If I had one word to describe my collection, it would probably be "random".
There aren't any specific teams I collect. I don't really build sets. (The set needs tab on this blog is mostly just player needs in disguise, it's a lot easier than having to list out each player and the number.)
I do have player collections, but there are literally hundreds of different guys I collect. There's guys that I want every single card I can get my hands on. There's some guys that I only collect in specific uniforms. And there's some guys that I just decide to start collecting right out of the blue.
Some of the guys I collect are pretty obscure, like John Patterson...
...and some are not. Case in point: Ichiro.
Next to Vladimir Guerrero, my Ichiro collection contains the most different cards, 413 to be exact.
"Random" would also be the one word I'd use to describe my blog as well.
Here on "Dime Boxes", I hope I've given my fellow readers a truly random and maybe different look at the world of baseball card collecting. After all, that's what those dime boxes you see at card shows are all about.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love to read all the team-centered blogs or set-based blogs. It gives me a look at something I've never had the experience doing. Whether it be collecting Orioles cards, or just giving me a look at every card in the 1979 Topps set, I really enjoy reading them.
I just can't believe it took me until last summer to look into the blogosphere.
Maybe it's just a card that will make you laugh.
I call this one the "Lighten up, Francis" card. Don't take it so seriously, Mr. Wagner!
Maybe it's just a neat card that you've never seen before.
Something about a brick wall backdrop instantly makes any card way cooler.
I guess what I'm trying to do with my blog is remind all the specific team, player, or set collectors that there's a whole other realm of baseball card collecting.
And it's the collecting path I've chosen.
But all the team, player, or set-based blogs have reminded me of that fact as well. Before I started reading all the baseball card blogs out there, I had trouble grasping how anyone could just collect a single player or a single set. Teams I could see, because there's so many Dodgers cards out there (for example).
Seeing all the set and player-based blogs and posts out there have reminded me of just how many different ways there are of collecting baseball cards, and have given me a better understanding of a few of the other ways people do so. And that might be the greatest thing about baseball cards.
There's no wrong way to collect.
3 comments:
That's well stated, and remember you can always evolve as a collector as well. Until I started my blog in January of last year, I was a "collector without a cause." I didn't really become a Rockies collector until I started my blog. As a kid I just liked cards. I would put them together as sets, but I wouldn't strive to complete it. For example, the first set I ever worked on was 1986 Topps, I never finished it but I had a blast with it in countless ways comparing photos and stats and such.
When I got back into the hobby, I realized I needed to self-justify the money spent so I needed a goal or at least some semblance to my collection. I have still have a bunch of random cards, but I have focused myself a bit and I love it even more now.
When it comes to collecting I love variety. I never stop being amazed at all the things out there, from 1990's craziness to 1880's die cuts and even cards from a year ago. It's fun to nibble at all of it. In terms of die-hard player collecting I'm still loyal to just one. Maybe I'll never understand the really focused collector (though I'm sometimes envious in in odd way) but there's still much to be learned (and stolen) from their blogs.
My collection has evolved too. From collecting specifically Orioles (and even breaking it down further to Cal Ripken and Brian Roberts) to adding Dodgers and Virgil Trucks to my collection. From my set building (and an almost year-long series on 1955 Topps) to collecting Hall of Fame baseballs, my blog has kind of zig zagged its way through the hobby.
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