Revisiting my collecting habits

When the 2009 collecting year rolled around, I was admittedly late to the party. Like many other bloggers have mentioned, I bought a bunch of stuff last year to get a taste for what I liked. Unfortunately, that also meant I bought crap like A Piece of History and Opening Day, and I didn’t want to repeat my mistakes of collecting this year. I hadn’t bought anything non-Pettitte for quite a while, until this weekend, when I broke down and bought an 09 HTA Topps box. I had forgotten how much fun I had opening packs, but this box was even more special: my girlfriend opened the packs for me, and I watched on. I’m one of the lucky ones, as she doesn’t care that I collect, so long as I keep things organized, and don’t get too crazy with what I’m spending.

So with this new outlook on collecting, I have slightly revamped what I will be buying and adding to my collection. I’m also hoping that my “paying it forward” in trades over the past year will come back to help me out, considering how I traded off most of my stuff of the guys I’m now going to collect all over again (I believe I have discussed my short-sightedness in previous blogs).

I’m now focusing on:

1. Andy Pettitte
2. Chad Greenway
3. Derek Jeter
4. Mariano Rivera/Jorge Posada
5. Joe Mauer/Justin Morneau
6. Joba Chamberlain
7. Evan Longoria
8. Ryan Howard/Chase Utley/Cole Hamels
9. Albert Pujols
10. Bernie Williams/Paul O’Neill/Tino Martinez

The Yankees and Twins are of no surprise to anyone, but just to serve as a reminder that I have zero problem receiving them in trade. But I’ve pretty much drained all the local shops of any Yankees I don’t have, so I decided to sprinkle in a few Phillies, a young stud, and a bona fide superstar to pursue, as well. I don’t need any 1/1s, or rare patch auto cards of these guys (I’ll gladly take them though), but I would like to get a good foundation of their base cards (including SPs) and inserts as well.

I have also decided I am going to build the 2007 Turkey Red set, 2009 A&G, maybe the 2009 Heritage, hopefully polish off my 08 A&G and Heritage, and if I have the attention span left over, I may tackle this year’s Bowman too.

So there it is – my new(ish) outlook on 2009. If you have anyone on the player list you don’t want, feel free to send it to Minnesota. I promise I will have some sort of trading bait to get out to anyone who sends stuff. Also, if you plan on sending a g/u or auto, please let me know who/what you collect so I can go out and track down something comparable to send back.

Just a quicky…

Look at me updating – it’s not even a Tuesday!

To all the set builders out there – if any of the cards you are missing are Pettittes, look me up. I have about 600 doubles of him doing me no good, and I’d be more than happy to hook you up with some.

Also, to any Yankee/Astro team collectors, the same applies to you. I don’t have much to trade right now, but I can certainly help you out with Andys!

Hi

Wow, it’s been a month since I’ve updated? For shame, Eric. To be fair, I haven’t had a heckuva lot to blog about on a day-by-day basis, but when I put it all together, I can get a decent sized post out of it.

First and foremost, is a potential gripe I may have with this year’s Topps Heritage. Apparently they have misspelled “Pettitte” on the base version of Andy’s card, shorting him a “t.” However, his chrome versions, as well as the box-topper, all have the correct spelling. I’m hoping this isn’t some sly SP they’re pulling on me – leave that stuff for other players, stop gimmicking my guy, you asses. I have a Heritage coming in the mail, but if anyone else has picked up any of the chrome versions or the box-topper, definitely look me up.

The Pettitte collection has grown substantially, now weighing in 624 cards strong. Dayf recently sent me a handful of Yankees, and pulling off a feat that is hard to come by: blindly trading me two Pettittes I didn’t have: his 08 UD Ballpark w/Jeter, Pudge and Verlander, and his 2002 Bowman (I’m not too sure how this card eluded me).

Not to be outdone, Matt from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius hooked me up a few weeks ago with a nice 08 Finest Moments Blue of Pettitte. Again, a card I did not have in my collection, and I actually had never even seen it before it was in my mailbox. I’ve also received a ton of nice Jeters, Riveras, Posadas, Jobas, O’Neills, Tinos and Bernies from these guys as well as Kerry at Cards on Cards as well as a nice package from Thoughts and Sox, as well. After deciding to rekindle my childhood collection, Chris from Stale Gum sent me a handful of Mark McGwire inserts (among other Mauers, Morneaus and other great cards) in exchange for some set builders, and Dave from Fielder’s Choice helped me knock out a chunk of my needs as well. Everyone’s continued generosity is always appreciated, and I’m always amazed by how generous some people are.

I also got rid of the lion’s share of my cards, dumping them at my local card shop in exchange for a couple of Chad Greenway autos. Space is becoming an increasing concern of mine, and being able to move most of my commons for a couple of cards I really want is a nice thing. This leaves me with very little to trade, obviously, so here is what I propose: if you come across something g/u or auto of Andy Pettitte and I don’t have it, I will go out and buy something of comparable value and trade you for it. I’m still trying to boost my number of g/u and #ed cards, and to date I only have one autograph of his. If you have anything that I may need, let’s talk.

Hopefully I update this again before April, but in case I don’t: Happy St Patrick’s Day, Happy Spring, and enjoy March Madness