They Did a Blog Bat-Around...Without Me??! My Biggest Regrets

I don't trade a lot. I keep telling myself I should. I have a lot to offer and am willing to go above and beyond to ensure that I fill out someone's wantlist to the best of my abilities. Even if it's for one measly card, if someone has a huge wantlist and I have 100 or so cards on his or her list, I'll be more than happy to send all of what I have for that one card.

But it's been a while since I traded cards online, and I really should get back into it (didn't I say that in the first paragraph??!).

Anyway, I'm bringing this up because someone has brought back the Blog Bat-Around and it's a topic that I probably can contribute to. If you (whatever readers I have left) don't know what a blog bat-around is, you can look it up on the tags for previous posts. Basically, SCU's Gellman started this idea where someone would bring up a topic to write about and the Hobby Blogging Community would go to town writing an article about said topic, and then send the link to the host so that the articles can all be gathered and shared in one easy-to-find place. I haven't participated in a while, and I can only assume that there have been more done since my last.

This one was brought up by the gentleman over at garveyceyrusselllopes and it's a good one. It's about the cards we owned but no longer possess in our ever growing collections. Whether it was sold, traded, damaged, or just lost in the bowels of time, what card or cards do you regret no longer holding in your collection.

There are a couple that come to mind. One example is of a card I never really owned, but apparently gave away (with a huge package...explanations forthcoming) in a trade.

There was a blog from a guy named John Arnold who ran a blog called THE PURSUIT OF 80's(ness). He's from England, and a devoted Red Sox fan. Now, in 2008, my first year in the blogging pool, I had mentioned that I was a Cubs fan. So bloggers like him asked me if I was interested in a package of Cubs cards. I said sure (even though I'm not much of a team collector). I promised I'd send him something in return.

After his package of Cubs cards arrived, I sent him back a care package. One that included nine unopened packs, three each from 2008 Series 1, Series 2, and the Update and Highlights. I made sure to throw in as many Red Sox cards that I could find as well so there was something to go with the unopened packs.

After opening the three Series 1 packs, he found two Boston Red Sox cards. One was of Jason Varitek. This was the other:



That's right. Had I thought for a second to rip those packs open, I would have been the proud owner of the 2008 Topps Red Sox SP Red card with Rudy Giuliani in the middle. I was in tears, let me tell you.

I rarely have luck with getting SP's and cards like this when I buy loose packs. This would have been a great card to own (or sell...then I'd regret it later). But at least it went to a Red Sox collector, and the card is no longer in the US so that's one less card you'll find at your next card show.

What other cards. How about this one:

In 1991, Upper Deck, one of four "that other companies" that produced cards made a baseball card one of their spokespeople, Michael Jordan. It was the perfect storm of a card.

• I actually liked the 1991 design and had bought a factory set AND the Final Edition set (what was I thinking??!)
• Jordan and the Bulls had just won their first NBA championship
• The White Sox' new stadium Comiskey Park was going to be opened soon
• I'm from Chicago...AND IT'S MICHAEL JORDAN!!!

I thought I'd never get one of these in a pack, so I actually bought one at a card store for a steal ($20.00 saved for this). It's Upper Deck, I know. But I was also in to Score, so what does that tell you.

So I had the above card in my possession. And as a 15-year old kid, I was thrilled.

Then disaster struck. And it was my fault.

You see, somehow, I found a box of laminating sheets in the basement. The box said "protect your important documents and other important items from wear and tear." So I thought, what better way to protect this card than to put this card under two laminating sheets (you didn't need the machine for these adhesive sheets, just peel, trim, and you're done).

Can you see where I'm going with this??!

So I took my $20.00 Jordan card, and placed it between two layers of laminating sheets. It made the card thicker, which was fine. The only problem was that there was an air bubble on the front that was clearly visible. No amount of pressing would "pop" it. But I was happy it was now protected.

Then I read in some book (I know I have it somewhere can't remember the name of it though) did mention that altering the condition of the card (including laminating it) was a big no-no and that the card's value would decrease to nothing.

And my heart sank.

In my mind, I just threw away $20.00. I was mad at myself more than anything. I put away the laminating kit and never saw it again.

I also regret giving away that 100-card UD Final Edition set. Never did get around to buying another set.

Another card I regret...because I had a chance to get this card for a heck of a price but wasn't sure (will explain shortly).

I look around on the Bay from time to time to find cards that I need for my collection. One guy with a fairly low feedback and a very iffy picture put up for a $99.00 BIN a 2012 Topps Bryce Harper #661 (the extremely SSP card found in packs). This was long after the mini cards came out, and based on the picture, it was hard to tell if it was the real one or not. The pictures themselves were blurry, and you couldn't even read the code on the bottom to distinguish.

Now, this card must have been listed more than 15-20 times at least. Each time, the price changed. It was at $99.00 one time, to $109.00 the next, back down to $99.00 OBO. But it never sold. Then one day, somebody apparently took a shot at it, bought the suspicious card...and left positive feedback because it turns out that it was the real thing!!!

There was also the matter of 2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Doug DeCinces autograph card.

As many readers of this humble, little blog also know (I still have readers, right??!) I don't really collect autographed cards. Never really took an interest to it.

Until 2003 Topps ATFF came along. It was a set of 150 cards of players, most who are never going to touch the Hall of Fame (although there were a number of them in the set) with unique pictures never used before but utilizing the designs during their playing career. Some made sense, others not so much...but that ship sailed (or did it...stay tuned to a later blog post).

Now 21 players were not included in the base set, but somehow managed to have autographed cards included. Brief bit of trivium: in the original checklist, there was supposed to be 200 players on the autograph checklist, which included almost all of the subjects in the base set plus about 50 or so extras. By the time the product came out, that number was whittled down to about 165 or so.

Well one of the 21 players who didn't have a card in the base set was the Doug DeCinces of the Baltimore Orioles. Now I had heard of the name, and when I bought my box of 2003 Topps ATFF (back when I could afford boxes), I pulled this card as one of my two autographs. The owner of the Friendly Card Finds (the baseball card shop I frequently visited before its closing in 2005...best regards to Brian Proulx) was an O's fan, and I thought what better way to thank him than to give him this card as a thank you for helping a fellow collector out (he spoiled me, you know, by giving me sell sheets and promo cards).

Later on, when I decided to go after the 21 "extra" autograph cards, I realized that one was of DeCinces. The card I gave away. Now I wasn't about to ask for the card back...that would be wrong. So I regretfully spent some money on a card that I had in my possession. But hey, another collector has it (possibly) and he was happy with it. Isn't that the point of this Hobby?

I could go on and on.

But regretfully, I have to get going (see what I did there). I look forward to reading all of the other posts from this bat-around. Thanks GCRL for starting it up again.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Blog Bat Around - Best of the Year...Isn't It Obvious??!

If it wasn't for the Sports Card Blogroll, I would have missed the opportunity to join in on the latest Blog Bat Around.  This would be my ninth BBA post out of the ten that I've been aware of (there might have been others, but I'm only aware of ten).  To review the first nine:
The Blog Bat Around was started by Gellman as a way to unite the Hobby Bloggers into writing about a common topic. It proved wildly successful. So successful in fact that he also hosted the second one. The baton was passed to Dave of Fielder's Choice for Fiesta #3, Patricia of Dinged Corners batted cleanup with #4, and dayf the Cardboard Junkie grabbed the reins for #5. The sixth one was hosted by Gellman, the seventh bat around was hosted by Thorzul. Gellman brought it home once again, meaning he hosted four of the first eight. And earlier this year, Mr. Stale Gum hosted the ninth party.

So here we are, the tenth Blog Bat Around.  The invitation to this Hobby mixer was sent out by Ryan G of This Card Is Cool - My Life In Baseball Cards.  The topic:

The 2011 baseball card collecting season is finally over - other than Bowman Sterling. What set or release stands out as your favorite from the year? What set or release brings your lunch back up to your throat.

