The Joy Of Collecting The World Series Champions

Here’s to Ernie Banks. Here’s to Ron Santo. Here’s to Ryne Sandberg and Bob Dernier. Here’s to Milt Pappas and Jose Cardenal. Here’s to Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse. Here’s to your mothers and fathers and grandpas and grandmas who waited their entire lives, and even those who lived a whole life with out what we now have. Here’s to those who dedicated their summers to the bleachers of Wrigley Field, along Sheffield and Waveland.

- Ryan Cracknell

Here’s to the children who will never understand what was meant by the lovable losers — you know, the team with lots of personality and heart but never seemed to have the pieces to win it all.

The Chicago Cubs are World Series Champions. Next year has finally arrived.

While there’s bound to be plenty of intrigue as to what this all means for prices of Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber Rookie Cards, this isn’t that piece. This is a love song to baseball and how the 2016 World Series is going to make me appreciate some of my cards a little more.

Even if you’re not a Cubs fan, it’s hard to deny that the magic of the moment. Seven games filled with epic comebacks, big names doing big things, and lesser names doing bigger things.

They all converged for a moment 108 years in the making.

Sitting there, watching the game, it reminded me what I love about baseball cards. No matter what happens in the years ahead — at least 30 of them, at least — these players are heroes. It’s not just Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo, either.