If You Build It, They Will Come

Profile Dan Johnson was a 1st baseman in MLB playing most famously for the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland A's.  Dan played his way up through college as well, starting at Butler and ending up at Nebraska after a stop at Iowa Western*.  He was drafted in the 2001 MLB Draft.** * Mentioned in his Wikipedia page as "a junior college".   ** My favorite note on the 2001 draft is that 2 UNI Panthers went back to back in the 12th round.  Like one team drafted one and the next team was like, "Oh yeah, forgot about UNI.  Totally drafting one now!" Personal Notes Longish career means that Dan has a few cards under his belt, just under 400.  However, I was late to the game in discovering his Iowa Connection, so I literally have 2.  And this picture is not one of them (although I do have the gold version of this one).  Collection Notes I have 2/380 (1%) cards in my collection.

        Profile A.J. Puk is a pitcher with the Oakland Athletics who made his debut in 2019 and was ultimately bit by 2020 and had to be shutdown for shoulder surgery.  He was born in Cedar Rapids and after he graduated from Washington High School* he attended Florida for college and was a part of the Gators 2015 College World Series run.  He was the 6th** pick in the 2016 draft. * Notables from Washington HS: Grant Wood (Painter), Dedric Ward (NFL), Ashton Kutcher (Actor), William Shirer (Author),  Adrian Arrington (NFL), Frank Baker (NFL) ** Other high Iowa draft picks: Jeff Clement (3rd Marshalltown), Mike King (4th Morningside), Tim Costo (8th UofI) Personal Notes One thing that comes to mind when I see A.J. Puk is that Iowa has four distinct seasons.  Its hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and spring and fall are just wonderful (when you get them).  However, baseball and seasons don't mix.  This is why you'll never see a great I...