Spring fever is in the air and Major League Baseball’s Opening Day is just behind us: there’s no better way to celebrate the changing of the seasons than with America’s Pastime. But what do music and baseball have in common? Well, aside from the fact that there have been numerous songs written about baseball—and conversely many classic tunes that have been used to pump up the energy level at a ballpark—both of them are connected to very voracious collecting communities: like vinyl records, baseball card collecting is also going through a renaissance.
Dr. James Beckett is no doubt the leading authority on all things baseball cards. In the late 1970s, Dr. Beckett began publishing price guides for cards and in 1984 founded Beckett Baseball Card Monthly which became the gold-standard for establishing card values. The magazine, and accompanying Beckett Media, grew tremendously; branching out into other products and sports and also becoming one of the leading card grading companies in the world. While he has since sold the company, he still retains a position as senior advisor.
He’s found a new legion of collectors, however, with his very popular podcast called Sports Card Insights and has currently completed his 724th program. During this interview, Dr. Beckett and I interviewed one another – in a way—each drawing parallels between collecting vinyl records and what many people consider the greatest hobby in the world, baseball card collecting. I was pleased—and honored—that he used some of our conversation on his own podcast; it was a great trading session.
So, take a seat, grab a hot dog and a cold beer as Dr. Beckett and I compare hobby notes; while we come from different worlds, you’ll be very surprised to learn we have many more similarities than differences. So, let’s play ball!
Evan Toth is a songwriter, professional musician, educator, radio host, avid record collector, and hi-fi aficionado. Toth hosts and produces The Evan Toth Show and TVD Radar on WFDU, 89.1 FM. Follow him at the usual social media places and visit his website.
