Rise" craze? He is a beast at the plate! A.L ROY no doubt, Possibly A.L MVP. His cards are selling at crazy amounts right now. With Him being on my favorite team, of course I am trying to get as many of His RC as I can. I am curious as to what the Beckett community has to say.

Back in the day, I was in the BicMac, Bonds and Sosa craze. I learned my lesson on that whole thing. I would tell collectors to be very careful on Judge. I don't want to sound like one of those guys but, fool me once etc.

I'm certainly not investing my money in his cards.

[DrMitchJ]

I'm certainly not investing my money in his cards.

Good choice! Baseball Cards are NOT a sound investment strategy. Better off as a Hobby, If a card you collect gets hot, sell it, keep it ... either way, have fun with it.

---

It depends ... if he keeps playing the way he is and wins the Triple Crown, I'm pretty sure no rookie has ever done that, right?
So obviously there would be value there.
Also, if he won Rookie of the Year, you can only win that once (obviously), so he would be "tied" with Harper and Trout.
And if he wins MVP, he'll be tied with Harper at one apiece (unless Harper wins it this year), and they were born about six months apart.
If Judge wins AL MVP , he would be one behind Trout, but Trout will be 26 in August, so technically he's a year "ahead" of Judge in that sense.
So say Judge wins back to back MVPs this year and next ... he will have matched Trout (and surpassed Harper) by the end of 2018.
For comparison, Kris Bryant is almost four months older than Judge, about nine months older than Harper and about five months younger than Trout.
He has a ROY and MVP award to his credit, both of which Judge could win this year.
And the Yankees could conceivably win the World Series this year, so if that happened, Judge would be right there with Bryant at a younger age and would have one more ring than Trout or Harper.
But that's a lot of "ifs" ... and doesn't count career stats.
Plus, Trout and Harper did not go to college (other than Harper's one year at JC before the draft), so they had a head start playing pro ball.
But all four of those guys are playing basically the same caliber ball at the same time at the same age, so I just try to enjoy it for what it is for as long as it lasts.

Great points, RJ!
Furthermore, if Judge continues hitting HRs at this pace (or less), and if he averages 40-50 HRs per year, and if he stays healthy with no major injuries, he'll be hitting 600+ HRs by the time he's 37 and will be a guarenteed HOF inductee. Sure, thats a lot more 'ifs' to add to yours but not every Hall worthy player needs a 20 year career... And that's why it's so hard to predict the future of a player. The road to the HOF is lined with discarded ROY players once filled with hopes and dreams and a lot of unfulfilled 'ifs' along the way.

[rjcj2017]

Good choice! Baseball Cards are NOT a sound investment strategy. Better off as a Hobby, If a card you collect gets hot, sell it, keep it ... either way, have fun with it.

---

Great points, RJ!
Furthermore, if Judge continues hitting HRs at this pace (or less), and if he averages 40-50 HRs per year, and if he stays healthy with no major injuries, he'll be hitting 600+ HRs by the time he's 37 and will be a guarenteed HOF inductee. Sure, thats a lot more 'ifs' to add to yours but not every Hall worthy player needs a 20 year career... And that's why it's so hard to predict the future of a player. The road to the HOF is lined with discarded ROY players once filled with hopes and dreams and a lot of unfulfilled 'ifs' along the way.

It's going to be fun to see what happens.

Not being a Yankee fan specifically, I was astonished to learn that the previous team rookie record was 28.

You would have thought that with Gehrig, Mantle, DiMaggio, etc., starting their careers as Yankees, that record would have been in the 30s or 40s.

I'm pretty sure he'll break McGwire's MLB rookie record of 49, which would mean ... wait for it ... 50 homers!

Crazy!

[wpro11]

Only "in" on the craze as far as it being really cool to pull one of his cards from my own breaks.

[hempick]

I, unfortunately, am also a Yankee fan. Haven't gotten any of his cards yet. I'm waiting until after the season and hoping that they cool off a bit in price.

[pjrussell529]

Not actively collecting him but holding anything I have or pull however I did buy his Heritage action RC when it came out to complete the set($12 haha).

Being a Yankee will keep his value high as long as he is productive and consistently good. He doesn't have to be as great as he is this year but pretty good. He's already a huge fan favorite and seems to be a good kid. He would have to really stink up the place next year to see his value drop.

As far as long term and his age, Puckett got in the HOF with 12 seasons so longevity is not a prerequisite Although his size could cause some problems. I heard he's the largest guy to ever play with combination of height and weight.

Personally even as a Red Sox fan I like Sanchez better and keep a small PC of him(yes I PC some Yankees...don't judge me) Plus I would rather see Stanton bat than Judge but that's just me.