Well let me just say that 2011 was a great year to be a Topps Baseball Card collector.  Many of the sets focused on set collectors were huge hits for the company this year.  From the new Gypsy Queen, the established Allen & Ginter, and even the now one-year wonder Topps Lineage are now sets I want to collect/acquire (among other sets from the last two to three years that I haven't done yet).  Topps even figured out a way to make playing Topps Attax more than a glorified Pack Wars, that was cool too.  And I haven't even touched upon Heritage, which always has its supporters.  But I don't collect Heritage, so I can't speak for it.

But is it really that big a surprise for all of you out there that the one product I'm going to pick as my favorite set of the year is 2011 Topps???

From the time the sell sheets came out in 2010, I had a feeling that this set was going to be awesome.  The design for the base set was great as it was minimal (with an arched name banner along the bottom of the card), the team logo prominently displayed, and the pictures seemed to bring us closer to the action. clean.  The insert sets were actually interesting, even if Topps really had to stretch to get some of their preferred subjects into the Topps 60 set.  I loved that Topps tried to incorporate a bit of their history by highlighting a card from their past 59 years on the back of the card.  One of these days, I will get around to putting the chosen cards online.

Yes, there were some things that could have been avoided, like having a regular AND an original back version of the 60 Years of Topps set, which of course was SHORTPRINTED!!!  I didn't like it in 2010, and I really didn't like it now, if only because it meant that there were more cards to find.  Going back to the base set, I didn't see the point of having two cards for each of the All-Star Rookie Team players (one with, and one without the Rookie Cup) short of glorifying Topps' golden boy Stephen Strasburg.  But it was a nice touch that Topps made a second set of cards for each of the other ten players on the team too.  Only drawback here was that meant 11 players were left out of the set.  But then again, Topps has been leaving out many players since 2006 when they felt that 330 card series were the way to go.

But Topps eponymous set and the insert sets contained within had its good qualities too.  The History of Topps was a clear winner as it allowed us the collectors the chance to learn a bit about the Company's past.  Obviously, a lot has been written about Topps, and there are many different books that wax poetic about them, but these cards at least make a good starting point before delving into the details.  Kimball's Champions was a nice set for the annual Tribute set (akin to the Turkey Reds in years past) even though they were mini cards and the cards were hard to squeeze into the fifteen pocket pages.  The Toppstown cards seem to be more collectible than ever, I'm still having a hard time finishing my Update Series set because it turns out that they did not come one per pack like in previous years.  But hey, it's something to work on before 2012 Topps arrives in February.

Is there a set that is so stomach churning that it "brings my lunch back up?"  Not really.  I mean, even though Panini (which will now also be known here as that other company) has a license, they still can't make cards with team logos or the like.  And while there really isn't a precedent regarding how they will now do their cards (heck, even Topps featured players in high school uniforms, college uniforms, and what could only be described as yearbook pictures in past cards), it remains to be seen how it will all work out in the end.  I still feel that the other company will do fine as people will find ways to buy their stuff, but I don't think Topps is going to lose a lot of sleep over this new development.

Overall, it was a good year for the Company, and I can't wait for 2012 to get here.  The design is starting to grow on me, and maybe when the cards come out, it will all make sense.  As for my collection goals, as long as I can get full master sets of the flagship brand and the update series, and all 30 team sets, I'll be happy.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Fell Behind, But Now Cleaning Up the Blogroll in Time for Openin Day

With all the hullabaloo, I forgot about updating the Sports Card Blogroll. And with Opening Day fast approaching, I guess there is no better time to do it than right now. So before we begin, let's review where we ended up last month. When last we updated the blogroll, we were down to 311 blogs. We gained six blogs this month, bringing our total of active blogs to 317. But there are a number of blogs that haven't been updated since the baseball season ended, so it is now time to send them to the inactive section of the sidebar. The blogroll says goodbye to the following blogs:

• it's JUST CARDBOARD!


• Pumpsie Sez


• The Pursuit of Baseball Card Wisdom


• Rookie Football Card Shop


• Sports Card Girl


• Ohio Cards Blog


• TTM Addict


• Is This a Wasteland - No It's Tampa Bay Sports


• Wax Wombat!


• Tastelikedirt Oakland A's Baseball


• Cougar Cards


• Angels Master Set


• Hamilton Collector


• 1972 Football Cards


• 2008 Allen & Ginter Card-scape

We just set a record for infamy. Fifteen blogs are being removed from the active blogroll, bringing us down to a now scary 302 active blogs (a net loss of -9). Has the blogosphere reached its peak? Have we over-expanded? Are there too many of us writing about the Hobby we love? The answer to all three is a resounding NO. But based on the last two months, it's definitely not looking pretty. Hopefully with the 2011 MLB season coming upon us, there will be more blogs to add to the big blogroll.

As a medium, we are starting to gain acceptance in the mainstream. In fact, a certain blogger was discovered based on an article he wrote and is now a big hit in Tampa (okay, so my ratings didn't spike, but a lot of people in Florida have now read my blog and know that Eric Rasmussen's 1981 Topps card was incorporated in the design of the show last night).

So please, I am begging, pleading, imploring...if you have a blog that's not yet on the Sports Card Blogroll, please send me a line at bdj610@hotmail.com and let me know about it. If your blog hasn't been active in a while, and you're itching to get back into the swing of things, let me know about it as well. If you're a blogger who has been adding new blogs to your own blogroll, send me a link to it as well.

The more blogs there are writing, reporting, reminiscing about the Hobby of Sports Card Collecting, the more information that can be shared, assimilated...and who knows, a certain card blogger can get some trades going (a want list is in the works).

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Blog Bat Around - Yes Mr. Eisner, I'd Love the Job. But This is What I Would Have Done...

After a long hiatus, the Blog Bat Around has made it's dramatic comeback in 2011. And of course the blogger responsible is Mr. Stale Gum himself, Chris Harris. But before we begin with his topic of choice, let's go over previous Bat Arounds (or is it Bats Around???)

The Blog Bat Around was started by Gellman as a way to unite the Hobby Bloggers into writing about a common topic. It proved wildly successful. So successful in fact that he also hosted the second one. The baton was passed to Dave of Fielder's Choice for Fiesta #3, Patricia of Dinged Corners took the next turn for #4 (welcome back Patricia, we missed you!!!), and dayf the Cardboard Junkie grabbed the reins for #5. The sixth one was came back home to Gellman, the seventh bat around was hosted by Thorzul Will Rule, but there weren't too many takers who responded to it (or so it seemed). In fear that the BBA was left for dead, Gellman brought it home once again, and while participation rebounded, there hasn't been once since (that I'm aware of anyway. Please take this time to click on all the links and then remember to come back here to see what I actually wrote).

So back to the new topic at hand. The ever cynical, always entertaining Mr. Harris (yes, I did vote in the Gummies) posted this query on his site:

Michael Eisner has just fired the entire Topps Product Development staff and chose to hire you to take their place. Mr. Eisner has given you carté blánche to do whatever you want with Topps Baseball -- as long as you keep it under $2/pack.

If you were in charge of Topps, and based upon what you've seen of 2011 Topps Baseball Series One, what (if anything) would you have done differently?

Now why doesn't it surprise me that he'd chose this as a topic? Especially since he's been railing against Topps gimmicks and efforts for the last few years. And while I probably will be the LEAST CREDIBLE of the bloggers responding (uh, didn't you check the name of this blog???), there are some things I would have loved to kill off this year's product, and probably other things I would have added. While I'm not going to go into the extremes that someone else wrote (which was pretty much bring back everything and party like it's 1991...nothing wrong with that of course), after ripping the 20 packs or so that I purchased last week, and while waiting for my series 1 master set to arrive (yes, I sent the payment out...please let me know when you get it), I have a lot of things to say about this set. Let's just call this my set review.

