The most collected teams - AL

Here's the first of a series of three posts that have been on my mind for years.

Every time I'm looking for cards online, it pops into my head: which teams seem to be the most collected?

This is not based on research or anything on TCDB or any other site that may have compiled this. It's based on my own experience. When I'm looking to buy a team lot or I'm looking for cards of my team online or at a show, which teams seem to disappear before others regularly?

I'm guessing there are less team collectors than there were 10 years ago, there seems to be more player collectors than ever. So this idea probably would have worked better a few years ago. But I'm doing it now in typically delayed fashion.

Also there's no time to rank every MLB team, so I'm doing the American League first, then the National League. Then I'll probably compile them together in a third post when everyone is bored with me doing this because thanks a lot, Tik Tok.

For the American League, there doesn't seem to be a lot of competition among collectors for teams, except for the first three or four. This seems to be more of a National League phenomenon.

But let's plug through the AL first, kind of like how I sometimes force myself to watch American League games!

1. YANKEES

Easily the most-collected team. I see more Yankees cards for sale at shops and shows than any other team. That's probably mostly because of where I live.

And when I see those cards, and how many people walk into a show in a Yankee shirt or jersey or hat, I am appreciative every time that I am an oddball and I don't want those cards AT ALL. Because if I did, I would be broke and this blog would have ended years ago because I'd be sad and destitute.

2. RED SOX

This is the case for a lot of teams but there used to be a lot of Red Sox card bloggers and my Red Sox cards would go fast. That doesn't happen anymore but I do notice Red Sox cards going fast when I'm shopping online. Especially when it comes to notable players -- and in my case, when it comes to seeing '70s Red Sox and then noticing them scooped up already.

3. ASTROS

A phenomenon of their World Series success of the last seven years. It's really the only time that I've noticed much demand for Astros cards.

4. ORIOLES

There used to be a lot of Orioles collectors on the blogs, too. I don't have much trouble finding Orioles cards. But when you're talking about finding Gunnar Henderson cards, then that's when it can get tricky.

5. TIGERS

Weirdly after many years of not being able to get rid of my Tigers cards I now know of three or four sources for Tigers cards. It's funny how that ebbs and flows over the years. Actually, my most wanted card right now is a Tigers card. So how about that?

6, 7, 8. ROYALS, TWINS, RANGERS

Lumping a bunch of these together because there's no noticeable difference in demand, even with the Rangers winning a World Series last year. Or maybe it's my usual inability to pay enough attention to AL teams.

9. ANGELS

From 2012-2023, Angels team lots were more expensive thanks to Mike Trout and then Shohei Ohtani. Now Dodgers lots get the Ohtani tax. I'm glad I held on to this commemorative helmet thing when I pulled it.

10. BLUE JAYS

As the only Canadian Major League team they have the market cornered.

11. GUARDIANS

No, I haven't come across Cleveland Guardians collectors lately. I can't even say I've dealt with a Cleveland Indians collector since, what, Baseball Dad? They are ranked here because they're not the teams below them.

12. RAYS

Until Jeremy came along, all of my Rays cards languished in boxes, forgotten for years. Now most of them find a home -- until Jeremy gets sick of being The Only Rays Guy.

 

 

 

13. MARINERS

 

The Mariners have been the new "it" team -- well, they had the new "it" guy anyway -- for a couple of years. And they're in first place. Doesn't seem to have translated into a lot of Mariners collectors though.

 

 

 

14. WHITE SOX

White Sox cards are flat-out ignored on the online card purchase sites, at least in my experience.

15. ATHLETICS

A's cards have been at the bottom in demand for a long time, for at least as long as I've been a blogger. I've come across just one full-fledged A's card collector in my blogging history. That's in contrast to when I was a kid when some of the best cards created were A's cards and I knew a couple of kids who were big Oakland A's collectors.

Just more evidence of how times have changed.

National League coming up, either tomorrow or sometime soon.