Auspicious Beginnings And A Melancholy End

It usually doesn't take a whole lot for me to collect a certain player.  But in the case of Brian Matusz, it was a lot more than usual.  I never met him in person, but the connection was closer than most other players I follow.  He wasn't a superstar, but I rooted for the guy more than anyone else I ever watched.

Brian was found deceased in his home this past Monday, January 8.  Phoenix authorities are still investigating and have not released the cause of death.  

As described in the linked article above and many others, Matusz was an Orioles starter for a few years and did OK, but then extended his career in 2012 by moving to relief.  He continued in this role for a few more years.  He was well known for being able to strike out David "Big Papi" Ortiz 13 times out of their 29 matchups with only four hits and no homers.  He was traded to the Braves after his numbers declined in 2016, but didn't last long.  He caught on with the Cubs just enough to earn a World Series ring.  He spent a couple more years in the minors and Mexican League before retiring in 2019.

I first saw him when he was with my hometown minor league Frederick Keys.  I was at his debut game there, and then also happened to be at his major league debut in Detroit while visiting Stuart.  Ironically, that was also the same date (Aug 4) as the debut of another of my Oriole PC's Mike Mussina.  During his time here, Matusz lived in the neighborhood in Frederick that was managed by another good friend of mine.

So all that inspired one of my first "supercollections".  Here is my attempt to show it all to you.  Please forgive the reflections.  I can't ever take photos without reflections fogging up the images no matter what angle or lighting I use.  I'll highlight some of the more interesting cards.

I've got most everything in top loaders in chronological order.  These are minor league and Team USA issues from Razor, Upper Deck, and Obak among others. 

I've got the whole name in these signed Lettermans.  Though it is a hybrid of both sets.

These were some of the first autographs I found of his.  This particular one came a bit later than the rest, since it's only numbered out of 25.

I've been lucky to find almost all these UD USA baseball jerseys, patches and autos.  Even the low numbered ones.

I found these Obak printing plates at their table at the National one year.  They had almost every card in this series along with all the plates for each.  Not sure if they do that regularly, or they were shutting things down.  I'm glad to have them either way.

A lot of these parallels take me a minute to figure out the differences.  This one (and the green one like it) are die cut versions.  (Again, the reflections on the penny sleeves).

His 2010s start with a bunch of Bowmans.  

...and continue with Topps issues including Chrome and eTopps.

I got one without and one with the sealed case. 

Sorry for the blurry shot of the Bowie Baysox team set.  He's on top, so there's no reason to open it.

Transitioning from 2010 to 2011 starting with Upper Deck, then back to Bowman and Topps again.  

That Triple Threads jersey auto really caught the light.  The Futures Game swatch is how all GU's should be.

Haven't seen many other gold Upper Decks after this one.

He got on the checklist for these online 2011 Diamond Die Cuts.  

Lots of colorful shiny-ness in the 2011's too.

Some really fancy stuff in the 2011-2012 range.  A little bit of everything.

Don't remember where I bought this A&G printing plate for that year's mini.  These are really nice looking, though.

These are all logo- and photo-less issues by Upper Deck.  Not sure what ostriches have to do with Baltimore baseball, but this is what you get with exclusive contracts.

My 2013's include more printing plates, colorful parallels, and minis.

Here are the standard size plates...

...and the mini one.  (Could have put a reference card in the photo I guess.)

Angled this shot to keep the reflections at bay.  Rainbows are pretty cool.

Probably should have tried that with these too.  Ah well, you get the gist.

Ooh, shiny...

And a closer look at the stamps on the lower ones. 

To cap it all off - his bobblehead in the box.

I'm number one on the Database among Matusz collectors, of which I don't imagine there are many who seek him out specifically.  His passing just fuels my ambition to find everything they made of him.

Rest In Peace Brian.  You've been immortalized in cardboard at the very least.

What Did I Do In 2022?

Well, the quickest answer to that is, "more than last year, apparently."  At least if you look at my post totals.  I more than doubled 2021.  Still nowhere near my activity in 2019 and back...

It was kind of a slow start.  I was still trying to encourage big batches of the football hoard to leave the Hivemind Complex.  (Didn't really happen.) 

My favorite pro football team had renamed themselves and spent most of the season looking like they had improved things on the field at least.  (Unfortunately, that just came crashing down.) 

