Autographed Cards

2006 Topps, David DeJesus

2012-01-25T21:18:00.004-06:00

#565 David DeJesus

Here is the second David DeJesus card that I have posted on here. I posted the first one back in May and, despite both cards being signed at the same event, the first one had a slightly better signature on it. I can't complain though as you never know which DeJesus signature you are going to get. I've seen some hideous ballpark signatures from him, but his sigs at signings are generally a bit nicer.

David had an off year this past season with Oakland. He posted a career low in average (.240) and all of his offensive numbers were down. Yet, he somehow parlayed a bad season (by his standards) into a two-year deal, with an option for a third, with the Cubs. By all accounts, it appears that David is going to be the Cubs starting right fielder this season.

When David was with the Royals, he played all three outfield positions. I thought that he was best in left field because, while he had a good arm, it wasn't a dominant right field arm. But, that is just my opinion and I hope that David has a good tenure with the Cubbies. I look forward to seeing him play a few times on WGN this summer.

2006 Topps, Runelvys Hernandez

2012-01-24T21:48:00.003-06:00

#471 Runelvys Hernandez

Here is a quick post about the former Royal and Astro, Runelvys Hernandez, aka Elvis, aka Dos Chins. This is the third and final card that I got him to sign for me during a Round Rock Express game in 2008. You can read about what I had to go through to get this card signed here and my thoughts on Elvis here.

I'm not quite sure what is worse- Topps choosing this photo for the card or me choosing this card to get signed.

Runelvys (I somehow still know how to spell his name without looking) last pitched in the Majors in 2008. He spent 2009 pitching in Korea and 2010 pitching in Mexico. I can't find any stats from him since that season, so I am going to assume that his career is over.

2006 Topps, Paul McAnulty

2012-01-23T19:37:00.003-06:00

#325 Paul McAnulty

Here is the second card of Paul McAnulty that I got signed after a Colorado Springs Sky Sox game last July. Paul was playing with the visiting Salt Lake Bees and he was nice enough to sign for me after his team lost a ten inning heart-breaker.

Paul has spent parts of five seasons in the Majors and he has logged playing time in 133 games. Nine of those games were spent with the Angels and the rest were with the Padres. Through those 133 games, Paul is hitting .201 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI in 234 at-bats. Paul hasn't played in the bigs since 2010.

It's not too often that I post an autograph of a Padre that was not given to me by Rod from Padrographs. But this is one right here. To be fair, Rod did give me a signed copy of this card. But, it is always more fun to have an autograph in the collection that was obtained in person. So, if anyone needs this card, I have an extra.

I'm always surprised when I see Paul listed as an outfielder. He just doesn't look like the outfielder type to me. He is short and round and I always think of him as a catcher, even though he has never caught a professional game in his ten-year career.

2006 Topps, CJ Wilson

2012-01-22T10:52:00.002-06:00

#321 CJ Wilson

Here is another unprepped card from 2006 Topps. This one features one of the newest additions to the Los Angeles Angels, CJ Wilson.

I got this card signed before a Royals game in 2008. It was a weekday day game, so there was no batting practice. Luckily, a majority of the Rangers pitchers were on the field getting their workouts in.

At the time I got this card signed, I had no idea who CJ Wilson was. In fact, this was the only card that I even had of him. The only reason that I was able to identify CJ out of the crowd of Rangers pitchers was because he pitched against the Royals the night before and I noticed that he wore an interesting necklace.

Apperently, CJ is a hunter. The necklace that he wore was a homemade one made up of turkey spurs and antler tips. If it wasn't for that necklace, CJ would have walked on by unnoticed by me, like a majority of the Ranger pitchers did that day.

Even though CJ was an unkown to me when I got this card signed, this is now probably the best 2006 Topps autograph that I have. I guess that goes to show why I am not too picky when getting people to sign for me. You just never know how a person's career is going to turn out.

Now, if only I could make out anything from his signature besides his number.

2006 Topps, Brayan Pena

2012-01-17T16:53:00.002-06:00

#318 Brayan Pena

Here is another card that Brayan Pena signed for me before my first Royals game in 2009. If you would like to read about the encounter, go here to see my first Brayan Pena post.

Brayan started this past season as the Royals back-up catcher and he remained in that role until Matt Treanor suffered a concussion half-way through the season. Brayan took over the catcher duties until the Royals called up Salvador Perez in August.

As a result of Treanor's concussion, Brayan did see the most playing time in his career. He played in 72 games this year and got 222 at-bats, which beat his 2009 totals of 64 and 165. Unfortunately, though, his numbers didn't rise with the increased playing time. His average dropped to .248, which was the lowest he has batted with at least 100 at-bats. He only had 3 home runs (and all were hit in Arlington), which is half of what he had in '09. And, he only had one more double than he had that year. About the only thing that did go up was his RBI total, and that only rose by 6 despite getting almost 60 more at-bats.

But on a bright note, Royals fans got to see the emergence of Salvador Perez last season. So that means that Brayan should be relegated to back-up duties again this season, though even that is not a lock as the Royals want to take a good look at Manny Pina.

As bad as Brayan's signature appears, I actually have a card signed by him that looks at least twice as worse. It is kind of sad considering that his signature once looked like this.

And no, Brayan does not bat like that. He is a happy-go-lucky guy and he was probably just having fun with the photographer that day.

2006 Topps, Clint Hurdle

2012-01-16T20:24:00.003-06:00

#274 Clint Hurdle

Here is a card that I got signed by Clint Hurdle in 2008. He was managing the Rockies at the time and I got this card signed in Kansas City when the Rox came to town for interleague play. Clint signed three cards for me that day and this is actually the last card of the three that I have posted. I posted the first two about three and a half years ago during the infancy of this blog. Back then I was a blogger of few words, but at least I was able to get a new post in daily. I wish I could say that about this blog now. Anyway, if you want to check out the first two Hurdle cards I posted, the first one can be seen here and the second one here.

Clint got his first managerial job with the Rockies in 2002 when he replaced Buddy Bell early in the season. He managed the team into the 2009 season before he started the season 18-28 and was relieved of his duties. During that span, he lead the team to just one winning season. It just so happened, though, that that one winning season included winning the Wild Card in the 163rd game of the season and then advancing to the World Series. I actually had a ticket to game five of that Series, but it wasn't meant to be as the Red Sox swept the Rox in four.

Last season, Clint was hired on to manage the Pirates and he almost made a contender out of an over-achieving team. Some say the team's demise came on the blown call against the Braves, but I guess that is arguable. The team did slip a bunch after that game and the Bucs finished with a 72-90 season, fourth in the division.

2006 Topps, Kyle Davies

2012-01-15T11:15:00.002-06:00

#239 Kyle Davies

Here is a card of Kyle Davies that I got signed at Royals Fanfest in 2009. At the event that year, all of the autograph stations were equipped with silver Sharpies. Since this card is dominated by the Braves dark warm-up jersey, I decided to give the silver Sharpie a shot. Unfortunately, it was barely noticeable and, before I left his station, I had Kyle resign the card in black. He did a good job of staying over his silver signature, but you can still see part of it and it kind of gives the sig a two-tone look to it. I wasn't into prepping cards yet at that point in 2009 and I wonder if prepping the card would have made a difference with the silver.

Kyle, a Georgia native, was drafted by the Braves out of high school in the fourth round of the 2001 draft. He ascended through the Braves system quickly and he made his Major league debut for them in 2005 at the age of twenty-one. He pitched in 21 games for the Braves that year (14 starts) and he finished the season 7-6 with a 4.93 ERA.

