I'm of mixed feelings on the modern game used cards. If it's a recent or current player I'm pretty much ok with it. The player can merely buy an extra, wear it for one inning, or if a bat use it for one at bat, and it's game used. No problem there.
But cutting up the older stuff just seems wrong, except in some special circumstances. I'll get to those later.
And I've been one of those people that could never afford much of anything game used. Much of the great stuff is still out of reach, but I can get the cheaper items. I used to look at the auctions and see articles or tv spots about some really great collections, and think ...Someday....
And I was able to pick up a few items by luck or knowledge or both.
Where will todays collectors get that sort of inspiration? What will they see as a goal to reach for? Will it be seen as worthwhile to learn about what a real piece of equipment should look like, or will that be seen as hopeless.
It works for cards too. It's very unlikely I'll ever own some of the really rare stuff, but I'm very glad there's people who can and do and notice the details about those cards.
The few times I'd think that cutting up something older would be if the item was really trashed to start with. Maybe a Cobb bat portion, like if he broke a bat and someone saved one of the pieces? Maybe not even then. Or maybe something like my Fenway seat. cut out very roughly in the early 70's remodel, it's got very uneven slats on one side. It really should be trimmed evenly, but then what to do with the roughly 6 and 8 inch pieces? Yeah, those could go into a card and I'd be ok with it.
Steve B
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