As a player collector, I have a refined focus on my collection

1992 to 2019. There have been thousands of Derek Jeter cards made.

I didn't neseccraily choose to be a player collector. When I started collecting cards, I found I was just drawn to certain players.

As a kid, I was taking out of all the Yankees cards that I found in packs. As an adult, I still aim for the Yankees, but only certain ones. My bggest of those collections is of Derek Jeter and it's really taking shape as I have finally begun to sort and log everything.

Even though "collecting Derek Jeter cards" is a pretty narrow focus, it's is even more refined than that.

And here's a little secret: It has made collecting more fun.

It's impossible to try and collect everything. That boat has sailed a long -- and I mean A LONG -- time ago. Collecting what you love is a good sentiment and I believe in it, but narrowing my focus and knowing what I want has brought me a lot of joy.

I'm not just collecting Jeter cards, there are parameters around what I'm looking for too. I had to put them there because the idea of trying to get every Jeter card is daunting.

For starters, collecting Derek Jeter cards is competitive. I'm not saying there is a competition. I have actually found other Jeter collectors to be incredibly helpful. But there are just a lot of them. So when it comes to low-numbered cards, it's impossible for all the collectors with Jeter PCs to get one of them.

Also, there are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo many cards. Did I sooooooooooooooooooooooo many cards? Sorry, I meant, my goodness that is an obscene amount of cards. There have been nearly 18,000 different cards created of the former New York Yankees captain.

17,834 to be exact.

That's just impossible.

So here are Sooz's rules for collecting Derek Jeter cards:

1. No hits: This mean no autographs, no relic cards, no manufactured relic cards. I'm looking for just base, parallels and inserts. Maybe an oddball here or there.
2. No cards numbered 5 or less. I don't want my collection to be impossible to collect.
3. No 1998-2000 Topps Tek, No Topps Moments and Milestones. Those runs are just silly and I honestly I can't be bothered with them. There may be inserts I throw on this list as I log cards.

That's not to say I won't grab those cards if I see them and they are reasonably priced, or have any in my collection. I consider them bonuses to what I am trying to collect for my PC. 

That will significantly bring down the number of cards I am looking for. However, as I still sort and log what I have, I still don't have the exact number of what I need. 

That will happen one day. Just not today. 

A Gift from a Baseball Fan

A week before the National I was at work and one of our patient's came in for his routine visit.  He was telling one of the other nurses a story about a friend of his who is the only player to ever get a hit for two teams in the same day.  So she tells him, "Oh you should talk to Marie she is a big sports fan and is going to some baseball thing next week."

He begins telling me about his friend, Joel Youngblood who comes up from Arizona I believe to visit him once a year and speak at the senior center.  It is one of the highlights of the patient's year, he loves spending time with him and talking sports.  So he tells me that he is going to bring me something next time he comes in for his appointment, doesn't mention what.  Now as nurses we all have favorite patients and this guy has always been one of mine as he reminds me of my grandfather. War Veteran, little old man, cute as a button and likes telling jokes and talking with everyone.

I get back from the National, patient comes in and says did you get what I left you?  I said I think one of the other nurses has it.  He tell me he brought me a baseball card!  He went on to say, I promised I'd bring you something and I didn't forget.  It was even in a penny sleeve and top loader!

It's nice to be in an environment out of the chaos of the hospital now and able to enjoy getting to know (some) people on a more personal level.  I thought this was a pretty cool story of how I acquired the card and I never had heard of this player before this whole conversation.

The East Coast National has something for every type of collector

It's always funny to me the August White Plains card shows is dubbed the East Coast National. The word national kind of throws it off when it's just on the East Coast.

I always enjoy this show though -- along with the January one -- because it's one of the biggest ones on the calendar in the NY area. But it's difficult to get into it especially if you just came back from the actual National.

The difference for me was that I worked the National Sports Collections Convention and didn't have as much time as I would have liked to walk around. Thankfully, Marie did some scouting and found some tables with Derek Jeter cards for sale. I hopped over when I got a break.

Since coming back from the NSCC, I have a renewed sense of updating my Jeter Collection. I really don't know what I have anymore. When people ask how many I have, I say over 3,000 different because it's true, but I have no clue of the exact number.

I don't know what I need anymore and I certainly don't even know what I have.

So before heading out to the East Coast "National," I did my best in logging the cards I have. This way, to limit the amount of double I would buy.

While I have only gotten through roughly half -- I've sorted about 1,500 cards, so far -- I'm still no where near where I need to be. But it was still so helpful in having that list. Because one thing I also realized while logging the cards I have is that I'm missing so many inexpensive cards because I assumed I had them.

I managed to get 30 Jeter cards while at the White Plains Show. I know that at least one is double though because I couldn't find it in my shet while I was looking. The moment I got home -- boom! -- there it was.

Isn't that always the case.

As always, the show is filled with vintage cards. Beckett, PSA and SGC were all there. As well as auction houses looking for items.

It's a good show to go to every six months or so because the dealers don't rotate much. Generally, it's the same people every time and with a White Plains shows every 2-3 months, you're looking at the same cards over and over.

And it's not cheap to get in. The biggest sticking point is the convention parking lot is $15 (there are other places to park nearby), and $10 just to get inside. I know the convention center and the promoter need to make money, the promoter should be getting the biggest chunk out of the autograph tickets.

You're already down $25 before you've bought anything!

I don't have time to search for street parking because I have a 3-year-old in tow. We started bringing him to card shows in hopes he will enjoy cards too.

He does like Pokemon though. So he was catching Pokemon with his new ball while Mommy was looking through a box of Jeter cards. It's a good thing he's cute because the dealers were having fun with him and didn't mind the ball rolling into their area too much.

By the way, how awesome is this packaging? (It wasn't dented when we bought it)

All in all, it's a solid show. I wish the amenities were a bit cheaper and there were slightly more modern cards. But it's a good mix with a little something for everyone.

Even the Jeter collector.