In 2006, Kyle split his time between the Atlanta Braves and the Richmond Braves. In 14 Major League starts that season, Kyle went 3-7 with a 8.38 ERA. The following season, Kyle was 4-8 through 17 starts with the Braves before being dealt to the Royals for Octavio Dotel.

Sorry about the recent lack of posts. I really have no excuse for it and I hope to pick it up a bit during the second half of this month.

2006 Topps, Jason Frasor

2012-01-09T19:14:00.002-06:00

#197 Jason Frasor

Here is a card that I got signed during the Royals final home-stand this past season. Jason was pitching for the White Sox at the time and I got him to sign this prior to a Sunday afternoon game in September.

I almost didn't get this card signed that day because of inclement weather. It is almost a three hour drive to Kansas City for me and, although it was overcast the whole way there, it did not rain at all. But, as soon as I made my way down to the seating bowl inside the ballpark, it began to sprinkle. I've had some autographs ruined because of Sharpies hitting one little speck of moisture on the card, so I don't even try to get cards signed in those conditions any more. Because of that, I missed out on Matt Thornton and Sergio Santos that day. But, I waited out the weather and the workouts and I was able to get Jason to sign a couple of cards for me before heading to the clubhouse. I then went over to the Royals side because I thought the Sox were done and I ended up missing out on Chris Sale signing.

Overall, it was not a great day on the autograph front. But, there is only so much one can do when Mother Nature is not cooperative.

Jason was acquired by the White Sox from the Blue Jays in July last season. Since the season has ended, he has been traded back to the Jays.

2006 Topps, Mike Cameron

2012-01-08T13:15:00.003-06:00

#128 Mike Cameron

Here is a card of the veteran outfielder, Mike Cameron, that was given to me by Rod, from Padrographs, a few years back. Just like the last 2006 Topps card I posted, the signature on this card did not take stick too well. I doubt that this card was even prepped, yet the signatures from the two are pretty similar as they are hard to make out.

Personally, I can't believe that Mike Cameron is still playing. That is not a knock on him, it's just that he has been in the league for seventeen seasons. I mostly remember Mike from his early years with the White Sox and Mariners and, since he's been mostly in the National League since 2004, I have not seen him play in-person for some time. I think that is the main reason that I have a hard time believing his career is still going. Maybe if I saw him play every other year or something, I'd be less surprised to see that he has a minor league contract with the Marlins set up for next season.

I honestly have no clue what is up with Mike's signature. Even though it is hard to see, I still can't make out any letters besides what kind of looks like a "D".

2006 Topps, Tony Graffanino

2012-01-04T19:59:00.002-06:00

#76 Tony Graffanino

Here is a card that I got signed by Tony Graffanino at a Royals game in early 2009. Tony was playing for the Indians at the time and he signed this card for me during batting practice.

He signed two or three cards for me and I posted the first one about two years ago. While both cards were prepped, the signature on this one still bubbled up a bit. It sucks when I prep fifty cards before a game and get none of them signed. But, it sucks even more when I prep a card and the signature still bubbles. Tony signed the card at about the lowest part possible, so I don't know if I didn't spread the baby powder low enough or what. I guess that is just part of the game.

It appears that Tony retired after the 2009 season. In his thirteen year Major League career, Tony played in 981 games for seven teams and he it .265 with 58 home runs and 302 RBI. It is hard to pick out the best offensive season for a utility infielder, but I would have to go with his 2005 campaign. He began the year with the Royals and he hit .298 with 3 homers and 18 RBI. The Royals traded him to the Red Sox in July and he hit .319 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI.

I'm pretty sure that the photo on this card was taken at Kauffman Stadium while Tony was still with the Royals.

2006 Sweet Spot, Zack Greinke

2012-01-02T22:01:00.004-06:00

#86 Zack Greinke

Here is another card from the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner that I got signed in April of that season. This is now the fourth Greinke card that I have posted on here and the last two were both signed by the Royals parking lot before a game. I never bought any Sweet Spot in 2006, so this card was most likely given to me by another blogger with some random Royals cards. It is always cool to get some higher end base cards to get signed since I am not willing to shell out the money for the higher end stuff.

I meant to post this yesterday on my day off, but I could not think of anything to say. I enjoyed Zack's time with the Royals, but his chronic bitching over his final season in Kansas City got old and I was happy to see him go. Do I wish he was still a Royal now that they have some talent surfacing at the Major League level? Of course I do. But he didn't want to be a part of it and I think everyone is better off after the trade.

When I first heard of the trade, I thought that Royals could have gotten a little more in the deal. But when I saw that they included Yuniesky Betancourt in the deal with Greinke, I was happy with it. Two clubhouse cancers gone in one swoop. That is I was happy with it until the Royals signed Betancourt to be their utility infielder next season. Yuni has never played third in his life and hasn't played second in about five years. How does that make him a utility infielder? He can only play shortstop. I'm starting to not like the Greinke trade as much as I did a year ago.

2006 Grandstand Aberdeen IronBirds, Jason Berken

2011-12-30T11:16:00.004-06:00

#26 Jason Berken

Here is a card that was sent to me last year by Ryan of the Great Orioles Autograph Project. Prior to going to Orioles Fanfest last year, Ryan did a post offering up some free autographs for a couple of players that he did not need signatures from. All his readers had to do was post a comment on who they wanted and then send him a card of that player.

There were a couple of people that I wanted autographs from, but unfortunately, I did not have any cards of them. So, I ended up working out a trade with Ryan where I would get a Jamie Quirk Orioles Crown card signed at Royals Fanfest in exchange for an autograph from one of the players on his list.

But Ryan, being the class act that he is, sweetened up the deal and I ended up getting two autographed cards for the Quirk Crown card. And as if that was not enough, Ryan emailed me which cards he had and he let me pick out which two I wanted. How cool is that?

So in the end, I ended up with this card and a Dick Hall Crown card. Thanks again, Ryan!

2006 Fleer Tradition, Ryan Shealy

2011-12-28T11:18:00.002-06:00

#165 Ryan Shealy

Here is a card of Ryan Shealy that I got signed outside of the Royals parking lot in 2008. I am pretty sure that this is the only Shealy card that I owned at the time, so this is the only autograph that I have from him.

Ryan used to be a big name prospect that never really panned out. He was drafted by the Rockies in the eleventh round of the draft in 2002 and then tore up the Pioneer League that season by hitting 19 home runs in 69 games. He moved up to the California League the next season and he hit 14 dingers there. In 2004, he was promoted to AA and he hit 29 homers in the Texas League. He was promoted to AAA the following season and he hit 26 home runs in the Pacific Coast League. Ryan also saw some big league action that year and he hit .330 in 91 at-bats for the Rockies.

The only obstacle standing in Ryan's way was Todd Helton. Ryan was a first basemen by trade and there was no way he was going to get any significant playing time with Colorado. So, the Rockies traded him to the Royals during the 2006 season and, as a Royals fan, I was ecstatic.

In Ryan's first season with the Royals, he hit .280 with 7 home runs in 51 games. It was a good start and I am sure that most Royals fans were looking forward to see what he could do over a full season. Unfortunately, that never happened.

Ryan broke camp with the Royals in 2007 and was basically the everyday first baseman through June. By the end of that month though, he was only hitting .220 with 3 home runs. I can't remember if he was hurt or battling an illness, but the Royals shut him down and he finished up the season in AAA.

He played most of the 2008 season in AAA, only getting called up to the Majors when the rosters expanded in September. He then had a hot September for the Royals and he hit .301 with 7 home runs in 20 games. Unfortunately, the Billy Butler era had started in Kansas City and Ryan never played another game as a Kansas City Royal.

