So why do you collect Juan Gonzalez?

I started way back in 1993. Juan had just won his 1st home run title. I had been collecting cards since 1981, but now I was in college and I just wanted to focus on one player. Living in Ft. Worth I am a big Rangers fan. It was a tough choice between Juan and Pudge Rodriguez (I do have quite a few Pudge cards too). I cose Juan because of the huge power he displayed.

I started by going to shows and picking up cards I needed. I used to love attending shows and finding a great card in a dollar box. I would get anywhere from 20 to 50 new cards at every show. Nowadays that has all but disappeared. Shows are a joke. eBay and the internet have changed everything.

I began buying on eBay in 1998 under the name Juanstraw. I couldn't believe how many cards I found that I never even knew existed. I was able to print a comprehensive Juan list from Beckett.com. I thought it was all great.

I do miss the ability to get large quantities of needed cards at one time, but I can do some of that by buying on Beckett. It has gotten a lot harder lately. I have most of the common cards. Everything I need is very rare or autographed which means big bucks. I only spend between $50 and $100 a month on Juan. I will occassionally spend more if I see a rare card I really want.

My proudest cards are the four 2005 Diamond Kings Press Plates that I have. I got all four for $165.

[freddie]

Did you buy all four on eBay in different auctions?

Do you regret the decision to go with Juan over Pudge? Pudge is going to go in the hall of fame while I really don't think Juan has any chance. He will always be known as a malcontent, injury prone slugger who probably used steroids.

Personally, I think it is possible that he used steroids in 94-95 as Jose Canseco claims but I believe he gave it up long ago. Juan simply never changed in his output, he peaked when he was supposed to and never went crazy like Brady Anderson, Luis Gonzalez, Barry Bonds, Sammy, and so on.

The Diamond Kings Press Plates were issued with the 2005 DK Challege factory sets. Each set contained all four of one player's press plates. There were only 480 sets produced (One for each card in the base set). I saw the set with Juan in it selling on eBay and jumped all over it. To get a match set like that of press plates is almost unheard of and to do it in one purchase was equally amazing. I can't tell you how cool it is to see those cards next to each other. I will try to get pics uploaded soon. You can see them on my website under "Mike's Collection Pictures."

I do regret choosing Juan a little. I was actually a catcher growing up including into college so I always liked Pudge, but in 1995 when I got really serious about cards I had to choose and I thought Juan was a better HOF prospect.

I am glad I chose Juan now because there are sooooo many cards of Pudge that I would have no chance of keeping up on my budget. He has far surpassed Juan. The parallels alone over the last few years are ridiculous. I do like that Pudge is on the newer designs and it really is about the cards to me as much as the player.