Making the Grade (October): Lionel Messi, Anthony Bourdain, Neon Deion, Kate Upton & Billy Ripken's infamous bat knob

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 ... it's some of all of those.

The Card: 2018 Panini National Convention Escher Squares #S4 Lionel Messi (/25)
The Reason Graded: Buzz pulled this one in one of just four promo packs at this year's National Sports Collector's Convention and decided it should lead things off here since we're in football season. (Don't worry, more football to come.) I'm not sure on the market for low-volume inserts but Messi is among the biggest names in the world when it comes to soccer. I thought it might be a contender for a BGS 10 or even a black label but figured it would be a card of interest to people no matter what. (Anybody have any ideas what a card of Messi like this might fetch? Tell me ... I'm not a heavy soccer guy.)
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: It's not surprising to see that this is the only copy of this card graded. There's a good chance a number of them might still be in packs that are unopened (and available here). I didn't rip into them for soccer, but it might be a better pull than a lot of what I could have found in other sports.

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The Card: 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter #210 Anthony Bourdain
The Reason Graded: I had only recently began watching Parts Unknown, Bourdain's food and travel show, in the last year or two -- and it wasn't really appointment TV for me -- but I liked aspects of his wry commentary and some of the stories among the various stops. (I need some good barbecue right now.) At the time of this one's arrival -- along with certified autographs and Relics -- I really wasn't interested in foodie-related cardboard but I only pulled two of even this card (and no other versions or hits) so I figured I would get this one slabbed after his recent death. Why? I just wanted one in a slab in my stash as it's a unique card. I wish I had pulled a mini -- I have a thing for graded Ginter minis and you'll see some of those later in this item as well as in coming months.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: There have only been two copies of this card graded -- not a surprise -- and this one is the highest. Just eight total cards for him from the release have been slabbed by BGS. Five are his regular autograph and one is a red-ink auto. Nothing is graded below a 9.0 and two of the autos are 10s.

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The Card: 1992 Action Packed Rookie Update #84N "Neon" Deion Sanders
The Reason Graded: Some collectors bemoan "gimmick" cards these days -- likely because they're often hard to pull or hard to determine what they are -- but this one is an oldschool gimmick that's not that tough to pull (I got one in a recent box) and it's simple. It's also appropriate as "Neon Deion" was his nickname, it's fun and easy to find. This version of this Hall of Famer's card has a neon orange stripe in place of gold foil on the standard one. It's not super-expensive but they do seem condition-sensitive.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: Only 15 of these have been slabbed by BGS and none are graded higher than this one -- and there are only two others that equal it. Does that make this a big-money card? Probably not, but it is the kind of card where you can slap a high price on it and test the market. (This one's a keeper for me.) Why? I think a lot of people might remember this card -- and this brand -- with a degree of nostalgia and simplicity that they can't find in today's cards.

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The Card: 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini #232 Kate Upton
The Reason Graded: Have you seen the prices for graded copies of her autograph from this one? (Whoa.) Even her Relics are way pricier than they probably should be and some who own rarer parallels or high-grade base cards are testing the market in terms of asking prices. Why? It's a unique card appearance for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue star (and star of other ventures since this card). She's got a slightly higher baseball profile now vs. then as she's married to perennial Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander. I don't own any slabbed Verlander cards but I definitely wanted a slabbed Upton card -- and you know I have a thing for mini cards in Heritage and Ginter if you're a regular reader here (or a reader of a minute ago).
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: This one is one of just two cards getting the grade and none are higher. I have a few of this one but this one was my best contender for a BGS 10 in my mind with its centering. That was perfect but my edges were not. I may check my others in the future but this one is a good stash with my Ginter stuff.

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The Card: 1989 Fleer #616A Bill Ripken ERR (F. Face version)
The Reason Graded: Like it or not, this is an iconic card that has some serious interest even though it may not be as rare as people think. I pulled this particular copy in our hunt for Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Cards in the Buzz 24 in 24 marathon back in June. For those who don't know the story, Ripken's bat knob has an obscenity with the word Face below it. It wasn't caught in the early print run and a number of variations happened as Fleer rushed to fix it. Some later versions of this card are rarer but none as chuckle-worthy. This card looked like a BGS 10 candidate to me.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: There are a lot of these in the pop report and that surprised me though some are undoubtedly not in existence today as they were cracked and re-submitted chasing BGS 10s. (Slabs that are destroyed aren't removed from pop reports.) This card is one of 264 to have made that grade but only 10 have been dubbed a 10 and none have been perfect. Had I slabbed this via PSA, I bet it would be a 10 but I've stuck with my slab preference.

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