Baseball Joy and Other Friday Thoughts
An update on the Joy of Baseball podcast, plus musings on writers block, sports betting and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
It’s Friday, and here is your weekly splash of Joe.
What is your favorite baseball card?
Brilliant Reader Ken: I collected baseball cards for a long time, and I am also a Yankees fan. Despite this, I think the 1974 Topps Carlton Fisk card would have to be my favorite. I was four years old and had just moved to my third foster home in the summer of 1974. My foster father's brother Fritz loved baseball and must have felt that the perfect gift to make a boy feel comfortable in his new home was a pack of baseball cards. I even (as a five-year-old) cut a 1975 Topps card (one of the flashback MVP cards) in half because I thought it should be two cards (wince). But even now, that action shot of Fisk stands out in my memory both because of my kind uncle and because of the great action shot.
Brilliant Reader Michael: Thirteen years old. 1989 Fleer cello wrap, Billy Ripkin visible through the back of the pack. Open. Flip. There it was on the bottom of the bat! I was going to be a millionaire. A moment made for a 13-year-old boy. The perfect mix of profanity, imagined wealth and age.
From Joe: On eBay, the Billy Ripken error card is going for anywhere between $100 and $350.
Brilliant Reader Adam: When you're a devoted pack ripper as a kid, the most serendipitous pulls are worth sentimental bonus points. In 1999, I received a Topps Traded set with one guaranteed autograph inside and pulled Alfonso Soriano's beautiful, loping water-slide of a signature. I'll never forget beating those odds.
From Joe: No matter how many times I see it, I find it impossible to believe that Alfonso Soriano hit 400 home runs in his career. But he did. He had a 40-40 season (and a 39-41 season too!). He stole almost 300 bases in his career. He led the league in hits one year. The guy was a miracle. He was also flawed. Someday, when I actually put together my own official list of players who were definitely not Hall of Famers but were still all-timers, Soriano will be near the top.
The Joy of Baseball Podcast!
Yes, Molly Knight and I have only been talking about this podcast for … months? Years? Who can even keep track anymore? But it’s happening! Really! Molly has created our Instagram and TikTok pages — and I mean, if that’s not official, I don’t know what is.
(Come follow us!).
And here’s something even more official! We have music! Brought to you by the incredible Matt the Electrician — we have two options. There’s Joy of Baseball:
And there’s Scorekeeper, which I just adore. I mean, I love them both, but Scorekeeper is just so good:
Matt just has a baseball fan’s soul, doesn’t he?
Anyway, the plan is for Molly and me to invite special guests every week to talk about, yes, the joy of baseball. And we might have a few special episodes just for subscribers where Molly and I talk about our own baseball joy; this might just be us talking Payton Tolle every time. We’ll see.
And when I say it’s coming soon, I mean it this time.
And now, for Clubhouse members — a few thoughts on writing (and writer’s block), why I hate gambling and the pure wonder that is Zlatan. For those of you who would like to join The Clubhouse and be a part of our community, we’d love to have you:
