Ep.272 w/ Gio Balistreri of WTHBalls Blog

SPEAKER 1: What is up everybody? Welcome to episode 272 of Sports Card Nation. Happy to be back. Enjoyed my week off from school, winter break, got a lot of stuff done around the house, the studio content, creation wise, really got caught up, for those that don't know, I'm taking some college courses, to advance my employment.

SPEAKER 1: So, got a little ahead of schedule there, as well, so far, so good, in that, category as well. So I got a great guest today, Mr GEO Balestra, fellow Brooklynite. Now out of New Jersey does a great blog that I'm a fan of a longtime blog called Gowth Balls, short for what the heck tops, or what, you know what taps.

SPEAKER 1: And, one thing I love about GEO, like I like about a lot of people, right? Kind of just gives his opinion, says what's on his mind? No, doesn't mince words. He's been in the Hobby, over 40 years like myself. So we've seen a lot of stuff.

SPEAKER 1: He does some great custom work of cards that were never made that should have been, and even designed his own podcast guest card for, for this show and did a great job better than I could. So, really enjoyed talking to him for the first time. And, you know, won't be the last time he's on. We'll have him back on again. I think you'll enjoy the conversation. So, with that being said, let's start the show.

SPEAKER 2: Hobby news is your home page of the Hobby, providing original writing, exclusive gem rate data, a daily morning minute podcast and some of the best content creators in the Hobby. Remember Hobby news, daily.com and at Hobby news daily on social. Happy collecting.

SPEAKER 1: All right, happy to have the next gentleman on the sports car shop guest line. He is the author of a blog that I love to, check out and read. But, so without further ado GEO of the WTH Balls blog, welcome.

SPEAKER 3: Thank you for having me. That was quite an interesting. And that is some production man.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER 1: Yeah. And that's all, like I always say it's all downhill after that. But, but, I apprec I appreciate you. You coming on, you know, before we get into the blog and, and other things, kind of the, you know, the standard first time on this particular podcast question, kinda. When did the Hobby start for? You kind of go back and, and when that was and, and, you know how it all came about.

SPEAKER 3: Well, now that I found out that we have that Brooklyn connection. Yeah, you can appreciate, what, mid seventies, 67 years old. Like, so you figure 76 really? For me going to the candy store, seeing those 20 cent wax packs and, you know, you start buying and as a kid in Brooklyn at the time, everybody, every kid was in the sports.

SPEAKER 3: So cards were everywhere. And, and luckily I had a cousin, my cousin Anthony, who's a few years older than me, but he was from Yonkers. But, he was, you know, a few years ahead. So he was really into cards and he got me into it.

SPEAKER 3: And honestly, by the time 77 that's when I really started chasing, you know, to complete a set. 78 is, you know, I, I just dove right in and it's been my one great thread through life. No matter where life has taken me, no matter what I've done cards, baseball, more specifically, it's always been that comfort for me.

SPEAKER 3: And, yeah, there was nothing like March April when those new cards came out. And, you know, I got to a point in my neighborhood where the candy store would call my house when the cards came in for the first time and my mom would just tell me, you know, oh, the candy store called, you know, and I'd be, I'd be there in two minutes.

SPEAKER 3: I was right up the block. So, for me it was, I mean, I was also into football, hockey, basketball and I collected those cards. But for me, baseball was always first and foremost. Yeah.

SPEAKER 1: Yeah, it's funny. I was 79 tops. Theo, you know, I, well, again, corner store, like I was raised by my grandparents, in Brooklyn. And, you know, my grandfather said, hey, I, I gotta go to the, the corner store. You wanna go? And I love going places with my grandfather.

SPEAKER 1: So I went, like you said, too, the great point, you know, growing up in New York City at that time, you, you were just almost like indoctrinate and to be a sports fan or just whatever teams you followed. And even at seven years old in 1979 I was, I was already a sports fan. I remember I had some Jaws cards.

SPEAKER 1: I didn't get back someone, someone had just given them to me like, hey, you want these? So I knew about cards per se but not, not, I haven't, I hadn't opened the pack yet. So I, I, I'll make this story shorter. I went to the store with my grandfather.

SPEAKER 1: We're going up to the front counter to the checkout and lo and behold, right on that, that counter was a box in 1979 tops baseball. I saw it and even though I hadn't opened any packs yet, I just put two and two together with the Jaws card, seeing, seeing the baseball player on the box. I kind of figured out what they were.

SPEAKER 1: And, and I said to my grandfather as a seven year old would, can I have, can I have some, can I get some? And he goes, yeah, I'll get you a couple of packs and, he did and the first pack I opened Joe, you know, at the time, as you well know, I was a Thurman Munson kid.

SPEAKER 1: At that point, he was, he had already passed away, but Reggie Jackson was the toast of New York, Mr October. And, and the third or fourth card in that first pack was at Reggie and the rest of this history I was hooked.

SPEAKER 1: I would, you know, my buddies who like gum more than the cards, I would give them my gum, and get their cards and, you know, I, as I always joke, I got my cavities from soda instead of the gum, but I had a mask, you know, a big card collection but hearing you hearing you reminisce to, to your side, I mean, definitely hits home, you know, the corner store being, you know, being a kid in New York at that time, for sure.

SPEAKER 1: You, you, we, we're a sports fan. It was just which teams you selected to, to root for for. And so, really, it's nice to hear you talk about that. Like, like you said, I didn't realize the common thread and connection we had until we kind of talked.

SPEAKER 3: That was great. That was great. And I mean, it's funny because, and it is such a, such a memory I take with me to this day for me kind of along the story you just said with the Thurman Munson card. Yeah, I was a Yankee fan still am.

SPEAKER 3: And by then, yes, Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, of course, Ron Guidry, but I'll never forget in, in my driveway coming back from the candy store.

