Chopping up some hobby with Victor Roman E341

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What is up? Everybody? Welcome to episode three point one of Sports Carnation podcast. Got a great guest today. It's been a little bit. He's been on the show before.

I'm glad to call him a friend. Right, I love people share that passion, right we and that's many of us that share the passion of the hobby, but people who really care. Sometimes you really can tell when someone really cares. I feel I kind of checked that box, and the gentleman on today's episode for sure checks that box.

And he's passionate and especially about one thing, right, rookie card rules. And I probably don't even have to say his name, now you know who I'm talking about, Victor Roman, who's got a it's not now, probably not, I wouldn't call it new now. But he wrote a book between last year's National and now, of course about the rookie card, but an excellent book. He did an excellent job.

Wherever we're going to tackle that amongst rookie cards and rules and everything else in the hobby, right. We you know, I've known Victor for years now, and you know we call him interviews, but they're more conversations, right, and just really easy going, laid back when you know someone along those lines. And like I told him, I don't get offended, give me the straight scoop and all that. We have those kind of conversations.

It's always nice when you have someone you can have those kind of conversations with. So Victor Roman is today's guest. I don't know if you like the new format we're cutting down on commercials, but I want to thank all my sponsors here in the intro Iron Sports Card Rods, Merolente doing Folk Slubs, check him out, Hobby Hotline, which is going to summer format first and third Saturday of every month, Upper Deck once again in today's featured sponsor, which you will hear about between the interview segments, Sports Collectors Digest and I'm grateful and blessed to be able to write for them. So without further ado, let's get Victor on.

Always happy to talk to my next guest here on Sportscardination is a good I consider him a very good friend of mine, and whether it's in person or this method. I always love talking to talking to him. I like him because he's like me, gives you the straight scoop like it or not, and that's always refreshing. And so none other than True Rookies Rookie cart Specialist, Victor Roman, welcome as always been.

Thank you, brother John. It's always nice that to be on with you. And at least you got the memo for the great T shirt. So we're we're doing good so far.

Yeah, we're matching. We're matching. So you're better looking than me. There's nothing I can do.

I would agree. I would agree it's worse each day. So it is, it is what it is. Uh, well, let's start off with this.

You watched a live video. I don't know if you watch it live, but it's a live YouTube show five hours I think on Friday nights because I'm Carlo and on net we're both obviously part of Hobby Hotline. And they did like a twenty minute and they kind of critiqued our show and you know, things they liked and didn't like. I'll say this, Victor, you know, and watching that, you know you didn't really tell me what to expect.

You said, hey, check this out Newman and just see what you think. And you know, whenever that happened, you always expect the worst. You don't know what to expect. Am I gonna get grilled and thrown under the bus.

I thought they were very fair. I mean they they pointed some things out. You know, we get less callings. Let's call a spade a spade.

You know, they kind of mentioned, you know, we generally are around an hour. We have some episodes that may go an hour and fifteen minutes, but they were they kind of advocated maybe for a longer show. I'm not saying I agree with it. I'll kind of see what you say, but you know, just piggybacking off that.

Obviously you saw it because you gave me the heads up. Kind of your thoughts, and again, you know me, we're very good friends. You're not gonna hurt my fan and we even talked about this off the air, but for for on the air purposes, you're not gonna hurt my feelings, uh either way, So kind of your thoughts on seeing some of the critique during that live show. Yeah, John, I I like to listen to because I'm Carlos.

He's actually I consider him a good friend and the Hobby. I've been listening to his show for years now, uh, and it's more like on a Friday night. It's more like a live hangout and they'll bring up certain topics and they'll chew on them a little bit and they'll veer off and talk about something else and then they come back to the topic and it's it's kind of a real chill show like that. Well, two hours into the show they start, somebody brings up Hobby Hotline and they start talking about some critiques about Hobby Hotline, and a lot of it was just, you know, funny Friday night banter.

But Carlos is typically known for for shooting straight too, and and he talks in a serious tone, you can tell. And he started to give some good critique being that he has he does a weekly show live for five hours in evening, and that's only one of the shows he does. And he's been doing these live shows for years. So to me, he's got some credibility as far as giving me some advice on a live show.