He played for the Royals AAA again in 2009 and was released after the season was over. He was picked up by Tampa Bay and he played for their AAA team before getting released in June. Two days later, he was signed by Boston and assigned to their AAA team. He did get a brief call-up to the Red Sox and he went 0-7 in the five games he played for them. Last season, he was with the Blue Jays AAA team and he hit .272 with 11 home runs in 62 games. According to Baseball Reference, Ryan is currently a free agent.

2006 Fleer Tradition, Tim Hamulak

2011-12-25T10:05:00.003-06:00

#69 Tim Hamulak

Sorry about the lack of posts recently, but work tends to get a little hectic this time of year. Luckily, I have today off and am able to get a quick post in.

Here is a card of Tim Hamulak that I got signed in Des Moines, Iowa in 2009. Tim was pitching for the Omaha Royals at the time and I was able to get this card signed by the O-Royals bullpen just before first pitch. In fact, it was so close to game time that I didn't think Tim was going to sign for me. He looked at all of the guys in the pen to see if he should sign or not and they were all shaking their heads for him not to sign. But, he relented and signed all three cards for me.

The game the previous night got rained out and was being played as part of a double header that day. Since I was on the road for the College World Series and didn't own a smart phone or laptop, I had no idea that I was going to be attending a double header. Because of that, I arrived at the game just before first pitch instead of at least an hour prior. So, the three cards that Tim signed for me were the only cards I got signed before the game started. Luckily, I got a few more signed between games and after the games.

Merry Christmas!!

2006 Fleer, Clint Barmes

2011-12-21T10:56:00.002-06:00

#324 Clint Barmes

Here is a card that I got signed outside of Kauffman Stadium in 2010. I went to the game because the Royals were hosting the '85 Classic that day. The Classic was a one time event that pitted some of the '85 Royals against some of the '85 Cardinals. I wanted to get to the ballpark a little earlier than usual to get some signatures from former Royals. Unfortunately, that did not work out as all of the '85 Royals showed up on a bus and did not sign any autographs while entering the ballpark. Lucky for me that I was still there early enough that some of the visiting Rockies players were still arriving and Clint was nice enough to sign a few cards for me.

I remember Clint mostly for his hot start in the 2005 season. He hit .410 through the first month of the season and became just the third player in MLB history to hit over .400 through in March/April. I was deployed to Iraq at the time and I still remember my tank commander and myself wondering how long he would be able to keep it up.

Unfortunately, he did not keep it up too long. He hit a bit of a slump after the first month was over and then he had a freak injury. He initially said that he broke his left collarbone while carrying groceries up the stairs to his apartment. But, he later revealed that he broke it in a fall while taking a package of deer meat, given to him by Todd Helton, up to his apartment. Seems like the same thing to me.

Clint finished the season hitting .289. Since then, he has only topped that average once, when he hit .290 in 2008.

2006 Fleer, Kerry Wood

2011-12-19T15:47:00.002-06:00

#103 Kerry Wood

Here is a card that I got signed at a Royals game in 2009. Kerry was with the Indians then and he signed this card for me by the visiting team dugout right after batting practice got over.

Another 'grapher had asked Kerry to sign and he didn't respond at all. I just figured he was ignoring him as he kept on walking to the clubhouse. But, he passed up the clubhouse entrance and came over and signed for a few people. For some reason, I felt like Kerry was going to skip signing for me. That obviously was not the case, though I was the next to last person he signed for. I was even more surprised when he signed two out of my three cards.

Kerry might not be the pitcher that he once was, but he is still in the record book for striking out twenty batters in a nine inning game as a rookie in 1998. Since that season, though, it has been a bumpy ride for Kerry as he been on the disabled list many times for arm troubles. It got to the point that he was taken out of the starting rotation and moved to the bullpen. He closed for a couple of seasons, but he spent this past season as a set-up man for the Cubs.

Kerry is a free agent right now and the only rumor I have heard is that it is the Cubs or retirement. We'll have to wait and see how that pans out.

2006 Fleer, Jarrod Washburn

2011-12-16T09:51:00.003-06:00

#9 Jarrod Washburn

Here is a card that I got signed at a Royals game in 2008. Jarrod was with the Mariners at the time and he signed this card from the dugout as his team was taking batting practice. I had three cards for Jarrod to sign, but he would only sign two of them. The guy beside me didn't have a card of Jarrod and he asked him to sign an index card. Jarrod said that he didn't sign index cards, so I offered up my unsigned card to the guy. But, for whatever reason, he wouldn't except the card. I still don't get some players refusal to sign index cards and/or the "autograph card". I asked one AAA player why he wouldn't and all he said was "identity theft".

This card is a welcome change from all of the photo shopped Topps cards. So what if Jarrod was signed by the Mariners in December. There are no pictures of him playing as a Mariner. Just put a picture of Jarrod from the previous season on the card and let people know that he is now with the Mariners. What is so wrong with that?

Jarrod has been retired since the end of the 2009 season. I posted my other signed card of him about a year ago and it can be seen here.

2006 Diamond Signatures, Ned Garver

2011-12-14T19:50:00.001-06:00

#14 Ned Garver

Almost one year ago, I posted a couple of vintage cards that Ned Garver signed for me through the mail (a '49 Bowman and a '52 Bowman). I bought the cards to get signed at the Kansas City A's reunion that the Kansas City T-Bones hosted the previous summer, but I missed Ned at the event. So, I sent the two cards to him and he returned both of them signed and he even included two more cards.

The two cards he sent me were two different Diamond Signatures cards. These are the first Diamond Signature cards that I have ever seen, but I had heard about the cards before. If I am not mistaken, these cards were made to be given away to older retired ballplayers so that they would have stuff to sign for people. How accurate that statement is is unclear, but it seems like a plausible one. If anyone else knows anything about these cards, feel free to chime in.

The only problem with this card is that Ned misspelled my name. My name is spelled with an "h", not a "k". But, that is only a minor problem. If I had sent one card and it came back with a misspelled personalization, I might be a little ticked off about it. But Ned signed both of my cards I sent him without a personalization and then included two more, that he didn't have to include, with the misspelled name. How can I get mad about that? He could have made the cards out to Tom, Dick, or Harry and I would have been just as happy to add them to my collection.

Thank you, Mr. Garver!

2006 Bowman Originals, Ryan Patterson

2011-12-12T18:01:00.003-06:00

#BO37 Ryan Patterson

Here is the second of three cards that Ryan Patterson signed for me before a Wichita Wingnuts game in 2010. You can see the first one by scrolling down a few posts.

This is the only 2006 Bowman Originals card that I own and I think that I might like the set. Obviously, it is hard to judge a set based on one card, but I do like this card a lot when compared to regular Bowman. For starters, every 2006 Bowman card I posted used a posed picture. Again, this is just one card, but it has a nice action shot one it. This could be the only card in the entire set that has an action shot, but I highly doubt that is the case.

Also, I like the white border. Bowman is renown for its constant use of black borders (except for the first year Bowmans). The white border on this card is real clean and it pulls off a different look that I do not associate with Bowman. Again, this is all based off of this one card and, for all I now, the rest of the set could look like crap.

I like how Patterson added his number to his signature. The number 5 was the number he wore while with the Wingnuts.

2006 Bowman Heritage, Chase Fontaine

2011-12-11T11:05:00.003-06:00

#BHP89 Chase Fontaine

Here is the second of three Chase Fontaine signatures that I got at a Wilmington Blue Rocks playoff game in 2009. The first one can be seen here.

Chase was drafted by the Braves in the third round of the 2006 draft. He played Rookie ball the season he was drafted and then spent 2007 split between A ball and high-A. He only hit .205 in high-A and then the Braves packaged him in a deal that sent him to the Tampa Bay organization. He repeated A ball and high-A again with the Rays and, again, he struggled at high-A and only hit .217 in limited action.

