This One's For YOU! (200th Post)

When I realized that I was coming up on my 200th post I began to think of how I could celebrate the occasion. For my 99th post I scanned 99 cards of players who wore #99. Can't do that for 200, obviously.

The cardsphere has been alive with contests and giveaways lately, and so I thought I'd use this 200th post to salute those of you who have given so much to the sports card community.

Fuji, Billy, and Dennis are among those who have mailed out care packages this holiday season. I mentioned Billy's card here and I'll be sure to write another thank-you post when the others arrive.  

Jon did a fantastic job taking over Secret Santa duties from Matt. Thanks for keeping it going, Jon! I hope everyone who participated enjoyed their gifts. Don't forget to thank your sender!

We're all looking forward to Wes/JBF/Willinghammer's grand finale over at Area 40. He was kind enough to include me, even though I was just popping in to observe. Kerry was incredibly generous earlier this year with his giveaway, and there are lots of other giveaways and contests going on as I write this. 

Giveaways and contests are great fun, but after running one of my own I vowed not to join one that isn't hosted by a blogger I follow regularly. I cringe whenever I see the flock of comments on contest posts, most of them from folks who wouldn't bother to read or comment without the possibility of getting some free cards in return.

contest post

regular post

One of the more interesting and fun contests of late is Josh's Baseball Sheep survey. That gave me an idea for this post..asking you, the reader of this humble blog, what topics are of particular interest to you.

I won't burden you with 20 (more) questions. Instead I'll bring back an old Craig Kilborn segment..

1) What kind of collector are you? Team/player collector? Set builder? Vintage or modern? High-end hits or dime box/dollar store finds? Your collecting preferences may be well-known to most of us, and if that's the case perhaps you can share something we might not know about the way you collect.

2) Name something you don't like about the hobby. It could be the brand monopolies, the price point of certain products, breaker culture..any grievance you choose to air. Or keep it simple and suggest a change that the hobby (or manufacturers) should adopt. 

3) You have been given authority to expand or realign any pro sports league. That means you can add two teams to the MLB or NBA, relocate up to two teams in any sport, or contract two teams if you think it's necessary. What franchise moves would you make?

4) What are your collecting goals for 2019? Is there a set you want to complete? A specific milestone you want to hit (200 cards of player X, for example)? What is your approximate budget for your collection? Do you plan to raise/lower it in the new year?

5) What topics would you like to see more of in this blog? I try to recap every trade, gift, and purchase of cards in either a single post or grouped together. If you feel like I haven't properly acknowledged you (ahem) please let me know. Other than that I pretty much write whatever comes to mind.

That said, there are plenty of things I consider writing about but don't. Here are some ideas I have been kicking around:

• Progress posts. These would focus on set builds, new additions to player PCs, and thoughts on how I organize my collection. I did a series on my star player boxes, shared my initial experience with cataloging cards on TCDB, and mentioned some of my sets in the past. There are still some sets and player PCs I haven't yet discussed.
  
  
  
  
  
  My O-Pee-Chee Franken-set is complete! You can view it here.
  
  

• Statistical comparison posts. I enjoy writing these posts, and they seemed popular initially. A lot of my analysis focuses on who should/should not be in the Hall of Fame.
  
  
  
  
  I bought this Luis Aparicio on COMC for $14.20, mostly because I like to 'sort by lowest' on graded vintage singles and this was the cheapest HOFer in high grade.


• General sports talk. We all have our own favorite teams and players, so I shy away from sharing thoughts on how well (or poorly) my guys are playing. That said, there are always breakout players, trades, free agent signings, and other issues to discuss - such as players who behave horribly with women.
  
  
  

These two cards were also in my latest COMC order. Russell was the last card I needed to complete the Heritage set. I picked up the Hunt because the Chiefs were red-hot and I couldn't afford any Pat Mahomes singles; the TMZ video surfaced two weeks later.

• Non-sports topics, such as music, women, books, movies, etc. From time to time I have long-form thoughts that are not about sports, but I rarely share them here because this is a card collecting blog. Some of you have indicated that you don't mind these off-topic posts on occasion.. but do you really want to know my thoughts on The Good Place, Anna Kendrick's autobiography, or why I'm so surprised and thrilled that The Cure were elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?!?!
  
  I also have bits and pieces of fiction that have been dormant since the beginning of this blog - with one exception. I could always repost that here, or revive my Lighthouse story if there is interest (and time) Be warned: it's mostly teen/YA fare.

 

Any feedback on any of these questions would be considered and appreciated. Thank you for reading this post, following this blog, and for making the card collecting community and blogosphere better every year!

~