A Yankees Superfan and a Massive Derek Jeter Collection
Growing up in the 1980s and early ’90s, Suzy Lulgjuraj—BKA Sooz—watched New York Yankees teams that came up short of their ultimate goal. The Yankees had made the World Series in 1981 — when Lulgjuraj was just a year old — and didn’t get back to playing baseball in late October for another 15 years. That ’96 Yankees team was special. It featured a nice mix of young talent and veteran leadership. It captivated Lulgjuraj.
“So in my lifetime, here is the best Yankees team to so far exist,” Lulgjuraj said. “Derek Jeter’s this young rookie, and he’s becoming the face of the franchise. So for me, collecting him was a way to feel closer to who quickly became my favorite player on the team. Then, we won five World Series. So it’s like everything he did made the Yankees better.”
During that ’96 World Series-winning season, Lulgjuraj latched onto Jeter. She hasn’t stopped collecting his cards. Lulgjuraj, who is known as Sooz in the collecting community, owns 3,050 unique Jeter cards. People constantly ask her how she’s been able to collect so many.
“I’ve been collecting him for a really long time,” Lulgjuraj said. “It’s not like, oh, I got 3,000 cards all at once. It averages out to about 100 cards a year.”
When Lulgjuraj hit the 3,000-card plateau, she achieved a major accomplishment.
“It was a lot of fun, because in baseball, 3,000 hits is that watermark for a Hall of Fame career,” said the 44-year-old, who grew up in Yonkers, N.Y. “So, while 3,000 cards doesn’t really change you, it’s just such a fun number, because it’s so associated with baseball.”
With just over 3,000 Jeter cards, Lulgjuraj is just hitting the tip of the iceberg. According to her, there are over 20,000 different Jeter cards in existence.
Sooz’s Favorite Cards
Lulgjuraj spent over five years working for Topps from 2014-2019. Her first year on the job, she was a sports editor and was honored to be able to choose photos that would be used for cards. Images Lulgjuraj selected for Jeter cards are now some of her favorites of all time.
“When I worked at Topps, 2014 Topps Update was one of the first sets I ever worked on,” Lulgjuraj said. “I picked the image that was on that card for Derek Jeter. The clear variation is numbered to 10. I got it as a gift from my husband.” Lulgjuraj recently picked up an All-Star relic card of Jeter’s from the 2014 Topps Update set. “It’s cool, because, again, I picked that image. There’s only 60 of those cards, so they don’t pop up that often,” Lulgjuraj said. “It was really great I was able to add that one to my collection.” She also really loves Jeter’s 1996 Bowman’s Best insert of Best Cuts Atomic Refractor.
Lulgjuraj enjoyed her opportunities to pick out card images while at Topps. One that really stands out to her is Jeter’s 2015 Stadium Club card. It’s a photo of Jeter’s final time running out onto the field as a player at Yankee Stadium.
“To be fair, I picked this picture for me and nobody else,” Lulgjuraj said, laughing. “For me, this embodies such a moment for him, because you could see the fan reactions in the background, his teammates, and even the look on his face, because he looks kind of sad. For me, this was a moment, and a perfect Stadium Club card.”
Collecting Yankee Greats
When Anthony Rizzo was traded from the Chicago Cubs to the Yankees during the 2021 season, he quickly became a PC favorite for Lulgjuraj. She has collected around 200 different Rizzo cards, mostly autographed versions. Rizzo had his first Yankees Flagship card in 2022 Topps Series 1, and Lulgjuraj went all in; she completed the rainbow.
“The tough part was actually getting the 1-of-1. It never popped up online for sale,” Lulgjuraj said. “Because of this wonderful community, there was a Rizzo collector who reached out and told me, ‘I know where the 1-of-1 is.’ He said, ‘It’s in somebody’s collection, and at this point he doesn’t really ever want to give it up. But he’s also not actively holding onto it, unless you have a card he wants.’ I did not have a card he wanted. But the other collector had a card the guy with the 1-of-1 wanted. So, we did a three-way trade.”
With Rizzo no longer on the team, Lulgjuraj’s top current Yankees’ player to collect is Aaron Judge. She has about 100 Judge cards, including 20 autographs. “One of my favorites is the 2017 Topps Heritage,” Lulgjuraj said. “I absolutely love that card. I have a lot of really cool inserts and parallels from 2017 during his rookie year.”
Lulgjuraj is also a vintage Yankees collector. Her 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig is one of her most prized possessions. “I have a lot of Thurman Munson cards,” she said. “I have an affinity for catchers, so he was one of my favorite players.” Lulgjuraj also really likes Yogi Berra, and she has a 1964 Topps Giants card of fellow catcher Elston Howard that is signed.
“I love the Yankees, so anytime I’m opening packs of cards, I’ll always put the Yankees to the side,” Lulgjuraj said. “I’ve collected lots of really great cards. I actually have a Dynasty Logoman patch of Andy Pettitte, and that’s a 1-of-1. That’s an incredible card. I have lots of Andy Pettitte cards, lots of Posada cards, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera.”
One aspect that makes it so fun for Lulgjuraj to collect Yankees is she’s been doing it with her 8-year-old son, Dean.
“He has grown to love cards as well,” Lulgjuraj said. “The fun part is when we’re opening packs of cards and I get like a Judge or Volpe or somebody, me and him are fighting over who gets the card. Unfortunately, I don’t get to keep all the cards to myself anymore. He gets cards for his collection, too.”
