2011 Here We Come!!!

It's new year's eve. My sister's birthday (happy birthday Migz!!!) And the year that was 2010 is now drawing ever so closer to an end. By the time this post appears, I will be taking my family to the zoo and enjoying the weather (it may be cloudy and possibly rainy, but it will be in the low 50's...in JANUARY!!!)

Anyway, the point of this post is basically to review the past year's triumphs and failures and what the direction of this blog is going to be.

The Topps Card Randomizer crashed in mid-October (realistically, it crashed in August and didn't quite recover). The good news is that it is now back up and running, and will now include cards from 2010 Topps and Topps Update Series (Yay!!!). The first RotC post will appear on the first of January, at 1:00 p.m. CST.


As we are now in 2011, we will also bring back the feature that I was hoping to put into full swing in 2010, but just never got around to it. It is the return of the 2011 Topps Archives project. For those of you who don't know what that is, I invite you to read the first post explaining what the 2011 Topps Archives project was all about. The checklist of the first eighteen subjects are on the sidebar. I originally wanted to have 200 players and a ton of extras, making a 450 card set. So I only need 182 players to go. I do have some future archives players and the managers in mind. Those will come up later in the year.

It is my hope to finish adding the last of the Update Series cards into a binder this weekend. I am so darn behind. I will also update the official card count and my want list on the side bar soon. And because I missed out on sets that I wanted to acquire in 2010 (National Chicle, Allen & Ginter, Topps 206 from both 2009 and 2010), if I do ever find them, I will share my excitement with the blog. Hopefully, the prices remain steady if drastically decrease on the Bay.

Also, this humble little blog will continue the All-Star simulations with the 2010 All-Star teams that were created in October. As you can see on the sidebar, I have simulated 21 seasons worth of All-Star games featuring rosters that were created by yours truly, and will have the results of the 2010 All-Star series before pitchers and catchers report for spring training (don't you just love those four words..."pitchers and catchers report").

And finally, if Topps ever remembers to get around to it, they still have to announce the other 59 cards from their "Vote Topps" thing from October. If you haven't seen or heard, I went ahead and created a site that would allow the Hobby Internet Community to vote on the Topps 100 cards of all time, along with the Top cards of every year in Topps' 60 year history. Go to the Topps 300 (and then some...) to find out more. During the year, you the readers will be allowed to add to the ballot and by the 2011 All-Star Break, we will put to a vote the best cards of every year and the Topps 100 cards of All-Time.

I did not get to buy as much Topps product this year as I would have liked. Money was tight this year and more of it seemed to be earmarked for other, more important things (like bills, kid's education, etc). So while I did succeed in acquiring full master sets of this year's flagship product, I didn't really get to buy the usual hobby box of each. I am hoping that if all goes well, 2011 will be a different story. I also wasn't active enough in searching for or trading for the short prints that came out with this year's set. I plan on becoming more active on that front in 2011.

I would have liked to have done a year end review of the Hobby in 2010. There certainly was a lot to write about. From the Pie in the Face, Abraham Lincoln, and other super short printed variations, to one of the deepest class of rookies MLB has seen in years, there was so much going on in Topps first year as the MLB exclusive trading card licensee. However, I think you all would be better off reading what the gentleman at Grand Cards had to say in his Year-In-Review post. Very good stuff here. Many of the points I totally agree with (if not all the points). So check out what he had to say about 2010...AFTER you're done with what I have to say.

I must say that it's been an interesting year in the Hobby Blogging Community, as well as the Hobby in general. The companies (specifically the Topps Company), have finally come around and are now taking a more proactive approach in their appearances by being more involved in social media. Topps always had a twitter account (@toppscards) but since Mike Mader joined the team earlier this year, the 140-character post site has seen a lot of communication. And even better, they finally joined Facebook!!! The round-table discussion was a hit earlier this year, and I hope that the communication between the company and their customers continues in 2011.

There is so much more to look forward to in 2011. Most important of all of this is the cards. THE CARDS!!! The cards of 2011 Topps look great and I can't wait to add them to my collection. Stay tuned for information on SP's, interesting variations, the ever "dreaded" gimmicks, and all things Topps as they celebrate their 60th Anniversary (the Diamond Anniversary). With that said, in what has been tradition on this blog:

Goodbye 2010!!!

Hello 2011!!!

Goodbye 2010 Topps Design!!!

Hello 2011 Topps Design!!!

May all your collections grow to new heights. Let's hope Topps makes it a bit easier on us insane set collectors. Thank you for letting me into your computers this past year. I hope to be able to share more of my collection with you in 2011!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama