Do high-end Schmidt guys no longer exist-what happened?

[brouthercard]

Rarer/high end Mike Schmidt stuff used to sell for LOTS. I understand how there are so many more retired HOF autos issued nowadays, essentially everyone has dropped, but Schmidt stuff seems to have dropped the most percentage wise. His top stuff used to rival the prices of Nolan Ryan rare stuff, and despite the fact that they have both signed a ton, the super rare Ryan stuff still sells very well along with Griffey and Jeter, but premium Schmidt stuff just doesn't seem to have any more oomph like it used to.

What happened? Do mulitple high-end Schmidt guys no longer exist? It seems his premium stock has disappeared and he has declined a tier or two in terms of popularity.

 

[HoustonTeams4Me]

IMO there's just not much mention of his accomplishment's these day's...I mean, when you speak of top-notch pitcher's, pitching record's, or all-time strike-out pitcher's you mention N.Ryan, but when does Schmidt get mentioned or brought up? He was a great power hitter with a sub-par batting average who hasn't played baseball since 1989 (20-21 year's retired). To compare, if you took Adam Dunn and gave him another 7-9 year's in MLB w/power production close to what he's produced thus far, let him retire from baseball for 20 year's, & then revisit his SV's I think there would be a close correlation to Schmidt's sell value's now. (I'm a fan of Schmidt but I'm answering the OP's question honestly, so fellow Schmidt fan's please don't kill me for my response ....Also, my comparison was just that- a comparison- & I wasn't trying to tell the future & state that Dunn will be Schmidt-like or deserves to be a HOF'er...it was just a comparison that I used to explain my answer).

 

[theplasticman]

Ive noticed that as well.

 

[brouthercard]

You guys think the enhanced numbers of this generation have unfairly tarnished his career numbers a bit subconciously in the mind of collectors? Any other HOFer card prices affected by this unfortuante phenomenon, short of having an increased number of autos? I'm talking about only the super high end/rare stuff.

 

[MojoDan]

...and lucky me, I have been watching Schmidt stuff over the past 2 weeks.

 

[Topnotchsy]

You guys think the enhanced numbers of this generation have unfairly tarnished his career numbers a bit subconciously in the mind of collectors? Any other HOFer card prices affected by this unfortuante phenomenon, short of having an increased number of autos? I'm talking about only the super high end/rare stuff.

I think the steroid era has done so for a lot of older players. 500 homers no longer looks so impressive, and 400 is barely a milestone anymore. The players of the 80's especially have it tough because people when you back to the older guys people just assume it is a different and things were different. For the guys in the 80's who were clean, they probably took the brunt of it. (Well, really the guys from the last 10-15 years who were clean have it the hardest.)

 

[brouthercard]

...and lucky me, I have been watching Schmidt stuff over the past 2 weeks.

Schmidt stuff has been down for the last 5 years++. His best stuff use to go really BIG. Now any 1/1 or sick patch can be had at about the same level of Reggie Jackson, and sometimes even Johnny Bench. His stock has clearly fallen. He used to be double or triple those other guys.

 

[phillyfan0417]

Not sure if they are around but there were two guys who used to go up against eachother on all schmidt high end. If something high end popped up, there was no chance of winning it. If they've stopped, its a big reason for the drop off...

 

[brouthercard]

Not sure if they are around but there were two guys who used to go up against eachother on all schmidt high end. If something high end popped up, there was no chance of winning it. If they've stopped, its a big reason for the drop off...

That could definitely explain it.

I've noticed that all it takes is like 2 or 3 guys with really deep pockets in this world to drive prices batty for certain players.

We see this phenomenon with obviously Griffey and Jeter, but i've also noticed Nolan Ryan, Chipper Jones, and a few other players seem to have some very deep pocketed collectors going after all the high end stuff.

This is what drives Jordan and Tiger prices to stratospheric levels, where not even rich guys can afford to buy their stuff- just CEO's and other corporate business owners. Oh and attorneys.

 

[matfanofold]

I'm not really supprised. It may just be because of die hard collectors are bowing out, but I think it's more than that. Schmidt, no doubt a great player and a true hall of famer, was never really a top tier hall of famer and even his popularity that surrounded him through induction was short lived. It's too bad, but players and hof'ers like schmidt will always fall out of sight in time. There will always be demand by hof collectors but Schmidt fans are not growing in number...

It takes a special kind of HOF'er to outlive their respective career and induction in terms of popularity like Ruth, Mantle, Mays, ect.. Infact, I'm not sure it's even possible anymore to capture the hearts and minds of fans like it once was. Baseball it'self has become a sport all about 'what have you done for me lately'. The fans have adjusted likewise, and even the hobby is a reflection of this.

At the end of the day, I look at this as a good thing! It's good because real fans of the game, fans who take pride in not only appreciating current talent, but respect thoes who came before, can aquire landmark cards of quality HOF'ers that are far undervalued in terms of who and what they were to the game of baseball...

 

[Lancemountain]

I think maybe that schmidt collectors were perhaps mostly Phillies fans?

There was no one else other than Carlton really that was an elite all time player.


