I completely agree about how the collecting aspect of MLBTS draws me to this game. I keep seeing how everyone complains about pitch speed this or fielding that, when it's all good to me and I will blindly accept whatever SDS puts out because, in the end, I do have tons of fun with this game - both playing the games (both on and offline) and collecting all the different players/items, etc.! I would say my only complaint would be to add an "Attempt Meter" for the Moments so I can catalog my insanity when trying certain ones. But that's minor. I think it's the best sports game out there!
Currently, I've been attempting to collect ALL purchasable cards in MLBTS19 and I am down to 13 left! They are all the guys that are, like, 200K - 900K (SS Gagne, SS Foxx, SS Carew, etc.) Part of my obsession lies in the fact that I'm OCD and have that "need" to complete the entire collection! I've got approx. 50 days to complete it before MLBTS20 comes out. Yes, of course, I've already pre-ordered. Can't wait!
I'm the type that has always collected stuff like Star Wars figures, sports cards, comics, etc. As I've aged, I now only collect The Punisher comics/items, but that's about it. I stopped collecting sports cards a good ways back, and what I had stored away got destroyed in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey hit. (And, yes, I will always cherish the Astros winning the WS that year. I stand by my team through the good times, as well as these current dark times. I am hoping the Astros use this hashtag this year: #Redemption. We'll see what happens this year... Go Stros.) All I have left is a Ricky Williams card that happened to survive thanks to the special case it was in. I still have all my old school Star Wars figures, but stopped collecting those back when the prequels came out. Used to collect DVDs & Blu-Rays and all that, but sold them all to reduce clutter as everything's pretty much streamed, nowadays.
I guess as we get further into this digital age, my collecting will become more digital, as well. Who knows, but I am definitely having fun with MLBTS and collecting digitally!