2020: the best, the worst, the ... end

Every year at the newspaper we run an end-of-the-year retrospective of the previous 12 months in local sports.

 

It's filled with the achievements, championships, records and transactions of the past year and it takes weeks to assemble.

 

This year, for the first time, we didn't plan to do anything like that. What was there to review? Sports were canceled in March and except for a few fits and starts never really got off the ground on a scholastic level, at least in my area of the state. Our top 10 stories of the year would be: SPORTS CANCELED on March 12 and that would be the list.

 

But as I looked closer, I realized that actually quite a bit happened in area sports even while nothing was happening. And so the retrospective has been revived. Much like the collecting hobby in 2020, a tremendous amount of stuff occurred when nobody was actually doing anything.

 

I've never seen a year in the hobby like this. No one has. If you were told last January that a pandemic was going to hit and then asked "how do you think this will affect your card collecting?" I don't think anyone would come up with the scenario that we all experienced. (My reaction probably would've been: "A pandemic? Well, I'll be dead, so who cares about my hobby?")

 

It says something about our hobby, and also something about the covid pandemic, that the practice of collecting cards could be so thoroughly turned upside down and yet thrive all at the same time.

 

Although I didn't participate in the rampant flipping of cards, ransacking of card aisles, queuing up for the card distributor's arrival or overspending on junk wax that marked what most would consider the moments that defined the 2020 collecting year, my tiny corner of the collecting quest absolutely flourished.

 

Because there were no packs to open down the street, I devoted my card desires to what I could obtain, and the vast majority of my consuming in 2020 unearthed what I truly wanted, rather than a litany Mariners, Marlins and Diamondbacks.

 

Collectors were as generous as ever when sending cards and my blog set records for readership and comments in the past year (yet blogging is dead!). A pandemic forced my habits to change and in that way, thank goodness for the pandemic, I guess, because I needed that kick in the butt. 

 

Yes, this last year has been awful in a lot of ways (now don't you feel silly whining at the end of all those other years?), but as far as the hobby -- my part of the hobby?

 

I'm living right.

 

Here is look at one of the strangest years in my life and its impact on my collection:

 

BEST SET I COMPLETED

I wasn't quite as successful with this as last year, but here they are:

 

1989 Fleer

 

Finished the very last day of 2020! Thanks to Tom for sending along the final three!

 

 

1995 Topps Visions of Vampirella

 

Nothing much cooler than female vampires.

 

 

1991 Pro Set MusicCards, Series 2

 

The third and final step in completing all the '91 MusiCards, although there are still variations because of course there are.

 

 

2019 Topps Holiday

 

The final cards of last year's set arrived in January of 2020. I likely would've bought up the 2020 version if it was ever available in stores.

 

 

 1951 Topps Dodgers

 

Completing '50s sets of my favorite team is a tremendous rush. I also finished off the 1958 Topps Dodgers set this year and the 1966 Topps Dodgers set.

 

1977 TCMA Renata Galasso Glossy Greats, series 1
 

I have wanted these since I was 15.

 

1977 Topps football

My all-time favorite football set and one I've been working on for a few years. I'm delighted.

 

1977 Kellogg's

Seems like 2020 was all about 1977! This is the latest completion success in my Kellogg's quest. More to come.

 

 

BEST SET I'LL COMPLETE IN 2021

 

Probably 1978 Kellogg's for sure.

 

There are two others that seem possible but I'm not guaranteeing anything. 1982 Fleer should finally be finished next year, as well as 1983 Fleer. 1970 Topps probably won't be but anything is possible is what the blog always tells me.

 

 

WORST SET OF 2020

 

The 2020 Topps "Update" set should have never been made but Topps made it because it needs to make money. We used to complain about Update bloat until we saw this set, which was more than double the size it should have been considering how ill-equipped Topps was to reflect actual MLB team roster changes. Two Tyler White Dodger cards in one 2020 set for a player who appeared in 12 games for the Dodgers in 2019 and no games for the Dodgers in 2020 will always be mystifying.

 

BEST SET OF 2020

 

My enthusiasm for current sets is at an all-time low (well since the early 2000s anyway). Big League is probably the best of the bunch as it's affordable and the photos and interesting backs always keep me engaged. The set isn't perfect -- the overabundance of league leaders cards threaten to swallow the set -- but it's the best of what we have. Stadium Club and Heritage were also decent, although a bit repetitive.

 

BEST PULLS OF 2020

 

Ha, ha, that's funny. I opened maybe 40 packs the entire year and the vast majority of that was January to March. The  two cards that you see above is all of what would make anyone scream "mojo!" if those who scream "mojo!" scream "mojo!" anymore.

 

BEST INSERT SET OF 2020

 

Opening Day's Spring Has Sprung insert set is the one insert set that will make me smile every time and that's the best you can ask for in an insert set.

 

BEST CARD OF 2020

 

See above.

 

WORST PACK OF 2020

 

This pack of Series 2 was so bad that I never showed it on the blog. It came with my Christmas presents. It was a measly five-card pack and two of the five cards were dupes even though I have purchased very little Series 2. The rest were the most boring possible players from the most boring possible teams. Topps reinforcing over and over in 2020 that I don't need to buy 2020 cards.

 

BEST EXAMPLE OF CARDBOARD GENEROSITY IN 2020

There were so many. I'll go with this one.

 

BEST CARD INNOVATION IN 2020

 

I was lukewarm on Topps Project 2020 initially although I always liked the concept of artistic takes on cards. Mostly what turned me off initially was the price and the fact that we were dealing with rookie cards again. But the Efdot Jackie Robinson won me over and now I consider that and the Sandy Koufax Project 2020 card I received as probably the best time markers of the hobby and 2020 for me.

 

BEST PROJECT 2020 CARD IF I WAS A PROJECT 2020 ARTIST

 

It's disturbing what you can create with almost no talent and a 10-year-old computer.

 

WORST TOPPS EXCUSE IN 2020

 

Topps claimed that the reason there was only one Texas Rangers card in 2020 Series 1 (Nick Solak) is because they were waiting for the Rangers' new stadium logo to be unveiled so Topps could place it on the Rangers' Series 2 cards. ... What? ... When were new stadium logos on cards ever a thing? Why deprive a team collector for such a thing? ... Obviously Topps goofed up the checklist in Series 1. It's the only thing that makes sense, not that logo excuse.

 

BEST CARD COLLECTING ACHIEVEMENT OF 2020

I finished the Topps run of Sandy Koufax cards with the addition of the '58 Koufax. Super happy I was able to obtain Koufax's rookie when I was in high school and the hobby was a lot more low-key.

 

BEST AUTOGRAPH ACQUISITION

 

ZippyZappy tracked down my favorite player when I was in high school and asked him to sign the cards that I provided while also advertising my blog to Pedro Guerrero! And then he sent pictures of the whole thing! Pedro Guerrero knows about my blog! ... Well, he knows some loser who writes about cards and calls himself night owl ... That's probably what he's thinking ... Or was thinking. ... He's probably not thinking about it anymore.

 

BEST AUTOGRAPH ACQUISITION 2

 

I rounded up the starting lineup and starting rotation in autograph form of the first Dodgers team I fully paid attention to, from 1977. I still need to figure out how to display it.

 

WORST COLLECTING VICTIM OF THE PANDEMIC

Aside from my childhood zeal for going to the card aisle?

 

That would be COMC, which suddenly could not provide its basic service, which was shipping the cards you bought in a reasonable manner. I stopped ordering cards from that site after Febuary and certain aspects of my collection, particularly the 1975 Topps buyback quest, really suffered.

