2016 Is In The Rearview Mirror

Well now.  The year that was 2016 is finally behind us without taking Betty White or Sean Connery.  It was a crazy year that I, personally, am glad to see gone.  Normally, I go through my old posts from the past year and reminisce about all the things that happened for this blog, and obviously for me, during the year.  I can sum it up with probably one sentence, really: I got a lot of TTMs.

No, really, did you even read my blog?  Wow I got a lot of TTMs.  I went crazy.  I have to say, though, the TTM successes kept this blog afloat this past year.  Trades really dried up, and I blame myself.  I don't necessarily enjoy trading.  Mostly because I have tons and tons of Orioles base cards and while I happily accept more, if I have a nice auto or relic of someone, I would much rather get a nice auto or relic in return.  Oh well.  I do love care packages, though.  Keep sending them and I'll keep returning the favor.

I would like to take a look at my goals from last year and see how I did:

This is taken directly from my Dec 31, 2015 post where I outlined my goals for 2016 (yeah, I know, I'm a day off).  Here we go.

1. I have 118 Hall of Fame baseballs as of the close of 2015.  I actually have some on the way, as well.  I would like to close 2016 with 10 new Hall of Famers, so I would like to be at or above 128. I blew this out of the water by adding 11 baseballs this past year.  Bud Selig getting the call to the Hall put me at 129, so I did pretty well.
2. I want to knock 5 cards off of my Top Ten Wishlist, with at least two of them being holdovers from 2015.  That shouldn't be difficult, depending on which cards I add to the list. I beat this one, too.  I ended up with only two cards remaining on my Top Ten Wishlist at the close of the year.  Not bad.  Obviously, I added eight new ones (this was really tough), two of which are actually baseballs.
3. I want to upgrade at least one of my Hall of Fame balls of Phil Niekro, Pat Gillick and Jim Bunning.  I got those before I knew about the troubles with China balls, so I intend to correct those soon. This didn't happen.  I had a chance to pick up a nice Neikro at the National, but passed it up.  I also sent an OMLB to Bunning, but oddly enough, it hasn't come back.  I hate burning an OMLB, but he usually is a sure thing.
4. I want to upgrade my 1955 Topps Duke Snider. The one I have is really rough, so upgrading that one would be nice.  I plan to, in the future, upgrade a few more of those cards, but the Snider is one of the worst of the bunch.  This will not be a Top 10 card. Ok, so this didn't happen either and it has been moved to the Top Ten Wishlist.  That's how tough it was to populate that this year.
5. I want to complete the 2015 Topps Chrome, 2015 Topps Stadium Club, 2012 Topps Update, 1994 Topps and 1969 Topps sets. Finishing 2015 Chrome is going to be tough.  The four cards I need are rookie SPs and one is the Correa that lists at $75.  Dang!  I did finish 1994 Topps.  That helps.
6. WHEN 1994 Topps is complete, I need to start on 1995 Topps. I was serious about finishing 1994 Topps.  I have started 1995 and am almost done with it.
7. Add 1967 and 1972 Topps to my wishlist page and my notebook, officially starting those sets. 1967 is in my notebook, but I haven't been all that serious about knocking stuff out for it.  I hope to get to that one really soon.
8. Get two TTM successes completed in 2016.  I actually tried a few in 2015, but two subjects passed away in transit (how does that happen) and one if still pending. Two TTMs.  Seriously?  Well, I beat that.  Try 241.  Told you I went crazy with them.
9. Attend the 2016 National in Atlantic City.  With a better handle on my budget. Better handle on my budget.  Haha!  Yeah, let's ignore that one.  I did go to the 2016 National in Atlantic City and had a really good time.  I blew my budget, only because I bought the one baseball I have been wanting since I started my HOF collection, in Jimmie Foxx.  That was the biggest highlight of the collecting year for me.
10. Spend more time organizing my cards and actually enjoying them, instead of letting them pile up on my desk, just to be added to random boxes. Ok, that kind of happened.  I got my Topps base cards organized really well.  My other PC stuff sat on my desk for forever (and some are still sitting there) and should be filed away soon.

