My Pros and the Cons of this One Specific Card

 So during the peak of my downsizing efforts there were some cards that I went over multiple times wondering if I wanted to move it or not. The fact that they required multiple looks meant they were special in a way that usually tipped in favor of me keeping them.

One such card I wanted to talk about was this. A 2009 eTopps rookie card of Junichi Tazawa.

I've had this card since roughly 2010 but this is the first time this card is making its blog debut. Considering how often I re-use card scans out of laziness and to hide the fact that my card intake isn't that big, showing a card that's new to this blog and probably new to anyone reading this post is a good enough reason to talk about it. I guess.

Anyway the card in question is interesting to me for many reasons. Enough that it survived waves upon waves of downsizing efforts even though it has several points that would've made me want it gone.

Pros:

- It's an eTopps card

For people who got to experience eTopps, this probably isn't much but considering that I came into the hobby around the time eTopps was basically gone (and ToppsNow was a few years away) this is kind of a rarity and there is a part of my brain that finds it neat.

A card you got from Topps directly online? Well at the time it seemed really novel, especially back in the 2000's when the internet was a lot less convenient than it is today (overall the shittiness of the internet has not changed, functionality and convenience just got better/streamlined).

Also apparently eTopps lasted longer than I thought it did because it just shut down last month, yes this year.

- It's a card from the 2000's

Cards from the 2000's just do not show up in the wild, there's this massive black hole between 1999 and 2014. Maybe people weren't collecting as much then when the rookie card bubble burst or when the world went to shit for the umpteenth time. Or more likely the kids who collected cards in the 80s were now adults and didn't spend their money on cards anymore, but cards from this time period are always AWOL.

At best you can find them for inflated prices online if you look for specific ones. If you have cards released from 2001 to 2009 (with a heavy emphasis on 2002-2005 in particular) appreciate them, because you won't come across them again without actively going out to look for them and paying rates on par with damaged but still vintage cards from the 60's.

- It has the old rookie card logo

I don't have too many cards with the old rookie card logo, so you know, points for that.

- It was a gift from my dad

Oooh boy, sentimental card over here. Thanks pops.

- It's Junichi Tazawa

I can't remember when exactly I asked my dad for this but if I had to guess it was as a New Years present. Reason being that when Alex Rodriguez hit that walk off homer against him I definitely didn't have it yet.

At the time I thought Tazawa's story and career was fascinating. A promising talent choosing to go directly to the big leagues instead of going to an NPB team first. Something that was so controversial that an entire Tazawa Rule was created so Japanese amateurs would be discouraged from following in his footsteps, though it has since been abolished. Tazawa didn't have too many cards on the market at the time (duh) so a rookie card already pre-encased that may or may not be overpriced was the best one could find.

For the record I was able to luck into other Tazawa cards from that time period, but that wouldn't be until after I moved back to the states in 2013.

There are only a mere five points in this card's favor. But about three of these points are bear a lot of weight. In particular the 2000's card point. I can't stress this enough, cards from the two George Bush terms and Barack Obama's first term are hard to obtain because nobody wants to pay the prices they command when they could buy other, objectively better, cards instead.

Alright so with the Pros listed, onto the...

Cons:

- It's encased already, and the case sucks dogshit

As much as I found it neat and novel at the time that a card came prepackaged in a case, I also find it irritating. The case itself is bulky and takes up too much space for a card that wouldn't look any less out of place in a regular toploader.

A card worthy of being in a case

I do admit that I'm a sucker for a nice card encased in a one touch then team bagged, but it has to be the right card. Something that deserves to have light shown upon it to maximize how it looks.

This though, I've been tempted to break it open and take it out of the case forever but doing so would ruin the collectors value, as the nagging voice in my head would yell out every time I got tempted. It'd be a lot more justifiable if the case was scratched to oblivion like with other encased cards I've had in the past that I opened but unfortunately both me and the previous owner took care of it pretty decently so it's still passable.

Although now that I've looked at other eTopps offerings I think there's supposed to be a sticker or seal on the bottom. So the authenticity value might be gone already.

- I've never held the actual card itself

In the decade-plus that I've had this thing I've never touched it. Do I actually own this thing? Does it actually own me instead? What is even the point of this? Stupid fucking plastic case.

Scans like shit

- The case made it hard to scan

Blocky piece of shit.

- I probably should've gotten this card signed at some point

If there's ever a good enough reason to break a card out of its tomb, getting it signed by the person on it is probably it. Tazawa was also a really reliable TTM signer during his time in the big leagues. But I was somehow afraid of losing out on a $20 card (the value has since dropped to less than $10, I'm getting worked up over a card that's not even a full Alexander Hamilton, maybe not even a full Abraham Lincoln!).

- This case is hard to open

Modern card collectors don't know how good they have it with magnetic one touches being the standard now. Before that you had people putting cards in cases designed by satan. Like the ones that had 4 screws or whatever dogshit picture frame was on clearance at the drugstore.

This abomination is the one with hooks on the side that once you open, they're done because chances are you had to absolutely destroy them to free the card. If you allowed dust to get in when you were putting the cards in, good luck pal that little spot will bother you every time you look at the card for the rest of its days in there.

Final Thoughts

Somewhere along the line this just turned into me whining about that case, but I do want to re-iterate that I do think this card is neat for various reasons that allowed it to survive this long in my collection.

Again, the player on the card is also very much a positive.

I am very impressed that Tazawa had the balls to make the massive leap he took, was able to find success in spite of the odds and had a career that was still perfectly respectable in all aspects. He's also dealt with the repercussions levied his way in the years since as best he could as a professional.

It also speaks volumes how he was able to return to his industrial team ENEOS like a decade after he left, indicating that relationship didn't end on a sour note. In Japan if there's a falling out, the two parties go their separate ways. So you know, total pro's pro.

But I do understand why he'll never be talked about in the lore of Japanese baseball here like almost every other Japanese player in MLB since his feats on Japanese soil are virtually nil.

Overall, this card polarizes me. It checks off so many boxes for me to keep it and just as many to move on from it.

But in spite of everything the result has been the same. I'll just keep it for now. There's another 748 copies out in the universe anyway if someone really wants one for whatever reason.

As always thanks for stopping by and take care.