Confessions of a Junior Junkie



I've been a bad blogger. 

I suppose I'm still relatively new to the community, so I don't know "the rules."  I do know that my internal sense of morality takes issue with a few of my own blogging practices of late.  I've always been one to come out and ask before proceeding with wrongness, hence this post.

Now here's all the things I'm guilty of.

I look at my view counter.  It's true - I do.  It's not like I go out of my way to see it.  It's right there at the top of the page and one of the first things you see when you pull up the home page whether.  On a related note, I'm currently on the brink of a milestone: 10,000 page views since December 14th, 2012.  I should do a giveaway at that time.

I don't read every post by my fellow bloggers.  I used to, even the hockey ones, every one.  But I subscribe to far too many now and I can't keep up.  I find myself scrolling through them now and reading only the ones that pique my interest the most, then once I've been through all those I go back and read as many others as I have time to.  I still miss a whole lot.

I have no system for choosing what cards to showcase next.  It's still a very random selection process.  You may notice, though, that posts come out more frequently when the cards covered in the post are from the early to mid-90's.  That's my wheelhouse, so I need less research to be factually accurate.  On the other side of the coin:



This set remains a mystery to me.  Why taupe?



There's still a lot I don't know about these cards.  I am a relative expert when it comes to Griffeys printed from 1989-1997, but beyond that I depend heavily on research for my posts.  I could sit and write from the top of my head about 1995 Donruss, but when it comes to 2002 Topps, I have to spend a lot of time gathering information before I feel I can get it right.  This has made it so it takes longer to put together an accurate post for later sets.  Hence:

I spend way too long putting together each post.  I don't feel like I have to write a novel about the history of every set, but for sets I don't know anything about the completist in me has to put a lot of time into gathering information and condensing it all for the Griffey collectors of the world.  I'm on baseballcardpedia,  other blogs, checklist sites and even Wikipedia and Google making sure I have the right information.  And yet, as time-consuming as it is putting together a decent post......

I don't spend as much time on blog posts as I could.  This past weekend I sat and watched movies for hours.  Tonight I'm going to see Yo La Tengo at Tipitina's.  Tomorrow we have our sand volleyball league.  Friday we are helping friends with their wedding music selections.  Part of me is hoping I'll need some minor in-patient surgery so I have a little time to just sit and type.  I'm going to have to start blowing off social engagements in the name of baseball cards. 

I have a dozen unfinished blog posts.  When I think of a good idea for a post I spend a minute typing and save it.  It shows up in my list of posts with a little orange "draft" next to the title.  Some of these I've never gone back to complete as I've been so busy trying to put new Griffeys out there.  I have some great ideas for new posts coming soon, too.  You probably wont see them until I'm done, unless.......

I sometimes hit the Publish button early.  When I do you get to see the first picture and the first few sentences of writing for the next post.  Most recently it was for the 1999 Pacific set "Invincible."  That post is definitely not finished yet, though, as I am waiting for the base card to come in the mail from COMC.  I wish Blogger allowed for easier redaction of posts or perhaps a less oops-prone "Publish" button.



I need to buy this.



I'm terrible at Fantasy Baseball.  I guess this is not a crime, but I did take a spot in the card blogger league having never played fantasy baseball.  I'm great at fantasy football, so I figured my skills would carry over.  They didn't.....  I'm still not sure whether my team is especially injury-plagued or if my general ineptitude is to blame for being in dead-last place.  Sad pandas are we....



Finally, I think I do a pretty good job keeping up with trades, but I get the feeling there may be a couple that slip through the cracks.  I keep an Excel spreadsheet now to try and nail down all the transactions I have going on, and that does help.  I do have a list of people who are due something from me, so if you are one of them, don't fret.  I'm just talking my sweet time.  I've also begun a system of just picking out people in my trade list at random and sending them stuff for no reason.  We'll see how that works.

I throw myself on the mercy of the blogsphere.  I promise to be Mark Grace-ish in the fulfillment of my sentence.

Happy Hump Day, everyone....

My Blogging Experience So Far.....

                                                    My Blogging Experience So Far.....

I started this blog around this time last month.  It's growing slowly, but I really do enjoy writing posts and showcasing my favorite cards from growing up. 

Now, here's a quick State of the Blog after a month of writing The Junior Junkie:


Ch-ch-changes....


- I missed a lot of changes to the game and the hobby in the 13 years I quit collecting, and I'm starting to see that since I started this blog.  Plus seeing the Kid in a White Sox uniform blew my mind.

 

We like to have fun here...


- I've met some really nice people in this community that really care about the hobby and aren't just trying to make a buck. It's refreshing as this is not the only collecting community I'm a part of.  It is, however, the most fun.


Let's be best buds.


- I subscribe to a bunch of blogs, but I know there are more out there I should be reading.  If you have a good one, link to it in the comments below.  I will probably add my own blog reading list to the sidebar sometime soon.
 

What is this card?  Doesn't matter - I totally want one.


- I am currently on the verge of my first trade - I am optimistic, and out-of-my-mind excited to add some new Griffeys to the binders!   I really hope I send the right stuff....


That's not Griffey.  Into the junk pile with you.....

- I still have literally THOUSANDS of cards I want to send to all the bloggers out there.  I think I've settled on breaking them up by team (and possibly decade too), then distributing them accordingly.  If you are interested in a certain team, let me know!  This will take a while, but I'm more than willing to do it.  They're a nuisance, especially if you ask my wife.

 

Get it running like clockwork.



