WHY do you PC a certain player?

[slugger3469]

Just out of curiousty, wondering why everyone PCs who they do.

Is it a hometown connection? Just a favorite player? Prospecting to be a millionaire someday?

I dont PC one particular player, its actually kind of unique. I PC guys with strange/cool/funny names. Ron Tugnutt, Boss Moanaroa, Shigatoshi Hasagawa, Wonderful Terrific Monds

I dont have a ton of stuff from these guys, but its a cool little collection and certainly is fun to talk about.

What about you?

[Keyser Soze]

I chose Anthony Rendon because I was PCing Hunter Pence but he was traded to the giants so I was seeking a young player to collect as he came up. I chose Rendon because he went to nearby Rice so I had heard a lot about him and he seemed like a good dude. My first choice was an Astro, but at the time they had no one that excited me.

[ItsYourBoyBlue]

I chose to collect Brent Morel because we went to school together from elementary school up until college and I still keep in touch with him. I was out of the hobby for quite a while then randomly checked to see if he had any cards and started buying anything and everything he had out that I could find.

[Ephland]

I'm starting to build a Mitch Moreland of the Rangers PC because he's my favorite player (non-pitcher). Reason for that is he hit a 3-run HR in Game 3 of the 2010 World Series, sending the Rangers to a 4-2 win. Their first WS game at home, their first WS win as a franchise, and up to that point, the best baseball game I've ever been to.

[centereacan06]

I collect all Mets, past and present, because, well, they're my favorite team. Always were and always will be.

I collect Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley. I'm a huge fan of any Texas Longhorns sports team, and when those two were playing football at Texas, they were the most dynamic duo I've seen play together. It's a shame McCoy got hurt in the National Championship game. The way Shipley was carrying the team that night, the Longhorns would've won if it were Colt McCoy under center and not Garrett Gilbert.

One player I might start PCing is George Springer of the Astros. He's said to be one of the best all-around, up-and-coming centerfielders and has been compared to Torii Hunter. And I love me some all-around centerfielders.

[KC35]

I have several PC's... My main PC is just the Royals in general but it kind of breaks down into player PC's.

My first main PC was Zack Greinke. In 2009 the Royals were getting a lot of attention because of Zack Grienke. I had sort of collected Royals for a while but nothing really special. Mostly just RC's and stuff. So I started collecting Greinke. He was pretty much the only reason to watch the Royals in 2009 with his spectacular season. In 2010 Greinke didn't do very good but I still collected him. And I was pretty disappointed when they traded him that offseason. But I was glad the Royals didn't just give him away like Damon and Beltran. I still collect him a a little bit but not very much, and there's only been one auto of him since 2010 so there hasn't been a lot to collect anyway.

My next main PC's are Moustakas and Hosmer. Again similar to Greinke in 2009 going into 2011 there wasn't a lot going on with the Royals besides the great farm system which at the time had Hosmer, Moustakas, Myers, Montgomery, Perez, Duffy, Crow, Odorizzi, Lorenzo Cain etc.. So when Moustakas and Hosmer got the call in 2011 I started picking up some of their stuff. My PC's aren't crazy good or anything because I just don't spend a ton on cards but I do collect as much of them as I can.

[Homerun]

I PC Paul Konerko because he is on the White Sox (my favorite team), and he plays the same position as me. He also seems like a nice guy who isn't cocky, and he is a HOF potential player whose cards aren't that expensive. Plus he is the last guy remaining that was on the 05 World Series team, which is when I really started to love baseball. I really like my collection!

[Pittsburgh 24]

I had a pretty nice PC of Rickey Henderson. Back then it was much easier since there were only a few cards each year, and most could be found by good old wax busting. I remember finding some odd ball stuff, like Drake's Big Hitters and some regional cards that were issued while he was with the A's the first time.
I played on a little league team named the Royals, so I had some really nice George Brett cards as well.
I say "had" because most of my collection was stolen while on vacation.
If I were to start another PC it would be from a player I watched while growing up, probably Mattingly. Or I might try to re-do my Brett and Henderson PC.
I'm also a Steeler fan so maybe a guy from the Super Steelers. I've still got my Franco Harris rookie so that's a good starting point.

[twinsvikings31]

I collect Mauer because he is my childhood hero. Joe Mauer was my favorite player in the early 00s for those great Twins teams. I collect Heyward because in my first ever box I pulled his autograph. I fell in love in the way he played the game, and modeled mine like his. I also PC Ben Revere because in 2011 and 2012, he was such a dynamic playmaker for the Twins, but they traded him. I am unsure of what young Twins player to PC now but I really like Trevor May.

[Ziveus101]

I hope I don't come across as complaining but I think this thread should be stickied so someone doesn't make a new one months after this one disappears into the abyss like the last 100 threads with the same topic.

