Rookie Card Specialist Victor Roman returns! E342

Sports Guard Nations, Hobbies the People weekly news and Interviews. It's your number one soul, Sportscar Nations, Honey is People, sports gar Nation, What is up? Everybody? Welcome to episode three forty two of Sportscardination. First off, let's thank those folks that make this show possible. Iron Sports Card Rob Elente does a great job with folk subbing.

Check them out Sports Collectors Digest, one of the oldest hobby publications. I've been blessed to be able to write for him, and they've been very supportive. Our featured sponsor for the for the week Hobby Hotline, airing right now every first and third Saturday of the month at eleven am Eastern with a plethora of different hosts and upper deck, which allows us to some product, review it and then give away some product as well. So without those folks make the show easier to do and and even more fun than it already is.

Speaking of fun, let's talk about today's guests, Part two of our conversation with my friend Victor Roman. We're gonna talk about today the process of writing the book Hobby Burnout, Hobby Overkill, share some personal insights and stories, and always fun to have Victor on and just gives it to you straight the way it should be and passionate and you know, loves the hobby like I do, probably like you do. And that's that's a big key. And always love having folks like that.

So Part two of our conversation with Victor. If you missed part one, it's very easy go back one episode and check that out. But let's not waste any more time and get picked their back on. So here we go.

Here is the conclusion or part two of our conversation with true Rookie Specialists and my friend Victor Roman. We're going to start out here talking about the process of writing a book. Now that you got a book under your belt, you know, is there going to be you know, are you thinking about a part two? Are you thinking about maybe a different book even or different topic? You know, I would love to do a part two to this book, and and and the only reason why is because I was I was really cautious with this book as far as what I said, because I started I started pointing some things out from the Players Association that I didn't want legal things coming at me. I didn't even include any images in this not not any like pro images, like a actual cards because I was speaking kind of harshly of the of the I don't want to say, not the endus tree, but of the topic.

And and so I was I was really like, if I had a chance to do it again, I would do it again, and I would probably do a couple of things differently. And uh, yeah, we'll see, we'll see what the future brings. Yeah, I hope you do. And uh, it'll be interesting to see the least.

And and you know that the landscape is changing from one day to the next, so another book can be warranted like and again, like you said, I think I don't want to speak for you, but a second one might be easier now that you did it one. You know what I mean. It's like everything you do it enough, you get better at it or more comfortable in the very in the very Yeah, so you know I've got you got the green light, uh from me. So let's talk about kind of what you collect.

I know, you know from from talking to you you're doing to Clemente run you know, I'll put you on the spot like how close or to completion? Are you there or not? You know? Yeah, I still need five cards for that Clemente run. A lot of my collecting has taking taken a back seat more specifically because of the projects that I have, and that is with the projects that I had with the book, and then projects that I had here in my house, and then projects that I have to the need to sell sports cards. So it's one of them things where I guess the question is what is not what do you collect, but what are you currently collecting? Yeah, because collections are always evolving for me anyways. But I have I've purged a lot of my collecting card a lot of my cards that were in slabs and so I'm currently purging some of those selling them off of my eBay.

And then I. Also have a collection of I'm a big PSA set registry guy. Yeah, so like the all of the like the Post War Rookie Hall of Fame. That's that's a big one that I'm really into.

My favorite era of the nineteen eighties. There's a set registry called one hundred, the Top one hundred Cards of the nineteen eighties. It's another registry that I love, and there's a lot of I like rookie rookie card runs for the set registry. I love those.

So I have a ton of those like you name it. I have you know, like Shaquille o' neil, Kobe Bryant, Tim. Duncant, like all terrible. Yeah, what's that they said? Those guys are all terrible oars.

Charles Barkley would say those the terrible I'm kidding, I'm kidded. Was that was pretty good? I just had that. I just I had to find a reason to do a terrible Charles Barkley impression. There it was.

Yes, So yeah, you're like, that's what I love rookie cards. Yeah, I love having for more bad jokes, right, I love rookie cards than I cannot lie. So, yeah, you want to hear something crazy, I'm not gonna lie. This is the first year I've been to the p s A Registry party as guest, the first year I got my own invite personally, So I must have got enough cards down there.

