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The Final Four
Not all baseball sets are created equally. Scarcity, size, cost, physical appearance, and sentimentality are all things that come to mind when I'm deciding on which sets to build.
When I made the decision to build the 1988 Kenner SLUbaseball set, I knew that these were fairly common... yet not quite as common as 1991 Fleerbaseball. Most of the singles in the 124 card set are available online in the 50ยข to $5range, which meant that it wouldn't be a super cheap project... however it wouldn't break the bank either.
The two biggest reasons I took on the challenge were the set design and nostalgic appeal this set delivers. Kenner Starting Lineups were (and still are) a huge part of my collecting timeline. I've always enjoyed the packaging, the figures, and within the past decade or so... the idea of collecting the cards, which often have some of the coolest designs around.
My favorite? The 1988baseball, football, and basketball designs. They're simple. They have team logos. And most of them offer really nice action shots. I haven't really taken the time to rank my all-time favorite baseball card setdesigns, but it's safe to say that this one would fall in the Top 25.
It took a few years, but I recently picked up the final four cards I needed for my set, but before I show them off... here's a look at the 124 card set in its entirety:
For now... the set resides in a 200ct. box, but eventually I'd like to throw them into 9-pocket pages for easy viewing. I just don't have the space right now.
Okay here are the final four cards I needed to complete the set:
I've seen multiple copies of these over the years, but people always want way more than I deemed worthy. Eventually, I found a guy selling 1988 Kenner SLUlots on eBay and managed to grab both of these along with about 20 other singles for just under a dollar per card.
The Buddy Bell was also included in the eBaylots, but it was in very poor shape. So I bit the bullet and purchase a sealed figure. Unfortunately... that card was also beat up. Eventually, I'll need to find a replacement... but for now... at least I have a copy.
The final and most expensive card in the set is the Nolan Ryan:
I'm not sure why these cards are so pricey. I'm sure they triple printedNolan Ryan... just like they did for most of the big names in the set. I figured this was going to be one of the last cards I purchased... and it was.
I found a guy selling two copies for $20 on eBay and immediately snagged them. Normally I wouldn't need two copies, but I'm really excited to add the spare to my inserts and oddballs binder. Kenner did an amazing job with photo cropping on this card. Plus collectors are even treated to old school stirrups. It's easily one of my favorite cards in this set.
That's all for today. I hope everyone is enjoying their cardboard as much as I'm enjoying this set. Happy Thursday and sayonara!
More...
When I made the decision to build the 1988 Kenner SLUbaseball set, I knew that these were fairly common... yet not quite as common as 1991 Fleerbaseball. Most of the singles in the 124 card set are available online in the 50ยข to $5range, which meant that it wouldn't be a super cheap project... however it wouldn't break the bank either.
The two biggest reasons I took on the challenge were the set design and nostalgic appeal this set delivers. Kenner Starting Lineups were (and still are) a huge part of my collecting timeline. I've always enjoyed the packaging, the figures, and within the past decade or so... the idea of collecting the cards, which often have some of the coolest designs around.
My favorite? The 1988baseball, football, and basketball designs. They're simple. They have team logos. And most of them offer really nice action shots. I haven't really taken the time to rank my all-time favorite baseball card setdesigns, but it's safe to say that this one would fall in the Top 25.
It took a few years, but I recently picked up the final four cards I needed for my set, but before I show them off... here's a look at the 124 card set in its entirety:
For now... the set resides in a 200ct. box, but eventually I'd like to throw them into 9-pocket pages for easy viewing. I just don't have the space right now.
Okay here are the final four cards I needed to complete the set:
I've seen multiple copies of these over the years, but people always want way more than I deemed worthy. Eventually, I found a guy selling 1988 Kenner SLUlots on eBay and managed to grab both of these along with about 20 other singles for just under a dollar per card.
The Buddy Bell was also included in the eBaylots, but it was in very poor shape. So I bit the bullet and purchase a sealed figure. Unfortunately... that card was also beat up. Eventually, I'll need to find a replacement... but for now... at least I have a copy.
The final and most expensive card in the set is the Nolan Ryan:
I'm not sure why these cards are so pricey. I'm sure they triple printedNolan Ryan... just like they did for most of the big names in the set. I figured this was going to be one of the last cards I purchased... and it was.
I found a guy selling two copies for $20 on eBay and immediately snagged them. Normally I wouldn't need two copies, but I'm really excited to add the spare to my inserts and oddballs binder. Kenner did an amazing job with photo cropping on this card. Plus collectors are even treated to old school stirrups. It's easily one of my favorite cards in this set.
That's all for today. I hope everyone is enjoying their cardboard as much as I'm enjoying this set. Happy Thursday and sayonara!
More...