Ep.186 w/ Mike Steveline-ThisBaseballCardLife

10:06 PM
What is up, everybody episode 186, or the Carnation, glad to be with you. Hope all is well, I know I do this every week now, as we get closer to the National, but if you're listening to us on release day, we are 23 days, a way of getting more excited, as we get closer hope you are. 

As well, a great guest today. He'll he'll be International as well from this baseball, card life. Mike Steve line. Where to talk about vintage card. We're going to talk about baseball card Hall of Fame, which he's involved with with Victor Roman and Ray from Philly. Want to talk about that. I think it's a great thing and we have something in common that I had no idea. So I'll just tease With that it kind of leads off the interview. So with that being said, don't go away. We're going to start to show right now. This is full of scars Nation. 

Time for a hobby. Is the people announcer. 

Hey everyone, this is Alex here from relics cards and collectibles in Toronto, representing the relics Squad. I just want to remind everyone. The hobby is the people. If you'd like to be the hobbyist of people announcer of the week to a client or MP3 file, and send it to sports coordination PC at gmail.com, 

All right. Happy to be joined on the sports card shop at 

All right. Happy to be joined on the sports card shop at Moco guess line by my next guest is I like people who love the history of the game, kind of respect the history of the game and then I believe this gentleman does and love what he does. We're going to talk about some of that stuff. Obviously, put this baseball card with this baseball card, life's, Mike Steve line. Welcome to sports Carnation, great to be with you John. So You know, I know you're from son. The Orchid I asked you out there and you say, you know, if you want let's save it for the podcast. So I agreed to do that. So the suspense is killing me. So I guess, you know, I'm in, I'm here in Syracuse because I do like watching you, you mentioned that you're originally from central New York's, I have to ask, you know, what, what part, all right. Well, drumroll, please. I spent the first riff roughly seven years of my life living on the west side. So, 

Of Syracuse New York. There you go. Call Fairmount. Yes, for him out. Fairmount Camilla's. Yeah, that lets you swallow world. What I mean. I don't want you. You know what years were approximately? What were you here? 779 286. I want to Onondaga Road Elementary School if you know where that is. It's on Route. 173 on the west side? Yeah, I called it right. 173 is not a doctor road. So yeah. I live like a 

Quarter mile, south of the school, right? Next to a church. Yeah, yeah, that's where I was born there. Till I was 7. And then when I was seven and like 86 and moved about an hour and a half South to Binghamton so people might be going on Google Maps right now. But then I spent a few years there and that's where I really my hobby Journey started. So it was the aeronaut Binghamton area, New York card shops all over the place you know, kids with Keepers, you know, goal in the school, we all collected baseball cards like, you know, I played him little league. So yeah, that's I had a feeling to what I needed wanted times, like I would have, I'm going to hit a Syracuse and that's, that's what I'm originally myself. From Brooklyn New York. So when you were here on a date, you were here in Syracuse, I was in Brooklyn, but a Syracuse is home now. So I'm not familiar with the school, the area, and all that good stuff. So that's cool. Small world, that hey, that's your hometown, right? Always always will be even though, you know, you did move when we were younger, but I got to ask you, you know, you're, you know, you're collected. I know you're heavy vintage, you do anything modern too much, or why me? What percentage we say? Well I got back, I took a long break like a lot of people do and in 2017, I opened my like a storage bin. Yes, I think another Storage Wars show or just having didn't look for it in this storage place for probably 15 years. I just had all my cards and they are got them out 2017 and, you know, I got back into what I did. Open a lot of packs in 2017, two, tons of modern and then I, you know, have a better job than I did as a kid in the 80s and 90s. So I went back and bought a bunch of the cards that that couldn't afford, you know, back in Back then when I was kid so did that? And then as you know as a hobby veteran a lot of us just move backwards and yes that's what I've been doing the last two or three. Well let's say from 2020 just kind of been moving backwards. Yeah so new stuff I mean when you know when the new flagship comes out because that's something you're going to crack some boxes or at this point, I'd be kinda stayed on the Vintage side of the Court, does it? 