Yes, Mr. Eisner, I'd love the job. Let's start with what I would have gotten rid off in series 1.

First, I have to agree that over the last two years, there have been way to many insert sets. You did a Topps retrospective last year (with your wildly successful Cards Your Mother Threw Out set), why do it again? And come to think of it, why the heck are there two different versions of this set (one with a background that featured Leaf and Ultra cards by the way) and the regular card back? If you're going to do a reprint set, reprint the cards with the regular backs as well (see my favorite insert set 2001 Topps Through the Years. Yes each card had the "50 Years" logo on them, and there were a few errors (Ted William...really??!), but you showed what the card backs looked like. I would have loved to see the card backs instead of a boring blurb about the card or the set. The writing on the back of many of the cards appeared forced and uninspiring. And shortprinting the cards with the actual backs not nice. To see it done this year now makes it seem like it's been done to death. So, as much as I love insert sets utilizing Topps catalog of designs, I'm cutting it off to one series, with the original card backs reprinted. No more blurbs.

While we're on the subject, I like the "Lost Cards" concept. But again, did we really need the two different sets (one with a blurb and one with the imagined card back)??? I could have done without the blurbs again. Especially since I think a majority of the cards within said set are of Stan Musial (nothing wrong with that of course, but there had to be other subjects you could have used here...right)?

As I mentioned before, there are way too many insert sets being included in 2011. So many in fact, that I highly doubt that a person can complete a basic 330 card set by opening a box of jumbos (10 packs, 50 cards). Not including the Reprints and the Lost Cards, here are the rest of the inserts and whether or not I think they should have been left off or could be kept:

• Topps 60. Keep as there should be a theme to your insert sets. Sixty years is a milestone to celebrate. So cards of players from the last 60 Years (the Topps Era) should be utilized.
• Before there Was Topps. Gone. Now don't get me wrong, I like the concept of retro cards (pre-Bowman). And I know we have to use that CMG licensees somehow. But if we're going to honor ourselves, why are we featuring cards that we didn't create? Are we trying to gauge the market or test which cards we can easily produce for our next retro product? And do we really have to expose our base set collectors to these cards? These should have been saved for the Hobby Store giveaway.
• The Topps Story. Love it. What better way to show our history by including a 10-card set about us?
• Kimball Champions. I understand the reasoning (Turkey Red the last two years, the Trading Card History the year before), but mini cards? We probably were better off making a Kimball Champions set separately as a retro product instead of making this a continuity insert.
• Diamond Duos. Gone. Didn't we just do a dual-player insert set last year?
• ToppsTown. Keep. Yes, we want to bring in the kids. This has proven to be a big hit. Topps Attax cards were great too.

I don't collect autos or relics (the real or manufactured variety), so I don't have much of an opinion of them. But if we're going to include them in packs, specifically sold at places where the cards are susceptible to pack feelers, can we at least create a package or add cards to them that would prohibit them from being "felt"? The Hobby Masters sets, Ring Masters, and All-World Team sets from 2002 were great as they were thick cards and appeared to throw pack-feelers off. I understand the need for stickers, but cards are more attractive signed by hand than affixed with a sticker. More people are coming around though, so let's keep them. But if we can get cards hand-signed, they should be.

As I stated in last year's Round Table Discussion, as much as I understand and appreciate how much he meant to Topps, now that I'm running things around here, I am hereby removing Mickey Mantle off our base product. Card #7 will now be of an active player. It's bad enough that we are limiting the number of cards in our eponymous product to 660, but to waste one card on a player who hasn't played since 1968, and hasn't been relevant to baseball since 1996, the Mick no longer deserves to have a base card in our modern day sets. He just takes up space that a present-day player could occupy. ENOUGH WITH THE MICKEY MANTLE LOVEFEST!!!

Also, I love the short-printed variations of the legends. And I'm not writing this because I'm so far behind with my hunt for the SP legends. But if we're going to utilize our CMG license, and also use modern day legends in cards as well, we will just have to create a separate set for them. Just like Topps Retired in 2003-2005 (remember those???), we could save ourselves the hassle and confusion and just create a box set of these legends in our present year's design...AND THEY WON'T COUNT AGAINST OUR CARD PRODUCT QUOTA. So no more short printed legends mixed in with our regular set.

I always believed that baseball cards were like yearbook pictures. They reviewed how the particular player did the previous year. They also served as the Baseball preview magazines before they even were developed. So I don't understand why we have this need of trying to put these players who switched teams with their new uniforms right away? The fiasco of the Albert Soriano/Daryle Ward should have taught us that we shouldn't jump the gun until we can get actual pictures of the players in their new uniforms. Isn't that why we have a traded/rookies/update set in the first place??? If a player was a Padre last year and now plays for the Red Sox, I want to see him in his Padres uniform, and we don't need to stop the presses just because the Red Sox sign his paychecks. Same with the Yankees. Whatever rule we have that dictates that every Yankee and Red Sox player gets a card, even if it means that we only have 9 Pirates cards or 7 Astros cards in our 330 card set total, should stop...NOW!!!

I understand the need for parallels in our product. The Gold cards have served us well over the last decade and should continue. The black borders too. And yes, the seeding the platinum diamond cards is great. But isn't three parallel sets enough? It should. None of this canary diamond stuff, orange borders, or whatever other rainbow bordered parallel sets. These take up space in the packs that could be better utilized for regular cards to help those people TRYING TO COMPLETE THEIR BASE SET. And if we do need to create special parallel sets for our two main retail customers (Walmart and Target), let's go back to how successful 2009 was by creating blasters specifically and exclusively including these parallel sets. They have been wildly successful and set collectors would appreciate these more if they were sold in our 10-pack blaster boxes instead of being two-pack throw-ins. For the exclusive inserts, I'd like to package them in rack packs only, just like in the 80's (and as recently as 2007). So that we can see what they look like on the outside and can easily determine what packs collectors need to complete these store-exclusive sets.

Finally, as I mentioned at last year's roundtable, I will increase the number of cards of our base brand 792, or if we must have 110 cards per sheet, 880. Let's keep the series format at two series per year, so we have 440 cards per series. There are now 30 MLB teams, meaning that there are at least 750 players on MLB rosters on any given day (not including those on the DL) during the season. Even the team's third string catcher and the mop up reliever deserve a card if they played that year. When I started collecting, it was fun sorting the cards by team, knowing that you had enough to build an actual 25 man roster, and still have room for the manager, a few key rookies and prospects, the All-Stars, league leaders, and any other random subsets. I got to know the players on EVERY team that way. There are 28 other teams out there than the Yankees and Red Sox; and it seems that unless a middle relief pitcher or benchwarmer plays for either of these two teams, they're not getting a card. The cards were the precursor to the annual baseball preview magazines, the rotoplayer's guides, etc. They should continue to serve that purpose.

I'd like to re-brand our Update Series and rename it Topps Traded and Rookies. The name itself is to-the-point, and our customer will know exactly what will be included in our end-of-the-year product. The product can be kept at 330 cards, but subsets like the Home Run Derby participants and the All-Star Game players (which has been steady at 60 cards, even though there are more players being chosen now) have to go. If we do need an All-Star subset, let's keep the starting lineups, the MVP, and two team cards with the rosters of both teams, as well as their corresponding card numbers within the base set (or traded set) so those who like to collect the All-Stars of that year can do so with the correct teams they represented.

As we're only focusing on the base brand (the products that are sold under $2.00/pack), I would keep the Opening Day line, but use new pictures instead of the same ones we use for our base set.

Mr. Eisner, the above is what I would have done differently for our eponymous brand. I understand that the logistics and the costs to implement all of these recommendations could be too much change in one fell swoop. But I'm sure if we can take these changes and gradually add them to our product line going forward, that the product will only become more of a hit with our customers; and in turn, our product will become a hit with their customers, the collectors who drive the popularity of our product.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Blog Bat Around - If I Had $50,000, I'd Buy Me A...

