How to succeed at player collecting without really trying

It started out with a simple chrome card. "Heh, Jon Link," I said. "I can't believe they made a card of this guy."

But not being one to look a gift rookie Dodger reliever with 8 2/3 innings of major league experience in the mouth, I happily filed away my Topps Chrome Link card and assured myself it might be the last Link card I ever obtained (I do have a couple minor league Link cards).

But then the Link Chrome refractor arrived. I didn't even ask for it or anything. But there it was, paralleled and proud. And that meant Link was unparalleled in his chromeness. I had both his regular chrome and refractored chrome before any other Dodger.

Yet, Link wouldn't stop there. Xrefractor Link arrived just as mysteriously as refractor Link. Sure, I collect Dodgers and all, but not once have I expressed interest in obtaining as many versions of Virginia Commonwealth's former star pitcher as I could.

But apparently some thought having as many Links as I could was for my own good.

The orange refractor Link was sent to me not too long ago. I have only four Dodger orange refractors. But one of them is Link. I have three Dodger xrefractors, but one of them is Link. I have three Dodger refractors, but one of them is Link.

Missing Link? I don't think so.

Then, a couple days ago, I scraped up enough pennies to buy a single rack pack of Topps Update. I thumbed through the too many all-star cards, the players I've never heard of, and came across this:

A gold parallel of Link's Update card. I can count the number of gold parallels that I have pulled of my favorite team on one hand -- and I wouldn't need all the fingers. I think it's been three times at the most. Probably two. But Link, son of a gun, is one of them.

I was amused that the regular Link Update card was one of the few Dodger Update cards that I needed. Maybe I wasn't the Link magnet I thought I was.

Wrong.

Regular Update Link showed up in the mailbox on Saturday. Scott of Smed's Baseball Card Blog sent it to me (I'll get to the rest of the cards he sent around Groundhog Day). I do believe it could be a night card.

So in just over a month's time, I have accumulated six different cards of Jon Paul Link. That's the same number of major league games he has finished. It is two more than the total number of major league strikeouts he has. It is nearly half of the number of games he has pitched.

I didn't search out the Link cards. All I had to do is say, "Hey, I'm a Dodger fan." And get a little lucky. If you can call pulling Jon Link cards "lucky."

So have I become a Jon Link super collector?

I guess so. If it's going to be this painless, then I might as well go for it. Bring on the red, blue, purple and super refractor Link! Black-border me! Platinum-border me!

Link me up!

I don't know what you player collectors are complaining about. This stuff is easy.