Breaking packs. But there's there's just so many that I want. So many cards that I want. Like, it just takes away from that budget money. And plus, I have a younger brother and every Christmas he buys me the factor set of top. So, you know, put it in a in a binder every year as you can see behind me. Yeah. Just doing kind of come. Yeah. You kind of covered are and not heard you talking about it to on one of your videos. You know what the price of wax to Nowadays, it's tough. You know, II opened I've said on my show very little new wax at this point, actually most most of what I open is for review purposes and some of it is sent. I've been fortunate to have, you know, some recovery say Hey, you know, for review, you know, post it up, talk about it. But generally, you know, I believe me I've opened plenty of wax that came from a lot of Trial and error and then having my own store in the air. 90s I've heard it. Another thing we have in common besides that Syracuse threat is you like myself. You were you know I heard you mention like you went through going to a card store a lot and the owner just you know hire you and your brother that was how I got my first job at a card. So I was just there so much the owner just said, you know, John you're here almost every day. Why don't why don't you just put you to work? And, you know, I've talked about About before, you know we worked out like a half half cash half like store credit deal and I wind up just spending. It was really all store credit because I spent even the cash we agreed on store merchandise and then I did my first show at 15 and then wound up opening my first store at 20 years. 20 years old from working in the store. Did you ever do shows as a dealer? No but the owner and myself would go to shows. 

Unbiased by some stuff and do some trading at that time, but we didn't, we didn't ever just set up. We didn't do it. I didn't do that. Yeah, get any reason why? I just for me, it was sort of like, a lot of my friends are like, John, you know, I was working for the store owner's, name was Rudy and my lot of my friends were like, you've got quite the inventory yourself, God, and you know, you ever think about doing the show, and I'm like, maybe a little but, you know, I work for Rudy it's not a big deal. Like you could probably make, you know be so someone what you have and it was kind of due to peer pressure. Really I wanted to get my like tax number and you know did my first show in 15. It was just I just wondered you know, a lot of times you hear that. So I'm going to kind of works in the store and then they wind up doing their own thing eventually. I just wondering that, you know, maybe you don't like selling cards like some, you know, some people just can't do that I've talked. 

About that. Even at my show, Mike is even though my store days, which was 92 to 97. One of my things. If I could have them all of you can go back is a lot of things. I got attached to, so I wouldn't put out in the showcases, a store, you know, I wish I would have, but some of those and then other things, I sold and I would wish that I wouldn't have heard. Some of those cards. I just wondering if there's an attachment that that's why you knew, like, I Not be good at setting up a chose or open in the store. The 20 and the owner was just burned out from traveling so much, to be honest, that's what he told me yet. So he just set up a card shop. Literally in his house in a garage and had it you know taking the garage doors down and put up glass and assign and put some a bigger parking lot in front of his house. He was on a main drag and yeah you know on the town that I lived in at the time and yeah, it worked. 

For seven years, I was like you know 7 year internship in cards. I mean I was 13 to 20 years old. So I didn't I didn't know anything other than the players names at 13 and some cards that I liked but you know, learning business inventory, how to communicate with people. Yeah. It's that's a great. That's the one thing that I think sometimes we do see She taught in schools, right? Is some of those life skills and money management and they were how many times I go through a register and pay for something and, you know, someone has trouble making change. So I think a lot of that too. But getting that experience, you working in your case, in the car storm me to at a young age and then eventually doing starting to do my own show shows at a very young age and then store like I was think that those are skills you. Maybe school's almost should focus a little bit more, how to write a check out how to balance a checkbook, you know. And, and I think there are starting to come around a little bit, we're seeing that a little bit more to going to step aside for a real quick break, but we'll be right back after that, with more with Mike Aaron. Swartz guard is your number one source for all your PSA and other grading submissions, their Elite status improves, turnaround time. Heck, they even provide the card. Say, 

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10:19 PM
It's coordination has returned with Mike Steve fine. The other thing I'm seeing a little bit more here from not just shows I set up at Mike but even the ones that I go to like I know you're a vintage guy, I'm a vintage guy, I realize I've always done vintage with the last two years. I've really really pivoted heavy to that side and but I'm starting to see younger folks, right? Really buy more vintage by play. Layers and cards of athletes that quite frankly, we're tired, or private before they were even born and I love when I see that. I love, you know, when I'm at a show as the setup and the young man or woman's body, you know, cards of layers, that I know most likely retired before, you know, they were even born out, strike up a conversation and they're, you know, they're telling me about the player, why they like them and you know, 

