Collectibles On SI

Player Collectors Flock to Trading Card Database for Bragging Rights

Jason Schwartz

Shohei Ohtani cards and TCDB rankings
Shohei Ohtani cards and TCDB rankings / Jason A. Schwartz

Trading Card Database has rapidly become an indispensable site for card collectors. Whether you just want to see the 1987 Topps baseball checklist, see if you're missing any Aaron Judge cards, or reminisce about the many errors in the 1981 Donruss set, TCDB.com is the best place to do it. The site also provides excellent tools for keeping track of your collection, identifying collectors who can help out with your want lists, and facilitating trades.

However, one of the more popular trends of late has been entering "player collections" to track a collection against those of other collectors who chase the same players. In some ways the TCDB player collection rankings are similar to what grading juggernaut PSA provides through its "registry." However, there is one very important difference: Trading Card Database is 100% free!

As an example, I currently have 707 different Dwight Gooden cards, good for fourth place among TCDB members who track their Doc collections. (The top spot belongs to my friend, the aptly named Dwight Gooden Collector.) I can't even imagine what it would cost me to have these cards, most of which are worth less than a dollar, graded by PSA, but with TCDB all I had to do was spend a few (mostly enjoyable) hours checking off little boxes to move up in the rankings.

Gooden is definitely the largest of my player collections, but I have seven others that I track as well. Good thing since I've seen my standing among Dr. K collectors fall from second to fourth in just a matter of months.

As my own collections show, attaining the top spot for a particular player can take anywhere from a handful of cards to a gigantic number. At one extreme, my friend Bill has the top Eddie Higgins collection in all of TCDB with a grand total of...one card! Conversely, the top Derek Jeter collection in TCDB currently consists of more than 13,000 different cards! Top collections for other popular players include Don Mattingly (4722 cards), Cal Ripken (5752 cards), and Ken Griffey, Jr. (4427 cards).

"When I first started collecting George Sisler cards, I was extremely focused on the TCDB leaderboard," says Sean Kolodziej of Joliet, Illinois. "Since attaining first place, I don't use it nearly as often, but I do check it every now and then to see if anyone is gaining on me." (Not likely, Sean, since you currently lead by nearly 200 cards!) Sean adds the "Collection Summary" feature on TCDB is what guides most of his Sisler collecting these days. "I have 302 out of 986 Sisler cards right now, good for 30.6% of his cards. My new goal is to get that percentage up to 50%."

George Sisler baseball cards from Sean's collection
George Sisler baseball cards from Sean's collection / Sean Kolodziej

Baseball savant Chris Kamka may be part of the Chicago Cubs broadcast team these days, but you will find him at or near the top of the leaderboard for several White Sox legends. His Carlton Fisk collection (1133 cards) currently ranks first, and his Paul Konerko (573 cards) and Harold Baines (581 cards) collections currently ranked second. Clocking in at #18 is his Big Hurt collection, but don't be fooled into thinking Chris is light on Frank Thomas. He has well over 1000 cards of the Hall of Fame slugger!

I love the TCDB player rankings. The challenge is finding new cards I don't already have. And if it means sitting with a giant box of 1988-91 Donruss doubles with a magnifying glass looking for periods after "LEAF, INC," so be it!

- Chris Kamka

Another Chicago area collector with an impressive card count is John Racanelli. HIs Hack Wilson collection currently stands at 141 cards. Meanwhile, no other collector even has 50!

When I first started logging my Hack Wilson cards on TCDB, I had no idea that I could end up at the top of the list. It really is fun to find a new card I need, especially because the checklist is so detailed.

- John Racanelli

As the name implies, Trading Card Database is not limited to just baseball. Just ask Steve Brightman of Akron, Ohio, who currently ranks third among all collectors of Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg!

If you've got a player, not to mention cabinet member, collection you're proud of, head to Trading Card Database and get those cards logged! And while you may not earn the top spot right away for any of your collections, there's also something to be said for spending time in the middle of the pack. I know it came in handy for me the day I got a package with 27 more Clayton Kershaw cards.

WIFE: "Babe, don't you already have way too many Clayton Kershaw cards?"
ME: "Huh? I'm not even in the Top 25!" 🤣

Published |Modified
Jason Schwartz
JASON SCHWARTZ

Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.

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