Making the Grade (March): Young MVPs, iconic Hall of Famers, Silent Bob, March Madness, a Future Superstar & more

Like many collectors, Buzz is a fan of grading and knows that there are many reasons that collectors choose to slab cards. Sometimes it's to enhance the appeal and protect them when selling. Other times it's to protect an investment for the long-term or to protect for sentimental reasons. Or, it might be just for fun or curiosity about a potential grade.

Here's this month's grading diary here on The Buzz ...

The Card: 2014 Topps Chrome Update #MB46 Mookie Betts RC
The Reason Graded: I didn't buy a ton of Mega Boxes when these arrived five years ago, but I did land this card, which is a Rookie Debut version for then Red Sox rookie and now-reigning American League MVP Mookie Betts. This card is an ironic classic in that he's captured taking the field at Yankee Stadium. That aspect of the photo isn't as easily seen in Chrome form, but I opted to get this pricier version of the card graded. I'll probably grade some more of my others in the future. For now, though, this one leads the way.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I wasn't that confident in this one as I just have bad luck at times with Chrome cards, but this one turns out to be one of the highest-graded copies. I'll take it, especially considering what I've got up next.

Keep reading for the rest of this month's new grades and additions.

The Card: 2017 Donruss Optic Red and Yellow #177 Patrick Mahomes II RC parallel
The Reason Graded: This was my "money card" in the batch of stuff that made up this month's (and recent months) submissions and it got a lower grade than I'm typically comfortable with. This was a Mega Box parallel pull -- the only one I pulled from several ripped -- so I didn't scrutinize it perhaps like I would have if I had more than one to submit.
The Grade: BGS 8.5

Reality Check: Behold, the worst copy of this card out there in a BGS slab. It turns out this one has some fine surface scratches on the card's back -- nothing that caused indentions or color loss -- and that led to the grade. (I think.) At least I think that's the case. I'm still a little surprised that a parallel of a strong Rookie Card has so few graded -- especially a seemingly available retail version -- but that also helps things out on the value side in my eyes. Well, at least if it were a higher grade. The pop report on this one has almost doubled since I got this one back.

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The Card: 2002 Topps 206 Polar Bear #306 Cy Young
The Reason Graded: I pulled this card in a recent retro break and I opted to slab it up partly as a joke -- since it's a reprint -- but also because it seemed like a contender for a 10, maybe even Black label. I'm a big fan of minis and am prone to submit them here and there for tobacco-sized cards of key names and RCs. This is a textbook example of my tastes. That and I'll never own an original for this guy -- in any condition.
The Grade: BGS 9

Reality Check: Other than one potential color spec on one edge, I just didn't see it. I may need to get out a lamp and my loupe and look at the back of the card again. Those might be the problem spots with the dark stock used here. The front still looks perfect to me.

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The Card: 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter Relics #FRBKS Kevin Smith
The Reason Graded: Clerks creator Kevin Smith has created a media empire in the 25 years since the arrival of his self-financed movie about working at convenience stores filmed at night in an actual convenience store where he worked. A cast filled with friends and family members and a credit-card debt of $27,575 has led to a career on the big-screen, countless appearances on the small screen and quite a few card appearances. His autographs are easy to land -- if you hit his comics shop's website you can buy signed items -- but a piece of one of his Gretzky-inspired hockey jerseys on a memorabilia card is a fun one to me. I own cards with all three colors and scoured them all to put one into a slab.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I didn't notice any flaws on this one and still don't -- surface always gets me -- and there really aren't any when it's a 9.5 and one of the highest-graded cards. If slabbing was a tad cheaper, I'd get cards with other colors of swatches graded to match this one. One drawback here? The sleeve or the case is a little tight on this card. (It looks odd in-person but fine in photo above.)

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The Card: 2011 Topps Update Diamond Anniversary #US55 Anthony Rizzo RC parallel
The Reason Graded: Buzz bought a ton of 2011 Topps -- all three series -- for fun inclusions such as the Diamond Dig website codes (remember those?) and a byproduct of that was that I did pull a lot of the key RCs from a rookie class that's stacked. When it comes to the parallels, though, I didn't pull Trout or many of the other big names -- but I did land a J.D. Martinez (see last month) and this Rizzo was also one of my key finds. This one was sitting in a snap case in a box for years -- I didn't go digging even with the Cubs winning it all in 2016 -- but when I did find it I figured it was worth a closer look.
The Grade: BGS 9.5

Reality Check: I was a little surprised to see a 9.5 here -- I had figured a 9 -- but I'll take it. A bigger surprise is how there's not a single BGS 10 but there is a BGS 10 Black version out there. I don't slab a lot of cards for cash -- this one might have been that a little more in 2016 -- but I'm glad I did.