Ok, so I did pretty well with most of my 2016 goals.  I had a blast at the National.  Like I said, picking up the Foxx was the highlight of the collecting year for me.  I also met Tim Lincecum, Tim Raines and Craig Biggio.  I also learned that there will be two new minor league teams in my general vicinity, which should help me do some IP graphing, which has sorely been missed.

The end of 2016 also saw me cut way back on buying cards.  I still have been working toward paying off the National, and I went overboard again on Christmas.  I've bought less boxes of cards and less single cards off of Ebay.  I see that continuing, at least until I can pay off the Foxx ball and what remains of the 2016 National.  I also need to start building a budget for the 2017 National in Chicago, and also work on getting a plane ticket.  I'll be going solo this year, so the plane ticket won't be as high as 2015 was.

Finally, here are some goals for my collection for 2017.  Like my diet, let's see how bad I blow these goals:

1. Sick of TTMs?  Neither am I!  There will be more TTMs.  TTMs everywhere!  OMG TTMS!  How many more?  Who knows.  Just more.  Let's see if I can beat my number of 241 that I received in 2016.  I have a head start already with the ones that are still out pending.  If they come in after Dec 31, they count toward 2017.  Make sense?
2. I really need to add a player PC.  I have been only looking for and interested in Chris Davis and Nolan Reimold cards lately.  Let's see how Trey Mancini does in Baltimore this year.  Hyun-Soo Kim may be an option as well.
3. Hall of Fame signed baseballs?  I highly doubt I will be adding 10 new ones this year.  I have been hitting the easy ones really hard.  Now, it is getting tougher to find baseballs for less than $100.  I also have been spending less on my hobby, so that has hurt as well.  I will be happy if I can add 7 to the roster.  I figure I may get a head start in a couple weeks if Raines, Bagwell and/or Pudge get in, since I already have those guys.  Fingers crossed!
4. Minor League graphing.  I want to attend more MiLB games this season.  I have a good chance with Kinston finally getting a team back.  I also want to check out Buies Creek and some more Columbia Fireflies games.
5. I am going to the 2017 National in Chicago.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I have no idea what my agenda will be this year since I now have the Foxx ball put away.  I may hit some graded cards, sick patches, rookie autos, etc.  We'll see what happens.
6. Keep trading and meeting new people.  My favorite part of this hobby is meeting new people and making new friends.  I have just recently made some trades with some new folks and I hope that I can keep that up.  I have also maintained some of the friendships I have made in the past.  Some folks have moved on, and that's ok.  I can't expect everyone to be available to chat all the time, but having some new folks to talk cards with will help keep the hobby moving forward.
7. Continue to post every day when I can.  I've noticed that a lot of the big name blogs have kind of dried up as of late.  Like the point above, many people have moved on with their collections, and some with their lives.  I plan to keep plugging away at this blog.  I've been going strong for 8 years now, and don't plan on retiring.  Even if no one reads or comments, it helps me serve as a diary of sorts.  I enjoy it, and that's all that matters.
8. Finally, I want to have fun.  This shouldn't feel like work.  I enjoy my collection, and have had a really good time using the Live Stream feature on Instagram.  I have been able to show off some of my collection, and have gotten a few deals set as a result.  I want to do some giveaways and maybe a Razz or two.  Keep your eyes on my Instagram (@wregenthal) and see what happens.

There you have it.  I think 2016 was pretty successful.  My Top Ten Wishlist has been updated, for those who are interested.  I also have a few cards I want to sell or trade, so hit me up.  Thanks to everyone who made 2016 great.  If I named names of everyone, I run the risk of leaving someone out and hurting feelings, so I just want to thank everyone I have traded with; everyone who sent me a care package; everyone who messaged me on Skype, Snapchat, Kik, Instagram, email, Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, wherever.  I really enjoy doing this and can't do it without you.  I finally want to thank my Mom who always hooks me up with awesome stuff and probably reads every post before anyone else.  Thanks Momma!

Finally, I want to say that I love you guys.  2016 taught us that life is short and we should take the time to love one another.  Let's all get along and be friends regardless of beliefs.  Except for you, Jose Bautista.

2015 Replay Review

2015 was a banner year for this blog with some awesome highs and some heartbreaking lows.  Let's call up the umpires for a review of how I did with my goals for the year:

• Acquire 10 baseballs for my Hall of Fame Collection.  As of today, I stand at 118.  I exceeded my goal by one, so that is nice.  I added: Lou Brock, Leon Day, Hank Greenberg, Bobby Cox, Harry Caray, Tom Glavine, Al Lopez, Pee Wee Reese, Joe DiMaggio, Sparky Anderson, and John Smoltz.
• Acquire 5 cards from my Top Ten Wishlist.  I exceeded that goal by one as well, having knocked off 6 cards this year.  The best pickup was the 1992 Donruss Elite Cal Ripken auto that I got at the National.  You can see it here.  The Top Ten will be updated shortly with some fresh cards for 2016 and the 4 holdovers from 2015.
• Attend the 2015 National.  As you can see in the photo above, I was able to make it to the National this past summer and had an amazing time.  I would have said "Once in a Lifetime" but I intend on going again, so now all I need to do is start saving again.
• Keep up with blog trades and emails.  I didn't do as well as I would have liked with this goal, but I think I have graduated from email to app with my trading.  I still enjoy getting emails from fellow bloggers and have followed up with them.  My trading is primarily done over Instagram, Snapchat, Kik and Skype.  I see that being the main venue for discussion here on out.
• Meet and complete trades with 10 new people.  I've blown that away, I believe.  I've added some new friends and lost a couple whom I traded with regularly.  I think that will continue and I will keep meeting new folks.
• Continue to add and expand my google docs spreadsheets.  Well, I was halfway right on this one.  I have my Davis and Reimold PCs up to date and have done a good job in doing so.  I haven't added anyone to the sheets yet, and my Brooks Robinson PC isn't up to date.  That will probably be a goal for 2016 (and 2017 and 2018).
• Complete the 1948 Bowman and 1959 Topps sets.  I met both of these goals this year, and am really happy that I did so.  Both sets were difficult, but are now closed.  I completed the 1959 set this summer at the National (click here); and the 1948 Bowman set was finished in April when I got the Joe Page card (read here).
• Start one 1950s set and one 1960s set if 1948 Bowman and 1959 Topps are completed.  I haven't officially started a set in either decade because I wanted to work on the often-neglected 1969 set that I have been trying to finish.  I have a good start on the 1967 set, so I guess you could say that I have that one going, even though I haven't officially added the checklist to my wishlist.  I think I opted to consider completing the 1972 set before I embark on another 50s set.
• Complete the 1994 Topps, 1997 Topps, 2012 Topps Update, 2014 Topps Update and 2014 Topps Chrome sets.  I got most of these done.  I still need to complete 1994 Topps and 2012 Topps Update.  I didn't even try 2015 Topps Update, even though I busted a jumbo box.  Instead, I went after 2015 Chrome and 2015 Stadium Club.  Those are still to be finished.
• If the 1994 Topps set is complete, start the 1995 Topps set.  I didn't complete the 1994 set, so this will carry over to 2016 goals, I believe.

Here is a look back at a few of the things that happened on this blog this year:

• On January 1, I posted a year in review of 2014 and my 2015 goals.
• January 24 was when the baseball world lost Ernie Banks.  I was in a Skype chat when I heard about it.  It was definitely a shocker.
• On February 1, I posted about the 2015 Orioles Fan Fest.  I took my mom, wife, sister and son to Fan Fest and we all had an amazing time.
• On April 28, I briefly discussed the civil unrest in Baltimore.  The day after, the Orioles would play the first ever game in an empty stadium.
• On May 4, I showed how awesome my mom was when she picked up two amazing vintage cards for me.
• On May 10, I cut ties with a former friend who was being dishonest with fellow traders.  This was rare for me, since I usually am forgiving to a fault.  I haven't heard from the guy since, and I doubt I will.  I lost a few other "friends" throughout the year, for various reasons.  I think I'm better off without them in the long run, and I imagine a few of them will apologize and try to make things right.  We'll see how that goes.
• On May 20, my wife, son and I met local former MLB player, George Altman.
• On July 6, I completed my second trade with my good friend, Nick S. from Instagram.  Nick and I have become really close over the last month, and he is one of the funniest people I have ever met.  I hope we can keep it going, because he is a lot of fun to talk to, and an all-around good guy.  We had completed a trade a long time before, for a 2014 Panini Prizm Chris Davis blue parallel, but I never posted it.  This was one of the reasons why I wanted to do a better job of keeping track of trades.
• On July 29, I posted my first of many blog posts on location in Chicago from the National Card Show.  I met up with fellow bloggers Andrew and Nick (Dime Boxes) and fellow instagrammers Max, Eli and Frankie.  Max's family hosted us for a box break and barbecue.  I had an amazing time and solidified some awesome friendships I made in the community.
• On August 4, I posted about meeting Hulk Hogan, a long-time idol of mine.  I have watched wrestling my whole life, and Hogan is probably the most famous wrestler.  He was very gracious and humble.  I teared up after talking to him.
• On August 10, still on a high from the amazing time at the National, I was heartbroken by the loss of my friend; my cat, Jericho.  He passed away on the way to the pet emergency clinic in Greenville.  Not a day goes by that I don't think of him.  I loved him and will always miss him.
• On September 9. I wrote about a former scammer making things right with me.  He messaged me out of the blue to apologize, and sent me a care package to try to make amends.  He honestly had me at hello.  I never expected to hear from him again.  I was so moved by his gesture, I included him when I sent out Christmas gifts this year.
• On September 23, I wrote about the passing of a legend, Yogi Berra.
• On October 5, I showed that I had appeared (briefly) on MASN celebrating Chris Davis's second home run of the day; in the final game of the season.  My son and I enjoyed a three-game series in Baltimore and capped it off with the Orioles sweeping the Yankees.
• I reached my 2,000th post on October 6.
• On November 29, I got an amazing 1906 Trophy Baseball.
• I went to 2016 Orioles Fan Fest on December 12.

I had a pretty good year, I think.  I can now look toward 2016 and set a few goals and see if I can achieve them.

1. I have 118 Hall of Fame baseballs as of the close of 2015.  I actually have some on the way, as well.  I would like to close 2016 with 10 new Hall of Famers, so I would like to be at or above 128.
2. I want to knock 5 cards off of my Top Ten Wishlist, with at least two of them being holdovers from 2015.  That shouldn't be difficult, depending on which cards I add to the list.
3. I want to upgrade at least one of my Hall of Fame balls of Phil Niekro, Pat Gillick and Jim Bunning.  I got those before I knew about the troubles with China balls, so I intend to correct those soon.
4. I want to upgrade my 1955 Topps Duke Snider. The one I have is really rough, so upgrading that one would be nice.  I plan to, in the future, upgrade a few more of those cards, but the Snider is one of the worst of the bunch.  This will not be a Top 10 card.
5. I want to complete the 2015 Topps Chrome, 2015 Topps Stadium Club, 2012 Topps Update, 1994 Topps and 1969 Topps sets.
6. WHEN 1994 Topps is complete, I need to start on 1995 Topps.
7. Add 1967 and 1972 Topps to my wishlist page and my notebook, officially starting those sets.
8. Get two TTM successes completed in 2016.  I actually tried a few in 2015, but two subjects passed away in transit (how does that happen) and one if still pending.
9. Attend the 2016 National in Atlantic City.  With a better handle on my budget.
10. Spend more time organizing my cards and actually enjoying them, instead of letting them pile up on my desk, just to be added to random boxes.

I think those are attainable goals for the year.  Finally, I want to thank everyone who made 2015 so amazing.  I can't even begin to name you all, but I want to single out: Max, Andrew, Drew, Nick S., Michael, Scott, Noah, Caleb, Sam, Josh, P. A., Eli, Frankie, Julie, Robert, Jayden, Jack, Cameron, Joey, Ben, Jake, Jake Iggy, Ryu, Brian, Tim and so many others.  If I didn't mention you, I apologize.  I also want to single out my mom who added some more memories to this blog, which I know you all enjoy reading about.

