TAG’s on-site grading debut at the Burbank Show in Ontario, CA in February represented a huge step forward in the company’s mission to bring transparent, reproducible grading to the hobby, with one particular rookie card creating a new benchmark for iconic cards in TAG slabs.

     The 2011 Topps Finest Mike Trout Canary Diamond 1/1 Refractor was brought to TAG by a customer seeking an alternative after another third-party grading company sought a $10,000 fee for same-day grading. TAG, operating strictly by their policy of never up-charging for cards based on value, graded the card with their same-day, on-site convention special of $75. Subsequently, the card received a TAG Gem Mint 10 grade with a three-digit TAG score of 951.

     The card represents the first known example of a 2011 MLB-licensed Mike Trout one-of-one rookie card variant to achieve a Gem Mint 10 score from a third-party grading company, and wowed not only the gathered crowd who witnessed its unboxing, but the employees who handled it.

     “I took a deep breath to protect the card and treated it as if it was my own - it was really exciting,” TAG employee Ian Peterson, who handled image capture on the card, recalled. “Trout is such a special player - we’ve all seen the way he plays. To have such a big card come through, it felt like a huge step for TAG.”

     Joaquin Herbozo, the customer who submitted the card, was ecstatic with the results. Herbozo had originally pulled the card in 2011 at Burbank Sportcards and rediscovered the card in his collection recently - he came to the Burbank Show with intention of grading the card at the advice of Burbank Sportscards owner and Burbank Show founder Rob Veres. In the presence of many grading companies at the show, Herbozo was drawn to TAG's aesthetics and technology above all when it came to preserving the Trout.

     "I was blown away with TAG Grading," Herbozo insisted. “I knew this was the future of grading - the professionalism of the staff, the design of the slab, and taking the human element out of the grading process won me over.”

     With the card now TAG'd, Herbozo looks forward to holding onto the centerpiece of his collection - for a while, at least. "I didn't get into the hobby to make a quick buck or a career buying and selling," Herbozo insists. "I love the hobby for what it brings to my life - the memories of being a six-year-old boy opening packs after a Little League game, and now being able to share my love of the hobby with my kids - this is something we will do together for the rest of our lives."

     Hobby consultants estimated TAG graded more than $200,000 worth of cards during the on-site grading appearance. TAG has already agreed to return to the next Burbank Show in Anaheim in August 31-September 3 to mark their second on-site grading appearance at what has quickly become one of California's largest card shows.

    You can see the full DIG report for the 2011 Topps Finest Mike Trout Canary Diamond Refractor at http://www.tagd.co/J5081184