Finally, there you go up to so I don't have to I don't have to weezel my way uh in this. We'll go, We'll sit. I got logan going, I'm going. Save me a seat.

Yeah, we'll get you a see. You know what else I like to collect John to be honest with you, and I don't like to. I don't like to be the old man on the on the on the lawn. But I like to collect ultra modern, myself specific players.

I typically like to prospect for future Hall of Famers. Yeah, so I love collecting, you know, cards of Jose Ramirez or Manny Machado, Aaron Judge and that sort of thing and all so the players that inspire me, you know, I'm here. Recently, I've started a Caitlin Clark collection. Victor Wimen Ya'm a collection just.

Cause his name is Victor. Yeah. Yeah, No, it's players that I see something in them. I see that I am the Tiger.

And that's what leads me to collector cards. Now here's the caveat with my ultra modern it's it's it has to be bass cards. I'm a bass card rookie card collector. All of the parallels and the fancies you can have them.

I'm good with the bass rookie. Yeah. And again, man, would sound like we're very similar, right, So again, I do the Hall of Fame graded card rookies all four major sports. But I too will we'll dabble with some of the current players.

Right. I'm a big Bobby Witt junior guy. Good guys, one of the best players. Hey them early, but there really is no such thing now because we hear about these guys so early.

You can't really like take credit anymore for like, oh, I knew about him before anyone else did, right, because you really can't and you used to be able to do that, you know, football. I'm a big football guy too, So Marvin Harrison junior, brock Bauers are guys I kind of PC when it comes to like current. So as much as I like vintage, and I'm heavy vintage, it's probably seventy thirty eighty twenty. I still do because I'm a sports fan.

I'm in fantasy leagues, I'm watching games, and I want you know, we still have that connection. Right. While I love the vintage like you do, those careers are done, right, I still want some connection to something I'm currently watching. And like you said, what a player moves your meter inspires you.

They use some great things and you're like, hey, I want to collect this person. I think that's the beauty of the hobbies because we can pick and choose, you know who who we want to collect, and then if we change our mind, we can just move and pivot in a different direction. Yeah, and it's a good feeling when the player meets that expectation. It's like, listen, let's be real.

It's like buying a stock early. Yeah, it hits right. And it hits. It just brings a smile to your face when.

It's like it's almost a little like day trading. Right. So you you mentioned selling some stuff? Is eBay? Like your your your main platform where you move some stuff or or where else might you have cards? Yeah, I'm only only eBay or you know, a local card show or something. I'll take stuff to trade or sell.

But that's about it. I don't get too serious into it. It's just I got so many irons in the fire. I can't really dedicate too much time to any one thing.

I have to keep all the plates spinning, you know how it is. But yeah, yeah, that's eBay's the main Anyways, let's just say. I'm in your card room. How organized are you? If I say, if you say I have this card and I know right where it is, are you that? Are you that sae? I'm that guy I card? Yeah? Well that's good because I think I'm pretty close.

There might be some exception to the world it took me. You know what I used to do back there, I used to make my son, Man, he used to help me at shows. He doesn't now when I don't do this anymore. I used to pack up, like when the show's over and I'm packing up my inventory to leave, I would pack up my cards in alphabetic literally in A B, C, D, and my son's like, Dad, just throw them in the box.

Let's get out of here, like you know, he wants to rob the bank in like two minutes and get there. And I'm like, no, this is good. And one of the reasons I did that. I don't do it any longer.

But one of the reasons when I was doing that was just so it was easier to find a card. Let's say I sold it online and not at the show. I didn't have to look through four boxes. I knew exactly where it was.

So I don't do that now, but I still do it in a way where I can find something should I need to say I was made outside the show and whatnot. But man, it used to be like the show's over. Even the promoters are like, dude, I want to go home and get out of here. You know who I've known for twenty years, Like they're like waiting for me because they can't lock the door.

And so now I'm not the last guy. I used to be the last guy out. Now I've given up my belt and I'm not the last guy out. And I've changed some other things, how you know.

I use a rolling toolbox wherever, so a lot of my stuff I've streamlined, so it's only it used to be like I used to have to make four trips into the show. Now it's two trips and everything's in. And so you know, you'll learn I've learned in my own little tricks. And the other thing, the older I get this, it's a grind, and the less I make, the less wear and tear on me, and it pays off in the long run.

