Beckett Sports Card Hot / Cold – October 30, 2023
Welcome to a Halloween edition of Beckett Sports Card Hot/Cold where we take quick and fun look at what’s and what’s not in the worlds of sports and sports cards. It’s that most glorious time of year when the MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL seasons are all in play.
With the World Series upon us, some fresh names are garnering the spotlight. None brighter at the moment than Adolis Garcia. Fresh of his ALCS MVP performance, the Texas slugger hit a no-doubt, 11th-inning walk-off homer to give the Rangers a Game 1 comeback win. It was his fifth game in a row with a homer and the big fly also put him in sole possession of the single-season postseason RBI record (22). Already 30 years old, Garcia isn’t likely to find all-time great status. But it’s the playoffs where heroes are made, even if for a time, and local legends are established.
For the Diamondbacks, Ketel Marte may have been the NLCS MVP but the team’s hobby darling continues to be Corbin Carroll. The key part in the team’s young core, he’s been one of the top rookies all season.
In basketball, all eyes were on Victor Wembanyama’s debut last week. He’s giving basketball cards a big boost this season. And while he had a solid start for the Spurs rookie, it was Dallas’ Dereck Lively II that put up some more surprising numbers. Off the bench in his debut, Lively went 7-of-8 shooting and ended up with 16 points. That was enough to earn him the start in Dallas’ next game where he shot a perfect 4-for-4 for nine points. Lively doesn’t have nearly the hype as Wembanyama, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
