Cards
Former MLB pitcher J.J. Hoover bringing fun to hobby with new card shop
J.J. Hoover lived out one dream of playing professional baseball. Now, he’s living out a second dream of running his own hobby shop.
Hoover opened Hoov’s Hangout in the northern Kentucky town of Alexandria—just 15 minutes from downtown Cincinnati—on March 15. Hoover spent five of his seven MLB seasons pitching for the Reds. He found his way back to the Queen City area following his playing career in 2022.
After a hiatus from collecting during his big-league days, Hoover returned to his childhood habits and got into cards and eventually started up his own store.
“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and I’ve wanted to create something,” Hoover said. “After I left the big leagues, I didn’t realize how much I missed the community involvement and the involvement with people on a day-in and day-out basis. Not that I was a star by any means, but now I could get out of that limelight a little bit. It’s so life-giving to bring joy to people. That’s one of the great things about having a shop is I get to see joy day in and day out of people coming in and having fun with the hobby.”
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It's all about fun at Hoov’s Hangout. And what’s more fun for a former athlete than to get into the hobby?
“I think the fact that there’s a limited number of hobby shops and card shops out there and outside of Tom Brady—there might be a couple others—but there’s not a whole lot of guys like me that have played at the highest level and now are collecting and helping people collect,” Hoover said.
Hoover, 37, got into selling cards online two and a half years ago. He decided to expand his operation and open a full-fledged hobby shop.
“I just wanted to rally whoever wanted to be in the community, in the ripping room or the chat room with us, having fun, supporting each other, celebrating each collector’s wins and failures, because you’re going to get your strikeouts, too,” Hoover said. “It became all about community-based and outreach. And now being back in the city where I had my longest tenure in big-league time in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, it’s been awesome. Just what a refreshing way to start a new chapter of my life.”
A TRUE HANGOUT
When Hoover opened in mid-March, there weren’t any other hobby shops within 20 minutes. However, within two months, a couple popped up. Hoover wasn’t expecting that, but he knows it’s a positive for the hobby.
Hoover’s shop features 3,500 square feet of show floor on the main level. He also has 800 square feet downstairs to use for his shipping operation as well as a breaking area.
“We have enough seating for 80-plus people to rip packs, play their games. I’ve just installed a mini Jumbotron-esque array of TVs,” Hoover said. “We’re still building out. We’re far from a finished product. But we’ve got a really nice retail space that I’m very proud of, a singles selection that’s growing every week, and it’s just a clean, bright environment to hang out and enjoy the hobby.”
Hoover made it a point to have a modern-day shop that’s attractive to customers and a gathering place.
“I didn’t want to be the old version of a card shop,” Hoover said. “I wanted to be modern and welcoming. A place where you can hang out, hence why I named my space what I did, Hoov’s Hangout. I want people to come, watch a Reds game, watch their favorite team, watch Pokémon world and be able to enjoy those levels of things.”
Taking a tour through Hoov’s Hangout, anyone who enters via the front door is met by a high-end case of the shop’s best and rarest cards. Work deeper into the store and there is a wall dedicated to wax and singles of sports cards. On the opposite wall are display cases and shelving that holds sealed TCG products, including Pokémon, Lorcana and Magic the Gathering.
Hoover prides himself on having a great selection of baseball, football, basketball, hockey and TCG cards. He wants to be a one-stop shop for any collector’s needs.
“My motto is, ‘Your hobby, your hangout,’” Hoover said. “If you want to collect it, I want to try and have it in my shop. One of the most fun rips that I’ve had recently was doing a National Treasures NASCAR box.”
COLLECTING PHASES
Hoover is in the second phase of his collecting days. When he was a kid, he bought baseball, football, hockey and Pokémon cards. He still has a significant amount of sealed Pokémon product he purchased in 1999.
Hoover would mow lawns in his neighborhood, and then go buy packs of cards. Nowadays, he tries to make it enjoyable for kids to collect.
“I try and have everything from the high-end boxes and packs from certain products, because some kids will come in and kids don’t have the money—unless their parents give them the money—but they don’t have $150 for a hobby box or a booster box of Pokémon, and neither did I as a kid,” Hoover said. “I make it a point to have individual packs and a good assortment of individual packs for every genre. If a kid comes in and he only has $5-$10 to spend, I want him to be able to get something and have some fun.”
Hoover didn’t collect cards while he was playing at the MLB level because it wasn’t a big hobby for players even 10 years ago.
“It wasn’t as well accepted as it is now,” Hoover said. “When I was in the big leagues, I was always fighting to belong. I earned it and when I was in the game it was more of that old-school feel. I didn’t want to step on any toes, so I wasn’t involved in the hobby.”
Being a player and collector is now cool. Guys like Mike Trout, Bobby Witt Jr., Matt Strahm and Corbin Carroll have made it acceptable at the highest level.
“I think it’s fantastic, I really do,” Hoover said. “It’s one of the things that I really love about where the game is right now and the hobby is right now. It’s every kid’s dream to be on a baseball card, and the few guys that actually get to make it and play in the big leagues and especially star level talent like Trout and those guys, to see them enjoying the cards that they have, because I only had a handful of cards in my career. Trout gets multiple cards a year.”
GIVING BACK
With his hobby shop doing well, Hoover wants to give back to the Cincinnati area, which has been so great to him over the years. He’s looking into creating a charitable aspect to his business.
“When I played for the Reds, I did a lot of work with Children’s Hospital here and I always made it a point to do stuff with like the Miracle Leagues and the Joe Nuxhall Foundation,” Hoover said. “Wherever I lived, I tried to give back to the community, and I’m working on trying to build that part of our brand and the community outreach there. So, that’s a big goal for me and that’s a big kind of like a non-negotiable of something that we’re going to integrate in.”
The collecting community in the area has also been great to Hoover. There is already a stable base of collectors who rely on Hoover for all their hobby needs.
“Alexandria and the surrounding communities have been so welcoming. The city of Alexandria’s been awesome,” Hoover said. “We had a great grand opening on the Friday after the Reds’ Opening Day. The community and the regulars have definitely been growing, and that’s great to see. But what’s been awesome—and I appreciate this so much—people are driving from hours away to come see the shop that a former big leaguer has. I’m so thankful for that.”