I established a COMC [store], though it took most of the year to get going.  I've sold over $150 in cards - about a fifth of what I submitted.  Still have just under 200 cards for sale.  See the link in the upper left.

I continued to buy cards from online sellers, and local dealers across the area.  I discovered a great shop that's just over an hour drive in the Baltimore area.  Fellow megacollector Stuart came for two weeks of shop tours and the Chantilly show.  And I delved into Russian hockey cards from an eBay seller in Latvia.  

Visited relatives on the West Coast and brought back a newer flavor of COVID.  That was fun.  At least I got it over with...  Kudos to our local health care providers.

I pulled a bunch of recent big name rookies out of my set boxes figuring they deserve a little bit better preservation than being stacked in with the commons.  Still have to put them in nicer holders or a binder.

Started a player collection of Edwin Jackson with a bang.  Originally thought I'd just go for the basic base cards to start with, but I already have several autographs and jersey cards from an initial batch.  This is the only part of my collection that I have accurately documented on the TCDB. Doesn't look like any of my hits are scanned on there yet.

Stuck to my proclamation in 2020 of bypassing Topps flagship sets and only bought Allen & Ginter.  Still working on a lot of the inserts and SPs.  Seems like there isn't going to be a good show to pick some of these up very soon.  Will have to jump on some trades before everyone finishes.  Hopefully that hasn't already happened.

And finally, I upgraded my capability to scan big batches of regular cards.  Thought I'd be weeks filling in the gaps in the Database with tons of scans, but I've already exhausted the better part of the sets I have that were missing lots of images.  Haven't tried hockey yet, but I guess I've discoverd I don't collect the weird stuff that they still need images for.

What Am I Going To Do Next?

 It's pretty much steady as she goes, first star to the right, and straight on 'til morning on the ol' Borg ship here.  

But I do plan on thinning out some of my piles of extra stuff.  Probably via giveaways.  And not just the "pick a few single cards from these pages" kind.  I'm going to put up stacks and groups and lots.  Send me anything from my wants - quantity is irrelevant.  I want to have something for everyone.  I've tried selling and trading, and have had some success, but now it's time to just get this stuff outta here.  I'm running out of space and I can't use it, and you can, so here ya go.  More on that as it develops. 

I've also contemplated posting a YouTube video or two.  I don't plan on establishing a full fledged channel, but have had some ideas about responses to a few of the guys that have.  Let me know in the comments if you peruse any YouTube card people.

Football For Trade: Recap

OK, here's the full list again.  And a set I missed.

I think a lot of these counts are high, but look at them in terms of relative to each other.  They are estimates that I got by using a measuring strip that I marked in increments of 50 cards.  The differences in stock thicknesses probably throw them off.

Again, there are bunches of products in between all these for the most part, but not in such quantities to be listed here.  If you are a set builder, player or team collector, don't hesitate to ask if you think we can make a trade.  (Ravens, Packers and Broncos are probably thin, but others I might have tons.) 

1971 Topps - 175 cards (mostly VGish)

1973 Topps - 150 cards

1974 Topps - 100 cards

1981 Topps - 75 cards

1982 Topps - 250 cards

1983 Topps - 100 cards

1984 Topps - 260 cards (also have 2nd set minus < 10)

1985 Topps - 100 cards

1988 Topps - 75 cards

1989 Topps - 125 cards

1992 All World - 750 cards
A whole row of this set.  It's not bad for the heart of the junk wax era.  Probably still some decent names.  Want a starter set?

1992 Skybox Impact - 250 cards

1992 Upper Deck - 100 cards

1993 Playoff - 150 cards

1993 Select - 200 cards

1993 Topps - 500 cards

1995 Stadium Club - 150 cards

1999 Topps - 200 cards

1999 Upper Deck - 75 base, 18 inserts  
Probably some stars in that batch.

2000 Upper Deck - 80 base, 25 inserts
Most inserts average 3 copies each.

2002 UD XL - 300 cards
One of my favorite sets.  The football equivalent of UD 40-Man.

2003 Bowman - 200 cards
That's right, I have Bowman.  And there are rookies in it.  Watch for lightning.

2005 Donruss Elite - 125 cards + inserts

2005 Donruss Throwback Threads - 75 cards + inserts

2005 Leaf Certified - 100 cards + inserts

2005 Topps Heritage - 100 cards
Only maybe a couple SPs or really big stars.  I bought these in boxes myself back then.

2006 Bowman Chrome - 100 cards

2006 Donruss Classics - 75 cards + inserts

2006 Donruss Threads - 100 cards + 25 inserts

2006 Fleer - 60 cards, mostly rookies

2006 Press Pass Legends - 100 cards

2006 Topps - 100 cards

2007 Bowman - 300 cards + 15 parallels
Thought there were more parallels, but there are a dozen golds and they are thicker.  A couple each on the oranges & blues.

