A collecting theory: the wife test

[Peter_Spaeth]

I would immediately divorce any woman who did not know baseball better than that.

[MR RAREBACK]

Babe Ruth
Ichiro
Matsui
Darvish
Ohtani

[YazFenway08]

i met my beautiful bride at a baseball game…so she was up for the challenge. i asked her to quickly name 5 players

(1) hank aaron
(2) big Papi
(3) yaz
(4) jeter…but she strangely thought his first name was f**kin’, can’t imagine where she got that
(5) Pete Rose

bonus coverage…from my 16 year old daughter…

(1) ty cobb (school project)
(2) mookie betts (tennessee’s own)
(3) albert pujols
(4) mike trout
(5) dansby swanson (crush…and she’s a little bitter about him (a) getting married and (b) leaving the braves…in that order

interesting mix…i’m a little proud

[Tyruscobb]

No Mickey Mantle thus far?

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Tyruscobb

No Mickey Mantle thus far?

My mom would name Mantle. My wife would not.

[Eric72]

My wife was already a Phillies fan when we met nearly 20 years ago. If I used the “wife test” to shape my collection, it would have a decidedly hometown feel.

[DeanH3]

I got,

Babe Ruth
Jackie Robinson
Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Willie McCovey

I was expecting at least Mark McGwire or Jose Canseco since we grew up in the East Bay during the Bash Brother's heyday.

[Aaron Seefeldt]

I asked my wife to name every baseball player she could, these were the names and the order she gave:

1) Sammy Sosa
2) Robin Ventura
3) Frank Thomas
4) Babe Ruth
5) Ty Cobb
6) Hank Aaron
7) Mickey Mantle
8) Anthony Rizzo
9) Lou Gehrig
10) Alex Rodriguez
11) Jason Heyward
12) Ben Zobrist
13) Kris Bryant
14) Schwarber
15) Arietta
16) Kerry Wood
17) Mark Prior
18) Arnoldis Chapman
19) Ryne Sandberg
20) Honus Wagner
21) Cal Ripken

We’re lifelong lost Cub fans… she did really well!

[JimC]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I would immediately divorce any woman who did not know baseball better than that.

Nice flex, Peter. Here in North Carolina we have a one year waiting period so we can't divorce anyone immediately!

[Touch'EmAll]

My wife said:

Yogi Berra
Ichiro
Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa
Babe Ruth
Hank Aaron

Interesting to see all the replies.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by JimC

Nice flex, Peter. Here in North Carolina we have a one year waiting period so we can't divorce anyone immediately!

Separation then. No amount of other qualities could make up for not knowing baseball. Not knowing football, I could forgive, but we are talking about BASEBALL.

[sforaker]

My wife did great:

1) Babe Ruth
2) Joe DiMaggio
3) Mickey Mantle
4) Honus Wagner
5) Jackie Robinson
6) Lou Gehrig

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Separation then. No amount of other qualities could make up for not knowing baseball. Not knowing football, I could forgive, but we are talking about BASEBALL.

I'd hope you knew about the lack of baseball knowledge going into it.
Unless it was one of those "I did what?!" Vegas marriages....

[Exhibitman]

So, when you told your significant other about collecting cards? For me, it was kind of like confessing to having an addiction. Hoped she'd accept but expecting to be kicked to the curb.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by Exhibitman

So, when you told your significant other about collecting cards? For me, it was kind of like confessing to having an addiction. Hoped she'd accept but expecting to be kicked to the curb.

My collecting cards was sort of obvious. I had a smallish apartment, and boxes tucked away all over. Plus stacks I was sorting out on tables.

she actually surprised me and showed up to visit a day early. To get to see what my place was actually like... We were both a bit on the older side, and I was well past the "omg what will she think" phase, more like the "this is me and if you don't like it that might be a problem"

She was ok with the cards and other stuff. As long as I was ok with her books. (A whole new batch of new reading material! and free, and actually better than the local library... )

[scooter729]

I'm lucky to have a wife who really loves baseball.

Our 3rd date was to a Red Sox game in 2003. I didn't know about her love of baseball at this point. She started cheering when Bill Mueller was coming up to bat. I asked (probably obnoxiously), "What's up with Bill Mueller, you think he's hot or something?" She replied, "No, he's hitting like .326 and has over 40 doubles." I think I nearly dropped to a knee on the spot.

Many years later, I had the pleasure of getting to know Bill Mueller a bit. I shared this story with him. He suggested we FaceTime my wife right then. It gave her a shock and a thrill when he repeated the story to her!