The State of the Collection or How to Subcategorize a Cards Purchase in Detail

Gather 'round the ring of fire, boys and girls. It's time to have a heart-to-heart, a soul-to-soul if you will. This tale will astound and confound you. And then it will turn around and make complete sense.

I am part of a contingent of folk that are called collectors.  In this internet age, it's a very simple process of see card, click on card, buy card.  This is especially true when a some promotion is occurring like free shipping or dehydrated cookies with every purchase or event tickets to go wild turkey riding (may or may not be a real thing).

The smattering of cards I;m about to present represent some of the many different directions that I have been pursuing in my collection over the past 12-18 months.  The only thing that they have in common is that they are all cards of the collectible variety.

Mike Schmidt 2012 Gypsy Queen Club: What compels us to pick up multiple cards of the same player if it's a different color, adds a border, changes size, or has a photo variation. As you can see, I went all in on the Mike Schmidt contingent.  This satisfies multiple levels of the Phillie collector in me: Schmidts, 2012 Phillies, Phillies minis.....triple check.

2012 Topps Gold Rush Redemptions: Typically, from each Topps flagship set, I choose one insert set to collect. When I received my gold rush redemption pack in the mail, I was really struck by the design of this one.  It is overwhelmingly gold and best represented that year's Topps edition for me.  So, I went about collecting the 50 card set.....and then, curses!  There's a second series set, and I am now missing 6 cards from there....and they're all big names: Trout, Harper, Darvish,etc....I think I need some help.

Junk Wax Era Phillies Inserts: I've begun filling in those insert cards of the Phillies that I could never pull from a pack as a kid. Witness the 1992 Fleer Team Leaders Dykstra...holla back.  Snagging the 1993 Team Pinnacle with Daulton and Pudge (I-Rod) was also a nice find.  I always wanted a Team Pinnacle card, and now I have one; 1:90 packs was a steep pull in '93.

2011 Phillies Crazy Collection:  Yes, that is the official name of this particular collection segment.  I went hardcore after Phillies from 2011 sets, even more than I normally do.  I have obtained an entire binder worth of cards including parallel sets and every base card from every issue released by Topps.  Let's see how many cards with the same photo I could get.....base Topps, base Topps diamond factory set, Topps Opening Day, Topps Chrome, Topps Chrome refractor, Diamond anniversary parallel, Cognac parallel (liquorfractor)....that's 7 cards of many Phillies from the flagship set with the same image.  I think I need counseling. Only 19 more cards to go (or 24 if you count those impossible to find mini variation cards from 2011 Gypsy Queen) for this monstrosity of a collection. It will be a great story one day.....as I end up wearing goggles staring blankly at a painting of a red hat.

1994 Flair Inserts: As a side project, I am trying to put together the 1994 Flair master set.  There are no parallels, and I have both A-Rod rookies in my possession (both pulled from packs, score).  I was really thrilled to get these hot glove cards.  Remember when die-cuts were all the rage with many shapes and interesting patterns?  You should, since it was just last year when this craze got started again.  Have you noticed that fads and fashions are cyclical? But, if there's one thing that will never go out of style, it's the word "hot".  I call everything hot, don't you? (/sarcasm).....In all seriousness, I was thrilled to be able to acquire the Maddux. Unfortunately, I still need the Ripken and Griffey for this set.

As a card blog, I find I don't talk about my collection that much.  Here's a glimpse of one slice of The Other World pie, mixed with boysenberry, it just might be a crowd pleaser.

Lineage Linking

Topps Lineage was not a favorite among collectors in 2011 (though they sure did seem to buy a lot of it).  There's already a lot of talk out there of its deficiencies and general malaise with the pack-opening process for this product.  A Spanish language card?  Experimental ideas from the '60s?  More detail was found months ago here about questioning ideas and motives behind a certain number of the presentations.

There is one great thing about this set: the opportunity to expand my 1950 Phillies auto collection by one.  Here we have Bob Miller, signing straight onto a 1952 Topps reprint. 


Bob Miller played for the Phillies (and his entire career) from 1949-1958.    He had a career best year in the pennant winning season of 1950, going 11-6 with a 3.57 ERA  (113 ERA+), finishing 2nd in the ROY behind Sam Jethroe.  He was a low K pitcher, even for the era,  with a career 2.9 K/9.   It looks like injuries struck him in 1951-1952, but he managed to come back up to the Phillies as a starter 1953-1954, then converting to a relief pitcher for the rest of his career.