I appreciate that. I'm a Jackie guy. As I've said, you know, Jackie Robinson passed away a month before I was born. He passed away in October of 72. I was born in November of 72 but growing up in Brooklyn, you know, we learned about Jackie from a very young age, not just on the field but obviously the person and Manny was off the field and with social justices that he was striving for. And You know, I learned at an early age that even though someone didn't play when you were alive, that you know, they were the bridge, they were important to the game and the Hobby and to, you know, pay that respect. I think we're seeing more of that today with the younger folks. Today, to me, it's, you know, warms my heart, your thoughts there as a vented today. Well, my connection really. Well, I love to read Plus 

I had a grandma who was born in 1919 that she did, she passed away in 2000 and I was Amy 1819. Gone away to college. She even lived with my family for a while as a widow and I didn't talk to her very much and then she just like passed away and I really regretted not spending more time with her to learn more about her childhood and just, you know, 20s 30s 40s 50s then in that era. 

This vintage era that I'm really into now is the post or arrow that 48 and end of the 50s. And a lot of that is just because that was the age of my my grandma and I got to just learn and it's might be a little weird but just just kind of learn about her era of America and just how things were and I feel more connected to her in a weird way. Yeah, so Thanks, that's why that's one of the reasons that I've really gotten to this era, you know, plus integration into baseball, with Jackie Larry Doby. It all the guys that they entered in their late 40s so no I don't need. You got to have some kind of connection is this like a younger kids you know it's grandpa or like your your dad, you know. Yeah. Have to find a way to connect to that 50. 60, 70 s whatever. 

Era. There's got to be some kind of connection or, yeah. Maybe you just got burned, you know, I'm a lot of modern. He spent a lot of money on Modern and then you lost your lost all kinds of money and we're like, well, let me just buy some Hall of Famers and yeah and I be alright. So that's a great Point bike. I think some of the I refer to them as younger because I'm a little bit older. I say young, I'm even talking about people in their 20s even you know being almost 50 but even teach you know we're Again, I'm seeing them by more of those vintage and like you said, post-war Era cards. And I think what you just said, right, there is a fact, I think they're seeing, you know, what's going on, sort of the modern, but market and the things so often and just a lot of cards, right? And, you know, you go to a show and I talked about this, you go by the cases, it's just so much of the ultra-modern. It just starting to get a blur to me. Now I do do some of it. Still, I do. 

Area as a show dealer still. So I'm not trying. You know, trash it, which I would never do it. Still, the greatest hobby is dr. James Beckett says, what I just, you see it so much in. So you kind of appreciate, you know, the stuff maybe you don't see as much as naturally, I think speak. I mean, that's why people go to museums and, you know, historic places, it just because you don't see those things all the time. And I think it's the same way. In the sense with cards is that people will tend to gravitate with stuff. That's not, as is easy to obtain or C and that sort of thing. And so I think that's why we're seeing. I think it's a great Point by you that maybe some of the younger folks are kind of doing the math. If you will and saying hey this is probably a safer play and maybe even a newer challenge right now. I got to do some recent, I got to learn about, I know you. You, you mentioned You're a big reader of, you know, of history and baseball. The older, I get, the more I read, the more I tend to read. Now, I've always read but I just read even more and more and try to fill in the gaps of knowledge. And I think we're seeing that even on the younger end of the hobby Spectra menu. For me, I like to see that is this. I love it because, you know, we can talk about, you know, the mic. 

Droughts and the Fernando to teach Juniors and want Soto's and all those great players. But, you know, they're here because of the players that came before them, they say that themselves. That's not even me just saying that they allude to that as well. And so it's nice to see even the hobby of collectors kind of acknowledge that to. And now in the information age, right? Google is one point two seconds away. So, if any anybody wants to find out anything, it's pretty easy to do and maybe not believe everything you see. But for most of it's fairly accurate and it's easy to obtain that information and that's really the, you know. So do you have a player or team like you? When you, you know what your Collective you tend to lean towards. There's a just certain errors in general. Well, I grew up Cleveland Indians fan because 