So I was really all ears as he was explaining kind of what he thought would be some good things to do different for Hobby hotline. Overall, they thought we had a pretty awesome setup because we have so many experienced voices, were so diverse in so many different areas, and overall we have a really good thing. But he just felt like some things can be better. Yeah, no doubt.

They weren't harsh. I mean, they were they you know, they didn't mince words, but I wouldn't call it harsh. There was some complimentary stuff. You know.

At one point talked about this. You know, they said, well, if it was a podcast, and it is, because it does get released in audio form after the live airs. You know, we talked, let's let's you know, let's keep it real. We talked even before we recorded tonight about you know, it's maybe an option is to not make it a live show, make it a pre recorded and release it in the same same time spot, right, and maybe get rid of some of the bad stuff that you get when you do anything live.

But you know, sometimes, you know, if that's a double sided coin, right, people do enjoy the show live, that don't cause any trouble. That are you know, hobby law abiding citizens. If you will, they're gonna lose the liveness of the show. And that's something we have, you know, to discuss as a group besides me and you, and it might be it might actually come to be right.

It might if enough, if all of us kind of that's the consensus, then you know it's something we'll have to look at. And you know what, talking to you before record, I feel the same way you say, Hey, John, how do we get back? Right? I want to know good and bad feedback with Mike stuff doesn't matter whatever I'm involved with. That's how we get better. I wave that same pennant in that same flag, no doubt, you know much.

Even I told you, even with this show, some of the things I do have come from feedback, good and bad. You know, some of the things I've continued to do is because people say I love it. Some of the things I did and you don't see any longer come from people say that sucked. Hey, think about doing it this way rather than the way you're doing it.

So longs it's done, I guess where I'm going with this, lungs. It's done in a tactful sort of way. You know, it's very easy for someone to say, new Man, you suck, right, and even if it's true, like that's just low hanging for like why why do I suck? And how do I not suck? It? Right? That's the case. So if something and they were very very tactful, That's where I'm going with it, because I took all three the people on the screen, Bobby, Burrow, Eric, I think Carlow's no.

One was out of line and in some cases very common. I know towards the end Bobby even said something very nice with about me. So I didn't take anything personal. I get it, and they did make some points, and it's something we're going to have to discuss as as a group.

I mean, I don't know if you you know anything else, she kind of. I don't know, you know how long we want to go about it, but I wanted to talk about it with you because you're very You've been with the program a long time. You know, I consider you really one of the ogs, are pretty close to it, so I obviously care. I care about what everyone says that's involved with the show, and even if you're not involved with the show, I care about your feedback.

As these gentlemen are you know, you know, anytime you do anything, and I think this show and Hobby Hotline, I'm talking about it is on this fifty year it's tough. It's tough to do, and it's tough to be married twenty five years like yeah, and five years hat that creation. That's a long that's a long time. Look at how many shows are on the side of the road and they have stopped and you know, and it's tough.

And so yeah, I'm open to my door, you know, as I've said this to day is open. Yeah. And I think I think the the other complexity. You would think that because we have so many people on the roster, that it wouldn't be a problem filling spots, but filling a live spot on a Saturday morning early afternoon, especially in the summer, it's extremely difficult.

I don't care how many people you got in the roster. Everybody's got something going on Friday, Friday morning or Saturday morning. Yeah. But in that is the complexity of paying attention to the chat, covering today's topics, all within an our time slot or hour and fifteen.

I know you don't care about going over, but. A lot of us I'll stay out there right as we. Like to stick to that one hour time slot. And and it is it's different.

It's challenging. So I think we we we need to talk about it as a group collectively and come up with some better solutions. Yeah, no doubt. And and it's something that well, we'll appear.

We have a for those that you know listening that don't realize it. We obviously have a group chat room that we talk and conversate with, so that'll be that'll be in there for other people to chime in and maybe even come up with something different that we haven't bad it around as I dropped my mouth here. But no, if they find if anybody has like some some good positive feedback, constructive criticism, right, reach out to me or reach out to John. And yeah, even even if you're listening to that program and you're just familiar with hobby Hotline, Uh you know what I mean, I'm not And I'll speak for you here, Victor.

