Why I Was Rooting Against Matt Harvey

While Matt Harvey was hurling another gem, perfect through 4, through 5, through 6, I secretly found myself rooting against him, hoping someone would get a hit.
Two reasons for this, first of all, I got the sense the Mets weren't going to score a run and I didn't want to see him become the second Harvey to pitch 9 (or more) perfect innings and not get the win, or the perfect game, because his team didn't score.
But secondly, I didn't want to have to sell my Matt Harvey 2010 Bowman Chrome autographed rookie card. I shrewdly bought it during the offseason for $22, $24 with shipping. And now the card is selling for upwards of $100 on eBay. If he'd pitched a perfect game I would have had to list the card, and probably could have gotten $150 for it.



Financially that seems like a no-brainer, but emotionally I want to hang on to this Harvey card and pass it on to my kids. I am lucky to have two boys who will hopefully inherit my love of collecting baseball cards, and if they're unlucky, my love of the Mets too. What better way to lure them into the pain and misery of being a Mets fan than to give them a very nice card of the Mets best pitcher.
And if I were collecting baseball cards in order to turn a profit, I would be failing miserably (though I have been pretty close to cash flow neutral for the past 6-8 years because of a $1600 Roger Clemens rookie I sold) and probably would be better off giving up.
Instead, I collect for the fun of it, for the joy of opening packs, for the pleasure of buying low and selling high (or keeping as the case may be), and I finance my addiction by selling cards I don't really want. Not the ones I want to treasure forever. So I'm glad Harvey didn't pitch that perfect game, now I can keep his rookie card. For now.