I hope everyone who I am blessed enough to call my friends and family have a safe and happy New Year and a prosperous 2016.  Thank you all, and I will see you next year!

A Look Back at 2014 and my Collecting Goals for 2015

Well, 2014 is now over and I can reflect on the year that was, as far as my collection and blog are concerned.

I met my goals for 2014 as follows:

• I started the year with 96 Hall of Fame signed baseballs and ended the year with 107.  My goal was to add 10 baseballs and I exceeded that by 1 ball.  I added huge names like Mickey Mantle (ball #100) and Sandy Koufax, and I also added a tough to get name in Joe Gordon.
• As you can see above, I met my goal of making ball #100 something special.  I'm glad I have Mantle out of the way.  I doubt I will get as huge a name this year, unless something falls into my lap.  We'll have to see what unfolds this year.
• I met my goal of completing at least one of the Topps sets from 1993 to 1997 by completing 1993 and 1996.
• I didn't really add my 1993 to 1997 set needs to my wishlist, but I still consider that goal met, as I am one card away from finishing 1997.  I will add 1994, probably later today.  I haven't even started 1995, so that wasn't a real goal.
• I made significant progress with my 1948 Bowman, 1959 Topps and 1969 Topps sets.  I am just about done with 1948 and 1959 and knocked out some key cards in 1969.  I have knocked off cards here and there from my 2013 Emerald set, and I still intend on completing it.  My friends from Instagram have helped tremendously on that one.
• I did knock off 5 cards from my Top Ten Wishlist.  I will be adding new cards to the list today, some harder to get than others.  The cards I got this year were: 1948 Bowman Yogi Berra, 1952 Topps Bob Feller, 1953 Topps Satchel Paige, 1969 Topps Reggie Jackson RC and 1969 Topps Nolan Ryan.
• I did continue the relationships that I had established in 2013 and added a ton more.  In no particular order, I added new regular trading partners: Max, Noah, Caleb, Scott F., Anders, Josh, Kaleb, James, Michael A., Sam, Jet, Michael S., Drew (ultimatecards_), Joey, Carson, Jackson, Kyle, Jake, Blaine, Robert, Ben/Jake, Jack, and a ton more that I am forgetting at the moment, sorry.  I have filled my side desk up with note cards with everyone's name on them so I can continue to add to piles and keep track of who is getting what.  I have also started a notebook for trades so I no longer lose track of what someone offered me and what I offered in return.
• Finally, I feel like I was able to continue to provide good information on cards, the Orioles and the Hall of Fame.  I know a lot of my posts this year were about trades and incoming mail, but I still feel like I have thrown in the occasional tidbit about a past player or something to that effect.

Let's take a look at a few key moments from the blog for 2014:

• I listed my goals for 2014 on January 1 and as stated above, I did pretty well on them.
• On January 18, I was able to finally show my collection to my dad.  He was in town visiting with my mom and finally had time to take a look at my card room, my signed baseballs and other things I had posted.  I got a call from him a few days later, and he said that he had been thinking about my collection all that week and how impressed he was by it.  That totally justified all of the work I had put into all of this - to be able to captivate the attention of people I care about, who don't necessarily share my enthusiasm for baseball.  That was a big moment for me.  I was really happy that Dad liked my collection.  It really meant a lot to me.
• On February 1, I went to Fan Fest with my buddy, Scott.
• On February 6, Ralph Kiner passed away.
• On February 22, I posted about my first (successful) trade on Instagram.  This was with my buddy, Kyle, whom I still enjoy talking to.  We haven't traded much in the last several months, but we continue to talk as friends, and I send him the occasional Phillies care package.
• On May 5, I pulled the Bowman Chrome Jose Abreu auto.  One of the rare times I actually pulled a hot card from a pack.  I turned around and sold it for $165 on Ebay and I don't regret that at all!  I used the money to get some big names for my set needs.  You can see that post here.
• On May 22, I posted about my first trade with my, now, good friend, Max.  He and I became friends very quickly and now we talk nearly every day.  I have helped him expand his Cubs collection and we have even discussed meeting up at the National Card Show this year.  I look back on it and I am so glad that I met Max, as well as the other guys from Instagram.  I didn't like it (trading on Instagram) but after my first trade with Kyle, continuing with deals and conversations with my friend, James, then onto Max, I was reassured that 99% of the people (most of them young teenagers and pre-teens) are good people and legit traders.  I have always had a soft spot for kids and any chance I can get to help them improve their collections and their knowledge of the hobby, I will take it.  I now do Skype group chats/forums with several of the guys I trade with regularly, and those chats have led to a bunch of deals.  It sure beats the hell out of online forum trading.
• On June 7, 2014, I treated my mom to her first MLB game.  This was an early birthday present for a milestone birthday that I won't mention, since you shouldn't reveal a lady's age (and she would smack me, hahaha).  Mom got to see the Orioles beat the A's in a controversial series where the media really turned on Manny Machado.  Hopefully he learned from the mistakes that he made.  I'm glad Mom enjoyed her trip and I hope we can do something like it again.
• On June 16, we lost Tony Gwynn.
• On July 1, the Orioles designated Nolan Reimold for assignment, effectively ending his time with the Orioles.  He would later be picked up by the Blue Jays, then the Diamondbacks.  Now, a free agent, Nolan may see himself back with the O's in 2015.  I would enjoy that, but I know he wants a major league deal (and I hope he gets one).
• On July 19, I posted about my vacation.  I lost my camera, but that didn't stop me from enjoying a great time with fellow bloggers Dustin (who's wedding we attended) and Andrew (who is one of my best friends).  I really enjoyed meeting these guys and we, as a family, had a great trip.  I also learned that it is a LONG freaking drive from Memphis, Tennessee to Winterville, North Carolina.  Next trip we take, I'm flying, dammit.
• On August 17, I got the pieces in place to begin my next vintage set, 1967 Topps.  I look back on some of the vintage sets I completed and wonder "how did I even start this one", well, it is really easy to pinpoint where I started this one.  Thanks Rob!
• On September 16, for the first time in 17 years, the Orioles earned the AL East Championship.  This was such an awesome moment for me, since I was a senior in high school the last time the Orioles were on top of the AL East.
• On October 3, 2014, Chris and I attended our first MLB Playoff game when the Orioles defeated the Tigers in front of a packed house at Camden Yards.  I still get chills when I watch the video of Delmon Young hitting the go-ahead three run double.  Oh man, that was so amazing.
• On October 15, I broke the "No Crying in Baseball" rule when the Orioles were eliminated by the Royals.  I'm over it now, and I'm still happy for my friend, Jack, who was able to attend a couple World Series games in Kansas City.  He even sent me a Royals Rally Towel from the World Series that I will keep in my collection forever.  He didn't have to get it for me, and I know he wasn't rubbing it in my face.  He was just being a good friend, giving me a little piece of the World Series, since I couldn't yet experience it for myself.
• On October 17, Brian Roberts announced his retirement.  This was big for me, because I was able to experience his entire career.  From his call-up in 2001, to his final game in 2014, I was a big Roberts fan.  I have packed up my Roberts PC, but he will always have a special place in my collection.  Thanks for the memories, Brian.
• On November 18, I posted about a trade I completed with Noah.  This trade was right at the beginning of our group Skype forums, along with Scott F., Max, Michael and Caleb.  I don't know what I would do without these guys.  Yes, I do, I would get more work done, haha, seriously though, I appreciate the guys letting me be a part of their group, letting me be the "parent" of the group, and keeping everyone in line.
• On December 3, longtime Oriole Nick Markakis left the O's to sign with the Braves.  I was a bit sad when it happened, then, later, we found out that Nick was to have corrective spinal surgery for a herniated disc.  While the Braves feel confident that he will be fine, the O's erred on the side of caution, knowing all too well that the spinal fusion surgery isn't always successful.  Sad to see Nick go, but I think it was necessary, at the price he was getting from Atlanta.