This is actually one of the few times where I had not known anything at all about this long-time Phillie before receiving this card.  I think that there should be similar autos in sets like this of fan favorites (wait....that is happening this year) or even those who played at least 5 consecutive years on the same team who may have been overlooked.  I mean, when's the last time you saw a card of Harry Walker as a Cardinal or Ferris Fain as an Athletic?  (Note: These may have existed recently without my knowledge)

As the 2012 introduction to cardmania commences....


Stand up...

Try to be seen....

Dress fashionably in the latest fabric....

And try not to follow the crowd.....

Because you can shine (with some direct light)...

And be focused on your goals...

even when just beginning the collecting journey...

just don't get cut out of what you love to do....

Today's uplifting message was brought to you by the 2011 Topps Lineage Phillies inserts and an uncanny optimism now that the groundhog has seen its shadow. Knowing that there is less than 20 days to spring training is what keeps hope alive and the scattering of foil wrappers around my living room gives me a veritable hobby pool to jump in. The cycle doesn't end....

Phillies 2011 Diamond Anniversary Checklist/Wantlist

Do you know how long it takes me to put together a typical wantlist? Months....years, even....For posterity's sake, here's what remains from the totally sparksome parallel of the diamond anniversary year of the Topps. It looks like there are many Roy Halladay cards to track down....

11. NL Wins Leaders
146. Roy Halladay
219. Carlos Ruiz
267. Jose Contreras
325. Jayson Werth
420. Ryan Howard
469. Joe Blanton
511. Phillies Team Card
524. Michael Martinez
638. Ryan Madson
656. Raul Ibanez
US85. Roy Halladay
US91. Hunter Pence
US100. Cliff Lee
US117. Michael Stutes
US154. Cliff Lee
US189. Wilson Valdez

What a Waste of an Effort and Season

102 wins? Means nothing. Great players with gutty performances? Means nothing. 2011 season? Means nothing. It will go down as the year the lineup choked and the rotation barely kept its head above water in the playoffs.

How many regulars hit .200 or below for the series? Four. Small sample size, one can claim. Well, small sample size is not the malady that leads to a playoff series loss. Poor approaches, poor situational hitting, swinging at any pitch outside the zone, going meekly with hardly any hustle.

Don't get me wrong...it was hustle, but of desperation, trying to make something happen when it wasn't possible to be there. Running into outs on the basepaths in this game just doesn't cut it.

For one word of praise for the opposition....Carpenter's curveball was practically unhittable.

Game 2 was the real killer of the series. 4-0 lead, knocked out the ace, and then it was frittered away by Ryan Theriot and Jon Jay at the expense of Cliff Lee. A 2-1 lead in the series, and then David Freese gets inside Oswalt's head and has 2 large extra-base hits.

The bullpen pitched admirably, only 3 runs allowed total after the mop-up time in game 1. Ryan Madson will make a lot of money in the free agent market. The starting pitching was gutsy, but not spectacular. Halladay could not get off the first inning schneid and it cost him in this game. He sure pitched incredibly after that though. Hamels struggled and still ended up giving up nothing.

Everything up to this point was a waste...great season....to only be remembered for the 102 wins....when someone else asks what happened to this team? The only answer is they lost in the first round of the playoffs....not the championship series or World Series, but the first round. There is no sense of accomplishment for the 2011 season,just a pile of happy memories shadowed by this overarching fact.

100!

2008 Topps Ryan Howard #100

For the first time in my lifetime, the Phillies have reached 100 wins.  This is a great cap to the 2011 regular season.   It's unfortunate that they had that mini-tailspin last week, it would have been really memorable to have seen a team with less than 60 losses in a season.Halladay, Lee, Hamels, and company lived up to the preseason expectations and then some.  Let's hope that everyone's ready and wired for the postseason.  I'm definitely wired and that's not necessarily the three glasses of Pepsi I had earlier.....it could be anything really.

Speaking of 100, here's some interesting stats about Topps card #100 through the years.

Players who have appeared more than once as #100 (9)
Albert Pujols (10,11)
Alex Rodriguez (04,00)
Barry Bonds (06, 95)
Mike Schmidt (89, 82)
George Brett (85, 78)
Willie Stargell (75, 74)
Hank Aaron (73, 69)
Bob Gibson (68, 62)
Frank Robinson (72, 67)
Pete Rose (83, 71)

Players who have appeared the year after their MVP season (8)
2010-Pujols
2004-Rodriguez
1982-Schmidt
1977-Joe Morgan
1967-Robinson
1965-Ken Boyer
1964-Elston Howard
1960-Nellie Fox

Players who have had 300 wins in their career (3)
1958-Early Wynn
1979-Tom Seaver
1986-Nolan Ryan

