Kids and Collecting
I just re-discovered this forum after looking for a place to talk about just this kind of subject.
I bought a few packs of Topps Big League today because part of what I read said it was aimed at getting kids into the hobby. It's a nice design, a decent feel, and relatively simple - but still a disappointment. Only 400 cards, limited stats, etc.
I'm 50, and a set builder. I've been buying cards since I first found a small uncut sample sheet of 1978s in a Dynamite magazine in 4th grade. I became a baseball fan because of the cards, rather than the other way around. In recent years, I've given up putting together anything current because of what's out there.
To my mind, here are some things Topps could do to appeal to young, and old, collectors alike:
1) Have a comprehensive set that includes star outfielders, but also back-up catchers and long relief men. That's how I, and I suspect many others, really started to learn about MLB - the teams, the players, etc.
2) Include lifetime stats, with minor league records where they fit - at first glance, it looks like Joey Votto has been around only as long as Khris Davis.
3) Give all teams a roughly equal amount of cards - with some recent issues, it's hard to imagine kids in San Diego or Baltimore getting very excited about what they have to chose from.
4) Have a nice, non-flashy, cardboard-ish stock with no foil printing - this is something Heritage and Big League get right. Some recent Topps base cards had to be held at just the right angle to read the player's name.
5) Have absolutely no computer generated "paint jobs" - leave those guys that switch teams for the update issue;
6) Don't make it impossible to easily build a base set - I'm looking at you, Heritage - no better way to discourage kids than to make it hard to complete a set.
7) Sell cards at someplace other than just Wal-Mart or Target. Make them ubiquitous.
8) Insert sets are fine, but if you want parallels, autos, relics and such, keep it very simple and make them slightly easier to find than Amelia Earhart. It might help keep the guys who loiter around Targets at opening to snatch up cases of product away, and that would be wonderful.
I know it sounds like an old man yelling at people to get off his lawn, but I just can't imagine it being that hard. Kids are either going to buy cards or they're not.
I suppose the one good thing about younger people staying out of the hobby means that eventually I'll be able to pick up some 1960s sets for a few hundred dollars. Seriously - can these sets still go for thousands if no new blood comes into the hobby?
Anyway, glad to get that off my chest - happy collecting!
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