Homer against Strahm? He collects your card
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Matt Strahm remains to be trying to find one particular Charlie Blackmon card so as to add to his assortment.
“It keeps vanishing on me,” Strahm stated this week at BayCare Ballpark.
Strahm, 31, is likely one of the Phillies’ latest relievers, signing a two-year, $15 million contract in December. He will slot someplace behind Seranthony Domínguez, José Alvarado, Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto in what may very well be one in every of baseball’s finest bullpens. Strahm is a left-handed former starter who throws 5 pitches. His lengthy hair rivals Brandon Marsh’s.
But Strahm stands out due to his baseball card assortment. Specifically, he collects playing cards of gamers who’ve homered towards him within the huge leagues. It is a small a part of a set he estimates to be price near one million.
“I call it my box,” Strahm stated, laughing. “If you hit a homer run against me, you’re good enough to collect. That’s kind of my arrogance, my personality.”
Thirty-nine gamers have homered a mixed 42 instances in Strahm’s seven-year profession. There are probably future Hall of Famers, corresponding to Miguel Cabrera and Freddie Freeman; former MVPs like Christian Yelich, Josh Donaldson, Cody Bellinger, Ryan Braun and José Abreu; and relative unknowns like John Ryan Murphy and Phil Ervin.
Strahm has not collected a card from everyone, together with Blackmon. He nonetheless wants ones from the gamers who homered towards him final season, together with Jonathan Schoop and Patrick Wisdom.
He has by no means allowed a homer towards anyone in Phillies camp.
“Hopefully that doesn’t change during a live BP this week,” Strahm stated.
Strahm grew up in North Dakota. He collected playing cards till he turned 11 or 12. He began accumulating once more along with his brother in 2018. His interest become a pair YouTube reveals, together with Strahm’s Stadium Pulls and The Card Life.
“I opened up one box and it was like I was 12 again,” Strahm stated. “Now I’ve a spare bed room stuffed with them. I don’t exit to purchase particular person playing cards. I name myself a packrat. I benefit from the product releases, each month, yearly. I get pleasure from simply getting the field, and no matter I open, that’s my assortment. I’m not seeking to promote, commerce or purchase. I take a look at my assortment as a interest for me, and hopefully in the future it’ll be an inheritance for my daughter. And if she doesn’t like baseball playing cards, I hope she sells them and does one thing she likes. We all have these relations who’re hoarders, and so they’re like, ‘What are we going to do when we get all that crap?’ I don’t need my daughter to suppose that.
“I just told [prospect] Mick Abel, ‘Dude, I have one of your [2021 Bowman Chrome Red Sapphire cards]. But I’ve got to find it. Give me some time.’ I’ve got a million cards. Seventy-five to 85 percent are base cards. The other 15 percent are like parallel, numbered, [autographed]. What’s 15 percent of a million? That’s what I’ve got to go through to find Mick. We’ll get it. But you’ll see during the year, I have boxes of cards up in my locker. I’ll open them during the season. Quite a few guys got into it in the clubhouse [last year with Boston].”
Strahm’s assortment is sort of completely newer playing cards. He doesn’t accumulate classic playing cards, though he as soon as particularly sought and located a Roger Maris 1961 Topps.
Maris is from North Dakota, too.
“He hit 61 in `61, so I wanted his `61 card,” Strahm stated. “I’ve hunted down all the North Dakota guys’ rookie cards.”
So he’s received a Chris Coste?
“He doesn’t have a rookie card,” Strahm stated. “Well, he does, but it’s not a licensed one. He’s got a weird one. I got baseballs signed by all North Dakota baseball players, too. I have Roger Maris, Rick Helling, Travis Hafner, Chris Coste, Darin Erstad.”
The Maris baseball additionally has autographs from Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford on it.
“My dad worked the first-ever Roger Maris golf tournament in Fargo,” Strahm stated. “He ended up DD-ing [designated driving] for those guys that night. So they signed a baseball for them.”
Strahm’s recommendation for brand spanking new collectors?
“Collect what you love,” Strahm stated. “Don’t chase the dollar sign. That just takes the fun out of it. I got more hyped about a 2019 Tim Hill base card because he’s my best friend and I played with him. On YouTube, in the comments, people were like, ‘You got more hyped about the Tim Hill than the [Fernando] Tatis Jr.’ I’m like, ‘Well, Tim Hill eats dinner at my house three nights a week in the offseason. It’s kind of cool.’”
