My Head Is Going to Explode!

Inserts from a simpler time

1969 Deckle Edge Don Kessinger



1970 Ernie Banks Comic Book




These scandals and allegations are making me crazy! It was just about a year ago that I started collecting baseball cards again. I was happy completing my team sets in my isolated ignorance.

In the fall, as I started looking for other projects, I searched around the net for more information. That led me to the blogging community. I began following many and that helped me get re-educated and enthused about collecting. This was also about the time the loaded box busting scandal burst on to the scene.

Now we've got Razorgate and the issue of authentic autographs and all of this makes me want to scream! How did the hobby get to this?

It seems to me that so much of the problem goes to inserts. It took me a while to figure out the whole concept of modern inserts. When I first collected, inserts were simple things we pretty much looked past when we opened a pack of cards. I can remember three different inserts, the 1969 Deckle cards, the 1970 Comic Books, and the 1971 Coins. These were a bonus item that meant little to me. I never bought a pack hoping to get a certain comic or coin. The attraction was the cards.

But today, apparently the cards themselves aren't enough to sell, and gimmicks have to be added. And then the gimmick of company A had to be one-upped by company B. And all the one-upping leads to shortcuts and deception. Jerseys aren't really "game used." Autographs may or may not be authentic.

I say, screw the inserts. Tell the "hits" to hit the road. If the cards aren't good enough to sell on their own, then fix the cards!