Game 4: A Treasure Trove at Auction, Bill Russell, Jarren Duran, Jordan Walker, & Colton Cowser
Weekly Roundup 5/8/23-5/14/23
The Roundup
What would you pay for the opportunity to find treasures amongst a trove of 88,500 baseball, basketball, football and hockey cards? What if you’re guaranteed to get a Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie, Cal Ripkin Jr. Rookie and more? $1,000? $2,000? Coreen Squire, whose husband died in 2009 and collected cards, tried to sell the entire trove at the Gibralter Trade Center for $500. No one would bite. She ended up donating the trove to the Center for Active Adults in South Lyon, Michigan. The Center is selling the collection in four lots in a silent auction. Should be interesting to see how things turn out (I’m guessing they’ll make more than $500).
Trivia Question of the Week
On the 1990 Fleer rookie card of Sammy Sosa, which baseball uniform is he wearing?
Sales: Bill Russell Rookie Card
Over time, our goal is to grow Stealing Home from a baseball-centric blog to include high-quality information and articles across the collectables landscape. Here is our first minor foray outside of baseball: a PSA 8.5 1957 Topps Bill Russell Rookie Card sold for $660,000 on PWCC Marketplace. According to Card Ladder, the card is the third most expensive vintage (pre-1980s) basketball card ever (behind an $800,000 Bowman George Mikan Rookie Card and a $670,000 1961 Fleer Wilt Chamberlain Rookie Card). Only three 1957 Topps Bill Russell Rookie Cards are graded higher, and none have sold publicly.
New Releases
No new releases in the upcoming week. The 2023 Bowman Chrome Megabox is set to be released on May 31st. We will share more information on the Megabox in the coming weeks.
Trending Up, Trending Down
Trending Up: Jarren Duran
Duran’s cards are up a whopping 43.77%. In the last 15 games, Duran is slashing .340/.407/.528.
Trending down: Jordan Walker
I’m happy to report that Spencer Torkelson is no longer in this spot. It now belongs to Jordan Walker whose cards are down 31.36%. Walker, who was sent back to the Minors by the Cardinals on April 26th, is slashing .264/.316/.397.
Prospect of the Week: Colton Cowser
OF, Baltimore Orioles
Cowser was selected as the 5th overall pick by the Orioles in the 2021 draft out of Sam Houston State – just the second first-round pick in the school's history. The last? Glenn Wilson in 1980.
In his first full season last year, Cowser had an impressive .406 OBP across three levels of minor league ball to go along with a .278/.406/.469 slash line. One open question for Cowser coming out of the 2022 season was his discernment at the plate after generating 174 Ks to 94 BBs in 510 at bats. His 2023 campaign is off to a strong start in AAA, batting .320 with a 1.012 OPS and a far more balanced 31 Ks to 37 BBs in 128 at bats.
Cowser ranks #32 on the MLB.com Top 100 prospects list, #41 to Baseball America, and #38 to Baseball Prospectus.
Colton Cowser’s 1st Bowman came out in 2021 and a 2021 Colton Cowser 1st Bowman Chrome Black Refractor Auto /75 PSA 9 is for sale for $450. And, if he can find success in the MLB, Colton Cowser would be well positioned to join the vaunted MLB Alliteration All Star team.
Cowser’s scouting grades are as follows:
Hit: 55 | Power: 55 | Run: 55 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55
Trivia Answer of the Week
On the 1990 Fleer rookie card of Sammy Sosa, which baseball uniform is he wearing?
Chicago White Sox
… and check out that stash!