2014 George Springer Relic/Auto

Welcome to the 10th edition of A Very Simple Idea!  What started out as a chance for me to get to know my cards better has turned into a very fun project that has really given me new insight into the world of baseball prospects!  It’s been a blast and I hope to grow as a researcher and writer as I continue to profile my cards and the players they showcase!

This week I am taking a break from the base versions that I normally highlight to look at one of my personal favorite players: George Springer!  Springer has been featured in the 2013 and 2014 Bowman Inception sets, but never on the base version.  His Inception cards have been part of subsets that I do not normally collect, but I make an exception for him!  

At the bottom of the post, check out the opportunity to WIN a few Inception cards for yourself!  

Player History:

There is not much to be said about Springer that hasn’t already been written, so I am going to try to keep this short and sweet. He was drafted out of UCONN by the Astros with the 11th overall pick and was really the first prospect leading the charge of change for the organization. 

In 2012, Springer entered the season as the Astros No. 3 prospect.  According to Baseball America, that year he was ranked as having the Best Outfield Arm, and as being the Best Athlete and Best Defensive Outfielder in the Astros system.  Obviously there was a lot to be excited about with Springer from the very beginning. 

The following year, he again entered the season as the No. 3 prospect in the organization.   By year’s end, he was named Minor League Baseball's 2013 Offensive Player of the Year and the Astros Minor League Player of the Year.  Here is what scouts were saying about Springer by this time: 

• Springer immediately stands out on a baseball field with his athletic ability.
• He’s easily a plus runner and those wheels make him a constant threat to steal bases.
• He’s largely a patient hitter, but when he gets ahead in the count he can be fooled by both fastballs up and breaking balls low
• Strikeouts are always going to be a problem for Springer
• If things ever really click for him he has tools and ability that compare favorably with some of the best players in baseball. If they don’t, he’s still a five tool center fielder that’s a constant speed and power threat while providing value with his glove.

The consistent description of Springer is pretty simple: way above average defender that combines speed and power at the plate.  Other prophecies of his Major League career proclaimed his approach as most likely to hold a low batting average and struggles with pitchers who can control the outer half of the strike zone. But by the time the 2014 season rolled around, Springer was now the No. 2 prospect for the Astros and the No. 18 ranked prospect in all of baseball by Baseball America. 

He made his debut for the Astros on April 16, 2014, going 1-5 with 2 strikeouts and a walk against the Royals.  Since then, Springer has struggle with strikeouts (401 so far) and a not-so-amazing .258 Batting Average.  He only has 33 stolen bases in the Majors, compared to 88 in the Minors, but has managed 65 Home Runs as well as a long highlight reel of astounding defensive plays.  All in all, he has continued to show growth as a Major League ballplayer and still tantalizes fans and scouts with the potential to put all of his skills together consistently.  

Look of the Card:

I am fortunate enough to own three different Parallels of this 2014 Bowman Inception card:

The base version has a very strong connection to the base set, even though there are some very distinct differences.  Obviously the first difference is that the card is horizontal, instead of vertical like the base set, and the background is split into three sections.  

The upper left portion and most of the lower half of the card are set off with a curved border and have an apparent light brown leather look them.  It’s hard not to want to rub your finger along the bottom and see if the leather has actual texture to it!  

The middle section closely resembles the wood grain coloring and texturing of the base cards. The middle section of the Parallels helps differentiate them: pink for the /50 Parallel and a light (almost mint) green for the /25 Parallel.  I am not a huge fan of the Pink Parallel but I love the Green Parallel! In truth, though, I am stoked that I own all three of these together!  

Also of major note is that this set of cards comes with a relic (piece of jersey that at some point was in Springer’s possession) and that the autograph was signed on a sticker to be placed on the card, instead of being directly signed by the player like the base set.  I absolutely love the orange fabric of the jersey on the cards that I own.  It is just such a unique and eye-popping color!  

As much as I love Springer the player, his signature leaves a lot to be desired!  It’s almost always just a hastily scribbled capital G and capital S.  Granted, I don’t fault anyone who has to sign so many autographs for wanting to keep it simple, but this almost has the feeling of “I don’t care about this at all” or “I really hate doing this.”  I have no idea if that’s really how he feels, but it’s the vibe I get from his signature.  

The picture of Springer is not the most exciting Inception photo I have seen, but it is far from the worst!  Springer looks to be jogging in from the outfield with the easy grace and athleticism that has made him so special.  Oddly, this is a similar position - albeit from a different angle - of the 2013 Jorge Soler card, but the Soler card really has much more powerful of an impact.

The dark blue of Astros jersey coupled with the dark orange of his sleeves and hat are a really solid combination for the look of these cards.  And I really like the silver medallion printed next to the orange jersey.  I can’t exactly say why, but my eyes are always drawn to it with the leather background.

Card Value:

When Springer was tearing up the Minor Leagues and made his debut with the Astros, prices for his cards were skyrocketing!  But because he has been good, and not the next coming of Mickey Mantle or even Mike Trout, his value has come down to a very affordable level!  

I was able to buy the base version of this card recently for only $5 before shipping!  The Pink Parallel I have had for a while, and purchased that for about $10 including shipping.  Just a few weeks ago, the I bought Green Parallel on ebay for just $15 before shipping!  A would say averaging $10 per card for these three is a pretty awesome value!  

Here are the next three I would love to acquire if anyone wants to donate them or start a Go Fund Me to help out (just kidding!):

I am confident that all three can and should be purchased for less than they are listed for, but odds are that I am done collecting this particular set of Springer cards!  

Ok, now for the giveaway!  I have a small stack of Inception cards that are either doubles of cards I already own or are the relic/auto versions similar to the Springer cards shown above.  And I want to give them away!  There are two ways to enter: 

1. Leave a comment on this blog post about: Inception cards, or George Springer or any of the cards that have been profiled so far in the first ten posts of A Very Simple Idea. 
2. Retweet the tweet with the link for this post on Twitter!  

That’s all there is to it!  If you RT and leave a comment, you will be entered twice!  Just leave your Twitter handle on your post so that I know who it is!  

The drawing will be done out of a hat (because I like to be old fashioned occasionally) a week from today and announced on the next blog post. 

Thanks so much for hanging with me through the first 10 weeks of this blog!