Collecting topics - bonus babies / cameos

Collecting topics cards are usually common cards with unique characteristics - I collect at least 10-15 of them, including ones that seem to be 'popular' with other like minded bloggers; facial hair, play at the plate, pitchers hitting, etc.

My favorite one or the one that got me started in this whole mess were cards featuring 'bonus babies,' like I read in a 1997 Beckett Magazine story - where notable players would be making 'cameos' on otherwise common players' cards.

It is fun to look for bonus babies/cameos/collecting topics cards because there is no set checklist, no real guide - when digging through a bunch of commons cards, it is fun to think of all the themes/collecting topics in my head and seeing if I can add one, two or more cards to the mix.

Bonus babies collection - a visual guide

I grabbed 18 'bonus babies' cards for my mini-collection sampler - bonus babies which are probably referred to as 'cameo' cards, pictures a star player on a common player's card.

I like stumbling upon them because it's like an easter egg most collectors wouldn't pay attention to while flipping through loose cardboard - for a player to count as a 'star' cameo, an all-star appearance is considered as well as whether a player has had some name recognition through points of his MLB career.

Probably the most difficult aspect collecting these cards besides finding them in the first place are the inconclusive images - who is exactly pictured on the background of certain players' cards when the focus is on the player who is listed on the card?

Most of the time the obscured player in the background is who I assume it is - but when the image is blurred, there is some doubt at times.

A look into my collecting goals for 2020

Like everyone else it seems, I have a yearly set of collecting goals, but maybe it gets too long winded to fully break down on a blog - I feel like a goof when I don't catch up to any of them and so maybe it is easier to keep them offline.

On the other hand, building up my mini-collections are my outlet as far as having fun with a card collection - so it's easy for me to dwell on and share the things I want to do with them through a current year without feeling like I'm going on and on.

A.) My goal for 2020 is to have at least 500 new collecting topics cards - same number to shoot for over the last three or four years, but tilt it so I have more control over the cards I bring in.

Roughly count out 100 specific cards towards the 500 cards I’m looking to add for the year - I hope to focus on cards I want to seek out and highlight outright, besides cards that come into my hands by default breaks and/or finds.

Look to pick up 50 either old-school [pre-1980] and/or vintage [pre-1973] cards - I don’t know if can whittle the numbers down further, so they are more realistic to reach, but still remain a challenge. I’d really like more old-timey cards sprinkled in with my newer stuff, but I don't know if I seek out old-school / vintage cards without an outright outlet.

Look to add 25 cards from other sports - trying to get cards from other sports is a wrinkle but always going to have a ‘baseball first’ mentality.

See if I can come up with Top 10-15 list of cards to hunt down and maybe posted on this blog and/or my offline cheat sheet; as I complete one, maybe I'm looking to make another list; aiming to make at least 5-10 lists by the end of the year.

B.) See if I can make sampler pages for my mini-collections that don’t have them - including unofficial collections. IN GOOGLE SHEETS, HIGHLIGHT THE CARDS I'VE USED IN BLUE.

For AA, make one for classifications / groupings - to clarify what it is.

C.) Rejigger designations for bonus babies / star on star cameos - sometimes I have two stars on one card as a 'bonus baby' when I guess it wouldn't necessarily be accurate to imply one is the lesser player even if one or the other didn't end up being a player who was or is on a HOF track.

Bonus babies = star cameos on common players' cards

Star on star cameos = two stars or better captured on one card

D.) Try and complete at least 15-20 bloodlines 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.

I do think it’s important because I would like to have cards of all related athletes together at the same time just so there is closure - when things already feel like a claptrap, I feel like I’m missing gaping holes in my collection.

As is, it maybe too tedious for me to make sure I have those completed bloodlines relationships and list what I may have added as achievements - but perhaps there is something about being more conscientious, so this goal may stay up for another year.

At the very least, go through my bloodlines Google Sheets file and make a running wantlist of the missing guys I either have and can track down and also the guys I need outright - there might be some obvious haves ‘missing’ that I’ve never added as well as potential ‘adds’ to fill in the gaps.

E.) List out adds that count for achievements in a particular year, permanently put away cards I’ve already listed [between adds and loose cards I already have] on a regular basis - at times, space gets impacted, so I need to see where I need to account for new storage options as needed.

Though this is what I do to keep up for myself, not some random goal to achieve - but maybe sometimes I neglect the basics.

