MVP Family Tree Project [Update 5]

This week I didn't make an moves in terms of people adding to the project. I did, however, get receive some of the PWE contributions in the mail and a couple of others in a trade package with One Million Cubs. Thanks, Herman, Matt, Dave, and Beau, for helping get things started and check out the video where I go through what each person sent for the project!

2021 HOF Autograph Progress

 In a recent tweet I wrote the following...

No lie. Up until a few months ago I was all Cardinals, only Cardinals, and more Cardinals. There was no real focus beyond Cardinals which meant no end in sight. Now I still do my Cardinals but with some smaller projects of non Cardinals to feel I've achieved something. Lol

— KBO Collections (@kbocollections) January 23, 2021

Because I wanted to feel like I achieved something and added some cool stuff to my collection, I needed to move away from my tunnel vision but do it in a way that wouldn't break the bank and wasn't such a big task that I would get tired of it. Enter the smaller and easily attainable goals/projects/collections such as my MVP Family Tree Project and my goal to collect autographs of 20 HOFers that I didn't currently have in my collection.

Anyway, I was able to make some progress on the HOF end by picking up a few cards locally and making a trade in the US. I will update on the US trade once I have the card in hand in a few months. So, what did I pick up? Here they are.

First, I was looking around on one of the Korean forums and came across this awesome Tim Raines from 2014 Topps Tribute mixed in with some multi-card photos and knew that I should grab it because I really like the look of Tribute.

About an hour later, I was looking on the same forum and came across this beautiful Vladimir Guerrero from 1998 Donruss Signature Series. It's simply beautiful to me. The colors and design all just work with the PSA slab and it's a great addition to the collection!

So, those were the two that I got in hand this week. As I said, I do have one that is from a trade in the US that I will show later and also made another purchase locally last night and it should arrive next week. All in all, that puts me at 5 in hand (in Korea), 1 still in the US, and 1 on the way in Korea. It looks like this goal could potentially get wrapped up by the start of the 2021 MLB season and I would be fine with that.

MVP Family Tree Update 4

 The project is still moving along at a nice pace. Over the last week, I had a couple of other collectors set up and make a contribution. As long as I can add a card or two per week, it's a success in my eyes. So, what do I have incoming from the 2 PWE trades and how did they come about?

Well, I saw that my buddy Steve had picked up some vintage from his LCS and that his Boyer PC had grown. I commented that I needed to grab a 64 Boyer at some point for my project and he immediately said that he had an extra that he would send my way.

$20 at the LCS - made good inroads on my Boyer, Kubek, and McCarver PCs... pic.twitter.com/pOQxoeXygL

— steve brightman (@1brightman1) January 9, 2021

We moved over to the dark alleys of the DMs and started chatting a bit afterward and he ended up pulling out a few more cards that I needed (78 Parker, 71 Blue, and 77 Foster) and said that he would send them on my way. So, that's 4 more cards off of the list of 119. 

I also picked up another card from the awesome Dave. He had joined in on one of my streams and had heard about my project and immediately jumped in on Twitter to say that he had an 87 Bell if I needed one and I did. He got it packaged up and put it in the mail for me the next day.

hey @kbocollections drop me your mailing addy. I got the 1987 George A. Bell to drop to you. (both base and all-star)

— Col. David Mitchner, HOKC (@DaveMitchner) January 5, 2021

I really appreciate the contribution from both of you guys and looking forward to getting these in the mail over the next few months! I will have some PWEs in the mail to both of you once outgoing 1st class mail opens again in Korea.

If you're interested in contributing to the project, you can find me at the following places. Also, check out the list of what I have and what I still need in this linked spreadsheet. 

Twitter: @kbocollections

Instagram: @collectionskbo

Email: kbocollections at gmail

My Hall of Fame Autograph Collection

 I've had some Hall of Fame autos in my collection for a while. Being a Cardinals collector, I have been fortunate to acquire autos of some of the games greats like Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Ozzie Smith, Steve Carlton, and Tony La Russa.

