A straight up investment

I know the words "investing", when mixed with "hobby", create quite the visceral reaction, especially on Twitter. There are some who are firmly in the camp that collecting cards is a hobby and only a hobby. There are some who want to stock up on all he latest prospects now, taking a more investment-based approach.

I fall in the middle. I don't chase massive hits and open cases of the latest looking for Vlad Jr and Tatis and Wander Franco. But I don't get upset at people who do. Everyone collects for different reasons. Some to actually collect. Some to make money. Some to do both.

I recently bought an autograph of a Yankees prospect that I have no intention to keep.

It's not that I'm not a huge fan of him. I've been advocating for Clarke Schmidt for a long time. I have a lot of his cards, specifically autographs.

However, this one doesn't mean much to me. It's just another card. Emotionless. It's a sticker, it came from some on-demand product, and it's not one I particularly care to own. But Schmidt is having a fine spring and showing massive potential.

And it's numbered 7/10. That's nice. I have every intention of selling this card once he makes it to the majors or the hype train picks up while he's in the minors. And it might not. There's always risk, especially with pitchers. And Yankees pitching prospects. And he's a pitcher who had TJ Surgery before. It's a risk.

At worst, I bought a Yankees autograph for $24 that will sit in my collection. At best, I'll sell it for twice that or more and buy something I'd rather have, such as a Jorge Posada or Rickey Henderson autograph.

Investing? Hobby? Whichever. It's all gambling, and I just placed a futures bet on Mr. Schmidt, whether I keep the card or not.