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Anyone here used to collect sport cards.

One of the top 5 moments in my life pre-puberty is when my friend and I are on the way home from the baseball card store and we’re opening up our packs we just bought. I got a pack of 1991 Upper Decks and it had two of the hologram Deion Sanders cards where he fades from a baseball player to a football player. Beckett listed it as a $10 card which was all the money in the world at 12 years old. I was flipping out. My friend was flipping out in jealousy. Such a fantastic day.

Those baseball card stores made a lot of money off of us unsuspecting kids. They’d sell 1982-1985 Topps packs for like $5. Dave Magadan was once leading the league in BA after maybe 10 games so I thought getting his card would be a huge investment for myself. The guy there sold it to me for $2 and of course he turns to shit after. One guy sold me a 1982 Tony Gwynn for $10 at a trade show. It had a crease in the corner but I figured since it was vintage that meant most cards like that were already damaged and the older they are the higher in value they’ll always be. It’s probably worth $1 today but only to somebody hoarding all the Tony Gwynn cards in the world.

I still have just about everything I ever got. Will Clark was my favorite player so he’s probably got 4 sleeves in my book dedicated to just him. My mother still has a bunch of cards from the 1950’s including the 1951 Bowman Mantle card. It’s literally the only card that’s worth anything in our families possession.
 
It's depressing that nearly all the cards and comic books I collected are worthless. If I'd been born a few decades earlier, my collection would probably be a goldmine.
 
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I have a bunch. Started late 80’s. Stopped mid 90’s. My prized feat is receiving a complete 1990 topps set at 9 years old and it still has the shrink wrap. I have rookies of Nolan Ryan, Clemens, Brett, Jackson, Puckett , and any of the all stars of that era. Probably stopped worshipping the process after Frank Thomas and Ken Griffey jr. Nothing on this planet beats the excitement of a card collector and a new Beckett. Hours on end adding up .13 cent Doug drabeks and Jose rijos

This is my childhood. ^^

One of my boys has the middle name Beckett. Lol

I have a Fleer Living Legends Jordan that I'd wanted to get signed... and a Derek Jeter Bowman (?) Rookie card and a Dan Marino rookie card... but once I discovered how long the lines were to wait for autographs, I gave up all that.
 
Great thread. Born in 1970, collecting baseball cards were a huge part of the first 20 years of my life thanks to my dad. My dad is 76 years old and still is an avid collector. He actually has one of the biggest private card collections in the USA. And like a lot of people, he had to start over because when he got married he told his mom it was ok to throw out all his cards.

he more than made up for it though. About 15 years ago he bought out the inventory of an entire baseball card shop after the owner died. Paid $10-15k to the widow, rented a UHAUL van and had to make 3 trips. Now his entire den is filled with cards, the basement has tables and tables full of cards, most of them still unopened boxes. The garage is full of card cases, ball cases and boxes and boxes of other products used to display and store cards.

He mostly collects old stuff. He has multiple Mantle rookies and I would assume any valuable card ever made from at least the 40s on. He even does some non sports stuff and has the rare golden dildo C3PO Star Wars card.

To this day he still drives hours away and meets other hardcore collectors to trade cards with each other.

Don't tell him, but a couple thanksgivings ago, me and my brother stole a box of unopened 1992 NHL cards from his basement and brought them to the office. Every once in a while we'll each grab a pack and battle to see who got the better pack.
 
Do you still have it?

Also, something about Thurman Munson was always catchy. he was a great player, but great player plus great name equals great interest. I used to buy box sets, but after a while I started targeting specific rookie cards. Munson was one of those. Even though I feel like I maximized my profit,I still wish I had the cards. Same with comics.

I used to just look at them. Spread them out and just admire my collection. I don't do that today with anything. Portfolio returns isn't the same.


I was at Munson's last game. It was at Comiskey and then he got in is plane afterwards to fly to Cleveland.
 