The Blog Bat Around call has been sent out to the Hobby Blogging Community, and once again, the concept and the question comes from Gellman's place at SCU.

To review, this wildly popular phenomenon was started by Gellman, who also hosted the second one. The baton was passed to Dave of Fielder's Choice for Fiesta #3, Patricia of Dinged Corners took the next turn for #4, and dayf the Cardboard Junkie grabbed the reins for #5. The sixth one was came back home to Gellman, and while the seventh bat around was hosted by Thorzul Will Rule, not too many responded to it (or so it seemed), and the BBA was left for dead. (Please take this time to click on all the links and then remember to come back here to see what I actually wrote).

Anyway, the topic of the bat around this time asks that the blogger indulges in pure fantasy. I think it would be better to read the question the way Gellman put it in his post:

Remember those days on Nickelodeon where they would hold contests for their version of a kids' ultimate shopping spree? They would let the winner loose in a Toys R Us for however long and let them keep what they could fit in the cart, right? Well, if you were given $50,000 and 15 minutes on ebay, what cards/memorabilia would you buy with the money? Break it down card by card, and give us a price and a reason for what you are buying. Not everyone would go out there and buy a Joe Jackson cracker jack, but some people would. So, with that, what would you spend the mother lode on? Happy buying.

Oh geez. I get to spend $50,000 in 15 minutes on eBay??? Pinch me, I must be dreaming (okay, this is a fantasy anyway, but bear with me).

As a loyal Topps Baseball Card set collector, I don't have particular cards in mind (wait...I do!!!). I'll budget about $1,000, and I'd buy every card off my want list (although if you dear reader have any of these cards, I'd prefer to trade for them)!!!

2003 Topps Nolan Ryan Record Breakers No-Hitters:

1 Angels (at Royals, May 15, 1973)
2 Angels (at Tigers, July 15, 1973)
3 Angels (vs. Twins, September 28, 1974)
4 Angels (vs. Orioles, June 1, 1975)
6 Rangers (at Athletics, June 11, 1990)
7 Rangers (vs. Blue Jays, May 1, 1991)

2005 Topps Barry Bonds MVP:

BB1 1990 Topps Design Pirates #'d 25

2008 Topps Updates and Highlights:

Sarah Palin Beauty Queen card

2009 Topps MLB Short-Prints Series 2:

#353b Cal Ripken, Jr.
#495b Brooks Robinson

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights Short-Prints:

#71c Ryne Sandberg
#150b Ty Cobb
#330b Babe Ruth BSB

2009 Topps Walmart Legends of the Game Series 2:

LLP12 Jackie Robinson
LLP13 Babe Ruth
LLP14 Honus Wagner

2009 Topps Target Legends of the Game Series 2:

LLG13 Babe Ruth

2009 Topps Target Legends of the Game U & H:

LLG21 Rickey Henderson
LLG22 Ozzie Smith
LLG23 Babe Ruth
LLG25 Nolan Ryan
LLG26 Reggie Jackson
LLG27 Frank Robinson
LLG28 Ryne Sandberg
LLG29 Steve Carlton
LLG30 Johnny Bench

2010 Topps Legends Short-Prints Series 1:

#1b Hank Greenberg
#20b Warren Spahn
#50b Cy Young
#85b Jackie Robinson
#90b Rogers Hornsby
#94b Carlton Fisk
#95b Rickey Henderson
#100b Stan Musial
#110b Willie Stargell
#116b Robin Yount
#125b George Sisler
#130b Reggie Jackson
#175b Roger Maris
#200b Walter Johnson
#222b Curtis Granderson NYY
#250b Lou Gehrig

2010 Topps Cards Your Mother Threw Out Backs (Original Backs, not the Inserts Backs!!!):

1953, 1954, 1955, 1958
1961, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1969
1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978
1984, 1988, 1989
1993, 1996, 1997, 1998
2005

2010 Topps Red Backs (Target):

2, 8,

2010 Topps Blue Backs (WalMart/Meijer):

2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14

With that out of the way, and if I used Wrigley Wax's eBay Topps Complete Set price index, I'd budget about $6,000 buying complete Topps Baseball card sets from 1969, 1970, 1971 (that 1971 set is a doozy because of condition), 1972, 1973, 1974, AND 1975 (I might have to change the banner at the end of the blog). Hey, I collect complete sets, and I figure, if I'm going to spend...why not spend??!

That's $7,000. Now what?

How about complete sealed factory sets? Yeah, that would work. Okay, throw me every sealed factory set from 1974 to 2009 (2010's have not come out yet, but I will have something to say about them soon...I promise!). Give or take, that could run me at least $3,000 or so, especially because the older sets should command a premium SEALED. You know what? I'll go $4,000.

That's $11,000. What else? As I'm not an expert, nor collect anything outside of baseball cards, I might have a bit of a struggle trying to spend $39,000. But who am I kidding???

I also would like the following five pack inserts that were included in the following Topps factory sets. And if I can't find those, by themselves, I'll buy the factory sets. At $50.00 on average, this should cost a grand at least:

2006: Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees, Pirates, Cardinals
2007: Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals, Fanfest HR Derby, All-Star Edition
2008: Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Yankees, Mets
2009: Hobby (10 exclusive rookies), Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees, Mets, All-Star Edition

That's $12,000. I think that should do me for sets. Or does it??? I'm not going to be extremely picky on condition, but if they look good, then why not get:

1968: There's one on BIN for $2,400. Got it. And I'll take that complete game set from 1968 for $100.00 (it's going for 80, but for the sake of rounding up, I'll calculate $100).
1967: There's one on BIN for $1,600. Mine.
1966: There's one on BIN for $2,570. Why not?
1965: Lots here, but I'll take the BIN for $3,000.
1964: A BIN for $1500, plus the stand up set for $3,505 (not my money remember). Both mine and mine.
1963: BIN for $3,100. Nobody wants it? I'll get it.
1962: One for $7,130 is getting my attention, but I'll take the one for $5,135 BIN instead.
1961: There's a BIN for $4,500 that looks rather nice.
1960: At $3,300, and this guy has two of them? I'll take one please.
1959: Does $5,705 for and EX-MT set sound too high? Of course not.

Wow, my decade's worth of cards splurge just sent me back $36,395.00. And with everything else I want at $12,000, I'm left with $1,605.00 to spend. I think I'll end my run of complete sets at 1959 and find something else to spend the last of the money on.


Per the auction description: This is a stylish diamond and 14K white gold tennis bracelet with a classy S style. The impressive bracelet is 7 MM wide by 7 inches long and is set with thirty-five (35) full cut, fully faceted, bright, white, fiery, natural, genuine, untreated round brilliant diamonds of J to K color and SI2 to I1 clarity with absolutely no visible imperfections. The diamonds look amazing with tons of fire and brilliance, totaling 3.50CTS. They give this solid 14K gold bracelet an impressive and expensive look at a fraction of its retail value. The bracelet has a double locking clasp and has been professionally polished and cleaned to look new.

This is on BIN for $1,595.00 Free shipping. And I'll buy this after I buy a complete set of 1974 Topps Traded for $10.00 (in effect, spending all $50,000.00). Why?

Because after spending $48,405 on baseball cards, I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do to my wife. Here's hoping that this arrives before all the cards do.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

6 in 30...Which Binder Do I Use???

The girls at Dinged Corners did it again. In a successful attempt to get the hobby bloggers to do something together in a show of unity, they have challenged everyone to a game called The Six-Cards-in-30-Seconds Binder Test.

The challenge:

"...take one of your binders down from the shelf...Make sure the binder is stuffed with lots of cards, to make sure this is fair and you don't allow yourself any time to think, just react. Put the binder down on the table. Okay. Give yourself 30 seconds and pull out six cards that make you happy. You have to turn the pages pretty quickly. What did you end up with? Did you surprise yourself?"

