Collecting baseball cards

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was finding the 1972 Topps Baseball card #663. Fran Healy, a catcher for the San Francisco Giants, was the last card I needed to finish my team set collection. Getting that high numbered card in the summer of 1995 in a shop in Monterey, California ended a six year quest that spanned thirty states. I was in the military and searched card shops coast to coast when on liberty at several duty stations. I walked into a small shop just off Pacific Avenue and asked to see the book marked 1972. The owner warned me that even commons were $6.00. Little did he know that I would have paid more than that, even in less than perfect condition. Then, there it was! Fran Healy's smiling mug in the midst of the psychedelic design that is still one of my favorites. I pulled the card from the plastic page and paid $8.00 (it was a Giant and I paid the "local player premium" mentioned in the Beckett's price guide. I then explained what this meant to me, having every Topps San Francisco Giant card (including oddball cards issued by the company) and how long I'd looked for it. With the advent of the internet and sites such as Sportscardfun.com, it's a lot easier than it was "back in the day", but I bet a lot of you have a similar story about finding the last SP you need for your SP laden set and the like - as I need the 2002 Topps Heritage Placido Palanco to finish that set.....

The 2009 baseball card product I'm most excited about is Topps Baseball! Continuing my collecting pattern, it is alway exciting to have February come around and see the box and first pack of a new years' collectable. It's Topps, it's base, it's affordable. I've completed all of the Topps sets since 1975 (and the afformentioned Giants team sets back to 1958 - the year they escaped New York)and have partial sets from years before. I will keep up the collecting, not investing!

jeffstuff

My best fun collecting cards is when I trade cards online.I collect Nolan Ryan,current Texas Rangers,and Ken Griffey Jr.I have been able to pick up a Ken Griffey Jr. GUsed card and it is the pride and joy of my collection.Even though I had to trade some other cards I feel like I got the best of the deal.I have also been able to pick up two Ken Griffey Jr. rcs in trades as well.I have also traded some low value rcs for some Nolan Ryan Pacific Set cards.I have been able to pick up over one-hundred Nolan Ryan cards just through various trades on-line.I know my Ryans aren't worth that much monetarily to some folks but to be they are invaluable since he is one of the best pitchers all time.

I am looking for to the Bowman baseball card set.I had the privilege of going to sever local Collegiate Wood League Bat games and a couple of the players on the team I follow got drafted in the later rounds and I look forward to the challenge of getting their rcs.I also feel that Bowman does the best with rcs and the subsets and inserts with the Autograph cards.I will try to get the players I want in the set by trading online.Even if the players I have seen never make it to the big leagues it would just be fun telling my nephews that I saw them play before they became future major leaguers or just average minor leaguers.

fairon75652

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards is a winding tale, but it starts with opening a new box or pack of cards with my childhood friends. We never knew what the packs would bring, but that never dashed our hopes of finding a Frank Thomas or Ken Griffey Jr.

We saved all of our allowance, and would ride to our local Short Stop to buy packs of cards, rip them open, and then make trades, some good and some bad. It was a great time and full of wonderful memories which will never be replaced. I never thought that when I was 30, I would still be looking at these cards and reliving these memories, but as you will see, these childhood cards of mine have played a big role in my passion of the hobby.

As I've grown older, I have phased in and out of baseball cards, but have recently returned to collecting. A few years ago, I visited my parents and discovered my childhood collection, which I was happy to find still in tact. It reminded me of two specific experiences, one of which was my childhood memories of collecting with my friends. I recalled the excitement of collecting, and the thrill of making a trade. It was a lot of fun.

Out of sure nostalgia, I also recalled sending my first batch of baseball cards off to big leaguers to request an autograph. I probably mailed 20 when I was a kid to a list of stadiums which I had found in Boys Life magazine. Months passed by, and I didn't hear anything, and I had all but forgotten my efforts. Then one day, I received an envelope from the Oakland A's. In the envelope was one of the cards I had mailed months earlier, signed by Jose Canseco. It was a 1989 Topps. I ran straight to my neighbor's house to show him my new treasure. It was amazing.

