Monday, March 05, 2018

Don't Know How They Do It...

Was just perusing the TCDB's listings for 2018 Topps so I could type out all the parallels I want for the two player collection cards I need out of the set.  I'm going for a full set in one shot at some point, so I'm trading for the couple singles in the meantime. (Any parallels will be a bonus.)

One of the singles I crossed off was the regular 1983 Bo Jackson.  So I listed the five parallels, blue, black, gold, red, (and greyed out the Platinum 1/1) on my wants site.

Then I remembered there are the Silver Pack '83s as well.  Luckily, those are only 50 cards compared to the 100 in the first series regular '83s.  Bo is not in them.  He'll probably show up there in one of the other series.  But I won't be heartbroken if he doesn't.

But that got me thinking.  What if I collected one of the top superstar guys that IS in both sets?  Then it would not only be five parallels (minus the 1/1), but there would be SEVEN MORE and an autograph, which is interchangeable with the 1/1.  So that's two cards, twelve parallels (-2), and an auto.

But wait, there's more!  How about the really top tier guys that are in most of the inserts?

I looked up Mike Trout's list for 2018 so far.  He's not only in both '83 inserts, but he's pretty much in every insert set in 2018 Topps.  And most of them have parallels this year!


He's got all this in just Topps flagship Series 1:

Regular card, eleven parallels, and four printing plates,
A short print variation, and a SSP variation,
1983 Tribute and five parallels,
Silver Pack '83, seven parallels, and an auto,
'83 autograph, and four parallels,
Home Run Challenge game card,
Legends In The Making, five parallels, and an auto,
Major League Material relic and four parallels,
Opening Day insert, five parallels, and an auto,
Spring Training Logo manupatch, four parallels, and an auto,
Player's Weekend manupatch, three parallels, and an auto,
Superstar Sensations and five parallels,
Reverence Auto Patch relic, and two parallels,
Salute card, five parallels, and an auto with two parallels.


So if you pull out the relics and autographs, (because who can really pull them?) and all the 1/1's (and anything less than 10), you're still left with 48 regular cards!  There are 22 "hits", and 18 1/1's or 1/5's.  A grand total of 88 cards for this one guy in this one flagship series.


And I know there are a lot of collector's that at least say they collect guys like Mike Trout.  Now whether they're Big Bank Hank that buys superfractors at auction for four digits, or just Charlie Collector, who hopes for the occasional jersey card and a few of the parallels, I don't know how they do it.  I'm not the first guy I mentioned by any means, but my player collections are usually more than just base and inserts.  The completist in me likes to find the oddballs and parallels as much as I can.  But I only do it for certain guys that have a finite number of cards issued and don't necessarily have the competition that the top tier superstars have.  I would get frustrated if I was up against a list like Trout's above and knew that there are a hundred guys also looking to fill it out at the same time, if not much quicker than I can.

Now I don't knock anybody for collecting who they want.  Makes perfect sense that a lot of people like the top superstar guys.  They are the ones that perform the best in key moments.  Providing the clutch hit, strikeout, or diving catch in the outfield is a regular occurence for guys like Trout, Jeter, Harper, Kershaw, Ortiz, A-Rod, Bryant, etc.  I wouldn't be too pressed to justify collecting my local hero guy Bryce Harper.  I watched his debut, his progression into the clutch star that he is, and his always honest and straightforward (though not always PC or polite) approach to the game on and off the field.  But since his rookies are rare and expensive aside from a couple plain base cards, I wouldn't think of doing a full PC of him.  There's just too much issued each year with his image on it.  And the big stuff goes for top dollar.  I've got a rare retro giveaway from the National, and one or two parallels of his in different sets, and that's about it.  I keep one page in a star binder that has some Harpers with cool pictures, or nice parallel designs, but that's as fancy as it gets.

I applaud those collectors who specialize in the top tier players, especially those who do more than just those guys alone.  I collect a lot of stuff, but I think most of my sets, team collections, [lesser] player collections, and oddball sports and non-sports cards are a lot easier to amass than a player like Harper or Trout.  Those collectors are on another level.  I wish 'em good luck!


