Greg Bates is back! E332

Sports Guard Nations, Hobbies, the People, weely News and interviews. It's your number one song Spascarnations, Hobbies, the People, spawns Guarnation. What is up? Welcome to episode three point thirty two of Sportscard Nation. What do we have on tap today? The conclusion of our conversation with writer extraordinary.

I know I called him that because he's very good and he writes for multiple entities. That's mister Greg Bates. This is the conclusion and part two of that conversation. So quick word from one of our great sponsors and we'll be back with Greg once again.

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Check them out on Facebook at Iron Sportscards Group or on the web at Ironsportscards dot com, or even give them a call at one eight seven seven Iron PSA. Rob's got you covered all right. Here is the conclusion to our second part of the interview with writer Greg Bates and we're gonna a lot of heavy national talk right here, so if you you know, Nationals coming up, and we're really gonna tackle a few things about it. So here you go.

I love the National just because it's the one time of the year I get to see a lot of these people who I talked to on the phone and like who I'd become close with even as a writer. You know, the these teos and and everything that you you don't get to see them much. You get the chance to talk to them and just you know, how important is to see all the people in person. And that's that's the big thing I spend, you know, for five days on there, I spend a lot of that time just walking around and talking to people, if it's you know, people I haven't seen or you know, doing interviews and stuff.

I leave like the National last year after like five days there and I'm like, I feel like I didn't get a chance to look at much. Yeah, because it's just so easy. You know. Every year I try to like quadrant it out, like I'm gonna do this section and that's the goal for today, amongst my other things that are on the itinerary, And like you just said I always did.

I see every table. I feel like I did, and I know I did. I don't even it's not even a feel like I know I miss something. It's that big.

And you know, someone says, I can you know, someone asked me, John, I can only go for a day. What's your recommendation? And I'm like, it's gonna be tough to do everything in a day. So if your only if you only can go for a day, you know, really pick the stuff you want to do, because the day goes quick. The day.

You know this, I'm preaching the choir here probably Craig, the day goes like, even though it's a long day and your feet hurt and other parts of your body hurt, the time itself goes fast and it's a play. Even the week, you know, even the five days, you're like, that's it. And so if you're only going for a day, as a few people you know ask me for kind of strategy, I'm like, don't. I said, I'm not trying to tell you to be rude, but if you're going to do a lot of stopping and talking with people, that's going to consume a good portion of your day and you're not going to see a lot of the table, So you've really got to decide what your goal for the day is to card shop or or you know, socialize, and neither wrong one is the wrong answer.

It's just you have one day to you know, pick one of the two. It's it's very hard to do both in one day. You can do that in a five day span, for sure, but in one day it's hard to balance both of those. So for the one day, folks, I always say, you've got to, like, what's what's the priority? You see some people you haven't seen in a while, and that sort of thing, And you know, I can't.

That's for them to answer, But I was two days would be like, you know, someone asked me that question, what's the least amount you could go and still maybe feel like you did most of the stuff. And so two to three days is my answer there. But if you can go like we do four or five days, that's obviously the most idea. But I get it.

Not everyone to get the time off. You know, for me it works nice because I'm in the teaching industry and it's summertime and so I'm in a sense I'm already off. I mean, I'm at summer school, but it's a lot easier to get out of summer school than the regular school years. So you know, I just let them know, hey, these three days, I'm not gonna be in summer school.

And it's Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and see you Monday and and they're good with that, and so I'm I'm fortunate. Not everyone has that luxury, let's say. So it might be, hey, I can take a Friday off and and do Friday, Saturday and Sunday, or you know, I gotta get on my plane early Sunday, so you know, I only have two days, so I guess, you know, just try to come up with a game plan as best you can for based on an amount of days you're there. And you know, one day when I whenever someone says I'm only coming for one day, I'm like, oh man, that's gonna be tough.

You know. You know, do the best you can move at a pretty birthplace. And you know, sometimes if you're there for cards, sometimes you have to wait to get in front of some showcases. You know, you lose time there if you if you're trying to see a certain dealer in their wares and what they're off, and so you know, one day is definitely you know, if I only had to go for one day, I'm obviously with travel, I'm not gonna do that for one day.

And you know, I like, you know, going back to kind of some of the as you mentioned Atlantic City and Cleveland. I liked them for the selfish reason for me, Greg is is I can drive to him, so I can kind of come and go as I please at my car. Chicago. I'm not gonna argue that it might not.

