baseball cards 101

[pauliedanger]

I haven't bought a pack of cards in years. Every once in a while I'll try to catch up and see what's going on. But with all the insert sets there seems to be, it's a little daunting. Especially since when I left the hobby, Donruss was still making baseball cards, and a pack rarely went for more than a buck, buck and a half a shot (and that included a dozen or so cards, and a stick of gum).

If I get back into cards & memorabilia. Where would you guys suggest I get started?

[EricDavis]

It depends entirely on what you are wanting out of collecting. Are you a player collector, or a team collector or just a general collecter? Do you appreciate cards of "unknown" types like you might find in packs of Topps Total and Upper Deck 40-Man sets? Or do you just want to open packs where you'll get cards of the top 20% of players and are more like to get GU and AU inserts?

[pauliedanger]

I tend to be a completist. I'm working on getting all the FD patches from my county (which is pretty difficult, since most aren't for sale). But I'm more of a general collector. Back in the day, I usually bought packs to build sets, and work on a couple players. But I also liked unusual stuff, like minor league team sets and foreign cards.

As far as memorabilia, I stuck mostly to programs, autographed balls & 8 x 10's. But I really like graphic design, so I may start doing these CIC's...

I'm really just looking for general advice. Like wiskey tango foxtrot are GU and AU's? And what are some of the better sites for card news & buying online?

[bbfirebird]

GU- Game used card. These cards actually have pieces of game-used jerseys, bats, gloves, pants, etc. They're about a 1"x1" square inserted into the card. The cards are about the thickness of 3 normal cards.

AU- Autographed card. Pretty self-explanatory I guess.

I'm really in the same boat as you though. I got into collecting back in 89, and kind of got out around 93-94. Now I'm kind of getting back into it, and there's just so much stuff out there it's overwhelming. Not to mention the fact that I've seen packs ranging from $2 for 12 cards to $80 for 2 cards.

[pauliedanger]

What in the crap kind of card goes 2 for $80?

[DaClyde]

Oh, they feature all the old gimmicks (UV coating, gold foil stamping, diecut edges) along with all the new gimmicks (GU/AU, multiple GU/AU on a single card, production runs limited to the likes of a single card, or maybe 5 or 10 cards...called numbered cards usually listed like 1/1, 1/5, 1/10, 1/100....rather than the hundreds of thousands from the early 90s, and calling a velvet-lined, wooden box with the brand burned into it a "pack").

Then they fill the "set" with cards of people like Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Thomas Jefferson and Clark Gable and charge a fortune for it. Welcome to the new hobby!

There are no packs for kids anymore.

[Mike D.]

There are no packs for kids anymore.

And yet, kids still find a way. On Easter, I was at my aunt's house....my cousin and her husband have two sons, ages 8 and 6. They both walked in the door with a handful of baseball cards.

They were nothing fancy, just a couple of those packs you get of 35 old commons at Walmart or Target, but they flipped through each one, reading the players name, the team, and position. Many of the cards were from WAAAY before their time....90% were 1986-1992, but they still enjoyed flipping through them. They listened and absorbed all the little tidbits I'd tell them about each player ("this guy won a world series", "this guy later played for the Red Sox", "this is his rookie card") and greatly enjoyed and were entertained by these cards, such lousy commons that most of us would throw them away if we found them in our collection.

I, personally, found that rather inspiring. This is, after all, a hobby. And I believe, just as baseball is so great a game that it will survive the fools who run it, baseball card collecting is too great a hobby to be destroyed by those that produce the product.

I plan to pick up two Red Sox team sets for the boys, and give them to them next time I see them with a binder for each of them full of pages, and a few packs of Topps or Fleer (at $1.99, they aren't the 45 cents of packs I bought as a kid, but they don't break the bank).

[bbfirebird]

What in the crap kind of card goes 2 for $80?

They were 2 autographed cards in each pack. Thing is, I'd hate to spend $80 on a pack and pull two semistar autographs that I could have bought on ebay for $5.

