For the first time in years, my local drug store is actually selling baseball cards, and not the shitty "50 old and worthless cards for $1" crap either... and I'm glad to see no one ever buys the Digimon/Pokemon/Yu-Gay-Oh shit they sell either.

Don't trash on Yu-Gi-Oh man. It can actually be a deep strategy game. So sue me I'm a gaming nerd and Magic pissed me off a long time ago.

Magic pissed me off a long time ago too, but playing Yu-Gi-Oh? I'd expect that from a 14 year old, but not you, Mad Dog. NOT YOU!

(forgot you're a comic book and wrestling nerd) Oh wait, I can believe it. :D

Had to do something between classes in college. It was the same basic concept as Magic without all the cheese and the assholes playing it.

I was a hardcore baseball and football card nerd, circa 1992. Nowadays I just buy 'em whenever I see 'em at the Target or Wal-mart checkout lane (which is fairly rare).

A couple months ago, I saw a Topps "rack pack" at Target. That's one of those long, segmented packs where you can see six cards. I got it cuz' I could see a Jack Wilson card..... which proves I know doodly squat about modern card collecting.

I saw THIS story in the paper today:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2429888

Bascially, Topps accidentally released a Double A rookie on their cards. It's now selling for 2,500-7,500 bucks on eBay. I guess as of last year, card companies can no longer release cards of EVERYBODY in the organization. For years, Bowman cards were big because they had "deep rookies"-- guys who were Rookie League and Single A players, but in big league uniforms. Example: Derek Jeter didn't play in the bigs until 1996, but he had "rookie" cards from 1994.

Kinda' cool that baseball cards are suddenly receving attention... but just like the Billy Ripken "Fuck Face" card, it could lead to speculators buying loads of crap and the market jamming again.

I wish I had the Fuck Face card... and who didn't love having worthless rookie cards of people that weren't in the majors for another year or two (or period)? Most of my "rookies" fall under that category. That's what happens when Topps released series sets of over 900 cards every year, back when 100 of them weren't devoted to Barry fucking Bonds.

Me: Woo! A 1992 Derek Jeter draft pick! WOO! DONOVAN OSBOURNE!

I've got those Derek Jeter draftpick cards.

Chipper Jones, too

Until I read the Alex Gordon story, I never knew that MLB cut back on the amount of players featured on cards. That's a good thing. I have all of my old 1950's cards and they're all of guys who actually PLAYED for the big club...not some draft pick or Spring Training non-roster invitee.

Oh yeah..my BRIEN TAYLOR Yankee cards from 1991 will help me fund my next vacation! But hey, I remember selling Todd Van Poppel "rookie" cards for 5 bucks each. I traded three of 'em to one guy for a Dan Marino rookie.

Now if they can cut back on the numbers of SETS issued each year, I'd be happy. It was tough when they had five sets (Upper Deck, Donruss, Score, Topps, and Fleer) and I could handle the premium sets (Stadium Club, Ultra, etc). But when each company started making umpteen sets of 125 cards each, selling three cards for 4 bucks in a pack, I gave up.

Plus, all the GOLD-FOIL-REFRACTOR etchings made the cards un-viewable. You had to tilt the card to see who the hell it was. Ugly.

I pretty much gave up buying cards for that reason. Too damn expensive for too few cards (WOW! HOLOGRAMIC RETRO JERSEY CARDS!), and the 60,979 sets available for $100 per box of 8 packs with 5 cards.

These days I just stick to Topps since it's more affordable and that company is responsible for about 50% of my collection. :P

In MY day, you could get a pack of 15 cards from Topps or Donruss for $0.50. AND WE WERE HAPPY!

Yeah, I just pick up Topps, too. I have about 12 binders in my Man-Basement, all organized chronologically by team. I open the Pirates binder and it starts in 1952 and has a few cards from every year up until today. So each section reads like a scrapbook of every team. It really sucks when I get an old 1960's card, and I have to go through and move EVERY card forward by one spot.

Oh..I forgot: I have a buncha' RICKEY HENDERSON cards!!

I've got at least 35 Rickey Henderson cards.

Who doesn't have a lot? I probably have about 25 myself. :P

And ES has way too much time on his hands to do that binder trick... fuck it, the only reason I haven't done it is because I'm lazy. (looks through 1991 Topps Yankees set) Tsk tsk tsk... such a bad season.

I actually went to the store and picked them out myself. I didn't buy many packs after I hit about 12. I'd buy specific cards. Mostly Rickey Henderson. I even bought a plaque with a "fake" card in it just because the card was Rickey Henderson

... (shakes head in shame) The only times I bought specific cards were for my NBA collection: Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan. Ewing easily leads my collection for most cards of one player at about 42.


Edit: Speaking of Ewing, the day the Knicks TRADED him was the beginning of the end for my support of the team. Fucking direspect the guy who carried the team into the playoffs for 14 seasons in a row. Sure, he was ugly, but he wa sa great player.

My best card by a long shot is a Topps Roger Clemens rookie, which I hide like the treasure of a pirate.



Yarrrr!

So you buried a card in dirt? You fuckin idiot! I wouldn't know what my most "valuable" card is. I just collected them because they're cool.

