I have trouble understanding folks who don’t like baseball – that luxuriously paced, summer lawn game we call the nation’s pastime.

Baseball is so civilized, and so quintessentially American.

It’s a team sport, yes, but each man gets his time at bat.
Like life in America, there really is no down time in baseball. Its slow times are filled with discussion, speculation, nervous energy, and its fast times are explosively frenetic, thrilling, and even breathtakingly exciting. What’s not to like.

Most of all, however, baseball is about history, nostalgia, statistics, and the characters and personalities that made it all happen. And as such, it is a game tailor-made for the antique market.

Baseball will never be as innocent as our memories of it. But when we were kids in the bleachers the furthest things from our minds were the 1919 Black Sox, what a louse Ty Cobb was, the way Jackie Robinson was treated, corked bats, Pete Rose betting on his own team, and now steroids.

Baseball memorabilia is something you should feel comfortable about buying. It’s wonderful stuff to have around – to decorate the office, bar or den, to share with your children or other young relatives. These things make great conversation pieces, too, and few things, for some of us at least, evoke such powerful nostalgia.

That’s why you’re better off buying those things that have personal meaning for you. Don’t fall into the trap of buying for investment. The best investment you can make is in your own joy of owning memorable moments of your youth. Do that, and the money will take care of itself.

There are plenty of affordable pieces of baseball memorabilia still on the market. You won’t see much of it listed in the price guides, because it’s not the stuff that makes the news. Also, don’t forget to look for baseball-related decorative items – plates, mugs, prints, etc. and crossover collectibles like lighters, pens, pen knives, cigarette cases, ashtrays, advertising art, and other items.

Appraisals for some special items of baseball memorabilia: Baseball, team signed, 1954 Brooklyn Dodgers ($1,700); Program, All Star Game, at Philadelphia, 1943 ($500); Program, World Series, at Philadelphia, 1950 ($250); Baseball Card: Willie Mays, Rookie, 1951 ($2,000); Mickey Mantle, Rookie, 1951 ($7,500-$8,000); Roberto Clemente, 1955 ($1,200); Pennant, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1949 ($550-600); Ticket stub, All Star Game, Yankee Stadium, 1939 ($700).

Arthur Schwerdt is a certified appraiser and co-owner of The August Farmhouse Antiques on Route 9 in Swainton.