It's probably the best venue as far as for the logistics of the show itself, but for me, it's fourteen hours. So now I have to fly. I can't just you know, it's sometimes it's tricky finding a later flight on a Sunday to get there to stay on a Sunday that you know, this year, I'm going I'm renting a car, which I haven't done in the years past the Chicago. This year, I'm gonna do that because I'm staying, you know, a little over three miles away from the venue.

And I thought about not renting a car, like well, I could just uber, you know, but when I figured out what like there was Uber each day it's gonna cost what a rental car would anyway, so you might as we just rent a car and then you can, you know, help others and and your friends rides and the people you know rides to different events. So I went with the rental car where I haven't hadn't done that prior. So that's I don't want to say it's an inconvenience, it's just it's an added expense, let's be honest that you know. So it makes it's a little more costly to go to Chicago for me than Atlantic City or Cleve would would be.

Is it a deterrent, No, but just means I have less money probably for a card or two that maybe i'd buy, you know, if it was in Atlantic City or or Cleveland. You know, it's gonna be in Chicago the next this year, in the following two and then we'll see you. I know, like you said, you're three hours away, so it's ideal for you taking that out of the equation. Would you like to see it move around more? Or are are you comfortable with it be? And you know, and this is for you personally, like you're fine.

If it was Chicago every year. I would I mean, I'd like to go check out different cities and stuff, but you get to know Chicago pretty well too because it's there every other year at least, right, So you get to know the restaurants, you get to know where to park. It's not the unknown every time you go. I didn't know anything really about Cleveland or the outskirts of Cleveland going there, so you just you just don't know.

Yeah, with Chicago, it's we've been there for so many times, right, it's every other year for the last like a dozen years, at least fifteen years. So I wouldn't be surprised if it if it becomes Chicago permanently. There's been talk about that. You've probably heard that for a number of years that I don't know if that would take a you know, a vote from the dealers or the board or what happens with that.

But I wouldn't be surprised if that turns permanent, maybe even after this three year stretch that they get so comfortable, the newer, the newer guys get so comfortable and having Chicago that it just turns into that every year. Yeah, that's just I can't argue the centrality of the city. It's right pretty much in the dead center. So for whether you're East coast or West Coastia, you know you're gonna have to travel similar If you're obviously the Midwest or near Chicago, you're probably gonna love that if you're in driving distance.

And I get it. I just said how I loved Atlantic City and Cleveland for the selfish reason that I could drive there. It's five hours, so I get that. I like seeing different cities.

You know. Last year was the first time, like you mentioned, I was ever in Cleveland. I don't Maybe it's because of where I'm a product in my environment, Greg, I'm a New York City kid born in Ray, so I'm not so much intimidated by a big city where maybe someone else and I don't mean that's like the way it sounds, but someone else who maybe didn't grow up in that sort of setting, what could be. I get it, you know, So I don't mind like kind of a city I'm not familiar with, but I get it too.

I think Chicago's just a very for dealers, for people who attend the show, it's very popular, you know, the one. I'll say this, I'd rather be in Chicago every year because that's a room where I've heard than the other room I've heard where, you know, doing two Nationals per calendar year. That's something that I hope doesn't happen. We have other shows in other city, uh, you know, like Atlanta and on the West Coast with Burbank and others, and the East Coast National and White Plains and and that sort of thing.

You know, even I know it's not the same show, and not even its apples aren't. But now with Fanatics Fest trying to kick off again, and we know they did it in New York, So I rather see it in one locale, uh, each year, the same one, than to see it like it's gonna be in Chicago and you know Atlanta, the two Nationals, you know, the Nation in end of July and the National in February or November whatever, that they would ever schedule a second one. So that's that's how I always I don't want to see two Nationals because I feel even if they did that the bloom would come off the rows, right. The National has that mystique and it's the circle that week on your counter every year, and it's really the same week for the most part every year, and you kind of know when what days you're going to need to have off or block off on your your planner and schedule.

And I think if you do two, it's you do too. You know, there's one World Series every year, there's one Super Bowl. If if sports start doing two of them, I think it loses the overall luster. So I don't think that's gonna happen.

But I've heard rumlins here and there. You know, people can say anything, right, doesn't mean it's the powers that be. So I'll sign up for Chicago every year rather than two Nationals every year? In how many Like if we get six hundred dealers at the normal national, how many of those are going to go and do it again? Because a lot of those guys you know, are pushing twenty five, thirty thirty five years they've been doing this. They're not going to travel more than once a year.

Right, Yeah, Well, the other room I heard again where these rumors come from? You know, anyone can make them up. I don't know if they're coming from you know, credible sources or just people just planning like thoughts and scenes out there to get that idea role. But the one thing I heard is with the two nationals. One will be like a vintage heavy National almost like what Strongsville is, where the vintage dealers will you know, will be there and definitely have table there.

