The official 2023 Current players that are "hobby good" thread

seanrs1 · 05-01-2023, 10:36 AM

Thought I would start a thread to track the current players that are "hobby good." Since I just track a few players now (Ohtani, Tatis jr., Juan Soto, Acuna jr., Vladdy jr., Franco and Julio Rodriguez)...I wanted to have a thread to track the temperature of the current players that are "hobby good." I know it is probably not possible, but I thought it might be nice to have a consensus list.

Here are my observations for 2023 "hobby good" (hobby great)
1. Shohei Ohtani (In a tier of his own)

2. Mike Trout

Currently "hobby good"
Acuna jr.
Aaron Judge
Mookie Betts
Fernando Tatis Jr.
Juan Soto

Hobby hot and likely "hobby good"
Corbin Carroll
Elly De La Cruz

At the lower end of "hobby good"
Wander Franco
Julio Rodriguez

Probably falling off their "hobby good" status
Vladdy jr.

Possibly "hobby good"
Bryce Harper
Clayton Kershaw

Was "hobby good" for a time and now isn't
Kris Byrant

Future HOF, but not currently "hobby good"
Miguel Cabrera

Likely a future HOF but not "hobby good"
Paul Goldschmidt
Nolan Arenado
Manny Machado
Feddie Freeman
Jose Altuve
Giancarlo Stanton
Jose Ramirez
Carlos Correa
Francisco Lindor
Justin Verlander
Max Scherzer

TheGZA · 05-01-2023, 10:48 AM

What do you mean when you say you track these players? Selling price trends over time? Graded card count trends?

Anyways to answer your question that is probably a fair list. You could just scan through BO topics for what players have individual threads that are consistently on front page (or page 2) as a good barometer.

seanrs1 · 05-01-2023, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGZA

What do you mean when you say you track these players? Selling price trends over time? Graded card count trends?

Anyways to answer your question that is probably a fair list. You could just scan through BO topics for what players have individual threads that are consistently on front page (or page 2) as a good barometer.

By tracking I mean I look at completed sales of the cards I own and cards that sell daily on 130 point. Nothing really more sophisticated than that. Also, I go to some local shows and see what the dealers are buying and selling.

Jolten Joe · 05-01-2023, 11:11 AM

Never understood why Austin Riley never was accepted within the Hobby. Clearly a top 5 3B who produces every single year. His Flagship debut was in 2019 Update so lower print run than most other hot Rc's that year. He plays for Atlanta one of the hottest teams in the NL. The last 2 seasons he's out homered Acuna 72-43

Only thing I can figure is Acuna takes up most of the spotlight and people just don't notice him as much.

jduds · 05-01-2023, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolten Joe

Never understood why Austin Riley never was accepted within the Hobby. Clearly a top 5 3B who produces every single year. His Flagship debut was in 2019 Update so lower print run than most other hot Rc's that year. He plays for Atlanta one of the hottest teams in the NL. The last 2 seasons he's out homered Acuna 72-43

Only thing I can figure is Acuna takes up most of the spotlight and people just don't notice him as much.

By every single year you mean the last two? He wasn't good in 2019 and 2020 so had to rebound from the slow start. His Chrome Autos are over $100 so it's not like he is ignored completely.

ScooterD · 05-01-2023, 11:22 AM

^^^^ This is right. People don’t remember now, but he had a “slump” season after his hitting well in his initial call up. People bought high during his first off-season and lost $ during the “slump” season. His 2015 Bowman 1st autos and parallels are about where they were at their peak, so another solid season will have the initial buyers seeing gains and build confidence back up

Jolten Joe · 05-01-2023, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jduds

By every single year you mean the last two? He wasn't good in 2019 and 2020 so had to rebound from the slow start. His Chrome Autos are over $100 so it's not like he is ignored completely.

in 2019 he hit 18 homeruns in 80 games that's almost 1 every 4 games which to me doesn't sound horrible. in 2020 he only played in 51 games during the covid era so I don't really count anything for anyone that year.

seanrs1 · 05-01-2023, 11:39 AM

I started this thread for a couple reasons...I wanted to see if the board could agree on which players were hobby good...and how it changes throughout the year depending on who has a good season. The other is being a good player does not equal hobby good. It appears to be "hobby good" a player is a hyped prospect and then produces immediately at a very young age and plays at an all star or MVP level year after year. "Hobby good" players also seem to play premium positions and are super likeable. When I think of "hobby good" from the past Ken Griffey Jr. seems to stand out the most. Current "hobby good" also seems to imply the player will one day be in the HOF.