It was this experience years later which brought me back to collecting. The memories of this event, and seeing my cards, lit a fire within me. The cards I found at my parents house, which really had no monetary value, even though as kids we told ourselves they did, had value to me now and I was going to use them. So for the past year or so I have revisited the joy I discovered with this autograph, and have been mailing them to former and present players seeking new autographs to join my one from Jose Canseco. This one will never be surpassed as my favorite, because without it, I may not have the bridge to my childhood memories that I have today. It has continued to be a great hobby. In fact, because of this, just last week, I bought my first two boxes of cards in the past 15 years, and had the same excitement opening these as I did when I was a kid.

With these memories in mind, I must say that I am most looking forward to the 2009 Topps set. I know there are sets out there with exciting premiums, but I have always loved Topps. For the most part, they have stayed true to the collector who wants to collect and trade player cards, not the collector who hopes for memorabilia or to win the lottery with every pack. To me, Topps cards are for the person who wants to flip over the card and memorize a player's stats, who wants to know where the player was born, and will wear the corners on the card. That's me, and that's who I hope my kids will be one day. Cards are meant to be handled and loved at the same time, and the Topps cards are affordable enough to still allow not only myself, but kids to do this. I think this has been lost over the years by many brands. After all, cards are around for kids, and that's who should be able to buy them. For that, I will always cheer for Topps.

Brad Wilkinson

The most fun I have ever had since starting to collect baseball cards is looking back at the older cards from the 50's to the mid 70's and comparing them to the new and updated cards that are out now. Before it used to be just a 5 cent pack of cards with a stick of gum and the detail of the cards were not that great but pulling a legend out of a pack is always a thrill. Now days it seems like all the cards are glossy and there are even more to look for in these packs and boxes that were not in the vintage packs. There are autographed cards, game used cards, and numbered cards. This is something new to me from when I started collecting. Used to in order to get an autograph you had to attend a game or go to a signing session, although, that still is a lot of fun, even getting autos TTM is fun, its also just as fun to buy a box and bust the packs to see who's game used card or autograph you get. Its the anticipation and suspence of whats inside.

Me personally, vintage or new cards, I love them all. Its a childhood hobby that has grown old with me. Collecting baseball cards, its a world of its own. This hobby has brought many people together and friends thoughout so many communities, even YouTube. My son, who is 9 years old, just got into the hobby. We are looking forward to the 2009 Upper Deck SPx. I have seen a preview of the cards and the design looks SHARP. Nice colorful background makes the player stand out in these cards. I am also looking forward to the memorbillia pieces out of the set. According to the preview that I have seen, the cards look just NASTY...in a good way. Can't wait for the product to release and start busting this product.

dirtysouthgeneral

Like most collectors, I started collecting baseball cards at a young age. And, like most collectors, I stopped when I hit my teenage years. Things like working, driving, and my social life all took priority over my first love. baseball cards. The last set I remember completing was a 1992 Topps set.
In 1999, I became pregnant with my first child. I was putting together a baby book and I thought it would be cool to buy some baseball cards to put in the book. (I was born in 1975 and I always thought it was cool to see cards from the year I was born!) So, I went in search of a pack of baseball cards. I found some 1999 Stadium Club packs at a grocery store in Connecticut. and the rest, as they say, is history.
I remembered Stadium Club as a premiere product in the 1990's when I stopped collecting. I thought it would be nice to put those premium cards away for my baby. After opening the initial packs that I purchased, I fell in love all over again. The cards had vivid color photos and the "insert" cards were just amazing. When I stopped collecting, inserts were practically non-existent. So, the Triumvirate cards were unlike anything I had ever seen! The First Day Issue and One-of-A-Kind Parallels were all serial numbered!!! I felt like I had hit a jackpot because I had pulled all these wonderful and unique cards!
I kept going back and buying "a few" more packs. I didn't even realize the hobby had sunk it's hooks into me again. It wasn't until I went looking for a price guide magazine that the fever really started to take hold. It was then that I learned about insert ratios and the Short-Printed rookie cards that were part of the set. I also learned the set contained autographs that seemed reasonably affordable to me. There were also things called "printing plates" that were inserted in card packs! A-Maz-Ing!!!!!! Baseball card collecting had changed so much! I had to complete this set!!
Trying to complete that set has been the most fun I've had as a card collector. The "Master Set" is still not done and my daughter is almost 10! We are finishing it together. It will not only be memorable because it is her birth year, but also because it is something we do together. And, for me, it is the set brought me back into the hobby I loved so much.
The year is now 2009. Ten whole years I've been back at it. To be honest, it hardly seems possible! The 2009 cards will be coming out soon and the product I am looking most forward to is 2009 Topps. My excitement is generated by several factors. The first is that it is always exciting when new cards are released in a new year. Second, I collect Topps cards every year and so I prefer them to Upper Deck and other companies' cards. Finally, I am soooo excited about 2009 Topps cards because this year my husband bought my a 6 jumbo hobby box case of 2009 Topps cards on a pre-sell!!!!!!!!!! Wooo-Hoooo!!! I have never opened a whole case of cards in my entire life!!! I can only imagine it will be an experience of a lifetime! Go me!

