Singles Only

Welcome to another edition of  Singles Only.The part of this blog that chronicles the unhurried process of  rebuilding my collection of rookie card,prospect and star players of the last decade,a couple cards at a time.There will be the occasional vintage card here and there but for the most part,just guys that I've missed out on since putting the brakes on card collecting back in '07.

The elephant In the room In regards to my current collection Is the fact that I have very few  Mike Trout's.I like to have RC's of major players,like Cabrera.Pujols,Cano,Jeter etc.They don't have to be their most valuable RC either.Just one RC of  a major star Is good for me.I stopped collecting In '07,and since the emergence of big names like Harper,Stanton,Trout and Bryant has been on the rise.That's what's so great about the world of sports,In this case MLB.There are always young bucks chomping at the bit ,ready to take the league by storm,who will ultimately supplant the current faces of the game.Mike Trout has done just that.The prospect of owning a Trout RC has me,well,wanting a Mike Trout RC.I think his All Star game performance pretty much cemented that urge.The guy Is a sparkplug.A Bosch sparkplug.And since I probably won't be affording his RC any time soon or ever,I figured I'd snag up his second year card.With a player of his caliber,I would have liked to have him swinging away or stealing a base In this card,but In hand I really like It.Next up,Michael Conforto!

Gavin would be so proud!Pull tab/painters tape awareness has caught on!One removed piece of painter's tape later and Voila!No sticky left over residue!Mr.Gavin,you truly are a catalyst ;)

Any day you are able to add a Mike Trout and Conforto In a residue-less top loader to your collection Is a lovely day!

What Happened To Michael Burgess?

Back when I was heavily collecting Bowman,Michael Burgess was the talk of the town.A budding superstar who hit many a prodigious blast while In High School and early In his minors career,Burgess has struggled mightily as of late.It sucks because I've been monitoring his career,hoping he'd pull through and make a mark In the Majors, but sadly that hasn't happened.His career Minor League numbers aren't horrible.He's hit .250 with 150 HR's and 505 RBI over the course of 9 years.I remember pulling this Bowman X-Fractor Auto and feeling pretty excited about It.At that time ,It's book value was a little over 150 bucks If I'm not mistaken.I'm not sure what It goes for today.I did see one listed on eBay for $17.99 ,so that right there should be an indicator of  Burgess's overall popularity,right now.Maybe he'll bust out of It one day,get called up and  jack 50 homers ,steal 50 bases,release his own sneaker line and be named the league MVP.Or not.