Collecting outlook through 2025

Collecting baseball cards occupies a weird headspace where it ends up being a ride-or-die hobby - on the other hand I feel like cards I've taken in end up literally sitting around, piling up where I get self-conscious, yet don't do much about it most times.

I continue to think about cards, claim cards through online sales, rummage for cards in-person when I make card show trips - but any sort of pulse of the hobby has passed me by, where I might as well be on my own little island somewhere.

I've kind of wished that there was a part of the collecting scene that revolved around what I did - but that never was the case at all and I'm just plodding along, peeking on everyone else doing their thing online.

I’m too far deep into it through at least parts of the past four decades to pull out or pull back just a little for a reset - I feel like all my interests have been spelled out to an extent somewhere, where it shouldn't be the case where I feel down and out, but I really need those occasional reminders why certain things animate me.

It's not really all doom and gloom here and maybe it shouldn't be - there are at least a few things I would to be doing or thinking about going forward, where a part of me is emotionally invested.

1.) Making home brewed sets - from my all-time Top 100s to my so-called curated sets teasing various themes [mini-collections, stadium cards, uniform cards, Angels, etc], there is something about turning random bulk cards into something that I can sort of personalize.

I'm planning to make it where being pickier [all-time Top 100s] and doing more of roundups of themed bulk cards [curated sets] - end up being what I try to work on, in order to keep me sane.

2.) Mini-collections purge - maybe this ends up being a big deal for me, where I've been content to build up my various themed collections as part of a monolithic archive.

The inability to gather up what I've hoarded over the past three years to list and put away has left me in this perpetual bind - it might not be a solution at all, but the plan is to refer to my mini-collection cards as more of a feeder collection towards my home brewed sets.

This ultimately means seeing where I can break down a substantial number of undocumented bulk cards, to turn into Top 100 fuel for my all-time sets or using them to make themed curated sets - maybe it has never made sense to seek out all these bulk themed cards, without really looking to make them part of my own set to display and/or talk about.

One of my goals is to be able to list such cards out again in a spreadsheet - where I have a list to look at and occasionally check in case I might be picking up dupes.

3.) Decade / binder stars material - this is my catch-all collection and I have a tally of the subjects I have most cards of separated mostly by decade debuts.

I can't stop picking up odds and ends for one or more players as binder material - at some point I might need to get the actual cards in pages to update my player binders.

An idea in mind was to list out all the cards I had for 10-15 subjects - where it might be a thing to have something like 500 cards in-hand for any one particular subject.

4.) Regional collections - I'm not a team collector where I'm scoping out all the cards for one team, but having one team I do collect in general just makes sense.

I don't know if I have ever bothered to rein in my Angels collections - but for 2025, it might mean making a curated set out of random team cards, trying to keep up with my regional binder stars and updating loose card projects [Opening Day starters, all-time autograph collection, all-time register and frankenset].

5.) Loose card projects - maybe much of what I'm doing is considered 'loose card projects,' but I think I need to keep up with or revive ones that end up being neglected.

Maybe I need to keep tabs on my Hall of Fame collections, milestone numbers collections and award winners collections - where I can tally up new additions and see where updated numbers.

6.) A-Z singles - it's been a long time since I thought about maintaining this collection where maybe the idea was have a temporary collection of cards that might be keepers, but not at the same level as my personal collection cards.

As is, what I may end up doing is turning my A-Z singles collections into sort of my loose card PCs - where I am able to round up a number of miscellaneous cards that might be misfits at the moment.

7.) Personal collection cards - I don't know if I've maintained an update in recent years, but may end up doing so, just so PC cards do not get lost in the shuffle.

2011 home brewed card set #3 - through the fire

2011 Home Brewed Baseball Card Set #3

Through the Fire explained
A.) Veteran players [ages 30-34] and younger players [ages 25-29] who have established themselves in Major League Baseball - but have battled through injuries / personal problems, an off-year or two, being traded/signed onto new teams, dealing with expectations, hype, tragedy, et al.

B.) Super-veterans [age 35 and older] who are still kicking around - hanging on as useful players or just hanging on for one last year or two after enjoying productive MLB players.