And the other, the second National, if you want to whatever you know you called that will be more modern, ultra modern and that sort of the vintage dealers won't feel like they have to be at both places, or the modern deal won't have to feel like they have to be in both places. So I still don't want to see that, you know what I mean? Like even if that's the criteria or that's sort of the differentiator between two nationals, I just think one National, right if you're gonna do you know, they did that a little bit like if you look at the way it's kind of laid out, you see a lot of the vintage dealers are are together. They're not not one hundred percent, but there's a good if you really look at it, they're they're there. It's kind of done that way, whether it's intentional or just because they have the same spot or close to the spot.

So I don't I don't, you know, I just don't want to see two nationals. I think number one I won't be able to attend both, and then then it becomes which one do I go to? Right, And when there's only one, it's just like am I going or am I not going? It's pretty pretty cut and dry, right, So I don't want to see two Nationals, whether that's selfish or And most people have asked that question all that. I don't know if I've even got someone to say that, don't answer. I got where they kind of said they wouldn't mind.

Is what I just said. If one National was all vintage and the other National was not vented. And I've had people say, well, I know which one I would have to go to what I collected easy, But I kind of do a little boat like I'm not like I'm heavier vintage, don't get me wrong. But as a dealer myself, right, sometimes I will buy modern or ultra mind, even if it's just for showcase inventory or stuff for myself for my own show.

So I like the fact that I can go to one National and buy either or if if I s, I don't really you know, and just the expense, right, you're gonna pay for two shows, two Nationals, rather than one, and you know it be into the corporate right. If you're fanatics tops Panini, all the Wild Garden, you go on and on the grading companies. Now you've got another national to do all the logistics and who's going hotel, and it doubles your your cost and and that stuff hands up even for a big company. You know, I'm complaining as an individual proprietor, but as a bigger company they might have a staff of twenty five to fifty people or you know, so I hope they keep it to one national.

If it's Chicago every year, so be it. I'll have to fly and it is what it is. You know, I'm not gonna It's not about a pity party. But I like sometimes when I can drive to them too.

So if it come back to Cleveland or you know, like to see it in Baltimore again, I didn't. I've never been. I've been to Baltimore, not for the National's been in Baltimore. So I didn't attend that.

But it's been there before. Maybe someday that could be there again. You know, I'm a person who I like to be fair about it. You know, I'm an East Coast guy, but you know, if I lived on the West Coast, they'd be like, hey, what about us, right? You know? So so you know, I like to see you travel if it's like you said, Chicago for two years, then another city, then back to Chicago, just to get a different look every once in a while, you know.

If they want to make Chicago kind of the main home base of it, I'm not going to argue with that. It's for going to have been the like, the consensus favorite. So I just don't want to see two nationals. But they're not asking me to vote on that, So who knows what we'll come down to the fight.

You are listening to the Sportscardination Podcast. We'll be right back after this break. For nearly fifty years, Sports Collector's Digest has been the voice of the hobby, bringing you comprehensive coverage of the sports collectible industry from industry news, auction results, market analysis, and in depth stories about collectors and their collections. Sports Collectors Digest has everything you need to know about the hobby.

SCD is also your leading source for listings of sports collectible dealers, card shops, card shows, and the latest from the industry's top companies. To check out all the latest news, or to subscribe to the hobby's oldest magazine. Visit Sports Collectorsdigest dot com or call one eight hundred eight two nine fifty five sixty one. We back, all right, So we're coming down to home stretch here, Greg.

You know, you covered a hobby. You see all the breaking news, the stories, the good, the bad, the ugly, right is anything, And like you said, you've been in the hobby, You've seen it through the years. Does anything surprise you anymore or at or you're at the point where nothing catches you off, guards surprise you too much anymore. I don't think anything surprises me.

No, I think you know, we've kind of been through it all. I mean, you see stuff like the you know, the theft in Dallas at the show and just how elaborate that was with the people and all that. I mean, I don't know if that surprises me, but it's just kind of shocking in that manner that they would go about it and do something like that. You know, I've written stories on forgeries, big forgery stuff.

They just they just arrested the guy and McKinney, Texas Wendell Rogers, who I wrote a huge story on five years ago. We tracked them down stuff like that. I don't know. You just go through, you know, a lot of these sketchy things in the hobby, and you just try to concentrate on all the good things and all the good people.