Really I moved to Ohio and 92. So I was 12 13 then and then the shop owner of the card shop. I worked at it was a big Indians fan and obviously in the 90s they were, they had some amazing teams and should know shouldn't have lost the Florida. Marlins Jose Mesa so that made me cry. But yeah, it was a big Indians fan for a long time. So I'm glad Jose Ramirez is having a great season this year. I just yeah, so yeah Cleo's Cleveland sports in general. Yeah. But the Reds and the Reds I guess that the Bangles are doing well, Joe burrow and Browns are a total mass, and you could do a whole to our podcast just on the grounds right now. But that's like a bad word to me, because I'm a Believer, not even though for Euler's. I'm a steel, big Steelers fan. So, you know, we got our own problems too. So, I mean, Position, the really throw stones at the Browns and we got to figure out some things. But so you really like, Cleveland is really where you're sort of your heart lies. Now, what cards is it just baseball or do you do basketball football cards at all? I have some basketball football cards from when I worked at the card shop, but I really haven't bought many since I got back into it in 2017 and up in You know, 99% and baseball, so lots of Rookie Card Hall of Famers. I know you're into that to from listen to your podcast. So yeah, that's that's really my PC. Now is to knock as many of those. I mean, it is, you know, if you count for, if you got the four major sports, they get something like you know, over 1000 Hall of Famers combined. I'm never going to check all those boxes, but I keep my list and when I acquire You know, I check it off. So that's really the only thing I tend to keep everything else is either, you know, show inventory or to obtain some more of that easy kind of to level output, you know, which is probably why I don't really buy as much of the new stuff as as I once did, it should be, you know it's I don't PC any of it. There's nothing. I'm going to really pull that I'm going to wind up keeping and so I almost No, sort of avoid it, just for agrees and you said, right, for what boxes, go for, and I went over dust kind of settles and you realize, like what you got are like, man, you know, I'd like to do that with over again, most likely. So that's generally sort of my ammo at this point time for a quick break, but we'll be right back. 

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Pretty good Head. Start. And so, I just pulled some of that stuff. Literally, out of my show, inventory box with it. You know what, I'm a, I'm a PC this. These guards keep on my show inventory, you know, still pretty, you know, still locked. There's not like, really, you know, put a big dent in it and I'm like, you know, I just enjoy that more than. Like we said, he knew where stuff works for me, right? And that's kind of the direction I'm going. And you know, so I mean to I don't know, I just just, you know, you do this long enough, you kind of figure things out, sometime sometimes it takes you maybe longer than it should but eventually the light bulb goes on and you know decide what you want to do for sure but you know what, I love what your content is you know you talk about a lot of the history and those are were of cards and 

10:31 PM
Who likes that stuff and respects that stuff. You know, any future plans with what you're doing? Well, I was a witch National was it sa 2020? I guess it was 2019. I'm trying to remember now that because we just want a 20, you happens in Chicago and I was at one of the YouTuber get-togethers and there were so many like amazing collectors there. And, and I just decided, then that I wanted to build a 1951 Bowman baseball cards set and which is a huge task. There's there's 320 24 cards, you know, with the Mickey and the Maze, but I wanted to you know, get them all graded eventually and this is going to be expensive and I've been working on it for well like three years now and it's just, you know, I'm in my 40s. So it's not like I'm in my 80s and I'm not going to get to it. 

But yeah, I'm slowly working on it and get a few cards a month. You know, I go to baseball-reference read about them and Savor and buy books on this players and these are some of them are World War Two veterans. And I like reading about, you know, WWII D-Day and how they all connected. You know, with Yogi Berra, he was are D-Day and so a lot of things from a boat and just the stories just the connections, I I just have so much respect for that era and just how it connects with my favorite game, you know, baseball, it's just amazing and let me think. Yeah, it also I saw an article a few years back and this guy named Amy Powell Miller is obviously a wealthy man because he owns the whole graded set of the T20 six. Was it like, five, 24 or 25 with the are loyal are and he had on 

Play at the Detroit Institute of Art, like the whole whole said all graded and obviously behind glass and I was like, oh no one. Is that be cool to have like the whole poem in set like that like an SGC, like your Jackie is and just put it on display because you know, these companies, you know, especially the Vintage Arrow. You know, 50s 40s like these artists and the people that created them that created them as a set, right? Yeah. Just kind of be collected. All Other and that's that's what they wanted. Baseball collectors to do at the time is to build a whole set and I think it would be amazing to have it on display for people to see the front and back. And but yeah, that's a few years down the road because I don't have them all. I'm in, I'm in about 140 ish right now and so you're like to do this how many cards that you have on that. 

