I like George Brett, and I have 450 baseball cards to prove it.

There are also baseballs, bumper stickers, magazines, starting lineup figures and assorted oddball items. But let's not get into all that.

I really never meant to start a collection. Years ago, I had a couple of cards. Then I found a couple more. Then another nice one…. It never really stopped, but it has certainly slowed down.

I used to think I'd try to find all the Brett cards ever made. I don't think that anymore. The checklist on Beckett.com has 749 Brett cards. He hasn't played since 1993, yet the companies keep making George Brett cards.

There are special inserts and tribute cards and anniversary cards, most of which are not cheap. In a way, it's nice knowing that the collection will probably never be finished -- kind of like keeping a favorite player on the active roster long past his time.

I saw Brett play many times, but I never met him like my friend Grace did. She followed him through a shopping center in Kansas City. When they got to his car, she told him she didn't like the White Sox, but she thought his brother Ken was a pretty good pitcher. And she didn't like the Royals, but she thought George was a pretty good hitter.

She was right. He had 3,154 hits and a career average of .305. In 1980, he chased Ted Williams's 1941 record of .406, finishing at .390. And he's the only player to win batting titles in three different decades.

That's a pretty good hitter.