In the hobby. And but yeah, I don't think it really surprises me just what happens. It's, you know, we've kind of seen it all in this hobby, and like you said, the good, the bad, and the ugly, you know, and most of it is good, and most of the people are good, and most of them are in it for the correct reasons. But there's always gonna be those those bad seeds and you know everything else who are just in it for the money and everything else.

But yeah, it's I don't know, it's we've seen it at all, and we're gonna see it all again, you know. So yeah, no, I don't think anything really surprises me with it. Yeah, I agree with you, you know. And and theft and burglaries, that's not just a hobby exclusive.

That's any any kind of entity or business that has money behind it or potential money. You're gonna see that. Like you said, maybe the brazenness of some of the more recent depths and and that sort of thing make you, you know, open your eyes a little bit. You know, the one story which which happened really recently that really I don't I guess I'll say surprised, you know, really, you know, the whole cat skating of cases and boxes.

You know, when I was a young young kid, I suffered from migraines. Thankfully I grew out of them, but we couldn't get them under control. I was missing school, and so I had to have my head, my brain cat scan. They see that, they could see what was going on or form some sort of plan of attack.

So I've been in, you know, as a young kid, a cat scan. And if you would have told me that, and I was collecting cards as a kid, if you would have told me then that, hey, buddy, you know they're gonna use this machine many years later to kind of see what's in the packs without opening them, I would have thought you were like kidding, you know what I mean, Like it's I wouldn't have like thought about that. And yet here, you know, twenty twenty four to twenty five, when we're using medical equipment, medical imaging equipment specifically to see what's in a product without having to take the shrink wrap off, and that just shows you, like the lens people will go to, you know, be you know, deceit ful and underhanded to to get one up on consumers and that sort of thing. So yeah, I mean that's the closest to surprise.

When when that news broke, I'm like, what's next? That that was That was my nedline was two words like what's next, Like when you cat scan you know, basically MRIs to to look at what's in? What what are we gonna do next? You know? So that's probably the closest, uh, the surprise that that I've been And but again I've done this for forty years, so nothing catches me too off guard. But there's just some things that make you scratch your head and then you get your sand stories do right, The rob the robbery ring that stole a lot of Yogi bearers awards and memorabilia from his his playing career and and not selling it to you know, but literally melting it for the melt value. Can never can never get that back. It's gone.

That stuff is like the sad sand story in that sort of thing. So you know, but like you said, for every bad story, your sad story. There's ten to fifteen great stories of people doing great things their charity work. We're helping someone else out, and sometimes I think it's something I try to cover.

I know you're like that. I do cover some of the bad stuff, more's cautionary tales rather than trying to gloss about them. But you know, I try to definitely cover those those uplifting stuff for the better ones, because there's a lot more of those, and I think sometimes we don't do enough and I'm not just talking about us the hobby in general, that we don't do enough to you know, cover those type of stories. Yeah, And that's what I do a lot with fanatics collectibles.

We write for you know, a lot about tops collectors, and then just like we write about I write about the everyday collector, not the Ken Kendricks of the world or the Marshall Fogels of the world who have just amazing collections and endless money. It's these people that I wouldn't say they're living paycheck to paycheck, but they have really cool collections and they're budgeting this and you know, doing that, and that's where all the cool stories come out. And I come up with a lot of those to write about the feel good stuff, like I just interviewed a guy. Story will be coming out I don't know the next few weeks or so.

But had a shop in Colorado had posted and said this guy's been collecting top since nineteen fifty nine. So I contacted him and he's like, well, he said, he he's eighty three and collected from fifty two to fifty nine and then took a little break, had kids and stuff, or took a little break, was in the service and all this, and then nineteen eighty two Ripkins rookie year, his son was born, so he started collecting again. So he's been collecting since eighty two continuously. But you know, so he had cool stories about I asked, you know, what was it like collecting in nineteen fifty two, and you know him with the bikes bokes and making the motorcycle noises and everything else, and saying he had all these Mickey mantles and but just to pick you know.

And I talked to the shop owner in Colorado, or the former shop owner who's a manager. They're still at Mike's Stadium Sports Cards and Aurora, Colorado, and Mike was just telling me about what it's like to have this guy coming in and he's like, I don't want it to sound you know, bad or whatever, but Mike is like, we need to honor these guys. They're almost like veterans who they're a yeah, World War two guys. Yeah, So you just you just hit the nail what I was gonna say.

And I hope that as long as they can. But that's how it works. And to get to talk to someone that can relay those and share those experiences. We're gonna run out of those folks.

That's just the way it goes. And so to be able to talk to him and get that perspective firsthand, right, that's a first hand account. You know, there's gonna be a day where there'll be no first hands account. So when you can get and I love that stuff because they're few and far between.

