Making good time

 

I like to assess my collection periodically via numbers.

It's the best way I know to document progress and, for me, accumulating cards is progress (I don't understand collectors who get excited by selling off their cards -- the hobby is called "collecting," not "divesting").

Without totaling my cards periodically, this process would be mindless accumulation. What do I have? I don't know! How about this card in front of me! That's all I can tell you! At least with numbers, I feel like I'm making good time, even if it's still really mindless accumulation but with numbers.

So every year at this time, for the last couple of years, I've gone through quickly and added the number of Dodgers I've accumulated each year. It's not super-accurate but It gives me an understanding of how "well" I've done and also I can assess how enthusiastic I was that year. It also is a good window on what was going on in the hobby that year.

Almost three years ago, I went through and figured out my Dodger totals for every year since I started a blog. I just updated the totals for all those years, so let's look at them and compare:

2008: 777 (last time: 737)

2009: 649 (617)

2010: 525 (469)

2011: 583 (539)

2012: 451 (440)

2013: 654 (618)

2014: 606 (566)

2015: 593 (508)

2016: 494 (479)

2017: 551 (504)

2018: 707 (626)

2019: 543 (463)

2020: 594 (506)

2021: 615 (n/a)

2022: 323 (n/a)

 

Now, if I was really good about this, I'd also create two timeline graphs to really see the progress and which years have grown the most. But I don't have the time (maybe next time, also maybe next time I'll go through previous years -- but you know how that goes). 

Right now I can say that I did a surprising amount of additions for 2010 and 2018. Also you can see how my opinion of Topps' base design for a particular year affects my enthusiasm for adding cards. 2012 and 2016 -- both sets I don't like -- did not make much progress.

 

Also you can see the impact of multiple card-makers during the first couple years of my blog, as well as my waning enthusiasm for Insert/Parallel/Variation Mania post-2011.

As for 2022, that year's total will probably vault to the level of the other years by this time next year. 2020 was at 332 cards at the end of 2020.

One thing that prompted me to re-crunch the numbers was another big ol' box from reader Bob just before the end of the year. (I think he also sent one to Johnny's Trading Spot).

As in the previous box(es) he sent, it was filled with Dodgers. It was actually four boxes inside one box. Many of the Dodgers -- the vast majority -- I had already, which means, Dodger collectors, do I have some cards for you. AGAIN (I think instead of begging people to take these extras, I'll start some surprise sends to known Dodger blue enthusiasts).

 

I'm just going to show the stuff I needed. Almost none of this has been added to the totals above, so numbers are growing as I write!

 

You saw the 1978 TCMA card at the top of the post -- that was a need. Here are three more and they're from the earliest TCMA exclusive Dodgers issue, celebrating the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers. That's Kirby Higbe, Joe Vosmik and Babe Phelps.  

 

A whole bunch of TCMA 1960s cards, some of which I have already and some that are newbies! Woo! The repeats I can redesignate for the set-build, which I've done nothing with lately.

 

I thought I had all these. I do not. There be variations.

 

A whole lot of Upper Deck needs during that usual late '90s/early '00s window. Yeah my 1990s Dodgers totals I'm sure are through the roof and also probably the furthest away from being complete. That's a difficult feat, but the '90s will do that to ya.

 

 

That's a partial 1996 Great Falls Dodgers team set. Since it's low A ball almost no one here made the majors, which means I don't count them toward the Dodger totals. But Mickey Hatcher, and a team with both Cash Riley and Toby Dollar is money.

 

Thanks, Upper Deck, I'm putting Marlins cards in my Dodgers binder.

 

It's been a long time since I've added any 1990 Target singles to my collection and most of these are super-key ones, too. Casey! Hack! Moe! And not that Bull Durham, this Bull Durham!

 

Some Cody Bellingers, got to get these quick before he turns into a Pumpkin Cub.

 

These might be the most-key cards as they either completed a team set for me or got me damn close. Yeah, I'm counting coins in complete-set quests. This is what TCDB does to you.

 

Finally, a few Bills, who throw off the theme of this post completely.

But they're appreciated. 1991 Fleer seems to be one of those junk wax football sets that's highly revered among football collectors. Or at least, this set hardly makes its way to me when people are tossing me random Bills cards.

I have zero plans to chart how many Bills cards I obtain each year -- for football it is indeed mindless accumulation and I have no idea how much I have or sometimes what I have.

But for baseball, I need to know. I must know.