A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

[chakes89]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

And from what I have heard about Strasburg, he isn't shy about telling autograph seekers how he feels about them.

[OaklandAsFan]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

The Diamondbacks prospects are back in their usual place, with the Scottsdale Scorpions, this year, after playing with the A's, etc, on the Phoenix Desert Dogs last year - so, since I'll mostly be following those guys around, I won't be coming to Phoenix Muni as often as I did last year, of course. I'll still be coming out there when the Scorpions are visiting, or when the Scorpions are playing in Surprise, or some ungodly, out-of-the-way place like that...looking at my schedule, I'll be visiting your ballpark at least eight times during the season.

Of the DBacks guys, Brandon Allen (who has been the big club's everyday First Baseman for a few months now) is gonna get swamped by auto-seekers, I think it's safe to say. There are really no big names on the DBacks roster, other than him.

the golden boy Steven Strasburg is gonna get swamped.

[godwulf]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

Rusty Ryal's grandpa was my high school baseball and basketball coach; saw Grandpa today at Wal-Mart and we had a nice chat about Rusty.

Very cool. Another nice thing about the AFL is that you sometimes run into the parents and grandparents of the players, at the games. I had a nice time chatting with Evan Frey's parents - he's in double-A Mobile now - during the Fall League last year, and they were super nice people. Evan had been playing in South Bend and Visalia, and I warned him about the humidity in Alabama. He said if it meant a promotion, he'd deal with it.

[GoTigers]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

I bet we're only a couple years away from seeing insert cards
that award complete game used wrist bands, hats, bats, etc. It's got to be headed that way.

[Soonerfan65]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

I hope the players and coaches don't get swamped with autograph requests at the cookout, to the extent that it ruins the event for them and becomes embarassing. I would guess that a couple of the better known prospects would be targets for that, if they're there. It would be different if they weren't about to play a six-week schedule, during which anyone going to even one or two games will be able to get all the autographs they could hope for. Me, I've got my season pass, and have plans to get to about 25 games this year, including fifteen days when I'll be on vacation from work and doing nothing but watching Baseball, Mon-Sat.

I saw Rusty Ryal the other day, btw, and he let me hold his 2008 AFL Championship ring; it had a pretty nice stone in it.

Rusty Ryal's grandpa was my high school baseball and basketball coach; saw Grandpa today at Wal-Mart and we had a nice chat about Rusty.

[jonincleve]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

my personal opinion on the decline of baseball cards is the decline in baseball in general. the kids today do not have the attention span for baseball. it is too slow. plus now with computers and the internet plus fantasy leagues. why hold a baseball card and look at the stats when you can get on the net and look up anything. take all that and then over-produce everything in the 80's and 90's and bam, over supply and no demand.

that being said, i love to collect baseball cards from all era's t206 through current. as for current cards i only collect 1 set normally topps heritage. as for value the only cards that i think will hold their value are the autograph cards. my personal collection has hand signed cards vs the 'sticker' cards. if anyone wants to take a look i have a bunch showing on my site jfkcollectibles.net under autographs for viewing.

take care
john

jonincleve@sbcglobal.net

[sox83cubs84]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

No one has mentioned flat, powdery, cardboardish bubble gum. I recently opened a 30-year-old waxpack and chewed the gum. Nasty, but tasted just like 1979.[/quote]

Warren, at a show in the early 1990s, my wife won a slew of $1 bets over successfully chewing (and swallowing) a stick of gum from a mid-1970s Topps basketball wax pack. We challenged Mr. Mint to a $100 bet on her doing the same with a stick from his famous 1954 Bowman card find. The Great Mint One declined.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[joelsabi]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

did anyone flip for baseball cards or was that just a geographic phenomenon in the early 70's, being that my dad was stationed in a military base in Japan. Was flipping cards done over in the 48 contiguous states back then or ever?

When I look on the internet flipping comes up with what is below, but when we said flipping it was like what you did with pogs awhile back, trying to flip a card with another card. when you flip the card, the card became yours. lots of fun and lots of abuse of the cards as you can imagine.



Flipping Cards
There are certain skills that you might spend scores of hours perfecting in childhood, which are totally meaningless when you grow up. Flipping cards was once on of the top of the list, a critical childhood skill that has no place in the world of adults. It is an activity that can be done by anyone, but to be done well requires finesse and a truly subtle touch.
Rules are simple; from a standing position, the first player takes a card, holds it along his side and then, with a flip of the wrist, lets it drop to the floor. It lands, with the picture facing up (heads) or the stats facing up (tails). The second player then flips and tries to match the card. If they match (both heads or both tails), player #2 wins the cards, if they did not match, the cards goes to player #1.

[joelsabi]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

did anyone flip for baseball cards or was that just a geographic phenomenon in the early 70's, being that my dad was stationed in a military base in Japan. Was flipping cards done over in the 48 contiguous states back then or ever?

[godwulf]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

I hear ya on that Godwulf, I actually plan on avoiding asking for autographs during the dinner and trying to treat them as normal individuals. This has worked for me in the past and I have gotten to know several of the Oakland Athletics on a personal level. Not too mention I plan on being at many many games during the AFL season so why bother hitting them up now, in the past there has never been an issue with players signing autographs either before or after games, you can pretty much get the entire team on a ball or whatever before or after every game they play because they are still rookies and haven't been jaded by fame and the constant harassment for autographs that establisted stars get.

The Diamondbacks prospects are back in their usual place, with the Scottsdale Scorpions, this year, after playing with the A's, etc, on the Phoenix Desert Dogs last year - so, since I'll mostly be following those guys around, I won't be coming to Phoenix Muni as often as I did last year, of course. I'll still be coming out there when the Scorpions are visiting, or when the Scorpions are playing in Surprise, or some ungodly, out-of-the-way place like that...looking at my schedule, I'll be visiting your ballpark at least eight times during the season.

Of the DBacks guys, Brandon Allen (who has been the big club's everyday First Baseman for a few months now) is gonna get swamped by auto-seekers, I think it's safe to say. There are really no big names on the DBacks roster, other than him.

[godwulf]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

K-Mart cards were worthless in 1982 and worth even less now. But damn, they're beautiful.

The wall above my desk at work is covered with a couple of hundred '65 Topps cards, in toploaders supported by clear plastic push pins. One of the best-looking sets ever, imo...and I could care less about "condition" when I buy them. I usually pay a buck or two per card for, on average, "G-to-VG" cards, and that's good enough for me. I was eleven when that set came out, and just looking at those cards really takes me back. They'd probably look funny if they were in Mint condition.

No one has mentioned flat, powdery, cardboardish bubble gum. I recently opened a 30-year-old waxpack and chewed the gum. Nasty, but tasted just like 1979.

About ten years ago, I opened a bunch of packs from the late '80s, which would have made them "only" about ten years old at the time, and I also tried chewing one of those little pink rectangles. I put it in my mouth and it immediately dissolved - I mean, completely dissolved, leaving only a slightly stale, gum-flavored aftertaste. I don't recommend it, but just about every card collector I talk with has done it at least - and usually only - once.

[OaklandAsFan]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

I hope the players and coaches don't get swamped with autograph requests at the cookout, to the extent that it ruins the event for them and becomes embarassing. I would guess that a couple of the better known prospects would be targets for that, if they're there. It would be different if they weren't about to play a six-week schedule, during which anyone going to even one or two games will be able to get all the autographs they could hope for. Me, I've got my season pass, and have plans to get to about 25 games this year, including fifteen days when I'll be on vacation from work and doing nothing but watching Baseball, Mon-Sat.

I saw Rusty Ryal the other day, btw, and he let me hold his 2008 AFL Championship ring; it had a pretty nice stone in it.

I hear ya on that Godwulf, I actually plan on avoiding asking for autographs during the dinner and trying to treat them as normal individuals. This has worked for me in the past and I have gotten to know several of the Oakland Athletics on a personal level. Not too mention I plan on being at many many games during the AFL season so why bother hitting them up now, in the past there has never been an issue with players signing autographs either before or after games, you can pretty much get the entire team on a ball or whatever before or after every game they play because they are still rookies and haven't been jaded by fame and the constant harassment for autographs that establisted stars get.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

The bottom line is that most of these sets have little value, but in a way, makes them even MORE fun to collect. I've gone on eBay and purchased bundled lots of small sets (remember those little boxed sets sold at K-Mart, Walgreen's, etc?) for a few cents each.

So true. I hope everyone on this forum would still collect, even if there was no monetary value. Wonder if Yankees flannels and 60s NFL durenes were worth less than 10 bucks? Our friends and family would really believe we were weirdos.
K-Mart cards were worthless in 1982 and worth even less now. But damn, they're beautiful.
No one has mentioned flat, powdery, cardboardish bubble gum. I recently opened a 30-year-old waxpack and chewed the gum. Nasty, but tasted just like 1979.

[commando]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

Right now I'm in the middle of building a website that features and gives information on sportscard sets produced during the 1980s (the days of my innocent youth). The bottom line is that most of these sets have little value, but in a way, makes them even MORE fun to collect. I've gone on eBay and purchased bundled lots of small sets (remember those little boxed sets sold at K-Mart, Walgreen's, etc?) for a few cents each. Police and Safety sets cost a fraction of what they did years ago. Even the famous 1984 Donruss Baseball set, with the Mattingly rookie, was picked up by me for $42 dollars postpaid.

Cards from the 1980s were WAY overproduced, but they make me happy. You know? And that's what its all about... I can't tell you much about cards produced after the mid-1990s, because my head started to hurt right around then, every time I opened Sports Collectors Digest. It was becoming impossible to keep track of everything being produced at that point, not to mention the expense involved.

I've been looking at 1980s baseball card magazines while doing research for my new website. Some creep named Dave Miedema keeps popping up with a variety of articles.

[WadeInBmore]

Re: A Quick Note on the Decline of Baseball Cards

I absolutley love the old cards. If and when I collect cards I only go after HOFer RC...all the cards I wanted as a kid but couldn't afford. I agree that the newer cards are garbage. I would rather sift through and look at cards from the 50's with a crease or two and rounded corners then play with the cards of today. I remember picking up my Jackie Robinson RC about two years ago and feelings like I was 12 again...except I was 26 I love looking at my collection and appreciate what the vintage cards went through to get into my collection. Today people open the packs and protect the cards immediately. The hobby is all about the "Grade"...i don't like that, for me its about the love and pursuit.

Happy collecting

wade

ps inevitably it was by getting back into card collecting that I learned of game used collecting...now my primary focus is game used as I don't think I've added any new card of substantial impact since the Robinson RC.