Holy Cow...now THAT'S a pitcher I'll be betting on....

You know, the game of baseball, and with baseball card collectors, has always been a breeding ground of pseudo-stock brokers, a la the baseball card route.  Collectors have always been prospecting and certainly it hasn't changed since when I left the hobby and now.  The only major difference is now, the prospecting is done with cards that are deemed higher-end (thus the higher possibility of return) - of course, there's always the risk vs reward factor when doing this.

Anyone remember Big Ben McDonald?  How about Jerome Walton?

The busts are there - always have been, always will be.  But on RARE occasion, you just want to gamble because, well, damn it, a player is just THAT good.  Case in point:

 

I was reading a few blogs and ran across The Writer's Journey and he had posted a link to a video showing Aroldis Chapman doing some live batting/pitching practice.  You can find the vid here: Aroldis Hammering Away (watch the change up).  

Amazing.  Simply Amazing.  This kid has got a serious arm, pretty decent control - some of the balls furiously hurtling to the catcher are simply a BLUR - the only reason you know it's a baseball flying by is because you know what the sport is. 

I'm not a prospector, but now after watching him throw (and this is on the freaking internet - I can only imagine what it must be like to be a batter and go a few rounds), holy cow - if he can stay healthy, he could easily be a dominating force on the mound.  I have a few of the Bowman cards of him, but now I'm beginning to itch to pick up his Donruss Elite auto.

Hmmmm.....if I go that route, better do it now before the season starts.

Or he could be a bust. 

Or not.

Decisions, decisions.

Ok, more later!