The Blog Bat Around Returns With a Vengence

After a week of deliberating and posting, here is the latest blog bat around. This time, the stakes were a little higher considering that the blogs actually had to get on to ebay with a time limit, but I think everyone's turned out awesome. Even I will be the first to admit that this one wasn’t easy, especially due to how much money was actually available to "spend." As always there were a few that were off the wall, but those are never discouraged with a forum like this.

This Bat Around's Topic:

Remember those days on Nickelodeon where they would hold contests for their version of a kids' ultimate shopping spree? They would let the winner loose in a Toys R Us for however long and let them keep what they could fit in the cart, right? Well, if you were given $50,000 and 15 minutes on ebay, what cards/memorabilia would you buy with the money? Break it down card by card, and give us a price and a reason for what you are buying. Not everyone would go out there and buy a Joe Jackson cracker jack, but some people would. So, with that, what would you spend the mother lode on? Happy buying.

With that, here is the list of blogs that participated and the links to their posts. Each of these sites is great and I would encourage you to start following as many of them as you can stomach in one day. Each blog is unique enough to provide a different perspective on the hobby, and I think that is the main reason why the card blogger network is so fun to be a part of. There will be more opportunities like this as the months move forward, and if you havent started your own place to get your own viewpoints out there, now is your chance. If I forgot to include yours, or you havent gotten it done, please post in the comments here and I will fix it right away.

Sports Cards Uncensored - My Auto-Riffic Shopping Spree

Wax Wombat - If I Had 50,000 Smackers

White Sox Cards - The Ultimate Ebay Shopping Spree

Paul's Random Stuff - Hypothetical Ultimate Shopping Spree

Great Sports Name HOF - The Ultimate Shopping Spree

First and Goal - 50,000 Shopping Spree

Baseball Cards Come To Life - The 50,000 Challenge

Balk Four - 50K in 15 mins

Voice of the Collector - My 50K Shopping Spree

Dodgers Blue Heaven - Bat Around Shopping Spree

Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius - 50K is Burning a Hole

Mark's Ephemera - Blog Bat Around

Sports Card Info - My 50,000 eBay Loot

Sports Card Design - Shopping Spree

Padrographs - My Shopping Cart

Dan's Other World - 50k, 15 mins and Two Blueberry Muffins

Priceless Pursuit - 50,000 on eBay

Shot Not Taken - The Ultimate Shopping Spree

Emerald City Diamond Gems - Blog Bat Around

My Cardfolio - 50K and 15 min eBay Shopping Spree

BABenny's Baseball Card Buffet - If I had 50000 Dollars

Grand Cards - My 50K eBay Shopping Spree

Wrigley Wax - Im Going Shopping

Cardboard Junkie - REA Shopping Spree

Field Level View - Can I Spend 50K in 15 mins?

bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog - If I Had 50K, Id Buy...

Play At The Plate - Ebay Shopping Spree
Thoughts and Sox - Spending 50K

Drop the Gloves - BBA: Vintage Hockey Edition

Stale Gum - Spending 50 Large

Thanks to everyone who participated, you guys all did a great job. Next time I think I may do a topic that lends more to commentary on the hobby, but I will take suggestions. Also, if you want to host a future one down the road, shoot me an email and we can work it out. If you havent posted yet, dont worry, I can always add you later.

Blog Bat Around - My Auto-riffic Shopping Spree

For this Blog Bat Around I had a ton of fun with my shopping spree on eBay. I basically ran through as many big named autographs that I wanted, picked the one I liked, and moved on as quickly as possible. 15 minutes can easily fly by, so I had to decide in lightning round fashion. I included my favorites from just about every sport, and didn’t spend more than 10.5K on any one card. I would have been excited to do this in real life, and wasn’t even able to get to the 50 K in 15 minutes.

Here are the final stats:

Total Items - 22
Total Amount Spent - $48948
Percentage of Autographed Items - 100%
Percentage of Non-Autographed Items - 0%
Percentage of Memorabilia Items - 13%
Percentage of Sticker Autos - 4.5% (1 of 22)
Number of Football Items - 10 of 22 (45%)
Number of Baseball Items - 7 of 22 (31%)
Number of Basketball Items - 2 of 22 (9%)
Number of Golf Items - 2 of 22 (9%)
Number of Boxing Items - 1 of 22 (4.5%)
Number of Hockey Items - 0 of 22
Highest Cost Item - $10,500 (Lebron Exquisite)
Lowest Cost Item - $160 (Justin Morneau Finest)

Here is what I came away with, I was mostly looking for stuff that would look good and had staying power for my final collection. Basically, I wasn’t going to buy something that I wouldn’t want for the rest of my life. I kind of wanted a few more baseballs, but I didn’t have time to search them out.

2007 Adrian Peterson Exquisite Auto - 1499

2001 Bowman Chrome Joe Mauer Gold Refractor Auto - 2650

Adrian Peterson Painted Autographed Jersey - 2500

2000 Donruss Preferred Steve Young/Jerry Rice Dual Auto - 300

2000 Playoff Contenders Tom Brady Auto - 1495

1998 Bowman Peyton Manning Auto - 1400

1999 Upper Deck Ovation Walter Payton Jersey Auto - 1900

2007 Upper Deck Exquisite Emmitt Smith Logo Auto - 2500

2009 Upper Deck Exquisite Emmitt Smith/Barry Sanders/Thurman Thomas Auto - 800

2005 LCM Fabric of The Game Barry Sanders Auto - 450

2005 Kirby Puckett Game Used Patch Autograph - 400

2001 Topps Finest Justin Morneau Auto - 160

2003 Upper Deck Legendary Cuts Mickey Mantle Auto - 5950

Ted Williams Custom Cut Auto Jersey - 900

2003 Topps Heritage Hank Aaron Auto - 800

2003 Topps Stadium Club Hank Aaron/Willie Mays Auto - 1195

Muhammad Ali Painted Autographed Boxing Glove - 2499

2001 SP Authentic Tiger Woods Auto - 5000

2006 Upper Deck Exquisite Michael Jordan Patch Auto - 3000

03-04 Upper Deck Exquisite Lebron James Auto - 10500

2005 Upper Deck Exquisite Dan Marino Auto Equipment - 800

UDA Woods/Nicklaus/Palmer Auto Framed Picture - 2250

Im eager to read through what everyone else decided to buy, obiviously mine was focused around autographs more than iconic or memorable cards. Im sure there are others out there who went crazy through vintage and everything, but Im an autograph collector more than a card collector. Obviously that shows. Be sure to check out the bat around tomrrow to see how everyone else went through their shopping spree.

