Mike Cameron, Undervalued Fantasy Baseball Option in 2009

Mike Cameron (pictured 2007 Topps baseball card) has never been a fantasy baseball player that I've targeted. Take into consideration that he turned 36 last month and I'm running a serious risk hoping onto the bandwagon now. However, based on the mock drafts I've been doing Mike Cameron has been in a complete free fall. Even in a deep fantasy baseball league like the NFBC he's going in the late teen rounds.

So Cameron is cheap and old, what else? He's averaged 23/20 over the past 3 years along with nearly 160 Runs+RBIs. His 251 BA over that same period isn't great but in deep leagues isn't a killer either. The last two years he's hit below 250 and stolen less than 20 bases so again - be cautious.

The Baseball Forecaster has him down for 24/16 in 2009 which works for me as a U or 4th OF option in deeper leagues. Low risk with steady production makes Mike Cameron a worth end game flier for the 2009 fantasy baseball season.

Brush up on Mike Cameron and the rest of the baseball best fantasy players with Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster 2009: Gravity Defying Edition

New Kid Elberfeld T206 with Polar Bear Back

I recently landed a Kid Elberfeld T206 with a Polar Bear back. It ran almost $50 but is in pretty good shape. The corners show significant rounding however there are no major creases, the color is good and the card is well centered. Plus there's always a slight bump for Polar Bear backs - the T206 Museum's Pricing Formula has Polar Bear's going for a 30% premium.

This T206 is from when Elberfeld was on the Washington Senators. The "Tabasco Kid" was know for his fiery temper and tough play at short stop. He was a career 271 hitter with 213 stolen bases. As further testament to his toughness Kid Elberfeld lead the league in number of times hit by a pitch twice, owned the single season record up until 1986 and is still 13th on the all time list.

You can find T206 baseball cards with Polar Bear backs on eBay!

Stadium Dirt, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 10 of 10

That's right DIRT! The grand finale of my Baseball Memorabilia series is stadium dirt. Talk about owning a part of the game. The cool thing about dirt, when you really think about it, was your favorite all-time baseball player know for having the cleanest uniform on the team - never. Tough players that bust their a$$ care covered in dirt!

With both Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium saying farewell there are a number of options for purchasing genuine "game used" dirt. A popular dirt related baseball product are the stadium coins - shown is a Mets coin commemorating Shea Stadium.

If you are looking for something unusual to add to your baseball memorabilia collection that none of your friends will have then take a look at some dirt from your favorite baseball stadium.

You can easily buy your own sample of stadium dirt on eBay - click here!

Also See,
Baseball Card Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 9 of 10
Vintage Baseball Glove, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 8 of 10
Game Used Baseball Jerseys, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 7 of 10
Baseball DVD by Ken Burns, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 6 of 10
T206 Hall of Famer Baseball Cards, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 5 of 10
Alex Rodriquez Game Used Bat - Baseball Memorabilia - Part 4 of 10
Shea Stadium Seats, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 3 of 10
Babe Ruth Autographed Baseball Card, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 2 of 10
Jose Reyes Beckett Baseball Magazine Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 1 of 10

Joe Tinker T206 Piedmont, Latest Baseball Card Added Collection

I recently went on a little bit of a spree on eBay to add some new T206 baseball cards to my collection. The most notable is of Hall of Famer Joe Tinker pictured with the bat off shoulder and a Piedmont back. It's a SGC 40 graded card so it's in pretty nice shape.

Although Tinker had only a .262 career batting average, he did manage to steal 336 bases. As a short stop Tinker was most noted for his fielding and helped lead the Cubs to 4 World Series. Joe Tinker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.

You can find Joe Tinker and other T206 baseball cards on eBay.

Baseball Card Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 9 of 10

Many baseball card manufactures today issues special insert cards that contain the printing plates from the actual cards in the set. While it's cool to own your favorite players baseball card, how about owning the printing plate that produced all of the cards! Check out the 2009 Topps black plate for Evan Longoria.

Printing plate card inserts are typically very pricy for the more elite players, however the routinely go for less that $10 on eBay for common players. So you could cheaply add some lesser known insert cards of players from your favorite team to you collection.

This is a relatively new trend so from a long-term collectible standpoint it's tough to tell what their value will be over time. Since they're all essentially 1 of 1 for each of the colors (black, cyan, magenta and yellow) the scarcity should help them to maintain a lot of value as a baseball collectable.

You can score your own printing plate insert baseball card on eBay!

Also See,
Stadium Dirt, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 10 of 10
Vintage Baseball Glove, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 8 of 10
Game Used Baseball Jerseys, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 7 of 10
Baseball DVD by Ken Burns, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 6 of 10
T206 Hall of Famer Baseball Cards, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 5 of 10
Alex Rodriquez Game Used Bat - Baseball Memorabilia - Part 4 of 10
Shea Stadium Seats, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 3 of 10
Babe Ruth Autographed Baseball Card, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 2 of 10
Jose Reyes Beckett Baseball Magazine Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 1 of 10

Vintage Baseball Glove, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 8 of 10

Although I have yet to add one to my collection I think vintage baseball gloves are a nice accent piece to any baseball memorabilia collection. Shown is a sharp looking vintage catchers mitt from the 1940s or 50s that I found on eBay.

