A couple of weeks ago, my 9-year-old nephew proudly showed me a pack of 2009 Topps Updates and Highlights that had been purchased by Grandma (my Mom). I’ve tried to teach my Mom over the years, but she’s a bit of a stubborn learner. She has improved though, but that’s a different story.
So my nephew pulls out an Endy Chavez card and confidently declares him as a good player. When I inquired, he told me the reason was due to his homerun count of 167. I nodded my head, and then slyly pointed out a different player, Jason Bay. I also pointed him towards the Turkey Red insert that always tweaks my eye. He enjoyed that card too.
I remembered back to my younger years of sorting cards by team, brand, and player as I watched him lay out his dozen cards in front of the both of us. I peaked at a Matt LaPorta rookie and told him that was the best card. To my surprise, he asked if I wanted it.
Now I’m a good fair uncle, so I didn’t take it, but I decided to trade with him. After all, I didn’t have a LaPorta card at that point. A great coincidence was still sitting in the glove compartment to my car. I ran out and grabbed the still-sealed three-pack of Kansas City Chiefs cards that they give away at the game. The pack included a Derrick Johnson, Larry Johnson and Dwayne Bowe. The set was a subset of Panini. He loved it and took the deal.
Looking back, it seems very fair to me. I checked the BV of the LaPorta card to be $2, so I know he isn’t missing too much. And a part of the story untold yet is that I plan to gift him a book of Chiefs and Kansas City Royals players (our local teams). I like seeing him interested in the hobby.