F.) PEDs mini-collection - streamline implicated tab / comments [maybe a little redundant; what is the implicated tab listing and what is the information listed in the comments tab]?

G.) Research and development - the goal here is to cultivate lists of specific names and cards to seek out [either new 'adds' or old 'haves'] on my cheat sheet; at the end of the year, add listings to wantlist.

Maybe this is for my cheat sheet, but does it make much more sense to list out specific players / cards straight to a wantlist [?] - I think my cheat sheet is designed where I should add cards to the file 'on the go,' as opposed to a more formal list. Maybe there needs to be some redundancy so things don't exactly fade.

List out at least 20-30 old-school and/or vintage cards - do the research to see if there is a run of assorted cards I can pick up [for at least 4-5 six mini-collections].

List out at least 20-30 subjects’ cards for topics that go on and on - nations, bloodlines, local guys, infamous, PEDs.

List out at least 20-30 cards from seemingly unrepresented topics - broken bat shots, interesting backs, retro uniforms, inking it up, cult baseball players / feats, beyond the glory and uncorrected errors.

Go through Baseball-Reference.com’s player biographical information pages for various information on players from a particular nation - click through the sortable column headers to see the leaders in various categories [batting average, home runs, RBIs, games played, All-Star selections, etc] and check if I can list a run of names to add i.e. whether or not I have cards I can use already or need ones to seek out.

             Baseball Reference

Loose card finds - the mini collections

I had some time to rummage through an out of town card shop's '15 for $1' boxes - I'm not going through anything but loose nickel and dime cards, but I'd like to think 'the hunt' means different things to different collectors and there are still distinctions I keep in mind as build my piles of loose cardboard.

Going through random monster boxes of cards can be a free for all and there maybe opportunities to be 'freelance' a bit more and grab completely random cards - that still end up fitting whatever criteria I have in my head as far as mini-collections.

Instead of buying a repack of some sort outright from a big box store, I get to sort of dictate the content of the cards I want to take home - I ended up with 120 assorted cards for $8 and change [tax], many of which are just are just squirreled away as 'card depth.'

Awesome action
2016 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations Michael Brantley #SC-9
2012 Topps Chrome refractors Carl Crawford #29

2016 Topps Opening Day Superstar Celebrations Brian Dozier #SC-11 - more like Glen Perkins’ card with Dozier in the background.
1994 Upper Deck Electric Diamond Greg Gagne #79
1998 Topps Chris Gomez #117

1994 Upper Deck Scott Leius #322
2016 Topps Stadium Club Willie McCovey #18 - I have this card among my collection of other McCovey cards, but I can add this particular copy to my awesome action collection.
1994 Upper Deck Mike Moore #316
2004 Topps Chrome Mike Piazza #31
1998 Topps Kevin Polcovich #79 - this card features a cameo by Larry Walker and I thought I could add it to my 'bonus babies' mini-collection, but I had a copy of it already.
1998 Topps Marlins Win World Series #283 - feat. Edgar Renteria

1996 Upper Deck SP Alex Rodriguez #171 - wearing the Jay Buhner Fan Club t-shirt
1991 Topps Stadium Club Sammy Sosa #6 - a whimsy, more innocent Sosa wearing a throwback uniform; I had this card in my 'retro uniforms' mini-collection already, so this goes into my awesome action mini-collection.
2011 Topps Chrome refractor Rickie Weeks #147
2014 Topps Stadium Club Jayson Werth #52

2016 Donruss Optic Yannick Ngakoue #150 - football

2011 Press Pass Head of the Class Kyle Busch #82 - auto racing

Awesome outfield
2012 Topps Chrome refractors Melky Cabrera #134
2002 Fleer Jacque Jones #260
2012 Topps Chrome Kirk Nieuwenhuis #192

Beyond the glory
2011 Panini Americana Matinee Legends James Dean #1

Bloodlines
2016-17 Donruss Gary Payton II #198

Bonus Babies
1994 Upper Deck Joey Cora #371 - on the reverse, Rickey Henderson

1994-95 Topps George Lynch #20 - Chris Mullin and Chris Webber

Hats-off
1992 Stadium Club Members Only Dave Eiland #14
1994 Bowman Frank Thomas #18

Inking it up
1995 Topps Stadium Club Frank Thomas #400

Pitchers hitting
1993 Upper Deck Bill Swift #118 - on the reverse image

Retro uniforms
2002 Fleer Edgardo Alfonzo #158
1994 Upper Deck Tom Henke #367
2012 Topps Chrome refractors Jason Vargas #218