But the sad part is even though I tell my son Victor, like, hey, I don't do it the old way anymore, he won't help me anymore. Just so burn he's so flustered from what he's like, No, you're on your own self. Yeah, he will help me. Still lives at home, so when I come home with stuff, he'll be on the back deck as I hand stuff up and he'll help bring it upstairs and that sort of thing.

So he'll do that much, but he isn't coming to the show to help me there. But you know, it's you live and learn and and that sort of thing. So listen. I think it's happened to all of us at one point of another.

Right, I'm sure you've done content or if you've talked about it. I know I've done shows about it, right, whether it's contact creation or even just collecting or just being a hobbyist. Right that burnout, you hit a wall or you're like, you know what, I don't even want to look at cards for a couple of days. I don't want to do content creer for a week, whatever that you know, whatever that break you need, is that something that comes up with you and kind of speak to to your you know, if it does, you know, how do you deal with it and how often it may or may not happen.

Yeah, I've learned this the hard way, I think, unfortunately, as many of us have to. But I've had I've had episodes of burnout. Early in my forties, I was you know, I was a manager at my job and I had I was in charge of eighty people and about two hundred and fifty million dollars worth of equipment I was in charge of, and I had my plates full man and I was coming home. I had five kids, married five raising five kids, and then I had other extracurricular activities that I was doing, and I found myself burned out.

And when I came back to the hobby, I had learned some lessons that I wanted to do with my content and creation, and that was only committing to one piece of content a week. And I've gone away from that, and I was doing two or three videos a week, and I found myself quickly feeling that burnout, that the tingling of my spidy senses per se telling me that I'm overdoing it. And so I learned to listen to those little warning signs sooner rather than later. And I found a real healthy groove when I'm doing videos once a week.

And I know that doesn't help my cause. It probably hurts my cause. But I have a lot more to live for than just making content. I don't want to be a slave to the algorithm per se.

I'm a husband first, and I'm a son second, and I'm a friend. Third, and I have responsibilities at work and all of those things come before cards and before content, and I can't say that. I again, I've come to this place the hard way. Yeah, yes, we all have.

But you got your priorities in the right order. It's time for a quick break. Bots. We'll be right.

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Follow us on socials at Hobby Hotline. Thanks for sticking with us. Let's return to the show. I told you before we recorded.

I sat down and I said, I thought to myself, how much? How much? What were of the week? You know what percentage of my life is? Is am I spending in hobby related stuff? And that's not just content, but even cards, shows, getting ready for the shows, going on eBay and doing searches and buying stuff, sellings. And I recently did it. And again it's a guestimation. It's not an exact science.

I'm not lot, it's not like I have a chess clock and I'm hitting it when I'm doing hobby stuff. It's just a rough guestimate, estimate, and it's eight you know. I told this to someone that is also in the hobby who knows me very well, and I said, how much? I asked them, how much time do you think of my life I spent in the hobby And their guest was thirty percent. I'm like, you're actually not really that close.

And they're like, what is it, newman? And I'm like eight percent? And I actually didn't like, no way, no way, what you're doing two shows a month and the content that you create, and I said, no, I sat down again. It's not an exact science it percent. It could be seven percent, maybe ten percent, but it's pretty close to that area. And they were shocked that it was only eight percent.

And I like it there And it wasn't I told you this before we were It wasn't always eight percent. There was probably a time maybe that number was thirty percent, like my friend guests, and that was for me that wasn't healthy. Actually was unhealthy. You know, I had, like you, I had afore I'm in teaching now as a teaching assistant.

But the job I had before I got into teaching, uh four years ago. I was an orientation facilitator for a trucking company and my days were six am start to six pm. I come home, wash up, eat dinner, Deuce and I was doing the show. This podcast existed then, and I just became a zombie and I talked about it on this podcast Victory episode.

Between the episodes of like forty and sixty of the show, I was getting consumed by every to the point like I came down, you know, this is I'm upstairs and this is the studio OBA. I came down one day and my wife said to me, Hi, my name is Sharon. What's your name? Like half joking but obviously pro you know the point being sent. And I'm like, she goes, you're like the last two months, like I've barely seen you.

