[kerryandbeth]

It appears that certain baseball teams have settled in as the ones to beat:

Astros, Indians, Red Sox, Yankees - how many straight years will we see these same 4 teams atop the AL?

Not much surprise in the NL either - Cubs and Dodgers back again, with Braves once again rising up. At least the Brewers are a change of pace, though not a fan. And, I would expect the Cards and Giants to spend some money to get back in the mix of recent success.

So, what will collectors do, including you? Continue to scavenge for our own teams that may miss the playoffs for a few more years, or pick a player or two from the above for at least trade bait? I haven't jumped on the bandwagon but I do collect Correa, Benintendi, and Bellinger simply because they are exciting young talent with good attitudes.

[zeprock]

As a Sox fan, I love that my team is in the mix most every year. Seeing them win the World Series 3 times is something my grandfather never saw even once in his lifetime. But from a collector's point of view, although I fancy Red Sox cards I do not collect them exclusively. I collect Hall of Famers and players that I think are on track for the Hall or should've been on track but will not get there due to their own transgressions. That keeps collecting interesting for me. I don't collect players for the teams they play for, I simply collect them because they are great players.

[rjcj2017]

As a Tigers fan, my season was over in April.

And I'm also a huge Trout guy.

So this time of year, I'm asking myself when does the NBA season start, LOL

[hempick]

As a Tigers fan, my season was over in April.

And I'm also a huge Trout guy.

So this time of year, I'm asking myself when does the NBA season start, LOL

Well, I'm a Yankee fan, but I knew they didn't have it this year before the season even started (great job not upgrading the starting pitching in the offseason, Mr. Cashman) and then when Judge went down with that injury I started to look forward to basketball, too.

I'm not a Brewers fan, but it is great to see them in it. Nice for a change, at least. I was pretty psyched about the Rockies, too. Didn't last long, though.

[DrMitchJ]

As a Yankees fan ... its just too soon to comment, but like Zep, I collect players that I like to watch as future HOF candidates.

A bright spot this year, in the absence of the Yankees for the rest of the playoffs , is Christian Yelich . Been following him since he started with the Marlins and he's about to breakout on a national spotlight. Soon everyone will see what Milwaukee and Miami fans have known ... Yelich is a pretty special athelete. He does everything really well, and the things he doesn't ... he's above average. Nearly won the Triple Crown ... nice.
Go Brew Crew!!!

JD. Martinez is in the same boat ... Went to Nova University (so close to home) and was noticeably great in an area where great players are overshadowed by anyone wearing a Miami Hurricanes jersey. I've been getting some of his RC cards over the years, not as stockpiled as Yelich and Severino (I'll come back to Sevy, in a sec) but pretty well invested. My 2011 Topps Update buying frenzy just happened to have a load of great rookies in that batch. Altuve, Martinez, Trout, Rizzo, Frazier, Blackmon, etc. What a great set to collect ...probably up there in value rivaling some of the less expensive vintage sets. There are future HOF'er abound!!

Despite a poor post season appearance, Luis Severino is still the Ace of the Yankees staff. I don't know all about his last start's mishaps prior to the game, but other than that, a remarkable season and a bright future carreer.

This year I kinda scaled back, but I'd probably be loading up on Acuna, Albies, and Soto as well as Sheffield and Florial. Andujar and Torres are great but need to work on things this offseason. They put up great numbers for rookies, but second season slump could get them off pace from being Yankee mainstays. Voit? Maybe getting some of his Cardinal's RCs.

[aprirr]

Actually, with Nolan Ryan needs getting harder to trade for, I decided to go nearly all Brewers at the beginning of this season. It started with rookie cards (trying to get one or the equivalent for every individual who ever played for the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers) and expanded into every Pilots/Brewers Topps team set from 1969 to present. I would have to say that there is no better way to learn about all the former players of your baseball team then collecting their cards and I have gotten more enjoyment out of the hobby this season than I have had in a while. The fact that the Brew Crew has been playing great this year is just an added bonus!

And I figured Christian Yelich would be good but he has been absolutely unreal! Watching him play nearly every game this year, including both cycles, gives us Brewer fans hope that we will have exciting baseball to watch at least for a few years. And my kid, who had sworn off the Brewers after they traded Lucroy, LOVES Yelich, has gotten back into the Brewers some and has even opened some packs with me this year! Win-win!

Lucky for me, most of my Brewer needs are inexpensive so I figure that by picking up a random rack pack or blaster here and there, I can continue trading for my Brewer needs. But I have 2 jumbo boxes of 2018 Update coming as a birthday gift so I expect to have a nice influx of trade bait in about 2 weeks!

[kerryandbeth]

But I have 2 jumbo boxes of 2018 Update coming as a birthday gift so I expect to have a nice influx of trade bait in about 2 weeks!

Nice! I have one coming to me but not for a special occasion...happy early birthday.

[aprirr]

Nice! I have one coming to me but not for a special occasion...happy early birthday.

Thanks Kerry! But my birthday is in early September. If only Update was released a little sooner!

[hempick]

I totes forgot to mention about Yelich, but I agree with the others. He's a beast. I'm happy for him. I picked up a Walmart Blue update of his a few weeks ago. I'd love to buy some old boxes to try and pull some of my own, but they're getting expensive already.

I picked up a 2017 Bregman Topps Chrome Blue Wave refractor auto recently, too. Oddly enough, he was one of the only "rookies" last year that I didn't pull an auto of. I pulled a few Judges, a Benintendi, two Bellingers, and scads of other rookie autos, but no Bregman.

Oh yeah. I also forgot to mention that I was pretty impressed by the slew of young Rockies pitchers this year. I think they're going to be good for a while if they can keep that staff together.

Maybe now that the season is over Scherzer's rookies will come down a bit so I can finally pick up one of those.

[aprirr]

I totes forgot to mention about Yelich, but I agree with the others. He's a beast. I'm happy for him. I picked up a Walmart Blue update of his a few weeks ago. I'd love to buy some old boxes to try and pull some of my own, but they're getting expensive already.

The prices that 2013 Update Yelich parallels are going for right now is pretty crazy! His 2010 BC autos are getting pretty high, as well. Luckily I snagged on of those BC autos at the beginning of the season. Only cost me $25!