How Baseball Cards Saved My Life
Life is good. It wasn't always like that. In 2006, I not only reached rock bottom, but I walked the surface and was going to build a house out of pity and shame. It is the worst feeling in the world when you lose your good reputation and everything starts caving in on you. I dealt with 6 major situations at once and didn't handle it well. I was going through a lot and felt like a slew of bad karma was coming to get me. Eventually it did and in a heartbeat, I had everything taken from me.
I entered 2007 limping because I inherited Type-2 Diabetes and my grandmother passed away at the end of 2006. The only thing I had to keep me afloat besides my family and TRUE friends was The Dmitri Young Collection. My dad told me shortly before Washington Nationals GM Jim Bowden called to offer me an opportunity to restore my name, to never let your kids see you as a quitter. That is to this day, the best advice I've ever received. Once I earned my way to the Big League roster from accelerated camp, I discovered that good things happen when you do good things for others and good things for yourself, and that organization gave me a chance to have a rebirth.
My Nationals teammates encouraged me to be me, and that got me back into buying cards, sending in reviews and crossovers. With every hit I got, that brought me closer to another card and picking up another graded 10 for the collection. I picked up 21 bumps (upgrade in cards) from 2007-2009 while I was with the Nationals. Collecting became fun again because I fell back in love with cards and my collection. I spent countless hours on the computer combing eBay and other auction sites looking for cards that show perfect 10 characteristics and tried to work my magic to add yet another perfect 10 rookie card into The Dmitri Young Collection.
That is how cards saved my life…
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Tim Simms | Jul 8, 2011 | Reply
this is an amazing story and the thing is it reminds me of me you see my mom passed away in 2007 and things just kept snowballing from that and i just felt like my life had been sucked out of me and I kept slipping and at the age 15 losing someone who your so close it just seems there is nothing hold on to until I took up basketball and that stabilized me then the baseball season, which ive played since i could walk, and instantly i found my self loving the more and more it seemed every time i stepped on the feild my worries were just gone like i was in my own bubble and nothing could get to me, but when my season ends 26 games later then i find myself dwelling on everthing but with the from my family i started collecting cards and everytime i look at my cards it helps put me back in my bubble so with the help of family sports and card collecting everthing doesn’t seem as bad. i will always play baseball collect card and most definitely remember my mom the best person i have known.
Pat | Jul 8, 2011 | Reply
Good story Mr. Young.
brady | Jul 11, 2011 | Reply
Great story Mr. Young…thanks for sharing