[nolemmings]

I don’t believe the Kendrick issue is necessarily one of wealth. While some claim that the have-nots should fully appreciate how the haves got where they are, that doesn’t mean all that much here, at least to me. I like Ken Kendrick–he is the owner of my local team who gives a lot to the fans and the community. His only grievous mistake this year is not using his supreme power to fire Matt Williams as third-base coach.

Still, I can agree with those who state that they are not wholly impressed with Kendrick’s collection, at least that part of it that was on display. It is impressive as a portfolio, no doubt, and as long as he’s happy with it, more power to him. However, I still see the argument that it does not contain anything particularly scarce, other than for being consistently high grade, which itself is largely a non-factor to many collectors. I am more impressed by the E107 set that was put together, for example. Although I do not collect T206, I can even appreciate a player back run or a nice grouping of scarce backs–something that almost certainly took a great deal of time and effort to accumulate regardless of cost. These things resonate more with me as a collector than the mere acquisition of pieces that appear for sale with some regularity.

Again, I don’t doubt Kendrick’s passion for the game and I think it’s extremely cool that he is a fellow collector, but I would much rather hear him talk of how hard it was to find that ‘14 CJ Pratt in nice shape, or how he’s still hunting for six more Carolina Brights commons to complete that back sub-set/set. Maybe a story about how he always liked that ‘54 Topps O’Brien brothers card or shunned buying Connie Mack All-Stars because they weren’t as nice as those Red backs in 1951. While a sterile display case can only convey so much of a person’s hobby involvement, I can’t help but believe that those kinds of intangibles would turn just as many heads.