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Is jury still out on Aaron Judge cards after World Series flop?
Is the jury still out on Aaron Judge and his trading cards?
That’s a rhetorical question, of course: Aaron Judge is a locked-in hobby star. With 315 homers and a .288 average in nine seasons, and as captain of the New York Yankees, he has earned his place in the uppermost echelon of baseball’s most collectible stars.
But … the fact remains that Judge continued his postseason struggles in 2024, going 9 for 64 (a meager .141 batting average). A look at eBay auction results shows his playoff performance may have affected his collectibles prices—at least in the short term.
Consider: On eBay in the three months prior to the final out of the World Series (during which the Dodgers dispatched of the Yankees in five games), we counted nearly two dozen Judge cards that sold for at least $10,000. Another two dozen Judge cards sold for $5,000 to $10,000. But after the Fall Classic? None.
To wit: In the three weeks after the World Series, these were the highest prices paid in eBay auctions for Judge cards:
• $4,150 on 42 bids for a signed 2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks card marked #10/10 and graded PSA 10.
• $4,077 on 55 bids for an autographed 2017 Topps Chrome Update Gold Refractor card marked #47/50 and graded PSA 10.
• $3,950 on 30 bids: 2017 Topps Definitive Collection Aaron Judge, #16/35, auto (BGS (.5).
Those prices are more modest than what we saw during Judge’s spectacular 2024 regular season. His stats were eye-popping; he batted .322, clubbed 58 homers, scored 122 runs, walked 133 times and notched 144 RBI.
Those numbers tell us that by the time the 2025 season rolls around, Judge collecting will rise again.
Consider that in the midst of the World Series, while the Yankees still had a chance to fight back, a Judge 2013 Bowman Chrome Black Label Refractor rookie sold for $13,366 on 39 bids.
The eye-catching card features a side-view photograph of Judge locked in at the plate, bat poised to explode into the next pitch.
The reverse of the card, penned in 2013, got it right: “Big, menacing slugger with pole-to-pole power … Displays good speed for his size … Won’t be outworked …. Throws with accuracy and carry.”
