30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Taking Advantage of a Buyer's Market

Yesterday, I read several posts about Kirby Puckett's birthday and figured it was a good time to share this:

1984 Fleer Update #93

It's one of those cards that I've wanted for many, many years, but never thought I'd actually own.  But thanks to a soft market, this card doesn't have the same following it had in the late 80's and early 90's.  During that era, the 1984 Fleer Update set was one of the most sought after sets in the hobby.  In fact it was so popular, the bad guys counterfeited key singles, including the Puckett.

That's why I decided to spend a few extra dollars on a graded copy back in January.  An eBay seller had it listed for $105 BIN (or best offer), so I sent him an offer of $80 (+ $5 shipping) and was pumped when he accepted.

Puckett was short and stocky, but could hit for average, was fairly quick, and had a solid glove.  In other words, he was the major league version of me.  Okay... maybe I should rephrase that.  When I played baseball, those were my strengths... which is why I value players with those particular traits.

Happy belated birthday Kirby!  You were always one of my favorite players... despite not wearing an A's or Padres jersey.  The baseball world misses you.

Everyone else... happy Saturday and sayonara!

12 comments:

Man said...

Great card. I liked Kirby too, too bad he and the Twins beat my Birds in '87. I hope I never see another homer hanky in my life.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Definitely a perennial all-star. Which is usually when I got to see him play being a Braves fan and all. Back in the day before Inter-league play. Worthy PUCKETT POST! And an awesome card to have.

gcrl said...

great pickup fuji. i still have my kirby pc in a binder, including that 84 update card. i was lucky that my dad bought the set when it first came out.

Commishbob said...

Kirby doesn't look very chunky in that card. I have that Fleer set in the box as I originally bought it. I'm tempted to sell it from time to time but I never have. It's one of the few things I bought back then (and I bought a lot of stuff) that turned out to be worth keeping.

Eric Bracke said...

Wow! That is a great card and one of the more underrated rookies of all-time. Excellent find.

Laurens said...

The charismatic, bowling ball shaped leader of the mid 1980's-90's Minnesota Twins' teams, he put up the numbers until a beaning ended his career prematurely; always thought to be an all-around good guy, the latter years of his life kind of showed a human side to him, even though it was quite ugly and unsavory.

BobWalkthePlank said...

That is a nice card Fuji! Congrats on the pick up.

Corky said...

That was a nice pickup of a great player.

Fuji said...

Thanks guys. I spent a third of my Christmas money on it... but it was worth it in my mind.

Fuji said...

I debated on starting a Puckett PC last year, but discovered I had way more Frank Thomas cards... so The Big Hurt beat out Puck. Who knows... maybe I'll officially start one this year.

Fuji said...

Wow... I'm super jealous. The set is loaded. One of these days I'd like the Gooden as well. As for Puckett... think he started filling out a few years later... 86/87ish

Fuji said...

It's funny... whenever I remember former students, it's easier to remember the kids who got in trouble than the sweet, quiet kid in the corner. I sort of feel the same way with athletes. I tend to remember a lot of the negative things they do... but the good charity work for the communities sort of get swept under the rug. I really need to change the way I think.