Making the Grade (May): Baby Yoda, Pete Alonso, Mandy Rose & Ryan Leaf all check in with some impressive grades + more

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 ...

GRADING THE PHENOM
The Card: Baby Yoda ("The Child") 2019 Star Wars Living Set #58
The Reason Graded: I picked up a few of these since I knew they'd be hot -- it set a record with 9,663 copies sold that shows how it definitely was in demand. However, that volume is significantly higher than anything else in the set and that  can also lead to lower re-sale prices as those who bought in bulk want to move them. (They have more competition.) Grading-wise, this one is the big leader, too, but I still wanted to chase a 10.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I came close but ultimately checked in where most cards here do. Nearly 50 cards from the set have been graded and this guy is on 29 of them. Only two other copies have five or more graded copies and that leaves the rest as population-one cards. I didn't get a 10 but I'm fine with this mark as the stock does seem like it might be a tougher grade than other types.

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

SO CLOSE TO BLACK-LABEL
The Card: Mandy Rose 2019 Topps WWE Women's Division Women's Royal Rumble #RR3
The Reason Graded: This simple insert set shows fighters during their entrances to the annual Royal Rumble match or in action against others and it's a set that, for whatever reason, stands out with good photos (action moments, expressions, etc.) I think it's also in part that the photographers had different angles than usual to get photos ... something about these just seems different. This card with its dark-edged photo literally jumped out at me from the pack with it being so clean and the four corners essentially perfect despite their dark colors. I knew I wanted this one graded in part because of the grading curiosity but also because I like the set. (I may grade others from it ... we'll see. They aren't big-dollar cards.)
The Grade: BGS 10

Reality Check: I was right about the card as there's a super-minor spec on the top edge and one corner just barely has a minor spot but both are ultimately enhanced a bit here with how the light bounces off the edge of cards as part of my photography set-up. (Translation: It looks better than this in-hand.) This is the only copy graded and I expect it to remain that way -- it's not a first-year card or anything notable in that way ... just a simple good card of a name on the rise. Cards often arrive out of packs of this one with edge wear and lifted corners due to the thin stock and a lot of photos having dark arena backgrounds.

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GOING OLDSCHOOL
The Card: Elvin Hayes, Julius Erving & Ron Brewer 1980-81 Topps
The Reason Bought: Two Hall of Famers on one card from this historic enigma of a set in this grade for just $11.50 got me to bite. Why? Those things and the fact that I'm a sucker for early 1980s Topps NBA cards for some players and teams.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: This one tends to grade well based on the stats, but this set is one of those releases that is just rough if you're trying to slab your own. I have one player I collect in this one and I just don't see how anything I could submit would get a 10 ... a PSA 9 if they were being really nice. That said, I've ultimately just been a buyer when the price is right. A really sweet part of this card? Take a closer look ... That's Pete Maravich on the left -- a third Hall of Famer here -- and, I could be wrong, but isn't that Elvin Hayes on the background of the two cards that aren't his? (I really need to revisit this set to see if an oddity like this happened more often.)

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FRESHLY SLABBED
The Card: Ryan Leaf 1998 Topps Autographs #A9 -- rookie-year auto
The Reason Graded: When I saw this card, my eyes bulged -- it looked razor sharp coming from a higher-gloss era where soft stock, dark edges and that gloss might have meant catastrophe back then and might be just as bad now if one somehow found some packs. This one was in a recent Making The Grade piece here and I've since gotten it slabbed and back.
The Grade: BGS 9.5/9

Reality Check: I'm very happy with this one for its grade. It's a prime "bust" card from the past in a prime grade. The last time one of these got graded was 2001 when he was in his final season in the NFL ... as a Dallas Cowboy. It's the only one to have autograph grading -- I don't think it existed when the others were slabbed -- and Darth Grader got me a tad on this one as the only light spot is on the down-stroke of his "L" in Leaf. I knew that part was a risk but I also didn't think it looked too bad. I won't own the Peyton Manning from this one -- it's too pricey -- but this one is almost as good. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

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GRADING AT TIFFANY'S
The Card: Bart Giamatti 1990 Topps Tiffany #396 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: In a past MTG I mentioned my frustration at trying to track down a fresh 1990 Donruss card of this former MLB Commissioner to grade. In the wake of that, I opted for a rarer option -- perhaps his rarest of his cards from this year -- in his Topps Tiffany release. They're printed on bright white stock and have high gloss -- two things that make these cards look soooooooo much better than the standard ones that can look like they were printed with watercolor ink in a snowstorm.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: I knew this one wouldn't be an easy 10 -- the gloss is just weird here and that's probably what got me. There were allegedly only 15,000 sets made for this one and this set isn't as easily found as the ones that preceded it. I'm generally fine with nines but was more surprised by the fact that just one copy has been graded. It's not a money card but I figured somebody somewhere might have slabbed a Tiffany version. (Guess that's me.)