You know I'm not gonna bite anyone's head off as long as they're respectful. You can even say John, I don't like when you do this, or I don't like when you do that, right, you know, I like, yeah, listen, you know, butterfingers, But you know better, I could drop a lot of worse things than my mouth. Yeah, I'm thinking at that. But so I don't take that stuff personal.

I'm not I'm not perfect. I never I never claimed to be right, and that's how, you know, we get better. But I will say this and will kind of close out this sort of segment for tonight this. You know, we've we've I look at the show, like I said, it's been about five years.

I don't I don't know exactly it's been about five years. We've had over thirty different people, either current members or former members. It's almost like, like I was telling you before we record, I almost as like Saturday Night It's almost like Saturday Morning Live. But it's almost like Saturday Night Live when you get new cast members, people leave, people come aboard, and I'm proud of it that.

You know, there's been some dicey moments where we weren't sure the show was gonna continue. We've changed the format more than once. You know, we used to have at one point two people on, four people on. Now we've kind of settled at three people on.

So the show has changed over the years. It's never been static, and it could change even further. And this might be some of the things that we just talked about might be changes that come down the turnpike, and that's how you evolve and stay relevant and stay interesting and you know, different things like that. So again, I you know, God bless anyone that does a five hour live stream.

I don't, you know, on a Friday night. I mean, I don't, like I was telling you, like, I don't mean this. I just couldn't do it, Like I just got I just got too much else going on. Like could I do it every once in a while, sure, you know, but like every every time.

No way, I'm too old. Number one, I'm too old. Anyway I would I would literally fall asleep at some point during that. Like if it was meet you and another guy, somebody would be like, John, wake up, dude.

That's just warming up for Carlos. He's a pro. He's a pro. Can what can I say? But you know, hey, I appreciate the feedback.

I know you feel the same way. And like you said, whether you want to reach out to victor myself, we're not gonna bite your head out. Even if we don't agree. We would, you know, we might agree to disagree, or we might say, you know what, never thought of that? That's kind of interesting.

I kind of like that you don't know unless you try or mention it, so uh for sure. So I appreciate you also giving me the head You didn't know that was coming, right, you just haven't. Yeah, Usually listen to them on a Friday night as I'm putching around doing EBA listenings or something, and I'll have them on on the background. Next thing I know, they're talking about Hobby Hotline and I'm going, okay.

Well listen, hey, think about it this way too. I don't know if you feel this this way, but like there was you know this the old cliche, right, there is no bad publicity, and they were talking about us on a five hour live stream, right, So I'll take that ye for what it's worth. So all right, So I know I've talked about this on Hobby Hotline, speaking of Hobby Online, but I haven't had you on. You've been on the show, but not since You've become an author of your book, and I obviously wanted to to obviously promo that, and everyone knows you has the rookie cart specialist.

You're kind of like you have your and I agree with mostly probably then we have to have rules the waters too, muddy and different things. Like that someone's at my door. I've got to get that be right back. For nearly fifty years, Sports Collector's Digest has been the voice of the hobby, bringing you comprehensive coverage of the sports collectible industry from industry news, aution results, market analysis, and in depth stories about collectors and their collections.

Sports Collectors Digest has everything you need to know about the hobby. SCD is also your leading source for listings of sports collectible dealers, card shops, card shows, and the latest from the industry's top companies. To check out all the latest news or to subscribe to the hobby's oldest magazine, visit Sports Collectorsdigest dot com or call one eight hundred eighty two nine fifty five sixty one. Sports Cognation has reasons.

When did you know talking about your book? When did you first start? Like, how did this whole thing come about? When did like the light bulb go on and you said, you know, I'm going to I need to write a book. Yeah, that was as I started my YouTube channel in twenty twenty and in twenty twenty one, I decided to niche down and only specifically talk about Rookie cards. That's when I started to get feedback from my comment section or people reaching out to me personally, and that was love. I loved the rookie card guidelines that you're speaking of.

