Baseball fan or just a collector?

[bk400]

Are you a baseball fan and a card collector or just a card collector?

[SyrNy1960]

Originally Posted by bk400

Are you a baseball fan or just a collector of baseball cards?

Diehard baseball fan and collector!

[BioCRN]

Both...also needs a 3rd option..."I sell baseball cards because people buy baseball cards."

There are some extremely knowledgeable people in the hobby that collect green pieces of paper rather than pictures of baseball dudes on paper.

Nothing wrong with that. Some of the more ambitious ones dig up cards from people that ordinarily wouldn't properly be brought to market.

[Balticfox]

I'm a baseball fan but that's not why I collect Baseball cards. I collect Baseball cards because I collect cards. I have no interest in acquiring any of the other ephemera associated with the game, i.e autographs, record setting baseballs, game used jerseys, etc.

[z28jd]

I feel like my answer could be different soon as I lose more interest in current baseball. Don't read any longer if you don't want to hear a rant based on inside knowledge of the game and current coaching...

I covered minor league baseball for years and talked a lot to the players throughout their career. Around 2017-18, there was a real change in the mindset of the coaching to get as much velocity as possible from the pitchers and combat it with swinging as hard as possible, setting up the game we see now, which is a game of a few high points spread throughout game and not much else. They are trending towards a nine-inning game of home run derby.

The skill level in the minors in 2024 is a far cry from how good it was in 2019 and before. I covered games in person for three levels of play (Low-A, High-A, Double-A) and you pretty much know what a normal Double-A game looks like. What to expect when you watch each level. I watched a lot of Low-A games in 2022-23 and they were worse skilled than the rookie league games just 4-5 years earlier. This year watching Double-A games felt like I was seeing Low-A players at work. This all-or-nothing approach to throwing hard and swinging hard is leading to an awful brand of baseball for the future.

I don't think anyone who has watched baseball for 20+ years thinks the MLB game you're seeing today is the best ever. It clearly isn't. That's partially due to the fact that they use so many big league players each year now (average of almost 1,500 over the last four years), coupled with the dying off of baseball as a participation sport for youth in the U.S. compared to the past. It's also the newer mindset of coaching. Sure these guys throw hard, but that makes the coaching of hitters even worse. The focus on power through swing speed and launch angle. That's going to lead to much worse contact rates than taking a direct path to the ball and shortening your swing, yet the mindset has not changed one ounce. It also won't change because MLB is completely fine with the product on the field now.

I quickly lose interest in current games if my team isn't involved, and even if they are involved, watching the lack of baseball skills and smarts is annoying to say the least. I can't see me remaining a current baseball fan for much longer.

HOWEVER, I have the same love for baseball history that I have always had since a little kid. Yesterday I was schoolgirl giddy over finding the first picture I've ever seen of a guy who played six big league games over a nine-year span. Jim Gray played three separate seasons for the Pirates franchise. I wrote about him in one of my books and spent a lot of time trying to find even a drawing of him. Happiest I've been in a long time over a piece of baseball research.

[BobbyStrawberry]

I'm still a baseball fan despite the worst atrocity ever inflicted on the game: the ZOMBIE RUNNER.

[Rhotchkiss]

I haven’t been a real baseball fan since the early 1990’s. But I am a rabid fan of baseball cards, and have been my whole life.

[Exhibitman]

I would no longer characterize myself as an active fan. I still enjoy attending games with friends, but I haven't really sat through a game on TV since the Yankees teams of the late 1990s in the Series, except at a party. If the Dodgers can get into the Series, I would watch that; I kind of follow the team in the local news. Nothing against the players, not a slam on their skills, I've just gradually lost interest in most spectator sports and events (I don't sit through the Oscars anymore, either; it used to be a viewing party for my family). I'm more inclined to want to attend a sporting event that is also a spectacle beyond the actual contest; for example, I would love to attend the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo.

Collecting cards, on the other hand, are something I am probably going to do until I am dead.

[Eric72]

I am, and always have been, a fan of baseball.

Like nearly everything in life, the game continually goes through changes. As a result, baseball is no longer identical to the game I grew up with. However, it still strongly resembles what I played as a youngster. Similarly, my childhood game was a bit different than my father's...and his father's...and so on.

