Milling Around

Here's the latest T206 to enter my collection. This marks my 12th T206 card and the first to feature the Old Mill advertising. I'm 11 cards shy of completing the Reds team set so I'm officially past the halfway mark on completing this team set. On a side note, I discovered that Dubuc was caught up in the largest scandal in baseball history. During the 1920 investigation into the Black Sox Scandal, evidence was discovered showing that Sleepy Bill Burns had advised Dubuc that the 1919 World Series had been fixed and that Dubuc should, therefore, bet on the Cincinnati Reds. Dubuc was neither a participant nor a conspirator in the scandal, but was pursued for his "guilty knowledge" of the fix. (according to Wikipedia).

2019 Topps

I realize that Topps released their 2019 flagship series one cards a few days ago, so I'm a little late to the party. I do like the design of this year's set. Although there aren't any borders, the hockey stick style that's reminiscent of the 1982 design comes close to providing one. I just wish Topps hadn't included the pixel effect on the cards. There are a few Reds base cards that immediately grabbed my attention in this year's series one release. The first being Billy Hamilton with the ivy at Wrigley.

I'm still disappointed that Hamilton is no longer with the Reds. Defensively, he's a beast and has some of the greatest catches I've ever seen a center fielder make. Offensively, he just doesn't have the bat to at least get on base. Maybe he'll be able to pull it together in Kansas City. The second card I admire is Joey Votto stretching before his at bat. For whatever reason, this card reminds me of all the Leaf Pete Rose cards that show Charlie Hustle doing the exact same thing.

Finally, this Votto short print is fantastic. It's something you don't see very often from Topps in a base flagship set. Every time I look at this card I hear the same phrase repeated over and over in my head, "Damn he's smooth."

So, that's my thoughts about 2019 Topps series one. I'm already looking forward to series two as long as there are no super short prints I have to chase.

A Bittersweet Milestone

Today I was finally able to complete (once again) my 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen set. The last card I needed was this Ty Cobb card. I thought I had ordered the card from my latest batch from sportlots, but unfortunately I somehow missed it. This was the last set I had started prior to my Dad passing away in January of 2012. I had finished it towards the tail end of 2011 but for some stupid reason I sold the thing in the summer of 2012. While this set has always been my favorite retro set that Topps released, it's always reminded me of the last year I spent with my Dad. I decided when I started collecting the set again in 2017 that I would do something I hadn't done before...track exactly how much I've spent on acquiring the set. I didn't attempt to complete the autograph and relic sets my first go around but I decided to pursue them this time because I like the look of the cards and all the autographs are on card with the exception of the Ryan Howard that's a stickergraph. In addition to the main set, I've also been collecting the insert sets, the autographs, and the regular size relics. I've completed all the insert sets and I'm currently down to needing 11 autographs and 1 relic card (the Molina). It's really opened my eyes to just how much one set can cost and I will say that while it's been an expensive endeavor, I've enjoyed the chase. It's also made me realize that I need to reign in my spending on sports cards. I hope to eventually complete the set, even though I still need the Aaron and Koufax autographs, but from here on out I'll stick with wrapping up my late 40s to early 50s Bowman Reds team sets as well as my t206 Reds cards I still need. So, for those of you interested in the breakdown here's what I've spent.

Base Set with Short Prints: $136.42
Great Ones Insert Set: $15.18
Future Stars Insert Set: $4.02
Home Run Heroes Insert Set: $7.67
Stick Fingers Insert Set: $3.96
Wall Climbers Insert Set: $1.92
Autographs (so far): $423.26
Relics (so far): $90.66
Shipping (so far): $128.71

For a grand total of $811.80!
 