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what hurts today's card value once they came out with plastic card protectors, everybody that collected card started hoarding those cards,
now you can find a 100 cards for every player out there, FB, BB, Hockey and Baseball.

when I was a kid the thing to do was by a tops bubble package take the card out and steal one or 2 of moms clothes pins and make clackers out of them on the bycycle spokes.

this caused the numbers of cards to dwindle, mind you this during the years of Mickey Mantle, Ryan, Sutton and Willie McCovey.

the only thing I collected were comic books, used to have the 1st edition in the following
Iron Man
Spiderman
Thor
Submariner

most of this came up missing. at the time never cared or gave it much thought they were not that much, now there are a few worth 10-15,000 + Dollars.

dad had the 1st issue Superman that one was stolen
 
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This is my childhood. ^^

One of my boys has the middle name Beckett. Lol

I have a Fleer Living Legends Jordan that I'd wanted to get signed... and a Derek Jeter Bowman (?) Rookie card and a Dan Marino rookie card... but once I discovered how long the lines were to wait for autographs, I gave up all that.
I still have a huge collection of Beckett price guides. I couldn't give them away if I tried, but they do have some really great/underappreciated photography. IIRC, (too lazy to pull them out), I have every monthly issue from 88-93
 
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what hurts today's card value once they came out with plastic card protectors, everybody that collected card started hoarding those cards,
now you can find a 100 cards for every player out there, FB, BB, Hockey and Baseball.

when I was a kid the thing to do was by a tops bubble package take the card out and steal one or 2 of moms clothes pins and make clackers out of them on the bycycle spokes.

this caused the numbers of cards to dwindle, mind you this during the years of Mickey Mantle, Ryan, Sutton and Willie McCovey.

the only thing I collected were comic books, used to have the 1st edition in the following
Iron Man
Spiderman
Thor
Submariner

most of this came up missing. at the time never cared or gave it much thought they were not that much, now there are a few worth 10-15,000 + Dollars.

dad had the 1st issue Superman that one was stolen

The first Superman from the 30s? That thing sells for half a mil in good condition. Same for the first Spider-Man.

Good Lord. That’s why I wouldn’t hang on to any items like that. Unless I were a millionaire. Id cash in ASAP.
 
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The first Superman from the 30s? That thing sells for half a mil in good condition. Same for the first Spider-Man.

Good Lord. That’s why I wouldn’t hang on to any items like that. Unless I were a millionaire. Id cash in ASAP.
dad kept in plastic and I kept mine in plastic. it wasn't because of value it was because it was the 1st.

right now I have a box of unopened Upper Deck cards from their 1st set. including the box of the send set that has the Ken Griffey rookie card in it.

I have unopened boxes of other Cards from the 1st year they were put out.
 
Like a lot of folks, I was a huge collector of cards from about 1988-1998. My uncle got me into it initially—he used to set up a booth at conventions and sell/trade. But I got hooked and started buying anything I could. I had baseball, basketball, random shit from McDonald’s and other places like that, magic the gathering, and more. But by far the most I had was football. And yeah I also had hundreds of Beckett magazines (I had a monthly subscription).

I would make up my own “sets” like all the players from a super bowl winning team, or all the pro bowl players from that year. Little did I know I was buying stuff that was about to go bust.

It was a blast at the time, but man do I wish I would have been buying shares of stock like Microsoft or amazon instead.
 
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Probably my most unique item is an Emmitt Smith card. It was an insert that was “an artistic” design by Peter Max. So the card looked like a painting.

Looked like this: https://images.app.goo.gl/CXmH92kqGJ9Bcvpy7


Well I was in the Galleria Mall in Houston one day while visiting family and Peter Max was having an art show. By chance I had the card in the car in a plastic case of about 25 cards I had brought to show my uncle. So we go out and get it and bring it in. He stops in his tracks during the show and waves everyone away, thrilled because he’d never actually seen a person owning one. We talk about it for a bit and then he autographs it. Really cool.
 
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Upper deck was so fancy compared to fleer, donruss and topps.
71dp6m9SxZL._SY606_.jpg


This was the opening year '89 upper deck catch.

I'm sure you remember the rare cards back in the day. Mark McGwire USA baseball rookie card for example.

McGwire-topps.jpg
Bought that McGuire card for a quarter and years later sold it for $110. Still buy select cards I’m interested in.
 
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one set that I am trying to fill out is from the Stadium Club 1st year they came out. every card shop as closed and the card shows no longer exist. so collecting the older cards is getting harder.
 
when I was 6 years old I traded a Hank Aaron card for a Charms Blow Pop. Needless to say, my father was not happy with me.
 
Which ones are you missing?
would have to pull out my Album to check, my main sets are in a album mainly 1st year releases, those end up being the most expensive. not to mention the hardest. may have to get a Beckett magazine and see if the still advertise unopened boxes for sale.
 
I thought this was cool. Signed Pete Rose likeness in crayon.


