How do you organize your binders?

 A few days ago Night Owl did a post talking about his card room and his binder shelves. After looking at the pictures of his binder shelves, the binders, and hearing him talk about organizing cards the post before that, it got me wondering what exactly one of the insides of his binders looks like. For that matter, what do the binders of other bloggers I follow look like?

I would love it if in one of their next posts that anyone who reads this that has a blog would post a few pictures or maybe a video of one of their binders. It could be one of a favorite team, a favorite player, or a  certain type of collection (double plays, blowing bubbles). I don’t really get the whole ‘frankenset’ thing, but if none of the other things fit, feel free to show a frankenset binder. The only thing I would ask is just not to make it a binder with a complete set as that might get a tad boring. If you don’t store your cards in binders, I’d love to see a video or pictures of however  you store your cards, whether that be in boxes or whatever. 

However you store the cards, I’d love a write up of why you chose the storage method that you use and any specific way you use to organize them (by year, alphabetically, double bagged, by player) and maybe how often you update your cards. 

While I would love for this to become a Blog Bat Around, I’m smart enough to know it probably won’t happen, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this topic has already been covered before. If I can just get a few people to let me into their binders and let me see what their organization is like and why they choose that way I think it will be interesting. Maybe readers will find a new way to store their cards. Maybe they will find an easier way to get cards sorted. And I’m sure everyone will find some cool new cards to add to their wantlists as a result of looking through everyone’s binders. In my job as a baker at a grocery store, as much as I think I know from baking for 7 years and being called the best baker in the district by multiple District Managers, it never fails that a new manager/assistant manager/baker comes in and I learn something from them and it makes my skills better to see a task performed by multiple people. I've helped some people do things better/quicker, and they've helped me do the same. I hope that maybe this could do so for your collection and give me some tips on how to make my cards get organized better. 

With that being said, here are some pictures of 2 of my binders and some explanations (sorry, video was too long to post). 

Here is my Rays binder. I have the binder organized by year, oldest first. Then it is separated by set names alphabetically, and player last name alphabetically. This makes it a little easier to organize, especially if I have nothing but newer cards. If I have an insert, it goes after the player base card. If it is a parallel, it goes at the very end of the set. If it is a multi-player card with the same teams pictured, I put it with the more well known player of them or my favorite player. Some sets I am weird about the names. For Topps Allen & Ginter, Fleer Ultra, Topps Stadium Club, and Upper Deck Collector's Choice, I have them as 'Allen & Ginter', 'Ultra', 'Stadium Club', and 'Collector's Choice, so sometimes when looking for cards in other team binders and trying to look through someone's want list, I'll be at Topps and their wantlist will then to to 'Topps Allen & Ginter', and I have to flip back a few pages to find my Allen & Ginters. Not a big deal. 

I put Bowman Chrome before Bowman's Best because technically the extra letter in 'Bowman's' would come after 'Bowman'. Then on to the Donruss cards and Donruss Diamond Kings. I put any autograph, valuable, rookie card, and many jersey cards in penny sleeves before they go in the binders, and double bag the pages as well because I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on pages and albums and bookshelves. 

With parallels, they are alphabetized, so the Lime Green card comes before the Pink one. The McKay card reminded me that the year before he had an SP or variation in Stadium Club and I put those with the regular set. The regular card is first, then the SP or variation. With inserts, the card numbers are alphabetized, so that's how I did it with Randy's 3 inserts. 

I don't know if you caught it, but a few of the cards in this page are customs. I put them with whatever set they are a part of just like they were included in the regular set. 

Any combo cards are put at the end of the team, as well as a team or stadium card. These cards are organized by number, with customs coming at the end by their number that I give them from my set pages. 

Nothing new on these pages, just more parallels. 

Take note of the postseason highlight cards. These are tricky for me. My Rays and Tigers binder trump everything for me except for a card of a favorite player. If neither of these, they will go in the highlights binder, and if I get a double, it would go in whatever team binder. For these Rays ones, I put them first at the end of the team set. Once I get a double, it goes with the player, with the lowest card number going in first. 

A jersey card is an insert, so it goes after the players' base card. 

And that finishes out the 2021 part of my Rays binder and brings us into 2022. 

Here is a page from my Favorite Players binder. 