I have too many binders. Which one should I use for this game???

I could use my 1988 Topps binder, but then again, there's a whole blog devoted to the 1988 Topps Baseball set, so it's been done.

I could use my 1992 Topps binder, but does anyone really want me to wax poetic again about Jose Tolentino???

I know...I'll use my randomizer in MS Excel program to pick a year for me. I'll be right back...

(several attempts later...)

So the Excel Randomizer thingy suggested that I use the binder that houses my 1989 Topps binder. So here goes. Start the time...30, 29, 28...5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Time's up!!! Let's see what I got:


Top row, from left to right: Carlton Fisk, Andre Dawson, Tim "Rock" Raines.
Bottom row, from left to right: Bo Jackson, Jim Abbott, Ryne Sandberg.

Now to answer, why these make me happy.

First, 1989 Topps is my favorite set of all time in terms of design. It's simple, and the colors used for each of the team names...love them.

Fisk, with bat in hand, looks like he's ready to step into the batter's box and send the next offering to the 90-94 Expressway.

Dawson, how can you not like this card? He's smiling...

Raines. In 1988, he was Tim? How did he become "Rock"???

Jackson, no athlete in baseball like him in 1989. Larger than life and a positive personality on and off the field.

Abbott, who made it to the big leagues without ever stepping foot in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, Topps doesn't make draft pick cards, and this one blatantly features Jim's alma mater of Michigan University. The future looked bright in 1989.

Sandberg...it's Ryne Sandberg. How could I not pick this card???

There you have it. My 6 in 30 seconds. I was going to stall on this to be honest, then I saw that Patricia added all the other bloggers' posts, and then at the end said that I was working on mine. I had to follow through then. It would have been embarassing if I didn't.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Blog Bat Around - Why Do I Do the Voodoo That I Do?

It's Blog Bat Around time again, and it's come back home to Gellman's place at SCU.

To review, this wildly popular phenomenon was started by Gellman, who also hosted the second one. The baton was passed to Dave of Fielder's Choice for Fiesta #3, Patricia of Dinged Corners took the next turn for #4, and dayf the Cardboard Junkie grabbed the reins for #5. I highly recommend checking out the BBA's to see each of the first five bat arounds, plus the new topic for the sixth, then come back here (please remember to come back here...)

Anyway, the topic of the bat around this time asks that simple question of why. I think it would be better to read the question the way Gellman put it in his post:

All of the people who are participating in this have a blog, or at least something similar. For this question, I just want to know about the reasons you do what you do. Why do you blog? What made you choose Sports Cards as your topic of choice? What got you started? What has been your favorite post from your own work?

It was just a year ago that I started this humble little blog. After years of lurking around the Topps Message Boards, the old Beckett Message Boards, and even playing around with my About Me page on eBay, blogging seemed like the most logical thing to do. The next logical step to take. But I didn't even know what it was, nor did I think I had the literary skills to do one. Little did I know that it didn't matter if I had a theme or not, as there were blogs on just about everything. But what was I going to write about?

In my very first post on this blog, this was my reason for starting bdj610's Topps Baseball Card Blog:

"I decided to create this blog to allow me the time to enjoy my collection. And I want to share what I have with the collecting public. The baseball cards are and will be the stars of this blog. My job will be to talk about them as best I can. Now I'm no expert. I'm not a hobby insider, nor am I claiming to be fully knowledgeable about the Hobby I love. But in 21 years, I think I've gained a little bit of knowledge about cards and card collecting. I fancy myself as a student of the Hobby, always striving to learn about the past, while looking forward to the future...I feel I have some knowledge to pass on to the card collecting world, and it is my hope to share that with you as I finally make the attempts to take time and enjoy my baseball card collection."

That's what I had in mind when I started. I wanted to focus on the cards again as I started missing the point and just went through the motions of collecting. I started with hopelessly trying to do themes, like the "What??! of the Week," or the "What Card is This," even doing "Quote of the Week," but there was only so much material for these, and the research for finding quotes, or for that matter anything to write about, was taking too much time. I also thought of doing reviews of the past sets from the last 30 years (I have every complete set from 1976 to now), but as I continued on this blogging journey, I realized that either it's already been done, or that if I was to do a review once a week like I intended, by week 30 I'd have nothing left to write about.

Slowly but surely, the blog slowly took a different direction. I always loved being the first to find stuff online about the cards I collected, and then would post my "discoveries" on the Topps Message Board. Whether it was "Cards That Would Never See the Light of Day," or a checklist of all 30 Team sets Topps, I would put together a lengthy post and thrust it onto the boards. I realized that instead of just waiting for the right time to post on a message board that I can do that on my own blog. So, since then, if there was anything that I thought was interesting about new Topps products, or if I found cards that nobody else had talked about yet, I'd just put together a blog post, and hit the send button, hoping that somebody would read it. I never realized that my messages were being heard, loud and clear.

I even found myself commenting on other bloggers sites about what they wrote, and if there was a hot button topic that seemed to hit the blogs, I felt compelled to comment as well, whether or not I knew what was exactly happening. It was then I thought that I could do a lot better if I did more commentary and opinion posts. But to do that, I'd actually have to keep tabs on the Hobby like I was a reporter looking for the next big thing. While it would be nice to have that capability, I realized that I only collect Topps Baseball Cards, and realistically, that's all I collect. Why would I want to report on products that I don't even care for or collect? That would be a total 180 on why I started this blog in the first place. I wanted to go back and enjoy my Hobby, and share that with the readers.

So here I am now. Wondering what is the point of my blog...AGAIN!!! I know I can use this forum for many things:

• to inform like-minded collectors about products and cards or sets that I like (or not)
• to entertain readers with random facts that I just happen to think about during the course of the day, and then try to put a card or two that relate to said topic
• to comment freely without restraint about where the Hobby is going, and/or the latest hot topic in the Hobby
• to show off my collection (after all, if I ever have to let it go, at least I can say I had them)
• to be more involved in the Hobby I truly love

So maybe I shouldn't limit myself to just one of the above bullet points and run crazy with it. I should be able to do all of the above, and a bag of chips. I think I'm doing that already. But I can, and should, do more.

You know, after going through all of this rambling, I'm not sure I answered the all-important question...WHY??? Why do this? Why drive myself crazy blogging about baseball cards?

Because I love the Hobby of baseball card collecting. I love learning about them, I love reading about them, and now love writing about them. I may not have the loudest voice in the blogosphere, nor the best collection in the world, but I want to share both with all who are willing to read what I have to say and join me as I continue my way through the never ending journey that is the Hobby.

I think the gentleman at White Sox Cards said it best:

"Write what's true to your heart and the rest will fall into place."
And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Hope that answers everything.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Oh So Late, But Here's My Post for Blog Bat Around V

I can't believe I totally forgot about this. If dayf decides not to include it, so be it. But he seems to have given slackers like me a bit of a reprieve, and a bit more time, so here's my attempt at it.

This is the fifth edition of the wildly popular Blog Bat Around. Started by Gellman, who hosted not one, but two of these things, it was continued by Dave, Patricia took the next turn, and now dayf the Cardboard Junkie is hosting. Click on the links (you know, those underlined word things) to see each of the first four bat arounds, plus dayf's topic for the fifth, then come back here.

The topic this time around is a simple one, but I might have covered it multiple times on this humble little blog:

"What is the best experience you have had acquiring cards or memorabilia?"

Now I've talked about my adventures in getting Jose Tolentino's 1992 Topps card a number of times (including on another bat around). And I've talked about my first foray's into collecting (how I got started in this crazy Hobby of ours). So I've been racking my brain trying to think of something...

