More Big NPB Hits from BBM

It should go without saying that the most difficult part of maintaining a type collection is getting the rare oddball cards. And when collecting oddball leagues, like NPB, KBO, and CPBL, finding some of the modern cards can be just as difficult as locating older releases.

In Taiwan, I was lucky to find a store outside of Taipei selling some baseball cards, and a decently-stocked store in Taipei to get a taste of CPBL. But one store can't supply everything. In Korea, it has been worse. I've yet to find a store that even has a decent collection of older cards. Until recently there haven't been many sets issued for the KBO, but finding random singles in actual stores is quite tough.

At least in Japan there are card stores and a fairly active collecting community. This does give me better access to cards in general, and every once in a while I come across a stack of relatively inexpensive parallel and autographed cards.

 Two versions of the Printed Autographs from last year's Young Tigers set.

 Some foil signature cards. Foil doesn't scan well.

 More parallels. If it wasn't for parallels I think type collecting would be much easier. Sure, I could stop collecting the parallels...

 But I haven't. For the most part, BBM's sets don't have many parallels - each set has one or two parallels, as do some of the inserts. Some of the higher-end sets have a range of parallels, like the No-Hitters set pictured above, and the Foreigners sets, which had multiple parallels of the inserts too.

Of course, actual autographs are better than foil parallels. The one on the right is from the 2013 BayStars team set and the other from this year's Buffaloes team set.

I think it's fun to look at all these "higher end" cards that BBM and other manufacturers release here in Japan. Quantity in my type collection is pretty important, but I also want quality, which means having some of the parallels and autographs from modern sets. Of course, vintage cards are a big part of that as well, which I might focus some of my purchasing on later this month.

As far as I can tell, no new baseball sets came out this week in Japan. I might actually be able to catch up on some other posts, provided I have the mental energy after work!