However, nothing above is new to anyone that has been following my collecting over the last few years. So, what is new? Well, I've started a new HOF autograph collection for 2021 but the idea behind it came at the end of 2020 when I busted open a box of 2020 Topps Chrome Black that I was very disappointed with. 

Sure, I pulled a nice looking Eckersley autograph but his auto isn't something that's all that uncommon or valuable for that matter. Anyway, after feeling bummed for a bit, I decided to turn the pull into a positive and start a HOF auto collection that extends beyond just Cardinals and the Eck did it! By the way, I still hope to add a Cardinals autograph of him at some point.

So, at the start of 2021, I made a hobby goal to add 20 Hall of Fame autos to my collection from guys that I don't currently have in my collection and this is how the 2021 acquisitions started. I was browsing around on a local forum and came across a beautiful 2020 Topps Tier One autograph of Al Kaline so I decided to pick it up.

After that, I browsed around a bit more and came across a Bert Blyleven for a few bucks. Yes, it's from Panini but I think it's a great looking card and it was ONLY ABOUT $3 USD. He signs TTM but that will cost you $20. 

What happened next was the big one! It was one that I saw and had to sleep on for the night. Anyway, after 24 hours, I jumped on it and picked up this absolutely beautiful Sandy Koufax from 2020 Topps Chrome Black. It certainly wasn't cheap but I couldn't resist it and couldn't be any happier that I purchased it.

So, I'm at 3 down and 17 to go toward the 2021 goal and we are only a few days into the year!

MVP Family Tree Project Extensions

I have been teasing the idea of variations and extensions to my MVP project over the last few days. While it's a new project that I just started, I've been dreaming up ways to keep it going once I complete "Phase 1." For those of you that are not familiar with the project, phase 1 is just me collecting the Topps flagship base card of every MVP from 1962 - current from their MVP year. So, that means the 62 Mickey Mantle, which I own and the 62 Maury Wills that doesn't exist in 1962 up to the 2020 Jose Abreu and 2020 Freddie Freeman. 

So what are some of the extensions that I plan to add to the project? Well, I plan to expand the project to include SP variations and such for the most modern cards. I'm also thinking about including every flagship base for the most modern cards. For example, their Topps Series 1, Series 2, and Update if they have cards in them. Lastly, I'm going to attempt getting an autograph of each player that falls within this collection. That will be a very long and costly part of the journey but I think it will be fun. 

In terms of autographs of the players featured from 62~2020, who do I already have? I only have Bob Gibson who is one of my PC players and this beauty that just arrived in the mail today! I'm so excited to add a Koufax to the collection!

MVP Family Tree Update 3

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Year. It has certainly been a busy start to the year for me with doing some live streams, contacting other collectors, buying some cards, and working on my MVP project. So, what progress have I made in the new year? Well, I've gotten my binder organized for the project, I've been keeping my lists updated, and I have some more cards incoming from Mark! First, I got the binder that I ordered just before New Year's day and went to work getting all of my placeholder cards printed and put inside. I know that doing the placeholder cards might seem like a waste of time and effort to some collectors, but I'm finding it to be helpful. Additionally, it allows me to see what the project will look like and I can record information on the backs of the placeholder cards to track things.

Second, I've been keeping my list updated with received, incoming, and purchased cards. Check it out if you would like to help out with the project or if you're just curious about my progress. Click here for the link! Last and certainly not least! I woke up to a great New Year's day with the awesome Mr. Mark Hoyle finding some cards to contribute to the project! This is absolutely amazing! If you're on twitter, please give Mark a follow!

Here’s a start pic.twitter.com/1FFEtel3cz

— Mark Hoyle (@Markhoyle4) December 31, 2020

Mark also said that he has a 78 Jim Rice for the project that isn't in the photo. Thanks, Mark!

