I began my Juan Gonzalez collecting odyssey in the early 1990's when I was finishing high school. I was a lifelong Texas Rangers fan and I also had a huge passion for baseball cards. The card market was becoming saturated with product and I was a poor college student so I decided to focus on one player. <br />
<br />
I wanted to pick a Ranger and they had several young budding superstars and I wanted to choose someone among them. It was between Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez. It came down to one thing...power. Juan had a lot of it. He had already won two homerun titles and a mountain of potential. Although Pudge was an amazing defensive catcher, he did not develop as quickly at the plate. Juan Gonzalez by a nose. <br />
<br />
Choice made, I began picking up any Juan card I needed. I decided not to collect dupes because I felt like I was squandering my limited resources. I would much rather use my limited card budget on items I needed rather than another 94 Upper Deck base card (yawn). I attended as many shows and local card shops as I could hunting for gems. Living in the Metroplex, I was able to find a lot of Juan cards because he was a local star. <br />
<br />
Over the years my collection slowly grew into the late 90's. Then in 1998 I heard people talking about this neat internet fad called eBay. What a revelation!! Until then my search had been limited in scope. Now I had access to a global network of card dealers. WOW did it explode from there. I was adding a dozen or more cards every month. I couldn't believe how many cards there were of Juan that I had never even heard of! The checklist on beckett.com was a great resource to me in identifying all of the cards available. I would still attend local shows and card shops but they never seemed to be short on things I needed, except supplies or the current issue of BBCM. I also began shopping on beckett.com in 2001. That was another great leap forward for me because I could add a large number of cards without having to leave the house. <br />
<br />
Juan has somewhere around 5,400 different cards/items according to my count. I currently have almost 3,900 unique cards, 15 different posters, every SLU made, beanies, pennants, every bobble head made, lunch boxes, promo boxes, etc. I have 13 one of ones. I have 436 different game used cards and 116 different autographed cards. I have over 75% of the Juan items in exestince. I have turned a room in my house into a Juan museum. I have 8 binders absolutely bursting with pages of cards. I have every game used or autographed card in a screw down. My dad and I built a special case where I keep a lot of the higher end cards. My supportive and understanding wife surely thought on more than one occassion that I was completely nuts. There is no telling how much money I have spent on Juan cards. I don't really care because I never looked at collecting Juan as an investment...it is my hobby and a passion. <br />
<br />
As much as I admire Juan as a player I have to admit that a lot of my joy comes from the mere act of 'collecting.' By focusing on one player I have been able to keep up with the hobby, the current sets, as well as admire the 'art' of each card design, subtle variation, and parallel. Another joy is the ability to share my collection with my ten year old son and 8 year old daughter. They love it when daddy pulls out his cards and they can sit in my lap as I thumb through a binder. They like to tease 'Is that Juan Gonzalez?...Is that Juan Gonzalez?' The answer is always 'Yes.' <br />
<br />
I am most proud of the fact that I have acquired my collection using a very modest budget. Most months I never spent more than $25 to $50 on Juan unless a very unique item came up or it was a special occassion. I am always one to choose quantity over quality. Being on a budget I had to get the most bang for every buck. I would much rather get 10 base/insert cards than one super rare auto or game used card. That is becoming more of a challenge the further I progress in my quest. It is getting to where the rare, expensive cards are the only ones I have left. It has gotten so difficult to find new Juan cards that I have started collecting Pudge to pacify my habit. I am now around 2,000 different Pudge cards with 22 1/1s.<br />
<br />
I am surprised at how many serious Juan collectors there are. Most are very friendly and helpful. <br />
<br />
It is impossible to pick out my favorite card from my collection. However, I am particularly fond on the 'player touched' autographed cards. The stickers have really taken away from the magic of an autographed card in my opinion. I would love to have a 1993 Finest Refractor of Juan graded gem mint. What an amazing card!! That was a truly beautiful set. <br />
<br />
I would be really honored to be a part of your article on player collecting. I have tons of pics if anyone wants to see. I hope my passion for collecting Juan is transparent in this brief recount of my experience. I am over 15 years into my odyssey. As long as there are cards to hunt for, my search will continue...one card at a time.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading.<br />