 

BEST COLLECTING BENEFICIARY OF THE PANDEMIC

Sportlots and the baseballcardstore.ca. That's where my COMC money went. My move to Sportlots actually began in 2019 but I was all over the site in 2020. The baseballcardstore was new to me and, honestly, I couldn't figure it out for a couple of months. But when I did, I cashed in on all kinds of great and super-cheap cards.

 

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE OF 2020

 

Speaking of the baseballcardstore, the proprietor, Steve, read a blog post of mine and shipped me a 1989 Fleer Craig Biggio rookie card for free because the copies he puts on his site disappear so fast. That is the best gesture of 2020.

 

WORST REALIZATION OF 2020

 

That I don't love Allen & Ginter anymore. No, it's not for the reasons that others don't like A&G -- I wish there were MORE non-sports subjects and objects in A&G. I don't like it because it's become a shill for social media types. And that's nothing I'm interested in collecting. (Also, not a good design this year).

WORST DEPARTURES OF 2020

 

The baseball world experienced a rash of Hall of Fame passings this year. There were so many that those slightly "lesser" notables who left us earlier in the year, folks like Jimmy Wynn, were all but forgotten under the cloudburst of tears for the likes of Ford and Gibson and Brock.

 

It's hit me especially hard because unlike most years, the majority of departures are now players I followed as a kid, who were ever-present when I was a kid, people like Joe Morgan and Tom Seaver. That is not a reassuring development.

 

BEST CARDS SENT TO ME IN 2020

 

Oh my good gosh.

BEST SIGNED CARD ON WORST CONDITIONED CARD

I keep checking my 1959 Brooks Robinson autographed card to make sure it hasn't disintegrated.

 

WORST DISREGARD FOR COLLECTORS' OCD

In yet another disaster in a disaster of a Topps Update set, Topps screwed up the backs so they aren't oriented the same way. You're going to give collectors migraines!

 

BEST 2020 CARD MOST COLLECTORS WILL NEVER HAVE

 

I was pulling stuff like this in the regular base set in the 1970s, but short-printing this card is still annoying. 

BEST CARDS I SENT TO MYSELF IN 2020

 

 I love this category. That's a lot of fun.

BEST BLOGGING DEVELOPMENT OF 2020

 

Lots of old-time bloggers returned in 2020, which was great because now I didn't have to think that they had died! Unfortunately, a few disappeared again as the quarantine ended and that made be think there were folks going "well, I don't have anything else to do, I might as well blog."

 

WORST INDICATION OF HOW PACK PULLING WOULD GO IN 2020

 

 

This was the first card that I pulled. I hated the design. I hated the team. I didn't know who the guy was. Thanks flippers for taking me away from this stuff!

BEST MAGAZINE ARTICLES I WROTE IN 2020

 

It's great that I can say this. I am in the process of wrapping up another article next week.

BEST BLOGGING DEVELOPMENT 2

I appeared on three podcasts in a matter of weeks .My daughter says cool people do podcasts. So I've got that going for me.

BEST BLOGGING DEVELOPMENT 3

 

Speaking of my daughter, she developed a logo for my blog and then made a business card for me.

 

WORST BLOGGING DEVELOPMENT

 Ever since Blogger updated itself for mobile use I have been fighting the new system with every single post. The formatting is wack and I am still obsessed with getting the little thumbnail image to appear with my post on the blog roll on every person's blog. Sometimes the top image appears, sometime a random image appears (like the fourth image down) and sometimes no image appears (the most frustrating). I have no idea what the reason is for that and YES, CAN'T YOU SEE IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY?

 

BEST BLOGGING REALIZATION

 

 

All you have to do is call yourself dumb in the title of a post and people (or bots) will click on it nonstop. I wrote a post called "Just added my dumbest want list ever" in March and it almost instantly became my most "viewed" post in 12 years of blogging. So a tip for you bloggers looking for views.

