I’ve been collecting baseball cards for most of my life; not as much these days because I’m a grown-ass adult. For the most part, they have all been the same: a photograph surrounded by the annual change in design. More recently, a number of companies have joined Topps, coming out with multiple sets, almost ad nauseum.
And who are these cards for? Back in my time, you got a pack of five cards (plus the gum slab) for a nickel. Now? There’s that word again: multiple, as in multiple prices. (And get off my lawn!)
Of course, you only had good old ‘Merican companies producing the cardboard, save for O-Pee-Chee in Canada, which — despite a relatively small percentage of French-Canadian fans — were legally obliged to print in English and French. I always picked up a bunch of packs during my frequent visits to the ancestral manse in Montreal.
That where our guest comes in.
Rob Fitts is perhaps the leading American expert on Japanese baseball, having written several books on the topic. An avid collector of the multiple (again) styles of cards from that nation, he came up with the idea for his latest release, a self-published introduction to those delights whose artistry and imaginative concepts makes U.S. output look like the work of a fourth grader’s macaroni painting by comparison.
If the conversation wasn’t enough, Fitts provides a wonderful visual presentation. Enjoy.
is available on Amazon.com,
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