If you’ve known me for any length of time, you know that I love the sport of baseball. I’ve enjoyed it my entire life; I’ve played it, coached it, even umpired it. (That’s what a “referee” in baseball is called.) But what is probably my all-time favorite thing to do within the sport is collecting baseball cards. Players and coaches, team photo cards and so on…I love collecting them. It’s a great way to follow the history of “America’s Pastime.” (Sorry, football fans.)
There are two forms of collecting these cards. The first way is to buy or trade the actual physical card, one that you can actually touch, feel or hold. You’ll find me on eBay trying to find certain card sets, brands and so on. I probably buy more than I should there, but not only is it fun to get cards from there, it’s also an investment. On eBay you actually can get good deals on individual cards or sets if you know how to watch for them, and I have most certainly found them! On the other hand, there are some cards and sets that are priced where only a certain few people can get them. Those, I just leave alone.
The second form of collecting baseball cards is digitally. Yes, that’s right! Topps started the digital card era by starting up what is called Topps Bunt, and they have been going since 2016. The digital card is different than the physical card because you can’t hold them in your hand. I think it’s safe to say that it’s like cryptocurrency to a point. Initially, I was not a fan of this but in February of this year I eventually accepted it and am now active on Topps Bunt. And get this: you can actually buy Bunt digital cards on eBay; the actually reception of these digital cards come in the form of a trade on Bunt, with only giving up a lowest level card to receive what you purchased on eBay. Lots of options in digital cards and sets are available.
So which is better, the physical or digital card? It depends on your beliefs and preferences, I guess. I’m still pretty solid in the physical category, but I do enjoy the trading or earning digital cards as well. So what do you think?
