Making the Grade (August): Vladdy, Acuña, Mickie James, bargain buys, vintage adds & even Cactus Jack's crimson mask

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ... and this time it's still a few more past pick-ups than usual as my pre-COVID grading submissions are delayed and still in graders' hands.

GOOD AS GOLD?
The Card: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 2019 Topps Update Gold #US1 (/2,019) -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Graded: This one looked razor-sharp when I pulled it -- and that wasn't always the easiest thing with the corners for cards in this release. While I might want to slab a few key RCs in this one, I wouldn't unless I think that the corners could be decent enough to get a 9.5 or better. Why? Because a lot of people are grading stuff here so you can let them take the chance at stuff coming back surprisingly low. Meanwhile, because of those corner issues (tight wrappers or chippy stock) a high-grade card is seemingly just not easy in this one -- and Gold parallels can be problematic at times, too,  though they were cleaner here than other past years.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This card checked in where I had hoped but I'm definitely not alone as nearly all of the cards graded checked in as 9.5s. While the grade is a win, the pop report is a bit of a bummer. Long-term that might not matter as the demand will be there if he lives up to the expectations.

Keep reading for more of this time's recent pick-ups and new slabs for Buzz.

COOL ROOKIE CARD
The Card: Ronald Acuña Jr. 2018 Topps Holiday #50 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: I have a number of these cards and scrutinized all of them pretty hard doing one via PSA and one via BGS .... if I remember correctly. (This was deep in my inventory of past slabs I hadn't used since I'm still waiting on newly slabbed stuff to arrive.) I thought it was clean enough to send with thoughts of a PSA 9 or better but figured since it's a solid card and one of my favorites I'd be fine either way.
The Grade: PSA 10

Reality Check: I checked in at the top grade, which was a plus, but it turns out that everybody is ... which seems odd but it happens a lot on modern stuff these days. (Should it? I don't know.) I need that on my best vintage subs ... I think I'll have one example of that coming up ... next.

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VINTAGE CHALLENGE
The Card: John Johnson 1973-74 Topps #47
The Reason Graded: This card is razor-sharp and very clean all-around for a card from the early 1970s, so I submitted with visions of a PSA 9, maybe better, while also knowing that it had a few small print spots down around his collar. Only one I thought was on the more-annoying side, figuring it would still do well for a slab of a player from the past who I collect.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: I was wrong on this one apparently and I'll admit it left me a bit miffed as everything but those dots seemed to be spot on and it was way, way better than every other copy I have. This card can have those issues way worse, snow in the shadow part of the photo and some rough fiber-laden cuts that look like they used a handsaw to cut the sheets atop of lousy centering. Most cards check in at this grade but I still think this one is a quality PSA 8 that should be a notch higher.

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GEM MINT MICKIE
The Card: Mickie James 2006 Topps Chrome Heritage WWE Refractors #58 -- Rookie Card parallel
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up for just under the price of a couple blasters because it's a parallel of a RC for a no doubt future WWE Hall of Famer and, well, I've been on a slight wrestling slab kick for a few months now. Boxes of this one aren't easily be found on the cheap (or really in general) so trying to chase a Refractor out of wax also isn't reasonably done.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This one is the only copy so my only other option would have been to find one and slab one and there's no guarantee of a 9.5 -- even without sub-grades. The centering isn't the greatest here but I still liked the card.

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SUPER-CHEAP SLABS
The Card: Brett Anderson 2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition #95 (/549)
The Reason Bought: I actually picked up two of these -- both high-grade copies -- for a total of just $6. Why? Just as a reminder to people that those big prospects now might not be later. This guy was a highly touted draft pick back in 2007 and this card shows an early sig with most letters of his name showing ... unlike a lot of his MLB ink.
The Grade: BGS 9.5/10

Reality Check: I didn't check the pop report here, just knew that a 9.5 for $3 wasn't bad. As it turns out nearly all of the cards check in at that mark, though none are higher.

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REMEMBER ME?
The Card: Rinku Singh 2009 Bowman Chrome Prospects Autographs #BCP91
The Reason Bought: This former minor-leaguer was one of the real-life Million-Dollar Arm players who became the basis for a Disney movie. His baseball career lasted five seasons with a 12-8 record and a comeback in 2016 after four years away from the game ... but that didn't last. Why did I grab this? (For almost $10? Yikes!) Well, he's now a pro wrestler deep in the WWE training ranks at NXT and looks nothing like this in the ring today. I figured if he makes it to the main roster or TV there would be some novelty appeal here. (The two players generally sell OK given their stories but I wanted a slab for this one.)
The Grade: BGS 8.5/10

Reality Check: Behold, the worst copy there is! No big deal as I didn't buy it to sell it later -- just thought it was an interesting card and actually didn't think many would be slabbed. The good news is that there's nothing above a BGS 9 ... so  in comparison an 8.5 doesn't look that bad.

