It's that time of year when I update the numbers on how many Dodgers cards I have for each year since I started the blog.
I wrote a post on this last year and it revealed a definite divide among collectors. Some really like charting their collection progress. Some leave it to a simple "complete!" and move on. I like charting. I'd feel lost without it, like I didn't really know my collection. Plus, it's one of the more fun aspects of collecting for me -- seeing your progress in numbers.
But this does take some time to do and I have even less time than ever for whatever reason. How did I post twice a day, send out six trade packages a week, make a card aisle run twice a week, all while raising a rugrat? What happened to me?
Fortunately, there is Trading Card Database. They are the Charting Your Collection guys so I make that work for me.
I was through updating my Dodgers-per-year in a matter of a few minutes using TCDB. Here is my progress from the previous time I did this last year and for three years before that:
2008: 859 (in 2023: 777) (in 2020: 737)
2009: 747 (649) (617)
2010: 587 (525) (469)
2011: 620 (583) (539)
2012: 512 (451) (440)
2013: 739 (654) (618)
2014: 681 (606) (566)
2015: 608 (593) (508)
2016: 580 (494) (479)
2017: 620 (551) (504)
2018: 765 (707) (626)
2019: 601 (543) (463)
2020: 709 (594) (506)
2021: 758 (615) (n/a)
2022: 658 (323) (n/a)
2023: 310 (n/a) (n/a)
All right, even with TCDB, there are inaccuracies here for sure. I'm not certain how I added 82 Dodger cards from 2008 in the past year, I doubt I did. 2020 and 2021 took a large leap, too, which I suppose is possible as I've been back-collecting for those years since cards were so unavailable then.
Everything else shows steady accumulation and a healthy collection. Yay me!
As usual, 2023 will catch up to the other guys the next time I do this. 2024 will be about collecting 2023 as much as 2024, an easy example of that is my 2023 Stadium Club Dodgers team set will be arriving any day now. Just look at 2022 and how much it jumped -- that's thanks to 2023.
I want to get to showing these numbers in a better way, like with a graph, but, again, that takes more time.
For those who don't like numbers and just want to see cards, I'm here for you, too. One of the most recent additions to the totals above was a package from gcrl of cards as I see them. He's one of the best Dodger senders I know. If you didn't realize, we're the top two Dodger card collectors on TCDB!
Here are some more current needs, mostly from 2023. Topps has got to mix up photos a little better -- take some shots so the guys are facing left once in a while.
Here are some older Dodgers needs. Always nice to get another David Ross-Was-A-Dodger card.
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Jim found my 2023 Finest want list (I guess I actually made one of those, huh?). This is from one of my favorite periods of Finest, though I like the 2004 ones better.
He also sent a couple of night cards from 2020 Stadium Club. Both are already in my night card binder, but upon closer inspection, the Shed Long is a chrome refractor! That's a way to fancy up the binder!
OK, I'm glad I got that update in. Usually I do this in January but the timing is good anyway because 2024 Topps is supposed to be released tomorrow!
I see some breakers already have got their hands on it. I saw a couple breaks yesterday and today. I still really like the cards, which is a feat when you're listening to people stumble over the names of the players. The name is "Yastrzemski" dude. Come on.
Comments
It might be interesting to see how many unique Dodgers cards were printed each year (TCDB should be able to do this I think), and what percentage of those you own. My instincts say otherwise, but maybe 2011 was a lean year for Dodgers on cardboard...
Do you mean 2012? I have a couple guesses on why 2012 is much lower. First, I really dislike that flagship design and some other sets from that year (i.e. Gypsy Queen), which cuts down my interest in the cards. Also, I think the SP/parallel trend didn't fully ramp up until 2013 (kind of started late 2012).