Theme Week: Better Know a Blogger (Jared from Catching Up With Collecting)

Welcome to "Better Know a Blogger" Theme Week here at Nachos Grande.  About a week or so ago, I put out a call to any interested bloggers to answer a short questionnaire that I had prepared.  The goal of the questionnaire is for all of us to get to better know some of the various personalities on the blogs!  I hope you find this Theme Week as much fun as I did - and hopefully you'll learn something about your fellow bloggers as the week progresses!

1. Your name (or alias):  Jared
2. Your blog website:  http://catchingupwithcollecting.com/
3. What kind of collector do you consider yourself (team collector, player collector, set collector, etc.). Why do you collect that way?  

 I find it difficult to explain what type of collector I am.  I do have a favorite team, the Red Sox, and I appreciate and keep most Boston cards that I can get my hands on.  However, I don’t actively search out Red Sox cards, with the exception of Ortiz, Pedroia, Yastrzemski, Williams, Boggs, and other Red Sox legends.  I am also trying to put together a few sets: 2001 and 2004 Fleer Greats of the Game, yet I don’t consider myself a set collector.   Instead, I concentrate on collecting my favorite players, and catchers.  Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Johnny Bench, and Jason Kendall are my favorite players, so I seek out their cards the most.  Though lately I have found myself accruing lots of catchers.

4. In your opinion, what could the major card companies (Topps, Panini, etc.) do to make your style of collecting better for you?

A few years ago, Topps Sterling put out a set that had Themes: Gold Glovers, Outfielders, Catchers, etc.  This type of product would appeal to me more than just about anything else.

5. What is your favorite part of your collection?  This could be one specific item, or a binder of cards, etc.

My growing collection of Hall of Fame catchers.

6. Most of us have a favorite song that we like for no good reason – heck, it might even be embarrassing.  Do you have a favorite baseball card that might fit that bill?  

1991 Fleer Pro Visions Mike Greenwell

Image source:  http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/m0OYqst7Ocacz5IFqwFqEVg.jpg

7. If you were forced to part with your entire collection except for one card, which card would you keep?

1972 Carlton Fisk Rookie Card

8. Many of the blogs (including my own at times) seem to decry Topps’ lack of vision and creativity.  Can you think of something creative that could be done for an upcoming card set?  

 Hobby Boxes (not retail boxes) could be guaranteed a hit from a specific team.  For teams in a smaller market, or with less of a fan base (think Milwaukee Brewers) would have a smaller print run than larger market or more popular teams.  

9. What is your profession?  How did you end up there?  If you are in school, what do you plan to major in and/or what job do you hope to get after graduating?  

 I am an English Professor/ High School teacher.  I taught at a University for three years and decided that I would like to have more involvement with my students, so I started teaching high school.  I now teach dual-credit courses at a high school in Texas.

10. What is your favorite place that you’ve ever visited?  Why?  

San Antonio, TX.  It has great food, culture, and history.

11. Many of us have favorite foods or customs that are somewhat local to where we live.  Do you have any such things that you particularly love?  A website link to specific products would be spectacular.  

 I live in Texas, so barbeque is the local food, though most good barbeque comes from run-down dives, without a website.

12. Do you have any other hobbies besides card collecting?  

I collect comic books.

13. Tell me something interesting about yourself (that we haven’t covered in the first twelve questions).

My wife and I met in a college class called Romanticism.  We now have two children.

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Many thanks to Jared for his answers.  I think his idea of having hobby boxes contain a guaranteed hit from a specific team is an interesting concept...though I question if Topps could do it since they can't even always put the promised three hits (or whatever number) in a box!  I also think Jared is spot on in terms of San Antonio too - it's one of my top three or four cities that I've been to in the United States (and it's a place that I would love to return to sometime soon)!

Finally, I'm not sure you could much more of storybook ending than the fact about Jared meeting his wife in a Romanticism college class!

PS:  The Greenwell card is new to me - and it's a perfect example of a card so bad that it's kind of cool!