Modern Player Sets

rbeaton

I was just looking at the new Barry Bonds Master Player set and it has over 1000 cards. Do you think anyone will ever complete this (or any other really large master player set)? I really can't see anyone doing this...

Robert

zeppo

This is reason why I got out of the hobby 12 years ago. I hate all the different makers and cards and limited edition garbage. Who buys all of it? Everything these days has 12 different inserts or chase sets. Some people will disagree claiming that there is much more variety, etc. Yuch! If I were to go to a local card show I would be lucky to find anything I could recognize. A dealer could have a 1,000 different cards from a 1,000 different sets but not a single one would I pay a dime for. I hate chrome and holographs and can't wait until they disappear, never to be heard of again. I want stats and trivia like the good ole days.

I have recently got back in the game and vow to never purchase a card after 1990. I will stick with what I remember as great cards. Some of them may look like garbage to the modern collector but to me they were a part of my youth and what I remeber as great.

Who would want to collect every card of Barry Bonds anyway??? He is one of the greatest to ever play but still a jerk and not someone I will ever remember as an icon.

mikeschmidt

Rbeaton:

I think ultimately, the Mike Schmidt master player set might one day boast over 500 cards.... I currently have about 225 different examples graded, but an unsure how to proceed. With some free submissions and future grading specials, I might continue to submit some of the oddball cards. But if Barry Bonds has 1,000 cards now -- there are probably at least 3,000 different cards that exist, many of which have never been graded.

With post-1990 players, the figure is too daunting to consider. Even with many of the players of the 1980s, the numbers pile up way too quickly once you add in stickers, OPC, Tiffany, Glossy, etc.

AlanAllen

I was glancing over at the registry the coin guys have, and they won't add a variation coin until at least 10 have been graded. I thought that would be a good idea for modern player sets, so you don't have the bizarre oddballs in there that no one cares about, just the most popular cards. What do you player collectors think?

I have ~150 different graded Marcus Allens, and there are at least 800 more that PSA would grade if submitted. Even at a $5 special, $4000? Nah.

Zeppo, there are cards out there that are just what you like. Try Topps Total, Upper Deck 40 man, or Topps Heritage.

Joe

mikeschmidt

<<I was glancing over at the registry the coin guys have, and they won't add a variation coin until at least 10 have been graded. I thought that would be a good idea for modern player sets, so you don't have the bizarre oddballs in there that no one cares about, just the most popular cards. What do you player collectors think?>>

I tend to think that this is pretty well solved on the PSA Set Registry by having the Basic Set and the Master set. The Basic set is just the regular-issue regular cards, whereas the Master Set starts adding in the leaders, All-Stars, Record Breakers and oddballs. To that end, I think it works somewhat efficiently.

RobE

I'd hate to see how many cards there will be in that set by the time BB retires.

JeffVN

Probably about 1,300, assuming he reitres after next year. Add about 50 cards per year, probably more because of the various autograph, bat, jersey, shoe, base, and hat combinations that could show up.

I'm telling you this modern trend of 500+ sets with an additional 500+ more variations is going to kill the hobby, but that's just my opinion.

AlanAllen

I see where you're coming from Marc, but look at Cal Ripken's Master Set for example. Over 1500 cards, and I'm sure there could be more. How relevent is a 1500 card player set, when he's one of the most collected players in the hobby and the highest anyone has gotten is 2.72%?

Joe

mikeschmidt

Joe:

I think that was one of the points I was trying to get across. Anytime you have a player who played after 1990, their master player sets become gargantuan. There are a number of HOF'ers whose careers began in the late 1960s and early 1970s who would have more manageable master player sets -- but anyone who bridges into the 1990s faces an extremely daunting task. (one that is probably not worth anyone's while...)

AlanAllen

So is the answer to just deal with it, or is there some solution to make the sets more viable?

Looking at the coin guy's stuff again, they have optional coins in some sets. maybe we could have anything with a pop of 10+ be required, and anything less than that be optional? So we'd have reasonable sets, and still have the opportunity to show off large and/or rare collections.

Joe

ydsotter

It must have taken our friends at psa an awful long time to add these sets and do the research to make them... likewise with many other new player sets and modern sets...
meanwhile, I don't know how many of us.... are foaming at the mouths for them to add fairly simple graded vintage player sets... I guess time will tell what sets will become popular to build...
I am in favor of psa listing as many sets as possible... and I currently have a handful of complete player sets to add...
-G

brumbach

Barry Bonds currently has 4448 different cards listed according to Beckett, I don't think that they include 1/1 cards or press plates in that number. I'd expect 6000-8000 by the time he retires. Assuming he doesn't spontaneously combust from a 'roid rage, why not expect a few more years out of Barry?

Virtualizard

I collect mainly vintage/older cards (1975 and earlier - I don't want to offend anyone by calling them all vintage ), but way back in 1999 I started buying some new Topps cards. I liked the McGwire and Sosa Homerun cards and decided to attempt completing the set of these inserts. I completed 2 sets of each and along the way picked up some other McGwire cards as well.

In 2001, I found an ebay auction for a box of McGwire cards (something like 800 different cards) and won it for around $60. I thought I'd check Beckett's online guide and see how many different McGwire cards were out there. I was shocked to find a list of 3976 different cards. This was in the summer of '01.

