The 90s weren't all bad...

So, working in a shop (even though its one day a week) has taught me a lot about cards. The biggest thing, however, is that if someone calls wanting you to look at a collection, you want to make sure you ask beforehand 'When were the cards made?' If someone tells you 'Oh- late 80s to mid 90s...' you want to run for cover. Yuck. Late 80s to mid 90s baseball cards. Makes me cringe now even thinking about it.

The 'overproduction' era was when I was full-force into cards. My mom would take me to the card shop (which is now where I help out at on Saturdays, although it is under different management) and drop a good bit of money on cards. My mom was and is pretty cool with all of our interests. She 'got it'. She would bust packs with me, she going for Don Mattingly and Mike Piazza, with me going for Cal Ripken.

We had read in Beckett in 1995 that there was this Cal Ripken Statistical Standout insert going somewhere around $75.00 (book value). WOW, $75.00 for a card is a lot for a 14 year-old. Mom and I would bust packs of 1995 Leaf trying to get the Ripken. I opened a pack one week and pulled the Matt Williams Statistical Standout and was mad cause it wasn't Cal (I just remembered that while typing this).

One week, Mom and I went to the shop, like normal, and got a good-size stack of packs to bust when we came upon the 95 Leaf. She said that because they were higher priced cards (like $4.00 a pack, I think), I could pick only one for myself and one for her. So, we got 2 packs. We would purchase the packs of cards and go out to the parking lot and open the cards in her car. I handed her her pack of Leaf and she opened it, and didn't get anything special. I opened mine and a few cards down I happened upon this: I cheered and showed it to her.... Yeah, I won't repeat what she called me, haha. Can't say it was the first time I heard my mom cuss, but it definitely sticks out in my mind. I still laugh about it to this day. I was remarking to a friend yesterday that busting packs isn't near as fun unless you have someone busting them with you, and its even better if they are as interested in the cards as you are. So, thanks Mom for taking an interest in cards so long ago.

Going through all my Cal's and listing them on Zistle was a tedious task, but it was a lot of fun. I found some old card designs that I had long forgotten, and given enough time, I plan on blogging them and sharing them with you. We'll see how do with that, lol.

I now have all but 20 something of my Cal Ripken cards listed on Zistle, as well as my regular issue Topps Brooks Robinsons. My next task is listing my Brian Roberts cards... Feel free to check out my stuff on there, Im listed as Wregenthal. Oh, the stock picture they have of the 1955 Roberto Clemente RC is my picture :) Woo Hoo!!!