In support of hoarding

By Dan | @dgood73

The box was full of junk wax, those 1980s and 1990s cards that documented your childhood.

Sooz had acquired the cards, and after going through the contents a few times through the years, she assumed there wasn't anything good inside.

As a self-described card hoarder and junk wax aficionado, I had to find out for myself.

The obligatory Larry Walker rookie card (1990 Fleer) was located inside, along with far too many LaTroy Hawkins cards (the picture from that 1995 Collector's Choice is burned into memory).

Some late 1990s and early 2000s cards were mixed in, and one caught my eye, a shiny card from 1997.

Bowman Chrome International R.A. Dickey - his rookie year.

This card would have been easy to ignore at any point during the past decade, just another faded prospect who never fulfilled his big-league promise.

And then R.A. Dickey went knuckle-crazy on us, collecting 20 wins and a Cy Young award this past season at age 37.

So a card worth a dollar or two is now selling online for $40.

If I was interested in parting with the card, I would do so now - Dickey's hype and attention may never reach this level again.

But he's one of my favorites, someone I've been following since he posed for his Bowman close-up. I was always hopeful he would develop into a front-line starter, or at least a consistent Major Leaguer, during his time with Texas. While that didn't come to fruition, I continued to check his status from time to time as he wove through the Brewers, Mariners and Twins systems.

He made it to the Mets. He maintained his poise. He started winning. He co-wrote a book about his life, a powerful, transcendent gesture that exposed his demons - and helped him reach his inner potential.

So I'm keeping the R.A. Dickey. It's special to me.

I'm keeping those LaTroy Hawkins cards, also. They represent moments of excitement and wonder, pieces of lingering childhood, glimmers of Major League dreams.

And who knows about LaTroy's full cardboard potential? After all, he was still pitching in the big leagues last year ...