I've been collecting baseball cards off and on for thirty-something years and I've been judged for doing so the majority of those years. Or at least it feels that way.
These are the $5 ones you get for buying toilet paper in bulk.
Yesterday I hit up three local Targets with a stack of gift cards I've been accumulating in hopes of finding some blaster boxes to tear into.
I ended up finding two 2017 Topps Series One and one 2017 Gypsy Queen blaster boxes at the final store. Obviously I was pretty excited, but there was a part of me that was nervous. I'm always running into people I know at this particular Target and the last thing I want to hear is a familiar voice from behind asking... "you still collect baseball cards?".
I'm not talking about running into an old card collecting buddy who's carrying three blaster boxes himself excitedly asking, "you still collect baseball cards?". I'm talking about seeing your ex-girlfriend who's giggling while asking, "you still collect baseball cards?".
My solution? I quickly started adding other items I needed into the basket to cover up the three blasters.
Anyone else ever hide the fact that they collect baseball cards, because they fear others might judge?
Speaking of getting judged... Aaron Judge was the main reason I tracked down and bought these blasters.
The results? Well... I completely struck out on Judge.
The best card? I'd probably give the nod to this Sandy Koufax short print from the box of Gypsy Queen:
The coolest insert?
I really like these Fortune Teller inserts... although this particular gypsy incorrectly predicted when Pujols would hit home run #600. Barring injury, her 2nd prediction should come true though.
Bottom line? Sure the packs were entertaining, but honestly blaster boxes are kinda like that ex-girlfriend I keep running into at Target.
I still have the big dogs sitting in my wallet.
I'm bound to go back and give both of them another chance, while knowing both will probably leave me feeling judged and shaking my head.
But we're all addicted to something, right?
Happy Sunday and sayonara!
I don't hide the fact that I collect baseball cards, but if anyone were to ask I'd be proud to say I've active in a hobby I enjoy and have enjoyed both as a kid and as an adult. Sorry you didn't land a Judge.
ReplyDeleteI never hide it but I don't bring.it up in conversation unless a door is left open
ReplyDeleteNope, I'm not ashamed at all that I collect sports cards or memorabilia. If people think it's geeky so be it lol
ReplyDeletePretty much everyone that knows me knows I collect sports memorabilia and cards. My office is pretty much full of 'stuff'.
ReplyDeleteIi bought a blaster today myself...Stadium Club...and I got zilch.
I totally own the fact that I collect cards. And all my old GFs know about it. But yeah, I do feel just a bit bashful having to buy them among all the normals out at Target.
ReplyDeleteI do have that voice echoing around in the back of my head too - however, that's why the good lord invented the self checkout :P
ReplyDeleteI want to be the sure-of-himself guy that does what he wants, but I must admit I either self-checkout, or before the store had those, picked the cashier I felt would be least judgey. Among friends though, I gladly tell them about particularly cool Cardinals cards I pull, or more often, about the in-person autographs I get.
ReplyDeleteI don't hide it. Especially when I'm the type who'll cut straight to the most interesting aspect of baseball card collecting to non-collectors, how to make money doing it. As well as the second-most interesting one, getting them autographed.
ReplyDeleteNo hiding here either. Proud to collect them. BTW, If you want to find a Judge, the Archives seems loaded.
ReplyDeleteNo guilt feelings here. What's there to be ashamed over? If anyone questioned me in an accusatory way, I'd simply point something they "still" bought (junk food, alcohol, lottery tickets, clothes they don't need, etc.). Who buys just necessities every time they go to a store?
ReplyDeleteWhen I buy cards at a Target, I always remind myself to say, 'the cards are gifts for someone else, they are for a child,' if even questioned by someone at the cash register.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought much about it when it comes to buying blaster boxes, there have been a couple of times when you get that one cashier who looks at you with judging eyes but I have never felt s of conscious of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm always self-conscious when shopping for cards. I've done things like stand in the card aisle conspicuously checking my phone as if I'm shopping from someone else's list (while people around me are probably thinking "You're not fooling anyone"). The new (in my area, anyway) self-serve registers at Target are a Godsend.
ReplyDeleteI'm less awkward about it than I used to be, but I'm nowhere near confident enough to pull it off like some of the other commenters. I think for me it stems from the fact that I'd never stopped collecting while all of my friends did, and I collected all throughout college when I lived in dread that anyone would find out, so I spent many years in drug stores and convenience stores trying to look inconspicuous... and those old habits are hard to shake.
Oh, and I also patronize a comic store a mile from where I work, so I often check to see if anyone I know is around before walking into that store. :-)
I don't really talk about it, particularly at work. Funnily enough, last week I was out in Little Rock meeting with a company I do business with and the business development person I was meeting mentioned that he collected sports memorabilia. We had a nice conversation about it. First time that has ever happened.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Fuji. Not a whole lot of people know about my card collecting. Those who do tend to laugh at it. So I don't ever talk about it. Thank goodness for the card blogging community!
ReplyDeletePeople will judge regardless.. I don't really care..
ReplyDeleteI used to hide my hobbies, but eventually I realized that no one else really cares that much about what I do. I've got comic book art on my walls at work, and I don't think anyone's ever judged me for it. The big boss in the office even stops by from time to time and tells me that I have the best art in the building. The only time I really feel weird is if I am picking up some comic books from a bookstore, and the covers feature provocative art.
ReplyDeleteI guess that was all about comic books. When it comes to baseball cards, I don't feel any shame about buying them or admitting to collecting them. On the rare occasion that someone gives me crap about it, I tell them about selling a Charlie Sheen autograph for hundreds of dollars, or the time I got a My Little Pony card for $5 and sold it for over $200. Of course I don't collect for the money, but that's a language that most people can understand.
I'm in the same boat Fuji. I don't really talk about collecting sumo wrestling cards. I'm not sure how you even start that conversation. Haha....Baseball is a little easier I would think.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel judged when I buy cards. If the worst thing I'm buying at Target is some cards I'm doing pretty well.
ReplyDeleteSurvey says...
ReplyDeleteProud Collectors - 12
Shy Collectors - 7
John Miller - I just picked up a complete set of Archives on eBay.
Laurens - Lol. Nice. Maybe I should prepare some excuses as well. Nah... I get way too nervous when I lie. It'd be awkward and obvious.
shlabotnikreport - You made a good point. Outside of my new card collecting friends that I've made through shows and this blog... none of my friends who used to collect... still collect.
carlsonjok - Nice. Future card show buddy?
RAZ - You sold a My Little Pony card for over $200? Wow. Congratulations. I'd brag about that too.