To me, that's one of baseball's most endearing attributes. No matter how much it (and the world at large) happens to change throughout the decades, baseball has an unchanged core identity. Across generations, we can discuss to game with our parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren. We can talk about the game with friends and strangers, aged five to a hundred and five.

As silly as it may seem to include them all in the same conversation, we can discuss Ted Williams, Mitch Williams, and the San Diego Chicken. We can talk about multi-purpose stadiums, Yankee Stadium, and Sick's Stadium. We can discuss a range of topics from a minute ago to a century ago and beyond.

We can do all of this and more because of baseball.

Am I a fan? Absolutely.

[jingram058]

I collect and I am a fan. But I am a fan of the game as it was before all of the idiotic rules changes and big money ruined it. And that is why I collect old radio and TV broadcasts from the time before that happened.

[Johnny630]

Love them both!!

[HOF_Forever]

I'm a huge fan of the game. I still play in a men's league. Playing will always be most important to me, followed by researching the history of the game and following the Cleveland baseball team. Cards bridge the gap across generations of the game and intersect nicely with collecting. I mostly stick with cards because I don't have the money or space for an extensive game used memorabilia collection.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by z28jd

Around 2017-18, there was a real change in the mindset of the coaching to get as much velocity as possible from the pitchers and combat it with swinging as hard as possible, setting up the game we see now, which is a game of a few high points spread throughout game and not much else. They are trending towards a nine-inning game of home run derby.

Meanwhile my interests have evolved in completely the opposite direction. I've acquired an increasing fascination/interest since the turn of the century in knuckleball pitchers and base stealers. Therefore I fully share your distaste and antipathy for how the game has evolved.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

I'm still a baseball fan despite the worst atrocity ever inflicted on the game: the ZOMBIE RUNNER.

You're very wrong. It's the DH that's the worst atrocity because it flies in the face of the underlying premise of the game.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Balticfox

You're very wrong. It's the DH that's the worst atrocity because it flies in the face of the underlying premise of the game.

And the zombie runner doesn't? One of the premises of baseball is that you have to reach base before you can score...(and that when you are out, you don't get magically brought back from the dead in the next inning.)

[Balticfox]

The DH is still worse because it's a travesty that starts in the very first inning so we're subjected to it in every game. Plus the DH has been around for several decades now so the total annoyance factor has had the time to really accumulate.

But in no way am I in favour of the abomination of zombie runners. MLB and TV executives may be opposed to twenty inning games but I'm not. I rather like seeing players have to earn their salaries.

And of course I despise shoot outs being used to decide hockey games. That's just not real hockey.

[perezfan]

When you're a Reds fan, it's hard to be both. Many many lean years have turned me into 80% collector/20% fan. But if the Reds could get it together or if Manfred were to leave, I suppose I could get back to 50/50.

[Yoda]

For better or worse, Ohtani certainly has jacked up interest in the DH this season.

[JollyElm]

Baseball card collecting is a nostalgic man's game. That is a huge part of it for me.

As an old man yelling at sky (there are no clouds in California), the game of baseball has changed so much that it is almost unrecognizable. I can get past the ridiculous celebratory pageantry of home run trots, but it's the smaller things that annoy the living h*ll out of me.

One example:
In watching my Mets in the playoffs, every single pitch is ridiculously framed by the catcher. EVERY PITCH. Their mitts are never still, and are always in motion!!! The pitch comes in, and with a quick wrist movement, he obviously and fraudulently moves it inside the strike zone.
A ball is two feet outside, NO PROBLEM!! A snap of a wrist flip and it's in the strike zone...held there waiting for the ump to call it a strike (thankfully, it doesn't ever seem to falsely sway him).

I want just one umpire to say to a manager, "Every time your catcher tries to frame the plate, I will call it a ball. If his mitt moves after the ball hits it...BALL!!!"

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by Eric72

I am, and always have been, a fan of baseball.

Like nearly everything in life, the game continually goes through changes. As a result, baseball is no longer identical to the game I grew up with. However, it still strongly resembles what I played as a youngster. Similarly, my childhood game was a bit different than my father's...and his father's...and so on.

