Stephen Strasburg Rookie Card Passes $16,000 on eBay

After the Washington Nationals signed his right arm to the tune of $15.1 million after being the number one overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, it seems like Stephen Strasburg mania is not just limited to the province of Washington DC. One of the more limited cards in the 2010 Bowman Baseball collection was a Chrome Superfractor Stephen Strasburg Rookie card which was a one-off never to be seen again deal and randomly placed in the 2010 Bowman packs for one lucky buyer to find. And that buyer, living in Burke VA, found the card on May 12 and proceeded to waste absolutely no time in listing the card on eBay before Strasburg has even made a pitch in the big leagues. Since the auction is only open to approved bidders it would appear that the current highest bid of $16,304 is genuine.




Strasburg was already speculated to pitch on June 4 facing the Cincinnati Reds which would have been the first home game where Washington could be guaranteed that their star rookie would not be eligible for Super Two status but the latest rumors are now that he is prepared to face the Pittsburgh Pirates at sometime in the series which is from June 8 through June 10. However, with Cincinnati sitting on top of the NL Central and seven games above .500 going into their Thursday game, it might actually be a conscious decision to give Strasburg a break on his debut. Over nine minor league starts split over Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse, Strasburg has posted a 6-1 record with a 0.99 ERA while fanning 54 over 45.1 innings but the front office may consider a debut against Pittsburgh - who are in the bottom three in the National League for AVG, home runs and runs scored – would be a more palatable first game than the Reds who are in the top four in all those categories.

The auction is scheduled to end just after 2100EST on Saturday May 29 after which the buyer must be praying that, with all that money invested, Strasburg turns into a superstar rather than ends up being another Brien Taylor or Mark Prior. And should Strasburg replicate the career of the 2006 overall #1 draft pick Luke Hochevar, the buyer at least can console themselves that they got free shipping on the auction.



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