Latest / Sports Card Clubhouse / MidLife Sports Cards Q & A- November 12, 2025

Transcript

MidLife Sports Cards Q & A- November 12, 2025 · Sports Card Clubhouse

0:10
What's going on, everybody? All right, we are back for
0:14
another Wednesday Q&A, which I always look forward to so much.
0:20
Sometimes y'all ask me tough questions, sometimes you ask me
0:23
easy questions, but I'm always going to share my authentic
0:29
thoughts and feelings on whatever topic that is.
0:33
Remember, as always, if you have a question for an upcoming
0:36
episode, the best way to ask it is down below in the comments.
0:40
Simply type out your question, I'll add it to my list and I
0:44
will feature it on an upcoming episode.
0:47
Even if it's a tough one, even if it's a tough question.
0:50
So if you have tough questions out there, bring them on.
0:53
I am not afraid to answer them. Again, I will say this, I'm not
0:58
going to get into politics. I'm not going to get into
1:00
religion. If you are interested in those
1:03
things, we can talk about those privately, but I'm not going to
1:06
talk about them here on my Q&A Wednesday episodes.
1:11
Now also a quick reminder on I have on Sunday, Sunday of this
1:18
week. What is that?
1:20
I, I, I guess I should have looked at the date, the 16th.
1:24
I think it's the 16th. Sunday, November 16th is the
1:28
deadline for the midlife community show and tell.
1:31
So if you have a pick up from the last month that you would
1:35
like to have included in this month's episode, get that into
1:39
me by Sunday. Got a lot of videos coming out.
1:43
I got a lot of things. I've got that big collection.
1:46
That episode is coming. The amount of editing is crazy,
1:50
but I am working on that. I've got an episode coming out
1:55
later this week with myself and Darren and Sammy Thunder, who is
1:59
our guest for Off Topic that will be on Darren's channel.
2:02
Make sure you are subscribed to Darren's channel.
2:06
Return to collecting. We'll be recording next week for
2:10
our one-on-one off topic. Lots of stuff going on lots and
2:15
it's fun. It's good.
2:16
That's great. We got holidays coming up, we
2:18
got the weather's finally starting to cool down and I am
2:21
just going and I'm going to stop myself.
2:24
I'm going to stop myself there. 4 responses this week, 5
2:29
questions. The first two questions are
2:32
related and they're about the whole Doctor Beckett thing, the
2:37
Doctor Beckett and chill bidding and defensive chill bidding and
2:41
Patrick Ryan thing. All right, my thoughts here are
2:47
the questions and then I'll share what I think about the
2:50
whole thing. This week's first question.
2:54
Says question for next week. How do?
2:58
You feel about Doctor? Beckett's interview with Patrick
3:01
Ryan, Doctor Beckett both directly and indirectly agreed
3:05
that defensive shell bidding was OK and acceptable.
3:09
Stealing a candy bar and stealing a Rolex are both
3:13
stealing. Kissing another person or doing
3:17
something more with another person while married is still
3:20
cheating. To me.
3:22
Shell bidding is shell bidding. Let the market be the market and
3:26
don't aid it to the manipulation.
3:29
I still respect Doctor Beckett, but highly disagree with what he
3:34
implied in this interview and a similar question along those
3:39
lines. Says.
3:40
So is Doctor Beckett's lasting legacy going to be introducing
3:45
the hobby to defensive shill bidding?
3:50
OK, so this this is a 2 Fer this is 2 questions, one response.
3:57
And this is a tough question. Some of you are saying what do
4:00
you mean? It's not a tough question.
4:02
It's an easy response. It is my feelings are easy in
4:07
the response. But we're talking about Doctor
4:11
Beckett now that doesn't that doesn't mean Doctor Becky gets a
4:15
free pass. So let me just start with this
4:18
if you if you haven't. Some of us watch tons and tons
4:23
of videos each week. Some of us don't watch that
4:25
much. So I know there are people who
4:27
have seen 30 videos on this topic and there are people who
4:31
have seen none. So a quick, very quick recap a
4:36
couple of weeks ago, a very big name in the hobby, one of the
4:40
people who has the most money in cards and in memorabilia in the
4:46
hobby. His name is Patrick Ryan.