Shades
1993 Topps Stadium Club Mariano Duncan #276

Tools of ignorance
2012 Topps Chrome refractors Alex Avila #131

1992 Stadium Club Members Only Gary Carter #9
1993 Topps Stadium Club Geno Petralli #232

First collecting topics cards added in 2010

1991 Pacific Nolan Ryan # 40 - pitchers hitting

2005 Topps Cracker Jack Roger Clemens #70 - pitchers hitting

2003 Fleer Patchworks Jeff Bagwell #74 - bonus baby / cameo by Barry Bonds

By the end of 2009, I hope to have picked up 500 new collecting topics cards featuring various characteristics - I'm looking for cards with personality because there is nothing like finding a 'fun card' with a unique image or characteristic that is not going to cost much more than a nickel or a dime.

A.) Bonus babies – cards featuring star players who make cameos on mostly common players' cards.

B.) Inking it up – cards featuring players signing autographs.

C.) Unique shots/awesome action – baseball, basketball, football, hockey. Can be posed.

D.) Awesome outfield action – cards featuring players leaping, diving, jumping to grab the ball. Can be posed.

E.) Tools of ignorance – cards featuring catchers, maybe the hardest working players on the field.

F.) Facial hair – cards featuring players who are wearing beards, goatees, porn-mustaches, et al. 

G.) High-toppers – cards featuring players players sporting high-top socks.

H.) Grips – cards capturing pitchers' grips during their delivery. 

I.) Unique backs – cards detailing something a fun fact or a feat. 

J.) Two-sport stars – cards of professional athletes who've been known to have played in other sports. 

K.) Cult baseball players/unique feats – cards of baseball players who were considered quirky, a good quote, a little kooky, looney, attracted a unique fanbase, some notoriety or have actually done something unique on the field.

L.) Hats-off – cards featuring players without their hats on.

M.) Players smiling – cards featuring players smiling or hamming it up for the camera.

N.) Pitchers hitting – cards featuring pitchers hitting, running the bases or wearing batting helmets, about to step up to the plate.

O.) Retro uniforms – cards featuring players wearing turn back the clock jerseys/uniforms.

P.) Broken bat shots – cards featuring hitters breaking their bats. 

Q.) Beyond the glory – cards featuring players who have battled addictions, battled career threatening injuries, mental problems, et al.

R.) Uncorrected errors – virtually worthless, but still unique to have a card with a name mispelled or a card with the wrong player pictured, et al. 

S.) Steroid Era / PEDS – cards of players who were busted, suspected, reported, outed, et al. 

Collecting topics that can go on forever – 

A.) Bloodlines [actual and loosely related] – cards featuring players who are related to another player as a cousin, father-son, stepson, wife, odd bloodlines [a player is related to someone in another sport or non-sport endeavor], et al.

B.) Local players [Orange County, California] – cards featuring players local to the county, high school or college. 

C.) Nations – sorted by country

D.) Infamous – all sorts of professional athletes who have been known [or not known] to have done something notable in their careers.

Trade post with S.Mack Talk

Jimmy over at S.Mack Talk wanted some of my Topps yellow / Topps Target red parallels from my 2014 Topps breaks and contacted me about a trade early in the year - I held onto the cards he needed until we could finally meet in-person to complete the transaction.

I think the only card I originally wanted was a Mike Trout insert - but then Jimmy was able to round up some cards off my collecting topics wantlist, so at the very least I was able to pick up some cards for my mini-collections.

Awesome action
1993 Topps Stadium Club Juan Bell #157

Awesome outfield action
1993 Upper Deck Felix Jose #156
1995 Upper Deck Geronimo Berroa #29
2002 Fleer Ultra Shannon Stewart #99

Bonus babies
1995 Topps Glenn Parker #77 [football] - feat. Jim Kelly

Broken bat shots
1993 Upper Deck Wes Chamberlain #267
1993 Upper Deck Cecil Fielder #499
1993 Upper Deck Brian Hunter #582
1995 Upper Deck Joe Oliver #297

Inking it up
1995 Upper Deck Jeffrey Hammonds #129
1995 Upper Deck Hector Carrasco #166
1995 Upper Deck Marquis Grissom #290

