Personally Vested

The other day I was watching a game in which Gregory Polanco got a huge hit and I found myself more pumped up than normal. It is one thing to actually be at the game and celebrating with the entire stadium, but I was sitting alone on my couch.  Their might have even been a fist pump and an audible "yes."

I'm a pretty reserved fan by nature. A loss doesn't ruin my day nor does a win give me some weird confidence boost. My reaction left me wondering why the hell I was getting so excited for a regular season win. I watch a ton of baseball so I've already witnessed a lot of late game heroics, so what made this moment stand apart. 

My best guess is that my card collecting and overall fandom have become intertwined. I don't collect cards as an investment, but I think mass purchasing of a certain players lends itself to some kind of bond. My brain knows that I've spent a lot of time and money accumulating cards of certain players so maybe their is a certain sense of accomplishment and justification knowing that player is doing well. 

For those who follow my blog on a semi regular basis know that I went all in purchasing Polanco autos when prices bottomed out after his debut. As a team collector this is always the difficult choice. Do you bite the bullet early and risk the player being a bust, or do wait to purchase and price yourself out when the player turns into a star.  For every Andrew McCutchen their is a Brian Bixler, Brad Eldred and Chad Hermanson.

With Polanco I decided to go all in. I'm not a prospector, but I found the skill set interesting. His minor league obp and success versus left handed pitching made you think he was less likely to bust than most.

So I guess that is why when Polanco does well, I get pumped. The verdict is still out on what type of player he will be. I'm just happy that he seems to be finding his way at the major league level. If he continues to develop to something even more I would be downright ecstatic. I might even double fist pump....

All the cards shown have been featured at some point on Bob Walk the Plank. Several were included via blog trade from the likes of Brad's Blog, The Card Papoy and Jaybarkerfan.

Thanks for reading!