Decisions, Decisions....

As I've stated before, I have just recently gotten back into card collecting.  When I was collecting before, I was a kid.  Al Gore had yet to invent the Internet, so I had no way to share my collection.  And I definitely didn't think about collecting a set other than whatever was out at that time (mostly Upper Deck products).

So I've been trying to figure out which players I want to collect and which vintage set to I want to go after?  Well, these questions have been answered (mostly with Rangers).  First, for the players.  I have decided to collect vintage cards for Tom Grieve.  Grieve, father of former major leaguer Ben Grieve, was a first round pick of the Washington Senators in 1966.  He played until 1979, at which point he joined the Rangers' front office.  After holding various positions within the organization, including GM, he has been the Rangers' color commentator since the mid-1990's.  (Interesting trivia note: Tom and Ben are the first father-son duo to be selected in the first round in their respective drafts)

For current players, I am collecting Mike Napoli and Bryce Harper.  I hated Napoli as an Angel.  He just seemed like someone I wouldn't get along with if I met him on the street.  But when he came to the Rangers, he gave everything to the organization.  He busted his butt on a daily basis, played with everything he had, and never quit on his team.  As a fan, that's all you can really ask for.  As for Harper, the kid is a stud.  He is going to be great, and I just want to be along for that ride.

For future stars, I am collecting Joey Gallo.  The Rangers 3B prospect is currently lighting it up in Hickory.  He was last year's Arizona League MVP, tallying 18 homeruns on just 150 at bats.  In case you're wondering, that's 18 homeruns in just 43 games.  In highschool, he pitched a Perfect Game and touched 100 on the radar gun.  His defense in the hot corner has been spectacular as well.

As for my vintage collection, it took me a while to decide, but I finally did it.  I am going to start collecting cards from the 1972 Topps Baseball set.  This was the first set to feature the Texas Rangers (they had just relocated from Washington, D.C.), and it also happens to be an absolute monster.  Consisting of a whopping 787 cards, this is one of the largest sets of its time.

So there it is.  These are the players and set I am collecting.  If you have any of them, please let me know to see if we can work out a trade or purchase.  I appreciate your help!