There's something about the aged look of old baseball leather that just creates a very nostalgic feel. When displaying a vintage baseball glove it's important to oil the mitt periodically to prevent it from drying out and cracking. I wouldn't over do it because you don't want oil dripping everywhere but a nice light coat every few years should keep your vintage baseball glove attractive for years.

You can find a vintage baseball glove on eBay to add to your baseball memorabilia display.

Also See,
Stadium Dirt, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 10 of 10
Baseball Card Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 9 of 10
Game Used Baseball Jerseys, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 7 of 10
Baseball DVD by Ken Burns, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 6 of 10
T206 Hall of Famer Baseball Cards, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 5 of 10
Alex Rodriquez Game Used Bat - Baseball Memorabilia - Part 4 of 10
Shea Stadium Seats, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 3 of 10
Babe Ruth Autographed Baseball Card, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 2 of 10
Jose Reyes Beckett Baseball Magazine Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 1 of 10

Fantasy Baseball Auction Strategies

I have some fundamental problems with the prevailing conventional wisdom of fantasy baseball auction strategies. I consumer a lot of fantasy baseball content - blogs, podcasts, feeds, websites, books, magazines, etc. and consistently they all get it wrong when it comes to auction strategies. One of the prevailing strategies is to never nominate a player that you really want - sure, like what fantasy baseball team owner doesn't want Alex Rodriguez, David Wright or Albert Pujols???

I believe 1) get the players you want and 2) the principle of economic scarcity. To the first point, if you really, really, really want Arod how much higher is he going to go for? He's a premium player so don't be scared off by the high price tag - expect it. When I prepare for an auction draft I set a list of 7-8 premium players and commit to getting 4 of them. To a point some of them are interchangeable but if you want to build a solid core to your fantasy baseball team you'll have to spend money one way or another.

To the second point - the law of economic scarcity was developed by the father of modern economic theory Adam Smith in his seminal book The Wealth of Nations
. What this essentially means is that Jimmy Rollins will be reasonably priced for his skills as long as Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes are still on the board. Once those 2 are gone Rollins could theoretically cost even more than Reyes or Ramirez because he's the last high-end shortstop available. To put it another way, quality stats at the shortstop position are now scarce and will predictably be more expensive. So what I might do if I had the first pick in an auction draft is to pick David Wright first and spend what I have to in order to get him -with Arod and Miggy Cabrera on the board he'll still be relatively reasonable. In other words when I go to an auction draft my strategy is to nominate and pay for the guys that I want and let everyone else pay a premium for the scraps.

Ron Shandler has other auction draft strategies in his annual fantasy baseball guide - The Baseball Forecaster. Click here to pick up a copy on Amazon.

Game Used Baseball Jerseys, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 7 of 10

Game used baseball jerseys are a great collectible and fairly accessible way to own part of the game. Most baseball card sets will include limited run baseball cards with pieces of game used jerseys in them. eBay is positively littered with these cards. Alternatively, whole jerseys suitable for framing or wearing are readily available on eBay.

In my search for game used baseball jerseys on eBay I was unable to find any big name stars. I did come across this vintage Cubs jersey from 1947. Can't say I'm familiar with #17 Jess Dobernic but I'm sure most Cubs fans are.

There were also a number of game used jerseys available from lesser known players and teams. There was a Cubs Mark DeRosa jersey and many from the Oakland athletics. If you have a specific jersey in mind it may require some patience.

Own part of the game with a game used baseball jersey from eBay!

Also See,
Stadium Dirt, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 10 of 10
Baseball Card Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 9 of 10
Vintage Baseball Glove, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 8 of 10
Baseball DVD by Ken Burns, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 6 of 10
T206 Hall of Famer Baseball Cards, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 5 of 10
Alex Rodriquez Game Used Bat - Baseball Memorabilia - Part 4 of 10
Shea Stadium Seats, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 3 of 10
Babe Ruth Autographed Baseball Card, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 2 of 10
Jose Reyes Beckett Baseball Magazine Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 1 of 10

Baseball DVD by Ken Burns, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 6 of 10

Baseball by Ken Burns is a legendary look at the game. Although many have called the accuracy of some of the finer points in to question to me it still speaks as baseball's definitive retrospective. It's been over 10 years since I've seen it but recently purchased a copy on eBay as a birthday treat.

The Ken Burns classic really worked best for me during the early history of the game. Essentially everything before Babe Ruth is a little bit of a mystery to me - after all Ruth redefined the game. However the early version of baseball had greats like Ty Cobb and Cy Young.

I can't wait to watch this DVD and recommend it as a much watch for any baseball fan, historian or memorabilia collector.

Order your copy of Ken Burns' PBS documentary Baseball on eBay!

Also See,
Stadium Dirt, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 10 of 10
Baseball Card Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 9 of 10
Vintage Baseball Glove, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 8 of 10
Game Used Baseball Jerseys, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 7 of 10
T206 Hall of Famer Baseball Cards, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 5 of 10
Alex Rodriquez Game Used Bat - Baseball Memorabilia - Part 4 of 10
Shea Stadium Seats, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 3 of 10
Babe Ruth Autographed Baseball Card, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 2 of 10
Jose Reyes Beckett Baseball Magazine Printing Plate, Baseball Memorabilia - Part 1 of 10