Monday, February 8, 2021

Singles in the PC

My "Keepers" collection is organized by player.  For some players, like Pete Rose, Rod Carew, Cal Ripken and many others, there are a lot of cards in the collection.  But for a select few players, I have but one card.  There are many reasons that could be the case. 

1. Maybe it is just a really old card, old enough to be a Keeper simply on age.  You will see a few of those.
2. Maybe the card is just too cool to not 'Keep'.
3. Maybe there is just an inexplicable hole in my collection with a certain player.
4. Maybe I don't really care about the player much, but their RC is a good card, or helps fill in the history of the game.
5. Maybe some other reason, we will find out as I write them!

I figured that there would only be around 20 or so of these "single Keepers".  But I was off by quite a bit!  Turns out there were 81.  So that's too much for one post.  I will be showing about 20 a post until I get through them.  Alphabetically!


Here are the first 20 players in my Keepers that I have a single card of:

Reason I only have one: Well, the elder Alomar brother was good, but never rose to the level of a player I would Keep.  Not even his rookie cards.  But I do really like the Commemorative Medallion cards like this, and this one fell into my hands!
Reason I only have one: Dang, I don't know!  I know Altuve has hit some harder times with collectors because of the scandal, but that wouldn't keep me from grabbing a few nice cards of him if I found them.  This one is kind of a head scratcher.
Reason I only have one: Well, I just haven't run into any other vintage Aparicio's for dirt cheap.  This one was dirt cheap.
Reason I only have one: Similar to the Aparicio above, just haven't run into any old Ashburn's. I do love memorabilia cards of older players who were really good, but not HOFer level.
Reason I only have one: Because Baines never tickled my fancy.  Good player.  But a RC of a Hall of Famer does make the Keepers.
Reason I only have one: First off, this card is not green.  My scanner totally added the green sheen!  Obviously this is a cool card, a definite Keeper.  But for some reason, vintage Berra's have never fallen into my hands.
Reason I only have one: Another one I am confused by.  I didn't really collect for the years when Betts was ascending to stardom.  That's certainly part of this puzzle.  I would LOVE an RC of his, but at this point, they are too rich for my blood.  I would think that this card will be joined by friends before long.
Reason I only have one: Well, how many other cards of Cy Blanton are there really?  Plus virtually any 1934-36 National Chicle card will be a Keeper!
Reason I only have one: See Harold Baines above...  Of course, Bowa isn't a HOFer like Baines, but the card is older than the Baines RC too.  So there's that.
Reason I only have one: Like Betts above, I wasn't really collecting for Bryant's early years.  I figured this was a decent RC when I grabbed it cheap, but it turns out it's pretty pedestrian as far as its popularity.  If I luck into a good Bryant card I will add it, but really, I don't mind having only this.
Reason I only have one: Well, how many other cards of Soupy Campbell are there really?  Any 1941 Play Ball card is a Keeper!!  Even one with this much tape residue on it. PS, Soupy's real name was Bruce.
Reason I only have one: Because I haven't run into a Cedeno RC, mostly.  I do love the look of this card though!
Reason I only have one: See Soupy Campbell and Cy Blanton above.  Any 1934 Goudey is a Keeper!
Reason I only have one: Like Cedeno, I have not found a Concepcion RC.  I imagine there are other cards of his that I would like too.
Reason I only have one: I wouldn't really have tons of interest in Crawford cards produced in the modern era.  This one is definitely an exception!  Super shiny, and even if the bat chip was really never held in his hands, it's still cool.
Reason I only have one: This one falls into the Cedeno and Concepcion category.  I'd love a RC, but any other cards of his that would qualify for the Keepers would need to be as cool as this one.  Shiny, memorabilia or the like.
Reason I only have one: I'm a broken record!!  Dempsey 's reasons are the same as the Cruz above.  I do like this card though, even if it is a sticker auto.  Good design, and I like the photo.
Reason I only have one: No other Doerrs have come my way.  This is a very pretty on card auto though.
Reason I only have one: Just need the RC, really.  Not many others would make the Keepers.  If I got the Chrome version of this card, I would probably replace this, instead of keeping both.
Reason I only have one: No vintage Nellie's comin my way.  I would love some, but only for cheap.  Because I'm a cheapskate!


-So who in this list (besides the obvious Betts and Altuve) should I definitely have more Keepers of??  

-What's your favorite of these 'singles'?

-Which of these 'singles' should I demote from the Keepers collection?

Next time, #'s 21-40!




13 comments:

  1. Without a doubt I fell in love with that Berra

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  2. You suck, I was gonna do something like this in the very near future! I can't do it now, but mine would've included all sports, and even a few non-sports.

    That Cy Blanton sure is cool, and his is a name that I hadn't heard before, so that makes it even better.

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    1. No, you should definitely do it. I'd enjoy reading yours and you have a far larger readership than me!

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  3. I'd say the Killer B's... Baines, Bowa, and Bryant. My favorite card would be the Chicle, Goudey, or the Crawford bat card. By the way... I have a Chicle post coming up later in the week.

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  4. The Mets a few years ago had a player named Eric Campbell who also was nicknamed "Soupy". I mean, I suppose lots of Campbells get that nickname, but it's an interesting connection.

    I'm not sure why you mention players being "not HOFer level" in the Richie Ashburn entry...he's been in the Hall since 1995.

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  5. Oh, come on, no one has mentioned Betts yet???

    I can't believe you've managed to avoid having more than one of him in your collection. There's a lot of cards of him. He's one of the few players that I am annoyed that I didn't pull his rookie card. I bought a fair amount of 2014 Topps, I should've pulled his card at some point.

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    1. Yeah, he shocked me too. I did not open any 2014 product, but still!!

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    2. Looks like I just made a trade for my second Betts Keeper!!

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  6. I have a couple of dirt cheap Aparicios in my Time Travel Trading stack if you have any older cards to trade.

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  7. Personally I think the tape residue on the Campbell card adds to it. But then I'm weird like that. I prefer 80s cards with wax stains or gum stains on them.

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