It's almost baseball season!

It’s almost baseball season! I have been a baseball fan since I was 10 years old. That year the Minnesota Twins won the World Series and gained a lifelong fan. I’m not sure why I ever latched onto baseball as my dad is not a sports fan and I’m the oldest of three daughters, but whatever it was I was instantly hooked. The winter after the Twins won the World Series I started collecting baseball cards and read all I could about baseball. I loved the history and I loved collecting cards. I still have all of my baseball cards. They aren’t worth the fortune I hoped they someday would be, but in a way they are priceless to me.

One of my favorite possessions is my 1985 Topps Kirby Puckett rookie card. Kirby is and always will be my favorite baseball player. I loved watching him play. I was lucky enough to see Kirby play in person in many games at the Metrodome. And I will always remember when I attended my first unchaperoned concert because that was also the night Kirby hit the homerun to win game 6 of the 1991 World Series. I also remember exactly where I got that rookie card. I blew a good portion of my vacation money on that card, but it has been one of the best purchases I have ever made. It might be just a piece of cardboard with a photo on it, but for me it represents my childhood.

I still love to collect sports memorabilia. A few years after my husband and I bought our first house, I was spending an afternoon rummage sale shopping with my mom. At one rummage sale I picked up a letter from a letterman’s jacket and a vintage college football program. Now I have several vintage programs hanging on one wall and several letterman’s letters throughout my living room. I also started collecting homecoming pins. I love the way these things look and feel in my home.

I currently have a few baseball related items in my Etsy shop and it is my hope to add more. While I love my baseball card and sports collection, it just seems like it’s time to downsize. There are certain items that I will never let go of, but it might be time to let go of some things.