4:48
He goes by P Ryan on Instagram and other places.
4:53
He posted a screenshot of himself of a card that he had up
4:58
for auction. And that card in the screenshot,
5:02
it showed that he had just bid on the card.
5:06
So he had just bid on his own card, which was in up for sale
5:09
at an auction house. And a lot of people said, whoa,
5:13
you're shell bidding, You're bidding on your own cards.
5:15
You're not allowed to do that. He came out with an explanation
5:20
and a video. He changed his story a couple of
5:23
times. He he had so much that there's
5:30
so much that's transpired on this in the last two weeks.
5:33
And I don't want to go through a whole rundown, Long story short,
5:37
he's changed his story a couple of times.
5:39
And then last week, last Monday, So what, 9 days ago, he went on
5:44
Doctor Beckett's podcast and they talked about the whole
5:47
topic. And Doctor Beckett and him
5:50
talked about shield bidding. Is it OK?
5:52
Is it not OK? When is it OK?
5:56
And in that he talked about how some of his buddies, this is
6:01
Patrick Ryan, talked about how some of his buddies have talked
6:06
in the past that when they're each other's cards, when their
6:09
friends cards are up for auction, they bid them up
6:11
because they don't want just any guy to get a really good deal on
6:15
their buddies cards. Doctor Beckett talked about some
6:19
experiences he has had where he has he he understood something
6:26
he called was defensive bidding, which was defensive shield
6:30
bidding, which is when a card is way under comps to bid it up to
6:35
the comps, but not above the comps.
6:38
And so he kind of brought this defensive bidding topic or
6:44
philosophy or theory out into the forefront, saying that when
6:50
some friends of his had put some cards up for auction and they
6:53
were way under comps, that that was something that he
6:57
participated in. And So what do I think of this?
7:04
Let me first say this. Doctor Beckett is a legend in
7:09
sports cards docs. Doctor Beckett, his is on the
7:14
Mount Rushmore of sports cards. His price guide, his articles,
7:21
the attention that he's brought, being a major competitor with
7:25
PSA and SGC grading when he started his own grading company,
7:30
He has done a lot for the hobby. Let me also say Doctor Beckett.
7:36
I've been on his channel, he's been on my channel.
7:40
I've also been on hobby hotline with him.
7:43
They asked me to host a hobby hotline and he was on there.
7:46
I've had those discussions publicly on video with Doctor
7:51
Beckett. I met Doctor Beckett at the
7:53
National in person. I talked to him for a few
7:56
minutes and I will say this, I believe Doctor Beckett to be a
8:01
very good man. I believe Doctor Beckett to be a
8:05
very good person. I have had four, I guess 4
8:12
conversations with Doctor Beckett, all of which I I walked
8:16
away going what a great guy, what a great human.
8:22
But I don't agree with Doctor Beckett on this one.
8:27
I don't agree with the concept of this defensive shield
8:31
bidding. I, I don't think that that's a
8:34
thing. I think that the whole concept
8:38
of an auction, the, the whole point of what an auction is, is
8:44
to see what the market at that moment decides a card is worth.
8:51
And when you make the choice to put a card up for auction, you
8:57
are saying I am willing to accept whatever the market
9:02
decides this is worth at this moment on this platform.
9:08
That's what an auction is. Now I'm kind of a wimp.
9:13
I don't want to see my cards potentially slip through the
9:18
cracks and go up for auction and maybe go for super cheap.
9:24
I don't want to risk that. So what I do is historically I
9:29
sell my cards directly. I sell them at card shows.
9:33
I've sold some through my channel, I've sold some through
9:38
Facebook Marketplace. I have put some up for sale on
9:43
places like eBay, Buy it now, Best Offer.
9:49
I genuinely I maybe have put cards up for auction before.
9:54
I don't really recall ever doing it.
9:57
I don't, I know I put some items up on eBay for auction that I
10:02
had like no emotional attachment to.
10:04
And it's like, well, whatever happens happens.
