Some teens collect games, cards, sneakers, or certain kinds of knick knacks, but Graysen Stenstrom has an unusual hobby in which he collects some curious items.
The Parsons High School sophomore collects lineup cards, among other papers, and while some may not deem his collection of any great monetary value, it is one of a kind and special to him.
Asked how many lineup cards he has, Graysen said, “A thousand probably. They are my favorite.”
Graysen’s father Jeremy Stenstrom said Graysen has always liked going to sporting events and enjoyed collecting the receipts or any other paperwork from people at the games he’d attend.
“Then he got to being around the football coaches and they had plays and he’d collect plays. And then we got to baseball, and he wanted all the lineups from every team, all of our teams (youth and high school) and some teams from the college,” Mr. Stenstrom said. “He’d go to each dugout and ask for the coaches' lineup cards, and they'd be like ‘Okay,’ and start handing them to him. So he just started bringing them home and they are in a big box.’
Every now and then, Mr. Stenstrom said, they have to sort through them. Some of the cards have gotten so worn out from Graysen handling them often, you can’t read them.
Some Graysen likes so much he’ll fall asleep looking at them.
What is the big draw? It’s simple.
“Because they are cool,” Graysen said.
Each lineup card tells a story. They have all the players listed on the card, where they are in the batting lineup at the top of the innings, their positions, substitutes, and sometimes coaches notes.
A few weeks ago, Graysen’s collection became even more cool, when he had the chance to add to his collection his first lineup card from a professional team.
The opportunity presented itself when Mr. Stenstrom, a coach with the local Travel Baseball Teams, took their traveling team to Springfield, as the coaches do every year. The young ball players get to go out on Hammons Field with the pro ballplayers, in their matched positions, and they get to stand with them through the National Anthem. Given that slight familiarity with the team, Mr. Stenstrom asked one of the men coordinating the event if he thought Graysen might be able to get the Cardinals' lineup card after the game.
“He said, ‘Yea, we will try to get him one,’” Mr. Stenstrom said. “That’s where I thought it would stop. It was like cool, he is going to get a lineup card.
“Well, then when we went down there he said, ‘The manager (Jose Leger) wants to see him.’ So we took (Graysen) over to the manager and the manager asked him, ‘Do you want to go out there with me and take the card to the umpires?’ Graysen was excited. They took him out there to give the umpire the lineup card and took him down in the dugout. The players gave him fist bumps and he gave the umpire a hug. It all just started from asking if he could have a lineup card.”
Graysen received the small lineup card and a large lineup card that was hanging in the Cardinals’ dugout, in addition to other team giving Graysen their lineup card, too, doubling his excitement.
“And I got a whole bunch of tickets and the programs,” Graysen said.
These three lineup cards aren't going in the collection box. Mr. Stenstrom said they are framing them for Graysen to put on his wall, so he can see them all the time. Afterall, you never know what the future may bring.
“One of those players could end up in the Hall of Fame,” Mr. Stenstrom said.
Graysen is now very excited for the possibility of expanding his pro lineup card collection.
Next up, he said, he really wants to go to a Kansas City Royals game and get lineup cards from one of their games. He’s been to see three Royals’ games before, but never had the opportunity to ask for a lineup card. He hopes to change that on his next visit.
After that, he said, his heart is set on a lineup card from “the Cubs.”
From there, the possibilities are open to whatever pro teams are ready to “Play Ball” and are willing to share their lineup cards with Graysen.
(Note: A video of Graysen’s visit with the Springfield Cardinals can be found on the PHS or USD 503 Facebook page or the Springfield Cardinals’ Facebook page.)