What I Collect

The unparalleled Night Owl has suggested the topic for the next (current?) Blog Bat Around. He came up with what seemed like an easy topic, but one that became more difficult as I tried to tackle it.

What I Collect.

Oh sure, that should be easy. Just rattle off all the stuff in my collection. But it's a little bit deeper than that. As I've been writing about or discussing different topics lately, I've started to wonder what it is, exactly, that I'm collecting. 

Recently, Topps released plans for a living set...or whatever they're calling it. From their Topps Now platform, they're going to just keep adding to the set. Player after player. Year after year. My first though was, "Is that still a baseball card set?" After all, if the set never ends, is it a set? Is it just constantly released photographs? I don't collect those. I collect cards. But, what makes a "card"? Because it's in a set? Why do I limit myself to cards anyway? I'm so confused.

But, I'm going to plug on ahead. This is supposed to be, I assume, a post about what kinds of baseball cards I collect. So, here we go.

1. Topps family of Red Sox cards.
This is my first topic, and I'm already wondering what it means to "collect". I would like to complete the Topps/Bowman family of Red Sox team sets for every year. I have wantlists and everything. But, I don't exactly hunt down these cards. I sort of just hope to accumulate them accidentally. Or, though trades. I can't remember the last time I bought a card just because it filled a team set need.

2. Pedro Martinez Red Sox cards from the Topps family.
This is my only current "player collection". Again, I'm not exactly knocking down doors to find new Pedro cards. But, they're definitely the most welcomed trade additions. The best player I've ever seen is always welcomed. In this case, i don't even have a wantlist, since there are so many cards and versions of cards out there. I'll just be happy with any Pedro card I can acquire. If I happen to already have it, I'll figure something out.

3. Red Sox Hall of Fame member cards.
This is a collection that rose from asking myself why I collected these things called "cards." I felt a bit...what's the word...superficial? That's not really it. But, it's not like I'm collecting civil war memorabilia or political buttons. It's was cardboard celebrating a game. But, the vintage stuff had a real appeal. In my head, it was more an artifact of a time gone by than a silly baseball card. These were time capsules that let be travel back to the 40's or farther. That was pretty cool. The idea of collecting Red Sox Hall of Fame members was a way to structure the collection, allowing me to hit different years, and brands. It's going to be a lot of fun. 

So, there you go. There's what I collect...or don't collect.

How about you?