You're upstairs, you come home from work, I eat dinner, and then I don't see it till it's bedtime. And I gotta be honest with you. I didn't even really like it's sad to say, I'm honest. I'm not proud of it.

I didn't realize it until it's like intervention, right, sometimes someone else has to tell you, like, hey, dude, you know something's going on, like you don't even when you're in it. You're caught up and you don't even realize until someone like hit you with something like that. And at that light bulb went on, I like hit me like a ton of bricks. And then I just made a point.

I felt bad, like I'm not gonna lie. I didn't even realize it. I didn't feel bad, but then when I heard that, I felt terrible because I'm not that guy. But I was that guy.

But I didn't want to be that guy. But I didn't realize I was being that guy. So I changed some things. I set a schedule, I set some limits, and since then everything's been been better.

And but had my wife not made sort of a backhanded funny send the message that way, like hey, who are you in my house? You know? Uh, you know, I mean, maybe I would have continued down that path. I think the longer you do something, the harder it is to get out of that. Right if you will, you know, you displayed a lot of wisdom there, John, And when I when I look at and think about how many content creators has entered the sports card space. In the last five to seven years, many come in, but they don't.

They don't last very long. And it very possibly could be just that balance. There's the priorities are out of order, things become stressful, and they just quit making content. And so, yeah, man, you gotta be.

You've got to be. I don't know how some guys do it. To be honest with you, I think the key, the key to long long and longevity is balance and finding that balance that works best for you. And I gotta be honest with you.

Let's say my wife didn't do that, and maybe I continue. Like I enjoyed doing the content. I'm not. I'm not.

I don't want to be disingenuous, but I think I enjoy it more the way I do it now because I'm not doing as much. And so you know, sometimes absence makes the heart grow. Fine, if you're doing something all the time, I don't even care what it is. It could be something you love, like I love pizza and wings.

But if I ate it every day, right, number one, I look even worse than I do now. But number two, right, you wouldn't. You wouldn't appreciate it more or as much. You get sick of it, right, And looking back at that sort of time of the show, like, I guess I didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I did in the moment, Like it was like, hey, I gotta get more guests.

Who's the next guest? I gotta chase? You know, it was a little harder getting guests at that point in the show than it is, let's say today, So so it's more enjoyable today than it was during that small period of time. And I'm lad my wife, you know, in the way she did it, she wasn't rude. Uh, she did it. The message got set, the I saw the light and made made some changes and for everyone's benefit, including uh, my own.

And you know, like you said, uh, your husband and a father, an employee, a friend, you know, all those things whatever. But there's an order to that. There's you know when people say in no particular order, well, with priorities, there is a particular order. Yeah, you can't say in no particular So I was sort of, I don't want to say, completely losing the order, but I was along going down that path.

And and really, like you weren't doing anything wrong per se when you look at it, you weren't like. It wasn't malicious, right, It wasn't me saying, hey, I don't want to spend time with my wife. I'm just going to hide up here. But too much of anything can become bad.

And and it's one of them things where had you didn't have that epiphany moment with your wife, it could have affected your marital relationship. Man, I think it would have. I think I think that's why she said it. She was there, man, she was like, I think he was like, if I don't say something now, this is just continue to get worse, and then I'm going to get maybe even more mad or resentful, and that I won't even care and then we'll grow apart.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I told the story. I'm not going to retell the story here. You're but I had a dealer acquaints of mine that I set up with who was doing shows.

You know, I would do one or two a month. He was doing shows every weekend, and he was missing kids recitals, kids, uh, literal league games. You had a daughter and a son. And he was telling me, like about my wife's said this, and I'm like, you're missing that.

He's like, yeah, I'm doing I'm here at the show, and I'm like, man, you better be careful. But I told you better be careful, and he would say, my wife's peeved at me here I'm in the doghouse. And then you know, he got sur papers. He's the he's divorced and rune to you know, and he chose I mean, I hate to say like this, but he chose cards over his family.

Well maybe it's not as simple as that, but in the sense, that's kind of what happened. And you can't get that back. You can't put the genie bet in the bottle. You you can't go to an event that you missed it already and redo it.