I think you should put them in book format for the hobby. And I heard that comment made or I read that comment made several times until I finally said, you know what, that's not a bad idea. And that's when I started the journey. And it took me a long time to write the book.

To be honest with you, I did hit some walls like every writer does. And and then at the same time, you're like, the book is probably a bad idea, but you know, but thankfully. I was. I was challenged to finish the book and I and I got it done.

So you yeah, I mean you had moments you kind of alluded to it and what you just said, you had moments where you're like can I do this? Or like you know, yeah, yeah, what was it? Like? What was just what was the I don't want to say hang maybe hang ups not that. What was it that where where the point you did get discouraged at? What was the thing that was getting well. It's one of them things where, uh, it's like a writer's block that happens to a lot of write And this is my first book. I've never written a book, so I'm not like a professional at this.

I'm I'm kind of learning as I'm doing it, you know. And and but it's just one of them things where. You you you you work at it and you put your thoughts down and you're developing this book and but then you I got to like chapter six, and I didn't know where to go next with it. So what I'm doing, I'm waiting for some new research or I'm waiting for some inspiration to kind of write chapter seven, and so it comes like it took some while to get there, and then within that waiting period, you just kind of like disregard it and you move on to something else, and then it's like, oh, wait a minute, I need to finish this book.

So that was kind of my hiccup. I didn't know how to transition to the next chapter in order to bring it to a close. But needless to say, inspiration and creativity soon soon hit, and then I was faced with the challenge of making the book too long. So it was one of them things where you got to know your audience, You got to like hey.

I set out at the very beginning that I wanted to write a simple book. I didn't want to make it too complicated. I very easily could have founded on certain chapters and really gone deep into the woods and try to sound, you know, more fluff than what the book really needs. So I was I wanted to keep the book short and and so that's what I did.

That's what I set out to do. I wanted to make it easy to read, because let's, let's face it, the majority of the readers are going to be men, and I don't know a lot of men, at least in my sphere of influence, that'd like to read three hundred page books. You know, if if in my sphere, if i'm if I can get a guy to read fifty pages, we're doing good. So that was the goal since the beginning.

And make it, make it impactful, make it short, and and move on. I've had other authors on the show, Victor, and I've had them tell me, like what you see the final book, I didn't write it in that order, Like I didn't write it. I wrote it, but it didn't the final what you see is me putting it together in order, but I didn't write it in that fashion. Can the same be said with your book? Or is what the what you see the kind of the order you wrote it? I think I think you know.

The first half of the book, it was more like because I have I have been writing and speaking about this topic since twenty sixteen, so it's like my rookie card system per se that I've created. It's something that I've already. I was just putting it all in book form, in organized form, So that half of it was pretty quick. But the second half I would say, Yeah, I was kind of like, I'm I'm writing a chapter, but it's really chapter eight and I haven't really done chapter seven yet, so so yeah, in that aspect, I.

Would say I was bouncing around a little bit on the phone. Yeah, And I don't mean that. I think sometimes that's the best work is when there's a thought, like you talk about writer's block, right, yeah, But then when you break that block and you have some it may not be the next chapter, you may be a couple of chapters that but that idea pops in, that light bulb goes on, and you want to get that down, that thought there's nothing wrong with that. That's what some of the other That's why I asked you, because some of the other authors I've had on have specifically said that, like I hit a wall and I didn't write the next chapter.

I wrote the third chapter. After the chapter I got stuck on, and then the other two kind of filled in, you know themselves after that. So I think there's something to be said about that, not just the book. But you know, when we talk about rookie cards and the rules, it's a hot button topic, right peo.

People take it personal. People get very vitray all of you know, vitriol about it. How much of that did you get, whether it's from the book or just people watching you on YouTube or on another show. How much are most people pretty reasonable or do you get some people who are just kind of vicious.

I would say, you know, in the beginning, when I was making my YouTube videos the first couple of years, I was getting a lot of pushback because I'm I'm I'm stepping on people's toes. I guess they they felt that I was doing. But you know, it's one of them things where I've gotten so good at the debate that it's it's kind of hard to argue against me because I got an answer for everything. A lot of that is going to be because of the research, and I know the topics soil in and out and and and so I think people have noticed that and they respect my position, at least.