After I got married, with extra money to burn back then, I thought I'd never find any card shops in the new neighborhood that I was now living in. Far from home, knowing that there were no more card shops in that area, I was in a bind. Now, I was going to a couple of card shops in the suburbs near the bakery my parents owned, but I wasn't in that area often enough to make regular trips to the shop. So I was in a bit of a bind.

At the end of the 1999 baseball season, I received the newest Yellow Pages directory. I let my fingers do the walking to see if there were any Hobby shops nearer to me. And then, there it was. A shop called the Friendly Card Finds. The address looked close to where I work, so I gave the shop a call. The owner of the shop, one Brian Proulx, answered, and we ta;led for a bit. I asked him when 2000 Topps was coming, he said in November, but 1999 Topps Traded was in stock right now.

What? Did he say 1999 Topps Traded??? I thought they stopped making an update set in 1995. As I soon found out, the Topps company brought the 'Traded' set back into production. With my wife at work, and me with realistically nothing better to do, I decided to make the trip to his shop and get one of these boxed sets.

The shop was indeed near where I worked, and the shop Brian opened was rather clean. He had opened the year before and was establishing a customer base. In fact, the day I arrived, he was advertising an autograph signing with Curtis Enis, the Bears' most recent draft pick. We chatted a bit, I got my set, and couldn't wait to open it up and put it into the collection. Needless to say, he gained a new customer that day.

For the next few years, I would stop by his shop whenever the newest Topps releases came out (Series I, II, and then the Traded set). And he would even call me as soon as the shipment arrived. When that call came, my lunch hour couldn't come fast enough. I'd go in, get my cards, go to the Subway next door, and go back to work. It became a tradition to go there after getting my cards.

In 2002, Brian started giving me extra copies of the sales sheets of the next Topps product. Soon after that, he was letting me have the pre-production cards that came with the flyers. I was getting spoiled with all the free goods, but hey, he was doing his best to keep his customers happy. And I was more than happy to take them. Anything to make my collection more unique.

He even called me one night to say that a guy sold him a 1978 Topps set, and thought I'd be interested in it. Of course I was. That night, he showed the box, told me to take a look at the cards and then come back and pay for it after checking on condition. He was basically trusting me with a set that could have potentially been worth $150.00 if all the cards were in near-mint condition and letting me take it home BEFORE paying. What a guy. It turned out that the set was missing five cards, but I knew where to go and get them, so it was no big deal. The cards were in excellent shape, no creases, so he basically sold it to me for a really decent price..

Brian brought in a couple of retired ball players to sign at the store. I missed meeting Andy Pafko, but was able to get something signed (the image of a 1952 Topps card in my "300 Best Baseball Cards of the 20th Century" book), but got to meet Ron Santo on a chilly evening (he signed my huge Topps book, right where the picture of his 1961 Topps Rookie Card was). Fun times.

It was in late October/early November in 2005, after buying a couple of boxes of the Updates and Highlights set from him, he dropped a bombshell that to this day has changed the way I buy my cards. He announced that he was closing his store. I couldn't believe it. Between the new MLB Properties rules and the fact that the market was indeed changing (with the advent of eBay and all), he felt he could no longer stay in business without losing money. I was crushed. Where was I supposed to go now? What was I supposed to do? How am I going to get my sell sheets and promo cards without paying for them??? It was a sad day indeed. The last time I saw Brian, he sold me a couple of boxes of 2006 Topps that he was able to order before the store closed. It was weird, standing in the parking lot outside of where his store used to be, near his car, making the transaction. If the cops came, they would have asked questions (it did have the appearance of him selling something suspicious out of his car, even though it was only baseball cards). Sadly, I have not seen him since. He did call me a couple of times saying that he was able to get 2006 Topps Series II boxes, but by then, I had already bought the set from another shop (back to the shops near the bakery for me), so I had to politely decline.

Now, this story may have taken a sad ending. And I'm sorry for the tone. But I will never forget Brian Proulx and the Friendly Card Finds. He helped shape my collection to where it is now, and for that, I will never forget him and the shop.

I do hope he's doing well.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Blog Bat Around: In Ten Years...It Will Be All About Albert and Ichiro

The ladies at Dinged Corners are hosting the fourth edition of the Hobby Blog phenomenon known as the Blog Bat Around. For those who are new and/or don't know what I'm talking about, by all means, click here, here, and here to see the first three editions. I'll wait until you come back...but don't take too long!!!

The question for this round, although brief, was really a challenge for me to answer. I may have been around the Hobby for 22 years, meaning I've seen enough ten year periods, but to come up with products now that actually might be valuable in ten years??? I'm no prognosticator. Heck, I'd make a terrible prospector. I couldn't tell you what prospect is going to make an impact in the upcoming season, let alone ten years from now. And I still have my old Topps Magazines from 1990-1993, and looking back almost twenty years later, even the Topps company swung and missed at what players were going to do well in the big leagues.

The topic for the fourth Blog Bat Around is this:

Which baseball card or set do you believe will be valuable in ten years? In other words, no matter what happens with the player(s) or industry going forward--injury, steroid accusations, drugs, gambling charges, the demise or ascendancy of Topps, Donruss and Upper Deck--what single card or set from baseball cards past or present do you believe is an absolute BUY and HOLD?

Now, as a set collector, the most vogue pick right now would be the 1992 Bowman set. So many rookie cards in this set. From Manny, to Mike Piazza to Mariano, and on and on...many who've made their mark in the majors who will get to Cooperstown when their time comes. But I don't have this set, so this is not my answer.

Nor would vintage cards be it (anything produced before the 1950's). Why? Because we already know that these cards, from the T206 Wagner, to the DeLong Gehrig, to the Bowman Mantle, and every card in between will always command high prices, and even the commons are in constant demand. Whether it be ten years from now, or a fifty years from now, these cards will always hold their value, if not increase. So this is not my answer either.

The Bowman Albert Pujols Gold Refractor Autograph card? The reason why prospecting is the biggest trend in the Hobby presently? Well, yeah. But even that card has had it's share of controversy. Specifically the fact that for some unknown reason, there has been sightings of at least three of these cards numbered 5/whatever the print run is. Because Pujols' number is five, that seemed to be the most valuable card from its entire print run. But it seems that some jokers were able to wipe off the number and change it to a five. Thus, increasing it's value. I don't even have this card either...so I'm not going to use it as my answer.

If I were to pick one set that I feel will hold or increase it's value ten years from now, it would have to be the 2001 Topps set.

I'm sorry...WHAT??! Did this guy just say 2001 Topps? That green bordered set?

Yes, that one. If you really want me to be precise, it would be this and it's Traded and Rookies counter part. And perhaps the Chrome set as well.

Now why would I pick this set out of all the other ones? I'll give you two players...and these two guys carried the Hobby in 2001. Period. End of sentence.


Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols. It is these two guys that made collecting popular in 2001. Not a day during the 2001 season went by without a story about how Pujols just seemed to come from nowhere to become this bonafide power hitter, or how Ichiro was silencing all the critics who said that a Japanese player couldn't make it as a hitter.

Topps was able to add Ichiro to their series II product,


but for some reason, they were not able to sign him to a contract to appear in a number of their other sets. In fact, after 2001 Topps, Ichiro didn't appear in any other product until Topps Gallery (in both an English and Japanese version no less). So he was left out of Heritage, Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Finest, Stadium Club, and Topps Chrome products.

Nobody expected Albert Pujols to make the team out of spring training. He had only played A ball the year before, so it was understandable. Still, because he did make the 25 man roster in St. Louis, Pujols appeared in many of the products that Ichiro did not, and they were all considered his true rookie cards. But Topps still left him out of the base set.

They both made their respective All-Star teams that year (in Seattle, no less). Ichiro helped spark the Mariners to the best record in baseball. While in St. Louis, the Cardinals were kept in contention thanks to the offensive firepower the future "Phat Albert" brought to the plate. And after the dust settled, and the Diamondbacks won the World Series, there was no doubt who would be named Rookie of the Year in either league.

