600th Post Celebration and Giveaway!

As I approached my 600th post here at The Collector, I tried to think of some ways to mark the occasion. My initial plan was to end the All-Time Teams reboot at post #600, so that the celebration and giveaway would double as the capper to yet another themed series of posts.

Of course I can't stay on topic for 30 straight blog posts and as a result of writing about other things, I still have eight teams to go. {Programming note: I'm planning ten more posts this month -- and then a long break.}

I didn't want to repeat the same celebration ideas for my 500th Post, so I went back to read what I wrote a hundred entries ago.

Okay, so I celebrated with SportLots in April 2021...

Wait.. what?!? I discussed COMC cards and planned a hiatus after my second 500th post. How is this possible?

a) Pandemic brain
b) I deleted a bunch of posts in the middle of 2021
c) I counted posts from my former side project The 1993

Oh!! Here's how we can celebrate 600 -- with a quiz! I'll come up with six questions about the history of this blog, and you can answer in comments. Get all six answers correct and you win a PWE prize! {Comment moderation is on to hide your answers.}


1. Which blog/blogger was the very first one I discovered and followed?

a) Greg/Night Owl Cards
b) Matt/Bob Walk The Plank
c) A.J./The Lost Collector

2. Which popular card blog have I never followed due to the author's hatred of my favorite player?

a) Baseball Every Night
b) Padrographs - Abner to Zimmer
c) Torren' Up Cards

3. I have more than 600 cards of only one player. Can you name him?

a) The CTE-brained chud who stole millions in welfare money from America's poorest state
b) The jackass who threatened to sue anyone who reported on his welfare fraud
c) Seriously, does anyone want over 600 Brett Favre cards?

4. Who is my favorite actress?

a) Anna Kendrick
b) Brie Larson
c) Jennifer Lawrence

5. I own custom cards from several current and former bloggers. Which blogger has not sent me a commissioned custom?

a) Gregory (Nine Pockets)
b) Gavin (Baseball Card Breakdown)
c) Fuji (The Chronicles of Fuji)

6. What is the oldest sports card set I have ever completed?

a) 1961 Golden Press baseball
b) 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee hockey
c) 1986 Topps football

Pencils down. It's time for the big 600/600 giveaway. 

 

Last month I shipped out 300 cards to one lucky TCDB user who helped me reach 600 completed transactions. The back end of that 600-card giveaway will be shipped to one loyal blog reader sometime this month. First we'll run the randomizer six times to select a post (top of the list is our pick).

Then we'll randomly select a commenter from that post. Six spins for the 600th post, and the winner is...

Congrats, Derek! Your 300 cards will be shipped soon.




Thank you to everyone who has followed this blog, for a month or a year or several years.


I'll be back next week with the rest of the All-Time Teams rosters, including the "secret" 31st team 😜




Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

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Thank Yous

I received this Thank You card at work today. Two of the girls I work with (who are both younger than me so I feel silly calling them "ladies") got married... I think. No one actually specified. But last week one of the managers passed around a very large 'Congratulations!' card for us to sign, which included an envelope. "You don't have to contribute anything." He told me. I certainly would have - if I had any cash. 

I felt bad accepting this Thank You card but I would have felt worse telling Jazz that "I didn't give anything. I'm sorry." Apparently they have been together for 11 years. I didn't know they were a couple until I was handed the 'Congratulations!' card!

Six months ago I had never encountered an office couple in my life. Now I've seen three.. I think. There's a guy that sits at the far end of the office, by the warehouse, and he waits in his car at 5pm until a blonde woman joins him. At first I thought that was his lady but she might - might - be young enough to be his daughter. I'm getting off-topic here. 

I've got some virtual Thank Yous to hand out for some blogger pals, starting with Bob of The Best Bubble. Back in March Bob posted his finds from an estate sale haul, and I inquired about a card that was not shown. His Sam Jethroe autograph was part of an Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame set that also included..

It's Noodles!!

I've been looking for something - anything - of the Reds' greatest-ever starting pitcher to fill in one of the two remaining holes in my All-Time Teams collection. This won't fit in a nine-pocket page but it will make a nice addition to the collection. Thank you Bob! Now.. does anyone have a George Davis card?

I'm going to thank Fuji in advance for sending me some 2012 Topps baseball set fillers. It's the last flagship baseball set I plan to build, unless I change my mind about 2010 or 2022. I've got a cardboard box that fits nine 800-ct boxes perfectly:

Once the 2012 Topps set is complete I'll have to decide between filling it thisly:

• 2010 or 2022 Topps set, 2012-2019 Topps sets - all hand collated

or thusly:

• 2011 Topps - factory set, 2012-2019 Topps sets - hand collated

Fuji, thank you for your (forthcoming) help with this set project!

This past Saturday I received two bubble mailers in my mailbox. The smaller of the two was my COMC order. Not much to report there; the best stuff was featured in my recent post at The 1993 (yes I still post there sometimes!)

The bigger mailer was a surprise gift from Dennis. Longtime readers of this blog and others are no doubt aware of Dennis's generous care packages. I had actually worried a bit when receiving it; I might not have room for such a big pile of cards, and I certainly wouldn't have a worthwhile return for him.

It... wasn't cards.

Have you read my fairly recent post about the astronomical prices of actress autographs? Well...

Dennis laughs at your $500+ KatMac cards. Here's a whole ass book signed by Anna Kendrick:

I did read Scrappy Little Nobody a few years ago, but this Target edition contains a bonus chapter.

Now I can pair my Anna auto with her "rookie card":

Dennis, thank you very much for this pleasant surprise! A PWE is headed your way.

Fuji, I will send a small mailer to you this weekend. I've got one card for you that wont fit in a PWE.

Bob, feel free to pick a handful of cards from my for sale/trade list and I'll send 'em out ASAP. 

Thank You.. for reading ;-)

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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!

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