10:06
But with my cards, which I, I have sort of a little bit too
10:12
much attachment to, I don't recall ever putting a card up
10:17
for auction. Doesn't mean I haven't.
10:19
I probably have. I just don't recall doing it.
10:22
I have cards up on eBay for sale right now.
10:25
I've had many cards up on eBay for sale and it's pretty much
10:31
always, if not always almost always a buy it now best offer
10:37
because I am afraid of my cards falling through the cracks.
10:44
Now if somebody were to show up a card, if somebody were to call
10:51
up their buddies and and have them all bid a card up to the
10:55
price, then it wouldn't really be a risk.
10:59
But the whole concept in my opinion of an auction is
11:07
anything could happen. There could be a bidding war and
11:11
it could go way over comp. When I had Theo on the other day
11:16
and we were talking about the last CIA auction, there was a
11:19
Fleer checklist that went way over comp, way over comp.
11:24
I think it doubled comp. There was a bidding war.
11:27
That person came out way ahead by putting it up for auction.
11:32
But then there are a lot of cards that maybe there's one
11:36
person who's really into it, but it's only one.
11:39
And the cards go under comp. When you put cards up for
11:43
auction, some cards are going to go way higher than normal.
11:48
Some cards are going to go way under normal.
11:51
And I think on average they're going to kind of be awash.
11:57
I'm not a super big risk taker, so I don't do this.
12:05
Do I think that Doctor Beckett's Lasting Legacy is, is coming up
12:10
with the term of defensive shield bidding?
12:14
I sure hope not, because I'm I the way I, I am not a person who
12:23
takes the worst moment of somebody and define them by
12:27
that. I don't take the the time I
12:31
disagreed with someone the least and and choose my memory and my
12:37
opinion of them to be based on that.
12:40
That's just not how I work now. Maybe it's how you work May and
12:44
and that I'm not saying that that's even wrong.
12:49
I have had disagreements with friends.
12:51
I have had friends that have done things that made me
12:55
squeamish. I have, but it doesn't mean I
12:58
end the friendship. I have had times where my wife
13:03
and I were not seen eye to eye. I have had disagreements with
13:08
family members, people important to me.
13:12
I have seen times where my kids have done things and I'm like,
13:15
oh, I wish they hadn't done that, but that doesn't make me
13:19
disown them. It's hey, there are a lot of
13:25
goods about these people and occasionally they're going to be
13:29
times where I go that wasn't great and I can separate those
13:35
things. I can disagree with somebody on
13:38
something, but not write the person off and not have this
13:43
scarlet letter on them forever for a thing or maybe one thing
13:49
that I didn't necessarily agree with.
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So as far as Doctor Beckett goes, do I still think he's a
13:56
good man? I do.
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Do I think Doctor Beckett is a person that I will continue to
14:04
associate with? I do.
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Do I think Doctor Beckett is wrong in his opinion about
14:14
shield bidding and that sometimes it's OK?
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I do. I think he's wrong here.
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I don't agree with him here. I think defensive shield
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bidding, offensive shield bidding, bidding on your own
14:29
item is not something that is allowed or even legal in
14:36
auctions. So what do I think about the
14:40
conversation? I literally didn't really know
14:44
what I was going to listen to. When I listen to it now, I
14:47
usually listen to Doctor Beckett's podcast anyway.
14:51
And I got a text from a friend, and I won't say who it was, but
14:56
I got a text from a friend who said, if you haven't listened to
15:00
Doctor Beckett's post this morning on his podcast, you
15:04
should. And I didn't really know.
15:06
I just knew, OK, there's something I got to listen to.
15:08
I was going to listen to it anyway.
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And I listened to it. And what I texted back to that
15:15
friend was, I feel like I need a shower after listening to that
15:21
podcast. I felt gross.
15:25
It felt like it was this backroom conversation that you
15:32
know, is is happens behind the scenes in some kind of not so
15:38
ideal areas and situations that there was like a hidden
15:44
microphone and we heard it and it didn't feel good to me.
