2014 trading card collecting goals recap

With another year in the books - I wanted to see if I was able to own some of these goals or objectives I've set at the beginning of 2014.

I've gone through various incarnations as a baseball card collector and I feel like I'm getting twisted around - I feel like I want to be 'in' on 'everything,' but may need to reign in my interests because I don't want things out of control.

I feel I don't really have the breadth / resources to be interested in all sorts of cardboard - I'm a card guy, I like to flip through cards, but I'm just making things up to just to sort of HOARD.

I get overwhelmed thinking about the mash up of assorted tasks I have to keep up with - not collecting, not enjoying but having to work on sorting a large number of cards, putting them into a database, the physically sorting cards into a variety of collections, maybe I've created on a whim.

Still baseball card collecting is a thing and I have to push for a prolonged collecting experience – which means I've got to always be working on my collections, so every thing is still sort of fun, yet I'm top of things.

The date on brackets is the last time I jotted something about a particular goal - while anything marked under update is my actual recap for the year.

1.) Reboot my Angels collection [1/2/14]

A.) I'd like to put together a list of Top 30 PC cards in my Angels collection - by the end of the year, I want a collection of cards to showcase i.e. a wrinkle is while these cards should be centerpieces to my regional collection, value isn't going to be the focal point, but having a list and a physical grouping of cards to work from.

B.) Account for an A-Z singles collection - list in a database and have a physical place to store the cards in.

C.) Account for an insert collection of Angels - basically list cards in a database and be able to put away in binders.

D.) Account for loose Angels cards - my goal is to have a binder of random Angels cards as a 'jukebox' of sorts; cards that go into this collection should be listed in a database.

UPDATE - a work in progress, it's tough for me to sit down and do the things I've listed and maybe my regional collection is all over the place as opposed to being concise and organized.

2.) Reboot my A-Z singles collection [1/2/14]

A.) Start looking to pick up after loose cards to see if there is anything I can put together - what I can weed out such as rookie cards, certified autograph cards and other inserts that are 'dated.'

B.) I want to store various singles in top loaders in a box, list in a database and file away - organized mostly by player in 'ABC' order and then possibly by card type i.e. basic rookie cards, parallels and certified autograph cards.

EXAMPLES
* Any card I picked up as a single and paid over $10 or any notable pulls
* Rookie cards and rookie year parallels - I want to put together a 'default collection' but find the MLBPA Rookie Logo cards to be junky, so I don't know if I really count most as good enough to be 'A-Z singles' worthy cards.
* Any notable parallels / inserts - numbered, certified autographed, game-used material / patch cards
* Notable oddballs like promos, minor league cards, et al

UPDATE - a work in progress, I just haven't pushed through with a permanent system in place to account for my singles.

3.) Personal collection cards [1/2/14]

A.) Maybe find a better physical place to store my various PC collections

B.) Continue to add to my various PC collections - of course, I want something modern, blinged out, but also I'm not looking to bust a budget.

My Top 30 PC cards should feature my most prominent 'value' cards - I want to say this collection will be the easiest to sell off even though the values may fluctuate over time.

My Top 30 alternate PC cards - maybe a collection of cards that maybe an extension of my Top 30 PC.

My Top 50 common PC cards - is a collection consisting more of 'rank and file' keepers with some 'gems' I may have not ranked among the first two collections listed.

Top 50 fun PC - maybe the idea of a 'fun' PC becomes a little absurd when the state of my 'serious' PC collections are just a little thin all around.

UPDATE - a work in progress, there might be a 'foundation' in place with my personal collection cards, but I just haven't pushed through with doing more.

4.) Inserts [1/2/14] - a couple of years ago, I tried to list my inserts in a spreadsheet and put them away in binders, but kind of lost interest over the last year as cards piled up.

A.) Try to restart what I was trying to do two years ago with the process of putting inserts away - make sure that most inserts are accounted for, even if organizing them really just means they are in a binder somewhere.

B.) It may not be a true goal, but try and figure out things about my spreadsheet - discover forgotten cards, try to sort cards by team to perhaps serve as trade bait.

C.) I'd probably like to see if I can generate 10-15 trades - by posting a listing of cards by teams.

UPDATE - a work in progress, where I maybe looking to store inserts by teams in boxes, instead of in random order in plastic sheets.