Generally the same rule of thumb. This time, it is organized alphabetically by player last name. This can be a pain, because I could organize 6 binders on 2 days off, and then pull a Xander Bogearts card out of a pack the next day and then it would be time to reorganize. But, as you can see, it's the same thing, organized by year, and then alphabetically by set name. With the Brody Koerner card in the bottom left corner of the right page, it is autographed. I had dinner with him and some of Karen's relatives at Dave & Busters in 2016 while he was in the minors. He signed the card for me before we left. At one point when I was racking up autographs, I had an autograph binder organized by year, set, and number. I sold most of my autographed cards, and if I have an autographed card like this, I just put it in my binders like it is a normal card, so if it's a Ray, it goes in the Rays binder. If it's a Cub, it goes in the Cubs binder. If it's a favorite player, it goes in that binder. If it's a Yankee, it goes in the trash. 

Lastly, the general fault for why I organize my binders this way was because of a book I got when I was in 3rd grade or so. 

It has been worn from 30 or so years of reading, but it basically contained pictures of every Topps St. Louis Cardinals card from 1952-1987. 

It basically contained a write up of each season and that years' cards (don't know why they didn't go with the 'yearbook style' format. Most of the sets in the book didn't have a Traded series, and some of them didn't even include pictures of the Traded cards). 

At the end of each set was the team card or the team leaders card for the '86 and '87 sets. I went against them with the rookie combo cards and put them with the most well known player, but other than that I figure if Topps prints a book and organizes their cards this way, then why shouldn't I?

Just to recap, if you feel like participating, write a post on how you organize your binders/boxes and why you do so and post some pictures or a video if you feel like it. You can either post a link to your post in the comments or I'll probably catch it on my blogroll. 

Thanks for checking out my latest post.

-Jeremy

Cards from Johnny and more 2022 Topps musings

 Yesterday, I got a pwe in the mail from John of Johnny's Trading Spot. I recently sent him some Braves that I thought he would like. He sent me some Rays, and I was excited to add them to my Rays box (where I put my loose cards that need to be put into my binders). 

He sent me a 2009 Topps Triple Threads Sepia BJ Upton card. This is my first card of any kind from that set, as the most expensive box I’ve purchased was probably either a 2011 Allen & Ginter hobby box or a 2011 Topps Chrome hobby box. Next up are 3 cards of a guy I hope can defeat the injury bug, Brendan McKay. He might be able to contribute this year, and if not, he could be a guy who can be a fill-in guy in a rotation behind Tyler Glasnow, Shane McClanahan, Shane Baz (hopefully), Drew Rasmussen, and Luis Patino. If he wows, maybe a front end guy. Or he could always be in the bullpen. Plus, he can hit. If the Rays can stay clear of injuries, catch some breaks, and get a few free agents, 2023 could be a fun year for the Rays. The last 2 cards are from the 2021 Topps Chrome set. Willy Adames was traded for Rasmussen and others. Tough to see at the time, but Adames was expendable with Taylor Walls waiting in the wings and Wander Franco right behind him. With Isaac Paredes aboard now, their infield is looking solid. It hurt to trade Austin Meadows, but with Paredes, and hopefully some outfielders coming through the minors it won’t sting as much. I’d rather have someone more powerful than Manuel Margot, but I am happy with Randy Arozarena, and I’m still ok with Kevin Kiermaier. I really hope KK stays with Tampa next year. Same thing for Glasnow. 

Back to the cards, Ryan Yarbrough is from my hometown, and I collect him. This is my 8th card with the standard ‘21 Topps design of Yarbrough. 

John has been running contests on his blog each time he posts, and I stupidly forgot to take a picture of the 9 cards I won a few days ago. Sometimes I just get so excited to put new cards in my Rays box that I forget to take a pic, and if my box is on the full side (as it is now with my 2022 Topps set inside it), if I don’t remember what I recieved, it will take forever to pull every card back out. I do know there was a Max Scherzer Topps Fire card, a 2009 OPC BJ Upton, 2 ‘65 Topps Embossed cards, including a Tim McCarver, and a Laughlin World Series card of the 1948 World Series between the Indians and Braves. 

Thanks, John, for the cool cards. 

On Tuesday, Kyler had the day off from school and I was off as well. He helped me organize my 2022 Topps set. He surprised me by knowing exactly where just about all of the teams went, and then helped me with the process of putting each card in its team stack. While going through the cards, I realized that I had 2 Ohtani cards, #1, and #660, kind of like the ‘54 Ted Williams cards. What got my attention was the fact that it was the last card of the set. A week or so ago when I pulled the Torkelson out of the set, I figured Topps went ahead and replaced the final 3 cards, but apparently after looking up the other 2 cards I thought I was missing, I had those as well. I guess the 3 rookie cards were bonuses (and I’m assuming the Vlad Jr. one from a few years back was as well).  I guess I freaked out for nothing. Now I just need to wait for the Update set, and I’ll get to clearing out the Rays box and putting the cards in my team binders. I still have most teams with cards from my complete 2021 Topps set in it, along with whatever I pulled from other sets from the last 18 months or so. That will be kind of fun to update most of my binders. 

I’ve also been working on customs in 2 sets. Most of you know I am working on the 1995 Topps Traded set, but recently some friends of Facebook have been getting guys together to play their ‘As Real as it Gets’ (ARAIG) simulation league. They are doing the 1958 and 1987 MLB seasons. The goal of the league is to have each player have as close to the exact number of ABs and IP in the simulations as they had in the regular season. The moderators had me do cards for the ‘83 and ‘84 seasons, so I figured the ‘87 Topps set would be easy to do, and they were up for it. I’ve finished 4 teams, so it should go by pretty quickly. No telling which one will get finished first, 1995 or 1987, but with only 1 font and just a basic picture needed for the 1987 set, I have a feeling it could be ‘87. 

That’s about it for me. 

Thanks for checking out my latest post. 

-Jeremy

Dang! He got laid? Post #3

 When I drafted this post up, I didn’t really have much to write about as far as new cards, but as you will see later, that would change. 

First up, let’s make fun of some guys! Lance Parrish was a big star for the Detroit Tigers in the ‘80’s, and it’s easy to see why somebody would want to possibly choose him as a bedmate. He had a World Series title by then, and a nice contract. Judging from some of his ‘80’s cards, he might have got a few ladies during the decade. Apparently he got married in 1978 according to the almighty internet, and had David in 1979. I’m not arguing the fact that he could’ve got laid in the ‘70’s or late ‘80’s, but come the start of the ‘90’s, Lance was starting to grow a nice mullet. I guess he let himself go, but I feel sorry for his poor wife. Just look at him on the ‘91 Fleer card. Mullet, mustache gently caressing his bat, creepy smirk on his face. Maybe it was his birthday and he was imagining what would happen in the bedroom after midnight. Again, his poor wife. 

Another ‘90’s guy who let himself go is Doug Drabek. He married, and had a son Justin in 1986. He had Kyle in 1987, and a daughter Kelsey in 1991. This 1994 Topps card shows a photo from 1993, where Doug just seems like he didn’t care what he looked like and frankly, didn’t care. Mullet flowing freely, mustache like Parrish, hat backwards even though he’s not Griffey, and playing out of position. He’s just a rule breaker and doesn’t care. I guess he was happy getting some each year on his birthday and Valentine’s Day, because with the mullet and attitude like that, I figure those were the only 2 days he would even have a chance. I had my hair long at one point in my life in early 2006,

but the last time I wore a hat backwards was probably in 2008 when I was doing construction work outside and I was 25. Doug was 31 in 1993. 

In case you think Doug gave up his ‘don’t care’ ways, check out his ‘98 Score card. 

I don’t even know what to say. 

I’ll just leave those disturbing images and get to the new cards. CJ from Brainiac Baseball sent me a few cards I picked from his Mercari page in exchange for some of the customs I’ve made him. 

The George Korince card is the corrected version. I got a Jack Morris rookie which I was very happy to snag. Just need the Trammell, Whitaker, and pre-don’t care Lance Parrish and I’ll have the ‘78 Tigers rookies from that Topps set. A Zach Simons autograph, 2 Bowman Nick Castellanos rookies, aTopps Now Akil Baddoo, and a Topps Holiday Jordan Hicks round out my selections. 

CJ has put my ‘83 Topps customs on his Mercari page, and I haven’t sold any yet, but a few got likes. 