I mentioned earlier that Pujols was left off the eponymous set. But Topps somehow made up for this slight. Because they had not signed Ichiro to a contract, he was left out of a number of other products, including Topps Chrome. Guess who was added to the set as a Late Addition?


And then, when the time came for the Topps Company to put out it's Topps Traded and Rookies set, they decided not only to distribute these in pack form (compared to the last two years where it came in a factory set), but also add two Topps Chrome Traded cards in every pack. Every card in the traded set, even the 45 card reprint set (the Traded version of the 50 Card Topps Through the Years set), would have a Chrome version. What a great idea.

Sure enough, Pujols made his regular Topps card debut:


But wait, he already had a Chrome card. Does that mean he would also get a Topps Chrome Traded card too? Well, yes he did (sorry, I don't have that one. Just pretend that the card above looks a lot darker...darn scanner...and has a Topps Chrome logo on it).

Because they were now including a Chrome version of the Topps Traded set, Topps decided that because Ichiro did not make the regular Chrome set, that he would be included in the Traded set. So he was added to the Traded set, as a Chrome card only, #T266. The regular Traded set ended at #T265, so there was no base Traded card for Ichiro.


Now that's not to say that there is nothing else to talk about with 2001 Topps or Topps Traded and Rookies. Let's go over the rest of the set. It was the last year that Topps made cards of Cal Ripken, Jr. and Mark McGwire as players. As fans and collectors, we were on a first name basis with many of our heroes Sammy, Derek, Barry, Nomar, Randy, Vladimir, Pedro, and Chipper. Or if you had to use last names, you had Bagwell, Biggio, Piazza, Griffey, Maddux, etc. All names screaming superstar. All-Stars from 2008 like Grady Sizemore, Joe Crede, and Adrian Gonzalez, along with CC Sabathia, Barry Zito, Hee Seop Choi, were among the prospects or draft picks that had cards in the big set. You even had the first card of a certain 100 Million Dollar man in his new Rangers uniform, as well as a superstar Tribesman appearing for the first time in Beantown's colors. Guys like Jake Peavy, Jose Reyes, Austin Kearns, Justin Morneau, Hank Blalock, and Travis Hafner were prospects that made it into the Traded set.

And think of all those perfectly timed insert sets that were included in either Topps or Topps Traded. The Topps Company found ways to honor their past (the 2001 set was their 50th anniversary set), celebrate their present, and look forward to the future in many of these beautifully done inserts. From the 50-card 2001 Topps Through the Years retrospective (and the subsequent 45 card Traded subset), to the Golden Anniversary set (five 10-card subsets featuring players from the past 50 years). From Topps Noteworthy (featuring 25 current and legendary players), to A Continuing Tradition. From Before there was Topps (10 legends who played before Topps entered the Hobby), to What Could Have Been (10 Negro Leaguers who could have played in the majors leagues at their peak). From A Look Ahead (predicting the futures of 10 young superstars) to Who Would Have Thought (the 20 card Traded insert set). Heck, even the autograph cards (Golden Anniversary Autographs) and relic cards (King of Kings, the Bo Jackson/Deion Sanders cards), looked great. All very hard to find individually now, and impossible to find sold in set form.

But the 2001 Topps and Topps Traded sets are still all about Ichiro and Pujols. Think about this...ever since these two guys, many collectors have been looking for the next big thing. The next players who are going to give the Hobby, and the Game, a boost in popularity. While this is not a new concept in the Hobby, the Prospecting niche seemed to kick into high gear after 2001, because everyone was in search for the next big superstar. And right now, we have so many players to choose from. But in ten years, who knows what may happen to those guys. In ten years, both Ichiro and Pujols will either be retired from the game, or winding down their respective careers. They both are, unless something incredibly bizarre happens to either man, going into the Hall of Fame as soon as they are eligible.

To review (you mean you're not done yet???), I would pick 2001 Topps to hold its value, if not increase, ten years from now (that's 2019 right?). Sure there may be other sets, other cards, other players that could surpass this one. And it might not be the best pick I've ever made. But I assure you, the way we see collecting now changed the day that Ichiro Suzuki and Albert Pujols made their Rookie Card Debut (and I mean First Year on a Card playing in the Majors.) We have yet to, though we may never, see someone the likes of either man since. And they both showed up for the first time in 2001 Topps.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Blog Bat Around - It's 2009, so Topps...Please Listen!!! Some Unsolicited Advice From This Humble Little Blog

The third installment of the gaining-in-popularity Blog Bat Around is being hosted by the Dave over at Fielder's Choice. If you missed the first two rounds of this incredible opportunity to unite with fellow Hobby bloggers, please take a look here and here to see what the mission is and read what others had to say about a particular topic. I'll wait until you come back...(just don't be gone too long!!!)

Anyway, the topic of the blog around this time is more of a plea to the card companies if you will. It's 2009 and the economy is in the tank. Money that most of us would love to spend on cards are now being diverted to other, more important things (like food, mortgage/rent, utilities). Which means that we're all going to have to cut back on our purchases, or find other ways to add to our collections, whether it be by trading, or Heaven forbid selling, some of our cards. But what could we do? We're not on the boards at either Topps or Upper Deck (or Donruss, or whatever other company). There are no bloggers sitting in on production meetings, helping decide what products to make or what should not. Heck, until this guy came along, we had no idea what goes on inside those staff meetings.

But again, it's 2009, and the voices of the Hobby blogosphere need to be heard. Here is the topic for the third Blog Bat Around:

2008 is over and 2009 has just begun. We’ve seen the previews for the first card releases of the new year. We also know that Upper Deck is planning to eliminate a few brands in 2009, and with the economy in a recession, Topps and other card companies may follow suit. As collectors, we want to see the card companies make cards that we want to collect, but how do they know what we want? This is your chance to tell them…

What type of sets would you like to see produced in 2009 and beyond? What sets from 2008 and past years do you want to see return, and which brands would you like to see killed off? How could existing brands be improved and what new types of card sets would you like to see created? Should new sets be geared more toward set collectors, or should the number of hits (autographs and game-used relics) be increased? What about short prints? Parallels? Inserts? Gimmicks? What do you love about current cards, what do you hate, and where should the card companies go from here?

This is the last year of the four-year agreement that saw Donruss lose their license, leaving Topps and Upper Deck as the companies who can create Major League Baseball Cards. The contract agreed upon by both companies and MLB Properties is that for the first two years, each company produces 20 products a piece, and after that (2008-2009) only 17 products each.

Now twenty products in a good economy doesn't seem so bad right? Well in a bad economy, 17 products seems to be a bit too much. While there may still be a market for those extremely high priced products (those that sell for $50.00 or more for a pack...ahem...Sterling...Exquisite...), it's shrinking as people are figuring out their money needs to go elsewhere. You have to ask yourself, "Are these really necessary? Can we really justify putting a $250.00 SRP on a three to five pack of cards?" Of course not!!! The cards may look great, and what "relics" you put in them might be historic, but many people can't afford them. They'll admire them, but then move on. My point? We have to go back to the basics.

Before 1989, all the companies (Topps, Donruss, Fleer, and Score) made one set, and then an update set at the end of the year. And collectors were satisfied. But then, something happened. Upper Deck came out with these $1.00 packs of premium trading cards. Thus the competition to create a better card became more intense. From 1990-91, each company created their own "premium card" brand (Stadium Club, Leaf, Ultra), to match UD. Topps brought back the Bowman name as a basic product, then overhauled the brand to focus on rookies and prospects. Then, the bar was raised a couple of years later with the introduction of Finest, Flair, and SP. As technology increased, we saw more products, Bowman's Best, Topps Chrome, Bowman Chrome, SPX, Studio, on and on and on. By 2001, there were more than 80 sets produced by the companies, it became impossible to keep up. Maybe it's time to stop trying to fill the 17 product quota and try to focus your energies on the products that we all KNOW will sell.