5.) Collecting topics [1/2/14] - maybe not so subtly, I kind of what to make these cards the focus on my sports card collections.

Why do I fiddle with junk wax cards in the middle of the night, listing them in a database and covet cards that have been long forgotten [?] - it's something personal to me I guess, where I enjoy putting cards together that have the same theme.

It doesn’t mean what I'm doing with the cards is making me smarter, when it's not even particularly unique [checks out a number of other bloggers' sites] - but it’s neat to be 'playing' with a smorgasbord of assorted cards and sort of give them new life.

A.) My goal for 2014 is to have at least 500 new collecting topics cards with 250 either old-school [pre-1980] and/or vintage [pre-1973] cards - I feel like the older Topps cards do not have have as much personality, so it's harder to find cards with sort of unique images as opposed to cards I can possibly add to topics that go on and on i.e. nations, bloodlines, local guys, et al; it's easier to find cards from the past couple of years with unique images that makes an otherwise common card 'pop.'

B.) I'd like to have more cards for collecting topics that seem to be underrepresented - so maybe try harder to find and add at least 20-30 cards to certain topics i.e. broken bat shots, interesting backs, retro uniforsm, grips, cult baseball players / feats, beyond the glory and uncorrected errors.

C.) Scour loose signed cards and list at least 100 as adds to my 'collecting topics' tree - it maybe the easiest way to find use for signed in-person cards that I get signed.

D.) Find and list 20-25 ‘new’ subjects for topics that go on and on - nations, bloodlines, local guys, et al.

E.) For ‘bloodlines,’ try and complete ‘10-15’ relationships in a given year [knowing there maybe others along the way] - i.e. find the son, the cousin, the father’s card to go with what I may have in a collection already.

Official collections
Tools of ignorance
Broken bat shots
Facial hair
Awesome outfield action
Nations
Shades
Hats off
Pitchers hitting
Interesting backs
PEDs
Bonus babies
Local [OC] guys
High socks
Inking it up
Infamous
Awesome action
Retro uniforms
Grips
Cult baseball players / feats
Beyond the glory
Bloodlines
Two-sport stars
Uncorrected errors
Players smiling

UPDATE - I may or may not have added my 500 assorted cards in 2014, but I'm not sure if I can keep up with the minutia of counting out the vintage, underrepresented topics, autographed, new subjects, bloodlines, though it’s kind of an ideal.

Maybe I need to make anything to do with collecting topics / mini-collections a broader goal - since the minutia that may make these collecting goals hard to keep up with on a regular basis.

6.) Finish my Topps team runs and my Topps sampler runs from 1978 to 2014 [1/2/14] - it's not really something I've been seriously working on, but I'd like to knock out a bunch of years and complete at least a couple of MLB teams; I made a Google Sheets file so I take the cards I have or will pick up and be able to list them.

UPDATE - a work in progress, I want to to sit down and list all the cards I have, so I can work towards finding cards I need towards this set.

At times I feel don’t have the right cards, when I feel like I want specific cards for specific years for certain teams - even though this collection is meant to built through random Topps cards.

7.) Reboot my award winners [MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year] collection [1/2/14] - it's not really something I've been seriously working on, but get a new binder for the cards, make sure I at least have a card for each award winner from the last three or four years covered, make sure I have appropriate cards for certain players and see where I can add a new card to fill a hole.

UPDATE - at times my attention wanes and I’m not sure if I want to do anything with this collection since I feel like it’s just a claptrap of assorted cards.

For a particular year and player - do I use a base card, a memorabilia / autograph card, an in-person / TTM autograph, et al?

For old-timers, I'll use a retro card because it's what I have, but maybe I have to make an effort to find a card that fits within the time period - or at least correct uniform pictured when player won a particular award]

What am I going to do about players who don't really seem to have any cards [maybe early, formative years of a particular award] - when I want this collection at least concise and up-to-date.

I still try to update the award winners each year - but I'm not sure if I want to spend time going through an actual reboot.

8.) Find semi-permanent storage solutions [1/3/13] - have a system in place where I’m not juggling around loose cards, but have storage answers that are viable and maintainable.