SPEAKER 3: It's, it's not the first pack or, you know, maybe not even close to the first, but my first real memory of opening a pack where it just kind of like, wow, while I was in my parents' driveway in Bensonhurst and I'm just looking through the cards and one of the first cards and this is 1977 was it was that all time classic Mark Fridge card?

SPEAKER 3: And I just remember just like it literally just stopped me and I remember just looking at that card, the All Star banner, you know, the Rookie Cup and just Fri Man Bridge was everything at that moment and I just, just being in awe and man, it was, it was my love of baseball cards even more so than baseball.

SPEAKER 3: It was just, it was there to stay and, and that's one of the memories I always take. You know, another one is the following year.

SPEAKER 3: This wasn't even the candy store. I'll never forget it was the corner convenience store and walk home with my mom. You know, we just went to do some shopping, whatever. I'm walking back and I opened, I got a pack and one of the first cards was to this day, one of my all time favorites, the 78 Reggie card.

SPEAKER 3: And just again, like, you know, to a kid, it's amazing how this little 2.5 by 3.5 cardboard card can have such an impact on a kid and just seeing that card, that Reggie Jackson card just like, wow.

SPEAKER 3: And it's funny because, you know, you tap into that decades later, you know, it's nice to be able to pick up a card and just kind of tap into that feeling and that, you know, that warmth that, that, you know, it kind of makes you feel like a kid again. You know, it takes.

SPEAKER 1: You back, it takes you back instead of nostalgia moment. And, you know, it's funny talking to people, you know, especially from the same age and, you know, it's, it, to me it was almost like the heyday. I know people in the fifties and sixties will say that that was or even, you know, but I guess wherever, wherever it started for you was the heyday for you, right?

SPEAKER 1: And, and so here when you talk about, you know, Friedrich with the hair coming out the other side of the hat and, you know, just, a definitely a unique personality.

SPEAKER 1: The, this, the 78 Reggie, if I'm, if my memory serves me correctly, he's like, just completed his swing and he's kind of looking up at, at the trajectory where the ball, is going and it just like, like you said, it brings you back and, and even all these years later, right? You know, 4040 years later, and we can still remember those cards as if it was yesterday.

SPEAKER 1: I can't remember what I ate for dinner yesterday. So we can remem, we can remember those cards, you know, from the seventies and that, that's why we're still here and still collecting and while we may not like everything, that goes out in the Hobby or, or, or those sort of things, different world.

SPEAKER 3: I mean, it's a different world. Like when we were collecting as kids. I mean, it was really, you know, I mean, still at the time it was, yes, adults were collecting. There were card shows already. I remember, I think, I don't know if you remember this.

SPEAKER 3: But the first card show I ever went to, I don't know if you remember out in Sheepshead Bay, that the Golden Gate Inn, it was this hotel.

SPEAKER 3: And those were, you know, they have their card shows. And that was the first time I finally got my dad to take me to a card show. My dad straight up, you know, Italian guy blue-collar.

SPEAKER 3: Like, he didn't understand anything I accept with cards and, you know, finally getting him to take me to a card show and it was one of those golden gate in shows and, you know, even looking at him like I remember the first time he kinda realized, wow, this isn't just like some dumb kid thing because he was amazed at the adults and the money exchanging hands and the prices on some of this stuff.

SPEAKER 3: And I'm talking like 1980 maybe.

SPEAKER 3: And, and him even talking about it on the drive home, like, just amazed, like it was more than this, this, this kid Hobby or, or as he thought of it like this waste of money, but then it was still child, you know, it was child driven. Whereas now, look, you know, I appreciate change. I get it.

SPEAKER 3: Although I'm generally in life averse to change.

SPEAKER 1: But, I think human nature did not defend you here too. G I think humans might natured our resistance to change. I don't think that's, you know, I think.

SPEAKER 3: You go to, you know what bums me out the most nowadays is, there's nothing like that. You're heading into a weekend and, you know, you have nothing planned. So you're just like, yeah, let me go buy a box and just rip it while I'm watching the game or I'm, you know, whatever, taking some time to relax and that, that, that fun of ripping a box open and, you know, whatever.

SPEAKER 3: And that's, I don't know about you, but for me that's totally gone because it, the whole nature of, of buying for starters, I'm not going to pay a couple of 100 bucks, a few 100 bucks for, you know, a box of baseball cards when I could spend that or more or more or more when I could spend that money on vintage cars, which, you know, come on.

SPEAKER 3: That's, you know, for me there's that, as much as I don't wanna tie the value into it.

SPEAKER 3: But if, if we're gonna be somewhat responsible with what we're doing, if I'm gonna spend a couple of 100 bucks. Well, yeah, I'll buy a, a 1950 starter set or, you know, something like that where at least I know in the long run, you know, if I need to get rid of them or, you know, I've sold my collection two times over, over the years.

SPEAKER 3: You know, I'm a collector so this modern game where this, it's such manipulation, I feel, you know, there's also manipulation and instant value in cards where that's, for me that's not the Hobby and I get it. I mean, there are people that, that's what they like. And hey, man, more power too. Yeah.

SPEAKER 3: But for me, that's not what the Hobby is. You know, it, it, it, how's a kid nowadays supposed to really enjoy? Like I said, when the, when the candy store used to call my house and I'd run and I'm still a team with my little part time job after school. And I could still go and buy a wax box.

SPEAKER 3: You know, and my sisters would be there in the kitchen, like, just waiting for me to give them my little baggy of gum as I'm ripping open the packs and immediately sorting by hundreds at first and then I'll go back and, you know, put them all in the me load. But I can't see a kid nowadays unless you're kinda well off being able to do that. That's sad.

