Bryce Harper, a player for the Philadelphia Phillies, is beginning to build his own baseball card collection with assistance from teammate Matt Strahm. Although collecting cards is a new experience for Harper, Strahm has been active in the hobby and recently reached out on social media to fans who might have rare or unique Harper cards.
Strahm posted: “Anyone with low pop/rare Harper cards that is interested in trading him game-used memorabilia (batting gloves, bats, cleat) for them comment the card below. Going to help get his collections started.”
Harper explained his lack of previous interest in collecting: “I never collected cards growing up or anything like that,” he said. “My dad definitely had baseball cards and stuff, but I never really collected them.”
He added about his new motivation: “It’s just more my own cards than anything else,” Harper said. “I’ve never had anything like that, so I think it’d be cool. Strahmer was like, ‘I’ll throw out a tweet’ and I was like, ‘All right, we’ll see what comes from that.'”
The response to Strahm’s post was significant, with many fans sharing photos of their Harper cards. Strahm commented on the overwhelming reaction by replying to one fan: “I’ve started a fire I can’t contain.”
Harper’s first step into collecting began after Texas Rangers reliever Shawn Armstrong sent him some cards to sign. One of those was a limited edition card numbered 3 of 50—matching Harper’s jersey number—which led to an exchange between the two players.
“Shawn Armstrong from the Rangers sent me over a couple to sign, but one of them was numbered — and it was No. 3 of 50,” Harper said. “So I liked that it was No. 3, because it’s my number, obviously. So I asked him if he’d be willing to trade me something for it, and he did. So that was really cool of him.”
This trade could mark the beginning of a larger personal collection for Harper as Strahm continues sorting through fan submissions.
Harper admitted he has not kept much memorabilia from his career so far: “I’m not super into getting stuff signed — I’ve just never really been into that,” he said. “Like I don’t ask guys for bats or cleats or gloves or jerseys or stuff like that. I’ve thought about certain things that I’d maybe want, but I don’t keep a lot of my stuff.
“Honestly, I wish I would have more when I first got to the big leagues. I threw away so much stuff. You know, just like tossed it in the trash and didn’t even think about it. My wife always talks to me about it, she’s like, ‘What are you doing? Keep this stuff, it’s really cool to have and [our kids] might want it.'”
With support from Strahm and encouragement from family members, Harper now plans to hold onto more items related to his playing days.
