Do you worry about our hobby dying?

[insccollectibles]

According to the players contracts, which in part is a reflection of advertising dollars the game is doing fine.

[ksabet]

Not sure about what will happen to baseball...but I don't worry about it.

[Sean]

I'm a lot more worried about me dying than I am about the hobby dying.

Baseball games televised nationally have been steadily losing ratings, but ratings for local broadcasts and attendance are up over the last 20 years.
I don't know which specific sets will do well, but vintage cards in general should continue to be popular, IMO.

[Ladder7]

Don't worry. ARod'son the way back!

[auggiedoggy]

Originally Posted by Sean

I'm a lot more worried about me dying than I am about the hobby dying.

Baseball games televised nationally have been steadily losing ratings, but ratings for local broadcasts and attendance are up over the last 20 years.
I don't know which specific sets will do well, but vintage cards in general should continue to be popular, IMO.

I don't worry about the hobby or myself dying. My wife might worry about me dying or at least, she's putting on a convincing act that she's concerned.

[The Nasty Nati]

I think the concern for the hobby is less in whether people are interested in baseball and more whether people are interested in collecting sports memorabilia, particularly cards.

I'm 28 and I'm definitely on the cusp age-wise where kids just stopped collecting cards. When I was young I collected baseball and basketball cards and that was in the mid to late 90's. Even then there wasn't a whole lot of kids in the neighborhood collecting. Then come around the early 2000's, no one was collecting cards. I have a younger brother and he collected because of me, but none of his friends did. If they did collect cards they were Pokemon.

I think to get people hooked on collecting you have to get them while they're young. And I just don't think hardly any kids born say after 1997 ever collected cards as a kid.

I may be wrong in this assumption though. But I'd be curious to see the age study in about 10 years. There's a fair amount of people in their 20's collecting because we are literally the last generation that collected when we were kids. Kids any younger just never grew up collecting cards, they grew up collecting Pokemon on their Gameboys. Card stores still use to be everywhere when I was a kid, now they're nowhere.

[bn2cardz]

I know my kids are interested. My 20month came in my room and woke me up this past Saturday saying "b-ball b-ball" he says this for both baseball and basketball. He was pointing at an auction catalog on my dresser. So I got it for him and he flipped the pages very happily. Since the catalog never got put back my 2 year old started looking through it.

Yet they are kids of a collector and they are too young to know if it will stick.

I do also teach Sunday School to the youth at my Church and 3 kids have mentioned being collectors (and are sure they have more than me and their collections are worth more, I just laugh).

[bigfanNY]

First to stay OT Baseball card Collecting as a hobby is definitely here to stay and has always and will continue to change and evolve. My son was born in 1986 and both my Dad and I put away stuff from that year when he was born. He started coming to shows around 1990 and was a full participant on both sides of the table by 1996. When he got to high school that participation dropped like a Rock.
But both he and My daughter two years younger really liked going to live games. They both have lots of friends who are big sport fans. Many of those friends see my stacks of cards and are drawn to them "Got any Griffey Rookies" is a common first sentence. Because 1989 UD was a big moment in baseball cards and that shockwave is still felt by a generation that has not yet fully embraced card collecting.
Will it be different for my grandkids YES... Will I like it as much NO but everything changes and when I am open I find enjoyment.
I did give away wax packs for Halloween a couple of times. First time in 1988 I gave away that years Topps wax packs and was the hero of the neighborhood. last time I had to include a piece of candy or I got a frown from kids. But their Dad's liked it and they will pass their love of cards along to those kids so we are OK.
PS 1986 Fleer Basketball and Topps football made up for worthless baseball vending and he made it through college just fine.