Blog Bat Around Tomorrow - Extension Granted

For those of you who want to participate, I have extended the deadline by 24 hours. There have been a few people asking for more time, and frankly, that is something that I desperately need. I thought I would have some time this weekend to gather all the posts, but I was way too busy in San Antonio looking for a place and doing stuff for work. So, tonight at midnight, please have the posts done and posted in the comments section where all the rest of them are. Thanks!

Topps is Going In The Right Direction

Two weeks ago, we were in the midst of a debate over the legitimacy of the UD awards, and not many people were happy with the way it turned out. That is now in the past, and since then, Topps has picked up the banner and started running with it in the opposite direction. Although they were second in line to embrace social media, they have organized a wonderful new event that really does a better job of celebrating than any award could do. As you may have seen posted on any number of other sites, Topps' Hobby Roundtable will start this Monday with a catalouge of responses from bloggers of every category. These bloggers, including myself, were given 11 questions to answer without any limits on what we can talk about, and the answers given by the 12 people involved will be posted at the beginning of next week.

The reason that I think this will work better than any other manufacturer attempt at a similar discussion is because of the questions that will be covered. Whether it is the direction and future of the hobby, or even scam prevention, its all there. The list of questions has been posted over on VOTC, and from what I can tell, Topps is taking this opportunity as pure discussion. This is in place of worrying about how hard it will be to prevent us from speaking poorly about their goals and products, and that is terrific. This idea has never been done this way by anyone on their side of the table before, and I applaud them for putting it together. Their new social media consultant has taken their online presence in a completely awesome direction, starting with their oft-forgotten twitter account, and there are many bloggers who are happy they did.

Alhtough I am not sure how the discussion will turn out, mainly due to the space needed to post answers, I have a backup plan. With 12 or so people answering questions on the biggest topics in the hobby right now, its going to be an epic post to get them all in. We were already notified that 4-8 answers would be used per question due to that restriction, and once he sees the length of those answers, Im guessing it may be less than that. Luckily, I have SCU where I can post the unabridged responses to the questions he sent out, so be sure to check this site if you want more answers. I may even take it a step further and actually compile EVERY answer from everyone because I don’t really care about space. We'll see how it turns out.

Speaking of taking it a step further, I have been tossing around an idea ever since Card Corner Radio has gotten the response it has. My idea originally was to get one blogger from each sport and do a roundtable discussion similar to what Topps is doing on paper, and take it to a place where we can actually respond to each other. I have yet to put it into motion, but depending on the success of what this roundtable turns out to be, I may do that sooner than expected.

Lastly, it looks as if social media has gotten a good foot hold in the hobby, and I think its about time. We have a great base of people who know tons of information about the cards they collect, and I am glad that Topps has stepped to take advantage of the information we hold instead of the popularity of our sites. Hopefully this will be the start of something great, and with the Blog Bat Around in ramping up for next week as well, I think the next few weeks should be a highlight reel of our talents.

Return of the Blog Bat Around - Details on How To Participate

Ever since I started SCU about two years ago, I have always touted the community we have built as the reason why blogs are so important to the hobby. Now is our chance to show our chops and really give the world outside our network a view of what we are all about.

Last year, after thinking of ways to bolster the blogger network, I settled upon the Blog Bat Around, or a singular topic weighed in upon by everyone who wanted a shot at it. No limits, no scruitny, no reason not to participate. After a handful of them were done on multiple sites, it kind of died off due to a lack of direction. Now that baseball season is in full swing and blogs are receiving more attention than ever, I think its time to try it again.

The way it works is I will post the topic below and you will have a specific time frame to post your response. After the deadline, pending any acts of god, I will compile the links, do short writeups on all of them and post them on this site for everyone to click on. If you want your article included, all you have to do is comment with the link or send me an email with it.

Here are the rules if you havent seen this before:

-This is an open forum, anyone may participate at any time. I will not discriminate, nor will I leave you out if we dont agree. If you use your post as a personal attack against me or any of the other bloggers, I will not include it.

-Please make your article at least semi-relevant to the topic. You can be as creative as you want, but keep the general topic in mind. If its about Book Value, you can go on a relevant Beckett rant, but dont do a product review of Topps Heritage, or something similar.

-Keep your article PG or PG-13, as I want the most people to be involved.

- Please give your article a title, and make it easy to find when you give me the link. If you want your full name included and not just your blog title, put it in there somewhere.

- Give us something to read, so dont give me 2 sentences and call it a day. Make this a normal post, as you would want your readers to see it as a normal part of your blog.

- You do not have to include the topic in your post.

- Please comment somewhere on the site or email me the link to your article with any special instructions.

- I will not search out links, so if you want it included, it is your responsibility to get it to me. Comments on the bat around post make it easiest for me to compile - FYI.

Deadline:

You will have one week to post your response, and comment with the link or email it. This means on Sunday the 18th at midnight, I need to have it for the article to be included in the first post. I will add yours if you do it late or forget, but it will go at the bottom.

Topic:

The Ultimate Shopping Spree - after some discussion on Twitter, it seems as though people want a go at this topic.