Jennifer Daniels
SCF ID JustAGirl

The most fun I ever had was three days after this last Christmas. I treated myself to a Christmas gift of several different boxes and packs of cards from Dave and Adam's Card World. Opening these packs was the most fun I have ever had with my hobby. I pulled my first 1 of 1 card and it was a press plate card of Todd Helton at that. While opening some 2008 UD X boxes I pulled a Yankee Stadium Legacy card of Joba Chamberlain. Some of my other pulls included A Hunter Pence autographed card, An SP Autographed Jersey card of Kerry Wood, an autographed minor league mini helmet of the Lansing Lugnuts by Corey Patterson, a Brandon Wood autographed rookie card, a slew of rookie cards of established or up and coming players and several other autographs and game used cards. It was like Christmas morning came three days late. The most exciting thing about the press plate card was that I purchased one pack of 2007 Ultra. I threw it in on my order at the last minute and with a press plate seeding on 1:1250 hobby packs I got a 1 of 1 card. I hear those stories all the time but how cool I finally get to tell this type of story.

As far as 2009 goes, I am looking forward to 2009 Bowman Chrome. The cards are always sharp and I find that while I haven't put a Bowman Chrome set together; it seems the handful of packs I do buy make awesome "trade bait". So this year, I'm in on the Chromes since so many other collector's are into these sets it should give me alot of pleasure in trading with some old friends and making a few new ones too.

RICHIE Cards

The most fun I have had since starting collecting is to trade on line. No need to help Darcy's ego jeer, but since I started trading in this group ( I started on 98 or9 9), I have had lots of great moments. I started collecting as a kid and came back in my late 20's some 20 years ago. Then I started as a part time "weekend warrior" (weekend dealer on early 90's). Lots of shows cards, etc. But little fun. On the mid 90's and the "high fever" gone, show amount started to decline and I started to trade by mail (email was just starting). Very "tedious and long time taking in the making". ! month to complete a trade.

Then internet flourished and voila. Trades completed in hours or days. Lot of great trades flowing. Then I hit SCF one day. Then I started in aplace I can trust : point system per trade, pating (Hi Darcy! Those times!) for trading but more secure/ More satisfying trades each time (besides I did not get many points for trade completed at the beginning andnot giving them) I reached HOF and continued up to date. The most fun is to trade over and over with same guys that you already know their needs and they know yours and seems to always have what you want in that trade!

The 2009 baseball card product I'm most excited about is Topps Heritage. What I have read on the upcoming product in the Sports Collector Digest have me very excited. Players not listed on the 60
S set to be included here. Players in each number posted for photo on the same pose as the player in the same number in the 60's set and all the other special features typical of that product (including the high numbers again this year), makes me ansiously wait for it to hit the street. I will definitely break up more than one box of the product on 2009.

Gerservice

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was attempting to put together the 1992 Topps Gold Winner set. When the 1992 Topps packs came out there was a scratch off card inserted into each pack. I don't remember exactly what the card looked like but if you scratched a winner you could send the card in for 10 Gold Winner cards. At the time there were four of five collectors in my home town also trying to put the set together. Every time a new pack of ten came in mail I would go to the local card shop, we all had posted a list of what we needed and a list of cards that we just got in new. Every thursday evening we would meet at the shop and do our trading. I remember the excitement not only in the cards in the pack but also scratching and opening the Winner pack when it came also. I came up 4 cards short of the complete set, but had a great time with other collectors trying to put the set together. The product I am most excited about coming out in 2009 is Topps. Yes, regular old Topps trading cards. To say why exactly is kind of hard, but probably just because that is what I started collecting as a child. They always have a good mix of veterans, rookies, highlight cards and inserts.

