The 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame class will have no one in it. None of the candidates were named on enough ballots to garner the required 75 percent and so there will be no class of 2021.
The inevitable bump in rookie card prices of potential new members heated up with pre-announcement talk that Scott Rolen might be elected, but the former Phillie and Cardinal third baseman received only 52.9 percent of the vote. Many believe Rolen could be elected next year.
Some also thought Barry Bonds could finally get over the hump and took flyers on his 1986 and ’87 rookie cards in recent months but Bonds fell just over 13 percent short.
Curt Schilling, whose rookie cards arrived in the junk wax era, came the closest to election, missing by 16 votes.
Here were the top 10 vote getters:
Curt Schilling 285 (71.1 percent)
Barry Bonds 248 (61.8)
Roger Clemens 247 (61.6)
Scott Rolen 212 (52.9)
Omar Vizquel 197 (49.1)
Billy Wagner 186 (46.4)
Todd Helton 180 (44.9)
Gary Sheffield 163 (40.6)
Andruw Jones 136 (33.9)
If a ceremony in Cooperstown does take place later this year, 2020 inductees Derek Jeter, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker will be given their plaques along with the family of former players union chief Marvin Miller.
A little trivia… Willie Mays, born May 6, 1931, is currently the oldest living Hall of Famer at age 89…Vladimir
Guerrero, who was born on Feb. 9, 1975, is the youngest living Hall of Famer at age 44. Recent passings have cut the number of living Hall of Famers to 72.
Topps says it will unveil the checklist for 2021 Series 1 Baseball on February 1. Release day is February 10.
The 2021 Factory Set, with all base cards from Series 1 and 2, is due out June 30. Hobby sets will contain a five-card bonus pack containing random foilboard parallels. In past years, at least two other retail versions have also been released with different bonus packs including exclusive rookie parallels.
More details will be out closer to release day.
CSG now says it will begin accepting submissions for trading card authentication and grading within a week or so.
Parent company Certified Collectibles Group announced last year it would be launching a card division and offered a few more details earlier this month. Headquartered in Sarasota, FL, CCG is already well-known for grading comic books, magazines, concert posters, coins and paper money.
Bidding for a 2003-04 Topps Chrome Refractor LeBron James PSA 10 on eBay has been hot and heavy.
The Ringer, a sports and pop culture website and podcast network, founded by sportswriter Bill Simmons about five years ago, is launching a twice-weekly sports card podcast called Sports Cards Nonsense. It’ll be hosted by Mike Gioseffi and producer Jesse Gibson every Tuesday and Friday.
They’re promoting it as a broadcast that will “tell you which cards to buy, which to sell, and how current sports events and trends are shaping the business’s landscape.”
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