Thursday, January 18, 2018

2018 Topps Yankees Project thoughts



In mid-January, I always get excited about the release of the Topps Series One Checklist. However, my reasoning is a little different from most. It entirely is based on my Topps Yankees Project and the continuation of it on a year-to-year basis.

A quick refresher on the Project. It consists of a signed Topps Yankees card for every year, 1951-2017. Each signature was acquired through the mail (TTM), and there are no repeat players. It is definitely one of the most meaningful parts of my collection.

Looking at the checklist, I think there is hope that I will be able to knock off 2018 during spring training. While there is no hope for the some of the players, I may send each Series One base card just to see what happens. You never know.

Here are the Yankees with a Series One base card, along with their signing habits:

Aaron Judge – Signed as a minor leaguer, but obviously will be virtually impossible this year.
Brett Gardner – Hasn’t signed in years.
CC Sabathia – Signs once in a while, but returns usually take a long time
Chase Headley – Reliable signer and he’s not currently part of my project! Here’s a past success.
Clint Frazier – Signed early in his career, but likely not anymore.
Dellin Betances – Signed early in his career, but haven’t seen a success from him in a few years.
Gary Sanchez – Doesn’t sign.
Luis Severino - Doesn’t sign.
Masahiro Tanaka – Doesn’t sign.
Miguel Andujar – He signs periodically, but I’ve never gotten him.
Starlin Castro – Doesn’t sign.
Todd Frazier – Signed a lot early in his career and more sporadic of late. I saw a few off-season successes.

My best bests are going to be Andujar, Cooper, Headley, and perhaps Todd Frazier. And if I can’t get any of these guys, there’s always Series Two!

5 comments:

  1. I've gotten Frasier and Headly in the past. And I've wasted probably a half dozen CC as a Brewer cards trying to get him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I sent to Sabathia in spring 2016 and got it back last spring.

      Delete
  2. best of luck! i am a big fan of this project as i think you know!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Best of luck. It's a shame that Tanaka doesn't sign. I've wanted his signature for awhile now, but his autograph prices are ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is one of my favorite personal blogger projects to follow and look forward to this post every year. Good luck! I can't wait to see what happens!

    ReplyDelete