Matt Joyce on baseball cards

Outfielder Matt Joyce has played ten seasons in the major leagues hitting 131 HR for the Tigers, Rays, Angels, Pirates and A's. He is currently with Oakland, and last year hit .243 with 25 HR and 68 RBI for them. He kindly answered my questions on baseball cards.

"I used to collect cards when I was younger and still have some to this day. I would grab the change off my dad's dresser and run to the local store to see which ones they had, then usually buy a couple. Most of the time they were Ken Griffey Jr cards, he was my favorite player growing up and I actually got to play against him in the big leagues! I was too nervous to talk to him then but met him later when he was retired and I was playing for the Rays. 

I would say there was a clear Griffey card that I had that was my favorite, that and his rookie card. I used to lock them away and tape them in a box so they were protected, then a week later I would take them out and look at them again. 

My dad collects more memorabilia than I do now and I’m pretty sure he has all my baseball cards. Which is really cool to see how many different ones there are and share that hobby with him."

Thanks!