Normally, I ask and answer 5 questions about card collecting or I ramble about all kinds of things about baseball. Well, I just got back from vacation and haven't put together my questions or my ramblings, but I do have something!
While on vacation I read Joe Posnanski's book Why We Love Baseball A History in 50 Moments and it got me thinking...Why do I love baseball and why do I love baseball card collecting? To be fair, Posnanski said it was 50 moments but it was really more like 110. Based on what I read he picked an arbitrary number and probably could have gone on a lot longer. Me? I'm going to try and whittle it down even more.
I need to start with why I love baseball before I get to why I love baseball card collecting, because my love of baseball is a really big part of my love of collecting.
There is so much about baseball to love. I love the confrontation of pitcher and hitter. Man vs Man. Well, kinda man vs man. If the hitter wins the battle against the pitcher he still has to beat the other 8 guys on the field, but still how awesome is that battle? The pitcher throwing heat, curves, splitters, changes, knucklers and every pitcher is unique, so every pitch is different. The batter? He just has a bat. It seems unfair doesn't it? Yet, 25% of the time the hitter wins out.
How about the thrill of a no-hitter? The excitement builds and builds until that final out is made in the 9th inning. How you hold your breath when the ball is hit and then relax when the out is made. Greatness. Those moments in games where the winning run is in scoring position and the pitcher gets that third strike to win the game. If your team is up to bat, it's so deflating. If your team is pitching, how euphoric!
Defense. Who doesn't love seeing an outfielder pull a home run back with a leaping catch against the fence or a shortstop lay out to catch a ball and fire a strike to first to get the out? How about a third baseman fielding a ball that takes them into foul territory and still make the play to get the out at first? You can't forget those throws from the outfield that nab the runners at homeplate or just the artistry of the double play.
Can you imagine standing 60 ft. 6 in. from a guy who's throwing 90+ mph making the baseball seem so small and having only a fraction of second to decide to swing or not? That sound the bat makes when it connects solidly with the ball and then watching it travel over the fence for a home run. What's not to love about a player slapping a single to the outfield and hustling to turn it into a double or lacing a line drive to the corner and turning it into a triple?
There's so much to love about the game of baseball. For me, baseball reminds me of a time when I was a young boy and playing catch with my dad in the yard. We'd throw and talk or sometimes just throw. If I made a couple of bad throws he'd make me go chase it. My dad took me to my first professional ball game. He'd point to certain players and say "Watch him and see how he swings the bat or fields the ball. Teaching moments. Baseball moments with dad. I treasure those memories.
Playing baseball was where I met my best friends. We started playing ball at 6 years old and played together until we were 19. After that, we switched to softball. Friends for life that started with a bunch of 6 year olds with a ball, a glove and a bat.
I also treasure those memories of playing catch with my boys. We'd throw and talk baseball or talk about school or church. Some of the time we wouldn't even talk. All you'd hear is the pop of the glove. I was blessed to teach my boys the game of baseball. One of my fondest memories is coaching my youngest son's team with my two older boys being the base coaches. Great memories.
I think it's pretty easy to see why I love baseball, but what about card collecting?
My card collecting is an extension of my love for baseball. I think the biggest thing with card collecting is this is one way for me to be a part of the history of the game. I love the vintage cards, but figured out really quick that collecting those was way out of my financial means. Another problem is I'm a set collector and for those of you who are set collectors you know that you've got that yearning to have all of the cards and I can't afford that with most of the old stuff. Doesn't mean that I don't love the cards and I do have a few really good vintage cards of some of those special players. I'm also on the prowl for some more that fit my budget.
When I got back into collecting cards I had to set some limits. I decided to limit my set collection to the Texas Rangers era going back to 1972 and forward. Those Ranger years are the years that I really fell in love with baseball. I've still got a long way to go for all of the 70's and I haven't finished all of the 80's or 90's either, but I'm having fun working on it. I love the chase, looking for the cards I need to complete the sets and I really love that feeling when you get those last cards to finish it up. I know it would be easier to just buy the sets as they come out now, but I love opening packs, sorting the cards and putting the sets together. If nothing else, my grandsons will know that their Papa did this for them and didn't just buy it.
It's not just the sets that I collect. I also collect Topps playing day cards of my favorite players. Not all of them are superstars, but they're my favorites. When I'm able to show my cards to people I get to tell stories as to why I collect their cards or stories that I know from watching them play or stories from books that I've read. I can't wait until my grandsons are older and I can share it all with them.
This didn't turn out quite the way I expected, but it was good to take a look back and think about why I love baseball and card collecting. I know that I didn't go too much into why I love collecting cards. It could be that I just don't know how to explain it. I do know that I do love making friends who collect. Swapping stories, sharing cards and showing off our collections.
I did hold true to my one non-negotiable when it comes to this blog...I did post a picture of card. My boys gave me that card for Father's Day. Best, most valuable card in my collection.
Peace,
Michael
Isaiah 40:31