I'd imagine several hundred, if not more, were produced after that. I probably have 1200 or so different McGwire cards but I could not imagine ever attempting to complete his player set, let alone get them all graded! Assuming 5000 different cards at $5/card (best possible case for a grading special), that would be $25,000 for grading fees alone!

Is there another player that even comes close to this number of cards produced? I'm sure in 10 years, this will be common for stars.

By the way, I've got a spreadsheet that I saved that lists all McGwire cards up to '01. If anyone is interested in seeing it, email me.

JEB.


******edited to change '91 to '01******

PlayBall

I did the same thing with Alex Rodriguez in 2001. For some stupid reason I printed the thing out, and got 51 pages of cards! That was about 2250 cards. Figure, including 2002-3, and the fact that he has 8-10 more years at least...........Oh the horror.

Skycap

Each to his own, of course....but imagining someone trying to collect a 1000+ set of one player sounds sick to me. How would you explain your hobby to others -- such as a girlfriend or "potential" girlfriend. "Hey Debbie, let me show you my 1000 pictures of Bobby Bonds!" She'll think you're either obssessed or g-- (nah, I don't want to go there!).

If I wanted to collect a player on the registry, I'd go for someone with a nice, short master set like Johnny Bench (24 cards), Al Kaline (22 cards) or, if it were entirely modern, Mike Schmidt (41 cards). I prefer quality over quantity.

Skycap

Kid4hof03

Skycap,
You are right when you say "to each his own", but I have to wonder, have you never met a "player collector"? I for one collect anything that relates to Gary Carter's career. I don't limit myself to cards, but have game used uniforms and bats, magazines, posters, etc. Personally I don't collect "graded" Carter cards because I have well over 500 different. I considered it and decided I couldn't decide what to grade and what not to grade so I avoided it completely. I guess I take a little issue with your statements because I don't consider myself "obsessed" or question my sexual orientation (I do realize that part was a joke, but it gets thrown around a little too much in our soceity). I don't collect any sets, that never interested me. Gary Carter was my favorite player, still is for that matter and my collection just kind of took on a life of it's own. Once I had all his "mainstream" cards I went to other things and have never wanted to have to stop collecting.

I read posts from great collectors that have so much knowledge and passion for their particular sets. I have learned so much about the 1955 Bowman, 1969 Topps, 1972 Topps Football, and other sets that I have started to appreciate them so much more. I have that same kind of knowledge and passion about Gary Carter collectibles and don't feel I should be knocked for it. This summer I'll be in Cooperstown for Carter's HOF induction and I'm sure I'll be glad that I stuck with it. This hobby is great because we can all find a way to enjoy it and flourish in it. You started by saying "to each his own", maybe you should have left it at that. I hope I didn't take this too personally, if so I apologize. I love being a "player collector" and wanted to put my 2 cents in.

Wabittwax

I think it would be ok to collect PSA graded cards of your favorite player even if it is 5000 different cards. They key to that though it not to submit them yourself. For instance, I have a 1987 Topps Tiffany set on the registry. I love that set but I don't submit them because it would be a huge waste of money. I just look for them on Ebay already graded and bid next to nothing on them, I let somebody else take the loss. I only have about 15 or 20 so far but I am only into them for a couple bucks a peice. You could do the same thing with your Gary Carter set. Just pick them up on Ebay for 2 or 3 dollars a peice and have a nice collection after a while with little money into them. You would never complete the 2000-5000 cards needed, but it would be cheap and fun looking for them.

Alfiewt

I collect graded Don Mattingly cards. He has a little less then 1000 cards issued from 1981-1996 that can be graded by PSA. My focus has been the regular issue cards and will be for the next few years, but I can collect the master set for the rest of my life. Thankfully Mattingly retired right before the really huge explosion in cards so I do have a chance one day of completing the master set. I would never try to complete a set of any current players, because they have way too many cards now. Plus, they don't have all of the weird oddball stuff to keep it interesting.

I never really thought I could ever collect every Mattingly card grade, but after seeing people collect 1970's sets with 700+ cards, 1000 cards doesn't seem as much as it used to.

Virtualizard

Skycap,

I also have a pretty large Mike Schmidt collection.

I know this is not what your post was about, but I thought I'd inform everyone anyway. According to Beckett's list, there are 889 different cards and I know of at least 2 more that aren't on that list. Granted, he still had cards produced well into the '90s and that's what caused the explosion, but there are 70 cards listed up to 1979. A master set of 41 doesn't sound right. I don't have any graded and haven't checked out the registry's player set.

I'm sure Marc (mikeschmidt) could shed some more light.



Kid4hof03,

Congratulations on Gary Carter's election. That has to help the value of your collection, although I'm sure it was already priceless in your eyes.

I was cleaning out my guest bedroom today (it was a dumping place for a lot of extra cards) and I found a stack of about 30 identical Gary Carter cards. I'm not sure what they are, but they look like a deck of playing cards. It was obviously some promotion to buy larger photos from the photographer. Does anyone know what they are? Here's a scan of the front and back:



I'll send you one for your collection if you're interested. Just email me your info or PM me.

JEB.