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AVOIDING THE CHALLENGE
The Card: Jose Canseco 1988 Topps #370
The Reason Bought: Ever have one of those players or timeframes where you'd totally buy a decent-grade card if the price is right but never would realistically slab one yourself unless you knew it would come back with a top grade? This is one of those times. (And even that is iffy.) It was under $5 though that might be high -- but it's still not going to dig through the hundreds of copies (yes, I said hundreds) I have stashed from back in the day and years of collecting to see if anything could do better.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: This pop report is a weird one with the highest mark having the highest pop and the grade below this checking in higher, too. Printing-wise (and centering-wise) this year was a mess, but I think it has held up better than some sets from the era. Owning a PSA 10 with no flaws to make you question its grade (sometimes those are out there) would be impressive and I wonder if BGS 9.5/10 cards are even reasonably possible. Perhaps a clean factory set might yield some top grades as long as centering cooperates?

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A CORNER OFF
The Card: Shaun Alexander 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game #108 (/1,500) -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up on the cheaper side of things, especially considering its grade, but at just $4 I had to since he's a player I've met and have many other cards for him. I never found this one since it's on the rarer side (for that time) -- raw or not.
The Grade: BGS 8.5

Reality Check: I wasn't a big fan of the grade but the top-right corner probably got it the mark while everything else here looks perfectly fine for a card with such a bold-colored border and potentially chippy paper stock. As it turns out, nothing has graded higher, which is surprising and makes me feel better about this card.

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THE YANKEE KILLER
The Card: Frank Lary 1960 Topps #85
The Reason Bought: I picked this one up because it's a mid-range card that really doesn't look like it -- it's likely got some surface issues that apparently hurt it with the centering slightly off -- but I liked this card a lot for just $4. I'm not sure why somebody would price a graded vintage card that low, but I bit instantly as he fits the school ties part of my collection and I don't think I even had this one raw. He's not a money player on cardboard, but was a good one for 12 seasons in the majors.
The Grade: PSA 5

Reality Check: Most copies check in a couple notches higher than this card and my grade is actually rarer than the highest mar, too. I wouldn't pony up for the high-grade price, anyway.

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BANG BANG!
The Card: Cactus Jack 1995 BBM Pro Wrestling #123 -- Rookie Card (?)
The Reason Bought: This Japanese card is a unique one that I've always wanted to grab since it's one of the earliest (and likely first in-pack) cards of a WWE Hall of Famer who you also might know as Mick Foley, Dude Love or Mankind. He's got earlier "cards" that came from publications and mail-order oddball releases, but it took a run in Japan to get him into a wrestling pack and that also makes this a Rookie Card moreso than the oddball stuff in my mind. Another thing that makes this one unique? The front of the card shows him busted open and wearing a "crimson mask" with barbed wire wrapped around his arm -- not something you'll see much of in modern wrestling card sets in the U.S. in all the years since this one arrived. (Hey, at least it's not from his match where he literally had an ear ripped off.) I ponied up around $40 for this one since it's a high-grade copy and I've always wanted it. I dropped the color on the front image of the photo, but if you want a closer look just click on the smaller image.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: The corners got the low mark here but that front is as razor-sharp as his barbed wire so it must have been something on the back (perhaps very minor tweak on the top left?) that got the graders pulling no punches. Only three copies have been slabbed and none are higher. PSA has only graded 17 copies of this card with one PSA 8, nine PSA 9s and seven checking in at a top mark. Across the board, this seems like a tough card and that makes me like it even more and I like BGS 9.5s a little more than PSA 10s on newer stuff.

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NO, NOT SHANNON ...
The Card: Sterling Sharpe 1989 Score Supplemental #333S -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: I always liked this set as a kid for a pair of cards -- this one and the Bo Jackson showing him in his Bo Knows pads but in a batting stance. This card isn't a high-grade copy, but it only cost me $4 and it still looks better than a lot of cards out there from the era. (Corners can take a beating considering these were released in a tight cardboard box.) I briefly collected him and Don Majkowski when I first started doing NFL stuff, around this time but then I found Randall Cunningham and the Eagles and that clicked a little better.
The Grade: PSA 8

Reality Check: I was a little surprised to see so many copies of this one graded since it's not all that expensive of a card generally speaking, but the volumes seem about right instead of everything being 10s. Maybe I'll track down his Topps and Pro Set RCs to go with it at some point.

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MONEYBALL!
The Card: Jeremy Brown 2002 Vancouver Canadians Multi-ad #32
The Reason Bought: Well, for starters, I found this one for just $2 and that made it a no-brainer pick-up as it's from a team-issue set that's loaded with players from the Moneyball draft class. He was one of those players focused on heavily in the book that later became a movie. The book focused heavily on the draft but the movie didn't, though it included a scene involving Brown that served as a metaphor at the end of the movie about what we had just watched. Brown isn't actually shown in the movie but the home run happened and he made it to The Show for five games and had 10 at-bats. This was among his first pro baseball cards so I bit -- you don't see sets like this every day, let alone slabbed cards from them.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: Nothing here looks off at all on this card save for a small rough spot on one edge that I think could hurt it worse than a 9 (I would have slabbed a different copy) but everything else looks perfect. I bought this one without seeing a scan -- the price was that good -- and there's only one other copy graded that checked in lower than this. All in all, this works well for me -- and it's another card that fits my school ties portion of my collection.

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