Another helping of Fuji...

with a side of Baseball Nuttiness?

Baseball Nut asked...

Why do you collect? 

One question, many answers:

The simplest answer, and by far the most popular: O.C.D. either professionally or self-diagnosed. The ever-expanding need to finish things, you can't leave a set un-complete. Even if it's not the complete set of cards, a team set, or insert set, or in the case of our favorite Dimwit, all the mini-relics from 2011's Gypsy Queen. now there's a guy with a possibly somewhat unhealthy yearning for Gypsies!

And he's still working on the autographs from the same set!! Way to go Sam, nice job!


I overheard my wife telling somebody recently that I have to have each and every thing done and in it's place. It scares me a little cause even I can see she's right. That's probably why I'm trying not to buy too much this year in the way of cards.

The second answer, like many respondees, I am a huge baseball fan, much to my wife's dismay. Which is actually only a recent occurance, with the 2009 world series.

Reason #3:
Like Fuji himself and Night Owl, and I've blogged about this before, cards can bring me to a special place, and remind me of other memories and experiences, often bringing a smile to my face, but not always. This card reminds me of my introduction to baseball, the '09 world series.

Ths card reminds me of my first pup, Seven:

I miss her so much some days. 

The fourth reason: Friendship.
Yeah, I know it's a by-product, found after the fact, but it's till true. I first started collecting baseball cards with the 2010 Opening Day set, and ended up with a crap-load of extras. Hitting up the interwebs here, looking to off-load said duplicates, I started making offers of cards, looking to pick up the few I was missing in exchange for ridding myself of space-robbing duplicate cards. This led me to the likes of BA Benny, My Cardboard Mistress, The Chronicles of Fuji, Justin's World, just to name a few of the awesome blogs I found early in my own blog's life.

Honestly, if it had not been for coming across Benny's blog, I probably would not still be collecting baseball cards let alone started my own blog. Welcome back Mike, and thanks for the push.

Reason #5: Learning. Life indeed, is a learning experience. Best lived from the center of the action, not from the sidelines as a spectator. You can learn a heck of a lot from these little cardboard pictures. The biggest thing I've learned is how GReat the blogosphere is. Home to the nicest bunch of geeks this side of the Big Bang Theory. Willing to send cards to complete strangers halfway across the globe, often in exchange for the thrill of finding out you made someone's day with a card. 

this card showed up out of the blue in my mailbox with a bunch of fellow Phillies, but has become one of my favorite relics, mainly because it was not part of a trade, sent to me just because I'm a Phillies fan and Scott thought it would fit my collection better than his! Thanks for the generosity Scott.

then there's everybody's favorite Troll, who always send good stuff out of Southern Florida. Still loving the Roberts vintage I won in your Grandbaby Troll contest dude! Yep, the lesson here is there are still generous folks out there in the world that care for complete strangers, just because they may have a few things in common.

Reason #6: The big Score! Yes, like my fellow bloggers/collectors, I buy packs of cards hoping to find that ultra-rare, super limited, 1/1 card that will pay for everything I ever wanted. Not that I ever expect to find one. Most of my purchases come from Target or Wally World, where every pack searcher who's ever searched a pack, has gotten there before me. But that's OK, cause I get to see what my fellow collectors hit and can live vicariously through them. 

Case in point: Back to my favorite Dimwit. Sam recently pulled an awesome autographed card:

and I'm totally psyched for his luck, and also very glad I did not pull that one! It would have left me in a quandry. Love to have it in my collection, but worth way too much on the open market for me to be able to afford to keep it! Nice pull, Sam, hope you got a bundle for it! 


Zippy Zappy best touched on it, it's the range of emotions when confronted with an unopened pack of cards, from hopefulness to elation or disappointment.


And finally, reason #7:
The Hunt.
I do not have one personally as of yet, but I've read several accounts of white whales and the search for them. That one elusive card, maybe you've been outbid in the last second, by pennies. That guy standing ahead of you in the queue picked your card out of the box right before your very eyes! Whatever reason comes up, you've just not been able to close the deal and add that one piece to your collection.
I guess the closest I've come at this point is the 2011 Topps Heritage '62 Mint Jamie Moyer Penny card:

I'd love to have this card, Moyer is my favorite pitcher, he was born about 5 years before me and impresses the hell out of me, both for his performance on the mound as well as his charity off the field!


Reason #8:
Shamelessly stolen from Play at the Plate:
He summed it up nicely, and I am paraphrasing here;


What was, What is, What could be.


Reason #9: I agree with Stealing Home, It get's us through the LOOONG winter!


Well, there you have it. Several reasons for my obsession why I collect little cardboard pictures of men. As Curt said, "I couldn't think of a better way to waste my time, and money." (oh crap, except I did when I bought the motorcycle!) I may not always collect baseball cards (yeah, right!) but I'll always find room in my life to collect something. Speaking of, time to collect a paycheck... back to work!


Thanks for the question, Baseball Nut.
Thanks for reading,
Have a GReat day!
Dawgbones


P.S. - PATP, I'm glad you at least came back to food, starvation is not pretty and the blogging world would  truly miss your presence!


P.P.S. - Classon Ave, I wish Chicks dug it, cause my wife is most definitely a Chick, she despises baseball with almost as much passion as I do loving it, and sees my card purchases as a huge waste of time, money, and space in her home!!