When you decided to throw your hat in the ring and say, hey, and when I didn't want to, I didn't have any, but it has Arrow. I'm even talking raw. Like, I know you want ground. We did you how many, raw 51 Baldwin's, that none had absolutely none at the time. Yeah. So you started from literally no, we're talking about scratch. We were literally starting from scratch. You started from point 0. And here, your hair from there, I got to ask you, right? See how it's a quits? The obvious question everyone. Taking like is the measurement is the major male crossed off yet? No, not yet. No. No. Just because I don't want an authentic or I'm going to save to get a bigger one or more is what is what I'm looking for. So, so I'm just, oh, yeah. It's a big deal and I know before maybe rolling their eyes, like you're crazy, but that's okay. I don't think you're crazy. Finished complete missions. Whether it be in life Journey or have to be Journeys like go and obviously Maze. And man or the two big ones. Do you have like a game plan? Another words like, I'm going to save those two for last and make sure I can get everything else. Or is it like, I want to look if I can get a decent one, or are you kind of waiting to your sort of closer before you sort of put the target sights on knows? I'm kind of, I'm kind of waiting towards towards the end. It'd be nice to have it as the last couple cards. There's a there's another YouTuber named Alex Bowman 53 and needed a bum color set. And his last card that he intentionally got was the Pee Wee Reese which is arguably many people feel Feel one of the greatest cards that were ever made great great shot, and it's actually a card. I don't own even though I do have a decent amount of Brooklyn Dodgers, stop and I my dad gave me some of his Brooklyn Dodgers stuff. My dad's 83 and we've never had you know he's had that card when it was little you know it's gone but I've never owned that card it's on my even though it doesn't you know it's not a It's not a rookie cards up here, he's working and still on my list. I'm at PC. Let's just because of that card and how I got how iconic it is. So it's one of those rare exceptions. It's not a, it's not a Hall of Famer rookie. It's all of Famer was not as rookie, but it'll still crack my list just because our awesome local guarded it, but, because our awesome of the garnet, it's not cheap. So, Every time I kind of do a search or look at an auction house, I usually the bids are feds, are up there and, you know, I'm like, man, you know. So maybe I'll run into a little over grade one. Let's say, and the price will be right. I can add it to the PC collection, but I mean, that's the fun, right? Yeah, you mention a national. Do you tend to go to the mall? Yeah, this year. I'm planning to go. It'll be my fifth. 

First one was in 97, and I was working at the card shop at that time, and it was in Cleveland, and I live in Ohio and did then. So it just was an hour hour and a half drive to it then and then I started going goodness. Then my first one again was in 2018. So it was like a 21-year break. So that was my second one there, and then I've gone to everyone since. So, looking forward to checking out Atlantic City and and seeing what that towns got the offer. Got my, you know, hotel and car rental and all that stuff. Ready to roll. Yeah and I hope to meet you obviously in person for me. What's nice Mike? You know what the funny thing is for, as long as I've been doing this, this will only be, I think my fourth National so I just didn't, you know, I didn't go back in the day, you know, it was just kind of from where I was and we had to East Coast National in White Plains, which was a big show. The Nashville was just kind of like a real 

Show. And so it was like, for the travel expense, I was younger, it was, you know, I just never went and so it wasn't terrible history. You know, for five years that I started going and then with the podcast, the going in support of that and do what's nice about this one this year in Atlantic City is, you know, being here in Syracuse, it's just a 5 and a half hour drive so normally, you know, Chicago had to fly in please. One of the fly in, this would be nice to actually pack up the car and kind of drive. And we have a beach house about three and a half miles away from the convention center. My wife's actually making the trip, she's not in the cards but she'll she'll hang out at the beach with a, put an umbrella and a book and a beverage and just it'll be a true vacation for her and it'll be a hobby vacation for the rest of us and you know, be nice. 

I'll be able to bring more stuff than it would normally would and will be no fighting in, you know, just having nothing wrong with a hotel room. I actually enjoy traveling and hotels, don't bother me, but they be kind of in the house setting and that'll, that'll be nice to. And so, you know, that was the one that was canceled. You know, when covid hit that Atlantic City, didn't get it that year. And so now they're hella got it back and I've Been to Atlantic City, Mike but never For I've never been there for, you know, the national. So the interesting knowing how it's set up in other places can see how it, you know, how the venue goes. Yeah, fun fact. I actually walked by you and Javi great Rich. Kline at the Chicago National, he was pulling like a suitcase and you were helping him out. We were just walking in, I think you guys are walking actually out. And I was like wow that's John. He could be like a lineman in the NFL. He's a bigger guy than I thought because we you know on hotline and stuff. All I see is like me. I mean, I did play football, so you're safe and I love meeting folks and talking. Hi because I'm a people person. And so, just for what I do for, for real work, for Content Creation The Hobby, I'll talk to your office. You want wind up being like, hey man, I gotta run. So, Maybe, but yeah, don't hesitate and that goes that goes for anybody, right? I'm going to be there all week so I you know, I always joked like you know, when I'm there all week, probably if you if you had like a stopwatch and every time I'm conversation with somebody or someone has to know and you click it almost like a chess clock. Probably one of those, you know, four or five days. It's just conversations. What would have you time to hear from one of our great sponsors foot? Sports car Nation will be right back after. 

