Introduction

    Inevitably, a certain something gets lost in the translation from holding baseball cards in your hand and reading about them. Holding a baseball card is not just a tactile experience; it's a five-sense fun-time explosion for the whole brain. More than just a memory-jog for recognizing sport stars or a way to reconnect with your childhood heroes, baseball cards (and by extension all sports cards) are modern art miniatures, bite-size popular culture. Each pack of cards brings with it its own sensations (the squeal of ripping mylar, that New Card Smell), its own crest of expectations (who will you get?) and own heart-pumping excitement or gentle let-down. And always the yearn for more, please. Even if you aren't the slightest bit interested in sport or sports cards, it's hard not to feel a pang of discovery that's inherent when opening a pack. (I've been opening packs for 22 years and I still get that feeling.)

    So before I dive into commentary and nuance, I want to use this space as an introduction to cards, their place in sport, 'The Hobby' and how I'll address them as National Baseball Card Examiner. But first a word about who I am and where I'm coming from. For the past two and a half years I've been writing about baseball cards on my blog, aptly titled The Baseball Card Blog. Over its run, the site has blossomed into a premier resource for information about baseball cards, has helped launch a genre (collectors writing about cards) and has received acclaim from national online and print media in the process. I've written for Beckett.com (The Hobby's leading price guide) and have been a consultant for Topps (the card manufacturer that's synonymous with the words 'baseball card'). To top it off, I have a large collection of mostly crappy cards that permeate my idle thoughts, daydreams and outlook on life. They also take up space in all areas of my house.

    Let's begin. A baseball card is a small cardboard rectangle with a large image of a current or former baseball player on the front and his statistics and biographical information on the back. They not only provide a catalogue of players for a and historic statistical record for a given year, they are a huge psychological boost for the players themselves. It's proof you've really made it. Being on TV? That's a fleeting type of fame. Newspapers and magazines? Thrown out. And online sites are constantly updated. But your own personal baseball card that other people want to collect? Well, that's a forever type of fame.

    It used to be that if it was Spring Training and you were a major league player, you'd sign your Topps baseball card contract and the company would thank you with your choice of appliance from the company prize catalog. It was something a player looked forward to, and something Topps used to combat competition from other possible manufacturers. Now signing your contract is just something you do because everybody does it... well, unless you're Jason Varitek (2007 was the first year in a very long time, if ever, Tek appeared on a Topps card). The prize catalog has fallen by the wayside, but the appeal of getting on your own baseball card hasn't. (The card to the right is from the 1966 series Topps released in Venezuela.)

    OK, so by now you're probably wondering what 'The Hobby' is and why it's capitalized. The Hobby refers to the sports card and memorabilia industry, which has been in an economical nosedive since the middle Nineties. Some efforts have been made to stem the tide and 2007 and 2008 have been on the uptick, but plenty of changes must still be made (and yes, I have suggestions, which I won't get into now). In any case, The Hobby is a much warmer term, isn't it? I've always felt that it's called that so that people who don't know anything about the economics of the industry won't take it seriously. Plus it makes those involved feel more connected to the priorities of their childhood (without the "making money" part) and saves us (ahem, I mean them) the embarrassment of giving all their money to an "industry."

    So yes, I take this stuff seriously, probably a little more than I should. But someone has to, right? Besides commentary you won't find in hobby publications, I hope to bring a different side to card collecting. And though it's not the same as ripping open a pack and basking in the reflected glory yourself--at three or so posts a week, well, that's a lot of baseball card writing to sink your teeth into.
Topics: Baseball Cards , Baseball , Ben Henry , Introduction