Even though I am not a huge baseball fan, the first part of the season is always a fun time for me. Football season is over and the draft is still a month away, which means that I have a lot of interest in a sport that I normally dont. It sure helps that there are some interesting story lines playing out.

Mike Trout Off to Torrid Start

If more players modeled themselves after Trout’s game, there would be a ton of superstars in the making. To have his game plus his ridiculous talent, and you have a winning combo that I will tune in to watch. Trout has been lighting it up for the last week, proving that he came into this season looking to be back in the running for the MVP. He is the top thing in the hobby right now, across most of the four major sports, and his cards are only getting hotter.

2011 Topps FInest Mike Trout Auto Refractor On Card

2013 Gypsy Queen Mike Trout Auto On Card

2013 Five Star Mike Trout Gold Ink On Card Auto

Derek Jeter’s Farewell Tour Underway

I hate the Yankees so much, and I love when they play horribly. However, I do respect the fact that Jeter has been the face of the team for so long. All that being said, I doubt he would have the fanfare if he played in Milwaukee his whole career, but maybe that’s the allure of the whole thing. He played the whole time under the brightest of lights and really never gave an inch. His cards have been up since the announcement of his retirement after the season, and I am curious to see what happens if he actually plays well.

2008 Ultimate Collection Derek Jeter Auto Dual Relic

2005 Reflections Derek Jeter / Cal Ripken Jr Dual Patch Auto

Puig Benched

Lack of maturity will scare collectors away, as it will speak to long term success in the game. Puig has had his share of off the field minor issues, and its starting to be a question of when the first major thing will occur. After being benched for late arrival to the stadium, there are questions surrounding his professionalism. He recently held a team meeting to ask how he could be a better teammate, which screams desperation, but his talent is nothing to balk at. Its clear his cards wont ever be worthless as long as he plays, but some of the corners of his values are getting dinged a bit.

2013 Topps Chrome Yasiel Puig Silver Signings Auto /25

2013 Inception Yasiel Puig Auto On Card

Is Pujols Done?

It hasnt been a great start in Anaheim for Albert Pujols. After multiple MVP seasons in St Louis and a monster contract, he has yet to return to form. With major drops in all the main categories, its time to ask the question of whether or not he has become just another player. He is only a few HR shy of 500, which will make some news as it happens, but lots of disappointment surrounds this former hobby superstar.

2001 SPX Albert Pujols Auto RC – I remember how much these used to go for.

2007 Ultimate Collection Albert Pujols Auto Relic

Thanks to these stories, im interested in the season so far. Maybe this will be the year that I can hold out for the whole season. You never know!