Here is what we are going with:

Remember those days on Nickelodeon where they would hold contests for their version of a kids' ultimate shopping spree? They would let the winner loose in a Toys R Us for however long and let them keep what they could fit in the cart, right? Well, if you were given $50,000 and 15 minutes on ebay, what cards/memorabilia would you buy with the money? Break it down card by card, and give us a price and a reason for what you are buying. Not everyone would go out there and buy a Joe Jackson cracker jack, but some people would. So, with that, what would you spend the mother lode on? Happy buying.

Have fun with this one guys, Im expecting some great stuff across the card blogger network over the next week. If you have any questions, shoot me a line or ask one of the bloggers who has been around for a long time. Hopefully we can have a huge amount of participation, and in the meantime show how the blogs have become the new number one source for hobby info and commentary.

Two Quick Announcements

Guys, I wanted to make you aware of a few quick announcements for the next couple of days.

First, tonight at 9pm PST, be sure to check out Rob (of VOTC fame) and Doug on their live show where I will be on to discuss the recent Upper Deck scenario and what it means for the hobby. They have a great show and have other giveaways and guests scheduled. You can check out the show here, and dont hesitate to listed to the previous episodes too.

Second, coming on Monday, we are going to jump start the blog bat arounds again. This means if you have a blog, it will be a chance to post your thoughts on the topic this time around. For the last four or five, we have usually gotten some great turn outs, and I encourage you to participate if you have the means to do so. It is also a pretty great way to get publicity for your site, just check in to get instructions on what to do. Its been a long time since we have done one, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to rejuvenate the idea.

Here is the link for the first and second blog bat arounds done here on SCU.

Thanks!

The Sixth Blog Bat Around

Thanks again to everyone who participated in this edition of the Blog Bat Around, it is always awesome to read the collective posts of everyone involved. This time I messed up completely, this should have been up two days ago, my fault completely. Either way, this time was still cool to read inspiration for the blogs you read on a daily basis. I know I learned quite a bit of stuff about some of you that I didn’t know, and it was quite fun to do so.

Here was the topic for this time through the order:

All of the people who are participating in this have a blog, or at least something similar. For this question, I just want to know about the reasons you do what you do. Why do you blog? What made you choose Sports Cards as your topic of choice? What got you started? What has been your favorite post from your own work?

Here are the responses from around the Card Blogger Network.

Sports Cards Uncensored - My post as I am host.

Sports Card Info - SCI was started as a resource to collectors on which cards not to buy, and has turned into a resource on everything cards. He loves the interaction from the collectors who read the blog, and I agree that is a great part of being involved. Plus, he said, that its always nice to catch a scammer, one of the best things in the CBN for sure.

White Sox Cards - Steve started blogging after reading about a site in a magazine, but became addicted to the community aspect of it, and quickly met a lot like minded people who helped him out. Of course, the joy of writing about something you love is a huge part of it for Steve, but as a White Sox fan, that has to be pretty tough to endure, haha.

Night Owl Cards - Night Owl is a writer who likes to blog just like myself, only he does a much better job of it. He mentions that it was the newest innovation in writing that got him to start to pass time by blogging, and it’s the craziness of some of the weird cards of the 70s and 80s that inspire him to keep going. The examples provided are hilarious. Airbrushing is not our friend indeed!

Beardy's Card Blog - For a NKOTB, Beardy wrote a novel on his inspiration for blogging, totally mirroring a lot of the great reasons many of us blog. He talks about something that has become commonplace on the CBN - trading - and I think that has been a great add on to being a blogger. His credo of "If you write it, and have decent pictures, they will come", is pretty much 100% correct. He also has a love affair with a person we all tend to put on a petestal, ourselves, and that explains many of the things you read here too.

Capewoods Collections - Capewood has a cool top ten, just the way we like it, with pictures! I think he has great reasons for blogging, opinion giving, highlighting his collections, lack of shops in the area, all of which are things that people experience quite a bit. I think that the pictures were distracting at first because I wanted to play where's waldo with the numbers, but a great post when you stop looking at the cards.

Blue Heaven - For Ernest, like some of you, blogging was a stumbled upon utopia of online diaries. He saw how easy it was to do and was determined to write about his favorite team. He has been a different type of blogger than some of the other team sites out there, someone who focuses on the sport aspect as much as the card aspect, and he has highlighted some great posts to check out as well.

The Other World - Dan is a lurker, something I love to be too, and finally started frequently updating his blog earlier this year. He says he can go through site evolution with subject matter changes, defintely something I want to hear about. Dan also mentions being shy, a trait I would never attribute to a blogger, but he did want a place to share his interests. I agree.

Thoughts And Sox - Another person who stumbled on the blogs through links, and has started a site based on his Red Sox fandom. He is a trader blogger, so if you have some Red Sox, Im sure he will take them off your hands. I never knew how big of a practice it was to trade with the other bloggers, but that is a great idea.

Paul's Random Stuff - Like SCU, Paul's blog was started due to message board participation, his was originally about autos TTM back in 2004. He has branched out lately, im sure because the message board he started from is no longer in existence, and because he likes to associate with other people in the hobby.

Mark's Ephemera - Mark blogs for the people, and loves those comments. He likes writing and definitely has a passion for the subject matter he covers. He may not be the best wordsmith (his own words) but he is always happy to offer his opinion. I felt the same way when SCU first started, so here's to keep pluggin along Mark, its never bad to add your voice to the fray.

Wax Heaven - If there is a blog out there we all read, its Mario's, but I was surprised to learn why he does some of the things he does. After being spurned by the big evil, he has found new goals in making the execs at the big three notice his criticisms, as well as hopefully taking heed. He also wants to inform as well as show his distaste for fugly ideas for cards.

Cardboard Junkie - Dayf rushed to get his post in at the last minute, a week before it was due. Thank god for preparation huh? Funny enough, his current blog was not the first one, and he sure seems to be self depricating about his past posts. We all love Cardboard Junkie, even though sometimes he weirds us out with Spongebob references. Dayf has had some personal setbacks, as many of us have lately, and we are glad he didn’t let it affect one of my favorite blogs.

bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog - JayBee started as another lurker on a message board over at Topps. He started the blog as a way to enjoy his collection and to share his "stars" with other people. It doesn’t hurt that his Sports Card Blogroll has been great for many fledgeling blogs, and that the cards arent the only star of his site.

