Starting a new PC

If you were an established collector deciding to start a new PC, what would you do? Would you pick a guy who is already a widely collected guy who you loved, say like KGJ, even though you know it would be hard to get stuff of his, because he is so widely collected already, or would you pick a lesser known guy, because you have a better chance of completing a higher % of his cards? What are the factors that would influence your decision?

I always lean lesser known and retired. Guys from my childhood I liked watching who aren't unattainable yet challenging. Retired because

A) I don't know if I could player obsess over a 19yo kid
B) their chances of publicly embarrassing themselves are greatly diminished

I tend to go after guys who's career I've followed and admired who are now retired. I recently added a Mike Cameron player collection to the fold. I've always wanted to do a PC of him, as I feel he was very underrated. Nothing crazy as far as numbers go, but solid.

If price wasn't an issue I would go with Griffey.
A. Lots of stuff to collect.
B. Childhood favorite.
C. Awesome 90s stuff.

If I was being realistic, I would go with someone young and economical.
Also, I have a thing for pitchers, so I decided to go with Jordan Zimmermann.
A. Successful pitcher in his prime.
B. His cards are inexpensive.
C. He has a solid variety.
D. A solid possibility that their value could rise (I have to be realistic if I want to sell).

I player collect a few different guys both popular and lesser known. You can player collect a popular guy and still keep it simple. For instance my Jeters, I mostly collect his inserts. You can go nuts with base, autos, parallels g/u etc. I have a bunch of different cards of him but with inserts its possible I can hunt most of them down.

My Mattinglys I keep it to his playing years. I can go bankrupt chasing his newer stuff.

My Tino Martinez, Soriano and Nick Johnson cards I keep it to Yankees only. Brien Taylor is another player I collect where there is a lot of fun unlicensed stuff I can chase and track down.

Paul O'neill and Bernie Williams are the only two that everything goes. Just cause you player collect does not mean you need everything made of the guy. I think we all get caught up in the percentages to see who has the crown with that player. This is a hobby not a contest. Enjoy it.

MOFNY said:

If price wasn't an issue I would go with Griffey.
A. Lots of stuff to collect.
B. Childhood favorite.
C. Awesome 90s stuff.

If I was being realistic, I would go with someone young and economical.
Also, I have a thing for pitchers, so I decided to go with Jordan Zimmermann.
A. Successful pitcher in his prime.
B. His cards are inexpensive.
C. He has a solid variety.
D. A solid possibility that their value could rise (I have to be realistic if I want to sell).

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Even with or without price being an issue, you'd know a lot of the cards you could potentially want are already in other people's PCs

jay1065 said:

I tend to go after guys who's career I've followed and admired who are now retired. I recently added a Mike Cameron player collection to the fold. I've always wanted to do a PC of him, as I feel he was very underrated. Nothing crazy as far as numbers go, but solid.

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Off topic a little here, I just got a TTM return from Cameron, you can see the cards in the January til whenever TTM thread

I would go after someone I really like.. Regardless of rarity or price.

If you like Griffey, I'd say go with Griffey! He may have a lot of high end stuff, but he also has tons of easily attainable stuff.

Half of player collecting is having the passion to motivate you to go after that player right? You don't wanna go half way with someone else and maybe realize you're not all that interested.

Yanks2151 said:

I player collect a few different guys both popular and lesser known. You can player collect a popular guy and still keep it simple. For instance my Jeters, I mostly collect his inserts. You can go nuts with base, autos, parallels g/u etc. I have a bunch of different cards of him but with inserts its possible I can hunt most of them down.

My Mattinglys I keep it to his playing years. I can go bankrupt chasing his newer stuff.

My Tino Martinez, Soriano and Nick Johnson cards I keep it to Yankees only. Brien Taylor is another player I collect where there is a lot of fun unlicensed stuff I can chase and track down.

Paul O'neill and Bernie Williams are the only two that everything goes. Just cause you player collect does not mean you need everything made of the guy. I think we all get caught up in the percentages to see who has the crown with that player. This is a hobby not a contest. Enjoy it.

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"This is a hobby not a contest. Enjoy it."
Very true words, sometimes I think we forget this

I always go with someone I enjoyed watching (probably why my collections are solid content wise, but not $$$ wise). I also enjoy it if the player has several cards and parallel's. Just makes the chase for something that much more fun and enjoyable when you finally obtain that rare regional / oddball / low numbered card.

my problem is I get to meet the Low "A" players on local team plus visitors sometimes . I'll pick several locals after seeing them play / and handle fans .

Also, by picking someone you enjoyed watching, there'll be more of a chance that you'll continue your PC instead of bailing on someone you picked because they were cheap or another option.

When I started my PC, I picked someone who I watched early in his career and stayed with the local MLB team..

Since he also supported Muscular Dystrophy which my wife passed away from this past year, It made it even a better choice for me to collect his stuff.

I also have other minor player collections, but I have one main one..

Maybe someone that supports your local community might be a good one as they will be out in your community for meet and greets..

Good Luck,

tramers said:

my problem is I get to meet the Low "A" players on local team plus visitors sometimes . I'll pick several locals after seeing them play / and handle fans .

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That's cool though, I have had a hard time getting into newer players, I'm stuck in the 80s and 90s.. I would love for some fresh blood to catch my eye.. Someone I could follow and perhaps easily, and enjoyably, collect.

That's what I need... A prospect.

Techniq said:

That's cool though, I have had a hard time getting into newer players, I'm stuck in the 80s and 90s.. I would love for some fresh blood to catch my eye.. Someone I could follow and perhaps easily, and enjoyably, collect.

That's what I need... A prospect.

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Look at the current players, and see which one has the same characteristics as some of the older guys that you followed..

I really enjoy seeing their G/F's LOL

Maybe I also need to watch more baseball too.. I took a 15 year break and came back just in time for playoffs last year. Once I became an obsessive collector again everything fell into place.

I like Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp.. Reddick I saw on TV and in the video game and Crisp when I saw him play when I casually went to a game a few years back.

I like Milton Bradley and his crazy antics and another guy who was a little nuts and came up with a well behaved alter ego, I forgot his name though. Still need someone a bit fresher.

Are minor league games broadcasted?

Jeter.

One Team. Plenty to choose from. You'll never complete it.

There are a number of different ways I've considered going:

1. A Hall of Famer who signed enough his auto's are relatively cheap - I love baseball history so the fact that you can get a Stan Musial autographed card for like $30 is pretty amazing to me. Top 5-10 player all-time, but because he signed a lot, there's a ton out there to get. You can collect him low-end to high-end, modern and vintage.

2. Star player who I followed throughout his career - For me it's a guy like Carl Crawford. He's not a big enough name to warrant big bucks, but he's been a very good - great player for close to a decade. You can probably build a pretty comprehensive collection without spending a crazy amount of money.

3. A young developing player now - It's always exciting to follow a developing player. For me a major hesitation here is if he ends up being a bust. Are you the type who will only redouble your efforts if he's a bust (since prices will be cheaper and there will be fewer cards to target) or will you be disappointed with the collection...

Just some things I've considered...

Choose somebody cheap, that you have a personal connection to.

You will have as much fun and you will be $10,000 richer in ten years than if you choose Jeter or Griffey.