He’s not only overlooked on the field, he’s overlooked on cardboard, too.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks took a no-hitter into the ninth last night in St. Louis but lost it when Jeremy Hazelbaker took him yard.
The result was still the same, though, as it was a one-hitter for his 15th win of the season, upping his record to 15-7 with a MLB-leading 2.07 ERA — impressive stats for a guy who has just a single Rookie Card.
The game got him a Topps Now card today, but it will be the results of this season that will (hopefully) finally land him an autograph deal. He has zero certified autos to go along with that sole Rookie Card despite having cardboard since 2012 when he was a prospect for the Texas Rangers.
Hendricks was an eighth-round draft pick in 2011 and was traded to the Cubs along with Christian Villanueva for Ryan Dempster in 2012. He’s in his third season as a big-leaguer and still hasn’t cracked the 100-card barrier for his career. His earlier cards are found in 2012 Bowman and 2012 Topps Heritage Minor League before his lone RC in the 2014 Topps Heritage High Number set.
Completed auctions show some surprises for the pitcher, but his Heritage card, which is only found in the boxed set and not in packs, has sold for as much as $19.99 raw. That’s not bad considering it’s a loaded set that many are ripping for other guys and their autos — guys like Mookie Betts and Jacob deGrom in a deep pack of rookies. (Oh, and it’s not an expensive set.)
Toss in a potential NL Cy Young award and a potential World Series ring, and these sets might seem like a bargain sometime soon.
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