2020 year in review

[mrmopar]

2020 sucked rat ****! Covid covid covid. lock downs and even worse lock downs. Politician's and DR Fauci playing dictating Gods and do as they say and not as they do. I had a heart attack 6 weeks ago and had 3 stints put in 2 arteries. Then 4 days after that had a tooth break off and get infected on a week end and no dentist would touch me because I am on blood thinners. Had to go to an oral surgeon.$$$$ I have not watched the news in weeks because of all the BS going on, just sick of it all. I guess it could be worse.

How old are you, if you don't mind sharing? It certainly could be worse for anyone I suppose, but the regular BS everyone is dealing with, the heart attack is taking it to a whole new level. In 2010 when I was 41, I had a pulmonary embolism diagnosed the day before I was due to fly out of town to visit my inlaws for Christmas. Spent Xmas in the hospital while my family took the trip. That was a real eye opener and I was on blood thinners for some time.

 

[banjar]

Want another reason 2020 sucked? I have one for you. Admittedly a minor one. This pop-up now appears every time I pull up an FCB page, and it drives me nuts. Now if I log in, it goes away. But most of the time I'm not logging in - I'm just checking in to see if there's a thread I want to respond to. If so THEN I log in. So, most of the time I have to make this stupid ad go away before I can read the page. I know, I know, first world problems. But I really hate this.

 

[Topnotchsy]

I appreciate that.

As you reference, I've found the story around Integration to be an incredibly powerful and moving one, and it's been really cool hunting down pieces that tell that narrative. Each piece often leads to more research and reading, which in turn leads me to new items for the collection.

I have to say that you've got one of the best memorabilia collections out there. The stuff you track down is legendary. Especially the pieces from the integration days.

As I get older I appreciate more what these men went through. They were simply fighting to be recognized and treated as men. And it took balls to do this. Brass balls. It took the kind of courage that this country could really benefit from these days. So good on you for creating this kind of archive.

 

[Dazed]

OK, whose going to start the 2021 Goals thread? Since I don't think I've ever participated in the goals threads before someone else should start it. So once one is started my first goal will be to participate.

 

[banjar]

Done!

2021 Collecting Goals

A new year is just around the corner, hopefully bringing better days with it. So, optimistically speaking, what are you hoping to accomplish over the next year in your collections? Here's my list. For my Alomar PC: 1) Reduce new card purchases even further. At current count there are 537...

www.freedomcardboard.com

OK, whose going to start the 2021 Goals thread? Since I don't think I've ever participated in the goals threads before someone else should start it. So once one is started my first goal will be to participate.

 

[theplasticman]

Bought out two player collections? And knocked 100 off your want list? Oh man. That is a banner year.

By the laws governing obsessive player collectors, I am now obligated to hate you.

haha, thanks

 

[theplasticman]

About half of it will end up being a commercial grade smokehouse as part of my exit plan from public service. I'm hoping to have that up and running by the end of the spring. COVID threw some major wrenches in my plan unfortunately. I was on track to have BBQ sauce on the shelf in local stores in July but COVID shut down our local food packing plant in May so that's all on hold until this mess starts to resolve itself. I'm hoping they'll be able to reopen soon.

The rest is storage and a shop for my woodworking tools. Having the storage area in the new shop will eventually allow me to turn our old shop building into a man cave/home theater.

I need to know more about the BBQ!

 

[Dilferules]

I thought this thread was as good a place as any to post my 20 favorite pickups of '20. Not necessarily the most expensive, but my favorites.

20. 2003 Topps Black Tim Hudson 23/52 - This was the last 2003 Topps Black card I needed of the Hudson/Mulder/Zito trio, and I always place a lot of emphasis on the first issue of a long-running set.
19. 1998 Ultra Platinum Medallion Miguel Tejada 58/98 - One of my favorite parallels of all time.
18. 2018 Panini Spectra Super Bowl Champion Signatures Neon Marble 3/4 - This is the only Dilfer pickup on the list since I didn't find anything good made during his playing career this year. I did pick up a couple of recent 1/1's but they weren't that exciting to me.

17. Cheating a bit by combining the top 4 pickups for my 1988 Topps autographed set into one entry. I did previously already have a few Ripken/Bobby Crosby dual autos, but the other three are new signatures to my overall collection that are really fun to have.

16. 1993 Ultra Eckersley Autograph - You can't really make it out but it does have the Fleer embossing. This is one I've wanted for a long time and finally picked op in 2020.
15. 2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Autograph Harold Baines - This is an SP with a supposed print run of 100 and is very tough to find. I believe it's also his only A's pack-inserted auto, unless he has some in one of those Archives buyback products.
14. 1911 T205 Gold Border Chief Bender - This finished off my T205/T206 Chief Bender needs, after I had already picked up his 3 different T206 cards years ago.

13. 2006 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Ensemble Signatures 6 Jason Kendall/Bobby Crosby/Huston Street/Nick Swisher/Rich Harden/Joe Blanton 03/10 - I love the Ultimate Ensemble cards and this is the top A's card you can get from that set.

12. 1999 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor Eric Chavez 04/25 - Just a card of one of my favorite players to collect from one of my favorite parallel sets.
11. 2006 Artifacts MLB Rare Apparel Autographs Joe Blanton 1/1 - A button AND a laundry tag logoman, this card is overloaded.
10. 1998 Donruss Collection Prized Collections Preferred Jason Giambi - The supposed print run on these is 55, and I believe it. The Prized Collection cards were totally better looking than any of the regular Refractor parallels that year.
9. 1999 Skybox Premium Star Rubies Miguel Tejada 35/50 - One of those '90s parallels that have really risen in price, and it's easy to see why.
8. 2002 Sweet Spot Classics Signatures Reggie Jackson - Beautiful Reggie signature on a beautiful card.

7. 1994 Finest Refractors Rickey Henderson - Great looking card and the last piece I needed to complete the run of Finest base A's Refractors from 1993 up to the last couple years.
6. 2005 Leaf Certified Materials Mirror Black Bobby Crosby 1/1 - I don't have very many Mirror Blacks so I'm always excited to pick one up.
5. 1993 Stadium Club First Day Issue Rickey Henderson - A lot cheaper than many cards below it on the list, but it completed my team set. I feel like the 1993 First Days are really underrated because the First Day parallels really petered out after the first couple of years. Even though Finest Refractors get all the attention from that year, the First Days were a hugely influential set that ushered in tough but somewhat attainable parallel cards and they were super popular when they came out.

4. 1909-11 T206 Frank "Home Run" Baker - Not the last piece I needed for my T206 team set, but the last HOFer (aside from Eddie Plank, which ain't happening).
3. 2005 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes Memorabilia (pants) Satchel Paige 06/10 - Only ten A's collectors can have a Paige GU card in their collection, and I'm lucky to be one of them.
2. 1999 Fleer Tradition Starting 9 Jason Giambi 8/9 - My first A's card from this legendary set for '90s collectors, and one of the better players!

Any of the previous three would have been my favorite pickup in most years, but in 2020 I picked up a card from one of the most influential sets of all time, one that I never thought I'd own anything from:

1. 1997 Flair Showcase Row 1 Legacy Collection Masterpiece Scott Brosius 1/1 - Not a top player, but I liked Scott Brosius. More importantly I really like owning a card from the first 1/1 set.

 

[zyceoa]

Looking back, I'm sure that's the year we all want to forget.