2009 found Chase in the Royals organization and he again repeated A ball and high-A. He did not receive much playing time, but he did hit better at the high-A level (.288). But, in the end, it just wasn't good enough and Chase found himself in the Can-Am League in 2010.

This past season, Chase played in the Frontier League and the Can-Am League.

This photo looks almost identical to Chase's regular Bowman card. The one difference is that the bat is on the opposite shoulder on this one.

2006 Bowman Heritage, Matthew Sulentic

2011-12-10T12:06:00.003-06:00

#BHP82 Matthew Sulentic

Here is a card that I got signed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2010. Matt was playing for the visiting Midland RockHounds and I was able to get this card signed before the game started.

Matt was drafted by the A's in the third round of the 2006 draft. He split his first two professional seasons between rookie ball and A ball before moving up to high-A in 2008. He hit .309 in a full season in the California League and was rewarded with a promotion to AA in 2009. He then spent 2009, 2010, and 2011 playing for the A's AA team.

I posted a card of Ryan Patterson yesterday and he had a similar story of playing three strait years of AA ball before ending up in a different type of AA ball- the American Association. To Matt's benefit, he is four years younger than Ryan. So, he could still develop a bit. But, he had better pick it up before the A's cut ties with him.

This card is one of the minis that were included in this set. The set is supposed to mimic the 1949 Bowman set and to truly do that, all of the cards would be this size. I doubt Topps would ever make an entire set of cards that are not the standard size ever again. But, I think that an entire set of this in minis would be fun.

2006 Bowman Heritage, Ryan Patterson

2011-12-09T18:05:00.003-06:00

#BHP33 Ryan Patterson

Here is a card that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnut game in 2010 while Ryan was with the 'Nuts. I went to a handful of games that year and Ryan was with the team all season long. Yet, for some reason, I was unable to get Ryan to sign this card until the last weekend of the season. It wasn't like he didn't sign at all because I had got him the year before while he was with Ft. Worth. But for whatever reason last year, his pre-game routine made him elusive for me.

Ryan was drafted by the Blue Jays in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. He reached AA in his second season in the pros, but he never advanced any higher. He repeated AA in 2007 and 2008 and the Jays released him after the '08 season. That year, he had hit a career low .248.

Since then, Ryan has been playing in the American Association. He spent 2009 with the Ft. Worth Cats, 2010 with Wichita, and 2011 was split between Wichita, Ft. Worth, and the St. Paul Saints. Even though he played for three teams this past season, Ryan was still the American Association's Star of Stars, which is MVP award for the league.

This is probably the only black jersey card in my collection that looks good. Good job Topps!

2006 Bowman, Tommy Murphy

2011-12-07T17:48:00.002-06:00

#BDP17 Tommy Murphy

Here is a card that the former Angel, Tommy Murphy, signed for me in 2009. Tommy was playing for the Omaha Royals at the time and he signed three cards for me in between games of a double header. He didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood after going hitless in the first game, but he was still nice enough to stop and sign.

I was in Des Moines that year because of the College World Series. My dad and I found out the hard way that you can't sit in general admission for both the day and evening game and expect to see the whole game and find a seat. So, for a couple of years, we would go to the day game and then drive to a minor league game in the evening. We went Sioux City the first year and Des Moines the second year. There really isn't any more teams within driving distance, so we just went to the hotel after the day game this year. Now that the Omaha Storm Chasers are not sharing the same ballpark as the CWS, I am hoping that they will be at home this next year (they were on the road for opening weekend this year).

For some reason, I was thinking that I posted the first Tommy Murphy card about three to four months ago. Turns out that I posted it eleven months ago. It has been one of them years.

2006 Bowman, Mike Aviles

2011-12-05T19:30:00.003-06:00

#BC114 Mike Aviles

Here is a card that I got signed at an Albuequerque Isotopes game in 2008. Mike was playing for the Omaha Royals at the time and he signed this card for me after taking infield practice.

When I got this card signed, I figured that this would be the only Mike Aviles autograph I ever got. Mike was 27 years old that season and he was spending his third straight year playing for Omaha. Clearly, the Royals didn't think too highly of him and he was basically a filler for the AAA team. Lucky for Mike, Tony Pena Jr. started to forget how to hit and Mike started to tear up the Pacific Coast League. Mike's average rose to .336 in the PCL and the Royals finally figured that they had to give him a shot in Kansas City. Mike responded by hitting .325 over the rest of the season while notching 41 extra base hits in 102 games. For his effort, Mike was named the Royals Player of the Year.

Since he then spent the next two and a half years with the Royals, I now have multiple signatures from Mike. He was always willing to sign autographs by the Royals parking lot and was very consistent by signing no more than two items.

I'm actually very lucky that this card came out looking as good as it does. 2008 was my first year back in autograph collecting and, after a twelve year hiatus, I really had no clue what I was doing. So, I would buy whatever cards I could find on ebay and take my chances. I knew some glossy cards from 1994 did not take signatures too well, but I figured that they had fixed that problem by 2008. Therefore, the concept of prepping cards never came to mind. If I were to get this card signed today, I would give it a good dousing of baby powder to get the auto to stick and not bubble. But, being clueless, that thought never came to mind and I am just lucky this card came out this good.

2006 Bowman, Alex Presley

2011-12-04T13:05:00.003-06:00

#BP48 Alex Presley

Here is another card that I got signed in Wilmington, Delaware in 2009. Alex was playing for the Lynchburg Hillcats at the time and he was nice enough to sign this card for me after the Carolina League championship game. The Hillcats won the game and they went on to take the title, too.

Alex went from high-A ball in 2009 to the Major Leagues in 2010 when the Pirates called him up in September. Prior to that call-up, Alex had hit .350 in AA and .294 in AAA. Alex got a hit in his Major League debut, getting a single in his second at-bat against the Braves.

Alex started 2011 at AAA, but he was back in the Majors by June. He finished the season with a .298 average with 12 doubles, 6 triples, 4 home runs, and 20 RBI in 54 games. He even swiped 9 bases.

Alex is a little guy, especially for an outfielder. He is listed at 5'9" and 190 pounds. But, it looks like he is the front runner to be the Bucs starting left fielder in 2012.

2006 Bowman, Nate Culp

2011-12-03T10:44:00.003-06:00

#BP20 Nate Culp

Here is another Padrograph that Rod sent me a couple of years ago. This one features Nate Culp, the Padres fourth round pick in 2006.

Nate pitched in the Padres system through the 2010 season. That year, he made four starts in AAA and he gave up 21 earned runs in 19 innings of work. He was 5-8 with a 4.21 ERA for the rest of the season in AA, though. But in the end, it was not enough and Nate retired after the season. I guess he did not see himself advancing much further in the game. He still has a player page on Minor League Baseball's site, but his status is listed as on the voluntarily retired list.

This card is one of the thick gold parallel cards and I honestly did not think that these cards could get creased without breaking them in half. But, I was wrong as there is a noticeable crease on the middle of the right edge of the card. I guess there is a first time for everything.

2006 Bowman, Cyle Hankerd

2011-12-02T18:14:00.002-06:00

#BP16 Clye Hankerd

Here is a card that my buddy got signed for me while we were down in Amarillo. I graphed the visiting team and I had Adam graph the home team side. This was the first time Adam had ever graphed before and it was basically a warm up for the AAA game the next day. Now that I think of it, this is the only card that he Adam got signed in Amarillo. Luckily, he picked up his game the next day.

