2010 - A Look Back

With 2011 now upon us I wanted to take a few moments to look back and reflect upon the year that just took a bow.  2010 was a very exciting year for me and my family and here are a few things that happened that just happen to revolve around my love for cardboard and sports.

2010 was the 20th year I've collected baseball cards.  Wow!  Has it really been that long?  And to think my love for baseball cards in particular all started thanks to a friend and a roadside flea market we stopped at on our way home from the NC mountains all those years ago.  Let's think about the 1990 card designs.  What was so amazing about them that captivated me?  My first exposure to cards were 1990 Donruss and Topps.  Was the the bright red fronts and orange backs of Donruss?  Was it the multi colored Topps borders?  I still can't put my finger on it - but in some way shape or form I've collected cards now for 20 years!

2010 was also the first full year I've bought and collected cards.  I got back into the hobby in late 2009 with the purchase of some Topps packs.  2010 however led me to purchasing product I had never seen or heard of before.  I started set building for the first time and believe it or not started collecting all Braves players - not just Glavine, Justice and Smoltz.

The birth of this very blog happened in early 2010!  While it's not quite a year old yet this blog has brought me a lot of fun (and work as my wife says) this past year.  I was inspired to start my own blog after constantly visiting several card blogs and the people I've met along the way has been awesome.  If we've traded in 2010 then I sincerely thank each and every one of you for helping me out.  If we haven't traded - why not?!  I've got lots to offer and I'm always willing to deal.  Heck - many of you that have dealt with me know that I'll send you cards of your favorite team/player if you just ask!  I don't always have to get something in return.  While my blog may not be the best out there I look forward to continuing into 2011 and making new friends and completing new trades.

I acquired a lot of great cards in 2010.  Some of them came via packs I ripped, others came via eBay while others came via trades or just by the generosity of fellow bloggers.  Here is a quick list of my favorite cards that I got in 2010 (not all cards are 2010 cards):

1) Number One on the list is easy - 2010 Topps Chrome Jason Heyward autograph RC.  I pumped going into the baseball season to see what Heyward would do in his first season in the majors - and I and many other fans weren't disappointed.  The future for the Braves and Heyward looks very bright.  Of course all this lead me to wanting an autograph of his, but like a lot of hot young players the prices for his cards were a bit out of my price range early in the year.  Thankfully with a little patience I finally landed a nice auto for under $40 on eBay - and a on card auto at that!

2) 2010 Topps National Chicle autograph Carl Yastrzemski.  While I'm not a Yaz fan myself who wouldn't be excited about pulling this card from a retail pack?!  I'm trying to expose my young daughter to the wonderful world of baseball and baseball cards so when we go to Target or Walmart I'll usually grab a few packs and let her chose one or two for me.  This day she chose the right pack!  I still remember sitting in the car in the parking lot and opening this pack later to find this card.  The card is still available for trade if anyone is interested.

3) 2005 Topps Cracker Jack Take Me Out to the Ballgame jersey Bobby Cox.  When I saw the listing for this card on eBay I had to have it.  Farewell Bobby!  I enjoyed watching your teams each year compete for a NL title and the World Series each and every season.  It's hard to imagine what the 2011 season will be like without seeing him sitting in the dugout or getting ejected from games!

4) 1999 Pacific Private Stock Javy Lopez parallel #d 001/199 - I pulled this out of a retail blaster box that I got for cheap on eBay.  Anytime I pull a Braves insert/parallel myself it's cool, but the fact that this card was a low serially numbered card and #1 was the icing on the cake.

5) 1999 Topps Finest Gold Refractor Rey Ordonez.  Before my hiatus from cardboard I collected every card of Rey that I could find.  For awhile he flew under a lot of people's radar (with the exception of in NY) and when I got to see him play on TV or in person it was a lot of fun.  He never had a lot of pop in his bat, but he was great with the glove.  I also found it interesting that a lot of the card companies included Rey in their sets and he even showed up in a lot of inserts.  I'm still puzzled (but thankful) that Upper Deck chose him as part of their 3 card game used jersey set in 1996.  All that said I amassed quite a collection of his cards and finding cards now that I don't have doesn't come often.  When I ran across this BIN listing for the gold refractor version I couldn't pass it up - even if the price was a little on the high side.

6) 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter.  This was one of those sets of cards I had never really heard much about or seen before 2010.  Of course there was a lot of buzz about it floating around the internet before it was released and I read a lot of cool things about the set on other blogs.  When I saw that it was going to contain a dinosaur themed insert set (Monsters of the Mesozoic) I was sold.  I couldn't afford to drop the cash on a case or even a hobby box so I had to stick with retail.  Upon my initial pack/rack pack/blaster purchase I ended up w/ 12 of the cards.  Since then several readers have helped me fill in the other gaps.  After obtaining so many of the base cards I decided to build the set.  There is just something about the set's unique charm that helps set it apart from other baseball cards sets and it has been one of my favorite sets of the year.

7) 2007 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic Memorabilia jersey Fred McGriff.  A fellow reader offered up this card as part of a trade back in mid-summer.  I remember when the Braves acquired the Crime Dog and I loved watching him play.  At the time I didn't have many McGriff cards period and none of them were game used.  I honestly didn't even know he had any game used cards in a Braves uniform.  Needless to say I didn't hesitate on pulling the trigger on this trade.  About 6 months later I can't even remember what I gave up for this card - and it doesn't even matter!

8) 2010 Topps Peak Performance Relic Kevin Youkilis.  I've since traded this card, but it was another great pull I made earlier in the year.  My wife's family lives in different parts of Mass. and Maine and they all are huge Red Sox fans.  Everytime we go to visit them I keep hoping that someone will take me to Fenway, but nothing yet.  Being a Braves fan and a Yankee hater it makes perfect sense for me to root for the Red Sox in the AL so pulling a game used card is pretty cool.  The fact that the swatch was red made it even better.

9) 1996 Leaf Signature Series autograph Rafael Belliard.  I loved watching the early and mid 90's Braves teams - thanks in part to my late grandfather and father taking me to games down in Atlanta.  Rafael was one of those scrappy players that was just so much fun to watch.  You could tell he had a true love for the game and gave it his all each time he stepped onto the field.  Before finding this $2 card on eBay I didn't know he had any official autographed cards so I was very delighted to acquire this card.

10) 2009 Bowman Sterling autograph RC Mike Goodson.  OK as most of world knows the Carolina Panthers didn't have a very good year.  There were a lot of expectations going into the year, but I don't think many people thought much of Mike Goodson.  After all he was playing behind Pro Bowler DeAngelo Williams and rising star Jonathan Stewart who both had stellar 2009 seasons.  Flash forward a bit and DeAngelo suffers a season ending injury and Stewart suffers a few minor sets backs opening the door for Goodson's star to shine.  I really like this guy and I think he has a good chance to make a name for himself in the coming years.  This particular autograph was one of those redemption cards so I had to wait a little while before I got to hold it in my hands.

I'm sure I could find many many more cards to list, but I'm short on time this morning as I type this seeing how this is also my 6th wedding anniversary.  I better not upset the wife today as this day can set the tone for the whole year to come.  All of you that are married I'm sure will agree with me that a happy wife = a happy life!  I look forward to 2011 on so many levels.  It's been a great run, but there are great things ahead.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite pictures I posted on my blog in 2010.  My daughter sharing the excitement of opening that day's bubble mailer and finding a new baseball card inside!