Alex Gordon PC - 93% Complete

I started collecting Alex's cards after he signed his big 4-year extension with KC in 2016 to be a Royal for life. As a kid I watched him growing up with Nebraska Cornhuskers and was thrilled when the Royals drafted him at #2 overall in 2006. He took a long time to fight injuries, slumps, and position adjustments before he found his way in the majors, but he finally broke out in 2011 as a bonafide star. The picture below is one of the first photos I took of him back in 2005. 

I track my inventory of his cards with TradingCardDatabase as well as manually in Excel for stat generation. My primary focus of collecting is Game-Used relic cards, the rest I fill in when the price is right. I don't collect printing plates or other 1/1s unless they include an autograph or relic.

PC Highlights

The Cut Out Variations from Topps and Topps Heritage

Alex's Most Sought After Rookie Card - The 2006 Topps #297, which was "accidentally" produced by Topps and then subsequently cancelled because MLBPA rules did not allow his photo to be used if he wasn't on the 40-man roster. Topps then proceeded to punch through entire sheets of the cards that hadn't gone out yet, creating the "Cut Out" variations. There are a lot more out there than Topps led people to believe, but it's still considered a rare card to acquire.

The rarest of the variations, the Blank Silver. Only 10 have ever been graded.