The Hit King is Back

Pete Rose is back in the baseball card market. Until now, the only Rose card really worth much was his 1963 rookie card.

The 2007 Sportkings has Rose autograph and memorabilia cards. This is the first time a banned player has been on cards since '04 Sweet Spot Classic Shoeless Joe Jackson. But that was an MLB and MLBPA approved card... this Rose card by Sportskings is not.

The Rose autograph card and memorabilia card are both ranked #1 on the Beckett baseball December issue. The Rose autograph card is ranked higher than Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth cut autograph cards.

Is this right? Should the Rose card be that high? I say... YES... for now.

Rose cards are long overdue and in the short-term will be high on the list. But long-term... I think the Rose cards will come down in price and in rankings. Ruth and Gerhig autographs will jump back to the top spots in time because of their demand. Rose's will come down because he's still signing autographs (200 days a year at Caesar's Palace) and will probably do 2 more books about his apologies to baseball.