Baseball Cards - The Art Form
A child's toy? A collector's habit? No, much more than that. It's a form of art. It's Americana art.
Here are pictures of childhood heros, forever emblazened in living color, donning the costumes they wore into battle, complete with intricate chronological details of the warrior's successes and struggles. Upon review, these artifacts of the glorious past create a longing in us for those days when everybody was getting their ring finger measured on a yearly basis. Yes this is art, because baseball cards do more than report information, they create stories for inspiration for future generations of fans. The hopes and dreams of every young baseball fan have been recorded for all time, and the magical men who delivered all the excitement and an eternal source of local pride have been captured and shrink-wrapped with large pieces of pink chewing gum.
As you sort through the 1992 Topps baseball card box (792 cards) and assemble all the Pirate cards into a group, you begin to wonder... Who will be the next Barry Bonds? He started in Pittsburgh in 1986, and he shattered the record for home runs in a season with 73 in 2001, many years after the tiny Pittsburgh market was unable to support his commanding salary requirements. You ask yourself, will there ever be another outfield as talented as Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke, especially with backups Orlando Merced and Gary Varsho? According to Topps, the fabulous trio batted for averages .302, .292, and .269, respectively, and combined for 299 RBI's, 96 doubles, and 55 stolen bases. And there are couple of gold-glovers in that trio!
If you find yourself wondering, "what's an RBI?" or "where can I find some of those gold gloves?," please accept my apologies. Baseball cards are an Americana art thing. They feature professional photography, they capture a moment in time and they tell a story. The faces of the heroes reveal the passion they pour into their performances. And to a frustrated sports fan, they bring back happy memories of more prosperous days and give hope that the farm system still might discover the next Jeff King, or the front office might snag the next Doug Drabek as a "player to be named later." Hey, you never know... The Pirates might win half of their games this year!
Here are pictures of childhood heros, forever emblazened in living color, donning the costumes they wore into battle, complete with intricate chronological details of the warrior's successes and struggles. Upon review, these artifacts of the glorious past create a longing in us for those days when everybody was getting their ring finger measured on a yearly basis. Yes this is art, because baseball cards do more than report information, they create stories for inspiration for future generations of fans. The hopes and dreams of every young baseball fan have been recorded for all time, and the magical men who delivered all the excitement and an eternal source of local pride have been captured and shrink-wrapped with large pieces of pink chewing gum.
As you sort through the 1992 Topps baseball card box (792 cards) and assemble all the Pirate cards into a group, you begin to wonder... Who will be the next Barry Bonds? He started in Pittsburgh in 1986, and he shattered the record for home runs in a season with 73 in 2001, many years after the tiny Pittsburgh market was unable to support his commanding salary requirements. You ask yourself, will there ever be another outfield as talented as Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke, especially with backups Orlando Merced and Gary Varsho? According to Topps, the fabulous trio batted for averages .302, .292, and .269, respectively, and combined for 299 RBI's, 96 doubles, and 55 stolen bases. And there are couple of gold-glovers in that trio!
If you find yourself wondering, "what's an RBI?" or "where can I find some of those gold gloves?," please accept my apologies. Baseball cards are an Americana art thing. They feature professional photography, they capture a moment in time and they tell a story. The faces of the heroes reveal the passion they pour into their performances. And to a frustrated sports fan, they bring back happy memories of more prosperous days and give hope that the farm system still might discover the next Jeff King, or the front office might snag the next Doug Drabek as a "player to be named later." Hey, you never know... The Pirates might win half of their games this year!
posted by O'Coileain at 1:18 PM
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