15:50
Now, Patrick Ryan, I'm I'm not a huge fan of I've I've had some
15:57
other kind of experiences and friends have had some
16:02
experiences which I've already talked about that make me
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probably not. I I I'm I'm not planning on on
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spending a lot of time with P Ryan.
16:14
Do I think he's a bad person? He's not a person that is going
16:20
to be a close associate of mine. If I met him, I would be
16:24
respectful, I would be kind. I'd try to be that way with
16:28
everybody. I I hope.
16:31
And, and even recently he was gone on a couple of tirades on
16:36
his Instagram, posting some very accusatory things over the last
16:42
few days about others in the hobby.
16:47
That's not really the way that I like to interact in the world,
16:54
especially in the hobby. And let me say this, I am not a
16:59
hobby drama person. I I have leaned into this hobby
17:07
because of all the world drama going on.
17:10
I feel like I've got drama at work.
17:13
There's drama in the political world, there's drama in the
17:17
social world. There's drama everywhere I turn
17:21
and I'm like, I'm tired of all of this.
17:23
I don't want to pay attention to all of this.
17:26
So I am going to completely just take a swan dive into cards so
17:35
that I can escape all of that noise.
17:40
And the fact that that noise and that drama and these accusations
17:47
and these comments and these these things that are happening
17:52
have infiltrated my escape is, is beyond disappointing.
17:59
It's beyond disappointing. It makes me sad.
18:04
That's how I felt on last Monday morning, 9 days ago after I
18:10
listened to this is. I felt gross and I felt sad and
18:16
and the domino effects of drama and the fallout of drama since
18:22
then has made me more sad. I don't think Doctor Beckett is
18:29
a bad person, but I don't agree with Doctor Beckett on
18:33
everything. And I think that's normal.
18:36
We don't agree with anybody on anything.
18:39
I don't agree with him on defensive SHIELD bidding.
18:42
I don't agree that that that's something that should be
18:47
tolerated. I do think it is manipulated.
18:50
The market. I don't think by any means, I
18:54
don't think he's the only person that's ever done, and I think
18:56
that this is very widespread, has been happening for a long,
18:59
long time. But the whole thing makes me
19:05
sad. I don't know if I answered the
19:09
question in a way that makes people upset at me.
19:14
I don't know if people then support me and what I said
19:21
again, I really like Doctor Beckett.
19:26
I disagree with Doctor Beckett on this one.
19:29
I think he was wrong. I I don't think there's an
19:32
excuse to shield big cards. I don't think whether it's to
19:38
get the price above comp or get it up from way below comp to
19:43
comp. I don't think either one of
19:46
those is something that should be doing.
19:50
If you're afraid of your cards going for below what you think
19:56
they're worth in that moment, at that time with that auction
20:01
house, then don't put it up for auction.
20:05
Put it up for sale and then you don't have to worry about it
20:09
going for under what you think. It's worth you can get.
20:16
You can put it for sale for whatever you think it's worth.
20:19
And if nobody else agrees with you, you're not going to sell
20:22
it. But if you're willing to put it
20:25
up for auction, you're taking a risk.
20:29
You don't get to put all of your chips on #9 on roulette.
20:38
And then as soon as they spin it, you go wait a second, wait a
20:44
second. It looks like it's nowhere near
20:46
9. So let me put chips in all these
20:48
other spots. We don't get to do.
20:50
That that's not what an auction is.
20:54
An auction is it could go really low or it could go really high.
21:00
And if you don't have the stones and I don't have the stones to
21:04
do it, If you don't have the stones to do it, then don't
21:08
participate in auctions. But that doesn't mean that I
21:14
think Doctor Beckett should have the Scarlet Letter.
21:17
I still think he's a good person who was wrong on this one.
21:22
This next one says. Love your work, Greg.
21:25
Question I think about a lot and would love to know your opinion
21:29
of is as follows. If a company comes out with AI
21:33
down the road, not tag say 10 years from now, that could grade
21:38
cards that covers the four major sub grades and could do it
21:43
consistently, meaning it can be repeatable regardless of how
21:47
many times it graded the same card, it receives the same
21:51
grade. What happens to the current
21:54
slabs on the market and their grades?