toddbischoff

The most fun I’ve ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was this following Christmas when I received three unopened 2008 Allen and Ginter Hobby boxes. I just re-started collecting baseball cards about six months ago and I figured I’d ask for some packs for the holiday. To my surprise my father-in-law went out and got me three boxes to open. After completing Christmas unwrapping I started opening the boxes one by one. Since these were my first boxes I’ve ever opened I was excited to see what hits I would get. It was like a second Christmas day opening all those packs of cards. While opening the packs my wife came over wanted to see what hits she would get in packs she opened. After going through two whole boxes my wife hadn’t gotten a single one. She finally pulled a Dmitri Young Rip card in the third case and was happy to see that she had more unwrapping to do. The card inside didn’t turn out to be anything special, but It was something I myself hadn’t done yet. It was great to see her and her father so excited over something that interests me so much. Them asking “Anything good in that pack?” was great and kept putting a smile on my face. I can’t think of anything better than having non-collectors so interested in what cards I might get. One of the best Christmas’ ever.

The 2009 baseball card product I’m most excited about is the 09 Upper Deck. I’m excited about the opportunity to get my hands on one of the 89 Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 autographed cards. This brings me back to my childhood when Griffey became the next best thing in baseball. This was about the time I had started collecting cards and there was a buzz about Upper Deck being the new card company in town and how the cards looked so much better than the other brands. They were the so called elite cards at the time. Pulling one of those rare Griffey’s, or even better the ultra rare blue inked signed ones, would make my year. I’d display it proudly next to my original 1989 Griffey Rookie Card.

pokinman3434

During the fall of 2008, or Halloween Day in particular, our class went on an exciting trip to Kearney, a three day overnight camp with lots of fun stuffs. We went on hikes, made our own sandwiches, climbed under two rocks laying on top of each other, trained with archery stuffs, and most important of all: Trick-or-treated for 3 hours while visiting only 7 houses! (The area was very remote so houses were mostly farm owners).
Everyday night back at the camp, we would have dinner, then a snack, a shower, and have 45 minutes of free time doing anything we wanted! Due to security reasons, our teachers accompanying us on the trip forbid us from bringing any electronic toys or equipments, this caused a wave of boos prior to the trip as most students in our class rely on computer gaming for entertainment, but I have a hobby of collecting baseball cards. Inside my luggage I stuffed a lot of common baseball cards in plastic wraps, when I took them out of the bag; my friend who sits beside me on the coach bus said “wow” and spent the next 20 minutes sharing the cards with other students in my class! We picked players and compared statistics, and we played memorize the name, and lots of fun stuff that you can do with baseball cards except staring at them! My teacher, who is a big sports fan, played with us too (This is very unusual because he always poses his poker face when talking with us!). The instructor at the Kearney Camp actually collects baseball cards too and I found that we had 200 out of 400 cards that are identical! (This was very unusual too because I believe he works year-round at a town 2 hours away from Toronto)
Not only did we compare the players on the cards with each other, we also shared some of the fundamental collecting tips from other people. For example, I wasn’t very familiar with protective cover serial codes and would often end up purchasing the wrong one and spending unnecessary money. The instructor at Kearney said that there were 3 codes that would fit a standard baseball card, however he suggested that in order to maximize the protective use of the covers, memorabilia cards that have unique thickness or weight would need different covers! I brought 3 packs of cards with me: Topps 2007, Upper Deck First Edition, and Donruss. The instructor said that he always had luck opening packs of cards, so I decided to let him open it. We took it to the kitchen/dining room at Kearney 2:00 in the morning. When he opened the Upper Deck and Donruss and there was nothing valuable in there, I was slightly disappointed. “Rest assured, young man” He said, “We still have a fat pack of Topps 2007, don’t we?” I looked away and subconsciously turned around when the instructor took out a Derek Jeter error card! We celebrated forever with glasses of orange juice and cupcakes until 2:30 (On second thought, I think I was really lucky that I didn’t get caught). I was so grateful of the fact that I went to Kearney!
On the third and final day of our stay at Kearney, the instructor shared with us the last meal at Kearney. We were all surprised on how short it seemed, and we all signed a huge piece of paper with our goodbyes and farewells signed on it. I took my time and thanked him for the experience at Kearney, and how we all look forward in coming again in May 2009. Just before we got on the bus home the instructor gave each and every one of us a gift. The girls in our class got a couple of hairpins with “Scarborough Outdoor Education School - Kearney” printed on it, while the boys got a wrist band with identical printing on it. When I got my box, I shook it: There was more than a wrist band in there. I took it with me home on the bus and when I came back I opened it: Guess what I found?
A Roy Halladay autographed baseball!

