Last Vestiges of Spring

That sounds ominous doesn’t it? Fear not, it’s really just more cards, and a follow up to my last post.

So, a couple weeks ago (as I think I mentioned), the wife’s car broke down. That drained my excess card money and put a stop to most of my card buying, at least for the foreseeable future. The problem with that was that I had bid on… oh.. 40 or so items on eBay literally the day before. They were all 6+ day auctions, so they starting closing last week and I didn’t really have the funds to pay for them. True to my intentions, and because I wanted to maintain a good eBay account, I scraped together enough to cover it all. I actually ended up only winning a couple, but I’m beginning to appreciate them much more than I had a week ago. Admittedly, I had a bit of the eBay fever. That needs to stop, hard and fast. Cold turkey even. So, I’m putting myself on a card diet. For May, I will try to refrain from any card purchases other than already committed to group breaks or trades with fellow collectors. No eBay, no COMC, no sportlots. It’s going to be pretty damn hard, but I think it’s doable. The only things coming out in May are the Olympic set, which I’m sure I can hold off on, Bowman, and Topps Archive which I have zero interest in. Series 2 comes out the first week of June. If I can hold off until then, I’ll be in better shape. Hopefully I can pick up a few freelance jobs between now and then. Anyone need a website worked on, or some photos taken?

Anyway, these are the last cards I bought for the spring (hence the title). I appreciate them far more now that I did when I was bidding on them. I know that seems silly, they are just cardboard, but perspective changes everything.

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My Weekend Didn’t Suck

I had neglected to mention this on Monday, and Tuesday was a blur, so here it is Wednesday and you guys are getting a “weekend update”. Yeah, way to stay on top of things Matt. Sheesh. So, Saturday morning I had a photo shoot with a nice couple for an engagement portrait. Everything went well, they loved the photos, and when I came home around lunch time, my mailbox was overflowing with stuff…

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Super Collecting

So, I’ve been thinking about this as a post topic for quite some time. My interests in cards lean primarily towards “the team” but include a good amount of “oooh, shiny” for good measure. Meaning, simply, I’m interested in mostly cheaper, regular cards but if a nifty one comes along for a reasonable price, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy it. That’s a wonderful theory, but a good amount of the time the “geek” factor kicks in whenever I (and we, as a whole) see super rare, ultra rookies McAwesome card and start to drool all over the “bid now” button on ebay. I’ve tried very hard to suppress that urge, mostly because I don’t have the money to “scratch that itch” so to speak.

There is an idea though, one subtle enough to not be dismissed entirely, that intrigues me. The idea of being a “Super Collector” for a player. Having that single player’s ultimate collection is an idea too tempting to not contemplate. Like thinking about lottery winnings before you’ve bought your ticket.

But who would you collect? If we’re staying within the realm of realism, there’s a couple points to consider. First, it has to be within your budget. I, and most people, don’t have the financial means to go after a super collection of Albert Pujols. Second, clearly it has to represent your interests. A collection for a team and/or player you hate simply won’t bring you any satisfaction. I will never be a Derek Jeter super collector. Third, and probably controversially, I would argue it needs to be a fairly modern player. Why? Because as hard as you try, there’s only 1 Mickey Mantle rookie card. You’re not going to find a regular version, a chrome version, and auto version, etc. This concept of course feeds the “Topps Monster” into making multiple variations of cards in the first place. It’s a vicious cycle.

No, it has to be someone semi-modern, probably mid-90′s and forward. That way there’s at least multiple cards from multiple companies to chase. There’s no fun in declaring that you have all of Player X’s rookie cards when only 1 exists. You also want it to be someone modern enough to have autographs and relics in the first place, and also someone who potentially still plays, increasing the future availability of more cards.

Personally it’s hard to come up with a list. Red Sox players, clearly, but someone like Pedroia or Ortiz is probably out of my price range. 1/1 or ultra-rare cards would sell for hundreds of dollars for those guys. Also, the relative availability of a rookie card, perhaps with an autograph, is less so with a major star. So, you’re looking for recent breakout players, who are still active, who are “good” by most definitions, who are well represented in cards in general, and who have potential down the road.

My personal choice would be someone like Clay Buchholz or Danny Bard. Not only do I think they’re good pitchers, there’s a good amount of cards available without most of them being insanely priced. Autographs and rookies are easily found, and there’s not decades of older cards to try and track down. But do I want to be a Buchholz super collector? Honestly, no, probably not (although I’m getting kinda close). It is an interesting question to think about though. I know there are plenty of you who do it, be it a Russell Martin, Nolan Ryan or Christian Friedrich collection.

So, what made you pick that player instead of one of your other favorites? Did you already have a bunch of cards and just decided to go for it, or was it a conscience decision from the beginning? What’s the hardest part about a super collection, and what do you do when you only have the super-rare left to find?

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2012 Gypsy Queens

I wanted to put together an entire post about this, mostly because I think it’s going to be one of the very very few sets where I go after the entire thing, and not just Red Sox. Well, that was the plan until some unexpected things wiped out my card money stash. So, here’s where I am:

Red Sox Base: Complete!

Thanks to multiple breaks, a blaster of my own, a couple trades, I have all the base cards covered, and even multiples of some.

Red Sox Inserts: Complete!

Thankfully, there are only 2 Red Sox in the insert sets, and they’re both in “Sliding Stars”. Ellsbury and Pedroia and I’ve got both. There aren’t any in Moonshots, Glove Stories, Future Stars or Hallmark Heroes.

Red Sox Base Short Prints: 2/4

I’ve got the Ellsbury and Pedroia short prints/photo variations. I still need Youk and Boggs.

