How Alex Rodriguez could have changed collecting history

[BBCgalaxee]

Alex was slated to be on the 93 USA team but refused when he realized that doing so meant his exclusive rights went to topps.

Because he and Boras didn't like this, he refused to sign the exclusivity contract and was kicked off team.

Had he signed that contract, collecting and hobby history would have changed.

He would have been in both the 93 topps traded set and the Murphy dome set which also has Jeter's rarest RC.

Had he been in those, they would have been his only rookie cards which means that every single 1994 card, from his collectors choice to SP to rookie call up redemption card would NOT have been a rc.

There's no doubt that both his 93 card would have been scorching hot because
Of the limited quantity of those issues.

If Helton topped out at$40, surely Alex would have hit triple digits.

And his stadium dome would have topped that.



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[jacksoncoupage]

He would have been in both the 93 topps traded set and the Murphy dome set which also has Jeter's rarest RC.

He would not have been in the Stadium Murphy Dome. It did not feature any 1993 Team USA players, only Topps Traded did. The USA players featured in the Murphy set were the 1991-1992 team.

 

[nevermore]

Didn't realize his first Topps card was in 1998. They issued 1994 Arod cards when he was spokesperson for them, including 94 Bowman's Best. Not sure if he ever had 1993 ones made.

Only if 1993 Finest had RC, the refractor prices of Jeter (and Arod) would have been astronomical, 5 digits?

 

[smapdi]

I don't know if it would have changed history, but it certainly would have added more value to some sets. It really irritated me, though. I understand wanting to control your image and revenues derived from it, and Topps's unique arrangement with individual players sometimes conflicts with a good hobby experience. But wouldn't you want to play for Team USA?

I'd suggest that he did actually change modern collecting as players had precedent to value their own image rights more than the licensing Topps was offering. In the last 20 years a number of notable players followed, and it's just a bummer for collectors. If he had just signed on it wouldn't have impacted collecting other than shifting some values around.

 

[BBCgalaxee]

He would not have been in the Stadium Murphy Dome. It did not feature any 1993 Team USA players, only Topps Traded did. The USA players featured in the Murphy set were the 1991-1992 team.

According to September 1993 Tuff Stuff, he was supposed to be in the dome set.

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[RStadlerASU22]

There probably would have been a Bazooka USA one like Helton had and that would have been a tough card too.

Ryan

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[mouschi]

This sounds to me like some awesome fantasy card potential. Now, if only I was fan of his ...

I did these a while ago for the core 4 ...

(taken from http://tanmanbaseballfan.com/2014/06/fathers-day-customs-edition-monopoly.html )

 

[Matthew J Burrows]

This explains the lack of finest cards of his until 98! I had always wondered about that

 

[3arod13]

Alex was slated to be on the 93 USA team but refused when he realized that doing so meant his exclusive rights went to topps.

Because he and Boras didn't like this, he refused to sign the exclusivity contract and was kicked off team.

Had he signed that contract, collecting and hobby history would have changed.

He would have been in both the 93 topps traded set and the Murphy dome set which also has Jeter's rarest RC.

Had he been in those, they would have been his only rookie cards which means that every single 1994 card, from his collectors choice to SP to rookie call up redemption card would NOT have been a rc.

There's no doubt that both his 93 card would have been scorching hot because
Of the limited quantity of those issues.

If Helton topped out at$40, surely Alex would have hit triple digits.

And his stadium dome would have topped that.



Sent from my HTCONE using Freedom Card Board mobile app

Glad I found this post. I actually have a ball that Arod signed while trying out for Team USA in 1993. Ball was signed on 6/16/93, when he was only 17 years, 10 months, and 20 days old; and 28 days after graduating High School. Since he didn't have a card made then, I had a custom card made (refractor), where on the back, it explains what occurred. Mouschi made the custom card for me. As stated in the local newspaper article, during the baseball card dispute, Arod still worked out with the team during practices and pre-game workouts from 15-19 June 1993. Awesome early Arod piece with solid provenance.