They don't always agree with me, but they respect the work that I'm putting into it, and I don't. I don't get a lot of pushback today. Thankfully, I'm getting a little bit more I don't know what the word to use for it, but I'm getting a little bit more respect I guess you can say on the topic then than I was the first couple. But the first couple of years were tough.

And as and as we both know, Victor right, some people will just argue for the sake of arguing too. There's that, yeah, And listen, I've come to the conclusion myself. It's not for everybody, it really isn't, but it is for some of us, and for some of us who have been kind of asking questions as to what's going on here, Well, my work is going to give you a good resource to explain to you kind of how things haven't folded and why we're in the position network. Yeah, and I've heard you explain it like this, and I think it's the perfect you know, the waters that have been muddy.

It's very confusing. I'm old school. Maybe it's because I'm old and that's the main reason, but I'm old school. Right.

The cards behind me. One of the things I pc are Hall of Fame graded rookie cards of all sports. And I like that simpleness. Right, there was one in most cases, not every case, but in most cases depending on the year, Right, there's one card to obtain.

It was just you know what condition you wanted to get and how much you wanted to spend. And now you know, a rookie now is gonna have three four hundred cards or more? Or what else is thousands? You're right? Thousands? And I laugh because sometimes I get this question from whether it be at a show I'm set up at or someone messes me that listens to my content. Hey, I'm collecting Bobby with Junior. What rookie card should I buy? And I'm like, you know what my answer is, victim, because like you said, there could be a thousand, like whatever one you really really like? Yeah, I know it sounds like a cop out, but you had a thousand choices, like you know, for me to pick one for you, Like I can't.

I can't even do that, Like, yeah, you know, I like Bobby with Junior, so I just buy cards of his that I like, whether it be the aesthetic reason whatever, you know what I mean, whatever the driving forces. So I always answer that question kind of with a question. Whatever one moves your meat, That's what I say. Whatever one moves your meter.

And you're not wrong. You're not wrong, right, you might like something that I do, and vice versa. Neither one of us are wrong. That's yeah, you know, so very chaotic the state of the rookie card is.

And especially if if you don't know the story of the rookie carter how it's evolved, you just kind of like throw your hands up, or you kind of just like, hey, whatever, man, whatever I like, or whatever's the thing. Victor, you're not making up the rules. The rules were made. You're just saying, let's pollow the rules.

Correct. I'm shining a light on him and saying, hey, guys, this is important. Do you remember this? People, let me ask you this, and this is your opinion unless you can answer, like where you know, because do you think people think this is like a rule you're making up you woke up one day, or do you think do you know most people know that this is an actual like league and Player Association agreement at one point, or do they think like Victor woke up and thinks he's the hobby president and makes the new rookie. I bet you there's some people who don't even know these are based on actual agreements.

And that's how come that kind of verbage is always coming out of my mouth, and I explain, at least every other video I'm explaining, guys, this isn't something I made up. There have always been rookie card rules in the Becket magazines. Now, yes, they're little outdated, they need to be freshened up, But at the same time, there's a legal side of it, you know, And that's the when the Players Association came in in two thousand and six. And all I'm doing is I'm kind of merging the two, marrying the two and creating like a hybrid version of a modern day rookie card guidelines and best practices.

It's nothing that I've created, It's just something that I'm implementing and I and that kind of verbage is constantly. Have you ever had someone just really just like man like it's one thing that to have a different opinion, but like just like really cross the line. And like multiple times, John, multiple times, I'm I'm you're you're dealing with uh, you know, mindsets that we've had and uh, ideologies that we've had and they haven't been that they've been false, you know. And when I come in and I'm I'm now I'm messing with people's money and and they don't like my message, but I try to reason with them, you know, And I've tried to make my case and uh and smooth over those hard hearts because uh, there is there always has been rookie card debate, and it's it's a lot of it is because we have our own agendas and and and so that's where i'm I'm I'm exposing that and and so that's where you get pushed back.