SPEAKER 1: You know, it's, you, you know, it's a great point. J it's tougher, it's tougher.

SPEAKER 1: You know, a kid who's maybe on a budget will have to hit those bargain boxes and find some gems at a show and kind of do it that way. Or, you know, maybe Christmas time or birthday where they'll get that box because it's a little more expensive.

SPEAKER 1: I mean, it's still doable but the degree of difficulty from our age as kids to the, to now it's II I, I'll say it. I'm glad. Well, I, wow, I wish I was younger, birth certificate wise and, and, and, you know, I'm also glad I grew up at that time for Hobby's sake because it was easier to navigate the terrain and a choir cards and build a collection than it would be, you know, being seven years old.

SPEAKER 1: You know, it was easier being a seven year old kid in the Hobby in 1979 than it would be in 2023 2024. And if anyone had agree probably wasn't around in 1979. That's just.

SPEAKER 3: I mean, it was wild because talk about it even as, as a, you know, you didn't have to be a hardcore collector, but that was one of the great things you had all these other, you know, you had all these kids that generally weren't as obsessed with it as I say, guys like us.

SPEAKER 3: And so you just had more kids buying cars because you can actually go to the store with a quarter and buy something, you know, and, and then there was also that fun when my friends were buying bags of chips and a soda. And for me, it was like, you know, every coin I had in my pocket, I knew it was going straight to cards like whatever it was.

SPEAKER 3: And, and now, I mean, I, except for say Walgreens or I, I don't even, it's not like you're gonna walk into a, a convenience or bodega or something and see that box of cards by the register that when I was a kid, no matter where you went in, in, in Bensonhurst or Park Slope or Bay Ridge or whatever.

SPEAKER 3: It seemed like every mom and pop shop had that box of cards by the register. Like, you know, it, it, it, it was great. It was, it was, it was everywhere and it was easy to get and it was, it was fun to also be with other kids and just trade and flip and, you know, play colors and all that stuff. It's, it's a different world. It, it is.

SPEAKER 1: Yeah. No, you, you hit it right on the head and, and, and I wouldn't change anything, you know, while I, while I wish I was, you know, 30 instead of 51 again. But I still wouldn't change. I wouldn't change the era of the Hobby that, what I discovered a Hobby, I think, you know, when you make another great point, with the shows, like you said, you, you, you had the, you know, the Bay Rich, Sheepshead Bay Show.

SPEAKER 1: I remember shows in my local, my local Catholic church had a small little show, kind of in the, in the basement. Some of the vfws or, or, American Legions. I had them, as well. And, you know, while it wasn't, you know, business and money was exchanged in hands, it wasn't as what we know it today where it's heavily. Hey, what's this worth or what can I sell this for?

SPEAKER 1: You know, and I don't want to be disingenuous and says, say it wasn't like that in the seventies either, but it wasn't as the onus wasn't as much on the value. We were buying cards cause we collected that team, we collected that player.

SPEAKER 1: And it didn't even, as we, you know, we might have had a favorite player that wasn't even on our favorite team. And we just, we're trying to get what moved our meters at the time. Who we like, what teams we like? And now, and people still do that now, I don't wanna, you know, but it, there's a little, I don't know if you'll agree. I just feel like there's a little bit less of that in today's Hobby than the Hobby we kind of do.

SPEAKER 3: I mean, ii, I can't really put my finger on like, what exactly led to these changes. But for me, like, like the ability, I'll give you an example in 82 a friend of mine and I, there was a show at the Fell Forum which was behind Madison Square Garden. Now, I think it's paramount, I forget what they call it now, but it was the Fell Forum at the time, 1982.

SPEAKER 3: And even as a kid, but so I was, let's say 13, if I had 50 bucks on me, I might even be exaggerating because I, I was broke ass on my life side. You know, I can't imagine.

SPEAKER 3: I had more than that but from Brooklyn, me and him, from Richie taking the train going there, paying the admission and I'll tell you, not only was I able to get a Dave Winfield autograph like he was there and, and, whatever, like, say the latest cards were, but I bought my first T 206 card and it was, Eddie Cco, you know, one of the band black Sock, but it was a 2206 Eddie Cco card.

SPEAKER 3: And I kid you not, of course, it wasn't in mint condition or anything. But it was this old man. He had his little stall, he had binders of cigarette cards and I paid a dollar 75 for a dollar 75 for a T 206.

SPEAKER 3: And what, what gets me is, of course, generally kids they collect today, right? It's the players of today. But for those kids like me at that age, that really was immediately into the history of the game.

SPEAKER 3: I was lucky, you know, when it came to books, my parents, you know, they were always so happy to buy me or my sister's books. And, and I remember must have been around 1980 getting the ultimate baseball book, classic big photo book and going back to the 19th century.

SPEAKER 3: And so for a kid like me that got hooked into that history of the game. And then, you know, by that you get into also the history of cards and you get your first Beckett Price Guide, which I kid you not, I can show you the very first Becket I bought. And it's right here.

SPEAKER 3: I still have my old copy and you learn about, you know, you start learning about those old cards, the fact that it was still even possible for a young kid with a limited budget to be able to pick up a, a, you know, a 6070 year old card. And of course, for that to become suddenly like the card of your collection like holy cow.

SPEAKER 3: Like, and I remember I bought you know, a Nolan Ryan rookie card for, I think it was like six bucks like, you know, things were still possible on a, on a greater scale. Now, then let's say a kid today who suddenly is like, wow, I'd love to own a 52 Tops Card. Even if it's a common, I would love to own a 52 top.

SPEAKER 3: You know, it's a little, it's a little harder nowadays, you know, and, and I feel for the kids like that, you know, I mean, you got some great reprint sets out there but it's not as easy.

