Life and Baseball Cards

Real life can get in the way of enjoying this hobby the way it should be enjoyed. Work, family commitments, bills, they all take time away from this very important distraction.

Ok, I'm stretching a little bit, but as many of you have experienced, we sometimes have to put collecting on the back burner. I'm pushing back a little as those real life issues press in on me lately. I'm not ready to step away from the hobby just yet, but if you've read my profile, you know I've had those periods of hobby inactivity.

As long as I can keep trading and adding Rangers to my collection, I think I'll be ok. I recently added a whole bunch of Rangers to my collection thanks to Charley from Life and Baseball Cards.




Billy Sample's not too happy about all this negative talk about the hobby, but I think he's really concerned about the sloppiness of the scan on this 1981 Topps card.



Bobby Valentine could care less. He's just happy to be included in a trade post, not to mention having a job managing the Red Sox.




How about a little 2008 Tristar action. Elvis Andrus was a Myrtle Beach Pelican! You have to love minor league team names.




I need to check to see if I have all the Gypsy Queen Rangers. I'm sure I don't have ALL of the Gypsy Queen parallels, but this Ian Kinsler helps.




So does this Josh Hamilton.





Speaking of Josh Hamilton, here is a 2009 Upper Deck Game Jersey. I like when they use these blue swatches on jersey cards. It's so much nicer than the grey or white swatch. I'd like to see some more of the red jerseys used. Speaking of red jerseys, last season I was at a game and one of the gift shops had a red Josh Hamilton jersey from the 2010 World Series that was $3000. If I was one of those mega rich guys, I'd have that thing hanging in my man cave.




I like these silk cards, mainly because I have so few of them and they're low numbered. This is my third silk card, but my first of Ian Kinsler. It's the 2010 version and is # 37/50.




The last card isn't a Ranger card. It's an encapsulated, Topps Uncirculated 2003 Topps Chrome Brandon Phillips/Victor Martinez XFractor #19/57. This card was a surprise, but fits nicely into my catcher collection. Well, the huge chunk of plastic means it doesn't really fit, but you know what I mean.

Charley, thanks so much for the great package. It may take a little while, but I'll put something together for you.