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Does a deep rivalry matter to you as a collector?

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mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,187
4,087
I suspect that most collectors really have no issues collecting beyond their "Home Team". Unless you are specific and exclusive to a single team, for example, you might not actively even seek something from another team. However, if you had no personal restrictions otherwise and the right item caught your eye, would you still buy it if it featured a rival? With the wide variety of players and teams to choose from over the years, along with the plethora of brands and issue types, it is almost harder to believe that anyone would not cross "boundaries" to collect. This topic came to mind for me recently for a couple of reasons.

Personally, I collect a wide variety of things. Always have. I have never focused on any narrow subjects exclusively and have always been willing to consider anything that catches my eye. My team has almost always been the Dodgers though. I have followed them over the years, but have never, nor would I ever condone the feverish and hostile rivalry attitude some people take when it comes to "their" team. I think it is downright ridiculous that people are insulted and/or assaulted over simply rooting for or wearing clothes featuring a rival team. That should never happen, ever! More ridiculous are those who have and exhibit that attitude toward others. Alcohol fuels this often, but even sober you see idiots harassing people over such petty things. A fan should never have to worry about or feel unsafe at an event or for supporting or rooting for a team, anywhere.

The Dodgers and Giants have always had a rivalry between them. Born when both teams played in the National League in NY (as well as including the Yanks over in the AL), that rivalry actually moved across the country in 1958 when both teams moved at the same time from NY to California. The friendly NL rivalry continues, but a nastier uglier one seems to build more and more as the years pass. One that puts fans in hospitals over fights and such. It reminds me of an on field incident that occured in 1965 between the Giants and Dodgers, but more specifically between Juan Marichal and John Roseboro. Marichal would actually eventually end his career in LA playing briefly for the Dodgers in 1975. In fact, two of his new teammates were even members of the 1965 Dodgers team and still active a decade later, Jim brewer and Willie Crawford.

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I have been watching Marichal listings on ebay for the last couple of months now for a project I am working on. I have always been intrigued by him. He was a good player and a Hall of Famer. His 1974 Topps card will always be locked into my brain as one of the cooler shots captured on a baseball card. I only wish it was a 1976 card with him in a Dodger uniform. That high leg kick was something else. Unless a card maker comes up with one in the future, Marichal does not and probably never will have a certified card featuring him with the Dodgers. He only played 2 games that year before retiring. My goal then was to find a nice certified autograph card that was as neutral as possible to add to my Dodger collection until such time as a Dodger card became available.

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A week or so ago, I spotted a neat quad card featuring Marichal, as well as Gaylord Perry, Monte Irvin and Willie McCovey. The card was from 2005 and was two sided, which hurts the astetics a bit, as you can't see both sides at once, but it was still a cool card all the same. I decided to try to win it. Now I collect autographs of just about anyone who was good and have all 4 of these players already on separate cards, but this card was too cool to pass up. Being a Dodger fan, this is one of those cards that might turn a diehard fan away. Who wants a powerhouse card like like featuring players from your biggest rival anyway? I planned my final bid and discovered this evening that it held up and I was the new owner of this pretty damn cool card. I always prefer Dodgers and a quad like that featuring similar Dodgers would be equally, if not more epic for me, but this card checked all the boxes for me and now it is mine.

So, wandering back to my initial thought. Are there people out there who would absolutely despise owning a card like this simply because it featured a hated rival? PS - I will say that if I were as big a Giants fan as I was a Dodgers fan, I would be disappointed that a Dodgers fan won the card but would not hold it against them.

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michaelstepper

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2010
8,211
519
southeast Alaska
I have no problem buying cards of other players on other teams. I've always disliked the Yankees for one reason or another BUT whenever I broke boxes I always hit Yankees and or Alex Rodriguez.
alex Rodriguez patch
various yankee jerseys/bats
jeter inserts
jeter sweet spot auto
DiMaggio pinstripe jersey
allie Reynolds yankee stadium seat relic
on and on.. hated it haha
 

rebelpawn

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
2,666
10
La Jolla. CA
I'm a huge Red Sox fan but I have several cards of Yankee great in my PC. As much as I might dislike the Yankees, I'm a fan of great baseball players first and foremost so those cards don't bother me.
 

bstanwood

Well-known member
Sep 24, 2016
3,666
332
Mystic, CT
My collection is largely Red Sox, but I am not all that ashamed to admit I have rookies of both Jeter and Mariano in my collection. While I would probably never have a player collection of a Yankee a few here and there are fine.
On a related note, I collected Youkilis pretty heavy his first two years, I've thought about getting back to that collection as he is one of my all time favorite Sox. I would have a real hard time adding a large number of cards featuring him in pinstripes.
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,187
4,087
Fellow member Yanks2151 is a Yankees collector and at one time would not even consider a card of his favorite player if he was not in pinstripes. He eventually softened on that stance, but that is dedication to a single team there.

My collection is largely Red Sox, but I am not all that ashamed to admit I have rookies of both Jeter and Mariano in my collection. While I would probably never have a player collection of a Yankee a few here and there are fine.
On a related note, I collected Youkilis pretty heavy his first two years, I've thought about getting back to that collection as he is one of my all time favorite Sox. I would have a real hard time adding a large number of cards featuring him in pinstripes.
 

dano7

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
13,325
3,847
Roanoke, VA
No problems with the rivalries! That's what makes baseball, baseball. I respect the players on my rivals, even telling the Salem Red Sox players that when they make to the Red Sox, I will pull for them.....individually!!!
 

WizardofOz1982

Well-known member
Sep 30, 2017
1,736
1,498
Oklahoma
Players move around so much these days I think it would make it very challenging to have a PC of a current player if you take rivalries, disliked teams, whatever into consideration. I'm not a Yankees fan but Matt Holliday played there so I have a few Yankees cards in my Holliday PC. I have an Allie Reynolds auto and 1948 Bowman in my Oklahoma born players collection. I think dano7 put it best. It's all about respecting the game and the players who play it.

I don't have many Cubs' cards in my collection since I'm a Cardinals fan but there are exceptions. I started a small Joe Girardi collection after Darryl Kile's passing. The amount of class he showed making the announcement on field at Wrigley made me a fan well before he finished his career with the Cardinals.
 

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