The 2009 Bowman Chrome Rookie Set is truly the one to beat in the 2009 baseball card market. Its forerunner, the 2008 version, presents every factor that's needed to compete in the market against cheap-priced Topps (though they are the same company) and heavy-weighted Upper Deck. Purchasing one of these and opening the packs; or just buying the whole set at once, can be a great experience.

Its products are of the highest qualities and price affordable with just the right amount of anticipation for the potential pack-openers (You don't want too little surprise - knowing what you'll get; or too much surprise: your expectations can be way off from the actual). Many people believe (and this is not a mistake) that rookie cards are "common cards". I think that rookie cards are more of in-between: They are not really memorabilia cards as there are no signatures or game-used items.

What makes a rookie card different from other cards, however, is . drum roll . its potential to sell more in the upcoming years is way higher than common cards. Take the 1990 Frank Thomas Leaf card for example: the MSRP for a Grade 9 card is around $20 to $40 dollars, compared to the 1991 Card: The price plummeted to 50 cents. This doesn't mean anything in particular, but just to give you an impression on how Rookie Cards are no lesser important (or valuable) than memorabilia cards!

The Bowman Chrome Box gives a pack-opener a slightly disappointing 20~30 cards per pack of the 220 cards in the base set. However, the cards from the Refractor Set and Autograph Cards are more than enough to satisfy me. I think the cards were well designed and unlike Topps, which would occasionally print cards that had mistakes like Right-handed instead of Left-handed. This is really not a big deal but creates an impression on the consumers of them doing things carelessly. Bowman is a lot better on this aspect.

I believe some of the advantages in Bowman products include: high-quality; affordable price; elegant packaging; accurate information, and a good customer service. Some of disadvantages include: low market demand; comparatively high producer profit; and medium valued products. But as a consumer you can see the advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages. In the year to come, I think the said branch of baseball cards is the one to beat.

johnnytang

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards is trading on-line for Nolan Ryan's I need. I also enjoy cross-trading to pick up bait for the various people who have Nolan Ryan's I need. I've been collecting for over 20 years now, since I was 6 years old. I believe i've been trading on the Net for about 8 or 9 years. Sportscardfun.com was the first site I traded on. One of the most exciting times I had trading was several years ago. My wife, girlfriend at the time, and I were going to drive down to Emerald Isle to vacation with my parents for a few days. The night before I stayed up late into the morning making trades. Five or six days later I returned to several bubble envelopes to open! There had to be 10 or 15 of them atleast! I picked up a lot of Ryan's that week, as well as some nice trade bait. I love coming home to a couple of packages to open or to several emails or massages about possible trades. I think trading over the Internet is one of the things that makes this hobby fun.

The 2009 baseball card product I'm most excited about is Topps Turkey Red or Topps Allen and Ginter. I'm not sure if they're going to produce either one of those sets, but I hope so. I am also a big fan of Donruss, even though they aren't signed with MLB anymore. 2008 Donruss Threads is a cool set. I haven't opened any packs, but I have traded for several Nolan Ryan's from that set. I would really like to see a 2009 Donruss Threads set produced. Honestly, i'm excited about any set that produces Nolan Ryan cards, so bring'em on. As long as they don't go over-board. I am having a hard time keeping up with all of the Ryan's produced the past few years. A Turkey Red or Allen and Ginter set with Nolan Ryan's included would be my highlight of 2009 releases.

jdthakid36

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was joining SportsCardFun on the internet.

I have collected sports cards since 1976, started out mainly by purchasing single packs of cards at the local grocery stores. As I grew older, I started trading with my peers and was able to buy some boxes of cards. My collection grew by a few cards each year through trading but most of it came from purchasing packs/boxes of cards. I ended up with a lot of extras that kept piling up and I very rarely was able to trade for my favorite players (John Elway, George Brett and Michael Jordan).

Then, the internet revolution came along.and so did my collection. A friend of a friend mentioned this trading site on the internet (SportsCardFun) and I was really intrigued. Could this be my opportunity to increase my collection? Would I be able to trade away a lot of my extras and replace them with players/cards I enjoy collecting? Would I be trading with people world-wide? I can answer "Yes" to all of those questions and can honestly say that this site has kept me involved and passionate about the hobby.