To me, that's one of baseball's most endearing attributes. No matter how much it (and the world at large) happens to change throughout the decades, baseball has an unchanged core identity. Across generations, we can discuss to game with our parents, children, grandparents, and grandchildren. We can talk about the game with friends and strangers, aged five to a hundred and five.

As silly as it may seem to include them all in the same conversation, we can discuss Ted Williams, Mitch Williams, and the San Diego Chicken. We can talk about multi-purpose stadiums, Yankee Stadium, and Sick's Stadium. We can discuss a range of topics from a minute ago to a century ago and beyond.

We can do all of this and more because of baseball.

Am I a fan? Absolutely.

Did you try out for the James Earl Jones role in 'Field of Dreams'?

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by perezfan

When you're a Reds fan, it's hard to be both. Many many lean years have turned me into 80% collector/20% fan. But if the Reds could get it together or if Manfred were to leave, I suppose I could get back to 50/50.

Preach it brother; the last time the Reds were in the Series, I was a year out of college. I'm now retired.

Still a fan, though my ability to sit through a three hour game on TV is not what it used to be.

[bmattioli]

In order:

Redsox

Baseball

Cards

[bk400]

For awhile, I was turned off by new school baseball for the reasons that others already articulated. When I got back into the card hobby over the past couple years, I felt like an old man reading through a stack of old newspaper clippings, wistfully pining for the good old days. So I forced myself to start following the game itself, and I have to say that I've come to really enjoy baseball again. And that enjoyment has also fortified my interest in cards -- even some modern ones!

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Baseball history fan.... I lost complete interest in the modern game over 30 years ago. You couldn't drag me to a game.

[mordecaibrown1]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

I haven’t been a real baseball fan since the early 1990’s. But I am a rabid fan of baseball cards, and have been my whole life.

+1

[Leon]

Originally Posted by mordecaibrown1

+1

+2...I think I was out at the 1994 strike.

Only cards for me though I like the game of baseball and might go back to softball at some point.
I figured it would be even more lopsided in the poll though.

.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Yeah, I was continually losing interest in the 4 years leading up to the strike, then that's what truly ended it for me.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by Leon

Only cards for me though I like the game of baseball and might go back to softball at some point.

I keep wondering how a MLB team would fare in a fast-pitch softball game against a champion caliber softball team. Even if you gave the MLB team a crackerjack softball pitcher, I think the MLB team would be in trouble. They'd struggle at the plate for several games because their judgement and timing would be thrown off completely with the pitches coming from a different release point and angle.

[Hankphenom]

Haven't been much of a fan since my D.C. team was stolen almost 65 years ago, followed by a terrible expansion franchise, then no team for 34 years followed by a totally depleted franchise. Of course, the great Nationals teams of 2012-2119 revived my interest, and this year, mostly due to the pitch clock, I have enjoyed watching the playoffs even though my team's not in it. I do agree with most, however, that almost all the new rules other than that are some of the dumbest anybody could ever have conceived of, starting with the DH, of course, and devolving in stupidity from there.

[Casey2296]

-
Put me down for both, big Baseball Fan, even though some recent changes are kind of dumb I still get excited to watch a good game, especially the playoffs.

My card focus is 1909-1914 which is my favorite era of baseball, that and the 60's for the sheer amount of talent in that era.

And a card for the thread.
-

[bk400]

And here's a card from me -- overpaid for this one, but it's probably my favorite card.

[Balticfox]

Originally Posted by hankphenom

...and this year, mostly due to the pitch clock, i have enjoyed watching the playoffs even though my team's not in it. I do agree with most, however, that almost all the new rules other than that are some of the dumbest anybody could ever have conceived of, starting with the dh, of course, and devolving in stupidity from there.

+1

[LEHR]

I voted "Just a card collector", although that's not entirely true.

I have been an avid sports fan and card collector since I was 6 years old; but as rules change, favorite players have retired, and prices skyrocket for the live experience I find myself following modern sports less and less. The last NBA game my wife and I went to I spent over $600.00 for two decent lower level tickets, arena concession food, and parking. It doesn't matter if I can easily afford it that price is obscene to me for a couple hours of entertainment watching multi-millionaires play a game. I still collect vintage and enjoy the history of the games, but I find myself collecting a lot of things other than sports cards these days.

I'm sure I'll collect something as long as I'm breathing. It just may not continue to be sports cards.