UPDATE - sadly, I can’t say I’ve done much toward this particular goal, because I'm iffy on how I store assorted cards; I have a hard time dealing with all the cards I've gotten in-person after the fact as well as finds / pulls / A-Z singles / person collection.

I may do a better job with the dollar and under cards I find at the card shop [the ones I sort by teams for in-person graphing] and collecting topics cards - but it's all kind of a work in progress.

9.) Cardboard acquisitions [1/2/14] - I like a little bit of everything, but don't want to be a hoarder.

A.) I'd like to be able to pick up 20-25 assorted singles - such as rookie cards, certified autograph cards and other inserts that maybe interesting. Are there any certified autographs I need as far as an impulse pick up?

UPDATE - most of the time, any notable singles maybe pulls from assorted pack / blaster / box breaks rather than seeking out specific cards.

I'm not really focused on picking up singles and at times wonder if I really need particular cards and maybe create a random a wantlist - when I feel like it is just to have something to chase as opposed to really ‘falling in love’ with a specific type and/or specific card, picturing a favorite player or something.

B.) Pick up 15-20 first-year autograph cards - it doesn't seem realistic to go after prospect cards that are already signed when I'm eventually going to go for the players in-person.

UPDATE - I’d like to have some potentially nice cards for my collection, but I sunk actual money into prospect cards of guys that were straight up busts or disappointments, so maybe I‘ve quit the idea of being any sort of wanna-be baseball card prospector.

It is a completely different thing to chase first-year, certified autograph cards of potential top prospects and to chase the actual, players themselves for random scribbles on random cards - I'm not building up my card collection through in-person / TTM autographs, but I lean towards trying to meet the players themselves [since it's more fulfilling than going to eBay and trying to hunt down pack pulled, first-year autograph cards].

C.) I'd like to pick up at least 10-15 Angels prospect cards - who are the Angels Top 10 prospects / who are their top picks and can I get at least one certified autograph card and one certified autograph parallel of each of those players in a particular year.

UPDATE - I can’t say I’ve done much toward this particular goal, though maybe doing my homework to preview a product’s checklist to look for any Angels listed is the least I can do, to add some new prospect cards to my regional collection.

D.) I'd like to pick up a regional PC card per month - I'm also not looking to bust a budget but cards that I can add towards my Top 30 PC; these cards could be towards a PSA graded sampler, a parallel, et al.

UPDATE - the cards I like to add feature Mike Trout, but he’s a guy everyone wants at the moment and regardless, there are a lot of his cards [so I don’t know if I could add one that makes my PC pop].

E.) I'd like to pick up a random card per month - something off-the-wall and completely random, probably for some sort of nostalgia.

UPDATE - I’m not sure if this one works at all as a serious goal, though a part of me wants something to pick something impulsive and not planned out.

F.) I'd like to bust five to 10 'guilt free' hobby boxes - try not to buy into hype when boxes first come out but pull the trigger on a couple.

UPDATE - I am more of a hand collated set guy, though I bought into the hype of 2014 Topps Stadium Club and picked up a box 'early on' and also tried two boxes [packs] of 2014 Topps Supreme.

Stadium Club wasn't a dud product, it usually just had dud autos and now can be found rather cheaper than when they first came out - I thought Supreme may have been a decent product, though I think I maybe more of a guy who likes a midlevel product with more cards and one or two per box hits as opposed to a midlevel 'all-or-nothing' product.

G.) Build up a pack surplus [ideally about 10-15 packs at a given time] to bust at different times of the year - as a baseball card collector, I have to rip once I jump inside the car; as an in-person autograph collector, I can't hold onto an unopened pack when there might be a card inside I can try and get autographed; no repack packs or junk wax.

UPDATE - the only two packs in my surplus include two repack packs that are junk wax [a couple of old and moldy smelling Benchwarmer non-sport packs from the 1990’s].

I bust packs to rip, for the thrill of the gamble, not to hoard the packs for later on that may never happen - maybe I should buy an extra pack or two to save, but what for?

H.) Continue to find something in the dollar and under box [1/5/14] - maybe create a list of cards I fished out on the cheap.

UPDATE - I don’t know about creating a list, but I guess I find something decent in the dollar and under box once in a while; maybe the best card I found was a 2004 Topps Heritage rookie card of Yadier Molina that maybe worth $5 on a good day on the bay.