Satisfaction in game used collecting

[Sotystl]

Re: Satisfaction in game used collecting

I can't agree more. I was into cards until I was at Busch and was lucky enough to get a Lance Berkman cardinals gamer. There is something about holding the bat in your hands that they used in a game. Now unfortunately for my bank account I'm hooked. Welcome to the hobby

[cekirsch129]

I'm not really sure the point of this thread, just wanted to share some thoughts/feelings since getting into the game-used hobby.

I was a long time baseball card collector (as long time as a 24 year-old possibly can be ) and have recently gotten extremely burned out on it. I had so much fun collecting through my adolescent years, but lately it seems the hobby has went to complete garbage. I always loved prospecting, but nowadays the market is so over-saturated its ridiculous. I used to love the rarity of pulling a sweet refractor of a player I collected and it actually be worth something. Now there are 10 different variations of each card and 15 different 1/1 variations that cards hold their value like a sinking ship.

Anyway, I had recently pretty much quit collecting. I still would follow different sets and join in on discussions on the blowout message boards, but even that is brutal these days. The day of having a logical discussion about anything sports-card related is gone, and now its nothing more than trolls, scammers, and drama.

I've always loved the idea of adding game-used memorabilia to my St. Louis Cardinals autograph collection, but was always hesitant because of high prices and being over-cautious of fakes. I was also never one to try and solicit game-used items from players at games, spring training, etc. I recently made a thread about an Allen Craig game used bat I picked up at the WWU this year and I honestly think its one of my favorite items in a vast collection of Cardinals autograph memorabilia. I have acquired practically every relevant Cardinal's autograph from players of my generation in-person, and this bat tops a lot of these experiences. I think it's so cool to own something that a player actually used in a game.

I love being able to try and track down which specific game(s) the player used an item and scouring through pictures and video to try and match it up. To me its like being a CSI agent or a detective trying to solve a mystery, haha. Even though I haven't been able to match up the bat that I have, I have a feeling the thrill of finding a match would be way more exciting to me than pulling a big card from a box.

I love the discussion on these boards and how so many people are willing to help each other out. It seems like more of a mature hobby than sports cards these days, and I haven't seen the typical drama and fights on here. It really seems like a "community" of knowledgeable people looking out for one another instead of tearing each other down.

Sorry for the long, pointless thread, but I just wanted to share my thoughts/feelings on the hobby. I'm extremely excited for the season to get going again and pick up some more items for my collection. Hopefully I can put together a collection like many of the ones I've seen here... Cheers!