[bbfirebird]

What made collecting so much fun for me was that when my brother or cousin and I would get together to trade, we all knew what every card type was, what it looked like, and what the prized cards were. Everyone wanted a 1990 Leaf Frank Thomas, an 86 Donruss Canseco, an 89 Upper Deck Griffey, etc. We all knew exactly what those cards looked like. They were really little pieces of cardboard art- just like everyone can picture what the Mona Lisa looked like, everyone had a mental image of an 89 UD Griffey. Now there are so many different versions of those "prized" cards (even though the actual quantity produced is extremely low). A kid can call his friend and say "I got a Derek Jeter game used jersey card!" and his friend wouldn't be able to imagine what it looked like because there are 500 different Jeter jersey cards.

[vptpt]

Well said, bbfirebird. You should put that in a letter and send it to all the card companies.

[pauliedanger]

So I was looking through the Beckett website. And what I've gathered is this:

New baseball cards all look like old baseball cards.
Mickey Mantle, Corey Feldman and John Hancock are all on this year's checklist.
There are more insert cards than 'singles'.
Players must immediately turn over their bats and jerseys after a game to Topps.
You can't get more than ten cards in a pack.

So for the guys that were collecting back in the day like me. What keeps you in it? It really doesn't seem like fun anymore.

[Mike D.]

So I was looking through the Beckett website. And what I've gathered is this:

New baseball cards all look like old baseball cards.
Mickey Mantle, Corey Feldman and John Hancock are all on this year's checklist.
There are more insert cards than 'singles'.
Players must immediately turn over their bats and jerseys after a game to Topps.
You can't get more than ten cards in a pack.

So for the guys that were collecting back in the day like me. What keeps you in it? It really doesn't seem like fun anymore.

Other than a few packs here and there to see what's out there, and a few trades for players/cards I like, I don't buy a lot of new stuff.

I focus on older stuff...either singles, unopened packs, or complete sets. For example, I'm working on getting acquiring every major rookie card of the 1970's and 1980's.

[bbfirebird]

So for the guys that were collecting back in the day like me. What keeps you in it? It really doesn't seem like fun anymore.

I still typically collect the old stuff. When I was in high school in '96, and didn't care anymore about cards, I sold all my baseball cards to a friend. So now I'm going back and kind of re-discovering all the old stuff I used to collect. Now I can get full boxes on ebay for cheaper than I could have back then. Now it's more for fun and nostalgia than it was back then.

[pauliedanger]

That's a couple years after I got out. We had to sell a couple of my prized possessions. 1920 A's team ball (with Jimmy Foxx on the sweet spot) and a 1927 Yankees team ball. The rest of my 'investment' cards and autographs are still around, but a lot of my sets were wrecked when the basement flooded a couple years ago.

[DaClyde]

So for the guys that were collecting back in the day like me. What keeps you in it? It really doesn't seem like fun anymore.

I'm basically collecting as if it is still 1994. Aside from pushing ahead with my Dave Winfield and Matt Williams collections, 90% of what I've picked up in the last year since I started collecting again has been stuff I would've bought back then. And now, since the hobby collapse, almost all of it is as cheap or cheaper than it was back then.

[TigersFanB406]

The sports card market is way too confusing now. I think one would have to be insane to collect in hopes of making a profit later on, but just to collect for fun is a huge undertaking.

I think I am going to try and collect every baseball and football set (or at least my teams) from the year I was born. Then as many as I can for following years. I miss the old simple days...:hp

[bailiff]

I completely disagree about the market being insane. I started collecting in 1983, so I know a little bit about collecting. First of all, you've got to narrow down what you are collecting. It's not a set collectors market anymore. I love it. I have many more options than just getting the boring Topps, Fleer or Donruss product.

[Mike D.]

I completely disagree about the market being insane. I started collecting in 1983, so I know a little bit about collecting. First of all, you've got to narrow down what you are collecting. It's not a set collectors market anymore. I love it. I have many more options than just getting the boring Topps, Fleer or Donruss product.

I think there are a few too many sets produced these days, but I do agree that having more choices is a very nice thing. For example, I bought a pack of the new 2007 Topps, and think they're boring and uninspiring. Back in the day, that'd knock out 1/3 of my options for the whole year. Now, I have many other options for what to buy.

