We don’t know if Japanese pitching sensation Yu Darvish is going to be any good. By all appearances he’s got great stuff and that’s causing teams like the Blue Jays and of course eventually, the Red Sox and Yankees, to pursue his services with vigor and a massive contract.
But if we know one thing for sure it’s that his trading cards are about to go through the roof. Yep, through the roof. So, you better get what you can now.
How can we be so certain? How can we so boldly declare this truism?
It’s a no-brainer really. Any time a Japanese sensation- a top one- decides to test the waters in the United States their cards go crazy. From Daisuke Matsuzaka to Ichiro Suzuki this has been true. The appreciation even before their first game has been profound and so too will it be for Darvish. What simply happens is that you get two countries of avid collectors pursuing one guy who won’t have that many cards to satisfy the demand initially. If he does wind up in the Big Apple or Beantown then the price appreciation could be exponential.
So, grab what you can of the early Bowman stuff out there now. Next year there will be plenty of 2012 stuff with MLB’s funny “Rookie Card” stamp and that will be hot stuff too. But right now, we’ll bet you a cold bottle of Sake that his Bowman stuff triples before spring training.
