[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

I certainly see the death knell coming. Whereas in my youth (during the 70's) we collected like crazy, always buying more cards with whatever nickels and dime we could rustle up. After we got our cards home and sorted everything into teams, the very first thing we'd do is trade with our friends, trying to get our favorite players and complete that year's set. Flipping cards was also the norm and yes, you'd put the scrubby players into your bicycle spokes to make that great noise. This is what summers were about and nobody, I mean NOBODY, cared about condition or centering. We would wrap our cards in rubber bands or put bunches of them in our back pockets.

Fast forward to today. A kid goes into a baseball card store, spends the money his mom or dad gave him on a ridiculously overpriced pack of cards. When he finds the ubiquitous insert, he immediately tilts it in the light, checking out the corners and what not and says to his friends, "This is definitely a 9, maybe a 9.5. Hand me that Beckett over there." Does he trade, flip or do anything else but care about the value of the card?? No frickin' way. And before anyone else even has a chance to touch that card, he has it in a soft sleeve and a top loader.

So it's tough to see how these kids will, as they grow older, develop an actual appreciation for the cards themselves. How they tie into the great game of baseball and the wonderment of their youth. They might as well just spend their money on gold instead, like William Devane is always yapping about in those commercials.

And another +1

Originally Posted by Leon

I don't care for MLB whatsoever but I love the game.

Agreed. I hate what MLB has evolved into. I would much rather watch paint dry than watch a MLB game.

Originally Posted by z28jd

If you want to help, buy some cheap box of cards and hand out packs during Halloween. You can buy a box of Donruss on ebay for as low as $10 and I'm sure other stuff from that era can be found around that same price or less. Give the kid cards that are 25+ years old, maybe you get them hooked on the hobby or their dad sees it and remembers collecting and gets back into it. Do your part. By reading this far, you agree to do this and if you don't, the penalty is a crease on your favorite card(non-negotiable).

Until you have some angry mom come knocking at your door wondering why you gave her kid 25 year old gum that made him/her sick