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OPS in baseball statistics

Dave Farquhar Baseball September 6, 2017March 24, 2019Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Oakland Athletics, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays

Baseball, perhaps more than any other sport, attempts to quantify how good or bad a player is with statistics. Most baseball statistics only measure a small part of a player’s ability. One statistic that gained popularity in recent decades is On-base Plus Slugging, or OPS. Here’s an explanation of OPS in baseball and what it means.

OPS is the sum of a player’s on base percentage plus slugging percentage. Modern analysts argue it’s a better measure of a player’s ability than traditional stats like batting average or runs batted in.

Least valuable baseball cards

Dave Farquhar Baseball August 29, 2017October 10, 20171980s, 1990s, Babe Ruth, baseball cards, Goudey, Jose Canseco, Kansas City, kansas city royals, kmart, pittsburgh pirates, Topps

I’ve talked about the most valuable baseball cards of the 1970s and 1980s. But what about the least valuable baseball cards? What does it take to be on that list? What is the Kmart blue-light special of baseball cards?

Most valuable rookie card

Dave Farquhar Baseball August 23, 2017August 22, 20171940s, 1950s, 1980s, Babe Ruth, baseball cards, Goudey, Stan Musial, Topps, Willie Mays

When it comes to baseball cards, rookie cards are usually more valuable than non-rookie cards. But when we think of the Pantheon of valuable baseball cards, they tend not to be rookies. Instead, they tend to be scarce cards from hugely popular, iconic sets. The T206 Wagner. The 1933 Goudey Lajoie. The 1952 Topps Mantle. So what is the most valuable rookie card?

Most valuable baseball cards of the 1980s

Dave Farquhar Baseball July 10, 2017March 13, 20211980s, 1990s, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, baseball cards, billboard, Cal Ripken, cardstock, Fleer, Jose Canseco, New York, Star Wars, Topps

In the 1980s, almost everyone I knew collected baseball cards, at least briefly. When we think of the 1980s today, baseball cards aren’t what comes to mind but they probably deserve to be up there with video games, Rubik’s cubes, G.I. Joe, and Star Wars. With so many of us buying and preserving cards during that decade’s baseball card bubble, there aren’t a lot of super-valuable cards from the 1980s. But that doesn’t mean all 1980s baseball cards are worthless. So let’s take a look at the most valuable baseball cards of the 1980s.

If you’re like me and thought you’d fund your retirement with baseball cards someday, this could be depressing. More depressing than 1970s baseball card values. Possibly more depressing than 1990s baseball card values, even. But there’s a flip side too. If you didn’t have all of these cards back then, you probably can afford all of them now. None of the most valuable baseball cards of the 1980s are worth what we thought they’d someday be worth.

1948 Bowman baseball

Dave Farquhar Baseball May 19, 2017August 1, 20171940s, 1950s, Babe Ruth, New York, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Topps

I recently decided to collect the 1948 Bowman baseball set. It has a number of things going for it. With 48 cards in the set, it’s attainable. Of those 48 cards, 18.75% of them are Hall of Famers. It’s also one of the two first postwar major-issue sets.

A partial box of unopened 1948 packs surfaced recently in Tennessee, so that’s as good of an excuse to talk about the set as any. No one knew any unopened 1948 Bowman packs survived. It sold at auction for $521,180.

How to tell if a baseball card is a reprint

Dave Farquhar Baseball April 13, 2017April 10, 20171960s, 1980s, 1990s, Babe Ruth, baseball cards, FBI, Goudey, Topps, Ty Cobb

Companies have been reprinting old, rare, and valuable baseball cards for decades. It’s a way for people to have cards of players like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb who otherwise never could. But that can cause problems too. Here’s how to tell if a baseball card is a reprint.

Cheap Babe Ruth baseball cards

Dave Farquhar Baseball March 21, 2017February 20, 20181980s, Babe Ruth, baseball cards, Boston Braves, Fleer, Goudey, Japan, Ted Williams, Topps, United Kingdom

Everyone who collects baseball cards wants a Babe Ruth card. Unfortunately, cheap Babe Ruth baseball cards are pretty hard to come by. His most famous cards, 1930s Goudeys, cost as much as a nice car. Even though I’m not much of a car guy, the car is more practical. Even unattractive 1910s and 1920s strip cards of Ruth run four figures, especially cards from his early days with the Boston Red Sox. But there are several vintage cards of Ruth’s that don’t always break the bank, including cards from his playing days. You just have to look off the beaten path.

Will baseball cards ever be valuable again?

Dave Farquhar Baseball, Investing October 25, 2016July 10, 20171980s, 1990s, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, baseball cards, Goudey, Jose Canseco, real estate, supply and demand

“Will baseball cards ever be valuable again?” someone asked me recently. The answer is that it depends. Not all cards were valuable in the first place.

Part of the problem is there was a time when 90% of boys collected cards. Now they don’t. Prices dropped due to simple supply and demand.

Goudey Babe Ruth cards

Dave Farquhar Baseball October 7, 2016October 1, 2018Babe Ruth, Boston Braves, Carl Hubbell, Goudey, Ty Cobb

Babe Ruth is arguably the greatest baseball player of all time. No doubt he’s the most famous baseball player of all time. Goudey was the top baseball card brand of the 1930s, so Goudey and the Sultan of Swat make a legendary combination. When it comes to Goudey Babe Ruth cards, there are several options.

I don’t generally recommend baseball cards as investments. But Goudey Babe Ruth cards have increased in value over time and they aren’t hard to sell quickly if the need ever arises. So they are a safer investment than most other baseball cards, at least.

How to value baseball cards

Dave Farquhar Baseball August 12, 2016November 25, 20181960s, 1980s, 1990s, Babe Ruth, baseball cards, collectibles, Goudey, Jose Canseco, Missouri, Star Wars, Topps

If you have a collection, knowing how to value baseball cards is helpful. That way, if you need to insure or liquidate the collection, you’ll receive a fair price.

But fair also means realistic. A lot of factors go into value. It’s not too different from valuing other vintage collectibles, so if you already know about those, you have a head start.

Also, even though my focus here is on baseball cards, more or less the same principles hold true for any vintage trading cards: football, basketball, hockey, or non-sports cards.

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