Special Announcement

The Ernie Banks card that's shown at the top of this post happens to be an exclusive giveaway card from the 2008 National Sports Collectors Convention. The reason I chose to show this card today is that it ties back to a very special announcement I'm about to make.

I'm incredibly excited to say that I will be attending the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention this summer in Cleveland, Ohio.

To be fair, I've had an idea that I was going for quite a few months now, but I wanted to wait until it was completely confirmed. Well, my dad and I are ordering the tickets right after I finish this post, so that's definitely the confirmation I'm looking for. 

I really don't know exactly what I'm looking for at the show, and I don't want to make a list of goals until right before I go. So, I thought I'd take some time today to describe what it's going to be like as well as any opportunities I plan to take advantage of or things I'm looking to do in Cleveland.

First things first, I'm definitely looking to pick up some autographs while I'm there. The National is known for having some of the best players in baseball history attend, so I'm certainly going to try and snag an auto or 2 depending on the prices. Legends such as Ricky Henderson, Rod Carew, and Brooks Robinson will be there as well as current players like Indians pitcher Corey Kluber and Angels slugger Albert Pujols.

Also, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, and the Angels are in town for a 3-game series against the Indians, and I already got tickets for Friday's series opener. Who knows? Maybe Ohtani will even be on the mound. That's sure to make all the major collectors in town go absolutely nuts no matter how well he's pitching come August. 

Like I said, I definitely want to pursue some guys for autographs though I'm not sure how expensive it is to get their signatures. I assume it's relatively pricey which is why I've narrowed down my choices to 4 players that I'd like autographs of over all others.

If need be, I can condense the list down to 3, but I'm currently planning on getting autographs of Al Kaline, Bob Gibson, Ivan Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson. I specifically decided to go for players from different eras in baseball history. Kaline and Gibson represent the 60's and early 70's while Rodriguez and Johnson are from the 90's and 2000's. There also all players I collect and players that I do not have autographs of yet, hence why Johnny Bench and Wade Boggs are not going to be on my radar since I've already gotten their signatures. 

According to the National's website, Bob Gibson and Ivan Rodriguez will be signing on Friday

while Randy Johnson and Al Kaline will be signing on Saturday. This will allow me to split up the 4 players I desire autographs from into 2 separate days. I certainly wouldn't be able to get 4 or even 3 autos in 1 day, so despite the chance that this list could change, I'm hoping it doesn't since this seems to work very well for me right now.

Finally, at the end of my 3 days at the National (Thursday-Saturday), I just want to be able to bring home some insanely special cards. For example. this Reggie Jackson book numbered to 99 from 2017 National Treasures. This isn't just my first NT card, but it's my first book card as well. I'm hoping for a lot of firsts at the National along with maybe a completed set. I have all the intentions of completing 1972 Topps before I go to Cleveland, so maybe 1975 Topps could be on my radar while I'm there.

Regardless, I really just want to have an incredible time, get some autographs, and bring home some awesome cards for the collection. That's what I'm looking to do when I attend the National over the summer.