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And that's what it's about, right? The tagline of the show is the Hobbies, the people rights, the stories, the people like I get it, we're here because of the cars, that's the common theme, the common thread and no one's bigger than the cards, I agree. But you know the people you meet the stories behind how you acquire cards and conversation to have that's that's so important. I don't belittle that fact. And so I just love, you know, talking with people 

I've had someone that was standing in line talking to someone else and person behind me, who never saw me, you know, Kathy, on the shoulders, thought about tapping me on the shoulder and he's like, are you John Newman? And I'm like, I was like, what's this about? You know, I didn't say that, but I was thinking that and you know, with my humor like are you the FBI? He was hell. I'm like yeah, I'm trying them and you know, that's just how I like it was. 

10:44 PM
Man, I recognize you. So and that was crazy to me might like, you know, I'm up put my pants on one leg at a time like, you know, that stuff just almost me and just, I love when I get that feedback even in email form and I love the show, even even some of the not, you know, hey, I disagree with you, would he said this? He is why, like, I love all that bad. They're good and bad, but the fact that somebody does think like, just on for vocals alone, which I don't actually like my voice tree though. So like that, we really feel like I was shocked. I was shocked and but it's all that kind of stuff. And I just you know I just love conversating. And again with the greatest hobby it's just you know you sit for me and I think for you know you Circle that week right? Every every year in the calendar it's really about the same same time every year. So it's time for me now what I do for work now is that as a teaching assistant you know we have some results 

Fishing. What now your summer school? Which they asked me to detach and I thought one lesson I'll teach summer school every year except this one week almost every year. So if you can work around that and you know they said that should be no problem. So it's kind of nice and you know, it's a hobby vacation and you know, it's fun. It's fun, right? We we look forward to it and when it's over and it goes quick and when it's over, right, what do we do? Start? Counting down the days all over again to the next one. At the next city and is there. So, going into this one, you know, going back to you and going to the National is like, you know, knocking some of these 51 Bowman's off. Is that your kind of your main focus? Absolutely. And just any card that I see and in great condition at a decent price that you know, it's on my list. There's so many great cards that I want that I don't own. 

Especially videos cards that you just see him in the right condition and, you know, I'll go for it if I can afford it. Yep. Now, will you buy them raw and then solve them yourself to, okay? I was gonna say that might be the best in some cases. I mean not you know, obviously if you can find them slab and at a decent price, but I think sometimes the best plays the even, you know, volume cheaper ungraded and then just get them graded and then you're good. Yeah, it either way I mean the cards the card right? Yeah. It's just yeah it's just if you know, you're familiar with the set, it's really hard to find them centered special about scratches and focus without wax on the back. Yeah. And that's the tough part. I mean, I did have been finished with the whole set. If I just did lots of, you know, yeah, PSA ones and twos a while ago, but I'm just waiting and trying to find the best copies that I can afford. 

Yeah, go ahead. Do you have like a baseline? Like I want to keep it like greatest three and up four and up. You have sort of like a number. You don't want to go below if you can if you can help it. Yeah, like some of my hall of famers are like four and a half. I mean I have a, the Billy Southworth, an eight. I mean, it's a the low. Yeah, we lower ones but the commons, you know, it's six sevens eights. I even have a And a half. So it's kind of crazy and I had that one grade in myself but I'm not trying to get all the weights and stuff like that. It's just nice, I appeal, you know, the corners are a little, you know, not Square. You know, that's all right. It's just just big eye appeal for me. That's that's why, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Even what, you know, going to go into my Jackie that I got recently. That was my thing. Like I knew I was going to afford a high grade but you know, some of Even these ones and one point fives and twos many women like you look at it. And you're like, you know, I mean even though one I got I mean everyone thinks the cards are sometimes in better shape and they are but like looking at it I'm like I'm even tempted to like have a regraded. I guess it's closed, you know, but I'm just glad to own it. So I'm not worried about another half point or Point potentially. Maybe if I was looking to sell it potentially but that's not why I acquired 