Players who have had 3000 hits in their career (3)
1971/1983-Pete Rose

1978/1985-George Brett
1981-Rod Carew

Players who have had 500 home runs in their career (9)
1967/1972-Frank Robinson
1969/1973-Hank Aaron
1982/1989-Mike Schmidt
1984-Reggie Jackson
1993-Mark McGwire
1995/2006-Barry Bonds
1996-Frank Thomas
1999-Ken Griffey Jr.
2000/2004-Alex Rodriguez

Player who had lowest amount of wins-1953 Bill Miller-6 wins

The non-player card-1957-League Presidents (Giles and Harridge)

Players who were on teams that moved (3)
1955-Monte Irvin (New York Giants)
1959-Bob Cerv (Kansas City Athletics)
2002-Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal Expos)

Subset Cards (2)
1956-Orioles Team Checklist
1997-Dwight Gooden Season Highlight


What can I say? The number 100 has a certain synergy.  Any other interesting things you can find?

Phillies vs. Braves or How Pivotal are Midseason Series?

It may seem strange that I'm not leading off a post with a Phillies card for a post about the Phillies considering my blogging history. However, this is the only 2001 Heritage card I have ever had, so it gets top billing for this subject.

In 2001, the Braves were the kings of the NL East, having won every division title since the new alignment began in earnest for the 1995 season. The Phillies were struggling upstarts coming off yet another last place season. The Braves pitching staff was anchored by the outside corner painting trinity of Glavine, Maddux, and Smoltz, while the Phillies pitching staff was anchored by Omar Daal and Robert Person. It seemed that there would be no contest as in past years. But the Phillies, under the fiery leadership of Larry Bowa, the emergence of Jimmy Rollins, and the lineup anchoring by Bobby Abreu and Scott Rolen gave the Braves a run for their money with their young (only one position player over 30) core. They eventually finished two games out, giving hope for future years.

Ten years on, the Braves are the upstart in the division, with the Phillies having won the last four divisional titles. This time the old-guard aces of the defending champs have names like Halladay, Hamels, and Lee. And this time, the Braves have a young core of Freeman, Heyward, McCann, Kimbrel, Hanson, and Jurrjens.

These are clearly the two best teams in the NL up to this juncture of the year. The Phillies have set a blistering pace in the first half of the season, but the Braves have been the most resilient, creating an MLB best record since June 1 and also engendering a league-best road record.

The season series is currently in the favor of the Braves 5-4 and the teams are only separated by 2.5 games in the NL East. They have, by a large margin, the two best pitching staffs in the NL, allowing 3.27 R/G for the Phillies and 3.30 R/G for the Braves. Their offenses also hover around the league average of 4.11 R/G with the Phillies one slot above this number (4.16) and the Braves two slots below (4.02).

In league history, has dominance of your closest rival been a springboard to titletown? Let's examine the last three years in the NL.

(listed as 1st place/2nd place/1st place wins-2nd place wins)


2010 NL East: Phillies/Braves/10-8
2010 NL Central: Reds/Cardinals/6-12
2010 NL West: Giants/Padres/6-12

2009 NL East:Phillies/Marlins/9-9
2009 NL Central: Cardinals/Cubs/10-6
2009 NL West: Dodgers/Rockies/14-4

2008 NL East: Phillies/Mets/7-11
2008 NL Central: Cubs/Brewers/9-7
2008 NL West: Dodgers/Diamondbacks/10-8

So, based on this extremely limited sample, one doesn't always have to be better than the nearest competition in head-to-head matchups. It would definitely improve your situation if you do, but the key to success during a baseball season seems simple. Get your wins wherever you can and don't take any team for granted and don't get ramped up and burnt out from another matchup because they all count the same in the standings. Human nature doesn't always let us shield us from that. It will make for an exciting and tense series in July in any case.

Chase Utley Day was Yesterday

On that one time date
The 23rd of May
Was duly proclaimed
Chase Utley Day

With the team offense
Boggled and dismayed
With junkball lefties
Putting them away

For 46 games
The pivots sway
Did not produce runs
Or brighten the day

Valdez had no range
Orr had no sparkling play
Martinez was glad
To be in the majors to stay

Utley's knee languished
By Clearwater bay
Preventing his debut
To be continually delayed

The  fanbase rejoiced
Just as passionates may
On the news of his coming
He was heard to say

"3 runs or less?
That is absurd! I say.
This will not occur
On my return day." 

Polanco joined in
Cole's  outing was not gray
As a ten run barrage
Signaled the new way.

Hail the return! Hail!
The Phillies proclaimed
Good feelings all around
For it was Chase Utley Day

What can I say? I'm a hopeful fan these days....