21:57
I know grading as A. Whole is a hot topic.
22:00
With many who have drawn a line in the sand and refused to grade
22:05
and think it's a scam, but this could have a major impact.
22:09
Across the. Board if it were to happen and
22:13
could lead to some very concerning issues with current
22:16
slabs. I personally don't think we
22:19
would see many 10s anymore and would dramatically change how we
22:24
view grades overall. Would love to know your.
22:27
Thoughts. I believe this will happen.
22:33
I believe that there will be a technology that will be very,
22:37
very consistent that will take all personal biases out of play,
22:43
that will take any sort of human error out of play.
22:49
I think that absolutely is coming down the road.
22:52
There is always an innovation. Do you think in, you know, 500
22:59
BC, 500 AD, they thought people would be able to go travel to
23:06
the moon? There is always going to be
23:10
innovation. There's always going to be
23:12
improvement. And yes, I 100% think that there
23:17
will come a point where cards will be able to be graded very,
23:22
very consistently and will be adopted by the card community.
23:28
I think that will happen. And I think what will probably
23:31
happen is they'll be able to do it while leaving the card in a
23:36
slab. So you can take your, your PS,
23:39
your PSA graded card that has a 10 on the flip and, and, and
23:45
have it be evaluated and, and see what they think.
23:50
And that is the reason that I think anybody who is buying a
23:57
card based on the number is making a mistake if they care
24:02
about values. If you don't care about values,
24:05
then the number doesn't matter anyway.
24:08
You're just buying the card that you like.
24:09
But if you care about values and if you buy the card with the
24:14
higher number because of the values, when that technology is
24:19
mainstreamed, that there's going to be a rude awakening.
24:26
I think. I absolutely think that'll
24:29
happen. And I absolutely think that a
24:32
lot of that grading will be eventually from the current
24:40
grading companies. If you don't think PSA is going
24:44
to come out with something where all the cards that have already
24:49
been graded don't have a differentiator.
24:54
So for example you can submit your 9 to PSA for APSA 9 plus or
25:02
APSA 9 minus or just a flat. Like it's going to get a sticker
25:10
from PSA if it's a good looking 9, if it's a really nice 9, or
25:14
if it's a not so nice 9. Now the not so nice nine,
25:19
probably people will just peel the sticker off.
25:21
But PSA is going to get to the point where they're going to
25:24
say, wait a second, there's more money to be made if we grade the
25:29
cards we've already graded, if we can say that this 9 is better
25:35
than this nine. And people will pay us a premium
25:41
to say that this 9 is better than your average 9.
25:46
First of all, we all know not all nines are created equal.
25:50
Not all eights are created equal.
25:52
And there is definitely money to be made.
25:55
And right now there are companies who are giving I
25:58
Appeal stickers. Do you really think that PSA is
26:02
going to continue to let those other companies be the only
26:07
company who gives the I Appeal sticker?
26:09
You don't think that PSA is going to have their own I Appeal
26:13
sticker? They absolutely will.
26:17
We are just getting started with this grading thing.
26:20
There's too much money to be made to let it be.
26:24
Well, it's been graded, it's in the 9 holder and we're done.
26:28
No way there is going to be more to come of those cards that have
26:35
already been graded. I absolutely believe that to be
26:39
the case and that is why if you're buying a card like a 1989
26:47
Upper Deck Kane Griffey Junior in A10 instead of A9 instead of
26:52
an 8, mine's an 8. I think I paid like 60 bucks for
26:58
it but if it has a 10 that card is selling.
27:02
Right now for 5000. Dollars and there's going to
27:07
come a time where the one with the 10 people will be able to
27:13
see, oh, wait a second, it actually isn't that great after
27:17
all. That's going to happen and the
27:23
evaluation will completely change.
27:26
The standards will continue to change and the evaluation will
27:30
continue to change. Let me ask you this.
27:33
Mary Lou Retton. Mary Lou Retton got a perfect 10
27:39
on the vault in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
27:46
If she did, that same vault today wouldn't get a 10.
27:51
It wouldn't get anywhere near A10.
27:55
Why? Because everything has changed.
