Night Owl Cards

    This 1975 Hostess card of Brewers pitcher Billy Champion cost me 8 bucks -- a little more than 10 with shipping included.   The card contains a small crease in the corner and the pitcher, although featuring one of the all-time names in the sport, was an average performer in the '70s, otherwise known as "a common." But it's a short-print.   The Champion arrived not too long after the card of his former teammate, Robin Yount. The Yount is a short-print and its his rookie card, too, but it cost only a few bucks more than the Champion, likely because it's got a few issues (though nothing that bothers me in the slightest when it comes to Hostess cards).   I've returned to attempting to finish this set after getting frustrated with it last year. I didn't encounter the kind of price bumps I'm seeing with '75 Hostess when I was completing the 1976 and 1977 Hostess sets (1976 completed at the end of 2021 and 1977 in mid-2024). But I've got around 17...

  I know, or have come across, several fans my age or older who are no longer interested in major league baseball as it's played now. I've also read or written a good number of profiles on former players who say they don't watch the game anymore. It just doesn't look like the game they know and played. Whether you think that is a closed-minded way of thinking or a natural reaction as people grow older, it's very apparent to me that those who play MLB now are different than the players who played in the '70s, '80s and even much of the '90s when I was younger and much more of a fan. Just about every day -- especially now that it's the postseason -- the difference hits me in the face. As I'm scrolling through the limited number of photos available (a rant for another time) to use when I'm producing the sports section for my paper, I regularly see players screaming into the air as if they had just smote the enemy on a bloody battlefield. It strik...