Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Collecting Cards

I am a baseball card collector. I also collect basketball cards and football cards. I started collecting less than a year ago. My cards are pretty much the only thing I care about beside my family (except for sports and TV).

I forget how I got into collecting but my friends collected too so maybe they got me into collecting. I like my cards because of the way they look, if they are uprising stars, if the card is a rookie card, and if it is in great condition or if it is graded (when someone assesses the card’s condition, on a scale of 1 to 10). Collecting has been a big part of my life since about 4 months ago. I have about 1200 cards. I got my brother started with some cards like a Pujols, Jeter, and Ortiz. My brother tells me he is a Yankees fan and he tells my dad that he is a Red Sox fan. It is a family rivalry with teams.

Here are my top 10 cards. I hope you like them! 
 
1. My # 1 card is a 1909 George Schlei card (pictured). He played for the Yankees. Tobacco cards are rare and expensive. The most a tobacco card ever sold for was $3.4 million dollars. I am pretty sure that mine is worth less than that!
2. # 2 is a Yogi Berra autograph. He is probably the best catcher ever next to Johnny Bench. The card is unfortunately from 2001. Yogi retired in 1965, but it is still a Yogi “auto.” He is also famous for his quotes like “It ain’t over till its over.”
3. # 3 is a Josh Hamilton “auto” triple threads patch (that means there are 3 pieces of different jerseys in the card). He tied a Major League record for the most home runs in a game (4). He was just traded to the Angels a little while ago. There are only 75 of the exact same card in the world.
4. Next up is a Miguel Cabrera’s 4th year card. It is his “auto” too and there are only 25 in the world! Last season he got the triple crown award. Last time someone had that award was in 1967 by Yaz who used to be with the Red Sox. It seems to be in excellent condition but I’m not a card grader so I am not sure.
5. #5 is a LeBron James RC (i.e. rookie card). It is graded 10 out of 10! It also has a part of his high school patch. I think he is the best basketball player ever and I am going to see him play tomorrow. There is also Michael Jordan and I think Larry Bird and Kobe are up there.
6. Next we have a Joe Montana RC. He is the best QB of all time next to Brady and P. Manning. The corners are in perfect condition but the color of the card is fading.
7. Next up is a 1961 Ted Williams card. It’s graded 4 out of 10. He won the triple crown award twice. Only 2 people did that Ted Williams and Rogers Hornsby.
8. # 8 is a Derek Jeter RC 10 out of 10 graded by BCCG. He is one of the Yankees all time greats. I am a Yankees fan so I love this card.
9. # 9 is a Peyton Manning RC. It is graded 10 out of 10. He is one of the best QB ever. My dad got it on eBay for me and it was the only card of its type on eBay.
10. # 10, last but not least is a Miguel Cabrera RC. It is not graded. He is a definite future Hall Of Famer (H.O.F.).

                       I hope you liked my top 10 cards. And I hope I got you into collecting!