A reporter from MLBPLAYERS.com sat down with Cleveland Indians Slugger Travis Hafner last week to talk baseball cards. Hafner was an avid collector of baseball cards as a child, amassing a collection of 30,000+ cards at the pinnacle of his collecting days. Here is an exerpt of the interview:
MLBPLAYERS.com: Whom did you collect when you were young?
Hafner: We had a satellite dish, so it was either the Orioles or the Braves. Those were the two teams we watched. I listened to the Twins on radio in the tractor. I collected Cal Ripken Jr., Eddie Murray cards. I liked David Justice and Dale Murphy. I liked watching Nolan Ryan pitch. But it was mainly hitters I collected.
Probably 1980 or 1981 was the earliest cards I had. I didn't get any vintage cards. That would be something interesting, to revisit the cards. They're back in the house I grew up in.
We had a few convenience stores about 15 miles away and they'd get cards in sometimes. You'd go to Bismarck or Fargo, and we'd stop in the card shops there.
MLBPLAYERS.com: How did you trade cards?
Hafner: I'd sit on the phone with my buddies an hour a day and we'd talk about which cards we'd want to trade. I always had the Beckett card magazine price guides. I'd want to get the rookie cards because they were worth more.
None of my buddies had the Beckett, so I'd always get the cards that were more and trade them the cheaper cards. They'd get a guy's rookie card and I'd give them a superstar player, a card worth 25 cents. That was worth it. There were probably three or four of us in a real small town of 150 people.
MLBPLAYERS.com: Where did you first appear on a card?
Hafner: The first time I was ever on a card was A ball, South Atlantic League, the Savannah (Ga.) Sand Gnats. It was a Savannah uniform. I was thinner. I was 21 at the time. It was a photo of my stance.
MLBPLAYERS.com: What's your favorite Major League card?
Hafner: I think the ones showing my swing, the action shots, are my favorites.