Card Buzz - Laurens blogs about cards being the last link to a past childhood, and I feel that this is a reason that many people blog as well. Although the site started per a now defunct board, it has now become a reflective way for Laurens to share a love a collecting. Of course, other sites have played a part in shaping the blog, but the favorites on Card Buzz are always the reflective posts.

Acheiver Card Blog - Motherscratcher loves weird movies, and also loves weird cards. His dad made him get his cards out of the basement one day, and he wanted to know something about a hobby that had long passed him by. After googling the current state of the hobby, he had some originally negative experiences but eventually started blogging to get answers to his questions as a returning collector.

Shot Not Taken - This blog was originally started as political/current events site, but that idea was canned due to boredom. Since then, blogging has been like joining the conversation, and the current topics are a result of that. An enjoyment of collecting has taken the blog past the original limits of the previous topic, and we are glad it has.

Wrigley Wax - As another team collector and returnee to the hobby after being away, its always nice to see people who decide to get on the blogs and start writing. He understands that people have unfavorable opinions about Cubs fans, but he still enjoys sharing his opinions. He originally started after answering that little voice in his head, and the ability to write from work is a plus without a doubt!

Houston Card Collector - Mr. Astro has been a person that has been very involved in the comments of many blogs and even stopped collecting for a period. Now that he is back, he has had some great success and continues to write because of his love for all things houston sports and the hobby.

Indians Baseball Cards - I got lost in the story of the many incarnations of this site, but his story from back in the beginning of the internet's history was interesting to read. I had a Tripod page too, but it was dedicated to stuff totally unrelated, I think its always a triumph when card blogging extends so far back in one's life.

Okay, thats all I see for right now, if I missed your link, please let me know so I can add it. As always, I am looking for someone to host next month's venture, preferrably someone with a larger readership. If you have the means, please let me know. Thanks again to all the people who participated.

Due To Act Of God - One More Day For The Bat Around

Luckily for those of you who have not posted your Bat Around, an act of God smote my internet last night, and I was unable to get the Bat Around put together. This means that ill give you until tonight to get your posts in, and the Bat Around will be posted first thing on Tuesday.

Please post your links in comments somewhere if you havent already, I will unfortunately not have the time to go track them down.


Thanks for your participation!

Bat Around Reminder and New Blog Participation Idea

This will serve as your reminder to get those posts up over the next two days. If you have already written your post and not included the link in a comment somewhere on the blog, please do so immediately.

Hopefully the participation will climb, and we can get a good survey of the blogs. This is really our chance to shine, as I have seen first hand what the rest of the industry thinks of people who write based on their love for the hobby rather than for money, and for some reason it isnt pretty. Considering the topic at hand, this should be a great show.

On another note, it may be in our best interest to start thinking about creating a publication distributed via email list in a possible PDF format. It has been successful in some of the hobbies I also participate in, and could help us get traffic and messages out to the public domain in a one stop shop each month. Because we do what we do without the interests of our ad providers in mind, we could be as objective with our reviews and our commentary as possible. Because there are no examples in the mainstream hobby media of a realistic depiction of the hobby being presented, this could be the chance for people to get the info they are looking for.

If you have experience and would like to help out, let me know via the link above. All are welcome, just an idea I have been tossing around.

Blog Bat Around Entries Not Due Until NEXT Thursday

FYI, you still have a whole week to write your BBA posts. People seem to have that confused, so please do your best to make THAT deadline, as yesterday was just a regular blog thursday.

Thanks for all the awesome posts so far. Its becoming a big show of force to tell people that blogs have power of community too.

Keep em coming!

My Blog Bat Around: Growing Pains

When I first discovered blogging, I was immediately turned on by the fact that I could finally say whatever I wanted, when I wanted. I would no longer have to put up with any 12 year olds on the BMB who disagree just to disagree, and if I wanted to swim against the current I could without a problem. Being an English major in school, I loved to write, especially informal pieces about things I love. What better excursion could there be than blogging about cards?

The problem started out that I had a lot of pent up anger ready to fire at those I was angry at, and not many people willing to listen. I wasn’t experienced at building a site, and the community we have now was relatively small at the time. After the Exquisite fiasco of last year, the subject I wanted to focus on had a springboard and a purpose. The problem was, the perpetrators I chose conflicted with the owner of the place I was going to use to disseminate my site. That was a problem as you could imagine, and I was banned shortly after my site was mentioned on the board.

Much to their chagrin, many people started reading from my presence on the board, some out of hate, others out of support. I finally had an audience, and I was more than happy to preach to their waiting ears. Ill tell you, I had so much fun the first few months doing the blog, I barely cared that my video on youtube had more views than the site. Then, at that time, it was about having fun and if people were pissed, they were pissed. Some times you have to crack the eggs to make an omelette.

As the months started to pass, more people joined the blog community, which led to more people coming to the blog. Mario helped out quite a bit by promoting SCU on the directory he had started, and the sitemeter at the bottom of the page started to grow. You can imagine that more haters also started reading, including some with more hatred than I have for Beckett. They started to make the blog their toilet for comment diarrhea, but most of the time SCU wsa for like minded people to myself.

Somewhere around that time, internet views of the media evil empire started to change, as more people came on board with SCU, which made me take on a new purpose for blogging too. Instead of doing it to have fun, my purpose became to discredit, defame, and change the mindset away from previous paradigms that had plagued the hobby. I wanted to change people's mind, and I was going to have fun doing it. I, in fact, did have a blast sticking it to the 'man' and even acquired some interesting visitors in the process. Top dogs from UD, Donruss, and other companies started to read the blog, including many of the people I despised at Teenage Sports Card Life and Love Magazine. To know that there were people listening, though few, was exhilerating, and I continued my quest to be at the forefront of their mind when planning for the future.

