As collectors, we have all been down this sad, lonely road of regret. To some, a story of trade regret has happened more than once. For me, it was a pull from a 2007 U.D SPx. To be exact, it was a “rookie” autograph of some guy named B.J Upton.

You have to remember that by the 2008 season, B.J was in his fourth season in “The Show” and despite hitting 24 home runs and 82 R.B.I in ‘07, this season was a long one and in the end B.J ended up with just 9 home runs on the season.

Meanwhile, during the first month of the season his much more popular (and younger) brother was crushing everything that came his way. Coming into May, Justin was hitting .340 with 5 home runs and 15 R.B.I but somehow ended up hitting .250 in just 108 games. It’s really not much of a problem considering that Justin is just 20 years old but to say his stock among collectors dropped would be an understatement.

I traded this B.J Upton early into the season after realizing B.J was probably going to be an average ball player at best. It was part of a huge trade that brought me several Jose Canseco autographs. It was just thrown in for good measure and I don’t think the guy even wanted it.

Since the playoffs began, B.J Upton has hit 7 home runs, which is tied all-time with Troy Glaus for most-ever in one season for the American League. Even if the Rays lose tonight, which looks like a good possibility, B.J will still get at least 4 more at-bats versus Boston and if his team advances, well, there could be a boatload of more at-bats.

What is your trade regret story?

Player’s Name: Alfonso Soriano

Player’s Nickname: Fonzie

Player’s Position: OF

Player’s Current Team: Chicago Cubs (Pictured with the Nationals)

Price I Paid for the Card: I got this card off of eBay for $1.00

Set it’s from: 2007 SPX

What it’s Worth: Beckett has it listed for $10.00.

Why I like this card: I loved him when he was on the Yankees.  It was definitely worth trading him to the Rangers to get A-Rod, but I was definitely sorry to see him go.  This is one of those oddball cards.  He wasn’t with the Nationals a long time, but I’ve seen several game used cards of him in a Nats uniform.  He looks like he is back on track for another 0.280/30/80/15 season.  It’s hard to believe he is only 32, it feels like he’s been in the league forever (10 years so far). He may never put up another 40-40 season like he did in 2006 but who knows, stranger thngs have happened.

Why it’s a Cheap Hit: There haven’t been too many 40-40 guys in this league so when you can find a piece of one of his jerseys, you go for it.  Let alone finding it for a dollar!  I know that the market is absolutely flooded with Soriano jersey cards, but still, a dollar for a piece of a 40-40 man’s jersey doesn’t seem so bad.I don’t think he is going to be a HOF guy, but you never know, he’s half way there in homers and hits.

Will if ever be worth more? This is a tricky one, he would have to start putting up some monster numbers for them to gain in value.. Personally I don’t think it’s going to happen.  What do you think?