80s and 90s Hot/Cold
In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s Beckett Magazine published a Hot/Cold list in every monthly issue.
This list called the “Weather Report” gave you a quick pulse on the most desired stars and rookies. And it also bore the news of slumping stars and disappointing rookies.
2018-2021 Hot/Cold
A few weeks ago, much to my delight, I found that Beckett continues to publish the hot/cold list.
Although a few caveats:
- The list is no longer written by Beckett, but is outsourced by Dynasty Breaks. Whatever, I can get beyond that. Maybe back in 80s & 90s, Beckett had a freelance writer come up with their Hot and Cold list.
- Today this list includes players from all sports. I’d prefer a baseball-only list, but hey, I’ll take it.
The baseball players on this week’s hot list are: Juan Soto and Spencer Torkelson. I never heard of Spencer Torkelson. Beckett explains the inclusion of Soto and Torkelson:
Juan Soto hasn’t played any baseball since the end of September. That hasn’t stopped there from being a lot of activity on his cards recently. In particular, his 2018 Topps Update Rookie Card has soared, making an already stellar set that much stronger. Spencer Torkelson, the first pick in the 2020 draft, has also seen his cards jump, especially his 2020 Bowman Chrome Draft Autograph.
The cold list has no baseball players this week. Since there are other sports playing now, I guess it makes sense to not include any MLB players. (especially since Dynasty Breaks includes only three players on the cold list). The last time a baseball player appeared on the cold list is Randy Arozarena on December 4, 2020:
It wasn’t long ago that Randy Arozarena was topping the weekly Hot/Cold list. With baseball season over, that momentum has slowed. Toss in some potential legal issues and he finds himself on the Cold side, at least for now.
Future research
I’m going to be compiling a spreadsheet of all the hot/cold players from all of Beckett’s posts since 2018. Then I’ll do some data analysis on the names, and the sports.