Mike Trout 2018 Topps Series 1 cards:
2018 Topps #300 Mike Trout
2018 Topps #300 Mike Trout SP, VAR: Gray/Red Angels T-Shirt, Holding Bat
2018 Topps #300 Mike Trout SSP, VAR: Red Jersey, Hands Extended
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball #83-13 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Black #83-13 Mike Trout SN299
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Blue #83-13 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Gold #83-13 Mike Trout SN50
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Red #83-13 Mike Trout SN10
2018 Topps - Black #300 Mike Trout SN67
2018 Topps - Clear #300 Mike Trout SN10
2018 Topps - Father's Day Blue #300 Mike Trout SN50
2018 Topps - Gold #300 Mike Trout SN2018
2018 Topps - Home Run Challenge #HRC-MT Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Independence Day #300 Mike Trout SN76
2018 Topps - Legends in the Making #LTM-MT Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Legends in the Making Autographs #LTMA-MT Mike Trout AU
2018 Topps - Legends in the Making Black #LTM-MT Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Legends in the Making Blue #LTM-MT Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Legends in the Making Gold #LTM-MT Mike Trout SN50
2018 Topps - Legends in the Making Red #LTM-MT Mike Trout SN10
2018 Topps - Memorial Day Camo #300 Mike Trout SN25
2018 Topps - MLB Opening Day #OD-8 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - MLB Opening Day Autographs #ODA-MT Mike Trout AU
2018 Topps - MLB Opening Day Black #OD-8 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - MLB Opening Day Blue #OD-8 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - MLB Opening Day Gold #OD-8 Mike Trout SN50
2018 Topps - MLB Opening Day Red #OD-8 Mike Trout SN10
2018 Topps - Mother's Day Pink #300 Mike Trout SN50
2018 Topps - Negative #300 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Purple #300 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Rainbow Foil #300 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Silver Pack #2 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Silver Pack Blue Refractor #2 Mike Trout SN150
2018 Topps - Silver Pack Gold Refractor #2 Mike Trout SN50
2018 Topps - Silver Pack Green Refractor #2 Mike Trout SN99
2018 Topps - Silver Pack Orange Refractor #2 Mike Trout SN25
2018 Topps - Silver Pack Purple Refractor #2 Mike Trout SN75
2018 Topps - Superstar Sensations #SSS-1 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Superstar Sensations Black #SSS-1 Mike Trout SN299
2018 Topps - Superstar Sensations Blue #SSS-1 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Superstar Sensations Gold #SSS-1 Mike Trout SN50
2018 Topps - Superstar Sensations Red #SSS-1 Mike Trout SN10
2018 Topps - Topps Salute #TS-59 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Topps Salute Black #TS-59 Mike Trout SN299
2018 Topps - Topps Salute Blue #TS-59 Mike Trout
2018 Topps - Topps Salute Gold #TS-59 Mike Trout SN50
2018 Topps - Topps Salute Red #TS-59 Mike Trout SN10
2018 Topps - Vintage Stock #300 Mike Trout SN99
48

2018 Topps - MLB Spring Training Logo Manu Patch Relics #STP-MT Mike Trout MEM
2018 Topps - MLB Spring Training Logo Manu Patch Relics Blue #STP-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN99
2018 Topps - MLB Spring Training Logo Manu Patch Relics Gold #STP-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN50
2018 Topps - MLB Spring Training Logo Manu Patch Relics Red #STP-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN25
2018 Topps - MLB Spring Training Logo Patch Autograph Relics #STAP-MT Mike Trout AU, MEM
2018 Topps - Players Weekend Patch #PWP-MT Mike Trout MEM
2018 Topps - Players Weekend Patch Autographs #PWPA-MT Mike Trout AU, MEM
2018 Topps - Players Weekend Patch Blue #PWP-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN99
2018 Topps - Players Weekend Patch Gold #PWP-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN50
2018 Topps - Players Weekend Patch Red #PWP-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN25
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Autographs #83A-MTR Mike Trout AU
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Autographs Black #83A-MTR Mike Trout AU, SN99
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Autographs Gold #83A-MTR Mike Trout AU
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Autographs Red #83A-MTR Mike Trout AU, SN25
2018 Topps - Major League Material Relics #MLM-MT Mike Trout MEM
2018 Topps - Major League Material Relics Black #MLM-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN99
2018 Topps - Major League Material Relics Gold #MLM-MT Mike Trout MEM
2018 Topps - Major League Material Relics Red #MLM-MT Mike Trout MEM
2018 Topps - Topps Reverence Autograph Patch Relics #TRAP-MTR Mike Trout AU, MEM
2018 Topps - Silver Pack Autograph #2 Mike Trout AU
2018 Topps - Topps Salute Autographs #SA-MT Mike Trout AU
2018 Topps - Topps Salute Autographs Red #SA-MT Mike Trout SN25
22