Red Sox Minis: 3/17

I have Boggs, Ellsbury and Melancon as regular mini (with varying ‘backs’). I don’t really care about the red back/strait cut variations, I’ll take whatever I can find. I’m not going to do a set of each, but a combined set of the 17 would be great. There are 17 instead of 14 because there’s a #331 Beckett that’s a variation above and beyond the normal base 300, plus the two inserts (as minis). This is the first and only mini set I’ve ever been interested in finishing.

Red Sox Blue Paper Frames: 2/14

I have Beckett in hand, and Pedroia is being mailed via eBay and should be here soon. I love the look of these and I’m seriously wanting to chase down the other 12.

Red Sox Relics (Large): 3/7

I’ve already picked up the Ortiz, Lester and Youk full sized relics. Still looking for Fisk, Pedroia, Ellbury and Boggs.

Red Sox Mini Relics: 2/5

According to the checklist, there are 2 fewer mini relics than the large ones. I have the Ortiz and Youk mini relics already. Looking for Fisk, Lester and Boggs.

Red Sox Autographs: 1/5

I have the Daniel Bard auto on it’s way to me, which is realistically the only one I have a shot at owning. The price jump from Bard to the others is huge. For the record, I’m missing Gonzalez, Crawford, Fisk and Pedroia.

That’s where I’m at with my Red Sox Master Set. Base complete, and most others in various stages. I did put a good dent into the relics last week, and I think I’ll wait a bit to see if the prices cool down on the rest.

Entire Base Set:

I’m still trying to decide if I should pursue this or not. NOT counting the Red Sox, I’m currently I’m 74 of the 300 base cards (88 with the Sox) plus 2 Glove Stories, 2 Sliding Stars, 7 Future Stars, 3 Hallmark Heroes and 3 Moonshots. I also have 17 regular minis (various backs), 1 green and 2 black borders.

All that is hardly a dent in a master set. I do have some random cards coming from a break or two, which should put me over 100. That’s 1/3 of the way there. So, I guess I’m testing the waters a bit on this one. Below I’ll write out the list of the cards I HAVE. If you have any base cards for the numbers I don’t have OR if you desperately need some of the base I DO have, please let me know. If I get more responses from people wanting to get rid of their duplicate base and I think I can crack 150, I’ll keep going. If not, and people are looking to finish their sets, I’ll be more than happy to send what I have your way.

Base I Currently Have:

4, 9, 16, 17, 19, 24, 28, 29, 39, 40, 47, 53, 68, 78, 79, 81, 85, 91, 93, 97, 109, 110 (x2), 113, 114, 116, 123, 124, 129, 130, 131, 133 (x2), 134, 137, 144, 148, 155, 159, 165, 168, 172, 176, 182, 185, 186, 188, 195, 197, 199, 200, 204, 221, 224, 233, 239, 241, 249, 254, 265, 267, 269, 276 (x2), 282, 286, 288, 289 (x2), 290, 295, 298, 300.

Scans:

Yup, I’ve got scans. They’re after the break. I managed to find, with the help of this handy visual guide, a number of the short prints in my stack. I scanned those, the minis, and the two hits I got. I’m NOT putting together a master mini set, so these are all tradebait. Ask away if you’re interested.

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JABOs April Breaks

The breaks just kept on coming this month. Kyle at Juuust a Bit Outside (JABO) but together not one, not two, but three breaks this month and shipped the loot to me all at once. He busted a couple boxes of 2012 Gypsy Queens plus a metric ton of Topps Chrome from the late 90′s-early 2000′s. As I mentioned, I got all the cards at once, but I wanted to put together a separate post on Gypsy Queens, so I’ll just show off the Chrome for now. Fear not, my stunned silence on GQ will be broken with a post in the very near future.

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Dimwit Break Loot

A couple days ago I got the cards from this months group break from Sam over at The Daily Dimwit. He was busting boxes of Topps Gallery, Fleer, UD Vintage, Topps HD and Bazooka. Pretty much for the Gallery and HD alone I had to be in on this break. It did not disappoint.

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Weekly Influx

Another week, another small handful of purchases I probably shouldn’t be making. I look at it like this: If I’ve given myself a monthly budget of “less than a video game” and in 3 months time I’ve only spent $50 (according to my “recent purchases” on ebay), then by all accounts I’m within budget and I’m not breaking the bank. I do have to curtail it a bit, the wife’s car decided it would be a good week to die and it’s in the shop to the tune of $800 for a new transmission coil and some A/C work. So, that kind of puts a stop to the metric ton of Gypsy Queens I had planned to buy. Oh well.

Anyway, since this is probably the last week I can splurge a little on in the foreseeable future, I’m glad I went kinda big. A few eBay items, a trip to a LCS, some cards from COMC, all sorts of goodies. Then again, my definition of “big” is a $7 card, so, you know, temper your expectations…

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Oh coffee, thy cup is empty!

That would be the fancy way of saying that I’ve bought more cards this week than cups of morning coffee. Office (aka: terrible) coffee will have to suffice. I know, I know, it’s a terrible sacrifice to make, but these are lean times we’re in, and cards aren’t just going to buy themselves…

I’m doing this for future generations! Ok, not really, but I did get some neat cards this week.

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JABO Group Break #5

Kyle from Just a Bit Outside really hit the ground running in 2012 with back-to-back-to-back group breaks and more on the way. I managed to scrape together enough to get in on breaks #4, #5 and the upcoming Gypsy Queen break (for #6). Break #5 was a really wide selection of all sorts of years and brands. 2003 Bazooka, 2005 Topps Chrome, 2008 SP Authentic and 2003 Fleer Flair. I also decided to jump in and help fill this one out by taking a second team, the Angels, in hopes of getting a Lackey or Pujols hit. Here’s how I did…

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