 

BEST TOPPS ADVENTURE IN ALTERNATE REALITY

Topps pretended that David Price suited up for the Dodgers, took the mound and played in at least one ball game. None of this happened.

 

Another alternate reality adventure was Topps painting red numbers on the back of the Dodgers' jerseys for its Decade's Best 1960s card even though the Dodgers have worn blue letters on the back for ages.

WORST REALIZATION ABOUT TOPPS SETS

I should have figured this out already but I was informed in 2020 that when Topps formulates its checklist for a set, it starts by adding the rookies, because we must have our rookies. My goodness, what a self-fulfilling prophecy this is. No wonder we have so many collectors brainwashed by rookie collecting.

 

WORST MISS WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING ME TO BUY CARDS

People spent a lot of time watching TV and movies in 2020. Netflix and Hulu and Amazon in particular. If somebody created a card set for "The Queen's Gambit," I would collect it in an instant. But the window is small, you guys. Got to get it out soon or I won't care anymore. How long, really, can I stay interested in chess?

 

BEST RESEARCH IN 2020

 

There was a bunch. I was able to close the book on the tabulation of all my cards in mid-December of this year. Not only do I know (approximately) how many Dodgers I have (23,420 at the moment) but I know how many cards I have in my entire collection (89,722).

 

That has allowed me to figure out which players are represented the most in my collection and get all kinds of good blog posts out of that. I was able to figure out "the card darling" (the player with the most Dodger cards for each year), which player is represented the most in the junk wax cards in my collection (Kirby Puckett) and all kinds of good stuff you find out when you spend five months without opening any card packs.

 

But I draw the line at counting all my dupes.

 

BEST DECISION I MADE A LONG TIME AGO THAT CAME TO FRUITION IN 2020

 

 

Deciding not to pay attention to basketball. If I was a basketball collector this year I would be PISSED.

 

BEST PART OF COLLECTING THE DODGERS IN 2020

 

 

The Dodgers won the World Series!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

OK, before I get out of here, I need to figure out my Person of the Year.

 

It's actually pretty easy this time. It's someone I've mentioned on a blog post or two this year. If you want to be the Person of the Year, all you need to do is play for my favorite team, pitch for my favorite team in the World Series, and grow an incredible main of curly red hair that you refuse to cut.

 

 

Because Dustin May did all those things, and in his first full year in the majors as well, he is easily this year's card Person of the Year. 

All right, so there, you see? A whole bunch happened when nothing was happening. It wasn't all that stressful of a year for me.

 

It helps that I am not one of those people who needs to be out doing stuff all the time, visiting, interacting with friends and neighbors, taking trips, partying, etc. I was pretty happy with what people were telling me to do in 2020: 

 

STAY AT HOME!

 

OK! I will!

 

WORK FROM HOME!

 

Woooo! Gladly!

 

DON'T GO INTO CROWDS! BUY STUFF ONLINE!

 

No problem! Why was I doing that crowd stuff anyway?

 

DONATE TO PEOPLE WHO AREN'T AS WELL OFF AS YOU!

 

Done! 

So, yeah, I didn't have an issue with a lot of the changes in 2020. And, yes, it's because I was fortunate. 

 

People shit on my occupation all the time, but because I'm in a somewhat essential job and because my company believes in what we do (so many newspaper companies have proven that they don't), I still have a job. I've dealt with health problems this year, but none have been related to covid. I feel blessed and blessed to have the family that I do.

 

But I would like to consider this year as an "experiment," only, a one-time only thing. We've done that now. Let's go back to the other way we were doing things for all those years before 2020, OK?

 

At least that's my hope.

 

Happy New Year.

(Persons of the Year: 2020 - Dustin May; 2019 - Gary V.; 2018 - Kylie Minogue; 2017 - Aaron Judge; 2016 - Justin Smoak; 2015 - Sandy Koufax; 2014 - Bill Wetmore; 2013 - maybe Josh Donaldson; 2012 - Adron Chambers)