Sunday, January 01, 2012

Happy new year - my 2012 autograph collecting goals


1.) Players to get on baseballs - Sandy Koufax, Carlos Gonzalez, Mark McGwire, Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Roy Halladay, Omar Vizquel, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Felix Hernandez, Nolan Ryan, Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen, Prince Fielder [specialty baseball], Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Elvis Andrus, Tim Lincecum [specialty baseball] and Yu Darvish.

2.) Get about 15-20 in-person fu oh-yeahs! - these are basically 'achievements' depending on the subject [in most cases], the item signed, the quality of the autograph and the story behind getting the autograph.

3.) 2012 'autograph set' goals - get close to the number as possible.

2001 Fleer Tradition - 50 cards
2001 Upper Deck Minor League Centennial - 25 cards
2004 Bowman Draft - 25 cards
2004 Upper Deck USA 25th - 25 cards
2004 Topps Cracker Jack - 25 cards
2005 Bowman Draft - 25 cards
2005-2006 Topps Turkey Red - 30 cards
2006 Topps Allen and Ginter - 50 cards
2007 Topps Allen and Ginter - 50 cards
2008 Topps Allen and Ginter - 50 cards
2009 Topps Allen and Ginter - 50 cards
2010 Topps Allen and Ginter - 70 cards
2011 Topps Allen and Ginter - 70 cards

4.) Hammer out detailed checklists of my autograph cards sets - to find out what I have signed, what I still need to get signed, what may need an 'upgrade' and unsigned cards I maybe missing.

2001 Fleer Tradition - done
2001 Upper Deck Minor League Centennial - done
2004 Bowman Draft
2004 Topps Cracker Jack
2004 Upper Deck USA 25th Anniversary
2005 Bowman Draft
2005/2006 Topps Turkey Red
2006 Topps Allen and Ginter
2007 Topps Allen and Ginter
2008 Topps Allen and Ginter
2009 Topps Allen and Ginter
2010 Topps Allen and Ginter
2011 Topps Allen and Ginter

5.) Be able to cross off three or four subjects from my so-called list of top players - I want to get...Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, Mariano Rivera, Miguel Cabrera and Yu Darvish.

6.) Angels autograph collection - make it a point to count out at least 100 different autographs and be able to add at least 15-20 new autographs.

7.) Get at least 200 autograph subjects [mainly baseball] for the first-time split between the Major Leagues, the minors and everything in-between; from the beginning of the year to the end - jot down the names down as achievements.

A.) I don't count subjects who I may have gotten in the mail first - I do count getting subjects for the first time, if the only autographs I've gotten were purchased [either certified or not].
B.) Notable non-players working around Major League Baseball count - media, broadcasters, umpires, journalists, bloggers, public address announcers, personalities, etc.
C.) Amateur players count - players in high school / college.
D.) Any subjects unrelated to baseball now count - such as athletes from other pro sports, celebrities, etc.

8.) See at least six baseball teams I didn't see in 2011 - Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs in addition to other teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers I might normally want to see.

With the Angels having Albert Pujols presumably in the lineup for most of their home schedule - it maybe a better choice to watch the Angels in-person instead of go to San Diego for autographs, if their games are played at the same day/time.

9.) Go find and be at 10-15 events, such as a organized public appearances/paid autograph signings/book signings/et al - hopefully there are three or four opportunities I can mark down as far as non-baseball events.

A non-baseball [other sport athlete/non-sport] subject would probably be a bigger score - depending on who it is than a star baseball player I've gotten multiple times.

10.) Take at least 20 photo ops with various players - see if I can print out the images and get them signed.

11.) Be able to pick up around 60 different images between Photofile images/Future Star photos and other images - to get them inked up.

12.) Send at least 100 requests through the mail and re-establish a way to get something in the mailbox on a somewhat regular basis - send requests to five or six players who sign through the mail, but charge a small fee otherwise like Phil Niekro, Dave Parker, et al.

13.) Be able to account for all autograph outings and total number of autographs collected - jot down exact time an autograph was signed by somebody [I maybe sort of kidding or I may not], types of cards signed and be able to total up autographs for the day, month and the year

14.) Take photographic evidence of all the signed baseballs I have - list the baseballs in a database as best as I can.

15.) Create an archive of autographs received over the last three or four years from spring training, regular season and the Arizona Fall League - it isn't rocket science to create 'scrapbooks,' to show what I got, minus the set cards I separate and maybe some of the 'better' autographs I've gotten on cards. I should have an idea of when I got a set of autographs and no cards should be missing otherwise.

4 comments:

The Angels In Order said...

Nice goals, you're gonna be real busy this year! Can't wait to see what you get.

Daniel Wilson said...

Awesome goals! I'm not going to lie...I'm jealous. Good luck in 2012

unclemoe said...

I've heard Darvish was tough in Japan. Let's hope he has a change of heart.

moe.

Laurens said...

If I can do a couple of the things I plan to do, I'll be happy.

Nothing has happened yet, so I'm hoping this year will be more success than fail.

I should have picked up a Darvish ball a couple of years ago from an acquaintance who got him at the 2009 WBC - can't wait to see Darvish match up against Pujols this upcoming season.