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The Card: 1971 Fleer Harlem Globetrotters #66 Geese Ausbie, Meadowlark Lemon & Curly Neal
The Reason Bought: With March Madness coming, I figured I would work in a few basketball inclusions this month -- and I'll lead off with a legendary one. Sure, it's not college -- none of mine are here -- but it's one that I grabbed recently for about the price of a pack, though there would be no guarantee I'd find this one inside or even in this grade. I got the hankering for this one after busting a pack for a past Buzz 12 in 12 marathon.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: I think this is easily one of the best cards in the set with three legendary members of the team all very visible here on a card that has not been (and probably won't be) topped on the pop report condition-wise. I'm 100-percent content with this card and it being probably my last one to chase from this set -- I dig it that much -- but you should check out this story about someone who took on the idea of chasing autographs on this set. So cool.

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The Card: 1992-93 Upper Deck #1B Trade Card Shaquille O'Neal RC
The Reason Bought: Back then it seemed everything Shaq was pricey -- at least at my age -- but this was one of those buys now where I looked at the price, the condition on the slab, the actual card, and then all of those things for other slabs and decided this was worth it for my $12. Because of contractural things, Shaq's RCs couldn't appear in packs when the product arrived, so instead a trade-in redemption card was issued. Once his contract situation was fixed and a deadline passed, his cards were sent out.
The Grade: SGC 96

Reality Check: I had picked off other copies of his RCs but never chased this one just because it didn't present itself. But the price and its place on the pop report got me here. BGS copies can get steep fast but I decided to look at the card and go with this one. I'm not a 100-percent focused collector of really anyone in the NBA so I was OK with a budget buy that looked good.

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The Card: 1990-91 Score Canadian #440 Eric Lindros RC
The Reason Bought: Poking around for memorable cards from the past got me wondering about one of these -- a can't-miss phenom for the hockeys just a a couple years before Shaq. This one was released before he was the No. 1 pick in the 1991 NHL Draft and it introduced a lot of us kids in the States to the Oshawa Generals and how hockey works. There was a Canadian version of the Score set and one released in America. Atop that there were factory sets with more Lindros bonus cards -- all meaning there's plenty out there -- so these aren't expensive cards as much as they are memorable ones. It doesn't hurt that this "Future Superstar" made his way to the Hockey Hall of Fame and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players by the league in 2017.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: I'm fine with 9s so this one still feels comfortable, especially when you consider those baggies that are called packs out there these days -- there's absolutely no guarantee of getting a 9 even from a freshly ripped pack.

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The Card: 2012-13 NBA Hoops #73 Gregg Popovich
The Reason Bought: It's not a Rookie Card but it's one of just a few that he has out there. Before this one, his only cards were in Topps Total sets from the early 2000s -- despite a lifetime in the game that included stops in the college ranks before NBA dominance. (Fun fact: He still doesn't have a certified autograph, either.) This former Air Force star pondered joining the CIA after he was done at the Academy and active duty, but instead turned to coaching. He's got five NBA titles -- only topped by Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach -- and he's a lock for the Hall of Fame once he retires. And that's actually not even required as he's eligible at any time now thanks to his longevity in the game.
The Grade: PSA 9

Reality Check: This one was a $4 find and I honestly clicked to buy because it's just an odd thing to see. (I know it's probably not a $4 card, either, but slabbing one would cost more.) I didn't actually expect there to be so many slabbed.

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The Card: 1976-77 Topps #126 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (All-Star)
The Reason Bought: This icon -- both on the court and off -- is a name I check from time to time to pick up older stuff from the Topps years. This oddity of a set is one that I've always liked yet I may not even own five cards from it. These cards just aren't seen as much as others in shops or at shows because they're not standard size or even tallboy size. They're more like postcards -- and when you do find them they can be especially mangled because of that whole storage issue and the 40-plus years since they arrived. It's not a super-pricey set compared to other sets or other sports from the past, though I'd argue that there are a lot of bargains to be had for NBA cards from the 1970s ... if you can find them.
The Grade: SGC 84

Reality Check: I found this one for about the same price as a blaster box from a discount bin. I might have overpaid a little compared to how the pop report looks for SGC. (At least that was my initial thought -- eBay shows raw cards with higher asking prices.) I'd suspect the PSA pop report is more dramatic, too, but I grabbed this one because it looks better than a "7" which is what SGC slabs would show for this if slabbed today. Also dropping demand for this a tad is that it's an All-Star subset card but I think it looks better than his basic card that's a mugshot. (Remember, these cards are huge.) This one may not impress a lot of fans out there but it's just one I really like.

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