[68Hawk]

I think quite a bit of the attraction to memorabillia cards is their size, which for many collectors of regular baseball cards is a driver to their own mania.
Not many of us can create Dreier museums to house large scale displays of sporting memorabillia or even devote rooms or basements with a spouses blessing ;-).
In much the same way that many card collectors view their cardboard as 'mini mona lisa's' and artwork to be gazed at and inhaled, memorabillia cards work for alot of collectors who find yet another way to connect to the game and its stars.
When you will never be able to afford the bat, a bat sliver can still feel special and make you feel like your touching history.

In the same way, I have a small hood ornamet collection that displays beautifully without being attached to a radiator or 34' buick - and I feel no distress that it has been disconnected from its original partner vehicle or 'destroyed' through seperation.
Now, if it was a one off ornament connected to a rare example of motoring history I agree there is more beauty and symmetry keeping them connected. But when surviving examples are greater than say 5-10, I don't think you've ruined something that can never be viewed in its original state again.