My Goals For the Memorial Day Mansfield Show

As I alluded to during my frankenset post from earlier this week, I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be going to the Memorial Day Mansfield show this Monday after a month-long break from attending Baseball card shows.

Following the intensity of the Shriner's show towards the end of April, it was necessary that I took a reasonable break from Baseball card shows in order to put all my new cards away and categorize them online.

Usually, I don't opt to set goals for myself when attending Baseball card shows only because I feel like they sometimes limit what I can and cannot purchase.

Because Baseball card shows, specifically the Mansfield one, are unpredictable, I never quite know what I'll come across. While I'm certainly setting these goals with the intent of accomplishing them, I don't want to be restricted because of the goals that I set.

Therefore, consider the following 5 objectives "loose goals" of sorts. Yes, I'll do what I can to accomplish each and every one of them, but my primary objective for Monday's show is to enjoy myself and come home with a wide range of different cards and even some pieces of memorabilia.

#1 Go through the dime bins

Let me put it this way; it's noteworthy when I go to a Baseball card show and don't look through the dime bins. That's how essential they are to virtually every show that I attend, and I don't expect anything to change this Monday.

I always gravitate towards a certain vendor whenever I purchase dime cards, and I fully expect him to be at Monday's Mansfield show. He always puts together spectacular dime bins, no matter the occasion, so I definitely foresee myself passing some time at his booth and returning home with a sizeable stack of cards for 10 cents apiece. 

#2 Work on vintage sets

Whether I end up pursuing set needs from 1961, 1976, or 1979 Topps, I'd like to make some progress with at least 1 of the 3 vintage Topps sets that I'm currently collecting. Granted, 1976 and 1979 aren't products that are commonly sold by dealers, but I should have little to no problem tracking down at least 1 vendor selling individual cards from this set.

I'm still missing a few notable cards (Clemente, Mantle, and Marichal's rookie card, to be exact), but I've yet to reach the point in which I have to go online and seek out certain cards. For the time being, I can concentrate on the set as a whole and locate commons for an inexpensive price.

#3 Open at least 1 pack

While I'm not willing to overpay for any 2019 Bowman mega boxes that I may find at Monday's show, I would like to open at least 1 pack of cards, preferably hobby. There's always a couple of vendors at this show who sell hobby packs directly out of the box, so I'll definitely turn to them if and when the time comes.

Obviously, 2018 Panini Chronicles, one of my favorite products from last year, is high on my list, but I also wouldn't mind testing out the new 2019 Panini Prizm. There's something so satisfying about opening packs of cards that I just have to test my luck with at least one of them at the upcoming show.

#4 Locate parallels from 2019 Panini Prizm

Speaking of packs, the 20+ different parallels from the recently-released 2019 Panini Prizm have intrigued me, so much so that one of my objectives for the Memorial Day show is to locate at least one of them, most likely from the show's case breaker.

My only criteria when looking for these parallels is whether or not I collect the specific player; that's it. Other than that, my mind is totally open to whatever unique parallels come my way, whether it's snakeskin or donut circles.

#5 Find some non-Baseball card memorabilia

The Mansfield show has delivered some fabulous non-Baseball card pieces of memorabilia in the past, including these exclusive McDonald's glasses featuring iconic Topps Baseball cards. 

While I don't expect to find something quite as noteworthy as these glasses, my 5th and final objective is to find some piece of memorabilia to take home with me. This could be a poster, pennant,  or anything else that's not a typical Baseball card.

I'm certainly not trying to avoid cards altogether, but I am trying to add some variety to my Baseball card show haul. Hopefully, with goal #5 as well as the other 4, I'll be able to accomplish this.