I had, you know, I had my dad on this very podcast twice six years not because he was my dad. I mean that doesn't hurt, but he's you know, he's eighty eight years old. He collected, you know, and he told stories of that and growing up in Brooklyn and Babe Ruth passing away, or when the Dodgers left Brooklyn and went to the West Coast and people crying on the street. Those folks, you know, my dad's eighty eight, right, those folks are there's less of a meeting every year to share those stories.

And when I was thinking about him, like I need to have someone on, and I was like, I know this sounds terrible, but I didn't think of my dad like instantly, and I'm like, oh my god. Almost was reluctant because he was my dad. Like someone saying, oh, Newman's having his dad on, you know, but like very few people can check those boxes. He happens to be one of them.

We just happened to their last name and you know my dad, so you know, it was you know, I loved having them on. You know. The second time I had him on was when Gil Hodges was was inducted. He's a book of Dodger's kid who pretty much up at evans Field, so I got his kind of thoughts on Jil just fight again in But like you said, those guys are there.

You know, those folks, there's there's less of them, and so to get to speak to him while they're here, you know, and and then preserve that that history, right, and sometimes we forget kind of what we do, you know. Some of the impact of what we do is we get you know, that's a that's captured forever, uh people to to read or view or however they consume uh, you know, content. So it's important on both sides, right, It's important for them to share their experiences and their stories, and it's important for us to capture them and uh, you know, and have them have that legacy be told. So I love that stuff, and the significance and impacts you know, not lost on me.

I think it's very important. And you don't need me to tell you this. But yeah, you're very good at what you're doing in chaptering. Well, I appreciate you.

Greg. You're a busy guy making some time for us and sharing some of your insights and experiences yourself. I always give the guests sort of the last word here. Anything they want to share, websites, social media where they can see your stuff.

Take your time and give that stuff out. Can check it out. Yeah. So our platform at Fanatics Collectibles, we have a site called ripped and it talks about you know, what does like I said, collector stories that I do.

But it's a lot of educational components as well, like when twenty twenty five Tops Baseball came out. You know, there's just endless story worries about what's in the box. So if it's a collector who wants specific things out of that, hey, you know the hobby boxes for you, if they want this, the Jumbo might be for you, or the blaster box might be for you, or you know, cool new inserts like I'll talk to Like I just did a story on We don't do a whole lot of f one, but a really cool one on one MAX for staff and was pulled from they call it the Helmet Collection, and it's a really awesome shot with the gold vinyl like in the background, and it's a cool shot of him with his visor on and and stuff. So I ended up talking to like the project the brand managers and stuff for that, how did they come up with this idea and how is that all you know done and handed off to the design team and everybody through that, and you know, so you get some really cool like you know, behind the scenes stuff as well that we're putting out.

So obviously we're you know, we're not putting out real negative stuff because that's not what this is about. It's positive stories, but you know a lot of stuff obviously, you know, and there's gonna be a lot more once Fanatics gets the the basketball license, you know, later this year, and then football next year. There's gonna be a lot of cool collector stories and and stuff like that. But it's just endless, endless stories.

But you can find us at ripped R I P P E D dot tops dot com and then you can kind of you know, move over to the top site too and check that out. But a lot of cool content on that. Check that stuff out. You can follow me on X or Twitter.

I call it Twitter all the time into the X thing. So it's Greg greg A baits at or at greg A baits for for Twitter, So check that out. And I always I post a lot of hobby related stuff on that too. So yeah, there's my spiel.

All right, Well listen, I appreciate it, and I'll see you hopefully here. And Zeper's four months I think under now a little under four months in Chicago, drivable for you. I'm jealous and envious, but it's still the national right, we still only have one a year, and we start calling every every year that week and it's a blast that goes quick and then we start counting the days down to the next one. You know, I'm sure I'll run into you.

It just has to work out like that. So but thanks Greg. Thank you John. I appreciate you having me on.

Oh thank you. Awesome chopping up some hobby with with Greg and check his stuff out. Chances are if you follow hobby news and read a lot of hobby news, you've read something he's wrote. He's very good at what he does and various companies utilize his skills.

So we'll have him back again, chop up some more, but glad to finally have him on. We're gonna hear from our Hobbies the people announce there some closing thoughts, and wrap up this week's episode. Time for our Hobby is the People Announcer of the Week. Hey everybody, I'm Gary DENI are thumbs down guy.

This is the Sports Coordination podcast. The Hobby is for dealers, I mean people. If you'd like to be the Hobby is the People Announcer of the Week. To one or MP three file and send it to Sportscard Nation DC at gmail dot com.

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