Beginnings....

A blog.

Let’s see what our friends over at Wikipedia have to say about these….blogs.

“A blog (a portmanteau of the term "web log") is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.


Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (Video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.


As of December 2007, blog search engine Technorati was tracking more than 112,000,000 blogs.”

I guess this is me throwing my hat in the ring with the literally hundreds of millions of folks out there doing this….blog….thing.  Full disclosure….I’ve had my hands in blogs before, but those were mostly personal/collaborative projects that weren’t really intended for general consumption…this thing on the other hand, is likely not fit for consumption by anyone, anytime, anyplace….let’s call it the Vienna Sausage of blogs.  Those other blogs have always run out of gas about a month in, this time though, it’s different, we have a theme, a topic, a goal….baseball, and the little chits of cardboard that help bring us all closer to the greatest of games. 

After spending about two months or so trolling around other folks’ card blogs, it became evident that the best way to get a hook into this community was to start a blog of my own.  So….here goes nothing.
I guess a little introduction is probably in order. 

Name: Babbaloie.  It’s a name that I’ve run around with since I was about 12, and probably the closest thing to a nickname I’ve ever had. 

Age:  30.  It’s the new 20 right?  It’s that age where the adult in you really begins to start shouting down the kid more than ever before…I’m doing my best to take that guy and cinch him up to a gurney Hannibal Lecter-style.  I like that kid better.

Home:  Dallas, Texas.  I’m a native Texan and a completely insufferable fan of the Cowboys, Mavs, Rangers, and Texas Tech.  I’m an admittedly fair-weather Stars fan who finds hockey more or less confusing and without merit.

Co-habitants:  Two.  There’s the big boss lady, she keeps me in check and makes me laugh.  We’ve also got the peanut.  This whole baseball obsession is really his fault.  I think it’s a Field of Dreams thing.

Thoughts on the Designated Hitter Rule:  Interleague play has reminded me why the DH is really a gift from the good Lord.  Watching CJ Wilson try and swing a bat is sort of like having teeth pulled.  Give me a DH any day of the week.  Let those pitcher types focus on what they’re good at.

What I like about baseball cards:  They bring me closer to the game.  There’s nothing more satisfying for me than watching the Rangers play the Astros, hearing Josh Lewynn comment on some no-name rookie and coming to the realization that ‘Hey, I know that name, I’ve got his 2008 Bowman Prospect Card!’.  I love cards with good action shots, particularly ones that seem to capture the brief moments of intensity in an otherwise mellow game.

What do I collect:  R&R.  Rangers and rookies.  I’ve always loved the Texas Rangers, and I’ve been a big fan of rookie/prospect cards for a long time.  The 2010 Bowman set has really reignited my love for the prospect game.

Goals for the blog:  Community.  As a new dad, I don’t have time to go spend hours over at the card shop sitting around shooting the breeze, and it seems that the card blog can, in many ways, fill in the community side of the card collecting hobby.  I hope that you’ll read the blog and comment.  I hope to make you laugh, and maybe we can trade some cards too.  Everyone loves mail.

I think that’s good for now.  My hope is to post frequently, but not obsessively.  I don’t have a scanner (and I don’t suspect that I’ll be getting one soon), so I’ll need to rig up some sort of ghetto card photography mechanism so you’re not just stuck with words all the time.  Thanks for reading.  See you around.