Looking Back and Forging Ahead

I'm a little late on this post considering that the new year began six days ago. Better late than never I suppose. I made some progress with my collection in 2021 including a rebuild of the 2015 Topps Update All Star Stitches and Joey Votto rookie projects. I still regret getting rid of that set and those rookie cards but it's been fun to tackle these projects all over again. That being said, I'm down to needing only eight more relic cards to complete the Stitches set and I only need three more Votto rookies before I can consider that project complete. I also picked up about a dozen cards from my 1991 Stadium Club proof set and I can now say that I'm less than 200 cards shy of wrapping up that set build. As for my Reds Team sets, I only acquired the 2021 Topps flagship and update sets. Thankfully I was able to get all the short prints that were part of this year's release but I didn't make a dent in my vintage want list. I also started a new project, my Votto Parallel Universe collection. Out of a waitlist of 90 cards I acquired 30 cards for this project. Not a bad start. In addition, I grabbed a few more remaining cards from the autograph portion of Topps' 2011 Gypsy Queen leaving me with two cards still to acquire (Aaron and Koufax). Finally, I was able to pick up a few more cards for my 2015 Topps Strata Shadowbox collection.

So, what's in store this year? I'm hoping I can complete my 2015 Topps Update All Star Stitches set. That shouldn't be too difficult since there are only eight cards I need to track down. I'm also aiming to acquire the last few Reds cards I need from 1951 Bowman. I also plan on crossing the sixty card threshold for my Votto Parallel Universe project and track down a few more Strata Shadowbox cards (at least two more to put me past the halfway point). I'm also hoping to add at least sixty more Pete Rose cards to my Rose PC as well as acquire as many 1991 Stadium Club proof cards as I can from my waitlist. I know it's a bit ambitious but I think I can get reach these goals. We'll see. Have a great year everyone!

Phil Ervin Autograph

I picked up this Phil Ervin autograph today on COMC for $1.75. I'll gladly pay that for someone who was with the Reds organization for three seasons. Did you know that Phil Ervin made his first career start at Wrigley Field on August 17, 2017 and went 3-4 with a home run and 4 RBIs? 

Drew Stubbs Autograph

I recently picked up this Topps National Chicle Drew Stubbs autograph to add to my Reds autograph binder. Did you know that Drew Stubbs hit a game-winning triple for Team USA in the gold medal game against Japan at the 2004 FISU II World University Baseball Championship. He also had 110 stolen bases for his four seasons with the Reds.

Changing the Rules

With the end of the baseball season here, it's also more than likely the end of pitchers batting in the National League. I'm a purest when it comes to the game. I feel that if a pitcher wants to throw at a batter then his time will come when he's standing in the box and just as likely to get beaned. I'm not a fan of the designated hitter but I guess a lot of fans want more offense in the game. Personally I don't. I would prefer watching a pitcher's dual any day of the week as compared to teams going yard all the time. It's just not the same. Regardless, time marches on and the game changes. Speaking of changing the rules, my Votto Rookie project is getting closer to completion thanks to me changing my rules for the binder. I decided to add three 2002 Bowman Votto cards to my binder because they're "technically" Votto's rookie cards according to Beckett and the way rookie cards were labeled as such under the old school way of doing things. If you're interested in what they say about that you can read the article here. I added the 2002 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects standard card, the 2002 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects Gold foil card and the 2002 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects Chrome card to my album. With these additions I'm down to needing just five more cards to wrap up this project. Unfortunately 4 of the 5 cards I'm chasing are autograph cards. 

By The Letter Encarnacion

A few weeks back I picked up this 2008 SP Authentic By the Letter autograph of Edwin Encarnacion. Numbered 1/99, I thought it would make a great addition to my Reds autograph album. I hadn't realized that Encarnacion didn't play the 2021 season and that he spent last year with the White Sox. I'm glad to add this former Red autograph to my collection.

And then there were 9

Last week I was able to track down two more cards I needed for my Votto Rookie Album project. Those two cards are the 2008 Upper Deck Documentary standard issue and gold parallel. There are 10 each of the 2008 Upper Deck Documentary cards in each version that depict Votto on the front of the card for a total of 20 cards but I only wanted one copy of each. I also wanted the card to be the same card number AND mention Votto in the short write-up on the back of the card. Luckily I was able to identify a card in the set to chase and it was icing on the cake that the Reds also won the game the card mentions. Now I just need 9 more cards to finish up this project. 

Rainbows and Unicorns

That's what I've been chasing lately. I'm currently at 76 unique Votto rookie cards and the ones that are missing from my collection either haven't been seen in months, sometimes years, or they're so overpriced on eBay that I'm not even going to attempt to make an offer. Hopefully I can snag some more unicorns before the end of the year but prices for Votto rookies have skyrocketed ever since he passed the 300 home run mark earlier this season. As for rainbows, I've been working on putting together a fun little collection of Votto refractors for my collection. I'm looking at trying to acquire 90 different Votto numbered parallels. So far the majority of my refractors are of the gold variety so I guess you could say there is a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. I do have an orange, a green and a couple of blues. If your interested in seeing what cards I've acquired you can hit the Votto Parallel Universe Project link in the navigation.