Contest Results: Second Place

Our second place winner was Patricia from Dinged Corners who will also be taking home a complete base set of 2008 Masterpieces, which should be perfect for sending out TTM stuff for you and Lucy. I would imagine these would look great signed. Thanks for your submission, and an e-mail will follow shortly with your choices of black border cards.

Patricia from Dinged Corners asked the following:

1) What early life experiences made you a) like your now-favorite teams and b) led to late-life card collecting? (And by late life, we just mean you're not ten years old.)

Marie: a.) My whole family are Yankees fans, and I was brought up a fan of the team by watching the games both at home listening to Scooter and Bill White and at the Stadium. b.) When I was younger for Christmas "Santa" always left me a complete set of Topps, as well as some random Yankees in my stocking. I still get cards in my stocking from Santa.

Sooz: a.) I got sick every single summer without fail. I ended up stuck at home during the summer just watched baseball games with Phil Rizzuto as announcer. Of course, my older brother watched the Yankees, but if it wasn't for me getting sick all the time, I'm not sure I would love baseball as much as I do. b.) I felt it was a way to get closer to the game and really enjoy the players I loved most.

2) Does baseball card history play into your current interest? That is, if baseball cards had only been invented in, say, 1985, would you care about them as much as you do now?

Marie: Being that I didn't really start getting cards until somewhere around 1985, it wouldn't have effected how I feel about them today. I don't have many cards from 1985 but from the looks of my collection it appears I must have opened a few packs then. I really didn't start until 1987.

Sooz: Probably not. I'm not big into vintage and when I see them at card shows, I pretty much walk by them. Since I was only five in 1985, I think baseball cards would affect me the same way they do now.

3) Would you be as motivated to collect if you (Sooz/CiW) didn't have a close friend with whom to share the whole enterprise?

Marie: I really got back into collecting around 2003 after a break in college, and my collecting has definitely become more focused and Sooz has probably motivated me to focus more on my player collections than set building which is what I dabbled with years prior.

Sooz: Collecting baseball cards is what has brought us closer together as friends, but I feel my collecting would be the same. However, if it wasn't for Marie, I'm not sure I would have my Jeter autos, so she has made my collection better.

4) If you could interview any one player, past or present, who would it be? You cannot select Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, Kevin Y., or Alex Rodriquez.

Marie: Past player would probably be Lou Gehrig. I watched my Pride of the Yankees VHS tape so much it was a miracle it didn't shred. I really like his whole story and how he handled himself and his life towards the end of his career. Current player Adam Lind or Russ Martin, just because. But, Lou Gehrig over all others.

Sooz: There are no present players I could think of that I want to interview. I have the advantage of being able to do that when I am lucky enough to have teams in town. I would pick Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby because I think their struggles are absolutely amazing. I would love to hear more and found out where the courage came from to continue their passion.

5) When you sit next to annoying fans at the ballpark (which we're sure never happens in Yankee Stadium), what would you most like to see happen to shut them up? This may include a design plan that turns spare baseball cards into deadly weapons.

Marie: I would like a remote control with one button on it and when I press it while aimed at that seat it would eject them clean out of the Stadium. Though since you mentioned using spare cards, carving them into Chinese throwing stars wouldn't be a half bad idea either.

Sooz: Uh, I pretty much tell them to shush. When it's a guy who won't be quiet, I wait for a moment then put him in his place with my baseball knowledge or something else. However, I wouldn't mind seeing a foul ball came in out direction and knock their beer all over them.

6) What is the #1 worst collecting experience you've ever had? If this experience were to be reenacted, which celebrities would play you? Who would direct--say, Quentin Tarantino? James Cameron?

Marie: Can I make one up that involves wrestling with a guy over a card? I think the real worst experience I have had was due to my own lack of patience and isn't exciting enough to warrant a movie- buying a card on eBay without really looking at the signature, learning it's fake then waiting for my money (all went smoothly though). However, let's say I saw a guy in Target getting the last blaster of what I went there for, we both dive for it and wrestle. In the movie I would play me, and random guy in Target would be played by Bradley Cooper. Does Hugh Heffner direct movies? LOL

Sooz: My boyfriend threatening to burn my cards. I would play me and Jensen Ackles (a hottie actor) would play him just so I can re-enact the sex scenes. Yeah, I said it.

7) Which baseball card sets are most evocative of your personalities?

Marie: I totally agree with Sooz on this one. But my real answer would be Yankee Stadium Legacy- basic, yet complex. Yankee oriented, yet baseball loving. Bold and strong. (I'm trying to make this sound like coffee, yet it is probably failing miserably.)

Sooz: That set where the players are topless. Yep, that one.

Next up will be our runner up, Steve from White Sox Cards. Stay tuned.