The Chase

I’ll start this off by saying that I actually remember, vividly, chasing this card back when I was a kid. 

Now, the term “chasing,” has a different meaning today than it did then. 

Back then, we didn’t “chase” a card for the resale — we actually “chased” a card because we loved the player, or the team or something along those lines. 

For me, getting my 12-year old hands on a 1984 Topps Don Mattingly was the equivalent of Christmas morning. 

And, I wheeled-and-dealed myself to more than a few of them back in the day. 

It made sense, too. 

I was a first baseman, loved the Yankees, and to me, Mattingly was the pinnacle of play at the position. 

Well, now it’s four decades later, and… guess what?

I’m chasing a 1984 Topps Don Mattingly yet again.

This time, however, I’m having trouble getting someone to trade a Darryl Strawberry rookie for one, or finding one in a $.50 pack of ‘84 Topps.

Nonetheless, I keep searching. 

I’ve come across a few raw copies I’ve liked enough to pick up and send out to the fine folks at SGC.

I’ve run into a couple PSA 9 and SGC 9 copies as well, although I have yet to pull the trigger.

Someone did offer me an SGC 10, which he claimed to have, although there are only 6 in existence. 

I seriously gave it some thought. 

But, the card would have to come with a divorce attorney because if I spent that much on a 1984 Topps baseball card that I was only going to add to the PC, I’d need one, real quick.

For now, I’ll wait to see how much luck I have with the five I submitted to SGC.

For me, nowadays anyhow, this is the hobby.

Building a PC of the players and cards I love… that’s it. 

I’m paying little attention to resale value.

Even less attention to trendy players and modern cards at all, for that matter.

And to tell you the truth — I’m enjoying the crap out of it.

It’s easy for us to forget how much we actually love the hobby, isn’t it?

We can get all wrapped up in profit margins and “moving” cards so much that we forget why we opened our first pack to begin with, right?

Well, I may have lost sight of it recently, but I remember now — and I’m better for it. 

Now, onto the next “chase,” — a 1982 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. rookie.