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VON HAYES BASEBALL CARDS

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Von Hayes had a lengthy major league career spanning from 1979 to 1992 but never quite lived up to the lofty expectations that accompanied his baseball cards as one of the hottest prospects of the late 1970s. As an amateur, Hayes was a standout player at Westwood High School in Los Angeles where he led his team to a state championship as a senior in 1977. That success translated to a selection as the number one overall pick in the 1977 amateur draft by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Hayes entered professional baseball with immense hype but it was his baseball cards from 1979 to 1981 that truly captured the excitement surrounding his potential. In his first season of professional ball in 1978 with the Spartanburg Phillies of the South Atlantic League, Hayes slashed .330/.384/.545 with 13 home runs and 73 RBI in just 99 games to earn a promotion to AAA by the end of the year. Those jaw-dropping numbers made Hayes one of the sport’s most heralded prospects heading into the 1979 season and the anticipation was prominently displayed on his cardboard.

In 1979, Hayes’ rookie cards were issued by Topps, Fleer, and Donruss. All three manufacturers prominently featured Hayes’ impressive statistics from 1978 on the front of the cards. Donruss in particular went all-in on Hayes, making him the cover athlete of their 1979 set. His stats and glowing scouting report took up nearly the entire front of the card. Meanwhile, his Topps and Fleer rookie cards mentioned he was considered the Phillies’ top prospect and the future at third base for the club. The lofty expectations placed upon Hayes were evident based solely on his first baseball cards.

Hayes would get his first extended taste of major league action in 1979, appearing in 53 games for the Phillies. He hit a more than respectable .280 with 4 home runs in limited playing time. Those numbers only added to the buzz surrounding Hayes and furthered the promising outlook conveyed by his rookie cards. In 1980, Topps, Fleer, and Donruss all issued update cards on Hayes that continued portraying him as a future star for Philadelphia.

The spring of 1980 also saw Hayes make his first Bowman baseball card appearance. Bowman opted to use a picture of Hayes from his 1978 Spartanburg Phillies minor league days, further cementing his status as a top prospect. They also included details of his major league debut season statistics from 1979 on the back of the card. At this point, Hayes’ cards from 1979 to 1980 conveyed he was on the cusp of superstardom with the Phillies despite having accrued less than a full season of major league experience.

Heading into the 1980 season, expectations for Hayes were at an all-time high. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken arm that year which limited him to just 71 games. When he did play, Hayes produced with a .303 average and 8 home runs. Those solid numbers kept the optimism burning bright for 1981. Both Donruss and Topps issued Hayes’ first solo cards in 1981, signaling he had arrived in the big leagues for good. Topps in particular depicted Hayes in an action shot in the field with the third base position highlighted, emphasizing his spot as Philadelphia’s future at the hot corner.

All signs pointed to a 1981 breakout season for Hayes with health (and likely first All-Star Game) on his side. Things did not play out as his baseball cards from 1979 to 1981 had prophecy. While Hayes did appear in 154 games and post career-highs with a .286 average, 20 home runs, and 76 RBI, he failed to take the massive leap forward many expected and perhaps reach superstar heights. His production was very good, not great. This relative disappointment was reflected in his minor downgrade to a common rookie/update card from Topps for 1982 instead of another solo issue after two straight.

Injuries would slow Hayes again in both 1982 and 1983, limiting him to just 178 total games over those two seasons. His statistics regressed some from his career year in 1981 as well, bringing more doubt about whether he could fulfill the immense hype. Topps’ decision to use an action photo instead of headshot for his update card in 1983 suggested Hayes still had potential left to tap despite middling performances the prior two seasons. The lofty expectations of his early baseball cards were fading.

From 1984 through the remainder of his career in 1992, Hayes was a reliable major league outfielder and third baseman but never approached the superstardom that had been foreseen by the astronomical projections on his 1979 to 1981 baseball cards. Injuries continued to be an issue and Hayes’ statistics, while still good, were merely above average rather than great. The one exception was 1987 when he posted career-highs of 31 home runs and 102 RBI for the Cleveland Indians at the age of 30. It proved to be too late for him to achieve the staggering peak that was anticipated by hobbyists a decade prior.

In the end, Hayes fell short of reaching the heights implied by the immense fanfare emphasized on his early baseball cards. Injuries played a role but Hayes was also simply unable to fulfill the expectations placed upon him as arguably the top prospect in baseball in 1978 and 1979. His cardboard up to 1981 conveyed he was destined for superstardom with the Phillies but it never fully materialized. While Hayes enjoyed a respectable 14-year MLB career, he will always be partially defined in the hobby by not living up to the stellar outlook predicted by his pioneering baseball cards as one of the original hotshot amateurs.