Cyle (it feels weird spelling his name that way) was drafted in the third round by the Diamondbacks in 2006. He moved steadily up through their system and reached AA in 2008. He then repeated AA in 2009 and then again in 2010. He saw a little action in AAA in 2010 and did well in limited action. But, his .245 average over 192 AA at-bats must have done him in and the D-Backs released him. He could have been injured, too, since he only played in 85 games that season.

No affiliated team was interested in Cyle and he ended up with the Amarillo Sox to start off last season. He then proceeded to tear up the American Association to the tune of a .355 average with 10 homers and 74 RBI in just 70 games. The Phillies took notice and they bought him from the Sox and assigned Cyle to their high-A team in Clearwater, Florida. In his one month with them, he hit just .248. But he did club 6 home runs and drive in 23 in just 31 games.

2006 Bowman, Chase Fontaine

2011-11-30T17:35:00.003-06:00

#BP9 Chase Fontaine

Here is a card that I got signed in 2009 in Wilmington, Delaware. I was out that way visiting an old Army buddy and the Wilmington Blue Rocks happened to be hosting the Carolina League finals the weekend I arrived. Even though it rained a lot that weekend, we still ventured up to a game and did okay getting autographs.

Chase was one of the final players that signed for me before the game and I probably would have been shut out by him if it wasn't for my buddy. When Chase was walking back to the dugout after warming up, I called out his name twice and I was ignored both times. My friend didn't think that was right and he yelled out "HEY CHASE" loud enough to be heard on the opposite side of the field. That finally got Chase's attention and he then came over and signed for me.

Looking at the pre-printed signature on the card, it appears that Chase had a neat looking autograph at one time. Unfortunately, he has shortened it a great deal and all that can really be made out now are his initials.

2006 Bowman, Brian Bannister

2011-11-28T17:55:00.002-06:00

#BDP4 Brian Bannister

Here is a card that I got signed by the Royals parking lot back in the summer of 2008. Renovations were in high gear that summer and many areas were blocked off for construction. Because of that, they had to move the players parking lot a bit. When they moved the lot, they also made another change- they fenced in the lot for the first time. While the fence was a minor inconvenience, it was short enough to easily hand stuff over to get signed.

That players lot was just a temporary lot and it moved to its current location the following year. 2008 was the first time I had 'graphed outside of The K and, to date, it was the best year. It has been a downhill slide since then, kind of like Brian's career.

But, I will say this about Brian. First, he has one of the best and most consistent signatures I have ever seen. This was one of the first cards I ever got signed by him. When I gave him my book with three cards to sign, he signed the first one so slowly that I thought there was no way he was signing more than one. But, he did sign all three and it took him about ten seconds a card to sign. He is one of the few players I have met that take their time with each and every signature.

Also, Brian was the best signer on the Royals when he was there. He was always signing for everybody and he only turned me down once. When he did turn me down, he made sure to point out that he was late for a meeting and he would get me inside the park. And he did exactly that.

I wish things would have worked out better with Brian and the Royals, but that is just the way it goes. Nevertheless, Brian is a class act and I wish him the best.

I know he pitched in Japan last season, but he left his team after the earthquake/tsunami and did not pitch the rest of the season. I am assuming that he is a free agent this year, so it will be interesting to see where he ends up.

2006 Bowman, Edwin Bellorin

2011-11-27T12:56:00.003-06:00

#B12 Edwin Bellorin

Here is a card that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnuts game this past summer. Edwin was the Nuts starting catcher and, on that night, I somehow missed him before the game started.

This is the game that Mike Bacsik started for the visiting team and he exited the game after just one inning of work. Since he was my main target for the game, I went to the outfield so I could be by the clubhouse in case he came out. He eventually did come out and signed all three cards for me and I got Edwin to sign my two cards for me when he got to the clubhouse. That was the first time I had ever 'graphed at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium from the outfield and it will only be a last resort spot from now on. There is tall chain link fence separating the general public from the clubhouse and it is an imposing obstacle for getting cards signed. Luckily, I found a low spot on the ground and was able to get my cards through by going underneath the fence. It wasn't ideal, but it worked.

Edwin got into eight Major League games, but none of them were with the Dodgers. He made all eight appearances with the Rockies and they were spread out over three different seasons. In those eight games, Edwin went 3-13 with a run, a strikeout, and an intentional walk.

2006 Bazooka, Mark Buehrle

2011-11-26T18:10:00.002-06:00

#5 Mark Buehrle

Here is a card that I got signed through the mail in 2009. I sent this card to Mark at the White Sox Spring Training compound in February and I had it back in the first week of March. I don't send out too many cards to Spring Training anymore, but it obviously pays to send them out around the reporting day. That way you can get it to them before the bulk of the mail hits and before they get into the actual games. In other words, it gets to them when they have more free time to answer fan mail.

I was kind of surprised to see that Mark has never been a twenty game winner. He won nineteen in just his second full season in the Majors and has not been able to win more than sixteen since then. In fact, he hasn't even won sixteen since the Sox World Championship season in 2005. Mark has been pretty consistent over the last three seasons, though, as he was won thirteen games in each of them.

Mark is currently a free agent right now and, according to MLB Trade Rumors, there are at least thirteen teams interested in him. It seems like the Nationals have made the biggest push to land him, but anything can happen during the off-season. The Royals are reportedly in the mix, as well, but I would be shocked if that happened. Frankly, it is hard for me to picture Buehrle with anyone but the White Sox. But, that could change.

Even though I have been sending out TTMs since 1988, I really wasn't that good at it until recently. I don't know how many cards I have sent out that were so dark that the signature was almost invisible or were too glossy and the signature bubbled up. But, by 2009, I had finally figured it out. As a result, I sent this beauty to Mark and I could not be any happier with the results.

2006 Bazooka, Charlton Jimerson

2011-11-24T11:23:00.004-06:00

#209 Charlton Jimerson

Here is a card that Paul, from Paul's Random Baseball Stuff, got signed for me in 2009. That year, Paul had 'graphed so many Atlantic League games that he had autographs from about everyone that he needed. Being the gracious blogger that he is, he offered to get stuff signed for other people over the course of the remainder of the season. So, I sent some cards out to Paul and he did a great job of getting most of them signed for me.

Charlton has an interesting career stat line. He appeared in thirty-one games over a four year span with the Astros and Mariners. He must have been used mostly as a defensive replacement because he only had nine at-bats in those thirty-one games. But, in those nine ABs, Charlton had four hits and two of them were for home runs. That is not a bad career stat line. Four out of nine is good for .444 career average. But, if Charlton hadn't got that one at-bat with the M's in 2008, he would be a .500 hitter. I don't care if it is only eight at-bats, but four for eight would be something to brag about. Heck, I'd even brag about .444, but that is just me.

In Paul's Thanksgiving post today, he mentioned this blog as one of the things he was thankful for. Obviously, this is a two way street here and I am thankful for all the cards and autographs Paul has thrown my way.

While I am giving thanks, I also want to thank Ryan, Brian, Greg, Rod, Marck, and all of the other bloggers that help make this community what it is. I don't post as much as I would like any more. But, without you all, I probably wouldn't be blogging at all. Thanks, guys!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2006 Bazooka, Zack Greinke

2011-11-21T18:30:00.004-06:00

#129 Zack Greinke

Here is the third card of Zack that I have posted on here. I said that the last time I posted a card of him, but I am pretty certain that this actually is the third card of him.

I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot in April of 2009. That was the day I went to Kansas City to 'graph the parking lot and the game, but the weather was colder than I anticipated. Being under-dressed for a chilly night game did not sound like fun, so I called it quits after 'graphing the parking lot. But, I got over twenty cards signed, so it was a good trip.

