Wandering thoughts about card collecting.
* It drives me nuts when people say opening packs isn't worth it. Would I be wrong in saying that if everyone abided by that thought, there wouldn't be any singles to buy???
* 2025 Topps release is right around the corner.
I like the design. I think the team name down the side is a little difficult to read, but I like the team color aspect and actually like the position dots. It's different. I will say that I don't love the design like I did '24, but overall, its not too bad.
* Still working on my favorite players from each team. It's a little harder to do than I thought. I'm sure that it will evolve as I go along.
* So sad that we lost another great one in Bob Uecker. He loved the game and had the best sense of humor. So many great stories.
* HOF voting is starting to come out. Ichiro should be a unanimous pick.
What an unbelievable talent. Not only that he did it for quite awhile without much regression. I just remember every time he came to bat against the Rangers I would say just go ahead and put him on and save time and pitch count. I don't think he gets the attention in the card collecting world like he should. I know he hasn't in my collection.
* I did manage to complete another set. I made a trade on TCDB and when I was putting the cards away I decided to look and see how many more cards I needed and I was down to 8. I went on Buy Sports Cards dot com and picked up the rest from one guy. I can now check my 1996 Topps set as complete.
These are just a few of my favorites from the set. I really like the simple design of the cards. There are some cool shots like the Henderson, Jeter and Chipper Jones cards. Who doesn't love tribute cards in a set like the Mantle and Ripken cards.
* I've reached the point that my current card room set up needs an adjustment to become more worker friendly. Just like about everyone else, there is limited room so I'm going to have to be creative. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I've got to do something.
* I'm over all of these so called collectors who want absolutely nothing to do with base cards. I'm big on collecting what you want, but literally, discarding them completely and looking only for the inserts is something that I can't wrap my head around. Okay, that sounded really bad. They aren't so called collectors, they're collectors. They can send me their base cards though!
* Question: What are your thoughts on the PED players, those that were actually caught, getting in the HOF? I'm of the thought that they don't get in because they cheated the game. I don't know that I'll feel that way forever, but that's where I'm at now.
* Speaking of cheating the game, Jayson Stark wrote in The Athletic That "voters are not looking at the Astros' infamous Bang the Can Slowly scandal as a This Dude Must Never Enter the Halls of Cooperstown kind of "crime"." I think that's worse than steroids. Okay, maybe not worse, but just as bad. Pretty sure that if I had a vote for HOF Carlos Beltran wouldn't get mine.
* Back to my non-voting for the Hall this year, I think the only ones that I'd vote for if I had a vote would be Ichiro, Sabathia and Wagner. I'd probably vote for a few others to keep them on the ballot, but that'd be it.
* I've heard that there's a lot of baseball card people moving to Bluesky Social. Any of you on Bluesky? I just downloaded it and thought I'd give it a look.
I think that's it for now. Hope everyone has a blessed day!
Peace,
Michael
Isaiah 40:31
1) I am at the point on the PED issue, MLB absolutely 100% knew it was going on the entire time, but put money above the rules, so I say let them in if the numbers are there. With that said Hank Aaron is still the Home run King :)
ReplyDelete2) You can split those base cards with me when the "breakers" send them to you. :)
3) I don't do those social media outlets at all. Beyond this blog and my email I pretty much use the internet to buy, trade, and get baseball checklists.
The Steroid era was a systematic failure where blame falls not on just the players but the owners, commissioner, and media as well. Bud Selig is in the Hall, so let the legacy of his era be represented as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much for Hall of Fame discussions, so you can imagine how I'm feeling right about now. So much talking! I just like celebrating who gets in. Yay Ichiro, CC and Billy!
ReplyDeleteI don't hang around collectors who dismiss base cards. I think a lot of collecting videos are like that, which is a big reason why I don't watch collecting videos.
Lots of great topics to discuss in one post. I love it! Won't touch all of them... but here's my 2¢ on a few:
ReplyDelete1. I understand why people avoid opening packs... and I understand why people love opening packs. Been on both sides of the fence at different times in my life. When I'm on a tight budget, I'd rather let everyone else open up the packs and I'll pick out what I really want. That being said... 2024 was the first year since 2019 that I went all in and opened up packs to work on hand collated sets. It's been a blast.
2. Can't believe there was a voter who left Ichiro off his/her ballot. I kinda wish it wasn't anonymous and voters were forced to reveal their picks.
3. Congratulations on completing your 1996 Topps set!
4. I'm guilty of giving away tons of base cards over the years. Back when I was buying huge collections, I just didn't have the space to store everything. So I'd either take it to the flea market and sell them to someone who wanted a little entertainment or make a donation to Goodwill. That being said... I do have a deep appreciation for base cards. One of my favorite things to do these days is create Topps base card runs of guys I collect.
5. I used to be against PED users being in the HOF... but I've softened my stance against them a lot over the years. I think the main thing that got me to switch sides was the fact that so many guys used "greenies" back in the day, but none of those players were punished for using a drug that's known to help players focus while increasing alertness and reaction time. If that's not "performance enhancing" in a sport where you're trying to hit a ball with a bat... than what is? The other issue is that several players who names have been linked to PEDs who have already been inducted. Not sure how it's okay for some, but not others.
My opinion is let guys like Bonds, Clemens, Rodriguez, and Ramirez in... even if it means you have to put an asterisk next to their name.
Congrats to Ichiro, CC and Billy Wagner. I was going to be really disappointed had Wagner not made it in this year.
ReplyDeleteCongrats also on completing your set. The only sets I'm actively pursuing are 18 and 25 cards, so your set build is impressive to me.
I personally wouldn't like players who used PEDs in the Hall, but that's just me.