C.) These cards are usually 'put together' at the beginning of the MLB season - with an initial set of 20-30 cards, an in-season update to bump the number up to about 31-36 cards and a 'final update' at the end of the season to add a final group [perhaps after the World Series].

D.) There is no set number of cards [minimum of 18 cards to about 63 cards maximum] - though multiples of nine applies, because nine is a number of cards fitting into one plastic sheet.

2011 Through the Fire - updated 7/25/11
1.) Albert Pujols - 2011 Topps #100
2.) Mark Teixeira - 2011 Topps #450
3.) Paul Konerko - 1999 Upper Deck Ultimate Victory #36
4.) Bronson Arroyo - 2011 Topps #98
5.) Jake Westbrook - 2010 Topps Update #US-101
6.) Aramis Ramirez - 2011 Topps #16
7.) Jhonny Peralta - 2010 Topps Update #US-199
8.) Josh Hamilton - 2011 Topps #29
9.) Ivan Rodriguez - 2010 Topps Update #US-155
10.) Francisco Rodriguez - 2009 Upper Deck #758
11.) Ryan Howard - 2010 Topps Update #US-265
12.) Livan Hernandez - 2010 Topps Update #US-29
13.) Carlos Quentin - 2011 Topps Heritage #129
14.) Jim Thome - 2010 Topps Update #US-252
15.) Lance Berkman - 2007 Bowman Heritage #27
16.) Todd Helton - 2010 Bowman Chrome #40
17.) Chase Utley - 2007 Topps Heritage #478
18.) Johnny Damon - 2009 Upper Deck O-Pee-Chee #439
19.) Josh Beckett - 2010 Bowman Chrome #7
20.) Jason Isringhausen - 2003 Upper Deck #164
21.) Carlos Beltran - 2010 Bowman Chrome #135
22.) Freddy Garcia - 2011 Topps #41
23.) Carlos Pena - 2011 Topps #163
24.) Bartolo Colon - 2007 Bowman Chrome #222
25.) Victor Martinez - 2010 Bowman Platinum #67
26.) Jorge Posada - 2010 Bowman Chrome #73
27.) Chris Carpenter - 2010 Bowman Chrome #15

2011 home brewed card set #2 - underrated idols

2011 Home Brewed Baseball Card Set #2

Underrated Idols explained

A.) Players who may not be nationally known and still flying under the radar - younger players who have crossed over from promising talent into productive every day MLB players, players who are entrenched in the prime as the stars of their team and veterans who are still pushing along.

B.) These cards are usually 'put together' at the beginning of the MLB season - with an initial set of 20-30 cards, an in-season update to bump the number up to about 31-36 cards and a 'final update' at the end of the season to add a final group [perhaps after the World Series].

C.) There is no set number of cards [minimum of 18 cards to about 63 cards maximum] - though multiples of nine applies,because nine is a number of cards fitting into one plastic sheet.

Underrated Idols - updated 7/31/11

1.) Michael Cuddyer - 2011 Topps #21
2.) Adam Lind - 2010 Topps Target #472
3.) Howie Kendrick - 2007 Fleer #182
4.) Brett Gardner - 2011 Topps Heritage #338
5.) C.J. Wilson - 2011 Topps #323; autographed in-person / 2011
6.) Carlos Ruiz - 2009 O-Pee-Chee #286
7.) Anibal Sanchez - 2006 Topps 52 #265
8.) Alex Gordon - 2008 Upper Deck #527
9.) Ervin Santana - 2007 Topps Chrome #17
10.) Nick Swisher - 2010 Topps Update #US-127
11.) Wandy Rodriguez - 2011 Topps #241
12.) Adam Jones - 2010 Topps #543
13.) Yadier Molina - 2010 Topps Update #US-259
14.) Mark Buehrle - 2009 Topps 206 #238
15.) Jacoby Ellsbury - 2008 Upper Deck #435
16.) Francisco Cordero - 2009 Topps Update and Highlights #184
17.) Shane Victorino - 2009 Upper Deck #296
18.) Matt Cain - 2011 Topps #570
19.) Daniel Murphy - 2010 Upper Deck Biography insert #SB-173
20.) Jeremy Hellickson - 2011 Topps #165
21.) Gavin Floyd - 2009 O-Pee-Chee #385
22.) Kevin Correia - 2011 Topps #47
23.) Michael Brantley - 2011 Topps #274
24.) Nick Markakis - 2009 Topps 206 #122
25.) Jordan Zimmermann - 2011 Topps Heritage #79
26.) Brandon Phillips - 2009 Topps 206 #157
27.) Mike Morse - 2005 Topps Total #755
28.) Eric Hinske - 2011 Topps Braves #ATL 9
29.) Billy Butler - 2010 Bowman Platinum #59
30.) Miguel Cairo - 2009 Upper Deck Update #U17
31.) Erick Aybar - 2010 Topps #108
32.) Alex Avila - 2011 Topps #497
33.) Joel Hanrahan - 2010 Topps Update #US 257
34.) Nyjer Morgan - 2010 Topps Heritage High Series #653
35.) John Axford - 2010 Topps Update #US 257
36.) Madison Bumgarner - 2011 Bowman Platinum #33