2007 Bowman Chrome - 75 cards

2007 Donruss Classics - 50 cards + inserts

2007 Leaf Certified Materials - 150 cards

2007 SP Authentic - 75 cards

2007 Topps - 100 cards

2008 Score - 650 cards + 250 inserts & parallels (glossies)
This is one of my favorite football sets.  I bought several boxes on my own when it was new, and got a whole row's worth in a monster box among the hoard.  Almost done a second (tradeable) base set, and still have a ton.  The glossy parallels are subtle - have to see them next to regular base to tell for sure.

2008 Leaf Certified Materials - 250 cards
The next year, this was called Donruss Certified.  These are foilboard, so they don't scan well.

2008 Press Pass - 500 cards
The guy I got the hoard from had a lot of the rookie-centric products like this.

2008 SPx - 100 base and 50 s/n RCs
The base set is die cut.  The rookies probably repeat a bit.

2008 Topps - 300 cards

2008 Topps Chrome - <300 cards
Almost as much as the regular base but only half the set size.  I should see how close to a set I can make....

2008 Topps Finest - 75 cards
This is what's left after I started a set.  Rookies are all numbered /699 if there are any. I always call it "Topps Finest" even though it's usually listed as just Finest.

2008 Upper Deck Heroes - 175 cards

2008 Upper Deck NFL Draft - 100 cards

2009 Donruss Elite - 75 cards

2009 Gridiron Gear - 100 cards

2009 Prestige - 425 cards

2009 Score - 275 cards

2009 Topps - 100 cards

2009 Topps Magic - 150 cards

2009 Topps National Chicle - 100 cards
It's weird that they did these two throwback designs in the same year.

2009 UD Philadelphia - 200 cards + starter set
This is another one of my favorite products, though it will be on my want list for years because of all the mini inserts and short print action cards at the end.  And I'm skipping the Vietnam and Obama stuff in between.  I did just find a half dozen of the player minis that I had stuck in a star tradeables box before I decided to try for them.

2010 (Panini) Epix - 150 cards
I still call most of Panini's sets by their old manufacturer names.  It's confusing sometimes when I go to sort them.  I'm used to putting the Donruss' first, then Fleer, Playoff, Prestige, Score, etc.  Now they're mixed up a bit if you go by Panini ____.

2010 Gridiron Gear - 75 cards
Again, so much want to put Donruss in front of that...

2010 Prestige - 200 cards

2010 SP Authentic - 150 cards

2010 Score - 150 cards

2010 Topps - 125 cards and about 25 inserts

2010 Topps Platinum - 150 regular cards and 150 of the rookies
There is a lot of repetition in these - so guessing maybe only about 50ish different in each group.  The rookies are printed on a different stock even though they're dispersed throughout the set.

2010 Topps Prime - 125 cards and about 25 inserts & parallels

2011 Sage Hit - 250 cards
Probably lots of dupes here too.  Likely true on many of my major chunks.

2011 Score - 150 cards
Don't think I've missed too many years of Score.  If I'd have kept up making football sets, I'd have probably gone over to Score from Topps.  At least until later this decade when Prestige got really nice.

2011 Topps - 250 cards
Was still buying Topps...

2011 Topps Rising Rookies
Had to look up what the RR stands for.  Just says "RR" on the cards.

2012 Leaf Young Stars - 100 cards

2012 Score - 400 cards and 175 glossy parallels.  
Probably some inserts in here too.  I bought a lot of this myself and the hoard added to it.
2012 is the thinnest year in this whole period...

