After so long, I can no longer ignore the number of times I see certain players' cards in the dime bins but pass on them because I don't "collect" that player.
Yet.
I always add in the word "yet" as I way to convince myself that I could be collecting this player someday. It seems to buy up time when, in reality, I have so many things to do with the cards that starting new PCs doesn't quite enter my mind.
And during the few times it does, I'm always telling myself I'm too busy to sort through boxes for an hour to find these cards.
However, after a while, you can only pass up on these players so many times before, finally, it's time t take action. I've had these 5 players in mind for months now to begin new player collections for, and while I can't say I'll get through all the sorting right away, this is at least a start, a big step in the right direction.
I plan on looking through boxes this weekend to find cards to get these player collections off the ground. Then, it'll be up to me to pay attention to these guys while I'm at the show. I might accidentally pass up on these guys' cards a couple times. With that being said, I expect myself to recognize their cards after a show or 2.
Of all the new player collections, Corey Kluber's been on my mind for the longest as to when I'll start collecting him. It helps that his team, the Cleveland Indians, have made the playoffs for 3 years in a row, combined with the fact that I pull a fair number of cards of Corey Kluber cards from packs.
There are talks of Kluber being traded this offseason, but it's hard not to picture him as a Cleveland Indian. For now, I'll get together what I can for Kluber cards, and if he happens to get traded, I'll continue collecting him on his new team.
I'm usually good at forming player collections for old-time players and modern-day starts, but there have always been a couple players from the 80s and 90s that have escaped my mind. I'm not as familiar with those decades as I am with, say the 60s-70s and 2000s-2010s. If they played for the Red Sox and Cubs, chances are I collect the player. If not, those odds become increasingly slim.
Robin Yount is a 2-time MVP award winner and a member of the 3,000 hit club 3,142 hits to his name. He played for the Brewers for his entire career, a team I've never followed too closely, likely the reason I haven't collected his cards 'till now. But with uniforms like these, it should be fun to piece together his new player collection.
Pretty much everytime I thought about collecting Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer also came to mind. For all the same reasons as the Indians ace, I've been pondering forming a Scherzer PC for years now, especially since I constantly find myself pulling cards of the 3-time Cy Young award winner from packs, like this Retro Original from 2017 Topps Archives.
Scherzer has been a top 3 pitcher in baseball for years now with the Nationals and Tigers and isn't showing any signs of slowing down or moving onto a new city. Presumably a future Hall of Famer, I couldn't be happier to start collecting him.
Before, when I talked about not being super familiar with guys from the 80s and 90s, I had always been focusing on 2 big names that I'd love to know more about and collect someday; Robin Yount and Tony Gwynn.
The late great Padres outfielder was one of the greatest all-around players in Baseball history. A true 5-tool talent, Gwynn was a 15-time All-Star with 5 Gold Gloves, 7 Silver Sluggers, and he captured 8 batting titles on route to an illustrious 20-year career.
To put things into perspective, his single-season batting average was in his first season where he hit .289. That's right, .289 was the worst he ever hit. It's no wonder that, with a career .338 average, they named the NL batting title after him.
Even though he's been a member of the Boston Red Sox since 2016, Price wasn't a guy I had strongly considered collecting for much time, mainly due to his lackluster 2016 season and his 2017 campaign which was plagued by injuries. Even after a stellar 2nd half in 2018, I wasn't impressed, at least, not for what he was being paid.
Then came the 2018 postseason, and David Price became a World Series hero. After getting his first ever playoff win, he added 2 more in the World Series, including starting game 2 and the series-clinching game #5. He turned in historic performances and made me believe in his abilities as a pitcher once again.
If that's not worthy of at least a player collection, I don't know what is.
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