Big-Ticket Baseball Card Lots to Celebrate the Hall of Fame … and MLB’s Trade Deadline

So here we are … it’s the last Friday in July.

That means two things …

The Major League Baseball trade deadline.
Hall of Fame induction weekend.

And, as exciting as both of those things are, sometimes they collide and supernova our baseball exhilaration beyond all bounds (maybe a slight exaggeration).

When that happens, you get future Hall of Famers switching teams at the trade deadline, and you get new future Hall of Famer cardboard associations.

Fun stuff!

To celebrate this colossal collision, this week’s droolworthy lots all feature those guys … Hall of Famers who, at one point in their careers, were the subject of trade deadline deals.

Bestill my beating heart!

(Note that this post contains affiliate links, which means if you click over to eBay and buy something, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.)

1967 Topps Punch-Outs Unopened Pack (Lou Brock!)

Click the image for the eBay listing (affiliate link)

The 1962 pact that sent Lou Brock from the Chicago Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals is still the yardstick by which all other trade deadline deals are judged.

Brock, of course, went on to a Hall of Fame career with the Cards, while the Cubs languished for another 20 years before finally winning a division title in 1984.

In between, Topps was busy issuing all sorts of baseball cards, including the 1967 Punch-Outs test issue.

Now, these weren’t gorgeous cards, but they’re definitely interesting.

And an unopened pack with three of the lineup-style cards? Awesome!

This particular pack just so happens to have the Lou Brock Team Captain card showing through, so it’s perfect for our list this week.

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).

1971-72 Game Worn and Autographed Gaylord Perry and Dave Kingman San Francisco Giants Jersey

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In 1971, Gaylord Perry wore number 36 for the San Francisco Giants.

In 1972, Dave Kingman wore number 26 for the San Francisco Giants.

According to the seller of this jersey, its number was changed from 36 to 26 at some point. So, even though it says “Perry” in the collar, the thought is that both dudes wore this thing.

What we know for sure is that both (apparently) signed it.

And that the Giants traded Perry (and Frank Duffy) to the Cleveland Indians in November 1971 in exchange for Sam McDowell.

And that Perry was part of a deadline deal that sent him to the Texas Rangers in 1975.

Too intriguing to ignore.

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).

1973 Topps Pin-Ups Tom Seaver (PSA 9)

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In 1977, the New York Mets traded staff ace Tom Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds in the middle of summer.

It was devastating to NYM fans but exciting for Seaver and Cincy fans — it seemed like he might be the missing piece to keep the Big Red Machine chugging along.

As it turned out, the Reds just didn’t have quite enough gas to keep up with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seaver never did make it to the World Series with the Reds.

But that’s OK, because Seaver was already a living legend.

Enough of a legend, in fact, for Topps to have included him in their super-scarce 1973 Pin-Ups test issue that may have never been actually, um, issued at all.

This is a pretty cool set, with each “card” essentially intended to be a gum wrapper. As you might imagine high-grade copies are hard to come by.

There’s only one PSA 9 Seaver in the Population Report, for example.

This eBay lot features a PSA 9 Seaver.

You do the math.

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).

1973 Topps Comics Steve Carlton (PSA 5)

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Unlike Seaver, Steve Carlton’s deadline deal came at the end of his career when the Cleveland Indians sent him to the Minnesota Twins in 1987.

Just like Seaver, though, Lefty found himself included in a 1973 Topps test issue — “Comics” in this case.

The Carlton comic in this eBay lot checks in at “only” a PSA 5, but like the Seaver offering above, it’s the only one in the PSA Population Report so graded.

Yuk it up!

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).

Collection of (18) Ken Griffey Jr. Rookie Cards Graded PSA 10

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For many hardcore Cincinnati Reds fans (like me), Ken Griffey, Jr., was one of the biggest busts of all time.

It’s not that he wasn’t great — he was.

It’s just that former Reds GM Jim Bowden mortgaged the 2000s to bring Griffey “home” to the Riverfront before the 2000 season.

The Kid just wasn’t the same legend in Cincinnati as he had been with the Seattle Mariners, and it didn’t hurt at all to see him walk out the door in a trade deadline deal with the Chicago White Sox in 2008.

Still, few players have ever excelled in all areas of the game like Griffey did, and few are more popular — still — among collectors.

So, what better way to celebrate his exit from Cincinnati than with this 18-card lot of Junior rookies, all graded PSA 10?

Among the goodies are minor league cards, rookie/update set cards, Griffey’s 1989 Topps (Traded)/Fleer/Donruss rookies, and, of course, that glorious 1989 Upper Deck rookie card.

Hard to imagine a more mouthwatering group of modern cards, huh?

Here is the eBay listing (affiliate link).

Check out our other posts detailing baseball cards for sale here.