2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Autographs Platinum #83A-MTR Mike Trout AU, SN1
2018 Topps - 1983 Topps Baseball Platinum #83-13 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Legends in the Making Platinum #LTM-MT Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Major League Material Relics Platinum #MLM-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN1
2018 Topps - MLB Opening Day Platinum #OD-8 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - MLB Spring Training Logo Manu Patch Relics Platinum #STP-MT Mike Trout MEM, SN1
2018 Topps - Printing Plate Black #300 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Printing Plate Cyan #300 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Printing Plate Magenta #300 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Printing Plate Yellow #300 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Platinum #300 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Silver Pack Red Refractor #2 Mike Trout SN5
2018 Topps - Silver Pack Superfractor #2 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Superstar Sensations Platinum #SSS-1 Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Topps Reverence Autograph Patch Relics Gold #TRAP-MTR Mike Trout AU, MEM, SN5
2018 Topps - Topps Reverence Auto Patch Relics Platinum #TRAP-MTR Mike Trout AU, MEM, SN1
2018 Topps - Topps Salute Autographs Platinum #SA-MT Mike Trout SN1
2018 Topps - Topps Salute Platinum #TS-59 Mike Trout SN1
18

88 total



6 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:43 AM

    88.....88....that's just insane alone for series 1 just waiting for the series 2's to be released then how many Trout's will be in the flagship. Then you have to think about later still if they do it but Topps would be stupid..... (too late in my opinion on certain things) the Update/Traded Trout cards. Then if Topps should have anything for the Factory sets 1 needs to wonder. .....so a more accurate title 88 flagship & counting if there is 1 collector who willing to get all of them if I were Topps give this collector a cash prize over $1.5 Billion dollars for life & a shopping spree for anything they made for life just by completing this task.....88 & counting unbelievable Topps you truly need some help with licensed companies like it was in the '80's to get this collector to buy your 2018 Flagship product.

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  2. Painful to see. Part of me is happy when Topps ignores my Brewers in sets so I don't have to care about a particular set.

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  3. Wow...that's just way too many cards for one set. Kudos to you for doing all of this research. I can't fathom any player collector tackling a monster like that (Collecting Cutch blows my mind and he's collecting Cutch ..not Trout, Judge, Harper, etc.)

    You got to see Harper from the beginning; I'm about an hour from where Trout grew up in south Jersey and I planned to PC him after he was drafted. Not only is it impossible given my meager budget, I'd have too much competition for the high-end stuff even if I could afford it.

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  4. I do collect Trout, but I pretty much just take anything I can get. I certainly won't overpay for any of his cards and I MOST CERTAINLY wouldn't go out of my way to chase any of those 88(!) different Flagship issues. Luckily I seem to have good luck at pulling his stuff from packs so I'm not often forced to pay the premiums his base/inserts command.

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  5. I corrected the post to refer to Series 1. It's true that there will probably be three times as many once the whole set is out.

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  6. I respect every collector's right to collect whatever they want... but that doesn't mean I don't have an opinion of my own. Personally... I think Topps is seriously hurting the hobby by doing this. It started a few years ago with meaningless cheap inserts. It felt like we were transported back to the mid 90's when Fleer would include an insert in every pack. Topps pretty much started doing the same thing. Then last year, they went "Judge" crazy. Now this? #notamused

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