When Prospects Live invited all the participants for their new five-year fantasy game (recently re-branded as The Dynasty Baseball Championship), more than 600 people flooded the Prospects Live Discord with multiple new channels for discussion among the league participants.
One channel quickly took off in activity and developed its own community. In fact, that community has developed and nurtured its own in such a way that one of the members of that community has recently become a writer with Prospects Live in his own right!
Long-time collectors shared stories about their collections, allowing stories of collecting to stave off the wait for baseball to come back as spring training was just beginning.
Joe, who has become a writer for Prospects Live, began posting a “Card of the Day” and continues it daily on the channel.
Then COVID-19 stopped the world.
Suddenly, the only active baseball discussion many days on the entire Discord was what was going on within the baseball card channel. Preorders for 2020 products were the topic at the time, but already there were hints that cards could become scarce in the spring for 2020 releases.
One new collector stated, "The cards (channel members) were posting looked awesome. Plus, the guys were super cool and answered any questions I had. There's no gatekeeping or shame for not knowing something. That's what keeps me involved, having people who enjoy sharing the hobby with others."
That environment was shared in all aspects of collecting, whether it was collecting vintage cards, collecting high-end current cards, beginning collecting, or how to get into recent hobby trends like breaks and razzes.
One Prospects Live reader shared cards with PL staff, leading to a big mail day!
While young prospects were often spotlighted in conversations, original T206 cards were discussed, as were ideal vintage cards that folks would like to own one day. Personal favorite players to collect ranged from Hall of Famers like Johnny Bench to everyday players like J.D. Davis to guys who really faded away without making much of a dent, like Kevin Stanfield.
Bowman 2020 became a focus among the members of the channel, and the ability for one member to get multiple boxes of it at the local Walmart turned into low-cost breaks for many channel members to experience their first breaks while also getting their hands on a product that was rare to find in store.
This community is still going strong, even now with baseball back. That lack of shame in where a person is regarding price point, knowledge, or interest level is still present, allowing for one of the more inclusive and informative card collecting communities online.
Come take a look at this vibrant community by joining the Prospects Live server, then find our baseball card channel along the side and join in. You’ll certainly be made to feel welcome and might just find yourself buying a few packs yourself!