Look back: 2012

Man, I've been blogging for awhile now. As we enter our fifth year, it's time for our annual "Look back" post.

I didn't lay out much in the way of goals in our "Look ahead: 2012" but I have good news. I met my one and only goal! The blog is still alive!

We hit a few roadblocks throughout the year. October saw an all-time low number of posts for a month. This will be our 244th post this year. Another all-time low for a full year.

On the plus side, I'd like to think my blog has evolved a little in 2012. Thanks to the other bloggers in the blogosphere I have a new appreciation for baseball cards that I haven't had since I was a kid. For the past decade or more cards were only something for me to get autographed. I've liked certain designs more than others ( 2002 Fleer Tradition, 2006 A&G ) but ultimately I didn't really care what the card looked like.

This year, I've gotten more serious about our two player collections ( Luis Aparicio and Daniel Hudson ) and even started collecting any and all Diamondbacks cards. I'm still going after the 2008 Topps set of course but it's these other things that have kept blogging fun for me.

I hope everybody is having a good New Year's Eve. I've spent mine scanning cards and watching Seth Rogan movies. Man, I'm cool.

D-Backs from Drew!

I completed my first trade with Drew from Drew's Cards. He sent me some great D-Backs cards. They're all newer but I didn't have any of them. There's some good stuff here too like a few GQ mini's and a gold bordered Chris Snyder.

Thanks, Drew! See ya!
 

Luis Aparicio Collection - Autographed Bat

With my wife's permission, I bought myself a Christmas present. I now own an autographed Luis Aparicio baseball bat. I had been thinking about getting one for awhile and finally did. I wanted a black bat with a Hall of Fame inscription so this one was perfect.

I'm not a huge fan of autographed bats ( they take up too much space to have tons of them ) but I do have about a dozen or so. This is probably now my favorite.

2012 Topps - Daniel Hudson Red Border Parallel

It's almost Christmas and the Diamondbacks did a little shopping yesterday by picking up outfielder, Cody Ross. I didn't see that coming at all. I'm not really sure what this means four our outfield situation. Rumor has it we'll probably trade Jason Kubel. Kevin Towers was also quoted as saying he has approval to enter next season without trading anyone so who knows.

There has been a lot of scrutiny towards the D-Backs deals this off-season. It's nice to see we're at least trying to make the team better. Hopefully these moves translate to more wins and a division title.

Here's a red border parallel of Daniel Hudson we picked up for our DHuddy collection. These are the ones randomly inserted into retail packs at Target stores.

# 266 - Ryan Doumit

Yes! Third 08 Topps post in a row!

This one is of former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher, Ryan Doumit. Ryan left Pittsburgh at the end of 2011 as a free agent and signed with the Minnesota Twins.

This one came to us from the same guy who hooked us up with the Steve Pearce we posted yesterday.

# 266 - Ryan Doumit

Progress: 501/990
 

# 127- Steve Pearce

Two 08 Topps posts in a row? Whaaaaat? I couldn't possibly make it three tomorrow could I?

I picked up this Steve Pearce signed 08 Topps card from a friend on SportsGraphing.com earlier this year. It just fell through the cracks and never made it's way to the blog.

After spending a few years with the Pirates, Steve found his way to three different teams in 2012. He played on the Orioles, Astros, and Yankees. Around the end of September the Orioles claimed him off waivers from the Yankees and he is currently back on their roster.

# 127 - Steve Pearce

Progress: 500/990
 

# UH 329 - Jeremy Sowers

Former first round pick of the Cleveland Indians, Jeremy Sowers, signed a card for our set. Yes! Despite all of the non-08 Topps posts lately we're still working on the set.

# UH 329 - Jeremy Sowers

Progress: 499/990