Thursday, December 31, 2015

2015 In Review

Well it was the second year of this blog.  I took a long break from it for several months when I grew tired of blogging.  But I kept collecting during that time.  There have not been nearly as many cards added to my collection this year, but that is more due to the fact that there were not as many left and those that were left were much more rare.

You may recall that on the first day of the year I made some goals for my collection.  I am happy to say that I accomplished all of those goals.

Here is a refresher:

1. Knock five items off of my current Top 10. Obviously I move new cards in every time I knock one off, so I want five off of the current list, which is as follows:

1. 1998 Topps Tek #27 (I still need these patterns: 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 27, 34, 40, 51, 54, 55, 66, 70, 71, 78, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88)
2. 1997 Flair Showcase Masterpiece #115 (any version)
3. 1999 Prism Red #41
4. 1997 Topps Stars '97 All Stars #AS20
5. 1997 Pacific Baerga Softball #4
6. 1989 BYN Puerto Rico #105
7. 2006 Upper Deck Special FX Blue #677
8. 1998 Donruss Crusade Red #20
9. 2002 Topps Chrome Traded Black Refractor #T68
10. 2005 Topps Rookie Cup Blue #75
I picked up 13 Tek patterns from the #1 spot, leaving me with 11 to go.  I did pick up #3, 6, 7, and 8 and I have one other one that I just received.  I am counting it but I won't spoil the secret as to what it is.  It will be posted on January 9.

2. Get to 1,000 different cards. I have 883 now, so this is certainly possible, though it will be challenging.
Currently, I stand at 1,049 cards.

3. Get a signed 8x10 of Alomar with the Mets. I want photographic evidence of Alomar with the Mets, since there will likely never be a card of him.
I did get this item early on.  I also found a team card that he is clearly on, so I had to add that card to my collection.

4. Get the elusive bobblehead that I see on Ebay frequently.
I bought this item as well.


All told, it was a very successful year for this blog, and a fun one as well.

Let's take a look at a few odds and ends.

CARD OF THE YEAR:
Tough to beat this one.  I have gotten a few cards that were more rare, but none that were quite as impressive visually as this one.  The Crusade cards are beautiful.  The Red Crusade is the rarest of the three, serial-numbered to just 25 and are in very high demand.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS:
1.   I was sure that Alomar would be a manager going into the 2016 season.  Unfortunately nothing has changed and he will once again be the first base coach for the Indians.

2.  No new cards this year.  Not even any buybacks.  Ugh.

3.  The biggest disappointment is that I was not able to work out a deal that I had been working at for several months.  An Indians collector contacted me asking for a price on a bunch of very rare Alomars, including six Recollection Autographs and two 1/1s.  I think my offer was good, but he kept telling me he would think about it and get back to me and I would never hear back.  Occasionally he would get back to me, ask me for my offer and the cards I wanted again, then disappear again.  Very frustrating.  Maybe some day he will get back to me again, but I'm not counting on it.

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