SPEAKER 1: Yeah, another great point. You, I think you brought up too there. GEO is again and I hate, I don't like painting with a broad brush, but I think people from our era and even before maybe a little bit after too, were more into the history of sports as well.

SPEAKER 1: Not only, not only the players we had currently at that time, but we also went back and like, hey, we who was good, you know, before this and, and what happened before this and again, there are, there are young folks today and, and collectors today that do care about the history of the game.

SPEAKER 1: I'm, I'm not saying that but I will say this. It seems like it's less of a thing now than it was when we were, when we, when we were doing it.

SPEAKER 3: I agree 1000%. And and I mean, again, I'm not trying to knock anything, look, times change, you know, interest change, I get it. But there is definitely a huge difference in the interest of the hit, you know, where things came from, how things develop.

SPEAKER 6: Time for a quick break, but we'll be right back.

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SPEAKER 6: Let's go. You are listening to the Sports Card Nation podcast.

SPEAKER 3: I can't, I'll be honest with you, if I may 1 thing I can't stand with today's fandom, I, I mean, I genuine, I can't stand it and I purposely stay away from it when it comes up on Twitter or something because I can't, I can't even control myself. Is this whole lack of context anymore.

SPEAKER 3: Like I can't stand when people say things like, well, Babe Ruth wouldn't do shit in today's game or, you know, well, what would Stan Muzi do today? Like he wouldn't do anything against today's pitch? I can't believe this is even a discussion where the lack of context has disappeared and everything is about downplaying the past.

SPEAKER 3: Everything is about downplaying the talents of the we we it, it, it's not an argument, it's not, it's something to enjoy, it's something to appreciate and you have to appreciate every era for what it was. And of, of course, things develop, of course athletes develop.

SPEAKER 3: But you know, that's not what should be the focus of the. Everything is an argument now, everything is to put down the past and that's tragic, I think because is to not appreciate the history of something. It doesn't even have to be baseball just in general.

SPEAKER 3: I feel this is going on and you have to appreciate and, and enjoy how things developed and changed and, but not to turn around and then put down these you know, these silly arguments about, you know, it, it, it takes away from it.

SPEAKER 1: I see it too. Do I think some of it? And I'm not defending it whatsoever? I, I agree with you. You know what, what Otani has done the last few years? Which is incredible. Like why can't we like praise Otani for doing stuff that's really never been done before without, without degrading Babe Ruth. At the same time. You, you, you can do both, you can do both.

SPEAKER 1: But we, I think it's the era now where like to praise one, we have to say, well, this guy did it this or if he played today, it wouldn't even be anywhere near the player. You don't have to do that. Like we can, we can hype up and, and praise Oo Coni's accomplishment and seasons without belittling someone else at the same time.

SPEAKER 1: But I think it's so easy to do and that's why you see it. It's, it's, it's easy to do it. And then, you know, here's the, here's the crazy thing. So when we were younger, we, we cared about the past and what happened before before us and recently it, right, we didn't have internet and Google, we had encyclopedias. People don't even know what encyclopedias are or books and magazines to research it.

SPEAKER 1: To me it's, it would be so much easier for collectors today to find out about the past between YouTube and Google. It would, I, if we had that then we'd know even way more than we did or, or at least quicker, we'd have the information obviously quicker than it took us to gather then. So there's no excuse.

SPEAKER 1: I like, oh, I can't find this out or there's no record, you know. And so, II, I don't know why it is. I, I mean, it's, I, I guess there's just so many different things pulling people's attention away that they don't have, you know, I guess you could say they don't have as much time, maybe, a free time as maybe we did. I don't even know if that's true or accurate. That's, an individual kind of situation.

SPEAKER 1: But I do when I do see like someone that doesn't so much really care or respect to pass that does bother me too. And, and if you don't know about, if you don't know about it, that's fine. But like you said to belittle someone's accomplishments like that. Yeah. Ii, I agree with you. You don't have to do it and frankly, it's not accurate. On top of that.

SPEAKER 3: Again, context, I mean, that's life, that's history, that's the human experience, that's, things are different, you know, from different time periods.

SPEAKER 3: And like, what astonishes me is like, I remember getting my first mcmillan baseball encyclopedia, you know, and, and like you just said, we didn't have this info at our fingertips and getting that glorious monster book and sitting in my room with that tissue paper going leafing through the pages and the first time seeing Al Spalding and what he did during his pitching career and seeing guys like Tim keep putting in 600 innings and, you know, it, it, it's just my never would.

SPEAKER 3: There have been this inclination to turn around and, you know, kind of put it down. Oh, but it was different that, you know, like, well, who cares? I mean, it's just amazing to see the softball numbers and, and appreciate it for what it was.

SPEAKER 3: And you, you, you hit the nail on the head where a lot of this jumped off really was, was, was o time and what Otani is doing and I love Otani. I mean, I think what he's doing, you know, in the sport is incredible.

SPEAKER 3: Hopefully this kinda directs the game in a, in a new direction.

SPEAKER 3: Like, but at the same time, I don't understand with, with the wonder of Otani and what he's doing in baseball, there's attached this argumentative kinda needing to put other things down where, you know, it's, it's, it's almost like, I don't know, like when and maybe we, because we weren't there, maybe there was, I, I do recall like, say when Babe Ruth started putting up the power numbers, you know, in 2021 22.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, there was this whole backlash with guys like Ty Cobb. Well, I could do that. If I wanted and, you know, I average was the thing, but I think with analytics, and again, I'm not, I'm not an analytics guy and, you know, war and this black and white kind of these arguments I see going on and this, you know, being dismissive of players simply because of whatever their war is.

SPEAKER 3: I mean, to me it's just, you know, hey, look, I take what I want out of the sport and what I want out of the, the, the collecting part of it.