So, 2014 was a pretty good year, I think.  I'm glad I was able to meet up with fellow bloggers Scott, Ryan, Dustin and Andrew during the year.  Each of those guys is a good friend of mine and I know we will keep in tough throughout 2015.  Now, to close things out with my goals for 2015:

1. Add 10 more baseballs to my Hall of Fame ball collection.  This would put me at 117 to close the year.  This, obviously can be done, so I will tackle this number again in 2015.
2. Acquire 5 cards from my Top 10 wishlist.  The wishlist will be updated tonight to include new cards, as well as the 5 holdovers from 2014.
3. Attend the 2015 National Sports Card Convention in Chicago, IL.  Yes, this is a sneak peek at my vacation plans for 2015.
4. Do a better job of keeping track of and responding to blog related emails that I receive.  I have tried really hard to continue trade discussions with folks who have emailed me, and I intend to continue to do so, but I know a few have fallen through the cracks.  For that, I apologize.  Please keep on me about it, and I will make trades and such happen.
5. Meet and complete trades with 10 new people that I haven't talked to before today.  I think Instagram and the blog will help me with that, for sure.
6. Continue to add to and expand my spreadsheet on google docs showing the cards I have so it is easier for folks to see which cards I already have.  I have Chris Davis, Nolan Reimold and most of my Brooks Robinson PC added and maintained.  This should help tremendously with trading.
7. Complete the 1948 Bowman and 1959 Topps sets.
8. IF 1948 and 1959 are completed, start one 50's set and one 60's set (1967).
9. Complete the 1994 Topps, 1997 Topps, 2012 Topps Update, 2014 Topps Update and 2014 Topps Chrome sets.
10. If 1994 is complete, start the 1995 set.

Thanks so much for sticking around for this mega-long blog post.  Thank you to all of my friends and family who read this blog and stay interested in what I'm doing with my hobby.  It means the world to me, and I love you all for wanting to be a part of it.  Thanks again, God bless, and to all, have a safe, healthy and happy New Year!

A Look Back at 2013 and My Collecting Goals for 2014

2013 was a pretty good year over here at foul bunt.  There were lots of good things that happened, but there were quite a few low points as well.

• On March 24, we lost Virgil Trucks.  That was a really sad day for me.  You can read that blog post here.
• On January 19, we lost both Earl Weaver and Stan Musial.  Both personal favorites of mine.  It was a surreal experience for me because I was in Baltimore at Fan Fest when the news broke about Earl.  Read that blog post here.
• Continuing with the depressing news, as of my count, 11 guys I got TTM over the course of this blog passed away in 2013.  That's really sad,  I guess it goes with the territory, though, since I get my names off of Wikipedia's list of oldest living baseball players.
• Some awesome stuff happened this year as well.  I facilitated my first guest post on this blog, which can be read here, when I met up with my longtime friend, Drew and visited the Hall of Fame with him, his dad, my son Chris and my brother Adam.
• During that Hall of Fame trip, my son got to meet, in no particular order: Ralph Kiner, Roberto Alomar, Johnny Bench, Rickey Henderson, Rusty Staub, Andre Dawson and of course, Pete Rose.
• I had two meet-ups with another good friend and fellow blogger, Scott.  I'm not done with showing my card show haul with him.

I took a look back at my 2013 Collecting Goals and I feel pretty good about what I achieved this year.  I started 2013 with 82 Hall of Fame signed baseballs and my goal was to add 10, which would have put me at 92.  I exceeded that goal by 4.

I completed one of the sets on my want list (1971).  I started working harder on my 1959 and 1969 sets in the year as well, once 1971 was taken off of the books.

I'm not too sure I added 2 new players to my PCs, unless you want to count new Oriole draft pick, Hunter Harvey.  I actually took 2 players off of my PC in Brian Roberts (which was foreshadowed in that January 2013 post) and Tim Lincecum.  I have transferred most of my Lincecums to Chris's collection, since he is starting to get old enough to keep up with and take care of his own cards.  Roberts will be re-visited after he retires.