 
It still sucks he's not in the HOF. Criminal.
He’ll get in someday after he dies. Probably partly as an FU for him lying about it all and then confessing to save face. It’s been awhile since I paid attention to what he did. I just recall that he was kind of portrayed as a scumbag. I could be wrong. One thing that I’m not wrong about is the fact that he’s overrated as a baseball player. Not even top 50 all time. Come at me bro.
 
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He’ll get in someday after he dies. Probably partly as an FU for him lying about it all and then confessing to save face. It’s been awhile since I paid attention to what he did. I just recall that he was kind of portrayed as a scumbag. I could be wrong. One thing that I’m not wrong about is the fact that he’s overrated as a baseball player. Not even top 50 all time. Come at me bro.
There's zero chance of you naming 50 better all time players. :D
 
There's zero chance of you naming 50 better all time players. :D
1) Babe Ruth
2) Ty Cobb
3) Barry Bonds
4) Willie Mays
5) Hank Aaron
6) Ted Williams
7) Lou Gehrig
8) Alex Rodriguez
9) Mickey Mantle
10) Albert Pujols
11) Tris Speaker
12) Stan Musial
13) Honus Wagner
14) Rickey Henderson
15) Roger Hornsby
16) Frank Robinson
17) Mel Ott
18) Jimmie Foxx
19) Eddie Matthews
20) Cal Ripken
21) Nap Lajoie
22) Joe Morgan
23) Carl Yastrzemski
24) Eddie Collins
25) Mike Trout (will be there in a few years)
26) Randy Johnson
27) Cy Young
28) Roger Clemens
29) Greg Maddux
30) Walter Johnson
31) Mike Schmidt
32) Tom Seaver
33) Sandy Koufax
34) Warren Spahn
35) Bob Gibson
36) Pedro Martinez
37) Ken Griffey Jr.
38) Nolan Ryan
39) Steve Carlton
40) Phil Niekro
41) Christy Mathewson
42) Joe DiMaggio
43) Rod Carew
44) George Brett
45) Lefty Grove
46) Miguel Cabrera
47) Clayton Kershaw
48) Roberto Clemente
49) Cap Anson
50) Al Kaline

He may have an argument over a few of those guys but the majority of them were better ballplayers than Rose. I’m sure there’s many others.
 
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I should never bet on laziness. ;)


and no. Most of those guys do not have a record that'll never be broken. Much less multiple records.

Edit: I have to admit, your list has me a little fired up. RollLaugh

I think of a lot that should be on there and some Im thinking wtf?
 
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I should never bet on laziness. ;)


and no. Most of those guys do not have a record that'll never be broken. Much less multiple records.
I think you’re wrong. I think most baseball historians would disagree with you.

Do you think Pete Rose is the greatest hitter of all time? Sure he’s one of the best when you consider there’s been tens of thousands of players to come along but nobody thinks he’s in the top tier elitist class of hitters. I don’t think he’s a better hitter than any position player I listed above yet Rose has more hits than any of them. Where Rose stands out is longevity and durability. That doesn’t mean he’s a better player.
 
I think you’re wrong. I think most baseball historians would disagree with you.

Do you think Pete Rose is the greatest hitter of all time? Sure he’s one of the best when you consider there’s been tens of thousands of players to come along but nobody thinks he’s in the top tier elitist class of hitters. I don’t think he’s a better hitter than any position player I listed above yet Rose has more hits than any of them. Where Rose stands out is longevity and durability. That doesn’t mean he’s a better player.
You do realize he has multiple batting titles right? He didn't just get a few hits a year over multiple years.He was better than everyone else, multiple seasons. He also has a MVP, Golden gloves, ROY, multiple All Star games (5 different positions) and three WS rings.

  • Major League records:
    • Most career at-bats – 14,053
    • Most career plate appearances – 15,890
    • Most career hits – 4,256
    • Most career singles – 3,215
    • Most career times on base – 5,929
    • Most career outs – 10,328
    • Most career games played – 3,562
    • Most career winning games played – 1,972
    • Only player to play at least 500 games at five different positions – 1B (939), LF (671), 3B (634), 2B (628), RF (595)
    • Most career runs by a switch hitter – 2,165
    • Most career doubles by a switch hitter – 746
    • Most career walks by a switch hitter – 1,566
    • Most career total bases by a switch hitter – 5,752
    • Most seasons of 200 or more hits – 10 (shared)
    • Most consecutive seasons of 100 or more hits – 23
    • Most consecutive seasons with 600 or more at-bats – 13 (1968–1980) (shared)
    • Most seasons with 600 at-bats – 17
    • Most seasons with 150 or more games played – 17
    • Most seasons with 100 or more games played – 23
  • National League records:
    • Most years played – 24
    • Most consecutive years played – 24
    • Most career runs – 2,165
    • Most career doubles – 746
    • Most career games with 5 or more hits – 10
    • Modern (post-1900) NL record for longest consecutive-game hitting streak NL – 44
    • Modern record for most hitting streaks of 20 or more consecutive games – 7
 