When Zack signed this card for me, he was in the midst of his 38 inning scoreless inning streak. But, he was still nice enough to sign a couple of cards for me. It was misting at the time, so the "G" is a little smudged from a small drop of rain.

Zack is not the most personable guy in baseball. But for whatever reason, once the Sports Illustrated with him on the cover came out in 2009, he was signing for everybody after games. That is unusual behavior for a guy that suffers from social anxiety disorder. He didn't talk much or smile while he was doing it. But that fact that he was doing it said a lot about him.

2006 Bazooka, Coco Crisp

2011-11-20T14:35:00.004-06:00

#46 Coco Crisp

For some reason, I thought that this was the first Coco Crisp card I have posted on here and I had a nice write-up in my head for it. Turns out that I posted my first Coco card back in May and I used that write-up then. What's this world coming to?

In my last Coco post, I talked about how he had battled injury plagued seasons in 2009 and 2010. It looks like he stayed pretty healthy this year and he appeared in 136 games, which was the most he had played since 2007 with Boston. This season, he finished with a .264 average with 27 doubles and a career high 49 stolen bases, which tied him for the lead league with Brett Gardner. It seems strange that an Oakland Athletic would lead the league in stolen bases.

Coco is a free agent now and it will be interesting to see where he ends up next season. I haven't heard any rumors about him yet, but it is still early.

I really like these blue bordered Bazooka cards. I think they were a one per pack parallel just like Topps Total did with their grey bordered cards. The blue just accents the card better, especially if the signature is in blue as well. The fortune on the bottom is dumb, though.

This card was signed at Royals Fanfest in 2009, just like yesterdays card.

2006 BBM, John Bale

2011-11-19T17:54:00.001-06:00

#749 John Bale

Here is the first 2006 card that I have to post and it is one of my favorites. It doesn't feature a prominent player or even a player I am fond of. But, this card is special to me as it is my first Japanese card that I have got autographed. Actually, this is the only Japanese card that I have got signed in-person. My other two Japanese autos were both pulled from packs.

I got this card signed at Royals Fanfest in 2009. I was a partial season ticket holder that year and season ticket holders got into Fanfest an hour earlier than the general public for an extra autograph session. John was in the first session I attended and he seemed thrilled that I had this card of him. He was sitting next to Trey Hillman, who managed in Japan, and he had to show the card off to him. Unfortunately, the autograph got a little smudged, which was most likely my fault. But I am still happy with the results.

John lasted in Kansas City for three uninspiring seasons. He never accomplished much and he spent a lot of time on the disabled list. One time when he was on the DL, he punched a wall and broke his hand because he wasn't happy with the speed of his recovery. Obviously, the broken hand set him back farther.

2009 was the last time John pitched in the Majors. He spent 2010 back with the Hiroshima Carp and I think he pitched for Camden of the Atlantic League last season.

1981 Donruss, Paul Molitor

2011-11-18T18:08:00.004-06:00

#203 Paul Molitor

I know that I was supposed to start my 2006 cards today, but I have a neat little tale to tell instead.

Last week, I started sending out my Topps Diamond Anniversary cards. I sent four out on Tuesday and nine out on Wednesday and cards have been arriving at my house daily since Saturday. Yesterday, I got home from work and I was happy to find three TTM returns in the mail box. I started to check them out to guess who was inside and then I noticed something strange. One of the envelopes did not have a forever stamp on it. I doubled checked the hand writing to make sure it was a TTM and it was my hand writing, but a weird colored blue pen was used. It then hit me. This was a TTM I had sent out a few years ago. This was back before I used forever stamps, before I used a good pen on my envelopes, and before I started tracking all of my requests sent out. So I ripped the envelope open and I was thrilled to death when this was the card that I pulled out.

I honestly have no idea when exactly I sent this card out. I looked though my autograph log and the best I could come up with is that I sent this card out at some point during the 2009 season. I had written this card off as a goner a long time ago, but it made it back home about 900 days after I sent it out (give or take 150 days). I guess the message here is to never give up hope. You just never know.

I had success with Molitor one time during his playing days, but I sent out a bad card to get signed and the signature is barely noticeable. Based off of that card, I could not be happier with the way this card turned out. It is not the best photo in the set, but at least I can make out Paul's signature.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 86/100

2006s are coming tomorrow.

2005 Topps Cracker Jack, Kevin Melillo

2011-11-16T20:40:00.003-06:00

#217 Kevin Melillo

Here is the second card that Kevin Melillo signed for my buddy in Colorado Springs over the summer while he was with the Salt Lake Bees. If you are unfamiliar with Kevin, he is one of the elites of the game as he has a 1.000 career on-base percentage. He is the second player that I have gotten an autograph from who has a 1.000 OBP (Adam Greenberg is the other).

This is the first card from the 2005 Cracker Jack set that I have got signed. I was deployed in '05 and the only cards I saw that year were the Donruss, Topps, and Topps Total packs that my dad sent me in care packages. I really liked the '04 Cracker Jacks cards and I must say that I was extremely disappointed when I first saw the '05 cards. I'm sure the cards mirror an original Cracker Jack set, but I cannot get over what looks like a cinder block wall in the background. I'm too lazy to look up what one of the original cards looks like, but I really hope that there is not a cinder block wall in the background. Get rid of the wall and this set may be better than the '04 set.

This is the last card from my between years recap and I will dig into my 2006 autographs on my next post. I've got about sixty cards from that year and at the pace I am on, it will take me about four months to get them all posted. Since the Royals decided to cancel Fanfest (BOOOOOOO) this year so that they can focus on the All Star Game, it might be a quick transition from 2006 to 2007. About the only cards that I will have to post between the two years will be my Topps Diamond Giveaway cards that I get signed through the mail. I've got about half of those cards sent out already and three of them are back home. If I can keep it up, it should be a mildly entertaining off-season despite the one year loss of Fanfest.

2005 Topps, John Gibbons

2011-11-14T19:25:00.002-06:00

#296 John Gibbons

Here is a card that I was supposed to post back in April, but I somehow forgot to scan the card. This card features the former Blue Jays manager, John Gibbons.

I got this card signed at the Metrodome in 2009 during the last regular season series played there. The Royals were in town and John was the bench coach at the time. I got this card signed prior to one of the games over by the bullpen. I had to wait a while for him to get off of his cell phone to get him to sign, but my patience paid off.

That was the last time that I got John to sign for me. After that season, I got one more card of him that I wanted signed and it never happened. And it may not happen now that the Royals released him of his coaching duties. The Royals didn't give a full reason as to why John was let go, but they did say this. The Royals bench coach is their catchers coach and they wanted a catcher's coach that spoke Spanish, since their top three catchers are all Latino. Maybe they should have just bought Rosetta Stone for him.

The Royals new bench coach is Chino Cadahia who came over from the Braves. I know very little about Chino, but I do know that he didn't play in the Majors. That means there are not very many cards out there for him to sign for me. Checkouotmycards.com only has the 2009 Topps Heritage short printed coaches card that is going to $3.60 and two over priced minor league coaching cards.

2005 Throwback Threads, Jason Jennings

2011-11-13T10:00:00.002-06:00

#32 Jason Jennings

Here is the first of three cards that Jason Jennings signed for me in Amarillo this past summer while he was playing for the Grand Prairie AirHogs. Prior to the game, Jason was out on the field doing his workouts. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt with no number on it, so I was unsure whether that was him or not. Eventually, I asked one of his teammates who the guy on the field without a uniform on was and he confirmed to me that it was Jason. So, when Jason finally left the field for the clubhouse, I asked him to sign and he was happy to do so.

Like I said in the last Jennings post, this card came out looking great. The wide white border and minimal background leaves plenty of room for a signature. Because of that, I may need to start looking for more cards from this set in the future.