MVP Family Tree Project Update Number 2

I has been a busy couple of days with the project and I am loving it! I have increased the card count after buying some of the bigger cards. While this project is about having people help me out via PWE trade or gift, I never intended to do anything less than buy the big cards. I also got a shout out from Herman and Brad over on Youtube during their weekly show and that was awesome because it got more people engaged with the project. As a result, their guest of the day, Mark reached out to me and said that he would round up a card or two for the project and send my way. I appreciate that, Herman, Brad, and Mark! Anyway, let's get to some of the cards. As of 12/28, I said that I had 5 cards of the 119 cards needed for the project. However, I didn't think to mention that I also had the 1968 Bob Gibson but I'm sure anybody that knows me knew that I had it. After all, it's no mystery that I have Gibby's completed Topps playing era run! So, here is the 1968 Topps that I have for this collection.

Now, on to the purchases. The first purchase that I made toward this project, starting it, was none other than this 1966 Roberto Clemente. It would be hard to find better player and card to start this project of with in terms of purchases. In 1966, Clemente would end the season with a .317 AVG, 29 HR, and 119 RBI. He won the honor with 218 voter points beating out Sandy Koufax by 10 points.

The second purchase was for this project was one of the iconic cards featured in the Topps Project 2020 set, the 2001 Ichiro Suzuki. In 2001, Ichiro won not only the MVP award but also the ROY award. Over the course of the season, Suzuki had a .350 AVG, 8 HR, and 69 RBI. He won the MVP award with 289 points beating out Jason Giambi by 8 points. I would say that this future HOFer transitioned well from the NPB to MLB.

The third purchase was a name that you heard me mention couple of paragraphs earlier in this post, Sandy Koufax. In 1963, The Left Arm of God, posted a record of 25-5, 1.88 ERA, and 306 Ks on his way to 237 MVP points. He beat out St. Louis Cardinal Dick Groat by 47 points. Also, this is one of the most beautiful Koufax cards in my opinion. I love the 1963 Topps set.

After picking up the beautiful Koufax, I knew what I had to do. I had talked about it way too much on Youtube and I knew that it would end up being the big boy of this run. If your not good at guessing, don't worry because I will tell you who it is. It's The Commerce Comet, Mickey Mantle. In 1962, Mantle hit for a .321 AVG, 30 HR, and 89 RBI. He had a runaway MVP points victory by beating out teammate Bobby Richardson by 82 points, 234-152. This was The Mick's third and final MVP award of his career. His first came in 1956.

Next up on the purchases was a card from my favorite set, 1967 Topps. So, who's the player? Well, it's Orlando Cepeda. In all honesty, I can't remember if I have purchased this card in the past or not. I'm a Cardinals collector and I often buy cards that I don't get sent to me until 6 months to a year later so there is a chance that I have already purchased this one. If I did, I don't mind and won't complain about having 2 of them in the collection. So, what did Cepeda do in 1967? He batted .325 with 25 HR and 111 RBI on his way to his 1st and only MVP award of his HOF career. To grab the award, he beat out teammate Tim McCarver by 144 points, 280-136.

Staying in line with the 67 season and my favorite set, I purchased the Carl Yastrzemski. Like Cepeda, this was the only MVP award won by this baseball legend. In 1967, Yaz batted .326 with 44 HR and 121 RBI. He won the award by a wide margin, 275-161, over Harmon Killebrew. This is a beautiful card and a beautiful set. You've gotta love the 60s.

After all of those cards, one would think that the purchases would have been done. In all honesty, my wallet wished it had been but I had to pick up one last card and that card was the 1966 Frank Robinson. In 1966, Frank beat out teammates Brooks and Boog to pick up his 2nd MVP award of his career. One of the fun facts about this second award was that it came while playing in the AL and his first award had come during his playing days in the NL with the Reds in 1961. In his second MVP award season, Frank hit .316 with 49 HR and 122 RBI.

I hope you enjoyed the post. Stay tuned to find out more about the journey of the MVP Family Tree Project. Also, if you would like to help out, you can reach me on Twitter, Instagram, or by email. Twitter: @kbocollections Instagram: @collectionskbo Email: kbocolletions@gmail.com