Toronto Blue Jays' right fielder Myles Straw estimates five to seven players on the team are active baseball card collectors.Matt Krohn/The Associated Press
Two black storage boxes perched on top of each other sit inside Tommy Nance’s locker in the Toronto Blue Jays’ dressing room. Within them are rows of baseball cards and a sprinkling of Pokémon cards encased in holders to maintain their condition.
Across from Nance’s stall is Myles Straw’s, who has taken up the pitcher’s hobby. Including the pair, Straw – who keeps his collection at home in Florida – estimates five to seven Blue Jays “legitimately” collect cards.
The Garden Grove, Calif., product said the itch started last year.
Nance had an urge to open wax while the club was in Pittsburgh. He bought some boxes, and the shipment arrived. Sitting in the visiting locker room, Nance started opening.
“A few of the guys were like, ‘Oh let me rip a pack,’” Nance recalled. “So, I let guys rip a couple of packs, and then we get back home, and all of a sudden, guys are wanting to get into it.”
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The players source cards from local Toronto shops, eBay, Instagram and other sites. Sometimes, players bid against each other in the locker room.
The reason Nance keeps some of his collection at the Rogers Centre is twofold.
“This is whatever I felt I could sell to some of the guys here,” Nance said, pointing to his stall. “It’s also stuff that I’ve pulled while here. One of those [boxes] was empty when I got here.”
Nance and his teammates didn’t get a chance to grow their collection at the Toronto Sports Card Expo. The expo, which states it is “Canada’s largest and longest-running show for all cards & collectibles,” ran from April 30 to May 3.
The expo is an opportunity for people like Straw and Nance to grow their respective personal collections. Instead of perusing tables lined with hundreds to thousands of sports and Pokémon cards at The International Centre in Mississauga, Ont., the pair played a four-game series in Minnesota against the Twins.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Tommy Nance stores baseball cards in his locker, often selling them to teammates.William Liang/Reuters
“I’m sad,” Straw said. “I talked to some buddies back at home about it, and I’ve never been to a card show. I thought that would be a good one to go to.”
Nance echoed his teammate’s disappointment.
“I’m bummed,” he said. “I’ve never been, and I see videos of people selling and buying at them. It’d be fun to walk around and try to find some pieces that I’m missing.”
Both Blue Jays prefer nabbing vintage baseball cards of all-time greats, modern legends and teammates.
“I do the vintage stuff; it makes me nostalgic,” Nance said. “It reminds me of when I was a kid saving up chore money to go down to the comic book store to buy a pack.”
Growing up, Nance, 35, never worried about how pristine his cards were.
“I used half of my cards to clip them into my bike spokes to make it sound like a motorcycle,” he said.
Like Nance, Straw grew up collecting Pokémon cards.
Toronto Blue Jays' catcher Tyler Heineman was inspired to resume a childhood hobby after seeing Straw and Nance collect last year. He has a mix of vintage and newer baseball cards.Kayla Wolf/The Associated Press
“I remember going to the red barn like it was yesterday. My dad bought me a Charizard, and I’ll always remember that moment,” Straw said, adding that he wishes he still had the card.
Straw, 31, has cards of his own in various sets. While he doesn’t think “it’s a big deal,” he still collects some for his kids.
“I can give them to my girls in the future so they can remember their dad when he was once, maybe, semi-cool,” he said.
Nance has no licensed MLB cards, but that may change. While nothing is confirmed, he heard he may be in an upcoming set.
“I’ve already had people say if they pull my one-of-one, they’ll come give it to me,” Nance said. “It’ll just be base bards and numbered parallels, but it’d be fun to get those. I know my brother would probably be going crazy trying to find them.”
Nance and his brother co-run a small online buying-and-selling business under the name Rocky Mountain Rips.
“He does most of the legwork,” Nance said. “He’s the one doing all the selling, shopping and packing. He’s done a really good job branding it.”
Nance views collecting as both a hobby and an investment. While the cards, especially the vintage assortment, will likely appreciate each passing year, it’s also “a piece of history” that he may eventually “hand off” to his kids one day.
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Tyler Heineman, who was inspired to resume a childhood hobby after seeing Straw and Nance collect last year, has a mix of vintage and newer baseball cards.
“I want to collect guys that I’ve played against, that I like watching and I think are good,” Heineman said. “And cards that I’m guessing will hold their value.”
Heineman, 34, is selective about what he purchases. If it looks appealing and is of someone he’s played with or against, he’ll consider it.
“But as far as spending any sort of money, it’s going to be someone that has some value behind it,” he said.
For Straw, it’s a fun hobby to share with his teammates. While there’s no competition over who has the best collection in the locker room, there is one goal Straw has to keep him content.
“As long as we have better cards than Heineman, I think we’re all good,” Straw, with Heineman sitting behind him in Toronto’s locker room, said jokingly with a smirk. “But no, everyone’s got unique stuff.
“Tommy’s the one that got me back into Pokémon, so it all leads back to Tommy.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article included an incorrect photo of pitcher Tommy Nance.