SPEAKER 3: But it's also just sad because there's a lot that's being missed by people that are actually putting their time into this Hobby because it's, it's, it's all driven by what they feel is the, the, the be all end all and then, you know, and, and prices and, you know, you see cards come out and instantly, you know, $1000 for a card for a guy that's never even played yet.

SPEAKER 3: I mean, the stuff is, it's pretty, it's very amazing. It's amazing.

SPEAKER 5: Crazy.

SPEAKER 1: And when I see that GEO I say, you know, how many vintage, hall of Fame rookies I could buy for the same prices like that prospect has hero at bats at the major league level. Like it is, it is head scratching.

SPEAKER 1: You know, it's, and here's the other thing, you know, we, we can, we can turn, you know, turn about as fair play. Right. We, we see now pitchers, you know, we, we see load management, right? Players get like a day or two off each week and don't play a full season of 100 and 62 games back in the day.

SPEAKER 1: That rarely happened, let someone was actually hurt and a lot of times they even played, they played hurt, in a lot of cases and pitchers now, you know, they hit 100 pitches and they're done and their day is done and they come out, you know, and now, you know, back in the day, guys, like Nolan Ryan pitched 12 innings in the game if it went into the extra innings and, and through 100 and 75 200 pitches, you know, relievers even, you know, lie back in the day, pitch three innings to get a say, not just come in and get two or two or three outs.

SPEAKER 1: So if we want to play, you know, today folks want to play that game, we can do the same, the same thing. Absolutely.

SPEAKER 3: Look at, look at Blake Snell, I mean, like, you know, there's a guy that's a great example of, you know what today's game is about. Like this guy just came off a cy young season, his second cy young.

SPEAKER 3: And yeah, we're having a hard time, you know, well, because teams are looking at, well, dude, you can't even, you know, you're gonna put in your five innings and in your mind, you know, you did your job, but I don't want to sound like an old fart, but I definitely preferred the game when I was watching it. Like, yeah, today's game.

SPEAKER 3: I'm not gonna lie to you. And this is something I never ever thought I would say in my life. But I have never been more bored with the sport. I love so much than today. I mean, and, and watching games for me is painful. I mean, it's just, it's, it's a painful thing.

SPEAKER 3: I mean, and I'm an American League guy. It wasn't like, you know, a national league.

SPEAKER 1: I bunting and, you know, smart ball and, you know, but at the same time today's game is just like, yeah, it's, it's different and we see now they're trying to change some of the, the traditional rules to speed up the game, get more, scoring, more steal, you know, make the bases younger, second base extra inning.

SPEAKER 3: That's one of the worst things I've ever heard in my life.

SPEAKER 1: That one bothers me the most. The guy that starts out at second base.

SPEAKER 1: Did that even happen?

SPEAKER 3: You didn't even earn your way onto the base. You're gonna, you're gonna get hungry with a run score, you know, like, II, I can't even believe we even went in that direction. Like it, it, it's, it's mind boggling to me some of the things, you know.

SPEAKER 1: But, yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER 5: It's, it's all right.

SPEAKER 1: Yeah. Yeah, I get it I get it. I'm, I'm with you. It's, it's a different, it's almost a different sport. I mean, it isn't, but it, it, it sort of is with, with some of the rules and I don't hate them all. I don't hate all the rules, but I don't like them all all either. So, I mean, speeding.

SPEAKER 3: Up, I think speeding up the game this past year was great. I mean, you know, you know, we all factors that led to it, you know, something I'm for. No, not necessarily, but the fact that there was something being done to speed up the game and all right, I think that was a step in the right direction.

SPEAKER 3: But yeah, it, it, it's, it's, it's different. I mean, it's, it's again, change, I gotta appreciate change whether I like it or not.

SPEAKER 3: And getting back to collecting, which is why we're here like I get it. It's different. I walk into a card shop and I'm blown away.

SPEAKER 3: It's, but at the same time, someone like me, well, I still vintage cards are still incredibly undervalued. So for someone like me, that's great cause I could, you know, if I could move my computer, I could show you I'm surrounded by racks of binders, you know, I have every top set back to 58.

SPEAKER 3: Plus most of the oddball sets, most of the side sets, you know, all the like and again, I'm not some rich guy like, but vintage cards, relatively speaking, unless you get into grading and all that, which I'm not for. But, you know, you could still, you can pick them up. And that's, and I think that's one of the positives for someone like me, the collector.

SPEAKER 3: I am with this hyper focus on the modern and, and all the flashy new shiny objects that are coming out. So, hey, while everyone's going ahead and trying to land that parallel card that, you know, the Tom Brady Montreal Expos card, that was everyone was, you know, chasing, hey, I'll, I'll sneak in there and buy, you know, I'll, I'll go ahead and finish up my 1957 set, you know, like.

SPEAKER 1: No, no doubt. All right, I wanna, I wanna get into your, your blog, which I enjoy. You can correct me if I'm wrong. You started with 13 years. You've been doing this thing? Am I am I right?

SPEAKER 3: 0, 2013 is when I first started posting on, you know, I created the blog. So 11 years ago.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, you're right. I was, you know, I, I'm a graphic designer almost 30 years now.

SPEAKER 3: And I specialize in packaging and, you know, I, I worked on all the licenses you can imagine Star Wars Disney Marvel over the years.

SPEAKER 3: And so it was just a given that eventually, you know, I'd be getting into designing my own cards and you know, and, and then starting to, you know, actually print them up and have fun with packaging. So 2013, I just don't know why I really focused on the seventies.

SPEAKER 3: But because really, when you think about it, the eighties was my real decade of buying cars like a maniac. You know, once I became a teen, but seventies just still held that, that, that glory of collecting.

