Personal Collecting History

[Mutton Chop Yaz]

Other than returning to my Diamond Stars set, I'm not certain where this leaves me. My collection feels satisfyingly complete. Modern cards don't appeal to me. They seem complicated and expensive, and watching players in real time through the eyes of an adult somehow diminishes the fun of collecting them for me. They're professionals doing something tangible, working hard to find miniscule advantages, not myths who towered over their contemporaries and whose feats can't be replicated. It's just not the same without the patina of history and a child's frame of reference.

I also don't plan to look beyond the titans already in my collection or seek out more or "better" versions of their cards. One nice example is enough. Maybe I'll change my tune. Maybe I won't be able to resist the call of the hunt. Maybe I'll decide I need a Lou Gehrig or a Cy Young or a Cap Anson. Maybe prices will crash and I'll be able to add or replace cards for practically nothing. Maybe my circumstances will change and I'll have to sell them. Maybe they'll become so valuable that it would be silly not to.

I do know this: as long as I have a collection, this card will be in it. I have it because I used to go to the same barbershop as Mr. Colavito. If you were a boy who liked baseball and left a card with the barber, Mr. Colavito would sign it. It has value only to me, and it's one of the only mementos of my youth that has followed me through the decades. Dinged corners, airbrushed hat, and Chief Wahoo aside, I can't imagine letting it go.

Cheers, and happy collecting.