This continued, as well as my love for blogging, well past the 100,000 visitor and 1 year anniversary of the site, up until Tuesday of this week. Im going to elaborate in case you are not in the know. On Monday, I was approved for Media access to the NFL rookie premiere at the LA Coliseum, making it my best day as a blogger, ever. Finally, I had made enough progress to be able to move past my humble beginnings as an outlet from a heavily censored message board to an actual hobby media member. My success was short lived as less than 24 hours later, my credentials were revoked in a blanket decision to not allow bloggers and media members like me. I immediately got on the horn and started finding out why things had done a complete 180, but didn’t get very far. The NFL could not comment on who had made the decision, but reps at NFL Players there made my assumptions rise that someone had requested this be the case. I talked to a few industry people close to the event, and all of them had said that this type of revokation had NEVER happened before. They also hinted to me that there was more that was going on - typical. When I talked to my main source, whom I have never spoken about on this blog, they mentioned that there were people in the industry who had made it clear to the NFL that I was not to be allowed at the event. Apparently, this was done on behalf of people who disliked my mission in life, and that they had made a mistake blabbing about it to sympathic industry people to their interests. I wanted to find out who, but it was pretty clear that it could be a number of people, with two at the top of the list.

So, instead of going to the event with the intent of providing coverage for you guys, I am now sitting at home this Saturday because certain people in this hobby function like the cast of Mean Girls. If you think that I regret my past trangressions against the brass of the hobby, you are completely wrong. I would never trade my stances for access to an event. Nor do I regret anything. I would do it all the same.

To answer the question of why do I blog, the answer is simple. Its part of who I am.

Through The Order Again: Details For The 6th Blog Bat Around

Its that time of the month again, and I think Ill take the lead on this round of the BBA. I am of the ilk that think that the others have done an amazing job promoting this, so I will be passing this around again once this round is over. If you arent familiar with the BBAs, where have you been? I kid, here are the rules and links to the other incarnations of this.

- This is an open forum, and anyone can participate at any time. I will not discriminate, nor will I leave you out if we don’t agree.

- Please make your post at least semi-relevant to the topic. You can be as creative as you want, but keep the general topic in mind. You don’t need to answer all of the questions in the topic, but your post should address what kinds of products you’d like to see the card companies produce.

- Keep your post PG or PG-13, I won’t censor it, but this is necessary since we’ll have a vast audience, which might include kids.

- Give us something to read, so don’t just write two sentences and call it a day. Make this a normal post, as you would want your readers to see it as a normal part of your blog. Given the great entries that we’ve seen in the past, I don’t think this will be a problem.

- Please give your post a title, and mark it so it’s easy to find when you give me the link. If you want your full name included and not just your blog title, put it in there somewhere.

- Please comment on this post or email me the link to your post so that I’ll know about it.

Submissions are due by next Thursday at midnight, and on Friday they will be posted for the world. If you are late, yours will be added to the bottom of the post, so be sure to get it in as quickly as possible.

Here is the topic for this time:

All of the people who are participating in this have a blog, or at least something similar. For this question, I just want to know about the reasons you do what you do. Why do you blog? What made you choose Sports Cards as your topic of choice? What got you started? What has been your favorite post from your own work?

Again, posts are due by next Thursday the 14th at midnight. Post questions if you have any!

Blog Bat Around: My Goofy Superfan Moment With My Favorite Player

During the summer of my senior year in college, I got some great info while listening to the radio in my car going to work. The announcer for KFAN, the sports talk station, announced that they would be sponsoring a signing of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau on the Saturday before I went back to Washington. It was going to be at a Best Buy, one that was a reasonable distance from my house, but I was determined to get there.

I arrived at work with a huge grin on my face, hoping that the schedule would be forgiving enough that I could make the signing. I knew I would need an hour to get to the Best Buy, a few hours to beat the throngs of fans that would be showing up, and twenty minutes to go home and change. Luckily, I was not working until the evening shift, which gave me two hours after the signing to get there without a problem. Clutch, right?

According to my plans, I needed to get two baseballs for them to sign, and maybe a few cards that I didn’t mind ruining if they got screwed up. After work, I went to target and went straight to the sporting goods section, only to find that the official balls cost 15 bucks a piece. I dug in my pocket and pulled out the tips from the night before, praying that I would have enough for the balls and some tax. As I counted the ones, I came to a total of 36 bucks, plus money for gas. It couldn’t be any more key, at least not to me!

The day arrived and I could not even stay focused enough to pack my stuff that I needed for the long drive we would be taking the next weekend. I actually showed up about four hours before I needed to be there, just to make sure I had a good spot in line for the signing. I was number 5 in the line, and little did I know how important that would be later. After buying a lawn chair at target to chill in, I started talking with the other people in line. It was awesome to see the stuff they had brought. One guy had a complete set of the Twins Medallions, mounted, framed, and signed by every player and manager except for Mauer and Morneau. Another guy had some framed lithographs that looked absolutely amazing, and I wished that I had something similar. A lot of people came with the mini batting helmets, which I thought were awesome. Me? I just had my balls and a few cards. I knew it would be one auto per person, and I collect the signed baseballs. That’s what I came for. I figured Id have another chance at Twinsfest for the fun stuff.

As the hours past, we talked about collecting and the evil shops from around the Minneapolis area, just having a whole afternoon of talking about the Twins and their future. Around 4, they let us into the store through a back entrance (we were waiting outside), and I finally saw the magnitude of how many people showed up. The parking lot was jammed, filled with about 700-800 people all circling this Best Buy. It was a sea of people, and more showed up every minute.

I was still number five in line, and they brought us in to stand next to the podium and stage they had set up. After about ten minutes, we heard cheers coming from the back, which we knew were Joe and Justin coming into the store. They had a security escort through the back of the store, but you could tell they were just there to have fun. Justin asked me how long I had been waiting, and I said that I had been there since before noon. He thanked me for the support, shook my hand, and went to go sit down at his spot. I had brought along a blue ball point, but I saw that they had hundreds of pens on the table. I didn’t take any chances, so I had mine at the ready.