2011 home brewed card set #1 - superstar talents

2011 Home Brewed Baseball Card Set #1

I get stuck with excess cards when busting random packs, blaster boxes, et al - for the last several years I've been trying to put loose cards together featuring a theme like 'superstar talents,' 'underrated idols' and 'through the fire.'

Superstar Talents explained

A.) Players who have established themselves as superstars, if not recognized as such, at least in actual production - younger players who have crossed over from promising talent into all-star performers, players who are entrenched in the prime of their careers and older veterans who are still at the top of their game.

B.) These cards are usually 'put together' at the beginning of the MLB season - with an initial set of 20-30 cards, an in-season update to bump the number up to about 31-36 cards and maybe a 'final update' at the end of the season to add a final group [perhaps after the World Series].

C.) There is no set number of cards [a minimum of 18 cards to about 63 cards maximum] - though multiples of nine applies, because nine is a number of cards fitting into one nine-pocket plastic sheet.

2011 Superstar Talents - updated 7/25/11
1.) Justin Verlander - 2009 O-Pee-Chee #426
2.) Brian McCann - 2011 Topps Braves #ATL 4
3.) Jered Weaver - 2011 Topps #75
4.) Adrian Gonzalez - 2011 Topps #425
5.) Jose Reyes - 2008 Upper Deck Timeline #1
6.) Jose Bautista - 2011 Bowman #136
7.) Roy Halladay - 2011 Topps #11
8.) Prince Fielder - 2008 Topps #450
9.) C.C. Sabathia - 2011 Topps #102
10.) Cliff Lee - 2010 Topps Update #US-300
11.) Ryan Braun - 2010 ToppsTown #TTT24
12.) Clayton Kershaw - 2009 Upper Deck #984
13.) Josh Beckett - 2010 Topps Heritage #69
14.) Miguel Cabrera - 2011 Topps #150
15.) Matt Kemp - 2009 Upper Deck #457
16.) Justin Upton - 2009 Upper Deck #511
17.) Robinson Cano - 2010 Topps Update #US-230
18.) Jaime Garcia - 2011 Topps #23
19.) Joey Votto - 2011 Topps #5
20.) Cole Hamels - 2010 Topps Target #70
21.) Matt Holliday - 2010 Bowman Chrome #100
22.) Rickie Weeks - 2011 Topps Heritage #208
23.) Hunter Pence - 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen #77
24.) Johnny Cueto - 2010 Bowman Chrome #63
25.) Andrew McCutchen - 2011 Topps Heritage #10
26.) Dan Haren - 2010 Topps Update #US-306
27.) Adrian Beltre - 2011 Bowman #34
28.) Tim Hudson - 2011 Topps #77
29.) Tommy Hanson - 2011 Topps Braves #ATL 14
30.) Dustin Pedroia - 2009 Topps #66
31.) Brian Wilson - 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights #UH262
32.) Jay Bruce - 2008 Bowman Draft #BDP 11
33.) Craig Kimbrel - 2009 Tristar Projections #4
34.) Jair Jurrjens - 2010 Bowman Chrome #5
35.) Troy Tulowitzki - 2010 Bowman Platinum #26
36.) David Price - 2011 topps #61