This is the first article in my new series, Trading Cards and Trading Stories, that will focus on the stories behind the cards, the fun or interesting aspects of cards, the relationships and communities that spring up around them, and everything else in between. As I look back on my eighth year of returning to the Hobby, some of the things I find most enjoyable are the friends I’ve made in the Hobby, the telling of stories about the cards, the collecting experiences with those friends (and strangers who become friends), as well as hearing other collectors Hobby stories. Indeed, quick card stories are something I do regularly as I tend to give a little blurb of interest when I post my Card of the Day over in the Baseball Card channel of the Prospects Live Discord. I thought it would be a fun exercise to expand on some of those stories in a new series of articles.

As the baseball season has now fully kicked off, the Trading Card story at the forefront of my mind is really the story of the Fantasy Baseball Hobby League created and run by Matt Bunn. And the reason for that is because with the start of the season comes the second part of our buy-in for that league. 

Prior to the 2023 season, Matt reached out to me to gauge interest and get some feedback on setting up a Fantasy Baseball Hobby league and I was immediately sold on it. It would essentially work like any other head to head roto league with one major twist. Half your buy-in would be a baseball card of a player from your team. Each owner would put in a cash buy-in ($50) and then you would need to purchase (or use one of your own cards if it qualified) a card of your first round pick, equivalent to $40 - $50 in value. With card values always fluctuating, these comps would be more on the honor system than anything else. One positive change we made in year 2 that is still in place currently is that your card ante can be a card from any player you drafted in the first three rounds, rather than just the first round.

While there is a traditional payout structure for success in the league, the real fun is once the season is completed, we draft the buy-in cards anted up at the beginning of the season. The team that wins the league gets first pick, second place gets second pick, and so on down the line. This element surprisingly keeps me engaged even if I fall out of the playoff race, as I want to finish as high as possible to have the best spot I can get for the postseason card draft. What I didn’t realize would be just as fun, even if it involved more work, was the hunt of finding your card ante. I finally landed on my 2025 card ante, and am really stoked on it, but more about that later.

I’m not going to go through every card, but I think it’s fun to talk about the cards that went through my hands as my card ante, the cards I ended up with at the end of the season, as well as the cards that were the first overall choices of the postseason card ante drafts.

Year 1 (2023): I drafted José Ramírez in the first round - a perennially great player who falls into that Rodney Dangerfield area of the Hobby - I was able to get an on-card, encased auto from 2022 Topps Pristine of José Ramírez within budget. Continuing the theme, the Ramírez card did not get any respect and lasted until the 12th pick out of 14 in the postseason card draft.

I finished sixth and while I was hoping for an Ohtani 2018 Topps Throwback Thursday rookie card to fall to me, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t happen, and it ended up going fourth overall. So with the sixth pick, I took a 2022 Topps Brooklyn Collection Gold Parallel autograph (on card) numbered 16 out of 50 of Yordan Alvarez, which I felt was an outstanding option. Alvarez is a great player, and this parallel and design unintentionally give a great team color parallel vibe. I’m a sucker for team color parallels, even when they aren’t planned.

The card that went first overall, selected by the league winner and Commissioner Bunn (RIGGED) was a 2022 Topps Stadium Club Base Rainbow Foil parallel numbered to 25 of Bo Bichette. The photo, one of the general hallmarks of Stadium Club, was great, as it captures Bichette with his hair in full action flowing mode and shades that only cool guys can pull off. And Bichette is the embodiment of cool, with this card displaying that in spades. It’s no surprise that it was anted up by my Local Card Pod co-host, Ryan Rygiel, because that guy knows his cards.

Year 2 (2024): The switch to being able to ante a card from any of your top three draft picks now in play, my options ended up being Shohei Ohtani, Zack Wheeler, and Kevin Gausman (oops) as my top 3 picks. I knew any card I’d be happy to ante from Shohei Ohtani, either from my PC or from a purchase, would be way above the $40 - $50 budget. So it came down to Wheeler and Gausman, and I was certain that Wheeler was going to be a much more preferred and sought after card than Gausman, so the hunt was on. It really started to dawn on me in Year 2 how much I cared about my card ante, how much I wanted to provide a good card, and not just meet the bare minimum card ante entry fee. While I was keeping my eye on Gausman cards, I focused on Zach Wheeler cards. I first tried his 2023 Topps Golden Mirror Variation, but wasn’t able to get one within the price range. And then I found it - a 2013 Topps Chrome Rookie Autograph Blue Parallel numbered to 199 PSA 9. Since he was on the Mets as a rookie (still can’t believe the Giants traded him for a Carlos Beltran rental), the Blue Parallel was a team color match, and with the blue ink - it was just a great looking card. It was too good to let pass, even if I had to go a bit above the $50 threshold, and I spent roughly an extra $10 to make it happen.

