This might be targeted at people of a certain age, but would love to hear who else played and collected MLB Showdown during its heyday back in the early 2000s. I feel like this was the offspring of Strat-o-matic and the precursor to gamification within digital cards.
My friends played this endlessly. It got out of hand when one buddy decided to purchase a 2002 Barry Bonds and led to a free agency spending frenzy that couldn't be reverted. The cards were visually appealing and worth holding on to for years. I did so until a couple of years back before moving to LA.