9 men out (of binders)

I'm jumping on the TJ aka Junior Junkie bandwagon, as I know a great idea when I see one ! It's simple and easy to put in place, which is perfect for me.
It did take me a while to look at my binders and pick just nine cards. And I actually cheated a little. Not that I don't absolutely and definitely love the cards that I picked, but they do not include any of my Blue Jays cards (I have plans for those later) nor any vintage. I also left out basketball, obviously.The cards that carry the most sentimental value to me are those that I acquired 20 years ago, and I'm pretty sure that it shows. I treasure those as it was insane trying to collect baseball cards from France in the 90s. Straight stupid, even, as there were no card shops and no internet. I could only count on my summer vacations in Cleveland with my meager allowance (I was 16) to accumulate as much as possible. Then again, maybe this is exactly what made it so thrilling to me...


Tadah !

See how impressive that is ? Total book value is probably around $6. Yay, I'm rich. If somebody else happens to be stranded with me on that island, he'll be so jealous.

Now, for a closer look

This is the only card from those 9 that I actually bought recently. But UD Masterpieces might be the most impressive set I've come across. I only have a handful, so if anyone's got some extras, I'd love to trade.

 It was very hard for me not to include just 93 UD cards. But I figured a couple would be enough. Of course I picked a Then & Now insert that I pulled from packs at the time. Getting the complete set was one of my first goals on my collecting agenda when I started collecting again 18 months ago.

I think this is a great example of what I love about 93 UD. The design, the photography...everything is perfect. Plus, broken bats are always a great sub-collection idea.

I never could open packs of 95 UD back then (I was in Cleveland in 93 and 94), but I did buy that promo. I definitely overpaid for it (but that's the very principle of collecting cards in the 90s), as it cost me $8, but it felt really special to have a Griffey promo. Still does.

As with 93 UD, it was tough not to include just Griffeys. But since I can't compete with TJ, I just chose two. Including what is for me the best insert set of all time : 94 Leaf slideshow.

This one I traded for at the end of the 90s. Can't remember for what, though. Maybe my Frank Thomas 93 Stadium Club First day issue. It's got a great wooden feel to it, and it's NUMBERED. Now that's fancy for the 90s. Only 5 000 of those puppies exist in the whole wide world.

93 UD and 93 Topps were my first taste of baseball cards. They're the reason why I was hooked from the get go even though I knew nothing about the game or its rules. Because of the Jeter rookie, it's not easy to find cheap boxes for both series, but I'd love to open some one day.

Yup, this card looks very random. But Frank Thomas was the face of Leaf at the time and I loved that set. There was just something very cool about it. This one I also pulled from a pack. I couldn't buy a lot of wax as I didn't have enough funds for everything, so I was very careful as to what I chose.

Not exactly a fan favorite, but this card looks great. Those were randomly inserted in 94 Stadium Club packs, (1:24) and I actually pulled a few, including the Piazza. But this one still gets my vote.

Well that was fun, so thanks TJ for the idea and the nudge !