As collectors, we have all been down this sad, lonely road of regret. To some, a story of trade regret has happened more than once. For me, it was a pull from a 2007 U.D SPx. To be exact, it was a “rookie” autograph of some guy named B.J Upton.
You have to remember that by the 2008 season, B.J was in his fourth season in “The Show” and despite hitting 24 home runs and 82 R.B.I in ’07, this season was a long one and in the end B.J ended up with just 9 home runs on the season.
Meanwhile, during the first month of the season his much more popular (and younger) brother was crushing everything that came his way. Coming into May, Justin was hitting .340 with 5 home runs and 15 R.B.I but somehow ended up hitting .250 in just 108 games. It’s really not much of a problem considering that Justin is just 20 years old but to say his stock among collectors dropped would be an understatement.
I traded this B.J Upton early into the season after realizing B.J was probably going to be an average ball player at best. It was part of a huge trade that brought me several Jose Canseco autographs. It was just thrown in for good measure and I don’t think the guy even wanted it.
Since the playoffs began, B.J Upton has hit 7 home runs, which is tied all-time with Troy Glaus for most-ever in one season for the American League. Even if the Rays lose tonight, which looks like a good possibility, B.J will still get at least 4 more at-bats versus Boston and if his team advances, well, there could be a boatload of more at-bats.
What is your trade regret story?
Back when I was building my Tribe collection, I traded a Roberto Clemente ‘rookie’ card for a stack of Indians to a ‘friend’ of mine. I was young and stupid. Now, I’m not so young…
(jury is still out on the other part…)
Don’t worry about it too much, Mario. I bought that card for about $3 on eBay a couple of months ago.
A couple notes about B.J. though:
- He had cups of coffee in the majors in 2004 and 2006, but he’s only been a full-time major leaguer in 2007 and 2008.
- The reason why he only hit 9 home runs this year is because he tore his labrum in his shoulder and had to change his swing to prevent further damage. When the playoffs started, he found another way to modify his swing that allowed him to generate more power while still protecting against further damage to his shoulder.
Dave, which Upton do you think has more potential?
Mario – even though I’m a Rays fan, I think Justin has more potential. He’s accomplished a lot more than B.J. did at the same age. The scouts all like his skills better. I just wish that the Rays had won fewer games in 2004 so that they could’ve had the #1 pick in 2005 to draft Justin…
B.J. Upton was probably the number one prospect in baseball a five years back, when he was only 19. He is still very young at 24, and it seems as if fans give up on youngsters if they don’t start putting up incredible numbers by age 22. For one, he came up as a shortstop, which is tough enough to succeed at. Secondly, he came up with the Rays and had no protection or other hitting in the lineup.
He will be a star and a perennial All-Star.
Yeah, don’t worry about that BJ, Mario. You’ll be able to get another one just like it late because it’s not his true rookie. His best rookie is 2002 Bowman rome Draft, which is still a $10-$15 card; but his best card is that 2002 UD Prospect Premiers auto XRC, which can be had for $50-$75 right now on ebay.
When I was a wee 8th grader, I traded a 1962 Post Cereal Mickey Mantle for a pile of Gregg Jeffries (remember the 88 Fleer?), Sandy Alomar Jr., Ron Gant, and Sam Horn RC’s. At the time, I was estatic, now I’m embarrassed.
When I was a kid of about 10 years old, I traded a 1980 Topps RC of Rickey Henderson for the same year card of Rod Carew. Remember though, this was 1981 and the cards were new, and I only cared about Angels. It’s 2008 and I still only care about Angels, but I’d LOVE to have that Rickey Henderson RC back.
Sigh.