The way to complete a team set

 

The World Baseball Classic final is tonight.

Folks on social media have been picking sides, because that's what they like to do. To them, the WBC is either a worthless exhibition fraught with danger or what baseball must be like in heaven.

 

I'm somewhere in between as usual. I haven't watched a lot of it, but what I have watched was interesting. The U.S.-Venezuela game was very engaging. I was surprised by that. I'm not somebody who thinks they should play this every year, but it's a fun outlet and makes spring training a little more interesting than it is. Also it helps that Mookie Betts is playing for the U.S.

 

It's also helped get me involved in current baseball this year, which I had been slow about. I'm going to blame the fact that Heritage isn't out yet. Not only that, there is zero news on when it is going to be released. I have a gift card specifically marked for the arrival of 2023 Heritage and instead Big League is going to be released at the end of the month and that is not Heritage.

 

All I have for current cards is flagship, which is fine -- it got me through many baseball years all by itself from 1975-1980. But I'm not trying to complete it like I was then. And, as of today, I've finished the Series 1 Dodgers team set.

 

That is the whole 2023 Dodgers team set. I received a mailing from gcrl of cards as I see them that finished off what I needed from the set. Now that is the way to complete a team set! No need to buy the thing, just trade for it!

For full disclosure, because I know someone is taking notes with a pen and notepad, the cards I needed were Grove, Kershaw, Betts, the team card, the team checklist, Lux, Urias and the league leader with Urias.

The rest are dupes, and that's OK, because those are the only 2023 dupes I have! That feels good, to be almost at the end of March with no flagship dupes that aren't Dodgers. I feel like I have achieved.

I also received a few of the inserts from Jim, which is great because I can't be bothered with that insert stuff anymore.

Observe how mindless these are. Even the 1988s, which I admit are welcome, don't require much thought. Topps already knows that the '89s are next year (I'm assuming). 

I'm quite pleased about the '88 Kershaw silver pack thing. It knocks off another past Topps design for my Kershaw Through The Years run. I'm counting on Archives to pick up its game and add Kershaw to the '56 design already.

The long national nightmare of '87 overload has finally ended. These are all from last year. I needed all but the Freeman card. I need to update my spreadsheet on the player who have appeared on the most '87 retreads, because there was Update from last year and a couple of other things. maybe online or something ... I don't know, I was in my '87 bunker ducking relentless '87 bombs.

Jim added a couple of other 2022 needs. Not much to say about these except I enjoyed crossing them off the list.

The 2023 set wasn't the only Dodgers team set that Jim helped me complete. We're going back 30 years to finish off the 1993 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes set! Johnny Podres was the last puzzle piece. And, yes, I have three-pockets for days, so storage is not an issue.

I will not be watching the WBC final -- I have to work. But I'll probably check out some highlights.

It's good baseball, and other than the dual online histrionics of "my god everyone is getting injured/"I shall bow down to worship the glory of Trout V. Ohtani," I like this World Classic stuff.

But every four years is probably about right.