Reevaluating My Collection

I'll be honest...I'm to the point of burnout when it comes to my collection. So much so that I've decided to thin out my collection in a big way. I've spent the past week posting A LOT of stuff on eBay. I've sold my 2015 Topps All Star Stitch set as well as my 1990-91 Skybox set with prototypes. I've listed my complete Kahn's Cincinnati Reds team sets as well as my HOF rookie card project and my recently started Joey Votto rookie card project. One project that I started on the beginning of last year that I never got around to blogging about was the 2015 Topps Strata Shadowbox set. I was able to acquire half of the set but decided I'll probably never finish it so I've listed the cards separately. Not sure if I'll stop here or if I'll keep purging. I know that I plan on keeping my Topps Reds cards from 1952-present as well as my 1949-51 Bowman Reds cards and my t206 Reds cards. I just feel like my collection has gotten out of hand and I want to get back to actually enjoying collecting again instead of it feeling like a chore. If anyone's interested here's the link to the stuff I have listed https://www.ebay.com/sch/shaneluck/m.html?item=123577310247&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

2018 Topps Cincinnati Reds Team Set

35 cards total for this year's Topps Reds team set (including the short prints and the Votto super short print). I'm still on the fence as to whether short prints should be included in team sets. Honestly, I would be content if Topps went back to producing their flagship without including short prints in the product. Rather, save that gimmicky stuff for Stadium Club or Heritage. Here's the list of players that make up the team set:

14 Amir Garrett
55 Tyler Mahle
57 Zack Cozart
68 Billy Hamilton
68SP Billy Hamilton
95 Eugenio Suarez
137 Scott Feldman
153 Brandon Finnegan
207 Scooter Gennett
209 Michael Lorenzen
301 Jackson Stephens
331 Raisel Iglesias
352 Cincinnati Reds Team Card
354 Robert Stephenson
450 Joey Votto
450SP Joey Votto
450SP Johnny Bench
450SSP Joey Votto
452 Tucker Barnhart
504 Scott Schebler
543 Luis Castillo
574 Jared Hughes
581 Jesse Winker
589 Adam Duvall
589SP Adam Duvall
596 Keury Mella
601 Jose Peraza
694 Anthony DeSclafani
US28 Alex Blandino
US49 Eugenio Suarez
US74 Joey Votto
US87 Thunder & Lightening (Votto & Hamilton)
US135 Sal Romano
US145 Scooter Gennett
US238 Matt Harvey

Hey Batter Batter Batter......

A few days ago I was able to add another card to my t206 Reds team set. I had been looking to land this card for awhile and when a copy came up on eBay I knew I had to try and grab it. This t206 Downey marks my 11th tobacco card of this set. I already had the fielding version in my collection so this will complement that card nicely. Once Downey arrives in the mail I will definitely make sure to free him from his plastic prison to join his teammates in the binder. I'm just shy of having half of the Reds set wrapped up. With 12 cards to go, four of those cards will take a lot of cash to acquire as 2 are of Hall of Famer Clark Griffith and 2 are of Hall of Famer Miller Huggins. For the time being I'll just concentrate on those other 8 cards.

A lot o Vottos!

I've been kicking around this idea since the beginning of January this year and last week I decided to start pursuing this project. While there are many Reds fans out there that have a love/hate relationship with Joey Votto, I have nothing but respect for the Reds first baseman. His primary goal for each at bat is to ensure that he gets on base. Whether that's through getting a hit or by being walked by an opposing team's pitcher, Votto's discipline at the plate is amazing. For the past 3 years he's led the league in on-base percentage and he's led the league 7 out of 12 years during his career. He currently ranks 11th all time for on-base percentage (.427) behind Williams, Ruth, McGraw, Hamilton, Gehrig, Bonds, Hornsby, Cobb, Foxx, and Speaker. Anyway, back to my project. I've decided to track down 90 different 2008 Votto rookies to add to my collection. I'll be adding the cards to a 9 pocket, 10 page Ultra Pro Collector's binder that I think will look nice filled up with nothing but Votto rookies. I've created a page on the blog (Votto Rookie Roundup) to keep track of my progress and hopefully I'll have this project wrapped up within a year or two.