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Monday, January 30, 2017

A Sorted Affair

Last week, I shared a dirty little secret.  I'm a card hoarder.  Ok, maybe it's not hoarding and perhaps not so dirty but to deal with my little fort of cardboard boxes,  I needed to put it out in the open for all to see.  

I had a couple days off work this week and used them accordingly.  Last week I shared this photo:


Not very pretty.  I chose to attack this stack of boxes first because [a] these are in my study which must be reclaimed and [b] it's the smallest stack.   With so many cards to organize, resorting is unavoidable.  And the sleeving!  I've gone through a thousand soft sleeves already!!  Fortunately the Tigers are already sorted out and mostly organized.  


I began stacking cards in player lots.  There isn't room for all the PCs so I gave table space to the fellas showing the most often: Ty Cobb, Altuve,  Grace, Sandberg, Biggio, Molitor, Bagwell, Piazza, Abbott, Kinsler, Vizquel, Jeter, Pudge Rodriguez, Ripken and Nolan Ryan - Astro.   The tall stack top row,  third from the left with the fat patch on top is a trade pile.  To the right of the patch is a discard pile.

Short stacks to the left of the patch are cards for misc sets I'm working to build.  I have two stacks for HOFers and retired players.   The pile for my fun binders features a Cecil Fielder McDonalds card.   As the stacks grow, the cards are moved into now empty boxes.  These will be staged here until they join the PCs already created and stored in the closet.



HOFers and retired players are resting in this lid until I have a monster box empty for them.  I expect there will be 4000-5000 of these fellas by the time the initial sorting is complete.  Guys like Banks, Ruth, Gehrig, Cochrane, Campy, Bench, Yount - the list is long - all will be moved into their PCs.  The left side of the photo shows staging for RCs and active players such as Posey and Trout. Next to them is a spot for sets.  


I'm also using a lid to gather cards for future trades!  Yes, there is a no-trade clause in effect.  It's more of a mercy rule to allow time to organize and regroup.  I sent many packages out over a week ago.  Now that the sorting's begun, all the nice cards I'd collected to share are turning up. These will make for some fun packages later: patches, autos, lesser seen cards of the 90s like Topps Laser.


I've missed out on the fun part of our hobby for some time.  I had no trouble accumulating the cards. It's always a thrill to find the hold-out, a card you've been looking for over the many years.  Then the question becomes, what did I do with it???  

2010 Topps Tribute Gary Carter

1958 Topps


1950 Bowman Bob Feller
I am excited to share my progress - and some nice cards - along the way.  I plan to trim my PCs down.  Hunter Pence didn't take the news well.  He's found a good home though,  such a sensitive fellow.  



There will be unavoidable player dupes which may find their way into a contest.  I'm already considering a giveaway box full of discards.  Who doesn't like to go through another collector's junk?

New releases are on the way with Topps out any moment. I'm not sure how many of us like the new design.  It doesn't appeal to me really but Topps knows we need a pack fix.  It will sell anyway. I purchased two hobby jumbo boxes [ten 50 card packs] which come with silver packs exclusive to hobby box purchases. These packs contain chrome cards in the style of 87 Topps, probably one of my least favorite sets. There's a chance to pull Altuve in base/parallel/auto which means someone else will likely find my Jose in their packs.  2017 Topps - another thousand cards to sort!  

23 comments:

  1. My oh my that's a LOT of sorting you've done but it looks like you made some solid progress. Best of luck to you on your continued sorting endeavors.

    PS: A contest for a box full of stuff from the discard pile sounds like a winner to me!

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    1. Thanks Adam! Yeah, I think the discards could make a fun giveaway. I may need to do it more than once. Much sorting remains!!

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  2. Wow that's a lot of boxes! And you have so many PC's I don't blame you for trimming down the list a little, even at the expense of Pence. (I'm guessing you're an Astros fan?) Looks like you're making some progress with the monumental task of organizing all those cards.. and a giveaway will surely help lighten the load.

    The 58 Mathews looks sharp! And that Carter auto/relic is a beauty as well! Hope you pause to enjoy some of those great cards while you're sorting.

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    1. Nice to meet you Chris! I am an Astros fan indeed. I am taking the time to enjoy the cards as I sort and sleeve. The Mathews is gorgeous! Centering and color are marvelous!

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  3. Your 1950 Bob Feller sure is a beauty! And the '58 Mathews ain't too bad either.

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    1. HI Jon! I love old cardboard! Looking forward to sharing them on the blog! Thanks for reading. I'm checking out your blog now.

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  4. All that sorting is certainly a daunting task - but well done on the progress!

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    1. Thanks for the encouragement! It's a task to be sure but a fun one!

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  5. Sorting is one of my favorite aspects of the hobby. Looks like fun!

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    1. Hi Billy! I find sorting a relaxing project, most of the time. Going to enjoy it for a while!

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  6. Nothing eases the mind like a good dose of cardboard sorting.

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    1. In this case, we may be talking OVERDOSE but I agree Nick. I love it!

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  7. Wait, did I read that correctly? What you pictured is the smallest stack of boxes?!?

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    1. Yes you did Tom. The stack in my guest room closet is much bigger. One room at a time.

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  8. Ouch that looks like a ton of work (but maybe fun !?). Enjoy!

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    1. I could sort all day. Getting paid for it - priceless. Thanks Jon!

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  9. I'm not a big fan of sorting. I guess that accounts for the mess a good portion of my collection is in. I see "The Glory of Their Times" in the upper left. It's definitely one of the most enjoyable sports books I've ever read.

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    1. Hey there! I just finished reading Glory of Their Times and fully agree! Could hardly put it down. The book covers my favorites periods of the game. One I'll definitely read again!

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  10. I've been sorting my cards for about 40 years. I don't think I've made any progress.

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    1. you must love it, or you're a crazy one! thanks for the...ahem...encouragement! :)

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  11. It's good knowing that I'm not the only person on the planet with stacks of cards sitting around my place. On Sunday I went through five bags of penny sleeves. Yesterday... two more. I took a break today though. I'm taking tomorrow off too. Maybe I'll get back to the sort on Thursday. Maybe. Have fun with those 2017 boxes! Hope you pull an Altuve autograph!

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    1. thanks Fuji! guess i am in a support group after all! ;) i'll be back at it on Saturday!

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  12. when it comes to card collecting, hoarding is way to easy to do...i hope your progress goes well with the organizing.

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