SPEAKER 3: So, yeah, I started the blog 2013 just, you know, creating cards that were missing, fixing cards that had airbrushed images and you know, what, what you see over the years, like whatever, the little, you know, oh, I, I'll tell you a big impetus to even think about anything like that. You mentioned the player.

SPEAKER 3: I'll never forget opening rip and packs in 1980. And I do want, I understand it now as an adult, but in 1980 ripping packs open me and my friends. It wasn't just me looking for that Thurman Munson card figuring there'd be some sort of memorial card or something and not finding it and realizing like holy crap cops didn't make a Munson card.

SPEAKER 3: And of course, yes, you get it, you understand it later on, you know, at the time it was really for kids, you know, you don't have to get into the morbid stuff and, but yeah, and then, you know, as you get older and it's a vintage.

SPEAKER 3: Wow. You know, why wasn't a 67 Cofax done, you know, like, oh, that would have been incredible, you know, the whole idea of having a guy's whole career stats on the back.

SPEAKER 3: But, you know, that's why I kind of then started creating the cards and, you know, and then I think it was a few years later where I actually started doing custom cards, like stars of 1930 1940 special packaging. I, you know, kinda, the 40 set was actually a baseball game.

SPEAKER 3: The 1920 set was in a candy tin. You know, that ties into what I did for a living cause you know, I know where to source all the stuff.

SPEAKER 3: I know what printers to use and yeah, it just went from there and I'll be honest where my life is at this point which not to get into it, but it, it's life right now is really difficult because of the situation I have at home because my wife's ill and it's not, it's really bad and this is, I'm not gonna lie to you. It's the only thing keeping me going.

SPEAKER 3: It's doing what I'm doing with the blog and kind of giving me that little escape to kinda keep myself level and, and, and, and have my fun. Because the rest of my day is, is, you know, it's, it's, it's hard and I love it. I love friends.

SPEAKER 3: I've made, you know, having a little interactions on Twitter and, and and seeing and also seeing all the other card creators out there. I mean, it's so much fun seeing how everyone else even thinks about how they approach it, how they come up with ideas.

SPEAKER 3: So much of it is usually the same ideas but just interpreted differently and it just shows you like, you know, as baseball guys and card guys, you know, the same things like, bothered us as kids when we were collecting back then.

SPEAKER 3: And now we're trying to fix it now and, and, and, and the fact that even for people that aren't professional graphic designers, the fact that now we have ways even for the layman to go ahead and have these things produced like online printers.

SPEAKER 3: And, you know, these are things that even 2030 years ago, it was tough, like, you know, you really had to be in the industry to be able to, you know, go ahead and produce a set yourself, you know, or card yourself. So it's great. It, it's, it's so much fun.

SPEAKER 3: I have honestly, every day I have so much fun just seeing what other people are talking about, what, what they've created, even if it's just a digital, you know, there's some great digital card guys that I follow on Twitter that are amazing and what they come up with and, and, and I love it.

SPEAKER 3: You know, it's, it's not a competition in my eyes. It's, it's, and I'm not in it for the money. Everything I do. A God's honest truth. I put out at cost, I just as long as I can make my money back, you know, I, I'm not in this for the money.

SPEAKER 3: I, I just love creating the cards, the joy of getting them in and then putting them in my, my, my wth balls binders. Like, you know, it's, it's, there's nothing like it for me. You know, it's so much fun and, and then getting to share it with whoever wants to go ahead and pick it up from me.

SPEAKER 3: You know, it's, it's, and, and even doing something like this, you know, like this is wild, you know, like, two guys that, on, on a podcast talking about the collecting and then the history of the sport that we love. I mean, it's fantastic.

SPEAKER 1: Yeah, the piggyback off a couple of things you said first off, you know, I'll say a prayer for your wife. I'm sorry to hear that. But like you said, this, this stuff is an outlet, right? To it.

SPEAKER 1: It, it kind of refreshes your replenishes to, to keep going and, and, and get through your day and, and, you know, everyone might have something different, the musician plays their instrument, you know, whatever, whatever does it for you different other hobbies, right? For us, this is our outlet to kind of get away from the, the everyday mundanes of life that, that naturally gonna happen.

SPEAKER 1: That's, that's, you know, that's, that's life and, and you do, you know, don't take my word for it at, at the end, I'll give you time where people can find your, your, your blog. What you do, you do some incredible work GEO with the, the car design.

SPEAKER 1: I mean, the Tops and, and other companies you probably take a page from you and I love how you do like cards that never were cards that probably should have been made. I think it shows that you care about the history of the game and, and you care about the the player like, hey, that card and you brought up the months and I look for the months and two and it wasn't there, right?

SPEAKER 1: And like you said, we know kind of why. Well, we still wanted it, right? As, as Munson fans as collectors. We, we wanted that last card, you know, we, we wanted that last card.

SPEAKER 1: We didn't know what the last card was. We wanted that kind of clo the card almost was closure. I know that sounds, it sounds weird. We never really got that, you know, when we opened that pack and got that last month's car, we didn't know it was the last month card we were going to get.

SPEAKER 1: And you don't know, it would have been nice to have a memorial card or a tribute card. I thought he deserved. At least that as the captain of the Yankees, it was.

SPEAKER 3: Done before tops, did that before. So, you know, Ken Hobbs and, and the Angels pitcher, it was just a little blurb on the back and in the 64 side, I forgot.

SPEAKER 3: I'm blanking right now. But yeah, and even, you know, you know, thank God, you know, Roy Campanella after his accident they had in the 59 the memorial, you know, the card celebrating him. And like, I'll be honest, I, I even as what in 1980 11 year old kid, big deal, I'm an 11 year old kid, but I genuinely thought that was going to be a reality. I was shocked when it wasn't there.

