A Pair of Rookies for the Book

One of my projects that I started strong with last year that unfortunately has fallen by the wayside is my Rookie Book. In case you're not familiar with it, I've created a list of rookie cards that were released between 1960 and 1993 that I've always wanted to include in my collection. As of January I haven't purchased any additional cards for this project. Today, however, that changed. Here are the two latest additions for my Rookie Book: a 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn and and 1986 Topps Traded Bo Jackson

Three More Rookies for the Book!

I don't think I've had to spend a single dime on any of the cards to comprise my Rookie Book project. I've been fortunate enough to sell my digital Star Wars cards on eBay that I've accumulated on the Star Wars card trader app. This past weekend I was able to sell another batch of cards and pickup the following three rookies: a 1987 Donruss Greg Maddux rookie, a 1989 Topps Traded Ken Griffey Jr rookie, and a 1990 Score Frank Thomas rookie. While I had originally wanted a 1989 Upper Deck Griffey and 1990 Leaf Thomas, I decided to chase the 1989 Topps Traded Griffey and 1990 Score Thomas cards because I had already acquired the Upper Deck Griffey and Leaf Thomas rookies a few years back to complete both of those sets. No sense having duplicates of those cards since I had always wanted the Topps Traded and Score cards when I was younger. So with that purchase, I've obtained 15 of the 40 cards for this project by selling imaginary cards and not spending a cent of my initial card budget. Not too shabby :)

Three More Rookies for the Book

This past weekend I was able to once again sell some of my "digital" star wars cards for a decent price. In turn, I was able to add the three cards below to my collection for free! I now have twelve of the forty cards for my rookie book project.

1972 Topps Carlton Fisk

1983 Topps Ryne Sandberg

1985 Topps Kirby Puckett

Turning the Imaginary into Reality!

That's UNPOSSIBLE right? Well, thanks to the Topps Star Wars card trader app I was able to sell my white Hoth cards I acquired for free over time for the below cards that are the latest entries into my Rookie Book project. I can't spend money on digital cards, but if someone is willing to pay for my imaginary cards I'll be more than happy to take the cash and purchase actual cards for my collection.

1974 Topps Dave Winfield

1978 Topps Eddie Murray

1985 Topps Roger Clemens

1988 Fleer Tom Glavine

1988 Topps Traded Roberto Alomar

Just What I Always Wanted!

Call me crazy, but I'm starting a new project. This one leans more towards the side of nostalgia more than anything. I remember when I first got into the hobby back in the mid 80s the lure of the rookie card. Granted you still have prospectors out there today that snatch up bowman in hopes of turning a profit somewhere down the road. That idea never crossed my mind. For me, it was about owning an iconic rookie card from a hall of famer or a star that you knew would make it to Cooperstown one day. While I've made a sizable dent in my wantlist over the past few years, it's always bothered me that I never chose to pursue that. Last week while browsing sportlots I came across a group of rookie cards that I had always wanted at a price that was too good to refuse. So I bought them and hence the start of a new project...a rookie book. Now before this project gets out of control, I've decided to set some parameters for this: no card older than 1960 (the cards from the 50s and prior are just too expensive...sorry 1952 Topps Mantle), no card made after 1993 (I left the hobby in 1994 so I want to keep this as a strictly nostalgic project), only one rookie card of a particular player, and 40 cards total for this project. With that, here's the first four entries into my rookie book project:

1980 Topps Rickey Henderson

1983 Topps Wade Boggs

1985 Topps Mark McGwire

1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds