Collecting by player might just be the most popular method of card collecting. With a limited amount of money to spend and too many different sets being produced every year, this method streamlines collecting to the bottom line; this guy is your favorite player, so you wont worry about the million other cards printed last month that you can't afford (and don't have the room to store!)

Collecting a superstar player will not be an easy task. Thanks to the short print and insert cards being produced by every card company these days, Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning collectors have no chance of collecting every card of their favorite player. Not to worry though -- it's still very fun and rewarding for player collectors to track down and add cards they don't already have, especially oddball issues and older insert cards that can be found for a fraction of their value from a couple of years ago.

Collecting a "star" player, like Randy Johnson or Chipper Jones, will be a bit easier because they are included in fewer insert sets and the prices of their cards might be roughly half the price of a superstar card. It will still be impossible to collect every card of a star player, but at least collectors can feel like they have a reasonable chance of obtaining most of the cards over time.

Collecting a minor star or average player is much easier financially, not to mention that there are even fewer sets that include these players. Thanks to Internet search engines, collectors can easily find others who are interested in selling or trading Bobby Abreu and Andy Pettite cards.

For obvious reasons, a person may choose to collect cards of a player who is from the same hometown. Maybe you even attended the same school or church?

Regardless of whether the player is active or retired, an average or superstar player, a hometown hero or Japanese phenom, you will have a great time building a collection of your favorite player(s). Good luck filling those plastic sheets! Remember, it is important to take your time and buy nice, sharp, centered cards if the cards were printed during the past 25 years.