The Kimbrel Collection

As many of you know, most of my card collecting is focused on player collections and adding cards to them through the baseball card show and other places. And while I have many players who I acquire cards of fairly often, I don't have 1 player that I would say is the main focus of my player collecting.

Well, that's about to change today as I am creating The Kimbrel Collection. Obviously, this is me saying that I am going to become a super collector of Craig Kimbrel, quite possibly the best relief pitcher in baseball.

The Red Sox got Kimbrel back in late 2015 from the Padres for a handful of prospects including Manny Margot. Kimbrel was decent in 2016 but went on to thrive in 2017 and ended up winning AL Reliever of the Year. And with one year left on his contract, I am seriously hoping the Sox bring him back.

Many things drove me to choose Kimbrel, but one of them is the teams he's played for. The Red Sox are obviously my favorite team which is the main reason I chose him but given that he also played for the Padres and Braves means the cards of him on those teams will be cheaper. His cards on COMC start at 31 cents each, which is an absolute steal considering how good he is.

Currently, I only have 20 cards of Craig Kimbrel, but that will change soon. 

Of those 20 cards, 6 of them show Kimbrel on the Braves where he began his career. I really like the cards I have of him on Atlanta, especially the bright colors in the Spring Fever card and the well-designed Gold Futures insert set from 2012. 

The other 14 cards in my Craig Kimbrel player collection show him on the Red Sox where he had arguably the best season of his career. He seems to be included in nearly every set by both Panini and Topps which I am pleased with. However, it also means that it will be even more challenging to collect him, but it will definitely make for a more fun collecting experience. 

But the thing I like most about Kimbrel is his sheer dominance. He came within 2 strikeouts of striking out half of the batters he faced, which is nearly impossible. He comes in clutch when needed which you need to do as a reliever. And he's very well-liked by the city, the fans, and his team. I know I'm going to have fun super-collecting Craig Kimbrel and I can't wait to start.

I'll try to post a list of the cards I have of him on the top of my blog page soon. If you have any cards of his you'd like to trade, don't hesitate to let me know.