[Zach Wheat]

Both; I am a fan as well as a collector. I likely always will be in both camps. Agree about the comments regarding the zombie runners....never understood that one.

[ChiefBeef]

Fan and collector.

Agree with the comments about too much money and the zombie runner.

The other new rules I like, especially pitch clock. Moves game along, but am seeing creative ways to take advantage of the clock too. If you look seriously at the thought process of how to win a game, and put your thoughts up against the current manager(s), the game hasn't changed too much when it is playoff time. Holds my interest. Maybe they should shorten the season back to 154 though.

[benedini]

Huge baseball fan until the early 90's strike. Now just a collector and fan of the history of the game. Always much to learn.

[powell_am]

Sports fan, collector, history nerd. Although I like baseball (and sold cokes at Busch stadium in college), I am a much bigger football fan. But love collecting vintage baseball cards because of the history.

[UKCardGuy]

I'm both but like many others I spend more time watching old baseball games on YouTube than I do watching live games until the post season starts

As I'm in the UK game highlights work much better for me anyhow.

[raulus]

The last decade has been rough as a baseball fan.

At the moment, given the continued dominance of the worthless Dodgers, the sense of gluckschmerz is strong for me, and seems to have little or no possibility of abating anytime soon.

But it could turn to schadenfreude (at least for this year) at any moment, if the Mets can get it together!

[OhioLawyerF5]

I watch as close to 162 Reds games per season as I can. Baseball is my true passion, and collecting is a way to enjoy the sport even more while at the same time connecting me with my childhood.

[Chris-Counts]

I used to assume that anyone who would collect cards loves the game of baseball and follows it with great devotion — like me. But I've met a couple collectors over the years who seem to have little interest in the game, but still collect cards. One has a beautiful type card set, while the other collects T206 portraits, and even showed me a Plank.

[BioCRN]

I hate the Yankees. I don't care about Cleveland.

I feel bad for people not being a fan of the current game and missing this game right now.

[Chris-Counts]

I was in heaven over the Tigers' run until Cleveland beat 'em. Now I'm rooting for Cleveland, and I'm hoping they can keep it going against the dreaded Death Star. Tonight's game was a beauty.

Originally Posted by BioCRN

I hate the Yankees. I don't care about Cleveland.

I feel bad for people not being a fan of the current game and missing this game right now.

[BioCRN]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I was in heaven over the Tigers' run until Cleveland beat 'em. Now I'm rooting for Cleveland, and I'm hoping they can keep it going against the dreaded Death Star. Tonight's game was a beauty.

Tigers had 1 guy hit more than 20 HR (24).

They only had 2 regulars with a .330+ ob% and 3 guys hitting better than .250 avg, the highest .262.

They had 1 starting pitcher throw more than 112.1ip and they would have had a second if they didn't trade him away mid-season.

10 games over .500 and almost made it to the ALCS, losing a 3-2 series. I dunno how, but they got that far.

[whitehse]

Originally Posted by z28jd

I feel like my answer could be different soon as I lose more interest in current baseball. Don't read any longer if you don't want to hear a rant based on inside knowledge of the game and current coaching...

I covered minor league baseball for years and talked a lot to the players throughout their career. Around 2017-18, there was a real change in the mindset of the coaching to get as much velocity as possible from the pitchers and combat it with swinging as hard as possible, setting up the game we see now, which is a game of a few high points spread throughout game and not much else. They are trending towards a nine-inning game of home run derby.

The skill level in the minors in 2024 is a far cry from how good it was in 2019 and before. I covered games in person for three levels of play (Low-A, High-A, Double-A) and you pretty much know what a normal Double-A game looks like. What to expect when you watch each level. I watched a lot of Low-A games in 2022-23 and they were worse skilled than the rookie league games just 4-5 years earlier. This year watching Double-A games felt like I was seeing Low-A players at work. This all-or-nothing approach to throwing hard and swinging hard is leading to an awful brand of baseball for the future.

I don't think anyone who has watched baseball for 20+ years thinks the MLB game you're seeing today is the best ever. It clearly isn't. That's partially due to the fact that they use so many big league players each year now (average of almost 1,500 over the last four years), coupled with the dying off of baseball as a participation sport for youth in the U.S. compared to the past. It's also the newer mindset of coaching. Sure these guys throw hard, but that makes the coaching of hitters even worse. The focus on power through swing speed and launch angle. That's going to lead to much worse contact rates than taking a direct path to the ball and shortening your swing, yet the mindset has not changed one ounce. It also won't change because MLB is completely fine with the product on the field now.

