New York, Aug. 4, 2008 (Topps.com) –         The Topps Company and CMG Worldwide (CMG), have signed an agreement giving Topps exclusive rights to produce the trading cards of Major League Baseball’s greatest legend, Babe Ruth.  The exclusive Babe Ruth cards were unveiled last week in packs of 2008 Topps Allen & Ginter and will be found in the remainder of Topps’ 2008 and 2009 baseball products. The products will feature an array of insert cards, autographed cards and game-used memorabilia cards.

As Yankee Stadium, the House that Babe Built, nears the end of its final season, there is no better time to complete your collections or add some new Babe Ruth memorabilia.  In addition, the value of your current Babe Ruth cards and memorabilia is sure to increase as this new line-up hits the shelves.

To read the full press release from Topps.com, click here.

Check out this video by Expert Village. It’s perfect for all you novice baseball card collectors wondering where to start. It provides some information on how to identify your baseball cards as well as what type of cards to look for. This is just one of many card collecting videos by Expert Village that you can watch. And remember, once you find the right baseball cards make sure to add them to iTaggit.

One of the leaders in the sports card grading industry, Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA), announced yesterday it would be moving away from its original 10 point grading system to a new 18 point scale. The new system will take effect February 1st and draws comparison to both Sportscard Guaranty's (SGC) and Beckett Grading Service's (BGS) systems. Grades will now be distributed over one through ten, with each having a half-grade (except 9). This has been received as a major bomb-shell and reason for panic by some in the sports card collecting community.

PSA's reasoning for implementing this new system is to reduce the gap in pricing between grades that exists in the market. Often times, thousands of dollars in value separate 8s, 9s, & 10s when it comes to high-end and vintage cards. PSA sees half-grades as a necessity for the maturity of the sports card market.

However, many collectors are wary of the new system, fearing chaos in the market. The concept of a "high-end" and "low-end" cards within a grade has existed since grading became popular. Customers are worried that their existing "high-end" cards will take a tumble in value unless they re-submit the card to PSA for reevaluation. Another concern some collectors have is that the already cut-throat set registry world will become even more competitive. One bright for many is that the "Poor" and "Fair" grades will finally be separated.

In the hours following the announcement, many PSA customers have posted possible solutions to their concerns online. One solution that has been suggested is an altered flip (label) design to denote cards graded after the switch to the new system, something PSA has done before. Another popular solution is that cards graded at round numbers in the future be denoted with a "point zero" (e.g. 8.0) to make clear which cards were graded before the change. It remains to be seen if PSA is considering any of these options.

The true fallout from this decision is yet to be seen, but it has become clear this will be viewed as a watershed moment in PSA's history.

When experts weighed in with their thoughts on the effect of the Mitchell report on the hobby, cards really weren’t part of the equation. Kevin Haake, editor of Beckett’s monthly baseball card price guide, fills that void. Like everyone else, he agreed that like memorabilia, Barry Bonds' baseball card's value wouldn’t be affected, because they already had taken the hit from all his previous woes, including the perjury indictment.

“Roger Clemens collectibles have taken a hit since the report was made public. Clemens has always had the benefit of playing for two of the most popular and widely collected teams in his career — Boston and N.Y. — but even that rabid fan base hasn’t been able to stop some of the initial bleeding that is taking place on his more widely sought-after RCs. Right now, the short term outlook for Clemens’ collectibles is that they will likely be accompanied by down arrows for a few months until the initial rush to judgment levels off. “The fact that many of the Mitchell report were common players will prove to be beneficial to for the hobby long-term. Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte are primarily considered ‘commons’ in the hobby despite their career accolades. Being named in the Mitchell Report certainly won’t help their popularity among the player collectors who are the most active hobbyists pursuing their cards.”
What are your thoughts?

Check out some of the great baseball memorabilia I found in the iTaggit gallery:

iTaggit user kihm8787 has an amazing collection of baseball memorabilia in the community collection. Within the collection are a Limited Edition Ted Williams 50th Anniversary Autographed Plaque, Hank Aaron Autographed Baseball with Certificate of Authenticity, Rod Carew Autographed Baseball with "HOF 91'" Inscription (pictured left), Lou Brock Autographed Baseball with "SB 938" Inscription, all of which can be considered almost antiques these days.

iTaggit user comic_relief added a baseball cards collectors box with over 500 cards in it!!! (pictured right) In the description, the contents consist of over 500 baseball cards from different manufacturers and years, including one original card from the 1950's, two original cards from the 1960's and five original cards from the 1970's. Other interesting cards I've found include Wheezy's autographed Bobby Doerr Baseball Card and itaggitfather's 2003 Upper Deck Sammy Sosa Limited Edition Baseball Card, which is in it's own display case. Lastly, one of the most impressive collections I have found across the board would be the_baseball_guru's The Topps Baseball Cards Complete Set from years 1986-1989, consisting of approximately 3,168 cards collectively.

I love finding new stuff in the iTaggit Gallery on a daily basis, and I hope you do to. If you find something that you feel needs to be shared, blog about it!