Nobody wants ya, Zane

Like I mentioned yesterday, we held a garage sale this weekend. We did quite well. I wasn't expecting that. I'm never expecting that. I look at our puny display of junk and, every single time, say "nobody is going to buy any of this." And every time I'm proven wrong by the insanity of others.

So stuff I expected to take to the landfill ended up producing some much-needed cash. Books sold. Can you believe that? I thought no one read anymore. Books sold like crazy. Clothes sold. Kiddie toys sold (I expected that one). But one of the items that sat forlornly on the lawn for the entire sale was a shoebox of baseball cards.

Nobody wanted them.

These weren't special cards at all. I saw a few guys look over at them like they thought they might score a 1958 Willie Mays, only to realize they were cards from the last 25-30 years. But that's why they were in the garage sale. These weren't cards I could sell online, and I'm not a Craiglist idiot. I knew the cards were worthless. I couldn't trade most of these to any bloggers, because they were either cards from the land of overproduction or very recent cards that turn up in every single pack (no true collector on the planet needs another 2008 Heritage card of Erik Bedard).

But I figured for 8 bucks, someone would take a chance on 900 or so cards, right? Aren't there still people out there with no clue about cards who think every baseball card is going to make them rich?

There's a cardboard sampling of what was offered. At the very least, I expected someone to scoop them up and give them to their grandson. That's what happened the last time I did this. I had a much bigger box then. A woman stopped by super early and bought the entire box. I think it was 30 bucks. I kind of wish I had the contents of that box to trade now.

I even threw in a few key Yankees cards, because everyone around here practically loses control of their bodily functions every time they see a Yankee. It's pathetic, I know.

But the cards just sat there. I don't think it's because kids don't collect cards anymore. I don't fully subscribe to that idea. Yes, I admit that when I am in the card aisle and I hear the stamping of boys' feet as they run to the aisle, more often then not I do not have to step aside because what they're running for are Pokemon or Magic cards. But I still see kids looking through sports cards. I still see kids at card shows. And last year, when teachers asked parents to put together prize packages for an end-of-the-school-year raffle, I boxed up a bunch of Yankees doubles and other assorted cards and the boys turned into tiny Charlie Sheens trying to outbid each other for it.

So, I still hoped someone would come along and start a collection for somebody. But nobody did. I marked the box down. Still nobody.

So, sorry Chase, nobody wants you.

You, too, Mr. 301-game winner. You're a dust-collector.

And that goes for you, Johan.

And even you, Vance.

But I don't think this is a sign of anything. Maybe with the economy, people are focusing on more practical things like clothes and handy household items. I don't know. I'm not disappointed, just a little surprised is all.

The disappointing part, for me, is I pulled all these cards, and now I dread the idea of filing them back. So, if anyone wants these things, I will be happy to send them off to the first person who is interested.

Now, I am warning you: there are a ton of doubles in here. A number of triples and quadruples, too. The 24 Todd Burns cards I landed a couple months ago? About half of them are in there. Many of these cards are ones you have seen if you bought even a minimum of packs the last few years. So if you're a regular card blogger, 98 percent of these cards you won't want. You might want to pass this one up, unless you know someone you can unload the cards on.

But if you want to give this baseball card collecting thing a try, it's not a bad place to start.