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You do realize he has multiple batting titles right? He didn't just get a few hits a year over multiple years.He was better than everyone else, multiple seasons.
He had no power, poor base running abilities and was an average defensive player. He won 3 batting titles. He only had season that would be considered elite. His teams actually would’ve done better with him on the bench over his last 7 seasons. His WAR was -1.4 combined over them. Here’s a solid article that discusses where he probably stands all time.

http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/67109/how-good-was-pete-rose-the-baseball-player
 
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He had no power, poor base running abilities and was an average defensive player. He won 3 batting titles. He only had season that would be considered elite. His teams actually would’ve done better with him on the bench over his last 7 seasons. His WAR was -1.4 combined over them. Here’s a solid article that discusses where he probably stands all time.

http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/67109/how-good-was-pete-rose-the-baseball-player
OK, we'll agree to disagree on 50 better players than him all time. Nevermind stats like "Most seasons with 200 or more hits, etc". Never mind the multiple golden gloves. Stuff like that. :)
 
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OK, we'll agree to disagree on 50 better players than him all time. Nevermind stats like "Most seasons with 200 or more hits, etc". Never mind the multiple golden gloves. Stuff like that. :)
Yeah. Those won’t help your argument at all. Lol. That’s like a KU fan using conference titles as a reason to be considered better than Duke or Carolina all time.
 
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Now you're just ****ing with me. Laughing
Nah. Ichiro has the most hits in professional baseball history. He was a better hitter (look at the stats) better baserunner and he was one of the best defensive players ever, unlike Rose who sucked on the bases and was an average defender. So he has him on the one thing Rose excelled in and was light years ahead of him in other categories.
 
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Nah. Ichiro has the most hits in professional baseball history. He was a better hitter (look at the stats) better baserunner and he was one of the best defensive players ever, unlike Rose who sucked on the bases and was an average defender. So he has him on the one thing Rose excelled in and was light years ahead of him in other categories.
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He should still be in the Hall though. He’s just behind Jeff Bagwell all time and he’s already in so it’s only fair to put in Pete Rose too. Winking

Also, I quoted a different gif than what it changed into.
Maybe, you can help me out. My next appointment is @6 so I went through all "the greatest players of all time" (espn, sporting news, si, ranker etc.) and I can't find a single list that has Rose out of top 50. Just yours.

Crazy thing is, I not a Rose fan. I just find it hard to believe someone would leave him out of one of the best to play the game. I'm guessing you don't believe it and you're just messing around.
 
Maybe, you can help me out. My next appointment is @6 so I went through all "the greatest players of all time" (espn, sporting news, si, ranker etc.) and I can't find a single list that has Rose out of top 50. Just yours.

Crazy thing is, I not a Rose fan. I just find it hard to believe someone would leave him out of one of the best to play the game. I'm guessing you don't believe it and you're just messing around.
I already linked one where the writer says he’s likely around #65 all time. Can you link those lists? I’m guessing he’s below 35 in every single one of them. If not then it’s probably not a very good list to use.

I don’t really care either way. Obviously I’m arguing that he isn’t a top 50 player of all time but there’s a lot of reasons why people would include him in that list. Some may include him because he is the hits leader. Some may include him because of name alone. Some may include him because it just doesn’t feel right to exclude him. Some may include him because he deserves to be included in the top 50. I just believe that there’s more reasons to exclude him than include him.

When you do a deep look into his batting stats he just doesn’t compare to most of the other best players though. His career OPS is below 800. That’s terrible for somebody who is considered really good. His OPS+ is 118. He’s tied with 28 players for #427 all time. He’s tied with Howard Johnson and Paul Konerko on the all time list. None of that screams he was an elite batter at all.

He also was a pretty meh defender. He won a GG in a year where his advanced metrics said he was just an average player that season. That also was the era before people really were aware of the advanced stats and baseball theory so it’s not surprising that they gave him GG.
 
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