Joe was first and I put the ball, as instructed on the table for him to sign. He was signing on the sweet spot for the guy before me, so I was going to nicely ask for the same. I wasn’t going to sell the ball, but for display purposes, I needed a sweet spot sig for my collection. Before I had the chance to say anything, he picked up the ball and signed the loop, much to my surprise. My mouth kind of dropped open with a partial word, and he realized that I wanted something different. He said, "Oh, dude, im really sorry, I thought Justin AND I were going to sign this one." I (very nicely, considering my shock) said, "No, its cool, my fault, can you please sign it again on the sweet spot?" He laughed and sort of gave me the 'you sure about this?' look before doing it. He signed again, and we both laughed pretty hard. He hit Justin on the shoulder and showed him the ball, and the Justin laughed.

I handed Justin a fresh ball, and he said, "should I do this one three times?" but I just laughed and said that he should sign the sweet spot. He chuckled and happily obliged. He thanked me again for waiting in line, and I started to leave. Joe shouted that he was sorry again, and I gave him a signal that it was cool with me. I mean, how often do you have a story like that? I still have both the balls, and I still tell the story to the people who come over and see my display. They always laugh about it with me, because they know it was all a part of the chase.

Funny enough, I went to Twinsfest that year with my then girlfriend (now wife), who was madly in love with Justin. Mauer and him were signing together again, and I couldn’t resist the temptation to get more stuff signed. She had a few balls with her, and I advised her that she needs to TELL Joe to sign on the sweet spot, because otherwise it will end up like my other one. As we approached she got kind of scared, but eventually lightened up. Justin signed her ball and picture, but she couldn’t bring herself to confess her love, thank god. She did just as I had told her with Joe, and he happily did what she said. Joe took one look at me and said, "Man, I promise I wont screw yours up this time!" Justin laughed, I laughed, and I told him I didn’t bring a ball this time, because I didn’t trust him. He laughed again, and signed my mini batting helmet perfectly.

You know, its these types of stories that makes me feel good about being a fan. You know that players who have a good time have the best fans, and you can count me among that bunch. Mauer and Morneau are my favorites, even though my wife said she would divorce me to marry Justin.

Blog Bat Around IV: Investing and How To Work The System

First, before I start, I want to send a big thank you to Patricia over at Dinged Corners for taking on this round of the Bat Around. I hope it is awesome. Please check out their site for more takes on the topic they have chosen about holding cards and who to collect. I also want to thank Paul from Sports.Cards.Life. for the insaneulously sweet graphic header.

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For some reason, many people look at the hobby as a way to invest or make money, and really, that is a pretty dumb notion. Usually, they buy case after case after case, and the majority of the time, they cant even come close to making their money back. Of course, that doesn’t stop them from trying though. Other people try to get on board with raw vintage cards, and try to grade them to make a profit. I doubt that works. The only way I have seen it work, albeit in a minimal gain fashion, is through prospecting in baseball, and sometimes in football.

Really, the practice is simple. Do your homework on a draft class, pick your guys, and buy in lots, all until you have a huge collection of a guy(s) who no one but the prospectors have a good idea about. Then, on top of that, maybe buy a few cases of Chrome Draft and see if you can get some nice stuff of the rest of the class. Diversify. When you have your pile, you send to BGS to get them graded, and hopefully the arbitrary douche gods will give you a few 10s or 9.5s. Then you wait.

As soon as the guy makes his debut in the big leagues, you sell as quickly as possible. Whatever you cant sell, you sit on until he does something. That way you can make more money if he turns out to be a good player. Now, this is a very high risk venture, but with guys like Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, and a few others, it can also be high reward. The problem with most people who want to try it is that they don’t want to wait to make their money. They want a quick fix, and they cant run the system the way that it needs to be run. There are also people who don’t really get the fact that prospecting IS a risk, and they chastise people for even trying. I don’t practice it, nor do I have the funds to try, but I have seen it work to perfection quite a bit. The people who are the best at it are the best at looking at the stats, interpreting how that will translate, and then choosing VERY wisely with their guys. Others who just do it to do it, don’t really grasp the whole nature of selecting the right player. They usually fail. Epically.

Now, the reality of the industry is this, brace yourselves, THERE IS NO MONEY TO BE MADE IN PLAYERS WHO HAVE ALREADY "MADE" IT. Don’t go buy yourself a ridiculously expensive Pujols card and expect to make any money off of it. Even if he does break every record in the book, its not going to appreciate all that much. I mean when you spend 1500 on a high grade RC, another 100-200 is a minimal gain when you consider how long you would have to hold it.

Really, it comes down to this simplistic view: If you don’t like the crap you are collecting, and you are only doing it to make money, go somewhere else. There is no reason to hold out hope here. Its pretty obvious to a select few people that investing in cards is crap, but there are waaaaaaay too many people who cant see the forest for the trees.

The Fourth Blog Bat Around - Dinged Corners

I am so glad that its bat time of the month again, and Patricia from Dinged Corners has graciously agreed to host the Bat Around this time around. The topic and rules are posted on the site, I encourage you to go and participate.

Here is the topic for the fourth Bat Around:

Which baseball card or set currently available do you believe will be valuable in ten years? In other words, no matter what happens with the player(s) or industry going forward--injury, steroid accusations, drugs, gambling charges, the demise or ascendancy of Topps and Upper Deck--what single card or set do you believe is an absolute BUY and HOLD?

DO NOT POST THINGS HERE. GO TO DINGED CORNERS.

Hopefully Looking Forward: My Blog Bat Around Submission

Thanks to Dave at Fielder's Choice for putting on the Blog Bat Around this time. I wish I had more time to work on this, but things have become very busy lately.

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When I looked forward into to 2008 last january, I was really excited. I knew that there were a bunch of awesome things on the horizon, and I thought that the year would be one for the record books. Then, as things started to materialize, it became painfully apparent how bad 2008 was going to be.