- I'm currently building a system of organization for my whole collection.  Slowly, it is becoming more organized.  Currently it's divided into 5 sections:

• Griffeys - Divided up into 5" binders by year, then by quantity and loosely by brand
• Keepers - These are players and card-types I keep together, everything from John Olerud to  players blowing gum bubbles, to Dan Wilson, to pitchers batting, and everything in between.  Players are arranged alphabetically by last name, and like card-types are all kept together as well.  I will be going through these and picking out the cards I am least willing to trade (which will be very few as I am a Griffey man) and putting them into binders.  The remains will be divided up by team for other bloggers to pick from for Griffey tradin'!
• Blogger Cards - cards set aside for specific bloggers.  I've been collecting cards for a lot of you fellow bloggers without your knowledge.  Don't feel weird about it, but after reading your blogs, I feel like I'm starting to grok what it is you guys like....and I set them aside until I have enough to merit sending them to you.
• Junk - Surplus keepers and any other cards that didn't make any of the above piles.  These are to be divided up by team for ease of trading.
• Sets - I am not a big set collector as I don't have the patience.  However, I do keep '89 Donruss and '89 Upper Deck in their own boxes as I am trying my hand at building just those sets.  Eventually I would  like to obtain sets of '91 Topps, '93 Upper Deck, '95 Upper Deck, and 2012 Topps, but I will probably just buy those (which seems wrong, but is it ever easier).  I currently have 1984 Topps, 1988 Score, 1988 Topps, 1989 Topps, 1989 Donruss, 1989 Bowman, 1990 Topps, and 1990 Bowman, plus a few other small sets with the Griffeys removed.

- At any given time I have around 6 blog posts that I have yet to finish.  I may be trying to put too much into each post as I am a big completionist.  I want to keep everything together, but that's just not feasible.  8 Griffey cards in one post seems like too many for my style of treatment....

 

Phew.  Blogging is hard work....



- I need a better way of standardizing the way I post Griffey cards.  Lessening the number of cards per post could fix this. Then again, I kind of like having lots of cards in one post.  Still some experimentation to do here.
 

Don't upset the talent.

- Upper Deck, one of my favorite brands, did some shady stuff that cost them licensing.  I loved their stuff, but that love was always mixed with frustration.  I'd like to read up on what went down here.

  

'Sup, boo?

- Are there any female baseball card bloggers?  Just curious....

- I'd like to give it up for Jeff over at 2 x 3 Heroes for his awesome giveaway!  He posted 100 cards and let anyone pick two, then he mailed them out gratis.  Yes, there was a Griffey that I already have duplicates of, so I chose these guys:

We love our QB down here in NOLA!  And I'm a sucker for reprint and tribute cards.  I will definitely try to duplicate his generosity in the months to come.



Don't be a stranger, brah!

That's it for now - to all who read this: may your bats be swift and your caps be backwards....

My Collecting Goals for 2013

My Collecting Goals for 2013

My card collecting workspace

I started this blog last month to improve my writing abilities and contribute to the Baseball card blog community I enjoy so well.  If I'm going to stick around here, it's time to focus my efforts and define what it is I plan to accomplish here.

So, here are my goals for 2013.

1. Get Griffeys!

I have over 2000.  I want more.

The Griffey Binders

2. Get an autographed Griffey card

These are expensive.  Not sure if I will trade for this or just put up the cash on eBay.  I will explore my options.

I do already have this:

which my Dad gave me and I love.

3. Watch more baseball and learn who all these guys are 

I used to know them all.  Now I watch a lot of football and some hockey but very little baseball.  Since there's probably going to be little to no hockey and obviously football is ending, this should be easier.

4. Trade with other bloggers

I have no idea the protocol for this, but I am excited to do my first trade.  I just don't know what I have that others want.  How do I keep track of all these cards?

5. Get a system and organize

I have all my old cards in binders alphabetized by player.  Now I have all these new cards and piles of old commons I don't even want to keep.  I need to do something to make them more accessible.  Should I separate by team or set or year or player?  I need some advice here.

6. Don't go crazy with this

I can get crazy with collections.  I need to keep my focus on Griffeys and the handful of other players I like.

7. Post at least 500 Griffey cards to the blog with high-quality scans

I think this is a pretty attainable goal.  I hope my scanner doesn't give out....

8. Get an original Topps Ted Williams card from the 50's for my Dad

I already have this one:

But it is in deplorable condish.  I will wait out the market and see what I can get.

9. Get a solid list together of who I collect

It will probably consist of Cal Ripken, Ozzie Smith, Will Clark, Piazza, Maddux, Randy Johnson, Ron Kittle and a few others I like from my collecting days.  This is be coming soon....

10. Make a reasonable list of the Griffeys I want in my collection

There are some cards I've seen that made me say "Wow - what a great-looking card."  I like the Gallery of Heroes sets, and the Lumber Company Inserts sets,  Finest are nice.  Some Studio and Flair come to mind.  I make a concrete list!  Any suggestions of cool inserts I should look for would be great.

Here are some recent additions I acquired on the bay just because I loved the design so much:

Phew.  That was way too much Griffey awesomeness for one post.

11. Get rid of all these freakin' cards!

I have THOUSANDS of cards in boxes collecting dust.  I don't want them.  What do I do???

12. Learn the ins and outs of Blogger

I want a cool template and logo and pictures and lists in the sidebar.  I'm going to have to explore the inner workings of this beast.  The problem is I'd rather be writing!

That's it.  Here's to a great year!