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HIGH-GRADE SLUGGER
The Card: Pete Alonso 2019 Topps (Series 2) #475 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Graded: The top corners of cards from last year's Topps packs are often problematic -- either the stock was a little more brittle than normal or the wrappers were a little too tight or something. When I pulled this one, though, those top two corners screamed out at me as they were clean and everything else looked pretty tight, too. I had a few Alonso cards on my grading tarmac but cut back to start with this one as it was the best of my bunch, though not the rarest or priciest. Given his big rookie season, I figured I'd slab here.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It's definitely a solid copy -- and right now only 57 have topped it. That said, most copies appear to be checking in here -- that surprises me a bit -- but people are submitting key basic RCs for notables more than ever these days.

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THROWBACK PICK-UP
The Card: Gregg Jefferies 1989 Topps #233 -- First Topps Card
The Reason Bought: Turn back the clock to 1988 and this guy was perhaps bigger on cardboard than Alonso is today -- but without all of the home runs and other on-field successes. It was hype and a strong 1988 batting average. For whatever reason, this Mets star didn't have a Topps card in 1988 and that made this one a piece to look for even though he had other RCs before it. I ponied up about $9 for this since I just wanted one in a slab. I have Tiffany copy or two tucked away in a box somewhere and I may or may not have both of the versions where the Future Stars label and photo are slid up/down -- interesting variations that nobody really thinks about now. But I didn't have a slab.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: The centering is probably the main key here as nearly half of all copies slabbed have checked in at a 10. I don't really want to pay up for something higher -- I'd perhaps chase some elite grades via BGS as I think they would be nicer (and tougher). Maybe a factory set will present itself at some point or something and it'll happen. Who knows ...

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OH BROTHER
The Card: Hulk Hogan 1985 Topps WWF #16 -- Rookie Card (sorta)
The Reason Graded: Last month's MTG had my best copy of Hogan's first card in this set and this was my best copy of his secondary card where Topps basically just changed the background color in the same photo. I knew this wouldn't be a 10 since there are so many challenges with 1985 quality control, but I also didn't know how the pop report looked when I sent it in ... I just sent my two best copies.
The Grade: BGS 8.5

Reality Check: I was a tad bummed with an 8.5 because this is a clean 8.5 -- centering off two ways got me -- but I didn't realize that most of the slabbed copies check in here and there are even more that have shown up worse. His cards are some of the keys in this first WWE (then WWF) set ever made and one of the key in-pack releases of the modern era of cardboard if you ask me. They aren't pricey -- just key cards. (The 1982 Wrestling All-Stars set is essentially the home of most firsts for closer-to-standard American cardboard but it's more like an "XRC" scenario in that it was a mail-order set and not in packs.) This set used to be a lot easier to find in unopened pack form on the cheap -- but no matter what you end up paying the centering and other potential printing problems can be all over the place with freshly pulled cards. There being only three 9.5s doesn't surprise me at all.

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OBSCURE VINTAGE
The Card: Joel Horlen 1967 Topps Venezuelan #228
The Reason Bought: Topps created card sets for baseball fans in Venezuela several times between 1959 and the early 1970s and they'll all occasionally be found online in absolutely mangled shape -- mostly for big-name players. They simply are not easy finds in general and high-grade copies just can't be easy all these years later. Just under $9 got me this sample card and it seems like it was totally worth it. (And, no, the border is not cut off here -- that's how these were designed.)
The Grade: BVG 2.5

Reality Check: This one flies solo for BVG and there are only 43 other cards from this set in BVG slabs. There's nothing above a 7.5 and that one is an outlier as most check in at 4.5 or lower. Ten of the 44 graded check in at BVG 4 and there are a combined 14 at 2/2.5. PSA has graded just seven copies of this card with only one (an eight) and the rest checking in at six or lower. PSA has graded far more cards from this set -- just over 2,800 -- with zero 10s, two nines and only 42 eights. Most check in between PSA 1 and 5 volume-wise with PSA 1s the most common. It's crazy and a project I'd never even contemplate on any scale. But at least I have a card from one of the sets.

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CHEAP CLASSIC
The Card: Ken Griffey Jr. 1993 Upper Deck #355
The Reason Bought: I landed this one cheap -- about $4 and about my max -- but the simplicity of this set is one that has always made it a favorite. It's ultimately a low-value set other than the Derek Jeter Rookie Card and a few cards of young stars not quite as big as Griffey, but the photos on the front and backs here can be surprises.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: Even though these cards use a high-stick gloss and were printed on a soft stock -- neither of which were done any favors in the tight wrappers here -- the pop report is weirdly inverted where most copies here are 10s.