For some out there, set collecting is the end all and be all of cards. Those people, who are mostly baseball collectors, do everything they can to complete the base sets of the annual products they love. They love the hits when they get them, but mostly its about collecting their favorite sets to completion.

Ill tell you, I used to think these people were the dumbest people on the planet. And although I still think that buying retail is about as smart as buying a used car from UNCLE CLEO'S HOUSE OF LEMONS, I have come to understand that buying baseball mid and high end is about as pointless and stupid, unless DLP's name is on the box. The reason I say this is because there just arent many current players that are worth the price of admission, even on a mid end product. After that epiphany and realization, I stopped hatin' and started seeing baseball products in a different light. The problem is, even with this mentality in most of the sets, it doesnt excuse sets like Moments and Milestones, UD X, and Documentary.

So, if I were the one to plan out a 2009 card calendar, I would definitely put those three on the cutting room floor, and add more sets that are geared towards offering good hits at lower prices, as well as a good base set. SP Authentic can usually accomplish the feat in question, but the problem is that the price is usually too high to attract people who collect. Plus, if you look at the price range where SPA should be, the market is usually ruled by chrome, a set that focuses mostly on prospecting.

On the other end of things, DLP has done an amazing job (as usual) with their entry into the high end and mid end baseball product market. The issue that most people are coming to be familiar with, is that without limitations from the MLBPA, products like Prime Cuts can focus on the meat and leave the crap by the side of the road with their trash. They understood that Baseball cards is about two things - rookies and history - and made a few sets out of it. They flourished, and we all had some of the best products in years. In all honesty, I barely missed the team names and logos, and I for sure did not miss the abundance of Chin Lung Hu cards.

When it comes Topps high end baseball products, they have seemingly missed the boat so many times, that I have come close to swearing off their sets all together many times. Basically, anything with "Sterling" after it needs to be killed in a very painful fashion, as they dont seem to get that foldouts and diecut jersey windows do not make products worth while.

In terms of football, my specialty, its a completely different market. People dont collect for the sets because there are quite a few current players that carry a high price tag. They also dont have as awful of a limitation to deal with, due to the fact that RCs carry many of those high tags. This leads the products to head more towards the middle end and high end, while the low end products that flourish in baseball, usually flounder.

Based on this paradigm, 2008 was an okay year, if not only because Matty Ice and Joe Flacco had some of the greatest years in rookie history. As for the the designs, they were less than par on a few sets that I love, but vastly improved on some sets that were just okay the year before. Granted, we havent seen the blockbusters yet, but they cannot revive the year all by themselves.

In 2009, I would love to see Prime Cuts make the crossover and products like Topps Sterling, Topps Lettermen and Bowman Sterling get the big bloody axe. Those three products have and will be some of the worst in recent memory and I sincerely hope that Topps doesnt think that poor designs around awful looking foil stickers are going to fly round heeyah.

Hopefully, 2009 gives us something to keep us interested, as it is quickly becoming a chore rather than a joy to collect all the gimmicky junk that keeps coming out.

The Second Blog Bat Around

Wow, this thing has gotten bigger, if that was even a question before. I gotta say, I had more fun with this Bat Around than I did with it's dad, mainly because you guys have some awesome centerpieces. Hopefully we can keep it this size when Dave from Fielder's Choice hosts it next month. Keep on the look out, ill have a post here to make sure you guys know. Again, great job, it only shows what we are capable of, and you didnt even need to buy a stupid magazine to see what we are all about.

Without further adieu:

Sports Cards Uncensored - My experience with Kirby Puckett.

Bad wax - Chem has selected a 1909 Sammy Strang card as his centerpiece. I agree with him that the card reminds me of a simpler time when it was just a game. Its always cool to see pre-war cards too, because I wish I had some.

Stats On The Back - This post is worth reading because his centerpiece(s) are awesome. Just check out that Pat Sheridan card, just total Rambisosity of the Kurt variety.

The Easy Life - Steve has a really nice Marmol/Soto dual auto that he pulled as his focus, which I respect, because I could never pull anything even close to that cool.

Nennth Inning - Man, the Lincecum in this post is really, really nice, and could be the next card worth a ton from that set. Bailey is lucky because he picked up a potential high grade copy for next to nothing.

Padrographs - The collection of IP and TTM autos on this post is amazing, and yes, thankfully, Mickey and Minnie Mouse do sign through the mail. We havent confirmed if it is a ghost signer, but we think it is legit.

Pauls Stuff - Jeff Innis. Most of you havent heard of him, myself included, but Paul has a nice collection of Innis stuff. All your Innis are belong to Paul.

JB's Topps Blog - His centerpieces are the cards that finish his sets, and I feel your pain. For the record, the order I got the links is the order they are put on. Sorry bud.

Sports Card Info - Andrew's piece is a Willie Stargell ball, and ill tell you, I have a soft spot for personalized autos. I long for them, Andrew has them.

Chuck's Used Cards - Another prewar card, but this one is a biggie, a Ty Cobb T205. I am quite jealous despite the poor condition. Wow.

Saints of the Cheap Seats - This post is about something that I have myself, memories passed down from father to son. Danny's father passed down his auto book from the WWII era, and I must say I am thoroughly impressed.

Superfractor - I know that on the podcast he has mentioned all the nice Ortiz cards he has, but this one is ridiculous. Check out the post and see what an Ortiz centerpiece should look like.

Voice of the Collector - I dont think I have seen a nicer collection of amazing RC cards as in this post. The Ripken and the Ryan are amazing enough just to check this out.

Night Owl Cards - 1 post, 1 of the most colorful sets ever produced. He did trade a Hank Aaron for a Ron Cey, but at least, he was happy. I guess thats all that matters.

Sports. Cards. Life. - Still one of the better titled blogs of late, Paul talks about future conquests for a centerpiece as he has just started back into things. I hope he has a deep checkbook for those!

Garvey Cey Russel Lopes - GCRL talks about his Jim Lefebver card, and I spent like 10 minutes trying to pronounce the last name.

