PITCHERS: Official Thread of the Hobby’s Outcast Position

[cjraleigh]

Originally Posted by eye4talent

As the OP of this thread, I’d like to make something clear: this is a safe space for fans of pitchers, a position that—as the title of the thread indicates—is not terribly appreciated by the hobby. As someone who made a killing on Soto, Acuna, Vlad, and Gleyber, I can confidently say that this is not the place for similar hopes.

Sure, we’d like to see all these guys turn into HOF-bound Cy Young candidates and for the values of their cards to rise, but we know these are mostly a bunch of future Jack Flaherty’s and Michael Wachas. Heck, as a Giants fan, I sure know how short-lived the magic of a Lincecum or MadBum can be.

Now, I’m curious to know: what self-righteous knobs think that a distinction needs to be made between collecting and making a few bucks? I like picking up cards, holding them for a while, and then releasing them back into the wild. Does that mean I’m not a collector? Not at all. I collected the cards, but then decided not to take them to my grave. Good for me. And good for the next guy.

And stop with the rookie card garbage. If you want to abide by someone else’s definition of a rookie card and confine yourself to mass-produced base cards, then that’s your thing. But if there’s a version of a card that’s a little different and a lot more rare, then that is an option for a different kind of rookie card collector.

Now, tell me: I acquired all the below cards of Hunter Greene, creating a so-called rainbow. I sure hope Greene emerges as a perennial Cy Young contender, but who knows if that’ll happen. Regardless, I’ll probably sell this rainbow someday. Am I a collector? Or a bottom-feeding flipper? (Hint: my joy of collecting comes from the journey.)

Bonus questions: Is there one rookie card, or are there 11 rookie cards in this photo? If it’s the former, would you consider this a rookie rainbow? And finally, why would people be willing to pay more for this 1/1 than for a Hunter Greene 1/1 from 2023? If it’s not a rookie card, why pay more?



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Thank you for creating this safe haven, OP.

Lots of terrific cards have been shared, and isn't that really the point?

We can all collect/invest/flip/flex/hoard/trade/hedge/donate/burn/whatever to our heart's content.

Although an ardent non-RC guy (with the exception of that struggling dude in DC), I also keep tabs on up and coming arms. No distinction necessary. Watching today's no-name blossom into tomorrow's headliner never gets old.