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BEFORE THE RC
The Card: Randall Cunningham 1986 McDonald's Eagles Blue
The Reason Bought: This food-issue was an in-season pick-up at about $20 and I did that because I hadn't ever really pondered finding one of these cards from before his Topps Rookie Card arrived. Prices on this one in this grade are actually sometimes a little higher -- or were in some cases a lot higher when I looked -- so I bit. Why? I collected Cunningham back in the day and will search him out from time to time. This was one of those times.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: I was a little surprised to see the pop report here but then I remembered that there are a few different colors of tabs -- the tear-off piece often yielded free food -- and Cunningham appears on Black, Green and Orange cards that are all slabbed at higher total volumes than this one. Black (20), Green (12) and Orange (34) are all a majority of PSA 9s like this one but all higher in volume. Why the colors? Blue was for the first week of the promotion, Black for the second, Orange for the third and Green for the finale. I'd like to think Green might be the coolest as it's got team colors. They aren't expensive raw but the way they were made doesn't lend them to being cleanly cut and they are oversized, too. That means finding clean copies on random buys where you can't inspect these in-person could be disappointing if your intent is to get them graded.

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THROWBACK
The Card: Mark Prior 2001 Donruss Elite #248 (/1,000) -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: There was a time when this guy's cardboard was red-hot, but I picked this one up for just $6 since I never really chased anything of his then. (I did manage to land a key auto long ago from this same brand.) The second-overall pick in 2001 arrived the following year and pitched just five seasons with the Cubs. In his second one, he was an All-Star and finished third in Cy Young voting after an 18-6 season with a 2.43 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 211 innings. He only won 18 games over the three years after this. There are just some names that will always stick out when randomly searching for new additions. He's one of them.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: I need to go pull this one out of the box for a second look as that top edge looks a little crooked in the slab but I can't tell whether the bottom is doing the same thing. This is something I didn't notice when I picked it up. (There's a chance I got a bad card in a bad slab here. It apparently has happened in older-style slabs at times, though that's certainly not the norm.) Since it was a cheap addition, I'm not all that worried about it but it still would be a bummer if that were the case.

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BACK TO BASICS
The Card: Shaun Alexander 2000 Topps #371 -- Rookie Card
The Reason Bought: Let me wonder out loud ... who was the genius at Topps 20 years ago who thought it would be a good ideal to serial-number basic Topps Chrome RCs for NFL to just 1,650 copies a player and then have the lone Refractor parallel be limited to only 150? That can make both of them pricey and tough finds all these years later -- even without Tom Brady in the set. I wasn't chasing then -- I was in college and the prices likely were ugly for this first-rounder. I didn't even have his Topps RC back then. For just $8, though, I did land this one. (No, it's not Chrome ... it was just some pondering.)
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: Those blue borders are showcases for issues and it looks like the bottom left corner was the one that got it its grade here. I like the look of these for sure but would have rather found Chrome -- and they're still relatively pricey. A PSA 9 Chrome was a $49 sale on eBay this month, while a raw Refractor went for $74 ... still perhaps more than I'd pay for a star I've met. Ironically, Chrome cards are way more likely to be found in slabs as more than 100 more copies of that card have been graded vs. this one.

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A NATIONAL FINISH
The Card: Mickey Mantle 2009 Topps Heritage 1959 National Convention VIP #573B (right-handed pose)
The Reason Bought: This example of a National show promo in a slab cost me just $7 and that wasn't a bad price as I'm fine with the grade and the price -- I didn't need to chase anything higher. These came in VP show attendee bags back then and it will be this month when we learn officially whether The National will happen at all this year. (I'm leaning toward a common sense "no," but show organizers have set themselves a May 30 deadline on the decision.)
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: You can't trust those numbers -- they're clearly not right but they're what's attached to this card. I'd doubt there were even that many copies of this card printed let alone slabbed in varying grades across the board, which would be impossible for a modern card. What I do know is that this was graded on Oct. 13, 2009, along with the other version where he's batting lefty. That one got a 9.5 and it, too, has these same stats attached with listings showing all kinds of cards attached to each grade. A rough (quick) search of the data attached to the entry showed roughly 30 copies of the cards (both versions) on one of the pages from around this serial-number with most checking in at a 9.5 but at least one as low as a 7. What's the real pop? Well, it's a mystery for sure right now. I wasn't looking for a Mantle Mystery ... just thought it was a solid promo card.

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