I thoroughly enjoy indexing my entire collection (even though it is VERY time consuming) because it makes it so much easier to conduct trades. I have over one million cards now and I know that I probably would have never reached that amount in my previous ways. My favorite player collections have grown enormously thanks to the generosity of our SportsCardFun trading community. I am an avid reader of the forum boards and try to help out my fellow traders whenever I can. I have met some great people and my collections continue to thrive. All in all, in the several years I have been a member of this trading community and conducting close to 300 transactions, I have had maybe three bad traders. That says a lot for this group and its members. Promoting this site is also a lot of fun.at work, collector's shows, and now even on Facebook. This trading community excites me and I love to share that excitement with others so they too can be a part of it and stay involved in the hobby. The possibilities are endless and the rewards are fantastic!

This is the first time for me to participate in the writing contests but I knew I had to; this is my way to show my appreciation. My love for the hobby continues and I thank you all! May 2009 bring you peace, happiness and lots and lots of cards!

And, speaking of the 2009 baseball card product I'm most excited about is.2009 Topps Finest. I have really enjoyed this product the last few years and always await their newest arrivals. This year's design looks great and the player autographs include a lot of the upcoming players. I'm especially excited for the autographed rookie letter patch cards which feature the autograph on the actual patch, no stickers!

Southpark Pete

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was getting my son involved in collecting. I have been collecting baseball cards since the early 80's and I guess it started off with my brother and me. He was actually a more avid collector than I was and we together had box after box after box of baseball cards. Everyone know how many card Topps used to print back then and I think my brother and I had just about half of everything they printed. If you owned a paper towel box from the grocery store and you had one of these filled up with cards, then you will know what I mean... We had FOUR paper towel boxes!

About a year ago, my son, who is 10, was watching me collect and asking a lot of questions as to how and why I do it, so I decided to take him along to our local hobby shop's "Pack Wars" night so he could experience something fun about the hobby. This was probably the most fun that I've had collecting baseball cards. My son won 3 of the 10 rounds and actually won the Runner Up prize that night! He was so excited to just get a bag full of cards and he couldn't wait to tell all of his friends at school. I am raising him the right way in collecting and teaching him about how to collect responsibly and I am hoping that one day he will share his paper towel box full of cards with his sons & daughters.

The baseball product that I am most excited about for 2009 has got to be the Allen and Ginter lineup. This was just an amazing product from last year with a very unique view to collecting. Topps took a gamble with bringing in collectibles from things like president's hair strands to a Woolymammoth relic card! I feel that Topps hit a home run with last years product and I can't wait to see what they come up with this year!

chewie

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was when I was a kid. The local card shop has recently become a thing of the past; those who still have one around them should consider themselves lucky. However, in the eighties and nineties the local card shop was a great place for every growing boy to learn about sports and the great hobby of collecting and maybe even a little about life. I still remember going to the mall everyday after school (sometimes during school) and walking into T&D Collectibles, and immediately being filled with joy, nostalgia and a feeling of belonging. Even though while at school I was ridiculed and lacked friends, it was here that Terry and Dave taught me about collecting, sports and showed me the respect that I so needed to experience. While here I was not the dorky kid without any friends or social skills, I was a friend and just another fanatic of a great sport and all that went with it. I spent so many days admiring the cards through their cases, never being able to afford them, but hoping that one day I would be able to have cards of that nature. It was here that I learned about names like Mantle, Gehrig, Dimaggio, Kilabrew, Aaron, and so many more that have shaped the sport truly into America's pastime. A lot has changed in this world since this card store went away, but baseball has been constant, and this store showed me and made me believe that this was true and that no matter how bad things got, there was always going to be the joy and memories that baseball, this shop, and these people brought me.
Being in this card shop was like being in a second home. Coming here was not like the stores of today, the policy was not buy or get out; it was come, stay, and learn. Here we all learned about baseball, the game, its rules, and its history. We learned to be accepting. We also learned that scam artists have no place in the game, or the hobbies that surround it. All kids were always welcome here, and we were encouraged to stay. Here it was understood that these children are what made the hobby great. It didn't matter if we had money, just that we were eager to learn. We loose sight of this today, boxes of cards costing three hundred dollars for five cards. I think that it was obvious that I did not have as much money as the other kids, so Terry and Dave took it upon themselves to help me out. I would stay until closing, helping to organize the store, cleaning up a little, and just doing whatever was asked. In return, I would take home a pack or two everyday. It was such an exciting time to go home every night, and have cards to open. I may not have had the collection that my friends had, but I had one thanks to Terry and Dave.
This was an amazing time of life for me, and it is only because of these great men, and this store that I got involved collecting. It is also the only reason that I am who I am. They taught me a lot, and I regret that my own sons will not have this opportunity. So, here's to you Terry and Dave! Thanks for introducing me to this hobby and teaching me all you have.
The 2009 baseball product I am most excited about is the 2009 Topps Finest set. To have rookie autographed on patch cards is a great concept. Who knew where the hobby was going to go after bringing in game used cards and autographed cards in every box a few years back. It was only a matter of time until, the autographs moved their way onto the memorabilia on cards. Add on top of this all cards being 299 or less, five refractor parallels per mini box, and rookie redemption cards falling one per master box. All that could have been done to make this product what I believe is going to be the best product of 2009 would be an affordable price. I guess we can't get everything.but then again maybe we can because this box is priced at only $99.95 a box! I only collect Topps base sets, but after reading about this set, I think that is about to change.