Being a good/great all star player does not seem to be enough to be "hobby good." Being "hobby good" means you have staying power and the demand for RC cards is extremely high.

jduds · 05-01-2023, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jolten Joe

in 2019 he hit 18 homeruns in 80 games that's almost 1 every 4 games which to me doesn't sound horrible. in 2020 he only played in 51 games during the covid era so I don't really count anything for anyone that year.

The 18 homers were nice and got people excited, but pretty much every other metric had him as performing below an average player. 2020, while short, drove folks away from him and it took two great seasons to get him back to where he currently is. I think his current positioning in the hobby makes sense is all I'm getting at and not a guy that has been performing great for multiple years that is overlooked.

jduds · 05-01-2023, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanrs1

I started this thread for a couple reasons...I wanted to see if the board could agree on which players were hobby good...and how it changes throughout the year depending on who has a good season. The other is being a good player does not equal hobby good. It appears to be "hobby good" a player is a hyped prospect and then produces immediately at a very young age and plays at an all star or MVP level year after year. "Hobby good" players also seem to play premium positions and are super likeable. When I think of "hobby good" from the past Ken Griffey Jr. seems to stand out the most. Current "hobby good" also seems to imply the player will one day be in the HOF.

Being a good/great all star player does not seem to be enough to be "hobby good." Being "hobby good" means you have staying power and the demand for RC cards is extremely high.

Basically, the way I look at it is there are the faces of baseball guys, the HOF-path guys, and everyone else. The first group has to be on the HOF-path to begin with, but either they shatter the stats needed for a HOF career or they have some x-factor (charisma or championship glory normally).

oldgoldy97 · 05-01-2023, 12:17 PM

I heard Bobby Witt Jr is good. Possibly not good.

panamamyers · 05-01-2023, 12:19 PM

Alex Bregman has been better than Riley by most metrics and he's not hobby good either. Bregman has averaged 4.5 WAR to 3 for Riley per season.
To be hobby good, you better be called up when you're 19 or 20 and have multiple MVP seasons.
Heck I don't even see Yordan Alvarez on the list and he's twice as good as Riley.

atomic619jd · 05-01-2023, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanrs1

I started this thread for a couple reasons...I wanted to see if the board could agree on which players were hobby good...and how it changes throughout the year depending on who has a good season. The other is being a good player does not equal hobby good. It appears to be "hobby good" a player is a hyped prospect and then produces immediately at a very young age and plays at an all star or MVP level year after year. "Hobby good" players also seem to play premium positions and are super likeable. When I think of "hobby good" from the past Ken Griffey Jr. seems to stand out the most. Current "hobby good" also seems to imply the player will one day be in the HOF.

Being a good/great all star player does not seem to be enough to be "hobby good." Being "hobby good" means you have staying power and the demand for RC cards is extremely high.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately as I almost exclusively collect baseball, but enjoy tracking NBA and NFL breaks and pricing

For players to be Hobby good they need to either be transcendent to baseball (ex Ohtani), be the biggest start in a top 2-3 market (ex Judge) or be on a HOF pace.

If 1 of those 3 does NOT exist you can pick up their non-rc/non-1st cards for pennies on the dollar in most cases. If one exists you start to get into "hobby good" and then if more than 1 exist you get into "hobby darling" territory.

NBA seems to be the least concerned on career stats and more on who is the hot player at the time that puts up poster after poster or whatever. Football is somewhere in between, but is heavy on QBs due to importance and longevity.

oldgoldy97 · 05-01-2023, 12:21 PM

Let’s be honest. The best hobby players are the ones who have played in the majors yet, minus a couple guys in populous states.

Noles939913 · 05-01-2023, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by panamamyers

Alex Bregman has been better than Riley by most metrics and he's not hobby good either. Bregman has averaged 4.5 WAR to 3 for Riley per season.
To be hobby good, you better be called up when you're 19 or 20 and have multiple MVP seasons.
Heck I don't even see Yordan Alvarez on the list and he's twice as good as Riley.

No way Yordan is twice as good as Riley when he doesn’t even play the field most of the time.

CxL · 05-01-2023, 12:26 PM

Tatis Jr. if we are being real. Cards are bouncing back hard.

anusinha · 05-01-2023, 12:27 PM

There really only are 2-3 long term "hobby good" players a decade

BigRedMachine80 · 05-01-2023, 12:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atomic619jd

I've been thinking about this a lot lately as I almost exclusively collect baseball, but enjoy tracking NBA and NFL breaks and pricing

For players to be Hobby good they need to either be transcendent to baseball (ex Ohtani), be the biggest start in a top 2-3 market (ex Judge) or be on a HOF pace.

If 1 of those 3 does NOT exist you can pick up their non-rc/non-1st cards for pennies on the dollar in most cases. If one exists you start to get into "hobby good" and then if more than 1 exist you get into "hobby darling" territory.

NBA seems to be the least concerned on career stats and more on who is the hot player at the time that puts up poster after poster or whatever. Football is somewhere in between, but is heavy on QBs due to importance and longevity.

The Angels are not a top 2-3 market, yet Trout and Ohtani's cards are high. Wander and J-Rod are not in top markets. The "market" narrative has always been BS when trying to explain why some top players have no hobby love while an inferior player has loads of it.

yodastories · 05-01-2023, 01:11 PM

Topps should just stop printing everything else and focus solely on printing Trout and Ohtani cards.

PumpnDumpling · 05-01-2023, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigRedMachine80

The Angels are not a top 2-3 market, yet Trout and Ohtani's cards are high. Wander and J-Rod are not in top markets. The "market" narrative has always been BS when trying to explain why some top players have no hobby love while an inferior player has loads of it.

What you are not understanding is nuance, things are rarely black and white

towerymt · 05-01-2023, 01:20 PM

Betts? Hobby good?

seanrs1 · 05-01-2023, 01:23 PM

Anyone have any suggestions of my list? I am happy to make edits and add and subtract players as the members on this board see fit.

NCWolf · 05-01-2023, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanrs1

Anyone have any suggestions of my list? I am happy to make edits and add and subtract players as the members on this board see fit.

I think "Hobby good" is up for debate. Quite a few guys fit that description..

However, Ohtani and Trout are "hobby great" and should probably be in a league of their own for awhile.

seanrs1 · 05-01-2023, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NCWolf

I think "Hobby good" is up for debate. Quite a few guys fit that description..

However, Ohtani and Trout are "hobby great" and should probably be in a league of their own for awhile.

I agree "hobby good" is up for debate...that is why I started this thread. And that is why I put Ohtani and Trout in their own tier.

seanrs1 · 05-01-2023, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by towerymt

Betts? Hobby good?

I don't collect him, so I don't know. He is certainly on the HOF track.

05-01-2023, 10:36 AM	#1
seanrs1 Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,937	The official 2023 Current players that are "hobby good" thread Thought I would start a thread to track the current players that are "hobby good." Since I just track a few players now (Ohtani, Tatis jr., Juan Soto, Acuna jr., Vladdy jr., Franco and Julio Rodriguez)...I wanted to have a thread to track the temperature of the current players that are "hobby good." I know it is probably not possible, but I thought it might be nice to have a consensus list. Here are my observations for 2023 "hobby good" (hobby great) 1. Shohei Ohtani (In a tier of his own) 2. Mike Trout Currently "hobby good" Acuna jr. Aaron Judge Mookie Betts Fernando Tatis Jr. Juan Soto Hobby hot and likely "hobby good" Corbin Carroll Elly De La Cruz At the lower end of "hobby good" Wander Franco Julio Rodriguez Probably falling off their "hobby good" status Vladdy jr. Possibly "hobby good" Bryce Harper Clayton Kershaw Was "hobby good" for a time and now isn't Kris Byrant Future HOF, but not currently "hobby good" Miguel Cabrera Likely a future HOF but not "hobby good" Paul Goldschmidt Nolan Arenado Manny Machado Feddie Freeman Jose Altuve Giancarlo Stanton Jose Ramirez Carlos Correa Francisco Lindor Justin Verlander Max Scherzer Last edited by seanrs1; 07-10-2023 at 12:30 PM.

05-01-2023, 11:39 AM	#8
seanrs1 Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,937	I started this thread for a couple reasons...I wanted to see if the board could agree on which players were hobby good...and how it changes throughout the year depending on who has a good season. The other is being a good player does not equal hobby good. It appears to be "hobby good" a player is a hyped prospect and then produces immediately at a very young age and plays at an all star or MVP level year after year. "Hobby good" players also seem to play premium positions and are super likeable. When I think of "hobby good" from the past Ken Griffey Jr. seems to stand out the most. Current "hobby good" also seems to imply the player will one day be in the HOF. Being a good/great all star player does not seem to be enough to be "hobby good." Being "hobby good" means you have staying power and the demand for RC cards is extremely high. Last edited by seanrs1; 05-01-2023 at 11:43 AM.

05-01-2023, 12:17 PM	#11
oldgoldy97 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 51,577	I heard Bobby Witt Jr is good. Possibly not good. __________________ Truly riveting discussion: that’s what your wife/girlfriend/sheep said.

05-01-2023, 12:21 PM	#14
oldgoldy97 Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 51,577	Let’s be honest. The best hobby players are the ones who have played in the majors yet, minus a couple guys in populous states. __________________ Truly riveting discussion: that’s what your wife/girlfriend/sheep said.

05-01-2023, 10:48 AM	#2
TheGZA Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Posts: 1,111	What do you mean when you say you track these players? Selling price trends over time? Graded card count trends? Anyways to answer your question that is probably a fair list. You could just scan through BO topics for what players have individual threads that are consistently on front page (or page 2) as a good barometer.

05-01-2023, 11:11 AM	#4
Jolten Joe Banned - PBM Join Date: Dec 2022 Posts: 1,666	Never understood why Austin Riley never was accepted within the Hobby. Clearly a top 5 3B who produces every single year. His Flagship debut was in 2019 Update so lower print run than most other hot Rc's that year. He plays for Atlanta one of the hottest teams in the NL. The last 2 seasons he's out homered Acuna 72-43 Only thing I can figure is Acuna takes up most of the spotlight and people just don't notice him as much.

05-01-2023, 11:22 AM	#6
ScooterD Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Naples, FL Posts: 5,382	^^^^ This is right. People don’t remember now, but he had a “slump” season after his hitting well in his initial call up. People bought high during his first off-season and lost $ during the “slump” season. His 2015 Bowman 1st autos and parallels are about where they were at their peak, so another solid season will have the initial buyers seeing gains and build confidence back up

05-01-2023, 12:19 PM	#12
panamamyers Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,898 panamamyers panamamyers	Alex Bregman has been better than Riley by most metrics and he's not hobby good either. Bregman has averaged 4.5 WAR to 3 for Riley per season. To be hobby good, you better be called up when you're 19 or 20 and have multiple MVP seasons. Heck I don't even see Yordan Alvarez on the list and he's twice as good as Riley.

05-01-2023, 12:26 PM	#16
CxL Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 1,686	Tatis Jr. if we are being real. Cards are bouncing back hard.

05-01-2023, 12:27 PM	#17
anusinha Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 13,753	There really only are 2-3 long term "hobby good" players a decade

05-01-2023, 01:11 PM	#19
yodastories Member Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: 704 Posts: 309	Topps should just stop printing everything else and focus solely on printing Trout and Ohtani cards.

05-01-2023, 01:20 PM	#21
towerymt Member Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: VA Posts: 8,835	Betts? Hobby good?

05-01-2023, 01:23 PM	#22
seanrs1 Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,937	Anyone have any suggestions of my list? I am happy to make edits and add and subtract players as the members on this board see fit.