Today is a big day for baseball. Huge might be a more fitting adjective. Today is the day Kris Bryant makes his highly anticipated MLB debut with the Chicago Cubs against the San Diego Padres at 2:20 est at Wrigley Field. In my opinion, this should be a holiday (so should Opening Day). Schools should be letting out early, especially in the Chicago area.
His debut is probably more anticipated than Bryce Harper’s or Stephen Strasburg’s was. Bryant symbolizes a new era for the Cubs which also includes other top prospects including Jorge Soler, Javier Baez, and Albert Almora. Bryant has somewhat already been deemed the future leader of the Cubs because so much is expected of him based on what he has already accomplished in the minors. In his minor league years, he has been a man among boys putting up monstrous offensive numbers at every stop along his journey.
Because of all these things, buying almost any piece of cardboard with his picture and autograph on it will set you back a small mortgage payment, and that’s for an ungraded copy. However, let’s try to save you a few bucks while still getting a quality Kris Bryant card that you can add to your collection.
Have you ever thought about buying Team USA cards? Most people haven’t. But, one thing that many collectors overlook is that a large number of today’s MLB stars once played on a Team USA at one age level or another and a great deal of those Team USA players have had autographs and relic cards produced by Upper Deck, Topps, and/or Panini. Kris Bryant is a perfect example.
Currently, a Kris Bryant Bowman autograph prospect card will set you back $400 or more (usually more). But, a Team USA Kris Bryant autograph or autograph relic card will cost ONLY $150-200 and these were produced before his Bowman cards were and usually in more limited quantities.
So, if you’re buying purely from a collecting-only standpoint, why not buy a Team USA autograph and save a few bucks? And especially from a relic standpoint, he will have far fewer USA relics than he will have from the Cubs.
My advice, buy USA and get more bang for your buck, especially if you don’t plan to sell anytime soon.
Happy Kris Bryant Day! #krisbryantday
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