Case Hit FAIL

It’s a feeling we all know too well. You’re opening a band new box of wax. Visions of Gehrig cut signatures and rookie sensation parallels are dancing through your head.

Then you see it. It’s not a normal box hit. No, my friends, you’ve got a Case Hit. It’s bound to be priceless. “It’s probably a 1/1,” you tell yourself confidently. Most likely a Pujols or Jeter, really. But you’re not greedy. You’d settle for a Ryan Howard or Prince Fielder. You slide the card from its foil/polyvinyl/neoprene coccoon on stare upon its visage. It’s not a normal autograph. It’s an Allen & Ginter red auto mini. Those are numbered to 10! Even a paltry Roy Halladay would suffice at this point! As the player is revealed, your excitement reaches a fever pitch…

And then…

You see the name…

And it’s…

They should've cut out the center of the card so it would be worth something.

This effing scrub.

Your heart stops… in the bad way. Buyer’s remorse sets in immediately, without even that precious moment of excitement preserved. Then comes rationalization. “Well, it’s still a pretty good card. I mean, these are 1 in 7 cases [No joke. -ed.] so it’s basically a free card since I beat the odds so hard. I can’t complain!”

But you can complain. Because you just pulled a crazy rare insert of a minor leaguer. The guy hasn’t played in the majors in 2 months. His cards should’ve been pulled when he got demoted. Anger sets in. “I’m writing Topps. I mean, this has to be a violation of some agreement or contract or something.” But it’s not a violation of the law. Just your wallet. So you put it on eBay with an absurd BIN and hope that some oil magnate or Alex Gordon’s mom really needs to have this card.

Okay, so that’s a bit dramatic. I mean, I would actually be stoked to pull this card (I didn’t- I stole it from Brent and Becca’s listing above) because I like Alex Gordon (he’s tearing it up at AAA as usual) and I collect Royals autos. But can you imagine the average buyer getting this card? Or an Eric Byrnes printing plate? Maybe not as heartbreaking as my little melodrama makes it out to be, but certainly anger-inducing.

I found the Gordon in my semi-monthly eBay check for Royals autos and it just struck me as odd to see thsi card in the set. I know guys get demoted all the time and Topps can’t just pull folks willy nilly, but still. Maybe I’m biased because I follow Royals autos so often (Gordon’s RC autos plummeted upon his demotion- I can afford them now… maybe). Or maybe I’m just bummed that I’ve been burned by the bad auto fairy too often… and, since this blog started, many times recorded for posterity on video! But I’m still looking forward to our boxes (arriving Tuesday!), especially since Beardy’s been CRUSHING IT with his breaks from the same case. I anxiously await a hand-carved portrait bust or whatever of Brien Taylor that I’m sure to pull!