If you follow sports, you probably have a favorite team! You'll naturally want to collect cards of your team's personal heroes, as well as the rookie prospects and utility infielders for good measure. The mid to late '90s was a dark era for team set collectors, as many of the sets released during that time contained only 100 to 200 cards per set. This meant that only the best players and hottest rookies from each team were featured in these smaller sets. In recent years, companies like Topps and Upper Deck have returned to producing larger sets with deeper team rosters.

Because of the expensive insert card craze that prevails today, it will be impossible to collect every card of every player from your favorite team. I have noticed, however, that an insert worth $25 two or three years ago is probably selling for around $5 today on Ebay. You WILL save some cash if you don't mind waiting to buy the brand-new products. While there is certainly nothing wrong with buying new material, savvy collectors will have the ability to discern which new products are overvalued and worth passing on at the moment.

There are countless oddball and regional sets that feature players from your favorite team. Obtaining these sets/individual cards are sometimes like digging for buried treasure, but will reward collectors with a great feeling of pride when they finally slide those elusive cards into plastic sheets! Speaking of oddball items, team collectors need to draw the line on what they will collect. With space always being a consideration, will you collect the metal tins some cards came in, or the die-cast trucks that Fleer once produced with cards? How about teddy bears/ducks/dolls that are wearing your team's uniform? Like collectors of anything else, team collectors will need to decide where to draw the line thanks to the two evil enemies of hobbyists everywhere -- space and money!

Collecting cards by team is one of the more popular methods of collecting, and should provide a great education about your favorite team in the process.