Pen, plastic brings long lasting joy to Marlins fan
Jack Williams
JUPITER - “It’s just a hobby.”
For 38 years, Palm Beach native Kevin Duda has been sitting along the warning track with a Sharpie, a pen and his 1,200 various baseball cards.
“On a good day, I’ll get 80 signatures,” Duda said. “When I was a kid, I would get around 200 to 250. I have them all in albums and in alphabetical order.”
His collection of over 400,00 cards began out of curiosity. As a teenager in Miami, Duda spent his spring watching the Orioles at Miami Stadium and the Montreal Expos at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. After one game, he saw fans gathering up outside of the tunnel. The rest is history.
“I saw people getting their cards signed while I just had a piece of paper,” Duda said. “I thought it would be cool to have a card of the player and get it signed. Now, every Jan. 28, the cards come out, I buy a pack and I separate the teams out.”
With the experience in inking a ball or card, Duda has all aspects covered to get a players “John Hancock.” For cards, he recommends a Sharpie and for a ball, an old-fashioned pen. A Sharpie will wear out over the years on a ball where a pen will not.
Specifically, at Roger Dean after the fourth inning, he is lined up in the corner just behind the Marlins bench looking to catch a player for a scribble. Even after a player rejected Duda’s request, he is still lined up outside of the stadium, long after fans have left, to hopefully run into an MLB star.
While many might think Duda’s hobby takes away opportunities for younger fans, Duda said that’s not how he views it at all.
“You see video’s where the older gentleman is pushing kids over and I’m not like that,” Duda said. “I sat over in the corner with three kids and told them to always say thank you to the players and wish them a great season.”
With online stores such as eBay and Amazon, many fans look to sell their autographed merchandise rather than keep it. As cards can soar as high as $160, Duda says he isn’t in it for the money. He’s in it for the memories. From waiting hours to meet Hank Aaron to the swift swing of the marker from an older Joe DiMaggio, Duda’s hobby is creating moments he’ll never forget.
“When I look at them, I think back to my interaction with that player,” Duda said. “People ask me when I retire if I’m going to sell them and I tell them no. It’s just something I like to do.”
For 38 years, Palm Beach native Kevin Duda has been sitting along the warning track with a Sharpie, a pen and his 1,200 various baseball cards.
“On a good day, I’ll get 80 signatures,” Duda said. “When I was a kid, I would get around 200 to 250. I have them all in albums and in alphabetical order.”
His collection of over 400,00 cards began out of curiosity. As a teenager in Miami, Duda spent his spring watching the Orioles at Miami Stadium and the Montreal Expos at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. After one game, he saw fans gathering up outside of the tunnel. The rest is history.
“I saw people getting their cards signed while I just had a piece of paper,” Duda said. “I thought it would be cool to have a card of the player and get it signed. Now, every Jan. 28, the cards come out, I buy a pack and I separate the teams out.”
With the experience in inking a ball or card, Duda has all aspects covered to get a players “John Hancock.” For cards, he recommends a Sharpie and for a ball, an old-fashioned pen. A Sharpie will wear out over the years on a ball where a pen will not.
Specifically, at Roger Dean after the fourth inning, he is lined up in the corner just behind the Marlins bench looking to catch a player for a scribble. Even after a player rejected Duda’s request, he is still lined up outside of the stadium, long after fans have left, to hopefully run into an MLB star.
While many might think Duda’s hobby takes away opportunities for younger fans, Duda said that’s not how he views it at all.
“You see video’s where the older gentleman is pushing kids over and I’m not like that,” Duda said. “I sat over in the corner with three kids and told them to always say thank you to the players and wish them a great season.”
With online stores such as eBay and Amazon, many fans look to sell their autographed merchandise rather than keep it. As cards can soar as high as $160, Duda says he isn’t in it for the money. He’s in it for the memories. From waiting hours to meet Hank Aaron to the swift swing of the marker from an older Joe DiMaggio, Duda’s hobby is creating moments he’ll never forget.
“When I look at them, I think back to my interaction with that player,” Duda said. “People ask me when I retire if I’m going to sell them and I tell them no. It’s just something I like to do.”