27:59
The grading standards have changed.
28:01
The skills have changed. We can look back at that and say
28:08
that was a 10 then, but that's not a 10 now.
28:15
Oh, we're just getting started. There is absolutely a lot of
28:20
innovation, exploration and changes in store for grades.
28:26
So don't buy the number. Buy the card you like, not the
28:31
number, because I do believe there will be come a time where
28:35
the numbers on the existing slabs will be replaced.
28:42
This next one says. I have a question.
28:45
Thought of it recently and after looking through eBay, somewhat
28:50
speculative but also just curious on your thoughts of the
28:54
company and slabs moving forward.
28:57
I know it will be hard to exclude language about PSA,
29:00
Beckett, CGC and TAG, but what are your thoughts on MBA, Mike
29:06
Baker authentication, grading and encapsulation and
29:12
certification? Not to be confused with diamond
29:15
certification and the possible adoption of slabs in a few years
29:20
within the hobby. Please ignore diamond
29:23
certifications. I think that is a whole other
29:26
conversation. I admit at first glance the flip
29:30
does not look great with the yellow tag at the top.
29:34
With some cards I am open to them growing on me.
29:38
Yes, I do understand by the card, not the flip.
29:44
All right, MBA grading, Mike Baker grading.
29:49
Now here's the deal. What do I think about my now
29:55
you're asking me specifically about Mike Baker grading and and
29:59
not this the I appeal stickers. I can do that.
30:03
But first, let me just say this. I do think that with SGC
30:09
continuing to spiral into the abyss, there is an opening,
30:16
there is an opening in the market for another grading
30:21
company. I think that we have pretty much
30:24
established at this point the tag is going to be a TCG Pokémon
30:32
greater. That's kind of where they are
30:34
really doing well. I think that we can say that PSA
30:39
is going to continue to do Pokémon, continue to be the
30:44
primary leader in modern cards and will continue to be a
30:52
competitor in all carts, all vintage cards and modern cards
30:57
and all cards SGC. I mean my cards that I sent to
31:07
when my cards remember my cards showed up.
31:09
I showed you about a month ago, my cards showed up and the slabs
31:11
were cracked and broken. I sent those back on October
31:16
23rd. I got my FedEx label from them
31:21
on the 21st. I mailed them back on the 23rd.
31:25
Dropped them in the FedEx drop on October 23rd.
31:30
What is it? The what is what is the date the
31:33
12th? November 12th still says they're
31:37
in received at SGC so they've had them for 2 1/2 weeks.
31:44
My broken slab cards. All they need to do.
31:47
Is take them out and put them in the new machine and send them
31:49
back. Haven't done this 2 1/2 weeks
31:51
haven't haven't gotten around to it.
31:54
Maybe when the guy get gets done sweeping up the broken plastic
31:58
after opening the the package maybe they can get him to throw
32:03
it in the machine. There is an opening for a card
32:07
grading company. CGC feels like they're more into
32:13
TCG slash modern to We'll see. There's an opening, There is an
32:20
opening and I hope Beckett Grading capitalizes on this
32:25
opportunity. I hope Beckett Grading does a
32:28
major marketing campaign like today.
32:32
Start today, guys. This is your opportunity.
32:37
But here's the deal. In my humble opinion, you are
32:42
only as good as your credibility.
32:46
You are only as good as what history what what story history
32:53
tells about you. And as soon as somebody tends to
32:59
kind of have negativity about them, it is a very, very
33:06
slippery and steep slope. And Mike Baker has already been
33:12
affiliated with a grading company and it didn't go well.
33:17
And enough people are still in the hobby from that time that
33:24
are are remember that and or were burned by that or have
33:30
cards in that holder of that previous grading company that
33:36
they're not going to switch to Mike Baker grading that.
33:42
I could be wrong. I'm wrong all the time.
33:45
Ask, ask my wife. I'm wrong all the time.
33:50
But I don't think, 'cause here's the other part.
33:53
A lot of vintage collectors have been around a long time.
33:57
So they lived through the, the first Mike Baker Gai slab
34:05
situation. They lived through it.