SPEAKER 3: But again, I mean, decades later, it's great that I can go ahead and design one and put it out and I love the fact that people, you know, they, they, they come to me or they contact me and, and, and they can get it and they could finally get it and it's a shared kind.

SPEAKER 3: It's a very particular shared, you know, want or need or like you say, closure and, and that's special, you know, it's, it's I love the fact that over the years, one of one of the greatest things is when family of players contact me right here, I could show you this right here.

SPEAKER 3: A one game major league player, Joffrey Brown on the Cubs in 1968 he appeared in one game and then he went on to an illustrious career as an actor and Hollywood stunt man, his son saw that I created this card, which, you know, for a chunk of years became my specialty, creating cards for guys that never had a card or whatever.

SPEAKER 3: And I got it printed up and I'm gonna, I'm about to send it out to him and that's happened on a f quite a few occasions where I was actually able to help, in some cases, sadly, it was, for a memorial marks for a picture that only appeared in 72 with the Padres. But I created a 73 card for him and a family member reached out after he passed away.

SPEAKER 3: They wanted that print it up for the memorial service and I was more than happy to make it happen, you know, and, and, and you're right, like I, I do the history of the game and, and it's not just about the stars and, you know, it's all those guys that you remember, you know, when you were religiously watching games and, you know, a guy that made a brief appearance and.

SPEAKER 1: The dark, I, yeah, I call them the dark moonlight grams.

SPEAKER 3: But the think about it, like, think of a guy like George Zer, right? Like, that's a guy that if it wasn't for the fact he had a Tops Card would we ever back then?

SPEAKER 3: Because Social Media, like, you know, access to information or mlb.com every night, you know, we had to wait for the 11 o'clock news or the Sat Sunday morning paper, you know, for the stats and things were so different if it wasn't for these guys that had that Tops Card.

SPEAKER 3: If you didn't have a Tops Card and you had a brief career, sadly, you, no one was gonna know you, no one was gonna, you were just a name in the mcmillan encyclopedia. Like it, it was so different. So all these guys like so much on my blog that I created these cards for these guys.

SPEAKER 3: You know, it, it, it really brings that name to life like it, it, it, it gives you that image, it gives you that, oh, that's the guy that's, you know, and some of these guys, you know, they even put in a, you know, a half a season or three quarters of a season.

SPEAKER 3: So they, to me, they warranted a card in that next set in that following year set and they never did. So it's almost like you take it from a mythic name to make it a reality. And oh, there's the card, there's the guy, you know, that I heard of.

SPEAKER 1: And it's educational and you're teaching in the process too GEO like someone who doesn't know about maybe we research and learn, hey, what happened or what was the deal and, and I love that fact. I love that fact.

SPEAKER 1: And then obviously, you know, you, you hate to hear someone passing away but, you know, talking about the shaper and the memorial card, that card will be cherished, for those family members. I hope you, I hope you can't put a price on, you can't put a price on, on. So they got the card that probably should have been made and it was you to, to get it done.

SPEAKER 3: And it's, it's the best thing it really is. Yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER 1: I love them happiness to that family, happy, this joy in a, in a, in a sad time, right? In the sad.

SPEAKER 3: And, and even Don Baylor's nephew, reached out to me and I sent him some stuff because, you know, I created a dead and, you know, this is Don Baylor, MVP, all-star, you know, certainly great star player, but even someone like that, his nephew reached out because he happened to come across I did a 71 dedicated rookie because he was on a, you know, multiplayer rookie card.

SPEAKER 3: His first car. Well, I, you know, I'm big on creating dedicated rookies for, for players and he reached out to me and I was happy to send them some like, and, and this isn't even an obscure player. This is someone that was an MVP, like I said, like it's just great.

SPEAKER 1: To manage it manage.

SPEAKER 3: I, I mean, I loved him. I was a perfect age when he was with the Yanks. Like, you know, Groove was, along with Mattie Lee and, and, you know, Winfield and stuff like it, it, it just really, it turns this Hobby that I've been obsessing over for. Now. What, 45 years?

SPEAKER 3: And it gives it newness for me and when you can have something that after decades you can still put new twists on it that keeps things fresh for you. Like I got lucky that I got into this blog and I got into them producing cards because on a for me, I'm a selfish man.

SPEAKER 3: It kept everything fresh for me. Like getting, you know, I got, I got back into buying cards 2017 after selling my collection for the second, maybe third time in 2015. Like I, that's what I do. I was a big record collector. I do the same thing. I was a big book collector. You know, that's what I do.

SPEAKER 3: And this time around it was so different because getting back in the cards in 2017. But now with this blog behind me and, and, and designing my own cards and, you know, it, it gave me like kind of like a new angle on collecting, which is kind of wild at the time, 40 years after I started collecting the first time, it's great.

SPEAKER 3: It again, it keeps things fun for me and especially now, you know, like I said, with everything going on in my life, like, you know, I, I thank God I have that, you know, it, I have that ability to go to my office where I'm sitting right now, you know, just start designing some stuff, kicking around ideas, talking to you, going on Twitter and just, you know, looking at what other people are doing that's, you know, that, that's worth its weight in gold, you know.

SPEAKER 1: Yeah. No, no doubt you do awesome stuff. And, and I love, you know, you, you, you only have to talk to you for a few minutes and, you know, you respect that past, you care about it.

SPEAKER 1: It comes out in, in what you do and then even in some of this stuff, right, you, you're bringing joy to in, in moments when there's, there's sadness and not a lot of people can ever say they get to do that and, and you're doing that, you're teaching, you're educating in the process as well.

SPEAKER 1: You're kind of paying homage where, you know, cops or company should have produced a card of a player. They didn't and you're sort of filling in those gaps and not only doing that, but the work you create is, is amazing looking on top of that.

