The Inaugural Blog Bat Around

Gents, this type of gathering of the minds has never really been attempted in our line of Blogging, and thanks to everyone, I definitely consider it a success. Blogs have always been the defacto source of opinion and commentary on the net, and just recently have they caught on with sports cards. Im happy they have.

When I first saw this idea on some of the other blogs I frequent, I was intrigued to get it going for the sports card community, mainly because its very tough to find eloquent and insightful commentary on a single topic without tons of "ur a homo" and "stop being an idiot" posts that you would get with the spurts of topics on a message board.

Also, with an open forum of commentary, we tend to get a lot of different perspectives from people who we may not encounter very often. Mario, Dayf and I may get tons of hits every day (Mario in particular), but for everyone of us, there are 10 who dont. Hopefully they will finally have a "mainstream" outlet here and on the future hosts of this tribal council.

Without further adieu, I will get on to the posts themselves. For those of you who have submitted, thank you, for those of you still working, please email me to get your link added as soon as possible. Remember, this is not a contest, and there is no winner, just a way to hear more voices in the fray. Please do your best to visit every link, I guarantee you it will be worth your while. I have not organized the links at any order, so please do not send me hate mail that yours is at the bottom, I just threw it together. Thanks, and lets begin.

Sports Cards Uncensored - Im not going to paraphrase my own post. Check out the others.

The Easy Life - Steve is a set collector who likes to build his babies from the packs he buys at local retail outlets, he has written a pretty good piece, and I would say I have to applaud him for sticking with it, mainly because of how difficult it is to build a set the way he does.

White Sox Cards - Most of you know this blog because he is a great promoter, but also because he has amassed a huge collection of a team that he loves. Check out his post to get a glimpse into the way that a White Sox collector can actually live with himself (just kidding, Twins still rule!).

Skating in Sand - Mr. Awkward Moment describes a lot of what new collectors go through when they come to/come back to the hobby, or what he likes to call "Overwhelmed." I think that is a perfect way to look at it.

Dinged Corners - Patricia has an awesome and unique blog and has an even more unique tag she has used for her habits: National Collector. Her, lucy and company have some really cool examples of their Asian player collection, Im sure that everyone will enjoy their explanation of a guy known for using a hankercheif on the mound. Weird in a cool way.


West Virginia Cards - Billy Suter talks about being a small town collector in his post, and I think that is a pretty tough existence in this hobby. Without a shop near him, its cool to see he has built up a gigantic 28K+ collection.

Paul's Random Stuff - Paul is a mets collector and an autograph collector, and I think he crosses over two spots that a lot of us are in, mainly collecting actual autographs and collecting one specific team, and then combining that into a nice collection. Its been a long time since the amazins and I feel his pain.

Cougar Cards - This post details one of the toughest types of collectors out there, someone who collects a college, rather than a certain pro team or pro player. What this means is a lot of prospecting and a lot of cross sport collecting. I give him props for pulling that off as well as he has.

Waxaholic - Captain Canuck is a newer type of set collector that has developed over the last few years, or the guy who gets tired with all the crap they put in a set to make sure that its an accomplishment when you are done. He is trying to live a non short print life in a short print world, good luck buddy.


Hawk to the Hall - Charlie has disappeared for a while, but comes back strong with his post on being a player collector of a retired star and being a team collector. Hopefully after this post, he can come back full strength.

Night Owl Cards - Night Owl is also a set collector and I got the anti-SP whiff from him too, he built his love off of Lou Thornton, and im sure Sweet Lou (I dont care if he isnt sweet, all Lou's are forever "Sweet Lous" to me), is proud. Night Owl is a guy I would love to sit down with and talk shop because he uses cards as a way to get in deep with the game. Learning is always key, especially in baseball.

Voice of the Collector - Two words: MAN CAVE. Awesome. Rob is a player collector with two kids, and Im sure a lot of you out there are in a similar position. He has to make choices that many make, and it was cool to see what his decisions have led to.

The Nennth Inning - This blog is really well designed and didnt hurt my eyes. Keep that in mind people. Either way, he is a player and team collector, and I know he has recently come into some money now that Lincecum has become Captain Firetosser for the NL. I identify with him quite a bit because my habits of collecting Twins and Mauer are similar to his with the Giants and Lincecum and company.

Need Mo' Morneau - The Morneau Monster needs more collectors and I was happy to see this blog come about. As the title of the blog suggests, he is not just a player collector, but a unique one. He is one of the collectors that collects a player that is chosen because he is a beast rather than because he is from the guy's hometown team. I was interested to read this.

