Baseball cards have played an interesting role as a plot device and symbol in the hit AMC TV show Better Call Saul. While not a central focus of the show’s storyline, baseball cards have provided insight into main character Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman’s character and background. Let’s take a deeper look at how baseball cards have been featured in Better Call Saul.
Jimmy has had a lifelong fascination with baseball cards that can be traced back to his childhood. In several flashback scenes set in the 1970s, young Jimmy is seen obsessively collecting and trading baseball cards with his friends. Baseball card collecting was hugely popular during this era as the hobby exploded in popularity. Seeing Jimmy so engrossed in collecting cards helps establish his backstory and shows he had a passion for something relatively innocent as a kid before his later criminal escapades as Saul.
Jimmy’s baseball card collecting continued into his adult life, showing it was more than just a passing childhood phase. In the present day scenes of Better Call Saul, Jimmy’s apartment is shown to contain a sizable collection of cards neatly stored in binders. His card collection is a point of pride for him and a reminder of happier times. However, Jimmy has also shown a willingness to use his prized baseball cards for shady purposes when needed.
In one pivotal scene, a low point for Jimmy finds him pawning off many of his baseball cards to come up with quick cash. Seeing Jimmy reluctantly part with cards that held deep sentimental value was a heartbreaking moment that underscored just how desperate he had become. It symbolized Jimmy hitting rock bottom and resorting to sacrificing something from his childhood in order to scrape by financially in the present. Surrendering his baseball cards showed Jimmy was willing to part with any last remnants of his former honest self in order to survive.
Jimmy has also used his knowledge and collection of baseball cards for cons and schemes. In one memorable cold open, Jimmy scams a customer at the copy shop he works at by pretending to find an extremely valuable baseball card mixed in with the man’s copies. Jimmy spins an elaborate tale about the card’s history and rarity to dupe the guy into paying a high price for it. While deceptive, the scene highlights Jimmy’s gift for storytelling and ability to think on his feet. It also taps into the real-life mystique and monetary value that top baseball cards can hold for collectors.
Better Call Saul has also used baseball cards as a way to flesh out the character of young Chuck McGill, Jimmy’s disapproving older brother. In flashbacks, young Chuck is seen bonding with Jimmy over their shared interest in collecting cards. However, Chuck takes things far more seriously by meticulously cataloging his collection and researching stats and players. This establishes Chuck as the more studious and ambitious brother even from a young age. His rigid approach to baseball cards foreshadows how Chuck would grow into a disciplined but emotionally closed off lawyer.
The falling out between Chuck and Jimmy is a major storyline in Better Call Saul, and their differing views on baseball cards has provided insight into their sibling rivalry. Where Jimmy collected cards mostly for fun, Chuck saw them as an investment and took pride in amassing a complete set of a particular year or brand. When Jimmy damages some of Chuck’s prized mint condition cards during a childhood fight, it drives a permanent wedge between them. Chuck never forgives Jimmy for what he views as wanton destruction of his valuable property. Their argument over the baseball cards hints at deeper-seated resentments between the two brothers and how Chuck never fully accepted Jimmy.
Even minor Better Call Saul characters have been developed through their connection to baseball cards. In one episode, Jimmy represents former baseball player “Doc” Putterman in a legal matter. Through their meeting, viewers learn that Putterman was a mediocre pitcher who only achieved brief fame after being featured on a rookie baseball card that became a collector’s item years later. His sad story of fading into obscurity except for one lucky break with a baseball card is almost tragic. It shows how the hobby can sometimes be the only thing that gives some athletes any lasting notoriety.
In the end, baseball cards have served as an effective symbolic thread that runs through Jimmy/Saul’s backstory in Better Call Saul. They represent his happier childhood before life sent him down a criminal path. Jimmy’s willingness to part with his beloved card collection underscores pivotal moments of desperation. And the McGill brothers’ differing views on cards hints at the roots of their lifelong rivalry. Even minor characters have been fleshed out through their baseball card connections. While just a small part of the rich tapestry that is Better Call Saul, the show’s use of baseball cards as plot devices and symbols of its characters has been quite ingenious.
