Meeting Matthew At The National

One of my favorite parts of going to the National is the ability to meet up with fellow collectors from Facebook, Instagram, the blogs, Skype, etc.  I have used it as an opportunity to do some in person trades with these guys, and just hand out searching boxes with guys who are just as interested in cards as I am.

One of the people I was able to meet with at this year's National was Matthew.  I met Matthew through a Facebook trading page several years ago when he was only 10.  I believe one of the first trades I ever actually completed with him was for a Jose Fernandez chrome RC (but Matthew may have to confirm that).  I helped him get his collection started by also sending him some care packages and introducing him to blogging and other Facebook card pages.  Matthew actually started a few of his own trading pages and would Skype regularly with my son, Chris, since they are really close in age.  It stuck with Chris so much, that he asks about Matthew all the time, even though the don't have the time to chat any more.

So, I met up with Matthew and his dad at the National and he had this great Hunter Harvey auto from 2015 Bowman Inception.  He gave me the card "just because" which I thought was really nice of him.  I always enjoyed how appreciative Matthew was of the care packages I sent.  I now see his instagram page and enjoy all of the super high end cards that he has acquired since our introduction.  I'm happy to see that his collection has grown by leaps and bounds, and also how he himself has grown into a well respected member of the card community.  I see articles all of the time that spell the death knell of the hobby, but with kids like Matthew, I feel like it is alive and will carry into the next generation of collectors just fine.

Thanks so much for the awesome card, Matthew!

A Surprise Package From Matthew

Recently, I got a nice package from young Matthew, a friend of mine who I have been helping along in the hobby.  He has a blog that he has just now started back up, Matthew's Card Collection, he's working on adding more content, but I believe he is 11, and has school and sports taking up his time as well.

I consider Matthew a friend, but he is also a really good friend to my son, Chris.  Matthew sends Chris random cards as surprises fairly frequently and they talk on Skype together every now and then.  If I have made Matthew feel welcome in the card community, he has returned the favor with Chris.  Chris has a couple cards set aside for Matthew that I will send him shortly, once I finalize my next package for him.

So, if you haven't checked out Matthew's blog, please do.  We need more and more young folks getting involved in the hobby so that the future of the hobby is secure, which I think it is.

Thanks for the cards, Matthew!

Some Mail From Matthew and a Rant About Eddie Murray's HOF Credentials

I got a nice package in the mail the other day from fellow blogger and friend, Matthew, that had a few random Orioles cards and a few other random cards of other stars.  Matthew has been missing from the blogs recently due to his moving into a new house.  I was really happy to get the package, but I was even happier when I realized that one of the random Orioles cards was this 1997 Topps Eddie Murray.

This card is significan in a couple of ways.  First, I am passively working on the 1997 set (and I need to get my needs list posted) and I actually needed this one.

Second, I realized that this is Murray's final regular issue Topps card.  I hadn't even thought to look and see which one it was until now.  Kind of cool.  The stats on the back of the card (obviously through the 1996 season) had him at 3,218 hits and 501 home runs.  He would finish with 3,255 and 504.

Thanks for the cards, Matthew.

Since I ranted the other day on XM radio hosts, I'd like to take a minute to do it again (sorry, Matthew).  I love my XM radio and I've had it for 7 years now.  Before this year, I never turned off of the baseball channel because of an on air personality.  Recently they have been using one of their other channel's sports commentators - Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo - to host an hour-long show on MLB Network.  He made me so mad one day with a throwaway comment that I switched the channel to Pearl Jam Radio immediately.

His statement was about the Hall of Fame and he commented that in his mind, Eddie Murray was not a Hall of Famer.  No reason given, but he says this about Murray.  I'm not too terribly worried, because the guy had made other statements about the Hall of Fame that made me glad he didn't have a vote (he just came off as being terribly uninformed about baseball's most hallowed shrine to be having his own show about baseball).  Murray is one of four former players to have 500+ home runs and 3,000+ hits (three of them are in the Hall and one is Rafael Palmeiro) and was a model of consistency for his 21 seasons played.  He was a first ballot Hall of Famer, so this Russo guy's assertion that Murray wasn't a Hall of Famer must not have been shared by the folks who actually KNOW about the sport.  Murray was voted in with 85% of the vote, so it's not like there was any question about his credentials.

Stick to football and yelling into the microphone, Mr. Russo.  You clearly know nothing about baseball.