Nomar Garciaparra's cards - Any room for growth?

[sjm76]

Was considering buying a couple of graded 1992 Topps Traded Garciaparra cards but I've held off for now as I don't think he'll ever make the Hall of Fame. He was pretty popular during his playing days, though. Do you think there will be much demand for Garciaparra's cards in the future other than from Red Sox and Dodgers collectors?

 

[mrmopar]

Look to any player of similar stats that played before, during or after him and you will probably find your answer. Who collects Travis Fryman or Hanley Ramirez cards?

 

[bstanwood]

I don't see a big bump coming, I think the people that currently collect will continue. I don't see anything on his future to create loads of people looking for his stuff. He was wildly popular for the Sox in his time there. I still remember feeling shocked when he had been traded and i wasn't even a huge fan of his particularly.

 

[rebelpawn]

His cards will always be collectable. I'm shocked when I see how much some of his rarer stuff still goes for.
There are still a lot of Nomar collectors with deep pockets.

 

[jeffv96masters]

Patrick ( radicards) seems to think so he bought some rare Garciaparra inserts recently

I see a bunch of dabblers and the hardcore guys like me just plodding along.Investors aren't really looking at him much. I think his injury cut short what would have been a great career
Will he make HOF ? Maybe veterans committee. No way the writers.
They will put an injured pitcher in with 10 years but everyday players they seem to punish.

My opinion of course
jeff

 

[mrmopar]

In the era of players who had popular 90s inserts or premium rookie cards, those will always be popular with starplayers and even in many cases, commons for the hard to find inserts/parallels. I don't think you typically get a new rush of people collecting any retired player. The HOF factor may help out some, but for borderline guys, I don't think it matters.

There will always be a following of rabid collectors of certain players, regardless of how great they were or how close they came to greatness, but just missed.

Using my collecting interest as an example, I doubt that if Steve Garvey were to eventually get the call via the veterans committee, that we'd see a significant increase in his card popularity outside of his rookie (maybe a 72 T in high grade) and maybe some harder to find insert/auto type cards.

 

[DeliciousBacon]

I probably have one of the largest Nomar collections here, and I doubt a single one of them will appreciate significantly in the future. Maybe a 1998 Tek Diffractor, I have one, but that's it. On the whole, I think only rare 90's Nomar inserts will eventually go up, not because of the player, but the set (Mirror Gold/Black, Longevity Holo, Leaf Z2 Axis, etc.)

 

[smapdi]

I liked Nomar best out of the mid-90s super-shortstops. If he could have stayed healthy, he'd've gotten up to maybe 3000 hits, 300+ homers and been a really strong HoF contender. If he had stayed in Boston for even just the 2004 Series it would have been great. If he was there in 2007 and who knows, maybe even 2013, he'd be a god.

But no, I can't see any way he makes the Hall, and foresee no big run on his cards, unless something amazing happens off the field. He was great then got hurt and bounced around and had to hang it up too soon. It's an old, common story. People don't need to have their favorites reach the pinnacle to want his cards, but more people want the cards of those who do. I fear Nomar has become a niche commodity in the hobby.

 

[mrmopar]

I personally tend to enjoy a player collection more when it is one of pure passion, rather than the most popular player. Aside from a few more serious competitors and a few time frames in the past when things were more popular in general, my Garvey player collection sits right in that area.

Not to say I don't enjoy seeing hoards of Mantle, Griffey Jr, Ryan, Henderson, Ripken, etc...tons of collectors would gladly take any of those cards if the price were right.

Don't know if he is a member here or ever still around the collecting arena, but there was a guy who had a near complete Jon Matlack collection. That is true dedication to chase after a guy that most dismiss with a quick "meh". The biggest downside to that type of collecting is that you have to find a balance between having too many, too expensive cards (like Barry Bonds for example) and not having enough cards and being done with hardly any effort (insert any pre-90s 3-5 year flash in the pan or middle of the road fan favorite).

I'd guess Garciapaerra is somewhere close to smack dab in the middle. He was a top favorite for a period of time, played for a few popular teams and had staying power during a time when lots of different cards of stars were released. Lots of opportunity for low serial numbered cards, autographs, 90s marquee inserts and other things that keep the prices just high enough to keep the less serious collectors off the radar.

 

[exigussrex]

I sold off all of my high end Nomar cards to @jeffv96masters and the rest on eBay. I've still got a bunch of commons and low-mid level inserts if anyone is interested! The era he played in was great for the hobby, so there are a lot of nice pieces out there.

I do think his '92 traded is a solid, affordable addition to anyone's collection. I've got binders full of them!

 

[WizardofOz1982]

I personally tend to enjoy a player collection more when it is one of pure passion, rather than the most popular player. Aside from a few more serious competitors and a few time frames in the past when things were more popular in general, my Garvey player collection sits right in that area.

This is how I feel about my Jeff Frye collection. I'm 4 cards short of 100% of the Beckett Checklist and about 10 short of everything I know is out there. I'll probably never find the rest of it but I keep looking.

 

[notjomommasclint]

I have a nomar pc of just under 1,200 unique cards. I don't see a spike in his non rare stuff unless he magically makes the hall of fame.. However, adding a couple of cheap graded cards of a 2x batting champ and 6x all star is never a bad thing.

 

[sjm76]

I was looking at PSA 10 copies of his 1992 Topps Traded Gold issue. The Gold's graded PSA 10 aren't as plentiful as PSA 10 versions of his 1992 Topps Traded issue and could see decent growth as the years move on.