But I've I've kind of changed my approach to be honest with you on the advice of you know, doctor James Beckett, and you know he was one where it was like victory. You can't expect everybody to have a PhD. In rookie carts. You have to you have to meet us where we're at.

You have to meet people where they're at, and you have to kind of not be so harsh around the edges, you know. And and then that's when I've kind of, like a couple of years ago or so, I kind of changed my approach and kind of said, you know what I was. I started reflecting on what doctor Beckett was telling me, and it was like, man, you know what, I think he's got a point. I'm getting a little too deep in the weeds and I'm losing people.

And then the way I'm presenting it, well, now I'm rubbing the fur in the opposite direction. And so I changed all of that in an effort so that my message can come across more friendly and more impactful. Yeah, well, you listen, you do, maybe because I agree with you, But even besides that, you know, I don't see. I think your approach is the bowl.

A lot of it's to me is common sense. Maybe it's because of the year I started in the hobby and the way they where. But again, like we talked about, these rules exist there were you're not making them up. I'm not making them up.

They exist, and and and that sort of thing I've seen. I've seen today, John, to be honest with you, from a from a reputable source. I'm not even gonna name names, but they but they they wrote he was an article and they were saying, the headline was, what's that that rookie Jake Gaglion Jack Jack Jack Gaglon's debut spikes his rookie card prices. Uh, he doesn't have any rookie cards technically legally.

You're right. Well, listen, the last I knew, I might have missed the game or two. He was one for eighteen. So just I actually like Jack Gaglio.

I think he's going to be a good pro. Not after a great start. I think they rushed him up little bit. But that's that's a show for for another another day.

But we have, yeah, we have been. We have forsaken the rookie card guidelines of old and Players Association kind of took over and we have slowly, but very surely, thoroughly forgotten everything about them. And now there's a point to where there's a large mass of people that are so ignorant to the to the topic. And that's like the older people like like yourself and others.

You guys, you've been around and so you kind of know that these things do exist. But I talked to an ultra modern hobby collector, and some of them have these epiphany moments, like these big aha moments that what I'm what I'm saying and teaching has enlightened them so much and the veils have come off and they're so thankful for the information. But yet I have all others that are like, nah, man, that's for that's for old people. You know, it doesn't matter.

Hello, Yeah, well listen, let's be real. I like Bowman, but Bowman is one of the perpetrators of really muddy in the waters because they're producing card you know it, and people listening to the show right now know it. They're and again it and I enjoy collecting some of them. I'm gonna bash them on one and and praise them.

You know, they're producing cards, you know, five years before the player is gonna make their their step on the major league field for the first time, and so and hype is built. Right we we know, we got all these scouting services now where we hear about players so so much earlier than traditionally years ago, and so the radars are up a lot sooner, and you know, before a guy even makes the big leaks and makes his pro debut, there's probably under cards already made up, you know what I mean. So it's it's it's so different and the hobby that I grew up with, and I still love the hobby, but it's just the landscape and the terrain is so different, and I do love moment. Well, let's be real, they're they're you know, if there's a wanted poster for what happened, you know, they're they're the number one on the FBI's most wide you know.

Yeah, when it comes to like ruining the rookie card, listen and listen. Their name of their their tagline rights home of the Rookie. But technically they're they're they're not making rookie cards. I don't know if they're still using that, but but yeah, for a long time they were the home.

Maybe You're Gifted, and it was like taking it off. I really think that they should become more they should break away from MLB stuff and they should just stick to like they should become like a minor league or like a prospect type product only. Almost like the product, like Tops does a minor league debut or the debut is almost like a long ago. Yeah yeah, so.

You know I get it. I get it, and I like Bowman, but let you know, we gotta keep it real, right, that's what the issue. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Victor Roman. I know I did, and we're not done.

That's only part one, Part two, next next episode. So if you enjoyed this week's episode, we hope you tune in next week as well. So we're gonna hear from our hobbies the People announce her and wrap up the show. Time for our hobby is the People Announcer of the week.

This is Andy Friedman. Remember the hobby is the People. If you'd like to be the Hobby is the People Announcer of the Week, to one or m P three file and send it to Sportscott Nation PC at gmail dot com About what did um bum bum.