So, I'm not worried about it too much on black. PLU. You said it yourself right there. I think that's when you can get a special card like that, that has that. You know, I was in Dallas, the last month and I had while I was in Dallas, the card, actually, the Jackie was here still in its box. My wife sign for. It came when I wasn't home, thankfully, she was home and but I was at the dollar show and there was four or five 1s and 2's there, and, you know, No, I would look at him and just ask them what they wanted. Some of them were really, you know, just kind of beat up and kind of rough shape. And, you know, ask quite frankly ask him for more than what mine cause me and I was just kind of gauging, you know, what kind of deal I might have made or not made and so, I felt but, you know, after talking to those 45 folks, I felt a lot better about pulling the trigger finally and my own father, the cost me as much as it did mine. 

Because I had a opportunities as I've said on the show, like to get it at a lesser threshold. And I always just thought I'll get it another day, you know, it'll be there and I had some other thoughts on my neck, but you know, again you learn sometimes, you know, in hindsight, the hard way, so cost a little more out of my bank account, but now, you know, I'm kind of for me, I'm kind of looking forward to going to the National without that sort of hovering over me. My head is like a kind of set the national as the deadline to finally like acquire this card, and I'm sort of, you know, now I had to, you know, tighten up the account and not buy anything for, you know, 40 days from, you know, going into the national so I can buy something at the national Club. I kind of like going in there. Sort of went out that self-appointed pressure. Like you have to, you know, by the time you leave her, you have to have 

Jackie leave. Now that I've already you can kind of go in there. I don't have another card that has that sort of sense of urgency that. So you can kind of, you know, for me take a deep breath and just know I always go in. I don't know how you know while you're doing the 51 set so that's a different but I'm not a sad guy at this point. I used to be but not anymore. So I had like six cards on that you know graded rookie Hall of Famer list that are sort of The ones I kind of want to acquire neck. I have more than six that I don't have plenty more but I was kind of have six that I've tried to get next and my goal was you know the not one or two off by the other show if possible three would be tremendous. I'm not expecting that or anticipating that because of financial reasons why I bought. So if I can come out of there, one or two, I'll be fine. And like I said, it's, you know, 

Want to do those cards meeting, folks, like yourself and lots of other people either for the first time or again, right? That week again, you know, I've said this on the show, I called the Super Bowl of the hobby. You know, you look forward to that week every year and I've heard people call it a family reunions, you know, the hobby sets. And it really is. And, you know, so between, you know, getting one or two cards and all the people you meet in the fun, you have, you know, going to dinner. You and talking to people. It's going to be a fun week and four-year-old, it's over, right? And then here we are counting days again. So as they're obviously, the 51 Bowman said, is kind of your made Focus. You have anything else that, you know, was on top of that that you're going on the Reggie Jackson. Rookie would be great. If I can, I can find a nice centered one. Those arms are always cut. Pretty yeah, pretty off. So that, that whole set is, 

Is really tough there? Yeah. Hmm. That's that was one of the big ones we think of anything else. Oh and by the way, getting these, my 51 set grated part of it was just for authentic just to make sure the card wasn't trimmed or you know, as doesn't think on it or yeah. Just just for authentication purposes is one of the big reasons and also insurance purposes to write like, you know what, they're what your set is is Worth case something bad happens. So Yeah. So, you know, so, yeah, just so many things with catch my eye, you know, I'd love to have the what, the 72 tops treated Joe Morgan, you know, the ones with the big Trade, It stamps, High number there. I don't have that one. And it's Joe Morgan second year card, love to have a nice copy of that. I have a pretty beat up one right now, so there's just, there's just so many. Yeah, yeah, and it was on, and on and on, it'll never end. 

Sports card Nation Podcast. We'll be right back after this break. Are you a new sports car to like girls someone returning to the Hobby? Maybe you're just looking for a friendly trustworthy hobby Community, to hang out with and enjoy collecting Midwest box, which has been bringing collectors together for many years with a portable Bridge, helpful thread and a Discord group back with Only care about the problem and other collectors. Check out the brakes at Midwest box. Prints.com. Our goal is to bring you as much value as p