You know, there's no delore and time machine. And then your kids resent you. Right, yeah, my dad, my dad was never at any of my games. My dad didn't come to my my dance for suns, you know.

And now you got to repair that. And even in repairing it, right, is it ever gonna be you know great? Probably not, you know, and there's gonna be some sort of resentment. So and I tried to, you know, I'm like, hey, man, like take a week off and do stuff with your families. Like I love it.

I love this stuff, and I'm like, listen, I love this stuff too. We're we're in the same team. But like you're getting to that point where. And right there, John, I like to call those a tail tale sign.

Yeah. But the addiction, like I tell people, like hobby can be addicting in a good way and a bad way. In a bad way. One trigger for me that I start to recognize that I need to unplug is like when I'm listening to other content creators on sports cards and just like I feel irritated about everything that I'm hearing.

You know, sometimes we can get a topic and regurgitate it and everybody starts talking about it and it has undertones of negativity and it's just you get it. Just you're consuming too much of it and it just starts getting under my skin. And that's a telltale sign for me that I need to back off and just you know, at least for a day or two and back off. I need to break Yeah, and you do this long enough, Like you just said, Vic, do you know when those times are and you got when those times come, you got to just do that.

You gotta right, you got to hit eject and eject out of the plane. Pull your parachute and take off on another day. Not wrong with that. Better to do that than to hang in there too long and crash.

And though no doubt, well we'll kind of close with this as we wind out, I will close on a positive note rather than right now. Uh, you know we're approaching the national here. It's in your backyard of Chicago. It's going to be there not only this year, but the next two years.

For sure. I'm sure if you had your druthers, and I don't blame me, I'm not I'd want it. If I was that clothes, I'd wanted there every year for you. Obviously, we all know what the Nationale is.

We all get together, we have dinners, might be events outside the show. We talked about the PSA registreet party as one of those, as others. We circle the calendar on the week every week and it's pretty much the same week every year. But even more, is it something where you say, like I really need to try to be there every year or not necessarily.

For you, I would say about twenty eight twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen, it's like I made the decision that I want to be there every year and I have. My first one was like nineteen ninety eight, and then I had some scattered in there. But ever since twenty seven, I've been like, I gotta go every year. And I'm fifty minutes away from the convention center in good traffic, so I've had the privilege of having a majority of the nationals right here in my own backyard.

But I do know I've I've traveled also, and I do plan on traveling to Detroit or Atlanta. I'm hoping Detroit. But wow, is it closer? It is? And I know you want Atlanta. Uh, you know what, I actually I haven't really sat down and figured it out.

Which one's closer. I think it might be. It might be very similar. I haven't even thought that far.

Excuse me. I'm gonna have to fly probably to either or so I'm one. Listen, I'm in Syracuse, so it's never coming here. New York City doesn't seem to be doable, although we see the Fanatics Fest such is a different type of event that would be my first choice because of my hometown.

I do have some families still there. I'm not expecting that, and the ain't come in to Syracuse so we can cross that one off the list. I like Atlantic City, Cleveland. I know most don't.

Let's be fullest, full transparency. I like both of those venues because I can drive to them in my car. Selfish, it is what it is the same reason like you like Chicago. Nothing wrong with that.

It's just common human nature, common sense. But other than that, I kind of I'm thinking, Man, if I lived in California or Oregon or Washington State, you know, i'd like to see it come out this way a little bit closer to me. So I'm sort of I try to be the fairness guy as much as I can, so I'd like to see that sort of move around the country. What I don't want to see, Victor, is what I've heard at different points.

I think there's gonna be two Nationals. Now, you know, it's been a rumor whispered. I don't think it's gonna happen, or at least not right away. But I think if they ever did two nationals, the bloom would sort of come off the roads.

I can't do both, at least speaking for myself, And then you've got to be like, which one am I picking right? And then I've heard other things I'm sure you've heard all the same stuff. Oh, there's gonna be two Nationals. One's gonna be a vintage heavy National and one's going to be a mare modern day dealer National. And we both, like we both just talked about a little while back, we collect both of those.