Maybe both Topps and UD should bring the product total down to 10 products each. That way we won't have to be exposed to the X's, or the Documentary, or the Timelines of the world. I mean UD started scrapping products last year like their Update set and this year with Masterpieces and Sweet Spot. They can surely get rid of a few more. If not (because they have to put out 17 based on the contract), they better find ways to improve the products that they are going to hurl upon the masses. While it may look like I'm being harsh on UD (heck, I don't buy the stuff, it's easy for me to say what should stay or go), Topps is not exempt from hearing my plea.

The seventeen baseball card products Topps brought us in 2008 (to fill the contracted quota agreed upon with MLB Properties) were:

• Topps (Series I and II)
• Topps Chrome
• Topps Heritage
• Topps Opening Day
• Topps Moments and Milestones
• Topps Finest
• Topps Sterling
• Topps Allen & Ginter
• Topps Co-Signers
• Topps Triple Threads
• Topps Updates and Highlights
• Topps Heritage High Numbers
• Stadium Club
• Bowman
• Bowman Chrome
• Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects
• Bowman Sterling

Topps has already announced that Moments and Milestones will not be coming back. Personally, I could see the Sterling brands (those $250.00 pack behemoths) go away too. I mean the concept for the product is incredible, and the cards look great too...don't get me wrong. But collectors have found ways to go around having to spend their hard earned money by going online and shopping for singles. That way, the box they open won't be of a player they may not like (can you imagine a die hard Yankee fan opening up a box of Sterling, expecting Mantle, Ruth, or Munson, and getting a Ted Williams box instead???)

The idea of having two update sets in 2008 (one for the base brand and one for Heritage) was not necessarily a bad idea. The delivery of the Heritage update product, however, was. Why??? Because there was no need to combine both products into the Heritage High Numbers by adding two cards of Topps U & H in every pack!!! Put it this way, it was great during the early part of the decade when Topps included two packs of Topps Chrome Traded into every pack of Topps Traded, because the sets were of a similar vein and looked exactly the same (save for the stock the cards were printed). And personally, I traded a number of the chrome cards for the regular ones because I didn't collect Chrome. I just treated the chrome cards as parallels and moved on. But to have those who don't collect the base brand and focus on the Heritage brand, buy packs of this HHN product deal with the Topps U & H cards? It makes completing the set more challenging (and more expensive...maybe that was the idea huh?). If you're going to continue the trend of adding an Update set to Heritage, don't add the eponymous brand's traded cards into their packages.

When Stale Gum put on his annual Gummie Awards, for the category of Most Disappointing Product, guess which product won? Stadium Club. Why? Certainly not because of the photography. But because of how Topps turned the brand into an extremely higher end product!!! Before it was unceremoniously killed off, Topps Stadium Club was a brand just one step above Topps. After all, it was Topps first "premium" brand. And they made enough product to go around. The photography was the key to the set and Topps delivered some of the best pictures to ever go on cards. That's probably why there have never been borders surrounding the cards. It's supposed to look like you're flipping through pictures. There was a strong campaign to bring the product back into circulation, and it looks like Topps finally listened. While the product looks fantastic, the pictures are sharp, and doesn't look like it missed a beat upon it's return, the fact that Topps turned it into a much higher tiered brand and made the SRP's more expensive than they really should have been is what made it disappointing for me personally. It wound up becoming an "ultra premium" brand instead of a "premium" brand, and was priced much higher than many people expected. Of course people still bought it, and the product looks great, but if it is to come back in 2009, please make the product a little more affordable.

So what DO I want to see in 2009??? A return to the basics. Please make it simple. If it costs $200.00 per signature of Albert Pujols, or other players for that matter, then keep autographed cards out of the basic sets. If this is what jacks up the price of packs of the flagship brand, Heritage, Opening Day (which by the way really has run it's course), and maybe even Chrome, then don't put include them. In fact, why can't we have a set that just has your regular base cards and insert cards without autos and relics. You have a brand named for autographed cards (C0-Signers), and one for relic cards (Triple Threads), keep them there and away from the brands that set collectors buy in bulk. I certainly don't buy Series I, II, or U & H for the autos and relics, and I'm sure that many don't either. I'm not saying keep it out of every brand (prospectors would revolt if you took autographs away from Bowman and Bowman Chrome), but right now, the sooner a set collector can finish the sets he or she want to complete, the better it will be for that person in the pocketbook.

Short prints have become a challenge for many collectors. And in many cases, it can be a good thing. It brings out that "hunter's mentality" where set collectors like me would continue searching until finding that elusive card to complete a set. In Heritage and Allen & Ginter, this works. It really doesn't work for the flagship brand. Remember 2002 Topps Traded and Rookies? Now I know there will be variations in this year's set. And I know that Topps has done this in the last two years for their football and basketball brands with relative success. I just hope that this is only a one-year run with the baseball brand. Don't stray from the formula of a good base set, keep the variations to a bare minimum (you're not doing this again in series II are you??!), and I'll be happy.

Please stop making the multiple factory sets. Do you really need to produce 10 or more different factory sets (Hobby, Retail, Holiday, All-Star Fanfest, and up to 6 team exclusives sets)? And for what...those five-card bonus inserts or the one card relic that is displayed on the outside of the box??? Set collectors who want those five card inserts can't continue to buy that many factory sets...not right now anyway. You know that a majority of these cards will "never see the light of day...EVER!!!" Why torture us? At least bring the number of factory sets down to four, get rid of the team exclusives even.

The whole point of my diatribe??? Just make it simple for the loyal set collectors who have continued to buy your products through good economic times and bad. I'm not saying make it totally simple, but don't make it too challenging for us either. If you plan on cancelling more of the sets we saw last year, make the products you replace them with set collector friendly. Make each base set worth looking at, and not an afterthought. If you do plan on cutting down on products, make sure the ones you will be putting out to market look good and worth buying.

That's all I ask. I know my thoughts and my writing looks more like a disorganized mess, but the intent should be clear. It's the KISS method...Keep It Simple...Seriously!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama

Ten Questions, Ten Answers. Ding!!!

In what seems to be an inadvertent attempt to get the Blog Bat Around going (sorry Dave), the girls at Dinged Corners sent a ten question survey out to the blogosphere. Many good answers from the gallery. Late but finished, here are my responses:

Round One:

1. If I didn't collect baseball cards, I'd collect Transformers or Marvel/DC action figures.

2. My baseball heroes include one you probably wouldn't know from my blog or comments, and that person is Andre Dawson.

3. Every New Years I resolve to increase my collection, but try and get rid of the cards I don't need as well.

4. If I could spend a day with one person from baseball history, it would be William Ellsworth Hoy.

Round Two:

1.


I like mine done in the Chicago style, with relish, onions, pickles, celery salt, mustard, and maybe a pepper or two (no ketchup). Oh, you mean canine? Lucy, all dogs and I have an understanding...they don't like me, and the feeling is mutual.

2. My favorite player of all-time is Ryne Sandberg. Bar none. My son's middle name is Ryne.


3. My favorite team is the Chicago Cubs.

4. My favorite baseball movies are (because I couldn't decide on one) Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Major League, and The Rookie.

5. My Favorite Baseball Books:


Topps Baseball Cards: The Complete Picture Collection, a 40 Year History, 1951-1990 by Frank Slocum, Red Foley, and Sy Berger


Classic Baseball Cards: The Golden Years 1886-1956 by Frank Slocum

6. My favorite card??? It's hard to choose. If I had to pick one, it would have to be...(really struggling to choose one)...out of 42,072 plus cards, I can't pick just one. Sorry. Now, if I had to pick a favorite set...it would either be 1989 Topps, or this:

my favorite insert set of all time, 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter Flags of the World!!!

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama