There wasn't a whole lot of Wallach card related news to report in 2024. No new Tim Wallach cards were made, unless you count those autographed "Archives" cards that Topps slaps gold foil on and packages in an oversized top loader with a sticker. Which I don't, I know an '88 Topps when I see one. (I'm aware of the fact that there is Tim Wallach in the "2024" Archives, however, as it was released on January 8, 2025, I'm considering it a 2025 product)
Chad Wallach didn't appear in the 2024 Topps set despite playing in 65 games in 2023 and hitting 7 homers. I feel like that merits inclusion, but I guess Topps saw this season coming as Chad spent the entire 2024 season in AAA Salt Lake. He put up solid numbers there hitting 12 home runs and driving in 46 runs in just 86 games. Hopefully he can catch on with a club this spring.
For my part, I once again was lucky enough to make it down to Phoenix for Spring Training, albeit, just one game. This year I'll be able to spend more time. But I also made it up to Coors Field in July and caught a Rockies game (I was in town for the NOFX "Punk in Drublic" Tour). I nearly caught a home run. That's me inside the red circle and video above in the white t-shirt with a giant Brand New Deja Entendu graphic logo on the back and a black hat. When I saw the ball of the bat, I came down the aisle two rows and tried reach over the center rail to to catch the homer. I got my hands on it but it bounced off the heal of my palm and then lined off a poor woman's head before bouncing a few rows down. My whole life I've dreamed of catching a homer on the fly, and I blew it. I'd preferred a high arching homer dropping down on my seat instead of a line drive, but I still feel I should have made the play. Exit velocity was 109.5 so I probably should have brought a glove. (It didn't actually hurt at all oddly enough)
My fielding error aside, I know you're here for the Wallach content so here are the numbers...
Current Cards in Collection: 35,583
Cards added in 2024: 1,634
Collection grew by: 4.8%
Top 25 Most Abundant Cards in the Collection
1. 1982 Topps............................ 1,791
2. 1984 Topps ........................... 1,286
3. 1987 Topps ........................... 1,222
4. 1988 Donruss ....................... 1,199
5. 1983 Fleer ............................ 1,073
6. 1989 Topps ........................... 1,032
7. 1988 Topps All-Star ............... 1,006
8. 1988 Topps .............................. 968
9. 1986 Topps All-Star ................. 818
10. 1990 Topps ............................ 781
11. 1990 Fleer .............................. 706
12. 1990 Donruss ......................... 628
13. 1989 Donruss ......................... 612
14. 1986 Topps ............................. 590
15. 1991 Upper Deck ..................... 578
16. 1989 Fleer ................................ 564
17. 1987 Donruss ........................... 554
18. 1985 Topps ............................... 535
19. 1982 Fleer ................................ 500
20. 1983 Topps .............................. 451
21. 1990 Upper Deck ..................... 437
22. 1991 Donruss MVP ................. 436
23. 1990 Score .............................. 435
24. 1988 Fleer ............................... 422
25. 1991 Donruss .......................... 418
1982 Topps regained the Top spot all to itself after sharing it with '84 Topps in 2023 and being second to 1984 Topps in 2022. 1988 Topps All-Star became the 7th member of the 1,000 copy club. I actually view "792" as a bigger milestone because I like the idea of filling a factory set box from the 80's with 792 copies of the Wallach from that set, though I've yet to actually try it.
I started doing this year end tally back in 2015 and 1982 Topps has held the top spot by itself every other year other than the last two. Back in 2015, 833 copies was enough for the top spot, and 1989 Donruss cracked the top 10 with 273 copies.
Top 10 Most Added Cards in 2024
1. 1982 Topps ....................... 522
2. 1988 Donruss .................... 79
3. 1988 Topps All-Star ........... 53
4. 1991 Upper Deck .............. 49
5. 1990 Fleer ......................... 43
6. 1987 Topps ........................ 42
7. 1990 Topps .......................... 38
8. 1990 Donruss ..................... 36
9. 1982 Fleer ............................... 35
10. 1991 Upper Deck Checklist .... 34
Other than 1982 Topps (which I purchased an enormous lot of) the addition of cards was fairly balanced and about how you would expect it to go this year. I feel like 1982 Fleer was showing up more than it normally does, but numbers don't actually show anything all that unusual.
Notable No Shows
1989 K-Mart, 1987 Donruss Opening Day, 1993 Score
Noting really stood out among the cards that I didn't add any of this year. The two most abundant cards not to show up (1987 Indiana Blue Sox and 2014 Candadain Hall of Fame Induction Card) aren't ones I expect to see often and just happen to have a good number of cards of. 1989 K-Mart (75 copies in my collection) is the one that stands out the most, but I wouldn't call it surprising to go a year without adding one.
Welcome Back
There were a good number of cards that showed up in a 2024 that I hadn't added in awhile. The leader, showing up after an absence of 9 years, was a 1990 Publication's International Media Sticker. Prior to this year I hadn't added one since 2015. I added a 1995 Fleer Medallion and 1990 Topps Sticker, both showing up for the first time since 2016. A 1991 Jumbo Seeds showing up for the first time since 2017 rounds out the long time no-shows that returned in 2024.
Top 15 All-Time Most Sent Cards
1. 1988 Donruss ........................... 506
2. 1987 Topps ............................... 487
3. 1989 Topps ............................... 483
4. 1988 Topps All-Star ................. 446
5. 1990 Fleer ................................ 428
6. 1988 Topps ............................... 418
7. 1990 Topps ............................... 382
8. 1990 Donruss ........................... 376
9. 1991 Upper Deck ..................... 375
10. 1986 Topps All-Star ............... 349
11. 1987 Indiana Blue Sox ........... 325
12. 1986 Topps ............................. 309
13. 1991 Donruss MVP ................ 304
14. 1989 Donruss .......................... 301
15. 1991 Donruss .......................... 288
As always, thank you to anyone who has ever sent cards. It's really sureal thing every time it happens and is always greatly appreciated.
For those of you still reading this far, I do have a bit more personal news from 2024. After four years of dating, I married Rose in San Francisco last June. It was a small, but really nice ceremony at City Hall and reception at Tosca Cafe afterwards. If you're curious, she's a big supporter of this blog and my collection, so this site isn't going anywhere.
Happy New Years Everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment