“I’ll have the hot tongue,” he tells the waitress, sharply but politely. “On rye.” It’s obvious this is no meek, reclusive hobbyist. In fact, one of the cards in his collection is his own. The man possessing the only known perfect-condition rookie cards of Roberto Clemente, Stan Musial, Pete Rose, Reggie Jackson and many other luminaries was known during his 13-year playing career as “Da Meat Hook.” He’s Dmitri Young, slimmed down, smiling and back in Camarillo, the farm-flecked suburb of Los Angeles where he grew up.
For the next 90 minutes, between bites of beef tongue and slugs of diet cola, Young describes his pride and joy. He recalls his first card and his last, how he was ripped off early on and became a savvy buyer by the end. He describes the cards closest to his heart, the cards that kept him sane when his unhealthy lifestyle nearly killed him, and the cards of relatively obscure players who made an imprint on his career.
He details how he learned the quirks of the company that grades cards and establishes their value. He gives thanks for an activity that began as a diversion and became an obsession. And he explains that he plans to sell the collection next month to help launch a baseball school and nonprofit foundation that will serve Camarillo and other towns in Ventura County, Calif.