“I’m a fan, not an expert.” This quote is in my profile, and it’s my motto, credo and mission statement when it comes to baseball and baseball cards. I have friends who are casual followers of baseball who tell me I know more about baseball than anyone they know. They mistake my passion for the game and its culture for knowledge. Same goes for colleting. People that don’t know anything about baseball cards think I have the largest collection in the world. The other day my sister- in- law saw about 30 cards of mine spread out on a table and said “Are these all of your cards? Oh my God you have so many!” And she was not being sarcastic. My collection is peanuts compared to big time collectors, and that’s fine with me.
I was at a card show a month ago with my typical $20 budget, looking through a 3,200 count box of cards. It was nice box that had a lot of game used items. There were probably 500-800 cards in the box (all of them were in plastic screw down holders). I thought I might find one or two to add to my collection, when this young guys skims over the box and tells the dealer: “I’ll give you $2,000 for the whole box.” The dealer thinks about it and agrees. The buyer pulls out a fat wad of cash, gives it to the dealer and walks out with the box like nothing happened. The dealer pulls out another huge box of game used merchandise and puts in one the table like nothing happened. Whatever the baseball card equivalent of “wiener envy” is, I had it, and slunk away from the table with my sad $20.
I get the same sense of sheepishness when I read “Baseball Time in Arlington.” Man, those guys are smart. Napkin Doon feel stupid after reading Baseball Time In Arlington. But I get over it and keep reading. It is my favorite baseball blog out there, and one of the first things a look at daily. Of course I am a Rangers fan, so it probably has more interest to me than it might you. Nonetheless, a tip of the hat to : “Baseball Time In Arlington.”
2 comments:
I am pretty much with you on this. I always feel a little odd at the card shop spending an hour sorting through a box of early 1970s commons and only spending $30-$40, while some guy comes in and drops $500 on two signed Adrian Peterson jerseys with the same level of deliberation one generally puts into deciding between Three Musketeers and Snickers at the office vending machine. Neither do I buy cards searching for that big hit card of the next maybe-won't-miss prospect. If that is what gets other people jazzed, so be it. But, it isn't for me
I participate in this hobby (and others) on my own terms and nothing takes enjoyment out of an activity more than measuring myself to someone else's standards.
Wow, $2K on a box. That's a lot of dough. I maybe spend that in 5 years. Thank God for trading!
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