Anyway, my main PC guy is dead-end Yankees prospect Dellin Betances.
Why? Here are a few reasons:
*I needed a new current Yankee to call my favorite after Jorge Posada retired
*Betances is a New York native
*Betances grew up a die-hard Yankees fan
*Betances saw David Wells' perfect game
*Betances got drafted by the New York Yankees
*Betances used his signing bonus to get his parents out of the hood
*Betances made his pro debut with the Yankees
*Betances made his MLB debut with the Yankees

And the biggest reason might be that Betances' life so far has been pretty close to the life I wanted to have when I was a kid. The home-town kid who grows up and plays for his favorite team. That's an awesome life story no matter how his career ends up. So even if Betances flames out and never returns to the show I'll still keep on collecting his cards until I've either gotten them all or reach a point where I decide I can no longer keep on collecting and give all of the cards I've collected to him/his family (if I can get a hold of them that is).

[death2redemptions]

I PC Craig Kimbrel because...
* He pitches for my favorite team
* Since he is a closer his cards are relatively inexpensive
* Currently considered the best closer in baseball
* 2011 NL ROY
* Last year struck out over 50% of the batters he faced (record)
* Broke like five records held by relief pitchers last year and in 2011 broke the saves in a rookie season record

[MJZak1977]

As an A's fan I was a huge Henderson collector but it honestly got stale not having a PC guy that was active. Then i realized that Oakland doesnt retain its players long enough for me to become emotional attached to a certain player. Kinda sucks really.

As my 3 boys got older my collecting started to steer towards their favorite players.
Braun,Fielder,Kemp,Posey....and of course Harper and now Trout.

I collect Wright,Cabrera and Cespedes. After last season ive been buying alot Reddick but only in a A's uniform so my options are pretty limited.

After writhing this post i just came to the conclusion that im all over the place when it comes to what i collect..... ugh

[thisisradioclas]

I have a few PC's of various sizes and seriousness. Here they are in order of interest/investment

My main PC is Ryan Zimmerman. I grew up a Cal Ripken fan and collecting anything I could find of him until I got to high school and developed other interests. Fast forward 13+ years, and the Expos moved to DC (where I'm from), and my interest in baseball was rekindled. I started following Ryan Zimmerman pretty carefully when he was drafted because I'd seen him play in college and was excited for the Nats to have a young star. Turned out to be a really good player and a decent guy. It was cool meeting him a couple years ago for the first time.

Next PC is Dick Groat. He starred in basketball and baseball at Duke University (my alma mater), which I thought was impressive. The more I learned about him and the kind of player and person he is/was, the more into collecting him I became. I love vintage cards, and it helps that collecting him isn't quite the money pit collecting bigger stars of the day can be. (His '52 Topps rookie is pretty expensive, though, as it's high-numbered and his rookie card.) I'd love to meet him someday, especially since he's getting up there in years, but I was really excited a couple years back when I mailed him a copy of his 1961 Topps NL MVP card for an autograph and had it back signed within two weeks!

I collect Steve Lombardozzi Jr. because he plays for my favorite team, he's from Maryland/suburban DC (like me), and I remembered his dad from his playing days. Not to mention that he's a great player and underrated, in my opinion. I've managed to get a lot of his nicer cards over the past few years, including his 2010 Bowman chrome prospect superfractor and 2012 A&G RC wood 1/1.

I also collect Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg. Hard not to get excited about two of the biggest star prospects in recent memory, especially when they're drafted by your favorite team, but I've managed to buy (and pull) some nice cards of theirs. Got a few different autos of Stras from 2010, including his A&G auto, not to mention many others of his prospect/rookie cards. Also ended up with some nice Harpers. I have a 2012 Topps Chrome auto of his, an '09 AFLAC auto, and a 2012 Triple Threads 1/1 white whale, which was pulled for me in a group case break online. Couldn't believe it when it happened. I don't devote as much money/time to these guys as the others, but I certainly love keeping up with them as players.

I'm really enjoying reading everyone's responses to this thread!

[jtulliakat0628]

I'm choosing to super collect michael young because I have always supported and watched the ranger game ever since I was 5 and when our arguably best player in history was traded I missed the girl I had been dating for 13 years so now I want every card of hm :-)

Keep calm and ranger on!

[Bosox34]

I PC JBJ/Xander/Barnes/Webster because all are class act guys and I think thy r gonna be studs in the majors

[Berkman32]

I collect Berkman because we grew up in the same area, he went to Rice with a lot of people I knew, drafted by the Astros (favorite team at the time), and I went to basically every Astros event that could produce an autograph or photo that I ended up with tons of his stuff. I am proud to say he is my favorite player by FAR and he has a great chance of getting into the HOF.

[Pittsburgh 24]

Let me ask, does it change your desire to PC a guy and then have him change teams? As I'm getting older, I'm finding myself more of a team fan vs a player fan. So I'm kind of hesitant to start a PC of a guy and watch him switch teams in a few years. And since I'm a Pirate fan there's about a 100% chance of that happening. I'd hate to start a PC of McCutchen, Walker, or Cole only to watch them walk in a few years. So for that reason I think if I revive a PC it will be with a retired player.

[dashcol]

PC Derek Jeter because it is my son's favorite player and I wanted to get him interested in baseball and collecting. It worked somewhat, he pays attention to Jeter and loves to look at the Jaeters in the collection and loves to see the new "hits" in my collection, even if I do not keep them!