I'm not sure what the current market value is, but from the cliched "old shoebox of baseball cards I found in my grandparents' attic", I got a 1954 Jackie Robinson. Plus a bunch of the awesome 1956 Topps set (the famous painted pictures/landscape layout). Notably Roberto Clemente and Hank Aaron. From my big brother, I got a bunch of' the ugly 1976 set, with the biggest being a George Brett rookie.

I have a 60's Mickey Mantle from the old shoebox, but someone loved Mickey and put the card in his bike. You'd take a clothespin and your favorite baseball card and stick in on your front fork. It'd make a cool clicking sound when you pedalled.

You know what's really sad? Of the cards I bought new from about 1988 to 1995 or so, exactly ZERO of them have become significant or collectible. Poop..I remember when Mike Greenwell cards were going for 4.50!

NOO! NOT MIKE GREENWELL! His card is worth at least $5.25 and a free burger from the local food jobber. :P

Actually, I keep it in a safe along with my other valuable possessions. You know, like you keep locks of Kane's hair.

Kane doesn't have any hair! Why can't you be a real fan and keep all your cards in old shoe boxes? :D

Note that Choate didn't specify WHICH type of Kane hair you keep.

Most people would assume that you keep the hair on someone's HEAD.....

But they'd be wrong...

Okay, enough of that. Go back to making fun of Mike Greenwell and random Rickey Henderson references.


(hugs Kane cards)

I haven't looked at my cards in years. I do know I have an Albert Belle Rookie card.

Whatever happend to Albert Belle? I never really followed any of the teams he's on, so I never got the dirt on when/why he retired...

And I can top that. I have rookies of Jose AND Ozzie Canseco. Rumors of Jose's card being on steroids are preliminary.

Ironically, I do have all my cards in old shoe boxes. I have a binder full of my best ones, with the exception of the Roger Clemens rookie, my '85 Ozzie Smith, and inexplicably, my Bernard Gilkey. Man, I loved that guy.

'85 Ozzie Smith? What was special about that one?

And the only card I ever put aside was an '88 (I think) Sammy Sosa... until I started hating him.

It's actually the only Ozzie card I have.

I'm guessing you didn't collect much. I probably have 15-20 from the late 80's through his retirement. All worthless no doubt. :P

Blasphemy!

Worthless in price, not in sentimental value. :D

OK, that's better.

I have all these Don Mattingly cards lying around at home....maybe I'll just burn them.

NOOOOOOOOO!

(hugs Yankee cards)

Oh yes... I have FOUR Tino Martinez rookie cards. :P And the worlds greatest Yankee... something Kelly. The guy we traded for Paul O'Neill in '93.

Eddie Murray's rookie card is the crowning jewel of my collection. I think it's worth 60 bucks.

I think I've got every topp's card from 87 and 88. I don't remember any of them having value.

I do have a Darryl Strawberry rookie, which is a personal favorite.

Is that Roberto/Robert/Bobby/Robby Kelly?

The guy who changed his name as much as his underpants?

That's him. I completely blanked on what to call him, hence why I just refered to him as "Something Kelly." :lol:

I can't believe the Reds gave up Paul O'Neill for him. That's horrible

Well, wasn't Kelly some kind of "Future Superstar" at the time... then took a nose-dive into the ocean quicker than you can say "TWI 500" (or whatever the plane was. :P)


Edit: That got me thinking... did the Expos trade the Dodgers Delino DeSheilds for Pedro Martinez? :lol:

Indeed they did! At the time, Pedro was considered the "other Martinez" and it looked like a longshot that he would ever become the Petey we know today.

Roberto Kelly was pegged as a top prospect. He made the All-Star team in 1993 with Cincinnati, I think. Paul O'Neil for Kelly seemed like an even trade in 1992. Reds later traded Kelly to the Braves for Deion Sanders. Kelly ended up back with the Yankees in 2000....I think he even played in their World Series win over the Mets that year.

EDIT: Oh yeah-- Albert "Joey" Belle had to retire due to inury in 1999 or 2000. Think he last played for the Orioles.

I'm pretty sure Kelly was either cut from the team during the latter part of Spring Training, or was released sometime before the All-Star break.

Me in 2000: Holy shit, Roberto Kelly is back?!

Me 2 months later: Where did Roberto Kelly go?

I've got loads of cards that I keep track of, via the Beckett Online Price Guide.

730 Baseball Cards ($320.32 total price - highest priced card is a '99 Pacific Omega Hit Machine of Tony Gwynn - $10)

978 Basketball Cards ($298.11 total price - highest priced cards are '04-'05 Upper Deck Hardcourt Lebron James ($10), Delonte West ($10), and an '04-'05 Upper Deck Hardcourt Materials Antawn Jamison ($10))

3,606 Football Cards ($1,337.74 total price - highest priced cards are a 2004 Score Inscriptions of Ickey Woods ($20), and a 1982 Topps Lawrence Taylor ($20))

4 Hockey Cards (.40 total price)

2 Racing Cards ($5.60 total price - highest priced card is a 1996 Wheels Dale Earnhardt's Mom & Pops)


Not the greatest collection in terms of value. I'm lucky if I get a card worth $10.