A pitching-heavy strategy failed me and my co-owner, leading us to finishing 9th out of 14 teams. By the time I was up to pick, most of the cards I was dreaming on were already taken, but there was one left that was a no-brainer. With Topps introducing the Team Color Border Parallel to the Paper Flagship product line (Series 1, Series 2, and Update Series), a new, un-numbered parallel being added to the mix was something I applauded, which is rarely the case nowadays. And that’s what was sitting there, staring at me, and not just any old player, but one of the best in the game with Mookie Betts. But it was a Dodgers card! But I’m no hater - Mookie is legitimately a great player and I have no issue having great players as part of my card collection. And I live in a Southern California household that tilts Dodger Blue, so it was an easier choice than an outsider may have thought it would be for this Giants fan.

Can you guess who had the first pick in the 2024 postseason card draft? RIGGED again! Commissioner Bunn, as a Phillies fan, drafted his favorite team's ace first overall, the Zack Wheeler card that was my ante. Part of the attraction for him was that he was able to pair it with another Phillies stud pitcher that he already had a Topps Chrome Rookie Auto Blue Parallel PSA 9 of in his collection - an Aaron Nola card from 2016. It was meant to be.

Year 3 (2025): Finally that brings us to the current day and the Fantasy Baseball Hobby League for 2025, which led to my most recent card hunt. Picking from the 10th spot (out of 12), we went with Paul Skenes, Jackson Chourio, and Manny Machado for our top 3 picks. Similar to the Ohtani thoughts I had in 2024, I knew getting anything but a base card of Paul Skenes within the price range that I would be happy submitting as the card ante would be next to impossible. In addition, while I was relatively confident in getting a really nice Manny Machado card in the $40 - $50 price range, he’s not a well-liked player at this point. I didn’t want to introduce that conundrum of “good card but unliked player” into the mix if I didn’t have to. That left me with Jackson Chourio as the obvious choice for the player/card to hunt. I was not shocked, but it became obvious almost immediately that Chourio ink would be really difficult to come by at the card ante price range. While I continued to monitor the Chourio ink options, I shifted my focus to 2024 Topps Chrome and 2024 Topps Chrome Update Short Print Image Variations. The 2024 Topps Chrome Update image variation is actually a better photo in my opinion, even if it was the cheaper option. After two weeks or so of seeing these cards continue to get priced above my range, I finally had to admit defeat and rethink the hunt.

I knew a rookie auto was essentially off the table, as well as most Bowman autos. Anything with Chourio in his Brewers uniform and an autograph went way above the card ante price range. One other option, though, that I had tried early on but abandoned when I started going after Chrome Rookie Image Variations were Topps Pro Debut autos with Chourio in various minor league uniforms. For many reasons, players in their minor league uniforms tend to have less desirability for collectors. Add in that Pro Debut autos are sticker autos, and while they tended to go a bit above the card ante price range, I figured it was worth revisiting. And after a few more failures, I was finally able to secure a 2024 Topps Pro Debut base auto of Jackson Chourio for the 2025 Fantasy Baseball Hobby League card ante - Chourio Ink! I’m glad it was the 2024 version as well, rather than the 2023 Topps Pro Debut version, since I prefer the 2024 Flagship design (which Pro Debut uses) much more than the 2023 Flagship design. It was again slightly over budget by a few bucks, but it’s a card I’m excited to ante up and can’t wait to see who ends up with it.

Every single one of these cards is still vivid in my memory - the cards I anted up, and the cards I ended up with. When I show off or talk about the Yordan Alvarez card, I always talk about how awesome it is to have an on-card, numbered out of 50 auto of one the best hitters in baseball. Likewise, it’s so cool to have that team border parallel of one of the best current Dodgers players, a card that one day I hope my daughter, being brought up as a Dodgers fan (ugh), treasures as much as I do. 

This is the fantasy league I have the most fun participating in every year, the one I look forward to the most. I enjoy my other Fantasy Baseball leagues, but this one has that extra angle that combines my love of fantasy sports AND the Hobby. The participants having a similar love as mine for both fantasy and hobby worlds, the hunt for the card ante being a journey unto itself, especially when you land that great card, and the postseason draft where everyone gets a cool card makes it feel like there are no real losers. 

Do you have any cool twists in your Fantasy Baseball leagues? If so, drop them in the comments!