34:07
So they're not going to go, oh, I know that there was a huge
34:12
scandal with trimming and favorable grades for people on
34:16
the inside, but we'll give them another shot.
34:20
I don't think that's going to happen.
34:23
You know, it's like, burn me once, shame on you, burn me
34:25
twice, shame on me. I think that's where we're at
34:29
with that. I don't think Mike Baker is has
34:33
a very high ceiling with his new grading company.
34:37
Now, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong, but for me
34:46
they're not the one who's going to fill the opening in the
34:51
market, specifically the vintage card grading market.
34:54
I don't expect that to happen, but I could be wrong.
35:02
This last question says regarding AI being used to fake
35:07
autographs, it's possible. However, with autographs and
35:11
signatures from historical figures or athletes and
35:14
celebrities that have been dead for a long time, it would be
35:18
difficult. The types of ink and paper used
35:22
in earlier eras is different from the ink and paper used in
35:26
modern day. That was from one of the
35:28
handwriting experts from the Pawn Stars show on history.
35:32
Oh, and having a certificate of authenticity doesn't necessarily
35:37
guarantee an autograph is authentic.
35:40
They can be faked. As well I have a.
35:43
Question for next week. The other day, the 8.
35:47
Finalists were announced for the MLB Contemporary Committee's
35:51
2026 Hall of Fame voting. The finalists are Barry Bonds,
35:57
Rodger Clemens, Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, the all time leader
36:03
in career home runs at second base, Don Mattingly, Dale
36:07
Murphy, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela.
36:12
Who do you think gets in? This year.
36:18
All right. Good question and I am obviously
36:22
biased. You guys know I'm a big Clemens
36:25
fan. You guys know I think that Barry
36:28
Bonds was an absolutely incredible player.
36:32
So I'm going to try my best to share my opinion of what will
36:37
happen. Now let me say this, I am going
36:41
to be on a recorded stream video with Dan of Dan's Vintage
36:47
Baseball PC and Chris from Missouri and Ray from Philly.
36:54
And we are actually recording that episode tonight.
36:58
And so it's going to be an A very fun conversation about this
37:03
topic. Now keep in mind the question is
37:06
not who do I think at least this question, I'm not 100% sure of
37:11
where the discussion is going to go tonight.
37:14
So you might hear some contradictory things or some
37:17
repeated things if you watch that.
37:19
I, I don't know if they're posting that tonight.
37:22
I'm guessing they'll post it tomorrow.
37:25
So you'll hear more about this. Check it out.
37:27
It's going to be on Ray from Philly's channel.
37:29
But I will say this again, not who do I think deserves to be
37:36
in? Who do I think will get in?
37:40
Now, the first thing is there are the voters are different for
37:47
the quote UN quote veterans committee, contemporary former
37:52
players. It is different than the
37:55
writers. So the writers are the regular
37:58
ballot and then former players are the ones who are on the
38:04
ballot for this. That changes things.
38:10
For whatever reason, writers tend to vote heavily for players
38:18
that they liked and that they felt were good with the media.
38:24
That's just a fact. They are more likely to to vote
38:30
for a Derek Jeter than they are for somebody that they don't
38:35
like who was kind of maybe gruff with them like a Barry Bonds.
38:40
So being players that are voting instead of being writers and the
38:47
media who are voting changes this a lot.
38:52
There are some players who are adamant that if you took PEDs or
38:58
you are accused of taking PEDs, or you are associated with PEDs
39:03
and the distribution of PEDs, you should be out forever.
39:07
There are other players who think that there are players who
39:11
were associated with those things, who belong in the museum
39:17
that celebrates the history and the story of the game and the
39:21
greatest players of all time. So quite frankly, I don't know
39:25
who the voters are. I don't know which Hall of Fame
39:29
players are going to be on this particular voting panel.
39:36
I also know that they can't vote for everyone and there are only
39:41
so many votes. So this is going to be a very
39:46
interesting 1 and I think it's possible that they could
39:49
cannibalize each other. If three or four of the people
39:54
who are voting because it's not very many, what is it, 8 or 12
39:59
or something? I should probably know that, but
40:01
I don't off the top of my head. If if three or four or five of
40:05
the players are like you have to have Bonds and Clements, you
40:09
have to then. But but the other 5 or 6 are
40:14
like, there's no way I'd vote for them.