Yesterday, I got my quickest TTM return ever. I sent the card out on Tuesday and I had it back on Saturday. I probably would have had it back on Friday, but that was Veteran's day and there was no mail. It obviously helped that the card only had to travel about one hundred miles from my home. But nevertheless, this is one turnaround that I will probably never beat (unless I move to Florida).

2005 Midwest League Top Prospects, Kevin Melillo

2011-11-12T10:48:00.000-06:00

#12 Kevin Melillo

If you have never heard of Kevin Melillo before, don't feel bad. I hadn't either. But, after checking out his career stats, I found that Kevin has an interesting stat line. For his career, Kevin has a 1.000 on-base percentage.

On June 24, 2007, the A's were in New York during an interleague series against the Mets. The Mets were cruising along with an 8-2 lead when the A's came to bat in the eighth. With the pitcher's spot due up to lead off the inning, A's manager Bob Geren inserted Kevin Melillo into the lineup as a pinch hitter. Kevin worked the count full against Guillermo Mota before taking ball four. Kevin ended up stranded at first and he was replaced by a pitcher in the bottom half of the inning. To date, this is the only Major League action that Kevin has experienced.

My buddy, Adam, got this card signed for me when we were in Colorado Springs this summer. Kevin was playing for the Salt Lake Bees at the time and he signed this card before the game started.

I bought this card from checkoutmycards.com, so it is the only card from the set that I own. But, I wonder if all the cards in the set have the same strange shaded area along the border of the card. I thought at first that the shaded area might have been set to kind of outline Kevin's batting stance. But it goes too far out in front of him and then both of his feet are in shaded areas, so I doubt that is the case. If only I had another card from the set to compare it to.

Kevin is playing for the Kane County Cougars in this card. The Cougars are still around, but they are now affiliated with the Kansas City Royals.

2004 Upper Deck Vintage, Jason Jennings

2011-11-11T15:44:00.004-06:00

#127 Jason Jennings

Here is a card that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnut playoff game a few months ago. That's right. The 2002 National League Rookie of the Year was pitching in the American Association this season. He was the ace of the Grand Prairie AirHogs staff and, although I got to see the Hogs play twice, I wasn't lucky enough to see him pitch. I did get some cards signed by him both times, though.

I got three cards signed by Jason in July when I made the trip down to Amarillo. But when the Wingnuts made the playoffs and I decided to go to a game, I couldn't find the stack of Jason Jennings cards I had in July. So, on short notice, this was the only card that I could find of him and I am not that thrilled with the results. I never realized it before I got this card signed, but purple jerseys and signatures do not work well together. I was debating whether to get this one signed in blue or black and I doubt that black would have came out looking any better. But that is okay. The next Jennings card I will post looks much better.

I hope everyone is having a great Veteran's Day!!

2004 Upper Deck National Pride, Eddie Rodriguez

2011-11-08T19:28:00.002-06:00

#NPJ-ER Eddie Rodriguez

Here is a card that I got signed prior to the Royals last home game of the season. That day, I took advantage of the "Early Bird Special" stadium tour and I got to go in and watch the Royals take batting practice an hour before the gates opened. It worked out really great as I was finally able to land a few Royals signatures that I had not had yet.

One of those new additions was Eddie Rodriguez, who has been with the Royals since 2009. I've had plenty of opportunities to have Eddie sign for me, but there has been one problem. It is extremely had to find cards of him. Eddie never played in the Majors and his minor league playing days took place in the late '70s and early '80s when minor league cards were less prevalent. He managed in the minors and coached in the Majors, but there were not any major issue cards made of him. He has a few minor league cards from team sets, but I have never seen any of them show up on checkoutmycards.com. I'm sure that I could find some on Minor League Singles, but I am lazy and comc.com is so much easier.

Eventually, though, this card appeared on comc.com for less than two dollars and I was more than happy to pick it up. I like getting jersey cards signed and this one came out looking good.

When I originally got this card, I just assumed it was from the same set that my Luke Hochevar jersey card was from. Turns out that I was off on that assumption. But, to my defense, if you check out the card of Luke, you will be able to see why I thought that.

2004 Topps Total, Joaquin Arias

2011-11-07T20:40:00.000-06:00

#819 Joaquin Arias

Here is a card that I got signed in Omaha over the summer. Actually, my buddy, Dustin, got this one signed for me. That's right. If you go to a ball game with me, I'm probably going to put you to work.

In Omaha, both the visiting and home clubhouses are located behind the right field fence. Therefore, both teams take the field from the same spot. To make it easier on myself, I put my buddy in charge of graphing the home team and I took on the visiting team. It only took a couple of minutes to realize that Dustin was not quite up to the task of identifying players, asking them to sign, and then finding the cards of that player. So, to take a little burden off of him, I took on the identifying and asking part and Dustin just had to worry about finding the cards.

The reassigned tasks were working out great until Joaquin Arias came out. Just as Joaquin appeared, I realized that I had let Spike Owen get by me. Since Spike was with the visiting team, I asked Joaquin to sign and then ran over to where Spike was signing. I get over to Spike and was waiting for an autograph when Joaquin came up to me to sign. Dustin was still in his original spot, so I had to explain to Joaquin that that was the guy that needed his autograph. He had a confused look on his face, but went over and signed all three cards without any complaints. I must say that I'm not used to having players track me down to sign for me.

I have no idea what is going on with Joaquin's signature. He might be pulling a Joakin Soria by only signing his last name.

2004 Topps Clubhouse Collection, Jonathan Fulton

2011-11-06T10:03:00.003-06:00

#JF Jonathan Fulton

Here is another card that I was able to get signed in Amarillo over the summer. Jon was playing for the Grand Prairie AirHogs and he signed this card for me prior to the game.

Jon's career is kind of similar to the last guy I posted that signed in Amarillo- Van Pope. While Van might have risen through the ranks faster than Jon, both ended up converting to pitchers in the minor leagues. The main exception, though, is that Jon is still trying to make it as a pitcher while Van converted back to the infield.

Jon was drafted by the Marlins in 2003 and made his professional debut that year in Rookie ball. Through five seasons, Jon hit just .236 and never made it out of high-A. So, the Marlins converted him to a pitcher and they got some mixed results from him. In his first season as a pitcher, he posted a 3.04 ERA in the Gulf Coast League while notching 5 saves. He was bumped up to high-A the next year and he had an ERA of 2.42 over 22.1 innings. He repeated high-A the following year and his ERA grew to 4.43. But, he did get his first taste of the AA level that season and he had a 10.80 ERA in just 1.2 innings of work. The Marlins released him after the season and no other Major League team wanted him.

So, he ended up signing with Grand Prairie and he did pretty well with them. In 53.1 inning of work, he posted a 2-2 record with a 2.53 ERA while striking out 41 and walking just 16. Plus, he was a member of the 2011 American Association championship team.

I wish I could tell you more about Topps Clubhouse Collection, but this is the only card that I have from it and it was purchased off of checkoutmycards.com. All I know is that if Topps hadn't issued the set, I would not have a Jonathan Fulton autographed card in my collection.

2004 Topps, Jack McKeon

2011-11-04T17:42:00.002-05:00

#649 Jack McKeon

For some reason, I never had any desire to send Jack McKeon any cards to get signed. But when Jack was brought back to manage the Marlins this season, I couldn't resist sending him some cards. I have no idea why I suddenly had the urge when he got back with a Major League team, but I did. Nevermind that he was already a good signer from his home address before he was brought back. But, I sent him three cards in August and all three came back signed three weeks later. And, to further illustrate my sudden quest to get Jack's signature, it was the only TTM request I did all summer.

