I'll Go Ahead And Cave

One of the biggest reasons I was excited about the 2021 baseball card releases was getting my hands on some Jake Cronenworth cards. He was on the Durham Bulls a few years back. The Rays ended up trading him to the Padres before the 2020 season. I would have loved to see him stay in Tampa, but understand that if you follow a Minor League team, trades are inevitable.  I am just happy Jake Cronenworth made the Majors after a long journey through the Minors.  

My only Jake Cronenworth card entering 2021 was a Durham Bulls team issue card from 2019.  

Cronenworth has appeared in several 20201 Topps and Panini products, even signed a bunch of autographs.  I was not really happy about the prices of his cards on eBay.  Earlier this year I tried to lay out a case for people spending less money on Jake Cronenworth cards.  He's a 27-year-old rookie and he went to the University of Michigan.  Those are two really good reasons.  

I have waited patiently, but being a Rookie of the Year candidate and making the National League All-Star team doesn't really do anything to make your cards more affordable.  So, I decided to go the opposite direction two weeks back.  

Here are some reasons to buy some Jake Cronenworth cards.  

-Cronenworth is one of my favorite Durham Bulls players 

-I don't really mind the Padres and there are a ton of other former Durham Bulls on that team. 

-He's a Rookie of the Year candidate who just made the National League All-Star team. 

-Cronenworth cards are still less expensive than Wander Franco's cards.  

I picked up three Cronenworth cards, two autographs, and one insert.  

The first one is from Topps Finest.  The background on these cards is a little odd this year.  The left side looks very 1980s/1990s this year with the pink and green background with the different shapes mixed in.  The right side is very plain with the Chrome reflective material kind of standing alone.  There is a little color in there, but not much.  

This is my favorite card in this post.  Love the action shot of Cronenworth sliding into home, even if he is wearing a ridiculous camouflage baseball uniform.  Some of the recent Stadium Club designs with the large player name at the bottom haven't really done anything for me, but I like this year's design with the bar at the bottom.  Feels like a throwback to the original set released back in 1991.  

Last one. 

I really like this card with Jake Cronenworth on the 1986 Topps design.  There is an autographed 1986 Topps-style card of Cronenworth too, but it's a sticker autograph that looks terrible.  

That's it for today.  I am really happy with these cards, glad to have a few Cronenworth's to look at, and I will live with the fact that I caved on price this time.