dashcol

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was trying to figure out what my first relic card was. I had been collecting cards for about a year without even knowing what a relic card was. I found out eventually when I pulled one from a blaster box of 05 upper deck. I showed it to some of my friends who were older and they knew what it was. I didn't know who the player was at the time and I don't know who it is. So I agreed to trade it for cards that I knew who the people were. I am still not sure if I got ripped off or not, but it has driven me to make my collection better.
The 2009 baseball card product I'm most excited about is the new products that are new to the hobby. Every year the card manufacturers come out with new products that are loaded with relics. Although I may not get a chance to purchase a box of the product, it still is very interesting to read about how great the product actually was. I know that reading is a very, very important part of collecting.

william.rosenbaum

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was when I started to base my collection on hometown players. Prior to this method, I would just collect any 'ol card; it didn't matter who it was, whether it was Vladimir Guerrero or Barry Bonds rookie cards or an Alfonso Soriano autographed card. But about 18 months ago, I thought to myself, "As much as I love to collect cards, it probably would be even more fun to concentrate on players from the Detroit Tigers (current and former)." And concentrate I did. Today, some of my prized possessions include Hank Greenberg, Al Kaline, Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker rookie cards, an Alan Trammell/Kirk Gibson dual autograph card and a Hank Greenberg SP Legendary Cuts autograph.

I don't know what it is, but turning my attention to players I grew up rooting for (as well as the generations of players before them) just seems to give me more of a sense of purpose to collecting, that owning one of these special cards puts me right in the heart of the action of the Detroit Tigers and their storied history.

With 2009 now here, I look forward to owning pieces of history from this year's crop of Tigers. That is why the 2009 baseball card product I'm most excited about is Topps. Not only is it the first baseball product of the year, which in itself is something to get excited about and gives me goose bumps just thinking about opening some packs, but it's also a chance to go on the hunt for the Tigers players featured in the set, from Miguel Cabrera and Curtis Granderson to Justin Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman. February 4th can't come soon enough!

rutt88

The most fun I've ever had since starting to collect baseball cards was when I started collecting in 1990. My uncle bought me a few packs of 1990 Fleer baseball cards at a gas station. I blame him for my addiction, lol! That is one of the most worthless sets and yet just looking at those cards brings back a ton of memories. I can't tell you how many times I sorted and re-sorted those cards by number, players, positions, etc and spending hours memorizing those stats. My mom used to tell me that I would have been an "A" student if I spent half as much time studying school books. Despite all the cards of value in sets today and how careful I handle new cards, that set will always hold a true value for me based upon memories alone. I was recently reminded about this a shortwhile back when I came across a box of 1990 Fleer for sale on eBay. I'm sure I spent more then the box is worth on shipping alone but opening each one of those packs made the purchase worth it. It was if I was 10 years old again sitting on my bedroom floor with cards strewn all around me. No matter what the card industry tries to change, I don't think it will ever be able to capture my imagination as much as those cards did. That said, however, the 2009 baseball card product I'm most excited about is Topps Heritage. Normally I prefer Upper Deck but I love seeing today's players on yesterdays designs. Gives me an opportunity to be able to collect those designs as I can't afford 1960's cards. I also love the Then & Now cards with a current player sharing the card with a player of the past.

chazz_damon