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Monday, March 17, 2014

On the Advent of Something Big - JulioMania is here and his Card Prices Prove it


On Saturday, Dodger Nation may have been witnessed something magical.  It was the first time that many of the Dodger faithful have had a chance to see teenage pitching phenom Julio Urias, and he didn't disappoint. 

In his MLB Spring debut against big league batters, the 17-year old struck out two.  Overall, he pitched just 1 inning, faced three Major League batters, and threw 14 pitches (9 for strikes).  (A video of his performance can be viewed here, via Dustin Nosler on YouTube.)

Not too shabby for a kid who looks like he has yet to grow any stubble.

Well, as you can imagine, not only did fans marvel at his abilities and poise, but they appear to have gone onto eBay to run up the prices for his only officially licensed Baseball card. 

Julio Urias has only one official card (besides a minor league issue created by the Great Lakes Loons).  It is 2013 Bowman Sterling Prospect Autographed Card (#BSAP-JU).  Check it out on the right.

For months, you could purchase the base autographed card for about $15.00 each.  In fact, I purchased a couple of them for my collection in January.  See my post about it here

Since Saturday afternoon, after his steller performance at Camelback Ranch, that same card has more than doubled in price.  Heck, some recent sales show a jump of over 400%.

The last 3 eBay auction sales for his base autographed rookie card have ranged from $60.65 to $67.89.  See the spreadsheet below showing the last 13 auction sales of the card.


eBay Auction Sales
Sale Date # Total Price Individual Price
3/15/2014 21:38 1 $67.89 $67.89
3/15/2014 20:00 1 $62.25 $62.25
3/15/2014 19:45 1 $60.65 $60.65
3/15/2014 16:17 1 $28.56 $28.56
3/13/2014 16:34 1 $12.61 $12.61
3/13/2014 14:10 1 $13.51 $13.51
3/10/2014 22:05 1 $12.62 $12.62
3/9/2014 20:00 1 $15.59 $15.59
3/9/2014 19:25 1 $12.50 $12.50
3/9/2014 17:59 1 $13.35 $13.35
3/9/2014 17:18 1 $11.32 $11.32
3/9/2014 17:13 1 $12.20 $12.20
3/9/2014 7:51 4 $59.06 $14.77

"Buy It Now" sales indicate a staggering number of the rookie cards have changed hands since Urias' Spring performance.  There have been 44 sales since Saturday afternoon, and the price range of those sales denote some volatility.  Individual prices since Saturday range from $22.95 to a high of $79.99; with an average value of $41.06.  See the spreadsheet below that shows every "Buy It Now" sale over the past several days.


"Buy It Now" eBay Sale Prices
Sale Date # Total Price Individual Price
3/16/2014 22:26 1 $41.99 $41.99
3/16/2014 13:46 1 $39.99 $39.99
3/16/2014 12:58 1 $39.99 $39.99
3/16/2014 12:24 1 $79.99 $79.99
3/16/2014 11:45 1 $58.50 $58.50
3/16/2014 11:43 1 $59.99 $59.99
3/16/2014 11:38 1 $59.99 $59.99
3/16/2014 11:04 1 $39.99 $39.99
3/16/2014 10:45 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/16/2014 10:15 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/16/2014 9:54 10 $379.99 $38.00
3/16/2014 7:16 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/16/2014 1:17 1 $55.00 $55.00
3/15/2014 21:49 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 21:31 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 21:16 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 20:53 1 $49.99 $49.99
3/15/2014 20:49 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 19:55 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 19:55 1 $49.99 $49.99
3/15/2014 19:23 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 19:02 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 18:51 1 $37.99 $37.99
3/15/2014 18:12 1 $27.99 $27.99
3/15/2014 17:28 1 $25.00 $25.00
3/15/2014 17:13 1 $49.99 $49.99
3/15/2014 17:11 1 $45.00 $45.00
3/15/2014 16:52 1 $35.00 $35.00
3/15/2014 16:52 1 $30.00 $30.00
3/15/2014 16:52 1 $27.99 $27.99
3/15/2014 16:52 1 $54.99 $54.99
3/15/2014 16:46 1 $35.00 $35.00
3/15/2014 15:54 1 $26.95 $26.95
3/15/2014 15:52 1 $22.95 $22.95
3/15/2014 15:52 1 $25.00 $25.00
3/13/2014 20:12 1 $19.99 $19.99
3/12/2014 15:17 1 $15.00 $15.00

It remains to be seen if the "Mania" will last; especially when you consider how unrealistic it would be to see him at Dodger Stadium this season, or the next.  Still, the excitement is obvious, and I suspect Dodger fans and collectors will not soon forget his name.
(Julio Urias, pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014)


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2014 Topps Heritage Baseball - The Dodger Autographed Cards

Following up on Friday's post that featured some of the Dodger insert cards that can be found in packs of Topps 2014 Heritage Baseball set, I now bring to you all of the Dodger autographed cards that are available.  Check them out below.


Flashback Autograph Relics

#FAR-MW Maury Wills


Real One Autographs

#ROA-DLO Davey Lopes                      #ROA-MW Maury Wills

There are a couple of different 'cut signature' Dodger cards available in the set.  Both of them are numbered as "1 of 1".  Below is a pic of the Tommy Lasorda card.  There is also a 1965 Cut Signatures card of (#HCS-JP) Johnny Podres, but it has yet to be unearthed.

1965 Celebrity Cut Signatures Set

#CCS-TL Tommy Lasorda

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Blog Kiosk: 3/17/2014 - Dodgers Links - Uribe, Figgins and Some Magic Lights


The Dodgers are all packed up and ready to go to Australia.  Pic above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2014.
After two dismal seasons in Seattle and one year away from the game, he’s one step away from making the Dodgers’ roster. When Figgins arrived at camp, he said his goal was to get on the plane to Australia. 
“It wasn’t long, but it was playing with some great guys,” Wynn said. “We won the 1974 NL pennant, and I told Walter and Peter O’Malley (before the season), ‘Thank you for getting me. We will the NL pennant.’ I said to myself, ‘Why did I say that? Now you have to go out and prove it.’ So I did it, and I did for the fans and for the O’Malley family.”
“I felt really happy,” Urias told reporters after his start. “I was under control and not nervous at all.”
"Physically, I feel 100 percent," he said. "It's time to start performing."
"I try every day to help my teammates, my guys," Uribe said Sunday afternoon at Camelback Ranch. "It's what I'm doing every day, all my life. It's important for me to be a good teammate. If I'm not hitting, I can still do something good on defense and help the team win a game that way.

"My first year here [2011], I had two operations. So much happened. I don't want to make excuses, but a bad year is a bad year. Last year I felt good. Now it's a new year, and I want to do better than I did last year. I want to play every day I can. I feel good right now."
  • Dodger Penguin shares his afternoon at the Kenny Landreaux autograph appearance.
  • Weird Science.  Via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com, "Wary of being weary, Dodgers see the light: Special bulbs designed for NASA should mitigate effects of jet lag in Australia".
"It's a sleep aid for jet lag," said Soler, who also provided the bulbs to the United States Olympic Ski and Snowboard teams in Sochi. "You'd be surprised how well it works."

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    * Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *