MLB Market Movements

• 99 Ultimate Victory Josh Beckett RC - During the fourth quarter '07, Beckett's top base rookie was selling in the $25-30 TAC range. Then in January it jumped to an average of $47.65. During the first of week of February, I saw one sell for $39.95. His 00 SPx Auto #'d 1500 also got a boost last month to $76.50, from $63.25 in December.
  
• 00 Bowman Grady Sizemore Auto - This card has been slowly sliding in value since the end of the season. It averaged $228.72 in December, and $210.81 in January. Pretty soon, you might be able to find them for $200, or less.
• 02 Bowman Chrome Draft Cole Hamels RC - It averaged in the low $20's range through August, then experienced a drop, and stayed in the $16-19 range for the next 4 months. Finally, it's edged back up over $20, averaging $22.06 in January, it's highest since June '07.
  
• 03 Bowman's Best Ryan Howard Auto RC - After peaking out at an average of $400 in August, this card dropped into a full free-fall. It averaged $261.09 in November, then $247.26 in December and $225.50 in January. Sales seem to be finally leveling off in February, with prices at around $230.
• 03 Bowman's Best Dan Haren Auto RC - After a great start in '07, Haren's performance started faltering mid-season, and his card values followed. His BB Auto RC peaked in June at around $40, then fell to $35 in July, $27 in August, $23 in September, then bottomed out at $17 in October. It then jumped to $34.99 in November (probably due to trade speculation), and again in December to $36.02, when Haren joined the D-Backs' rotation. The hype then died down pretty quickly, with an average price of $24.35 in January. One sold for $30.01 on 2/7.
  
• 05 Bowman Chrome Draft Clay Buchholz RC - This card went from obscurity to hobby standout after Buchholz tossed a no-hitter against the Orioles on 9/1. It averaged $21.25 in that month. Then, at the end of September, he got hurt and missed the rest of the season. His BCD RC dropped by about 50%, to the $11-12 range the next month, and held steady at that price level through January. There hasn't been much change so far in February, with the average sales price at $12.24 through 2/9. Over the past few months, his BCD Refractor has been selling in the $45-55 range, and his BCD X-fractor #'d 250 in the $75-95 range. With Curt Schilling projected to be out most of the season, you can expect Buchholz to get more opportunities on the mound in '08.