I quickly lose interest in current games if my team isn't involved, and even if they are involved, watching the lack of baseball skills and smarts is annoying to say the least. I can't see me remaining a current baseball fan for much longer.

HOWEVER, I have the same love for baseball history that I have always had since a little kid. Yesterday I was schoolgirl giddy over finding the first picture I've ever seen of a guy who played six big league games over a nine-year span. Jim Gray played three separate seasons for the Pirates franchise. I wrote about him in one of my books and spent a lot of time trying to find even a drawing of him. Happiest I've been in a long time over a piece of baseball research.

I think these sentiments just about describe EXACTLY how I feel. I am losing my love for the current game and solidify my love for the games history and more specifically, the time frame in which i grew up watching and falling in love with the game.

[sbfinley]

Love the game. I probably watch at least parts of ~200 games a season on TV. It helps that my wife and kids also love the game. If my wife’s Reds, my Cardinals, or my son’s Braves are on they are just as happy to watch that as any other TV show. Sunday nights are family game night and we’ll sit and watch Sunday Night Baseball and play board games or Spades. Over the past couple of years as our kids have become teens our house has also turned into a defacto hangout for both my son’s and daughter’s friends group since we’re on the centrally located in main neighborhood and it’s a 5-10 minute walk for 75% of the school. I’m pretty sure I feed more kids on a daily basis that aren’t mine then are mine… But the kids all know I have MLB.TV so I’ve noticed an uptick of kids knocking on the door asking if they can watch certain games during the summer.

[bk400]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

Love the game. I probably watch at least parts of ~200 games a season on TV. It helps that my wife and kids also love the game. If my wife’s Reds, my Cardinals, or my son’s Braves are on they are just as happy to watch that as any other TV show. Sunday nights are family game night and we’ll sit and watch Sunday Night Baseball and play board games or Spades. Over the past couple of years as our kids have become teens our house has also turned into a defacto hangout for both my son’s and daughter’s friends group since we’re on the centrally located in main neighborhood and it’s a 5-10 minute walk for 75% of the school. I’m pretty sure I feed more kids on a daily basis that aren’t mine then are mine… But the kids all know I have MLB.TV so I’ve noticed an uptick of kids knocking on the door asking if they can watch certain games during the summer.

You're a rich man, indeed. Well done.

[LEHR]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

Love the game. I probably watch at least parts of ~200 games a season on TV. It helps that my wife and kids also love the game. If my wife’s Reds, my Cardinals, or my son’s Braves are on they are just as happy to watch that as any other TV show. Sunday nights are family game night and we’ll sit and watch Sunday Night Baseball and play board games or Spades. Over the past couple of years as our kids have become teens our house has also turned into a defacto hangout for both my son’s and daughter’s friends group since we’re on the centrally located in main neighborhood and it’s a 5-10 minute walk for 75% of the school. I’m pretty sure I feed more kids on a daily basis that aren’t mine then are mine… But the kids all know I have MLB.TV so I’ve noticed an uptick of kids knocking on the door asking if they can watch certain games during the summer.

Great post. You've won the important game.
As a teen my wife had a best friend with great parents and their house was THE hangout for a lot of kids. My wife still mentions that at times 25+ years later.

[mortimer brewster]

Originally Posted by jingram058

I collect and I am a fan. But I am a fan of the game as it was before all of the idiotic rules changes and big money ruined it. And that is why I collect old radio and TV broadcasts from the time before that happened.

Same here. I traded old broadcasts with people all over the country before Youtube killed the hobby.

[Fred]

I'm going to have to guess that most people that collect baseball cards had to have liked the game at some point unless they're purely in it as a business.

It would just seem a bit odd (arbitrary) to just decide to collect baseball cards for no reason. I can see collectors losing interest in the game and continue to collect but in my mind, there had to be a reason to start collecting in the first place. Who knows, maybe tomorrow I'll wake up and decide it'd be fun to start collecting frog figurines, it'd probably be a lot cheaper.