You just can't be a completist anymore. You can't say "I want every baseball card produced this year". You have to pick and choose what you want to collect, and then go find it.

[TigersFanB406]

I completely disagree about the market being insane. I started collecting in 1983, so I know a little bit about collecting. First of all, you've got to narrow down what you are collecting. It's not a set collectors market anymore. I love it. I have many more options than just getting the boring Topps, Fleer or Donruss product.

Well, I don't think the market is insane. I think it's confusing because I'm just getting into it. You definitely know a lot more than I do. I think the market is confusing and I believe I would be insane to try and collect to make a profit. But I don't want to collect to make a profit anyways; I just want to collect and pass it down to my kids if I ever have any.

How come it's not a set collector's market anymore? What are some of the options that you have?

[TigersFanB406]

I think there are a few too many sets produced these days, but I do agree that having more choices is a very nice thing. For example, I bought a pack of the new 2007 Topps, and think they're boring and uninspiring. Back in the day, that'd knock out 1/3 of my options for the whole year. Now, I have many other options for what to buy.

You just can't be a completist anymore. You can't say "I want every baseball card produced this year". You have to pick and choose what you want to collect, and then go find it.

How do you do that? Does that just mean picking certain players or teams or what?

[BoSoxNation]

Yeah it is very hard to complete all cards produced but what I do is collect every Topps baseball card produced

[Mike D.]

How do you do that? Does that just mean picking certain players or teams or what?

Yeah, a certain team, a certain player or players, a certain "type" of card or player (ex. game used of hall of famers, future hall of famers, rookie cards, etc) or pick 1-2 sets from a year and try to complete them. Some have crazy short prints, but some are still buildable.

Basically, you have choices, you just have to decide what appeals to you and fits in your budget, and go for it. It's a hobby, so do what you enjoy!

[19th Century Indiana Jones]

Whether you collect a player or a team, you MUST have a theme, a focus. Otherwise, your collection may grow haphazardly with a bunch of items that you really don't want in the first place.

[Sean Casey]

They were 2 autographed cards in each pack. Thing is, I'd hate to spend $80 on a pack and pull two semistar autographs that I could have bought on ebay for $5.

Or, for the price of two stamps, you have a chance of getting a common card of that player signed through the mail.

[Richmond Hill Phoenix]

I completely disagree about the market being insane. I started collecting in 1983, so I know a little bit about collecting. First of all, you've got to narrow down what you are collecting. It's not a set collectors market anymore. I love it. I have many more options than just getting the boring Topps, Fleer or Donruss product.I never really was active in collecting, but I was wondering this. Is there still a basic set produced? Like, just a "Topps 2007" set that has nothing too special in it? That is what I would be interested in collecting.

[bailiff]

Topps has an "opening day" set that sells for around a buck. I believe that UD has a set for about a buck for 6 cards.

[bryanspellman]

There are several reasonable packs available from all the companies. There are also the $120 pack with 10 cards in it.

Depending on what you want to collect you can find the cards...

Fleer/Upper Deck should be about 99 cents at walmart and Topps has 1.29 pack for series one

[EricDavis]

I think that with the market the way it is a collector can view the market however they wish to and they can find certain sets that fit their needs. I don't know why people have problems with variety and prices. Because you can find cheap, new cards easily. And if there's too much variety just ignore certain products. I mean everyone already ignores Pacific cards. Why not ignore something else also? (The Pacific part was kind of a joke... but no the principle)

[BoofBonser26]

So I was looking through the Beckett website. And what I've gathered is this:

New baseball cards all look like old baseball cards.
Mickey Mantle, Corey Feldman and John Hancock are all on this year's checklist.
There are more insert cards than 'singles'.
Players must immediately turn over their bats and jerseys after a game to Topps.
You can't get more than ten cards in a pack.

So for the guys that were collecting back in the day like me. What keeps you in it? It really doesn't seem like fun anymore.
It's hard, but you can have fun. I'm 18 with no income and I find ways to get cards. (that are legal ;)

Pick a normal set. They're still out there. Try 2007 Fleer. Not many inserts, a nice non-glossy, simple card, and with only 400 cards in the set, you'll mostly get players you've heard of.