So now, like, what if I want to just go to one show what they're both both those niches won't be represented in the same fashion. So again I'm old school. I want one nashal Right, we have one Super Bowl every year, we got one World Series, one NBA Finals. You know when we have a World Cup every four years, it's every four years.

You know, it's not two in one year. So I don't want to see two. I've heard talk of that. It doesn't look like at least for the next three or four years.

That's just uh, kind of your thoughts on there, And I'm sure you've heard some of that. Yeah, I know I heard that Amazon bought the convention Center in Cleveland. I didn't fact check that, but I think I heard that recently, So I don't think it's ever going to be at Cleveland again. But I love, I would love, I would love to go see the one in Detroit.

I Yeah, I haven't been to Detroit in a really long time. I haven't been to Detroit since I was a kid, to be honest, and I would like to check that out. But yeah, I like it moving around myself, to be honest with you, I like traveling to the show. It's part of the fun, man.

Yeah, And I know what Chicago is right, pretty much almost dead center. Like I wouldn't even be opposed, like, hey, Chicago, then another city, then back to Chicago, like Chicago every other year type of and then every other year another venue as well. I think that's that would be a fair compromise as well. So if so, you're saying that's going to be the convention center, gonna be an Amazon.

Warehouse, Yeah, that's what I heard. Yeah, that's a big warehouse. Yeah, there's a lot of uh there's a lot of product that'll fit in that building. Yeah.

But listen, as we both know, right, the National the greatest week in the hobby. As I always say, it's fund to meet people for the first time, we get to meet people again, we get to buy some cards, and there's not a whole lot of bad things. Uh. You know, if you have a bad National i'd ask you, like, what happened? You know what I mean, what what was it that? Because I've gotten better, you know, I always trying to pick up two, three, four.

I call them bigger type cards to everyone's definition of bigger cards different depending on budget. For me, bigger's four figures sometimes. You know, the first few years of me going to Nashville, I was struggling early and having the like last minute pick up a couple. The last year, I did a better job at like kind of finding that stuff early, and I take that, you know, pressure, if the pressure you put on yourself, kind of relieve that that pressure.

So I'll have a list this year, you know, I kind of go in a list, meet personally three to five cards and try to get two to three of them. I'm not gonna get all five, and obviously you know this, you buy other stuff not on you less that little lesser value. But when I say bigger cards, you know, I'll go in with a list of three or five with the goal of trying to get two to three off off that list. Done a better job the last couple of years than the previous three to four, so hopefully keep that that trend going.

But as always, you know, looking forward to seeing you and others and having fun and dinners and laughing and doing band impressions and jokes and all that stuff that comes. So uh, Victor, as always, this is this is always a blast. I always give the guest kind of the final word. Give out your socials.

Also plug your book where people can pick that up before part two comes out. Yeah, thanks John. You can find my book on Amazon True Rookie Cards, and you can find me on excuse me, YouTube or any social media platform for that matter, at True Underscore RCS. And we are basically looking at the Rookie card, looking at its past and present day status, all in an effort to better understand the future of this hobby icon that is the Rookie Card.

It is chaotic, it is complex, but it is beautiful and it is a primary pillar of. Our hobby, no doubt. Well said. And if you search, if you google rookie, I think Mickey Mantle comes up first and then Victor Roman comes up second.

Pretty sure about that. I'm pretty sure that's what works. So Vic, there always a pleasure, Thanks for making some time. Thank you John, Thanks for having me.

I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I did. And you know, when I talked to Victor, sometimes I don't even I forget that we're even doing a podcast, right. It's just two people who know each other fairly well talking about life, the hobby and and that sort of thing. Always fun to have them on.

Check out his book. This is a guy. It's a it's a subject that's important. It's a subject that he's very passionate about and he put that into this book.

And check it out. And if you're if you're any kind of hobbyist, if you love working cards like I do, and most people do, check that book out. Maybe they'll be like Victor said, maybe you see a part two down the line. Here time for all.

Hobby is the people announcer of the week. Hey, it's Chris Carlin formerly from Upper Deck now with Collectors. Remember the hobby is the people. If you'd like to be the hobby is the people announcer of the week, do a one F or MP three file and send it to Sportscard Nation PC at gmail dot com.

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