In summary, Von Hayes’ baseball cards from 1979 to 1981 were uniquely representative of the massive promise that came with being a blue chip prospect in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Topps, Fleer, Donruss, and Bowman all went to great lengths to promote Hayes as the future star third baseman of the Phillies franchise based primarily on a few standout minor league seasons. Unfortunately, Hayes was never able to completely fulfill that forecast despite a long major league tenure. His early baseball cards immortalized him as one of baseball’s original can’t-miss prospects but also clearly set the bar too high for him to reach. Despite some excellent individual seasons, Hayes will always be partially remembered for not achieving the lofty expectations epitomized by his groundbreaking rookie cards over four decades ago.

KE BRYAN HAYES BASEBALL CARDS

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Ke’Bryan Hayes is a young third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates who has shown immense promise in his young MLB career thus far. Given his talent and family lineage as the son of former major leaguer Charles Hayes, baseball card collectors have taken interest in accumulating Hayes’ rookie cards. As Hayes continues developing in the big leagues, his early cards stand to gain value. Let’s take a closer look at some of the notable Ke’Bryan Hayes baseball cards that collectors should be aware of:

2018 Bowman Draft Ke’Bryan Hayes Purple Refractor Auto /150 ($60-80): Hayes’ first true rookie card came in 2018 Bowman Draft, featuring an on-card autograph in the coveted purple refractor parallel limited to just 150 copies. At the time, Hayes was viewed as one of the top prospects from the 2016 draft class developing in the Pirates system. While certainly not graded gem mint, higher graded examples of this scarce parallel have traded hands recently in the $60-80 range on the secondary card market. With Hayes now in the majors, this early signature card holds strong long term appeal for those who acted early.

2019 Bowman Chrome Ke’Bryan Hayes Blue Refractor /499 ($20-30): Breaking out of his draft year issues, Hayes shined as one of the top prospects in all of minor league baseball during the 2019 season. His ascension up prospect rankings was reflected in the added fanfare around his sophomore Bowman Chrome offering, which featured the standard blue refractor parallel instead of an autograph. Limited far less scarce than the 2018 purple auto at /499 copies, well-centered examples can still be procured in the $20-30 range.

2020 Topps Ke’Bryan Hayes Chrome RC /250 ($40-60): As Hayes continued raking in AAA in 2019, Topps granted himtrue flagship rookie card status for 2020. The standard chrome red parallel of this design holds appeal at /250 copies forRGB collectors. While a reasonably attainable rookie card of a promising prospect pre-mlb debut, graded mint 9 copies have traded north of $40 with Hayes now residing on the Pirates big league roster. As a popular flagship brand, long term appeal for graded examples is strong.

2020 Bowman Draft Ke’Bryan Hayes Green Auto /99 ($75-100): Quite scarce at just 99 copies, Hayes’ final pre-mlb bowman issue granted him an autographed parallel in elegant green. Signing early in his career, the on-card signature holds strong appeal. While not quite the rookie status of Topps cards, high grades have recently sold in the $75-100 range on the strongpossibility that Hayes continues developing into an all-star caliber player in Pittsburgh. For those who prefer the Bowman brand over Topps, a long term hold.

2021 Topps Ke’Bryan Hayes Silver Pack RC /2021 ($25-40): Drawing first blood in the flagship set upon his official MLB debut in 2020, Hayes’ Topps rookie card took on elevated status. The standard first year player silver parallel holds reasonable scarcity at the edition number. Strongly graded examples holding the iconic design have sold consistently north of $25 since Hayes got his shot in the show. Much like the above cards, as Hayes’ career progresses, this initial flagship RC stands to gain value for savvy collectors.

2021 Topps Chrome Ke’Bryan Hayes Refractor RC #286 ($50-75): Perhaps the most visually appealing card from Hayes’ true rookie season is found in Topps Chrome. The refractors from the premium release shine bright under a light. Despite an enormous print run north of 3,000 copies, mint condition examples fetching a 9 or above grade have traded hands in recent months between $50-75. While not as scarce as some parallels above, the unparalleled aesthetics and stabilityof the Topps brand lend appeal here for RGB investors bullish on Hayes.

2021 Topps Transcendent Ke’Bryan Hayes Auto Patch 1/1 (PC): Achieving the ultimate rookie year parallel, Hayes’ lone Transcendent auto patch 1/1 holds the status of “crown jewel” in his collection. Featuring triple relic material with on-card autograph to boot, this unique card stands alone as the singular copy in existence. While privately held as a true PIAB (Player in a Box) treasure, unofficially it would demand well into the thousands of dollars on the secondary market based on star potential and rarity alone. A true holy grail for Hayes collectors.

As the above cards demonstrate, Ke’Bryan Hayes emerged from the prospect ranks to receive noteworthy inclusion and parallels across baseball’s main hobby brands like Topps, Bowman, and Chrome through his development phase. With an encouraging start to his MLB tenure so far hitting over .300 in 2021, his early cards profiled here profile risk-reward potential for patient long term RGB investors. So long as Hayes continues developing into an impact performer for the Pirates, the demand and prices for his scarcer rookie parallels profiled are likely to ascend steadily in the years ahead as his stature grows. For collectors bullish on Hayes achieving stardom, his cards represent an attainable risk to take ongiven the upside of a future all-star’s established collection.