Along the lines of some of my customs getting appreciated, I was looking for an image of Larry Rothschild as a Marlin because I was making his 1995 Topps Traded custom. While googling for a photo, I found a site (which I’m still not sure of what it is exactly) that must’ve found one of my customs (a 1999 Topps Greg Riddoch to be exact) online and probably thought it was a real card. It’s down the page, but it’s there. Pretty cool. 

Yesterday I went out to eat with my wife, and we went to Target afterwards. Going by the card section, I was completely surprised to find the 2022 Topps complete set on the shelf. I picked it up and started sorting it when I got home. 

I was surprised that it was there, as stuff I read online made me think it wasn’t going to be out until the middle of August or so. Now I just need to find a decent priced Update set and I’ll have the whole set and the Rays and Tigers team sets. 

While sorting the cards, I found a card of Spencer Torkelson. I thought it was an SP or something, but I looked it up, and apparently him, Bobby Witt, Jr., and Julio Rodriguez got cards added to the ‘22 Topps complete sets. They replaced the final 3 cards in the set, so I guess my set isn’t technically complete. I also found out that Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. got a card in the 2019 complete set that replaces the final card, so after getting the 2019-2022 sets, I’m 4 cards short. It may be more, I haven’t really looked. If anyone can steer me in the right direction, I’d love to know what cards I’ll need to look for from the 2019-2022 sets that I am missing. I’m still happy that I have the Torkelson card, and also the new one that will come in the Update set. Makes me anxious for it to come out. I’ll get the Rays and Tigers sets, I’ll finally know if I’ll have to make a 2022 Brody Koerner custom or if he’ll get a 2022 Topps card, and I’ll also be able to finish my 2022 Topps missing player checklist.  

The complete set had the Wander Franco and Shane Baz rookie photo variation cards, and also came with a Chrome version of  1 of the 5 cards that I didn’t know about. Unfortunately, it was that Duran guy from the Red Sox and not Franco, but maybe I’ll find one for a decent price. All in all, I’m happy I found the set, and after a few eBay orders, I should fill in the holes. 

Thanks for checking out my latest post. 

-Jeremy

RIP Mr. Scully

I’m sure by now everyone knows that Vin Scully passed away. I’m in no way a Dodgers fan (especially after the 2020 World Series), but I’m sure there aren’t many casual or non-baseball fans that haven’t heard Vin call a game. I was lucky enough to get within 5 feet of Mr. Scully in either 2004 or 2005. I was in Lakeland during Spring Training and the Dodgers came to town. Mr. Scully made the trip for some reason, and word got out. After the game, he comes out and told everyone he had to go, but started signing. I had a decision to make: try to get the once in a lifetime autograph of Vin Scully and miss on maybe multiple autographs, or get some sure bets and miss on getting Vin Scully. Of course, I chose quantity over quality and got the Tigers who have walked out. Eric Munson for sure, probably someone else like Wil Ledesma, Nate Cornejo, and Esteban Yan. I will regret that decision for the rest of my life. Vin just had an aura about him that day. It was like you knew a legend was walking out when he came out of the tunnel, kind of like when Ernie Harwell signed that year. 

Again, while I’m far from a Dodgers fan and have only listened to a full Dodgers game that Vin called a few times, I can’t deny that Vin has done it for so long that he is just woven into the fabric of Americana. And lifelong Dodgers fans are probably going to feel this one for a while. Heck, DeWayne Staats has only been calling Rays games since 1998, but when he calls his final Rays game, I’m going to be sad and whoever replaces him won’t ever be the same. It will be a sad day for me when his time is called. Me heart goes out to Vin’s family, Dodgers fans, and his coworkers and friends. 

I’ve done (and compiled) a few Vin Scully customs over the years. 

I made the 1951, the 1952 was done by the guy who ran the old 1952 Topps site, and I believe I did the 2017 Topps sunset card, but I’m not 100% sure, it was on my 2017 Topps page. 

I’ll have to add him to more sets, like the 1989 Topps set (for the ‘88 championship team), and maybe add him to checklists of all of the sets in between his ‘51 rookie and his ‘17 sunset card. 

Thanks for calling all of those games and being a part of so many baseball fans lives, Vin. You will be missed. 

Thanks for checking out my latest post. 

-Jeremy