Roadrunner Sports Cards

I've been an avid collector of Sports Cards and sports memorabilia since I was seven years old. Well, probably more of an obsessed, addicted, die-hard collector at times, but I prefer to be called an "enthusiast" of sports-related item collecting. No matter what you call me, sports and accumulating sports-related items of meaning will always be a hobby of mine.

The last time I bought a pack of Baseball cards was back in 2004. It probably was a whole box, and I probably didn't open it either. That's pretty much what my "collecting" had become: pure economical speculation. It wasn't as much fun as tearing open a pack of cards in search of the rookie card of the guy that was just called up from the minors.

Turn the clock ahead seven years to the present, and I'm back into Strat-O-Matic. I also have a son who is old enough to play Baseball (T-ball for another year, actually), know most of the major league teams by glancing at the logo, and find a little joy in opening a pack of cards.

I picked up a "few" retail packs of 2010 Bowman Sterling and 2011 Topps Series 1. Because I'm me, and they were a little more expensive, I kept the Bowman Sterling for myself. I let my son open and keep the 2011 Topps cards, and he enjoyed looking at the pictures on the front. I showed him the flip side of the card, and how you can sort them by number. I told my wife that this is a great way to teach him some math, and we created sort piles while ignoring her eye rolling.

While I still find some joy in opening a fresh pack of cards, there's a greater joy in watching a child do so, especially for the first time. As his small fingers passed one card for the next, I read the player names and immediately associated them with BRASSball teams.

Interestingly enough, we only got one insert card worth noting: an autographed refractor of Pirates prospect Tony Sanchez, also of the Roadrunners' amateur system. Of all the packs we opened, we found only two other players from the team: Mark Ellis (2011 Topps) and Jose Bautista (2011 Topps Kimball Champions insert). No Josh Hamilton. No John Lackey. Not even a Chris Valaika!

Now that my son has a box of his own to put his 2011 Baseball cards in (along with a few Star Wars: Clone Wars cards), we'll definitely be picking up a pack or three here and there. I'll be on the lookout for members of the California Roadrunners, and cards of players on your team to use as voodoo dolls.