2013 Contenders - 300 cards

2013 Rookies & Stars - 75 cards

2013 Topps Chrome - 75 cards

2013 Topps Platinum - 125 cards

2013 Topps Strata - 150 cards

2014 Prestige - 100 cards

2014 Rookies & Stars - 300 cards

2014 Score - 325 cards

2014 Topps - 150 cards

2015 Contenders - 475 cards

2015 Donruss 325 cards

2015 Prestige - 425 cards and 40 inserts/parallels

2015 Prizm - 40 cards

2015 Prizm Draft Picks - 125 cards

2015 Topps Field Access - 100 cards and 100 parallels
I tried to jump on this set when it came out, but the collation seems to be so bad, I can't finish a base set with multiple boxes and a couple batches of singles.  Grrr!  This was the last Topps NFL set I tried to collect.  Couldn't read the fine print on the later products, and they just got too busy with the designs.

2015 Topps Platinum - 75 cards
The rookies in this set have sort of an X-Fractor look to them, but they're base.

2015 Score - A huge box full.  One whole row of inserts and parallel inserts / Scorecards / SPs, and three rows of base.  Only primarily missing Tom Brady and the Ravens.  The last row and a half are all rookies with mulitple copies of most of them.  This is by far the largest quantity of any set I have.  (Unless you want 1990 Pro Set football, but this is still more).

2016 Absolute - 200 cards

2016 Donruss - 125 cards and 75 inserts
One of my favorite new sets.  I'm still working on the last few inserts, but I bought a bunch.

2016 Donruss Classics - 375 cards and 40 inserts
Bought even more of this one.  Those pesky glossies make this one tougher to finish.

2017 Absloute - 75 cards

2017 Contenders - 125 cards

2017 Donruss- 75 cards

2017 Playoff - 100 cards

2017 Prestige - 425 cards and 40 inserts.
About 2014, Prestige took over as my favorite football set instead of Topps and Score.  Even though they're humungous sets, I hope there is something like it when Fanatics takes over.

2018 Absolute - 175 cards

2018 Black Friday - 100 cards

2018 Classics - 100 cards
Some young dude handed me a big stack of these at the National that year.  Guess he was a mojo hunter...

2018 Contenders - 375 cards and 30 inserts

2018 Elite Draft Picks - 75 cards

2018 Illusions - A whole row in a 5 row box.  I forgot to list these in the original posts since they are with the 2015 Score.  These are thick cards, so the count for a whole row will be lower than average.  There are many s/n parallels available, plus some nice inserts.

2018 Playoff - 75 cards

2018 Prizm - 600 cards and 125 inserts/parallels

2018 Rookies & Stars - 75 cards

And finally, 2019 Topps AAF - 75 cards
I did these because I liked the league so much (Still looking for some of the Future Stars).   

2021 National Walkthrough

 Chris Sewall posted this video on his YouTube channel - BASEBALL CARD COLLECTOR INVESTOR DEALER (in that order).  It's a pretty decent walkthrough of the 2021 National.  Really gives a good impression of the scale of the show.  

Check out Chris' other content.  His delivery isn't flashy, but his stories and information are good.

Collector's Log: Stardate 198211.13

It's now November 1982, and the year is starting to wind down.  And actually, so is this series, unless I can find the other journal book for 1983!

Big shop visit for this one.  I spent over $23!  (Boy, if I could get away from a decent shop for that little nowadays, they must have nothing but Bowman and hot rookies!)

It was about this many '78's, but there weren't any big stars listed.

Four Mickey Lolich cards, probably not '78 or '79, since I was working on those sets, so they're probably at least one or two of these....

Same deal with Cedeno...

This one I do know, but it could be the '70 or '71.  The difference is the color of the inside.

1981 Kellogg's is the easiest set to complete, and I bought it all at once.  I have a line on most of it if anyone needs.

Willie Randolph getting his first taste of New York in 1976....

A couple from the year before.  Billy Williams is one of the few non-player-collection guys in this purchase.

Even the World Series cards had several of my PC guys.  Palmer in '71 and Tenace, Foster, and Campaneris make apperances in '73 Topps.

All this and some stickers for $23?  Bring back the good ol' days!

I've got two more entries from the journal to go.  One about the '82 NFL strike and the resulting Redskins championship.  The last is in December where I said that I put in orders for TCMA sets, and showed off my ('82?) Traded set.  After that, I'm going to have to dig out the other book...