I still haven't figured out what to do with my TTMs.  I haven't noticed any fading on any of the TTM balls I got after I started using a different pen and the non-synthetic baseballs.  So, I guess I slowed that process down.  Speaking of things slowing down, my TTM pursuits have slowed to almost a complete stop.  That's more of not having enough time to sit and research the player, write a letter, package a ball up and go to the post office, than anything.  I want to get more out soon, so we'll see about that.

I didn't really branch out with my set collecting, with the exception of taking on the daunting task of trying to complete the 2013 Emerald set (Series 1 and 2; Im not interested in doing Update).  I also finally sat down and wrote out my needs for Topps sets 1993 through 1997.

I'm not too sure if I added 5 new blogs to my sidebar, but it should be close.  With the addition of Matthew's blog and my son's, there's two right there.  I'm thinking I added a couple more last year as well.

Finally, on 2013, I was very active with trades.  I sent out a ton of packages.  Lots were to regular trade partners, but I did complete several trades with other guys that I hadn't traded with before.

Now, onto my 2014 goals:

1. I want to try to add 10 more Hall of Famers to my collection.  That would put me at 106 and yes, it would put me past #100.
2. I want ball #100 to be special.  You know, a BIG name.  Depending on who it ends up being, will determine whether or not I can reach my goal of 10 more baseballs in the year.  There is a possibility that a large Hall of Fame class will have me surpass 100 anyway, since I already have baseballs of Greg Maddux, Jack Morris, Jeff Bagwell and Frank Thomas.  I see a few of those guys getting in, but not all.  We'll see, though.  If all get in and I get to 100 that way, then #101 will be the special one.  Trust me, its coming regardless.
3. I intend to complete at least one of the Topps sets from 1993 to 1997.  In a perfect world, I can complete two.
4. I need to add the 1993 to 1997 needs to my wishlist.
5. I want to make significant progress in my 1948 Bowman, 1959 Topps, 1969 Topps and 2013 Topps Emerald sets.  I'm not saying that I'll be able to complete those, but I want to make some progress.  Either by knocking out a bunch of commons or taking a couple heavy hitters off of the list. (such as the 1969 Reggie Jackson RC)
6. I want to knock off at least 5 of the cards on my Top 10 list.
7. I want to continue the trades and relationships I started or maintained in 2013.  I had to take a couple guys off of my regular trading list, but I was able to add a few in their places.
8. Finally, I want to continue to provide you guys with a good place to go and read about Orioles happenings, card pickups, TTMs (maybe), Hall of Fame information and general baseball discussions.  I want to continue to be a standard bearer (from what I was told recently by a couple guys) in the blogging community.  I really appreciate all of the page views (I set records this year for daily, monthly and views for the year for my blog) and I really hope I continue to get feedback from you all.

Thank you everyone for a successful 2013 and I look forward to spending 2014 with you all as well!

Happy New Years

Happy New Years guys. I hope everyone had a safe night last night. I ended up watching Family Guy with my son up until about 5 minutes before the ball dropped, then we changed the channel and watched Dick Clark.

Now, I'll admit it, when I was looking through the guide, I was looking for Dick Clark, but man, I feel really bad that they keep parading him out there. I'm glad he's up for it, but you really do have to feel for the guy.

I finally will have a chance to work the card shop tomorrow, after taking a month off (unintentionally). First it was my real job, then that goe rescheduled to the week after, then it snowed really bad in Winston-Salem the next week, and the week after was the day after Christmas. I wasn't about to make that drive after all the driving I did the 2 days before.

I'm excited though, maybe I'll open a few packs and pull something blogworthy. I'll get to see P.A., whom I haven't seen in a while.

I hope you all have a great 2010. I am really excited for the 2010 Topps flagship, which come out at the end of the month. I am also excited for beginning another set soon. It looks like 1998 Topps will be next, but I am always changing my mind.

Drop me some comments guys!