Pitchers hitting
1995 Upper Deck Darryl Kile #22
1995 Upper Deck Robb Nen #114 - how often is a pitcher captured on a baseball card sliding to second base?
1995 Upper Deck Fernando Valenzuela #142
1995 Upper Deck Dave Nied #173
1995 Upper Deck Pat Rapp #256

Retro uniforms
1991 Donruss Greg Hibbard #159
1992 Upper Deck Mike Benjamin #268 - I the like befuddled look on his face as if to say, 'dudes actually played baseball with these gloves back in the day?'
1993 Topps Stadium Club Dennis Cook #153
1993 Upper Deck John Burkett #160
1993 Upper Deck Zane Smith #349
1994 Upper Deck Tyler Green #72 - x2
1995 Upper Deck Rod Beck #86
1995 Upper Deck Scott Erickson #428

Misc
1992 Upper Deck Von Hayes #707 - have it
1995 Upper Deck Larry Walker #82 - think I have it / broken bat or awesome action [on the back]
1995 Upper Deck Darren Lewis #87 - think I have it / awesome outfield action or bonus baby [on the back] feat. Barry Bonds
2013 Topps Update Craig Kimbrel #US 53
2013 Topps Update Joey Votto #US 268
2013 Topps Update Torii Hunter #US 276
2014 Topps Mike Trout #FN-20 - The Future is Now insert

Card shop trip

Bonus babies or cameo cards

You walk into a card shop and wish you can pick up unopened packs or boxes, maybe some singles - but then some times you get 'sticker shock' and decide you'd better be thinking about picking up something else.

Broken bat shots

Besides, there used to be this great site called Ebay, where at time, you can pick up some cards, but I digress - I must be a luddite because I don't actively use my PayPal account and Ebay has mandated sellers to do paperless transactions.

You are a little unsure if it is worth it just to go through a particular baseball card shop's common boxes, but part of the pilgrimage is digging through the commons boxes - I don't feel bad about putting some money into finding and picking up cards because I believe, I'm not spending some money to pick up cards of no value to me [at the very least].

Awesome action

I went through several monster boxes of commons and was able to get through parts of five different, random years - 2008, 2007, 2006, 2001 and 1997.

I ended up spending $20 to pick up 200 assorted cards from the commons bin - to add to my various 'personal' sets.

I had typed up a 'wantlist' I'd made up for the trip, but who organizes wantlists for collecting topic cards and various base cards [?] - these are my sets however. I don't collect to complete a set, but by the randomness of finding qualities among typically common cards.

Sometimes there is confusion with individual cards you have to think about - the most obvious cards I collect are image related and a bulk of my collecting topics cards consist of such cards.

If you do see a card that fits into one of the collecting topic classifications you are looking for, you need to grab it - I don't think any card is difficult to find, but there are so many card sets released each year. How do you find the ones you don't see because they were printed 10-15 years ago? It isn't a matter of scarcity or value, but just physically finding the cards in-hand when they are probably in mothballs.

Tools of ignorance

I'm admittedly anal about picking up the right number of cards and choosing different cards - but I ended up with doubles of some cards and later found I already had some cards I had picked up. I guess I get so excited at times to pick up as many cards as I can and I'm just not sure whether I have a particular card already.

Awesome outfield action

I hear checklists may help sort things out, but for as long as I've considered myself as a collector - I still need to figure how to be a 'nerd' and use a checklist for my benefit.

Featured pick-ups

1.) I dug out 80 cards out of a scrap commons bin for $2 - whenever I go to the card show, I usually spend a buck or two digging out random cards. The cards are usually 20 for a dollar but when I last went on Saturday, it was double the cards for a buck.

2.) Some of the cards I found maybe be blogged about, particularly commons with unique qualities, filed under the 'collecting topics' part of my collections - some cards I found are just cheap finds like 2000 Bowman Scott Linebrink x3, Eric Byrnes x2, Carlos Silva x2, Vicente Padilla x2 and Phil Dumatrait x2.

3.)While, it may not be the most spectacular collecting activity - pointing out something unique about otherwise common cards adds value to the collecting experience. It is also a challenge at times to point out something unique about otherwise common cards, but it is what makes it fun.

4.)My favorite collecting topic are 'bonus babies,' where a star player makes a cameo in common players' cards - I've got about 15-20 different categories to file certain cards in and each stack of commons is a new opportunity to find cards featuring great action, personality and otherwise unique images.

5.)It seems like I'd be happy if I can just have stacks of scrap cards to go through- as long there are interesting qualities to them that maybe overlooked.