And you can buy a pack of 12 2007 Topps cards for $2 at Wal-Mart.

To the person who said there are no cards for kids: there are, they're just hard to find. The industry is moving back in the right direction with the 20-something sets a year limit. It's still a loooooooooooooong way away, but getting there.

I also recommend Topps Total when it comes out if you want cheaper cards (but the design usually sucks)

[BoofBonser26]

I've seen these prices at Wal-Mart:

1. 2007 Fleer - 10 cards/pack $1.50
2. 2007 Fleer - 52 cards/rack pack $5
3. 2007 Topps - 12 cards/pack $2
4. 2007 Upper Deck First Pitch - 10 cards/pack $1

[rugbyfreak]

I never really was active in collecting, but I was wondering this. Is there still a basic set produced? Like, just a "Topps 2007" set that has nothing too special in it? That is what I would be interested in collecting.

That's what I collect: Topps "base" sets. Every year, they produce one with that label, and it's their biggest (these days, 700-800 cards). In early summer, they come out with the "Update" set, which puts everyone on their proper team, if that changed from the base set. It was begun in '74, and for years was known as the "Traded" set. So I collect them every year, too.

Basically, I'm only a "vintage" collector (pre-'74), mainly of Topps, but also of interesting side sets, back from the days before '81 when only Topps could depict current players, but other companies would do "alltime greats", stuff like that. My exception to vintage is that every year I will get the Topps base set.

My primary goal to to get every complete Topps set ever made ('51 to the present). I have nine years left where I don't have either the whole set or damn close. Most of these are from the '50s, which, as complete sets, are way out of my price range.

So were most of the '60s sets, for that matter, but the way I got most of those was to buy "near sets" from collectors on ebay (a great site). In general, I look for 90% or more, then I have the fun of collecting the remaining singles like the old days--one at a time.

I'm flexible, though. If a guy is offering 80-something percent, but many of the stars and HOFers are in there, I'll do it, since filling those guys individually is very pricey, too. On the other hand, I've seen guys offering as much as 95% of an old set, but I check the list and ALL of the key cards have been plucked. I won't do that, either, not only because I think it's a cheesy move, but a quick calculation tells me that obtaining those 5% will cost me way more than the other 95%. Doesn't make sense.

Don't get me wrong. Even though I'm not a seller myself (I only buy, trade or give away for free) I fully understand and support the right of the dealer to do what's best for him. And one common move is to "break up" old sets and sell the HOFers separately, since very few singles in this business fetch a good price. It's good business sense.

But--in my opinion only--the best fair play move is to strike a balance. If you're selling a vintage set, by all means, pluck out Mantle, Mays, etc., for a separate sale. And maybe remove an entire sub-set (World Series, AS, team photos), since these, when offered complete, are of great interest to collectors (including me).

But if you pluck every last major star, forget about being bad form--it's bad business. I've tried to explain this to countless greedy sellers, and the ones who are prone to it never change.

Let's say a guy is offering a '58 Topps set, 90-something % complete, but a quick check of his list (a requirement for me) shows that the cards being offered amount to the Benchwarmer's Special. With a day or two to go in the bidding, response has been tepic, and the top bid is around $400. I tell the guy: Connect the dots. That set is worth thousands complete, or near-complete, if you had not been so greedy and taken all the noteworthy cards out. If you had left a reasonable number of them in, collectors like myself would go to war over it. So you're cheating us--and yourself.

I always put it in their terms, not mine. What's that they say on Wall St.? Bulls eat and pigs get slaughtered!

But what do I know? I'm just a geeky collector who never complains about price, and does not collect for condition (so sellers will never get that whiny post-mortem email from me, saying, you call these EX-NMT?!)

I'm generally easy to please. Just meet me somewhere near half-way.

The mass is ended, go in peace.

[EricDavis]

I actually read all that and I'm not a set collector but I liked your take on the what you talked about. Good essay.