Infielder
Darren Fenster played five seasons in the Royals organization, hitting .267 with 5 HR and 179 RBI in 458 games. Now the manager of the
Gulf Coast Red Sox and writer of the youth baseball instruction blog
Coaching Your Kids, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.
"Back in the day, shortly after my cousin gave me my first set, a
1987 Topps collection in a binder, divided up team by team, I became an
avid card collector. Initially for those first couple years, my older
brother and I would buy wax boxes of different brands, and put them
together in a binder just as our cousin had done previously. When the
1989 Upper Deck set came out, we became enamored with card value, and
went from organizing them into a sleeve for a binder, to keeping them in
their original box to keep them in the best condition. We'd go to card
shows every couple months along the Jersey Shore, and loved getting
what we thought was a great deal on a rare series of cards (like Donruss
Studio or Topps Stadium). Our collection died down as soon as we got
into high school (right around 1993-94), but for a solid six years, we
were really into the baseball card "scene". What's neat now, while
currently working for the Red Sox and having played and coached in the
game for the past 13 years, is coming across guys as colleagues and
opposing coaches/instructors whose cards I still have to this day.
A couple individual cards that still stick out in my
mind are the 1984 Topps Mark McGwire Olympic card, and the Bo Jackson
1989 Score card with the bat over his shoulders in football pads. The
McGwire card was a big deal because it was so rare.
The Jackson card was just cool, and
unlike any other- I think the back of it only said "BO" in big letters.
Personally, I absolutely love the first card ever
made for me, which from 2000 with the Spokane Indians. I
am not sure if it's my favorite because it was my first card, or because
it's a picture I really like or what... but it was taken prior to my
very first professional AB. I know this because it was the only game I
wore eye black, and I hit a triple in my first at bat, and slid into
third which obviously made my uniform dirty. Having such a huge moment
caught on a card was and still is a pretty big deal to me.
My other favorite personal card is a Topps Heritage
card from 2005. I really like the throwback
design, not to mention the card having two photos on it. Being that I
did collect cards as a kid, it was very surreal to learn that Topps made
a card of me- a friend emailed me the day they went on sale in the
winter of 2005. I'm not sure if they still do this, but soon after
signing with the Royals, Topps offered every professional player a $5.00
contact which basically allowed them permission to use your likeness in
a card or promotion. No one ever cashed the check, because it was for
five bucks, and more a novelty coming from the original card company in
Topps. Once they did actually make a card of me, I had a check for
$1500 waiting for me in the clubhouse... apparently that was part of the
deal. Needless to say that was a pretty cool surprise."
