Theme Week: Better Know a Blogger (William from Foul Bunt)

Welcome back to another Better Know a Blogger post.  The series is almost over - though there are still a few outstanding questionnaires that people owe me.  Today's blogger is William who completed the questionnaire back on January 14.  I believe that everyone that completed the questionnaire prior to January 14, 2015 has already had their Better Know a Blogger post published (check my archives).  In case I'm incorrect, please shoot me an email - it's always possible your email got caught in a spam filter or something.
Now, without any further delay, let's get to the newest entry in our series!

1. Your name (or alias):  William Regenthal
2. Your blog website:  Foul Bunt
3. What kind of collector do you consider yourself (team collector, player collector, set collector, etc.). Why do you collect that way?

I kind of try to do it all.  I build sets, mainly vintage.  I collect Orioles and I have PCs of Chris Davis, Cal Ripken, Brooks Robinson, Virgil Trucks, Jimmie Foxx and many others.  I also collect memorabilia and am sitting on 108 baseballs signed by Hall of Famers.  I collect this way, because things tend to come in cycles for my collection.  I’ll go through phases throughout the year.  One month, I’ll get an itch to find HOF baseballs, so I’ll put my sets on the back burner.  Then other times, I’ll get an itch to knock numbers off of my set needs and I will spend some time working on those.  I feel like keeping the cycling of phases going, it keeps me from getting burnt out with certain parts of my collection.

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

I wish it were easier to be a player collector.  It’s kind of hypocritical for me to say, but I’d be alright with less parallels.  If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know that I have said on more than one occasion that I love color parallels. I do.  However, completing a true rainbow of a player is impossible.  You have to have the 1/1 platinum, the printing plate, the blank back (which is a joke in itself), the camo, the pink, the mauve, the razzmatazz… and so on and so forth.  Just slim the parallels down and put that technology to use elsewhere, like creating better auto/relic cards or something.

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

My Hall of Fame baseballs.  I feel like that part of my collection has begun to define me.  I have people who aren’t even collectors who see my ball collection and are amazed.  I’ve also put a lot of work into it, so there’s that factor as well.

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?  

Sounds like a guilty pleasure card.  Well, I still have the first relic card I ever pulled.  2005 Donruss Threads Junior Spivey.  Who all remembers that guy?  I’ll never forget him, because the card is a two-piece, three color patch card (so 6 colors in all) and every time I see it in my box, I have to pull it out, and look at it for a while.  It’s a great card from a pretty much forgotten set of a forgotten player.

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

My answer to this question popped in my head immediately when I read it.  I’m sure other folks had a tough time answering this, but the one card that popped in my head, ahead of my Clemente rookie, ahead of my Brooks Robinson cards was my 1948 Leaf Virgil Trucks rookie card.  Mr. Trucks meant a lot to me, and I never even met the guy.  The card is beautiful, red and blue.  The red really pops.  His photo on the card is blurry, but it’s still an amazing card from a beautiful set.

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?  

I might be one of the few bloggers that is usually optimistic about Topps products.  I usually am one who likes it when Topps shakes things up a bit.  I liked 2007 Topps, with the black borders.  I feel like I’m in the minority with that.  I also like 1990 and 1975, as well.  I get tired of the white borders.  The problem is, you can’t please everyone.  I loved the acetate cards that they played with this year, first as a parallel in Topps Flagship, and then Topps Hi Tek.  I think those would be nice as inserts again.  Let’s do away with the bland inserts and reduce the pack seeding of them, and make it fun to get an insert again.  Make them better quality and harder to find.  Folks might bust more packs that way.

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’m a licensed geologist.  I’m licensed in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.  I work for an environmental consulting company; we collect soil and ground water samples in relation to leaking underground storage tanks.  It actually is interesting, if you can believe that.  I work for a great company and have good people around me, so that makes it a lot easier.  I am a graduate of UNC-Charlotte, class of 2004.  I started with my current company in 2007.  Before that, I was a customer service manager for a grocery store and had been there 10.5 years.

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

Cooperstown!  I have been there twice.  The last trip I took there was 2013 with my son, my brother and my good friend, Drew (and his dad).  That was a great trip.  The memorabilia shops are a collector’s dream.  I love going up there and finding stuff that I can blog about.  I’d live there, if I could.

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 eastern NC.  BBQ is very popular out here, and I love it.  My boss cooks it for work once a year, and it’s better than any restaurant BBQ, in my opinion.

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

When I was at the grocery store, I collected coins because I was always finding them in the accounting office.  I collected coins before I collected cards (when I was 8), and I still have remnants of that here.  I collect old things that I find while working, mainly old soda bottles.  I’d never go out and buy any, but finding them is a lot of fun.  I also enjoy photography, on a very limited basis.  I also handle my familiy’s history and genealogy.  I just took delivery of three boxes of photos, newspaper clippings, letters and documents that were my grandfather’s.  I have to sort through them and put things together for the rest of the family.

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

I’m one of 9 kids.  I always get funny looks when I tell people that, but it is something I have always enjoyed.  My boss even remarked one day (when I was complaining about all of the group text messages that my brothers and sisters involve me in) “Man, your family is close.”  Out of the 8 of us that are living, only one other collects cards.  My mom does, too, though, and she is the one who always encouraged me to have a hobby.  She would always surprise me with stuff and I feel like that is something I have carried over to how I do things.  I try to surprise people all of the time (especially kids) with care packages and things like that.  Going back to the large family thing, though, we are all very close, and all very similar, but we are all so very different as well.  They all ask me about my cards and blog, which makes it rewarding that they (seemingly) care.

As always, a big thank you to our latest Better Know a Blogger volunteer!  William had a lot of great answers but I think my favorite was his answer to the final question.  It's awesome that he's part of such a large family that is so close knit.  I'm the oldest of four kids in my family (which is less than 50% the size of William's family) but even I know the value of being close to your siblings.

In fact, my younger brother and I probably talk more about baseball cards (and LEGO) than pretty much anything else - it's a fun bond to have despite us living very different lives (and in different states).  My youngest brother also likes baseball cards though he rarely reads my blog as far as I know.  Then again, most people barely read my blog ;)

Thanks for participating William - and with that entry we are nearing the end of this long-running theme week.  I still have a few more entries to go before mine - and as I said, once I post my entry the theme will be officially closed.  If you still want in, you better email me in a hurry in order to get the questionnaire!