Cardboard Addiction - Joe is something I thought I would see more of, but really didnt. He is more of a general collector with a tinge of Red Sox nation running through his blood. I think he has taken on a tough task in trying to put together the 52 Topps Set with the Mantle, but I wish him the best of luck.

Tribe Cards - Another central division rival, another awesome post. We all know he is a team collector first and foremost, but damn, he is also pretty damn organized. That was cool to see, we definitely need more shelf pictures around the sphere. I know there are some crazy people out there when designing their display.

The Fleer Sticker Project - Im not really sure how to describe this post, but he collects comics and therefore he is cool in my book. I want to say that oddballs are the focus here, but really there is much more that I cant really put into better words than he did. I really like the Wacky Package thing though, very cool.

BoxBusters - Team collecting is the name of the game, and he was inspired by one of the best to start collecting cardinals. This site is very nicely put together, so please check out the cool posts on team collecting, and of course, box busting.

Sports. Cards. Life. - Paul is the chief graphic designer for SCU and he finally started up his own blog. He posts about being quality over quantity collector just like myself, and I think its pretty cool that people are using this topic as a jumping off point for their blog's beginnings.

Garvey Cey Russell Lopes - My man GCRL has documented his life as a collector of Steve Garvey, the Dodgers, and more specifically the infield of the Dodger team he grew up with. He has explained something that I love, mainly that he aint gonna be givin up any time soon, and that is awesome.

Stats On The Back - mmosley goes over his collection in a way that was very easy to read. He first describes what he was and then what he is, and even goes into a list of what he collects. He gives himself a C+, I think that is modest.

Green Monster - Star is a man who collects sets and dabbles in team collecting, and I think he does a very good job of laying out his habits. I think he is part of a good chunk of the blogosphere that does the same thing, and I am starting to wonder why the manufacturers dont cater to them more often if there are this many. Good post.

Cardboard Junkie - Dayf labels his post as 'silliness' and I dont really know what else to say. He has been around longer than most, and is a self proclaimed collector of everything there is, so I have to give it up for that. He also posts some weird dragon images, and other stuff, so yeah, wow on this one.


Achiever Card Blog - Motherscratcher and his little urban achievers have a post about turning into a set collector after originally being a second worlder. He talks about a dilemma that a lot of people have with cleaning out old cards, I know my dad had to do the same thing.

MLB Collector - SBJ is a set collector with a death wish - just messing with you - he busts blaster and boxes trying to build sets of stuff he likes. Another Mets fan too, I found that interesting that he was. What happens when you mix a blaster with a Pedro game used? A trip to target for underoos and another blaster. Thats what.

Fielders Choice - Dave has been a favorite blogger of mine for a while, mainly because he is one of the only second and first worlders out there. As he puts it, he loves Heritage and Goudey, but also Ballpark Collection and Sweet Spot. Good read here, found out some stuff I didnt know.

Treasure Never Buried - JV is known for being a very good writer and I agree. He says he doesnt know what type of collector he is because he collects too many different types of things, all tied to memories from his life. I say he is a memory lane collector, and its really cool to read about.

Trader's Cracks - Ryan is one of the only non sport collectors in the Bat Around, and although he isnt exclusively non sport, he has a pretty good collection of awesome stuff. If you dont have an A-Team card, you arent cool.

Olagato House - Nichole collects all sorts of paper related stuff, and after reading this, Im not sure what kind of card collector is described in this post but I do know that a pretty avid collector is the name of the game here. I think its pretty cool what this blog is all about.

Padrographs - Rod collects everything Padres including a busty collection of in person style and TTM autos. He even hints at an A-Z type collection, and that is really an awesome feat. I like reading about people who get in on the IP/TTM auto stuff because its something we can all have fun with, and we all appreciate.

Thoughts and Sox - Another sawks team collector, and I gotta say, it even looks like a region collector too because it seems like he has a big collection of everything New England. Its always cool to see the way people get into this biz, and I guess we can all thank different people for it. I liked his story, check it out.

Awesomely Bad Wax - Mike's site is the place to go for TTM autos and prospect reports and his post is great. I dont have enough time to post a paragraph on it, so go check it out.

Bdj610's Topps Card Blog - its cool that Jay Bee gets to close this beast out for now, because he is the only "brand collector" in this thing. I loved reading about how he got into things, and man 42,072 is quite robust and quite down to the single! Wow. Be sure to go read this and finish up your Bat Around.

I think thats about it, and I must say it was a marathon of awesomosity. You guys came through bigger than I ever thought possible, and what we have is a great thing here. I would also like to thank all of you who gave me a new site to read, I have to admit, I hadnt been to every blog on this list. After, however, I wish I had.

There were so many responses, Im sure I missed at least one. If I did, please let me know.

Who's up for hosting next? Haha.