In recent months, YouTube personality Logan Paul and his content collaborator Stryker have gained notoriety and criticism for their controversial “baseball card breaking” videos. In these videos, which often run 30 minutes or longer, Logan Paul and Stryker open boxes upon boxes of vintage baseball cards in search of valuable cards they can resell for a profit. Along the way, countless common cards are ripped, crushed, bent and otherwise damaged beyond repair.
This destruction of collectibles has understandably upset longtime baseball card collectors. Vintage cards from the 1950s and 1960s in particular that are broken in the videos represent invaluable pieces of baseball history and nostalgia to many. As interest in retro sports memorabilia has boomed in recent years, low-print run cards from that era have grown exceedingly rare and valuable. To see so many ripped apart so callously is tough to stomach for collectors.
Logan Paul and Stryker defend their breaking videos by arguing they are providing entertainment and excitement for their viewers. They also note that while damaging cards may upset some, they are the rightful owners of the products they purchase and can do with them what they please. They emphasize they are taking financial risks by opening these vintage boxes blindly without knowing their contents in advance. If big hits are not found, they stand to lose money.
Critics counter, however, that the monetary value of many damaged cards far exceeds the cost of the unopened boxes. By needlessly destroying cards en masse during the breaking process simply for views and likes, Logan Paul and Stryker are disrespecting the history, nostalgia and collector community that supports the hobby. They also argue that more responsible options exist to entertain viewers without obliterating collectibles, such as simply showing cards briefly on camera before setting aside common ones undamaged.
The baseball card breaking debate intensified in June 2020 when Stryker uploaded a video titled “LOGAN PAUL SENDS ME $10,000 OF RARE BASEBALL CARDS…TO DESTROY.” In the video, Logan Paul ships Stryker several boxes containing a mixture of individually ten-dollar modern cards alongside various rare, vintage cards potentially worth hundreds or thousands. Over 30 grueling minutes, Stryker rips into packs and litters his desk and floor with the shredded remains of dozens upon dozens of cards, both common and astoundingly rare, including 1969 Topps Rookie Stars cards of Tom Seaver, Reggie Jackson and Carl Yastrzemski.
Stryker defends himself in the video by arguing the cards were shipped to him specifically to destroy and that Logan Paul has more than enough money to “handle the losses.” To collectors across social media, purposefully annihilating so much vintage cardboard crossed an indefensible line. Petitions demanding YouTube remove the video gained tens of thousands of signatures. Even prominent sports media members like WFAN radio host Mike Francesa piled on, calling Stryker’s actions “heartless” and “a desecration of baseball history.”
Controversy over destructive baseball card breaking videos is unlikely to subside, as the practice remains immensely popular amongst younger viewers who may not share the same collector sensibilities. Ultimately, it speaks to larger disagreements over generational shifts in how nostalgic ephemera is perceived and handled. To some, damaged cards represent wasted financial opportunities. But to others, especially those who grew up admiring the depicted ballplayers in an earlier era, the broken cards symbolize something more viscerally upsetting – the perceivable ruining of memories and a connection to the past.
Logan Paul and Stryker, unsurprisingly, remain defiant and deny any real wrongdoing. They allege their critics fail to understand they are simply participating in a business where excitement and risky collecting gambles drive viewership. Considering the deep passion many collectors have for preserving baseball’s history, and the sheer quantities of cards wantonly torn apart, the pair would be wise to take their audience’s viewpoint into account as well going forward. More responsible approaches exist that could continue engaging viewers without crushing collectibles in the process. Whether they opt for such an altered model remains doubtful but could go a long way in quelling an unusually passionate hobby-based backlash.
While destroying property they own is their legal right, the legacy and memories encapsulated in vintage cardboard holds immense meaning for many that transcends mere ownership or entertainment value. As the debate rages on, one thing is clear – Logan Paul and Stryker’s controversial brand of “breaking” will continue evoking raw emotions from collectors who feel they are defacing the very items tugging at our collective nostalgia for a storied pastime. When seen through that lens, it is easier to understand the fervor of those arguing some cards are simply too precious to smash.