SPEAKER 1: Un un unlike the podcast guest cards I make, which I have one.

SPEAKER 3: I love it.

SPEAKER 3: I love it all. I love it. I, again, I really mean it, like, I love to see how people think and, and their interpretation of, of the, you know, of, of the history of the game and, and what they take out of it and then what is the end result? I love it.

SPEAKER 3: It really, it also gets me thinking in new ways and, or may spark an idea that I didn't have before. And I'm like, oh, man. Yeah, that's great. And then I'll give my interpretation that could lead to something, you know, or lead to a new set or even if it's just a digital blog thread, you know, Lord knows, I only print up maybe not even 5% of everything I've ever put up online.

SPEAKER 3: So I love that whole interaction of ideas because it's like to me it's like those days as a teenager hanging out on the corner in front of the candy store, you know, are doing about sports for hours with my friends.

SPEAKER 3: This is like the new way of doing it, talking about sports in the modern age, you know, I, I in this new way, which is presented differently than, you know, back then in the eighties and, and in the school yard or on the corner like this is the new way to do it.

SPEAKER 3: And it's great because now you got some guy in Somerset, New Jersey doing it with some guy up in Syracuse New York doing it and, yeah, that's unheard of like if you would have said that to us decades ago.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, you got to be talking to some guy through the computer who's up in Syracuse and you guys are going to be talking baseball cards. That's pretty hilarious. That's, that's amazing. I still, I don't lose the fact that we do live in a great time to be able to do this, you know.

SPEAKER 1: Well, it's like I said, I'm glad, II, I glad I, I was kind of born when I was cause we, we appreciate what we, we grew up in and we appreciate the convenience and, and the technology we, we have no, we've lived in both of those, worlds and, you know, but where, where we would have to call, our, our friends up on a rotary phone.

SPEAKER 1: Now we can send a, a text message or, you know, we, we have a phone in our pocket who would, who would have thought we'd ever have a phone in a pocket when we'd leave the house right here. Here we are.

SPEAKER 3: From you through Twitter or something. And, hey, do this podcast. Would you like to be on? I mean, that's, it's awesome. It's awesome that like you got this podcast going on that you have guests and you go over this Hobby, which is so important to you. It's so important to us. You know, it is, it's, it really is.

SPEAKER 1: It, it is. Well, GEO, I listen, we, we could probably do three hours, you know, and, and we'll have, we'll have to do it again. We'll have to bring you back.

SPEAKER 1: We'll do it again. I mean, I appreciate, I appreciate you. I appreciate, what you do. I appreciate your love and passion for the Hobby and kind of, I'll say it like this, like, trying to make things. Right. Right. Maybe things that should have happened, that didn't happen.

SPEAKER 1: It, it would be easy to, you know, anyone can sit on their hands and just watch, right and be a spectator. And you're getting in there and, and, and trying to make a difference and, and make a change and, and doing things you feel like should have been done, I in the original time and, there's something to be said about that when someone do is like that.

SPEAKER 1: And so, you know, keep, keep doing it. Ii I enjoy it and as many others do, as well, I always give the guest kind of the final say, give out where people can see your work, your blog, any Social Media you want to share, take your time.

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, the blog is, if you just Google, when Tops Had Balls, it'll come up. Again, it's, every day there's a new post. I haven't missed a day. It's 10 years running. Oh, more, going on 11 years now, every day is a new post.

SPEAKER 3: I already got the next year's worth of post mapped out. I'm obsessive about it.

SPEAKER 3: And then on Twitter, dedicated, dedicated, dedicated on Twitter. It's at, WTH Balls.

SPEAKER 3: You know, follow me there.

SPEAKER 3: And reach out to me. Any ideas, anyone has any ideas that you don't think I tackled. I welcome ideas. You know, I love it.

SPEAKER 3: I've actually gotten a lot of my, my, my ideas from people reaching out to me. Hey, why didn't you do this or you should do this? That's what makes it fun. That's what makes it great.

SPEAKER 3: And again, I appreciate all, all of you that I've met over the years doing this. Like, it really has made this 40 plus year Hobby of mine new and, and I cherish that like just meeting all of you talking to you guys. It's so much fun and it just, it, it, it helps me in my day to day, you know. So I appreciate all the interest and support and, let's see how much longer I can keep it going.

SPEAKER 1: Keep, keep it, keep it going GEO and, again, appreciate you. Thanks for, for making some time, for the show today. And, we'll do it again too. If you got them back, we'll do it again.

SPEAKER 3: I appreciate you having me on.

SPEAKER 1: Thank you for GEO, for coming on by the way. That's my favorite GE O but, great guy. Fellow Brooklyn Knight doesn't mince words calls it like he sees it. And, I appreciate guys like that cause I try to be like that myself. So we'll have him back, on, in, in the future and, appreciate him, coming on, check out his blog, by the way, time for our Hobby is the people announcer of the week.

SPEAKER 8: Hey, everybody. I'm Gary Denier. Thumbs down guy.

SPEAKER 8: This is the Sports Coordinations podcast.

SPEAKER 8: The Hobby is for dealers. I mean, people.

SPEAKER 6: If you'd like to be the Hobby is the people announcer of the week. Do a WAV or MP3 file and send it to Sports Card Nation PC at gmail.com.

SPEAKER 9: That's a wrap for this week. Huge thanks to you, the listeners out there because without you, there is no us.

SPEAKER 9: If you like the show, we truly appreciate positive reviews. Big ups to our great guests who drive the show and our awesome sponsors who make it all possible. Sports Card Nation will be back next week but don't forget to catch either Hobby quick hits or cod mentions. Coming up on Monday.

SPEAKER 9: I'll leave you with this.

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