Dinged Corners - Lucy loves her Japanese Pokemon card, and her David Wright, "because." I cant argue with that. Although the lunchboxes from Patricia are really cool, I couldnt help but laugh at how awesome the thought processes of a child are.

Wax Heaven - Mario's site started out as Canseco Completist, he showcases the card that got him back into the game. Im sure we are all happy he found it.

Nachos Grande - A Reds card from dad is more than enough to spark a collection, Im glad a lot of people focused on treasured cards that may not be the most expensive ones they have. I agree with the post here, Dad is a great person to thank.

Need Mo Morneau - Dusty has a pic with Ryne Sandberg and I am in awe of people who manage to produce the pic that the auto came from. I almost like the pics better than the autos themselves. The auto he got from Ryne is nice, but the pic is my favorite.

BoxBusters - Game 4 ticket stubs are good in my book if you are a Cards fan, especially because there is nothing better than a WS won at home.

White Sox Cards - Steve still has the card from the first pack he opened, that is truly impressive, even if it is Alfredo Griffin. Also, I think this is the second post with that card in it that has been featured in a Bat Around? Are we starting a trend here?

Cardboard Junkie - Dayf has a simply awe inspiring Braves collection, and his vintage portion seems to be the best I have seen in a while. If you are cool with losing 20 minutes in gazing upon his cards, please click. You will be sucked in, I warn you, so devote proper time.

Trader's Cracks - Ryan has to have one of the biggest oddball Joe Carter cards out there. Its amazing that the card he focused on came out of a cereal box. Amazing.

Old School Breaks - The story behind this Hank Aaron card is awesome, please do yourself a favor and check it out. Like I said before, the connection between dad and son in this hobby is always underappreciated by the people who dont get what it means to be a collector.

Green Monster - Talk about a monster from Green Monster. That Ted Williams card is ridiculously sweet, and I have a feeling the rest of his Sawks collection is similar in awesomeness.

Thoughts and Sox - This post documents a really, really nice collection, and of course, more Ted Williams. I am so jealous as this collection displays some real doozies. Plus the Roe glove? Awesome.

Cardboard Addiction - Outside the box is the name of the game here, but it is cool that he has cards of the kids. I am thinking that would be something cool to give out at the first birthday. At least you have something embarassing to show at their graduation party.

Blue Heaven - What I would give to have been at that show. Koufax, Campy and company? I would give an arm and a leg. The picture that was signed is quite amazing too. Really cool story here.

Hawk to the Hall - Charlie talks about meeting Andre Dawson (naturally) and getting the centerpiece of his collection signed in person

Free Andy LaRoche - This posts talks about the collection as a centerpiece, and I agree on some parts. My IP and TTM auto collection itself is a centerpiece of sorts, so this falls in with the truth in my mind.

I Am Joe Collector - Wow, a whole wonderbread box filled with boxed sets, that rocks in so many ways. Add in the "YOU CRASH THE GAME" redemption set, and you get a winner.

Houston Card Collector - This post presents something that a lot of us go through when writing these posts. Is my centerpiece the most valuable card in my collection or is it the one that means the most. It may be both.

Acheiver Card Blog - Funny post. Tragically Motherscratcher died yesterday writing this post on his computer. May he rest in peace. Dibs on his blog!

Fielder's Choice - I thought it would be only fitting to end the second Bat Around with our host for next month. Dave has some pretty awesome pieces in his Mattingly and Longo collections, so be sure to see this post.

Wow, that was a blast and a half. Ill say this, after going through the order in two consecutive innings, we must be up 100 runs. I am still pissed that Padrographs missed the sign on the squeeze bunt in the second inning, though. Dammit, keep your head in the game!

Thanks again for participating, this is really a massive thing to get everyone together on one topic. We have shown, now, for the second time that the card blogs are the number one info source in the industry, not some magazine of dorks in Texas. See, I had to get one Beckett shot in there!

Same Bat Time next month, but different Bat Channel. Mark your calendars.

Blog Bat Around - Holy Crap This Is Going to Be Big

So far we are at 30 and counting, I have a feeling there are more on the way. Please remember to have them in by tonight, I have finished the write ups for the ones I got so far, so extra time will be given if you contact me first. Your post will be at the bottom, but it will be on there.

Thanks again for making the Bat Around awesome, I am so happy that we can organize something huge like this.

I Owe A Few People A Few Things

First off, there will be two breaks here on the 19th, and there will be giveaways from the break for the numerous people who have participated in SCU Breaks and the Blog Bat Arounds over the last 6 months, so make sure to check in on Friday for your chance to get some hits from the boxes.

Secondly, I owe Cardboard Addiction a Marino letter, and I havent forgot. With the wedding and money, I havent been able to send it. I can now, this is my fault. Send me your address again, and ill have it out today. Sorry again.

Thirdly, articles are due tonight at midnight - and this time I KNOW I am right.

Fourthly, Dave is breaking a box for the 'sphere, that is amazing.

Lastly, I may have to cancel the Secret Holiday Gift Giver. There are just too many things going on. I havent decided yet, but I am sorry none-the-less.

Reminder: Bat Around Articles Due Wednesday

For those of you who will be participating, your articles are due Wednesday, or they will not be added to the original posting, I will be working on the submitted articles first, and posting that, then yours will be added as soon as I have time, so please get them on time. It takes an unusual amount of time to get the whole post done, because blogger seems to poop itself every time I want to post something with 30 plus links, so please give me advanced time to prepare by being nice and submitting asap.

I have every link so far that has been emailed or commented on the site, so dont worry if you already have yours done. I also read most of the blogs, so I even did a courtesy to those who posted but didnt comment or email.

To get your link added to the Bat Around, please send a link to your blog's post, and I will add it. You can comment below, or email me at sportscardsuncensored@gmail.com.

EDIT: I MUST BE HIGH BECAUSE I THOUGHT TODAY WAS WEDNESDAY.