40:16
The people who are anti Clemens and anti Bonds I think will vote
40:21
for Mattingly and Dale Murphy. I think Mattingly and Dale
40:27
Murphy are, if you look at the contemporary ballot and you look
40:32
at the guys not associated with PEDs, and those two guys, by the
40:36
way, are really good people, really clean pasts and history's
40:41
very likable. I think those guys will get
40:46
serious support from the players on the committee who aren't in
40:54
favor of PED people or OK, you know what I mean?
41:00
But I also think there are some players are saying how can I
41:03
vote for Dale Murphy but not vote for Barry Bonds?
41:08
Because I think the best players should be in and Barry Bonds is
41:12
a better player than Dale Murphy.
41:15
Some players are going to say that.
41:16
So I think that it is really going to be dependent upon who
41:22
the players are who are doing the voting because some have
41:25
been outspoken about you should never get in if you've been
41:29
associated. And other people have said, of
41:31
course, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens belong in.
41:35
I also think that the media voting and these guys having to
41:41
get in potentially from not the regular voting, but from the
41:46
contemporary committee is almost like a punishment.
41:50
It's almost like an an asterisk is like, we know you're one of
41:54
the best players, but you only got in because the players
41:58
agreed to it. That in itself is sort of like
42:01
the asterisk that a lot of people have have wanted saying,
42:06
yeah, Clemens should probably be in, but it needs to be noted in
42:09
the history books that that, you know, he was associated with 7
42:14
and he took stuff and and them getting in through the secondary
42:19
route kind of does that. So what do I think is going to
42:25
happen? I think either Bonds and Clemens
42:30
will get in or Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly will get in.
42:36
I think it's possible that it will be Bonds and Clemens plus
42:42
one, or I think it's going to be Dale Murphy and Don Mattingly.
42:50
So I have to vote. So you're asking me my opinion.
42:53
I don't get to vote. You're asking my opinion.
42:56
What do I think will happen? I think the players who played
43:00
the game are going to sit in a room and say, dude, you played
43:08
with Bonds, I played with Bonds, you played with Clemens, I
43:13
played with Clemens. Give me a break.
43:15
These guys have to be in the Hall of Fame.
43:18
I think Bonds and Clemens are going to get in, and I think
43:22
that what it's going to do is it's going to set the precedent
43:26
that the guys that were associated aren't going to get
43:30
in from the initial ballot, from the writer's ballot.
43:33
They will get in this other route and that will be basically
43:36
their penalty for their associations.
43:40
That's what I think is going to happen.
43:42
And quite frankly, I think one more guy will get in and it
43:48
could be Dale Murphy and it could be Don Mattingly.
43:53
The thing about those two guys, like I said, is they're both
43:56
very well liked and they're both very well respected.
44:02
And I think that though their stats aren't compiler stats like
44:08
some of the other players that have gotten in, the players that
44:12
have played against them is like, are you kidding me?
44:15
Dale Murphy was back-to-back MVP.
44:17
Are you kidding me? Don Mattingly was, you know,
44:21
unbelievable defensively at first base and as good of a
44:24
hitter as there was when he was playing.
44:27
I mean, I think that there are people and I know people just
44:31
yelled Boggs, Brett Gwynn great. So what do I think's going to
44:38
happen? I think Bonds, I think Clemens
44:43
and I think Don Mattingly and I think eventually Dale Murphy
44:48
will get in. And I know John 3D 80s kid is
44:50
watching this who loves Dale Murphy and grew up loving Dale
44:53
Murphy and is is mad. I think Dale Murphy should get
44:58
in. That wasn't the question.
44:59
The question was not who do I think should get in.
45:03
The question is who do I think will get in?
45:07
I predict Mattingly Clemens Bonds, that's my prediction.
45:14
And if you have a question for an upcoming episode, ask it down
45:19
below in the comments. I look forward to them.