These days, there is Howard, Hamels, Utley, and to a lesser extent Werth and Victorino. These all sell very well, Howard being the highest seller. Can only imagine what Halladay in phills uni is going to look like on ebay.

Just a though, maybe some older phills collectors are splitting their money and going for more current players? :idea:

 

[mlbsalltimegreats]

I am not sure about his prices but it would be hard for me to not think of a guy who won 3 regular season MVP's, a World Series Mvp and 10 Gold Gloves as a top Tier Hofer. I mean if that is not top tier I dont know what is. Back to prices for a sec, I have paid a pretty penny for the Schmidt's That I have.

 

[brouthercard]

I am not sure about his prices but it would be hard for me to not think of a guy who won 3 regular season MVP's, a World Series Mvp and 10 Gold Gloves as a top Tier Hofer. I mean if that is not top tier I dont know what is. Back to prices for a sec, I have paid a pretty penny for the Schmidt's That I have.

Schmidt in my opinion is a top tier hall of famer, he was one of the greatest third baseman to ever play the game.

 

[ThoseBackPages]

I am not sure about his prices but it would be hard for me to not think of a guy who won 3 regular season MVP's, a World Series Mvp and 10 Gold Gloves as a top Tier Hofer. I mean if that is not top tier I dont know what is. Back to prices for a sec, I have paid a pretty penny for the Schmidt's That I have.

Schmidt in my opinion is a top tier hall of famer, he was one of the greatest third baseman to ever play the game.

No doubt about that, BUT....he was never "loved" like Ripken, etc by the fans

 

[CollectorsCorner]

I think all cards are down at least on the football side hope they go back up

 

[brouthercard]

I am not sure about his prices but it would be hard for me to not think of a guy who won 3 regular season MVP's, a World Series Mvp and 10 Gold Gloves as a top Tier Hofer. I mean if that is not top tier I dont know what is. Back to prices for a sec, I have paid a pretty penny for the Schmidt's That I have.

Schmidt in my opinion is a top tier hall of famer, he was one of the greatest third baseman to ever play the game.

No doubt about that, BUT....he was never "loved" like Ripken, etc by the fans

But his premium cards sold for Cal Ripken prices in the earlier part of the 2000's and late 90's- heck he would even book as one of the highest veterans by Beckett in any set he appeared in.

His drop in high-end prices can't be explained by his popularity during his playing career. It's gotta be that certain high end schmidt guys just stopped buying him for some reason.

 

[David T.]

I pulled a Schmidt auto'd jersey a year or so ago and was surprised at how low some of his cards sell for.

Somewhat OT..... I purchased a huge lot of cards and memorablia off of a friend of mine a few years back.
I was going through some of the binders the other day and ran across this.....

I was relly impressed by how fan friendly Schmidt comes across in the letter.

Here's a little bit bigger copy of the text....

I've been trying to decide what to do with it. I know there's a few members on here that make cut signature cards and thought this would be perfect for something like that. The sig would take up a lot of room on the card though as it is pretty big. Plus it's a pretty cool piece to own in one piece.
Schmidt does has a pretty nice sig though.
David

 

[lisu]

I have a friend who is a huge Schmidt collector and pretty much buys EVERY Schmidt card that she can that comes into the market. However, she's gotten smarter about it - if the the cards are serial numbered > 25, she will wait until the hype dies down and then bid on the card. I think she's been burned too many times in the past because she would after the very first Schmidt card that came into the market. It's kind of like prospecting - wait until the hype of the new product dies down.

 

[Therion]

I pulled a Schmidt auto'd jersey a year or so ago and was surprised at how low some of his cards sell for.

Somewhat OT..... I purchased a huge lot of cards and memorablia off of a friend of mine a few years back.
I was going through some of the binders the other day and ran across this.....

I was relly impressed by how fan friendly Schmidt comes across in the letter.

Here's a little bit bigger copy of the text....

I've been trying to decide what to do with it. I know there's a few members on here that make cut signature cards and thought this would be perfect for something like that. The sig would take up a lot of room on the card though as it is pretty big. Plus it's a pretty cool piece to own in one piece.
Schmidt does has a pretty nice sig though.
David

Cutting that up would be a travesty. It has way more value attached to the letter than as a cut auto. But to fully disclose my opinions, I hate cut autos.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I was a Schmidt completist as a teen. As Schmidt came to an end of his playing days in 1989/1990, I worked on having a full run of each and every card of his (before the internet, and I lived in Florida, so it wasn't easy). As he was inducted into the hall in 95, a few more cards were made and I picked them up. For a while, I was very close to owning each and every Schmidt card made (I hadn't obtained the 72 Minor league card until the early 2000s). Then, the freaking floodgates opened with low #ed autos and jersey cards. I had to give up.

I'm thinking about restarting that quest, knowing full well that I have 10+ years of Schmidt jersey cards to obtain.

I enjoy the break in popularity. But the bottom line is simple. Schmidt fans are Phillies fans. Until a few years ago, we had very few players to put our money into. Now, with Howard, Utley, Hamels, Halladay, Vic, Werth, Rollins, and more... diversification.