<br />
<br />
I wanted to pick a Ranger and they had several young budding superstars and I wanted to choose someone among them. It was between Juan Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez. It came down to one thing...power. Juan had a lot of it. He had already won two homerun titles and a mountain of potential. Although Pudge was an amazing defensive catcher, he did not develop as quickly at the plate. Juan Gonzalez by a nose. <br />
<br />
Choice made, I began picking up any Juan card I needed. I decided not to collect dupes because I felt like I was squandering my limited resources. I would much rather use my limited card budget on items I needed rather than another 94 Upper Deck base card (yawn). I attended as many shows and local card shops as I could hunting for gems. Living in the Metroplex, I was able to find a lot of Juan cards because he was a local star. <br />
<br />
Over the years my collection slowly grew into the late 90's. Then in 1998 I heard people talking about this neat internet fad called eBay. What a revelation!! Until then my search had been limited in scope. Now I had access to a global network of card dealers. WOW did it explode from there. I was adding a dozen or more cards every month. I couldn't believe how many cards there were of Juan that I had never even heard of! The checklist on beckett.com was a great resource to me in identifying all of the cards available. I would still attend local shows and card shops but they never seemed to be short on things I needed, except supplies or the current issue of BBCM. I also began shopping on beckett.com in 2001. That was another great leap forward for me because I could add a large number of cards without having to leave the house. <br />
<br />
Juan has somewhere around 5,400 different cards/items according to my count. I currently have almost 3,900 unique cards, 15 different posters, every SLU made, beanies, pennants, every bobble head made, lunch boxes, promo boxes, etc. I have 13 one of ones. I have 436 different game used cards and 116 different autographed cards. I have over 75% of the Juan items in exestince. I have turned a room in my house into a Juan museum. I have 8 binders absolutely bursting with pages of cards. I have every game used or autographed card in a screw down. My dad and I built a special case where I keep a lot of the higher end cards. My supportive and understanding wife surely thought on more than one occassion that I was completely nuts. There is no telling how much money I have spent on Juan cards. I don't really care because I never looked at collecting Juan as an investment...it is my hobby and a passion. <br />
<br />
As much as I admire Juan as a player I have to admit that a lot of my joy comes from the mere act of 'collecting.' By focusing on one player I have been able to keep up with the hobby, the current sets, as well as admire the 'art' of each card design, subtle variation, and parallel. Another joy is the ability to share my collection with my ten year old son and 8 year old daughter. They love it when daddy pulls out his cards and they can sit in my lap as I thumb through a binder. They like to tease 'Is that Juan Gonzalez?...Is that Juan Gonzalez?' The answer is always 'Yes.' <br />
<br />
I am most proud of the fact that I have acquired my collection using a very modest budget. Most months I never spent more than $25 to $50 on Juan unless a very unique item came up or it was a special occassion. I am always one to choose quantity over quality. Being on a budget I had to get the most bang for every buck. I would much rather get 10 base/insert cards than one super rare auto or game used card. That is becoming more of a challenge the further I progress in my quest. It is getting to where the rare, expensive cards are the only ones I have left. It has gotten so difficult to find new Juan cards that I have started collecting Pudge to pacify my habit. I am now around 2,000 different Pudge cards with 22 1/1s.<br />
<br />
I am surprised at how many serious Juan collectors there are. Most are very friendly and helpful. <br />
<br />
It is impossible to pick out my favorite card from my collection. However, I am particularly fond on the 'player touched' autographed cards. The stickers have really taken away from the magic of an autographed card in my opinion. I would love to have a 1993 Finest Refractor of Juan graded gem mint. What an amazing card!! That was a truly beautiful set. <br />
<br />
I would be really honored to be a part of your article on player collecting. I have tons of pics if anyone wants to see. I hope my passion for collecting Juan is transparent in this brief recount of my experience. I am over 15 years into my odyssey. As long as there are cards to hunt for, my search will continue...one card at a time.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading.<br />
<br />