Much of my collecting focus this year was geared toward building and completing sets. However I think I've hit a wall there. Every TCDB trade option has been exhausted - aside from maybe some 1994 Fleer Ultra baseball singles, there's nothing else I can acquire with what's left of my tradelist.
I've made 15 separate purchases on Sportlots in 2023(which has become my go-to sports card site, eclipsing COMC) plus a couple from TCDB (shoutout supergajit and RSmith1217). And I made a lot of progress! My two-page wantlist shrunk down to two-thirds of a page, and even with four new projects added it's still much cleaner than it was eleven months ago.
With my team collections nearing capacity and new sets not really thrilling me (except for 2023 Topps Archives) it was time to turn my focus to player PCs. I added a bunch to my TCDB wantlist and began boosting those numbers. So here's an update on some of the players I collect and where my count stands with four weeks left in the year:
Robin Yount
Current Count: 130 (8th overall, 1st among non-Red Sox in my collection)
Incoming via TCDB: 20
Notes: Even with my meager trade bait it's not hard to reel in overproduction-era singles of a Hall of Famer with over 9,000 unique cards. There are some 2000s singles (Fleer Greats, Legendary Cuts) en route as well.
Kris Bryant
Current Count: 68 (19th, 1st among active non-Red Sox)
Incoming via TCDB: None, but not for lack of trying.
Notes: I didn't add Bryant cards to my wantlist and I've wavered on keeping him on my PC player list. But he's one of few active players I like and his cards always look sharp - especially this one:
I asked for this in a potential trade and the user removed it in his counter, so I declined and bought one on COMC - for well under a dollar.
Eric Dickerson
Current Count: 57 (12th, 2nd among non-Packers)
Incoming via TCDB: 2
Notes: The last time I was able to purchase a football repack from the Shop Rite vending machine I pulled an '84 Topps Dickerson (In Action, not the true RC)
Dan Marino
Current Count: 92 (6th, 1st among non-Packers)
Incoming via TCDB: 2
Notes: Marino has over 14,000 different cards. He'd have crossed the 100-card milestone in my collection long ago if there were more football card collectors on the blogs and TCDB.
Christian McCaffrey
Current Count: 42 (21st, 1st among active non-Packers)
Incoming via TCDB: none
Notes: CMC used to be easy for me to collect, since he's an injury prone non-quarterback. It's been a bit tougher now that he's on a more glamorous team - not just due to the abundance of 49ers fans but also because my dislike for the team. This is the only SF McCaffrey card I have to date, and I acquired it in a recent TCDB trade.
Art Monk
Current Count: 45 (20th, 6th among non-Packers)
Incoming via TCDB: None from TCDB; one incoming from COMC
Notes: Some recently completed trades brought in a few of Mr. Monk's early '90s issues I was inexplicably missing. I should be able to add a couple more before I run out of trade bait.
Hakeem Olajuwon
Current Count: 72 (2nd among all NBA players)
Incoming via TCDB: 12, plus one incoming from COMC
Notes: TCDB counts multi-player team cards, like this. I only count them if the player is specifically mentioned, like this:
...which TCDB does not include in my Hakeem card count, for some reason.
Reggie Miller
Current Count: 75 (1st among all NBA players)
Incoming via TCDB: 2
Notes: The race to 100 is on. Hakeem is pulling ahead. and will take the lead from Miller once all these TCDB trades arrive (even when you factor in their wacky accounting). I've been trying to find an affordable Finest or Chrome refractor of Reggie and it just isn't happening. Although I did manage to pick up his Fleer RC for my set build.
Damian Lillard
Current Count: 34 (19th, 1st among active NBA players)
Incoming via TCDB: None
Notes: My Lillard PC was in danger of shutting down this summer as the Portland legend tried to maneuver his way to Miami. When he ended up in Milwaukee instead(my de facto favorite team) I revived my interested in acquiring more Lillard cards, and I'm looking forward to adding my first Dame card as a Buck.
Alex Ovechkin
Current Count: 180 (1st among active NHL players)
Incoming via TCDB: 5; plus one from COMC
Notes: Ovi's Gr8 chase toward Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record is slowing down (he's 67 goals away and only has 5 this year) but my Ovechkin collection marches on. I should be able to reach 200 different cards before the end of 2024.
There are plenty of other players I collect, but these ten have been my main focus.
Have you acquired any notable cards of your favorite players lately? What are your hobby goals for 2024?
Thanks for reading!
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I like this idea, been thinking about doing the same.
ReplyDeleteI have most of my Yount cards uploaded to TCDB if you want to look through them and do a different trade.
ReplyDeleteI recently picked up a 2022 Topps Tribute Green auto/triple jersey card of Nick Fortes, who is from where I live.
As far as 2024 goals, get my entire collection logged into TCDB, and complete as many Topps base sets as I can.
I'll keep that in mind for the next one. Need to round up more Rays to send you.
DeleteI'm glad you posted this because I tend to forget about your other PCs. I'll try to remember to check for those players when I'm at shows.
ReplyDeleteI have too many "favorite players" to pick one out, but I have added some very nice ones to the overall PC this year.
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ReplyDeleteFor some reason I had been under the impression that you had stopped collecting Reggie Miller, so I didn't send you a message about the ones I took out of a binder a few months ago. I do still have them though. Are you interested in anything you don't have then, or are you just looking for certain cards?
ReplyDeleteHey yeah, that Showcase Yount looks familiar. Hit me up later for Marinos, I should have a ton, but they may be a little older than what I have entered in the database so far....
ReplyDeleteI love that Triple Threat Hakeem! I have fond memories of Fleer basketball sets from this time.
ReplyDeleteBack in the 80's and 90's... I was a big Marino guy. Living among Niner Nation where everyone roots for Joe... I went with the other QB great from that era. I sold most of his stuff with the sale of my collection in the early 2000's, but kept a few treasures. I was also a huge Reggie Miller guy, but sadly didn't really collect his cards.
ReplyDeleteI picked up two new Jordans for my collection at the flea market last weekend. I'm really behind on blogging, but the goal is to eventually write about them.
It's sad that Bryant has taken a steep nosedive since his Cub days.
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