I picked this card to send to him since it was the only Marlin card that I could find that seemed suitable to send out. I'm not positive, but I think that Jack is sitting front and center in the first row. I usually never do anything with team cards like this, so it was nice to be able to put one to use.

2004 Topps, Jason Phillips

2011-11-02T10:56:00.003-05:00

#118 Jason Phillips

This is the second and final card that Jason signed for me prior to a Royals game this past April. Jason was working with the Mariners as their bullpen catcher at the time.

Jason Phillips' Major League career lasted seven seasons with the Mets, Dodgers, and Blue Jays. He spent a majority of the time with the Mets and he had a career year with them in 2003. That season, Jason had career highs in at-bats (403), hits (120), doubles (25), home runs (11), runs (45), and RBI (58).

For his career, Jason finished with a .249 average with 30 home runs and 168 RBI.

I don't know about you, but I will always remember Jason for the glasses that he wore on the field. They are hard to see in this photo, but you can get a better look by checking out the first card that I posted of him. The glasses are kind of unique and they make him stand out like Kareem Abdul Jabbar did in the '80s. Too bad Jason wasn't quite as good as Kareem.

I like the way this card turned out. Jason has a large signature and the horizontal layout provides ample room for him to sign. The picture probably could have been cropped a little better to get the back of the pitcher's leg out of the photo. But, other than that, it is a good-looking card that now looks even better with Jason's signature on it.

2004 Donruss, Ramon Santiago

2011-11-01T15:21:00.003-05:00

#124 Ramon Santiago

Here is a card that I was able to get signed in Minneapolis over the summer at the one Twins game I went to. The Tigers were in town and Ramon was nice enough to sign all three cards for me.

By looking at this card, I just assumed that Ramon had to be the longest tenured Tiger on the club. This card is from 2004, so you know he was with the team in '03, too. But you know what happens when you assume. Turns out that Ramon was traded to the Mariners straight across for Carlos Guillen before the '04 season started. So I guess that might make Carlos the longest tenured Tiger?

It is funny that Ramon played for the Mariners and I had no clue. All this time, I had thought he was a life-long Tiger. Turns out that he didn't play much for the Mariners, though. In his two seasons there, he only played in 27 games and he hit just .170 in that limited action. The rest of the time was spent with Seattle's AAA club.

I honestly have no clue what is going on with Ramon's signature. I can kind of make out his number (39), but just barely. The rest is a mystery to me.

2004 Bowman Heritage, Paul McAnulty

2011-10-30T11:58:00.003-05:00

#294 Paul McAnulty

Here is another card that I was able to get signed in Colorado Spring over the summer. Paul was playing for the Salt Lake Bees and he was nice enough to sign two cards for me after their loss.

At that game, my buddy was graphing the Bees side of the field before the game for me. As soon as he got to his station, I see him walking back around the concourse towards me on the Sky Sox part of the field. He gets to me, hands me the book of cards he had, and says "I gotta go to the bathroom". Great. Of course, Paul happened to be one of the first Bees to take the field, so my buddy missed out on him because of his restroom break. But, to my friends credit, he did end up getting more cards signed before the game than I did so I can't give him too much grief over it. Plus, it worked out since I was able to get Paul after the game anyways.

I really love this 2004 Bowman Heritage set and I wish that I was collecting cards when this set was out. The cards look great and they look even better signed. This card is one of the thick ones that Topps loves including in Bowman packs and I guess that is why it is black and white instead of color. In a standard Bowman pack, this card would have a gold border instead of a black one. But even Topps know that you can't mess with the border of the iconical 1955 Bowman set, so they messed with the photo instead.

2004 Bowman Heritage, Zach Jackson

2011-10-28T10:32:00.002-05:00

#237 Zach Jackson

Here is a card that I got signed in Omaha over the summer while Zach was playing for the Round Rock Express. The story of me getting this card signed is identical to the story of getting Kevin Cash to sign for me. The Express pitchers were working out on the field when I got to the ballpark. When Zach left the field for the clubhouse, I didn't recognize who he was until it was too late. But, I then had a picture in my head of what he looked like in person and I was able to get him on the way out.

Zach made his Major League debut with the Brewers in 2006. Since then, he has only appeared in 22 Major League ballgames- 10 with the Brewers in '06 and '08 and 12 with the Indians in '08-09. Over that stretch, he has a 4-5 record with a 5.81 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 105.1 innings of work. He took on his biggest workload with the Indians in 2008 when he made nine starts for them and went 2-3 with a 5.60 ERA over 54.2 innings.

Zach had a surprisingly good record this year for the Express despite posting a 5.51 ERA. He finished the season 13-5 while striking out 78 and walking 56. He must have had a ton of run support to have had such a good winning percentage.

Despite Zach's lack of Major League success, he has been a part of two big trades. In 2005, the Blue Jays traded him to the Brewers for Lyle Overbay. Then, in 2008, the Brewers packaged him in the deal that landed them CC Sabathia.

2004 Bowman, Van Pope

2011-10-26T11:25:00.004-05:00

#BDP120 Van Pope

Here is a card that I got signed in Amarillo, Texas over the summer. Van was playing for the Amarillo Sox this past season and I was able to get this card signed before the game started.

Van was drafted by the Braves in fourth round of the draft in 2004 after playing at Meridian Junior College. He progressed steadily through the Braves system and hit AAA in 2009. He struggled at the AAA level and only hit .202 over 106 games. But that is not surprising. If you look at Van's stats year by year, he has struggled with every advancement. But after repeating the level a second year, he has always done better. But rather than have Van repeat AAA, the Braves had other ideas. They decided to convert him to a pitcher.

So, in 2010, Van was sent down to high-A Myrtle Beach to work on becoming a pitcher. He appeared in only nine game there and he had an 0-2 record with a 6.35 ERA over 11.1 innings while striking out 5 and walking 16. Ouch. It would appear that the Braves gave up on him then and released him.

So, the Amarillo Sox were more than happy to have him this season and they signed him as a third baseman. No more pitching for Van Pope. This past season with the Sox, Van ended up hitting .299 with 10 home runs and 61 RBI. Maybe another affiliated team will take a flier on Van next season.

2003 Upper Deck 40 Man, Jason Phillips

2011-10-24T18:02:00.002-05:00

#624 Jason Phillips

Here is a card that I got signed earlier this year at a Royals game. The Mariners were in town and Jason works for them now. No, he isn't still playing and he wasn't actually a coach for them. His job title for the M's is bullpen catcher. Can you believe that? Four years ago, he was a backup catcher for the Blue Jays and now he is warming up Mariner pitchers in the bullpen. Technically, a good bullpen catcher conducts himself as a coach, so maybe this is his first step in getting into coaching. Either way, I thought it was kind of strange when I saw him on the M's roster in that role.

At the game I was at, Jason was catching for Dave Aardsma, who was on the disabled list at the time. When he came out of his crouch and started talking to the other coaches, I thought he was done warming up Aardsma. I asked him to sign and he told me he would when he was done. He looked done to me, but I waited patiently nonetheless. About five minutes later, he got back into his crouch and caught some more pitches from Aardsma. As soon as that barrage was done, he took off some of his gear and came over and signed like he said he would. While he was signing, I asked him if that was a simulated game that Aardsma was throwing. It was, of course.

The blue Sharpie looks really good on top of that orange Mets warm-up jersey.

2003 Upper Deck 40 Man, Brandon Inge

2011-10-23T20:13:00.004-05:00

#273 Brandon Inge

Here is a card that I got signed prior to the Royals final game of the season this year. Brandon was nice enough to have his cabbie drop him off at the "designated autograph zone" (for more on that, see this post) and he signed everything for everybody, including all three cards that I had. All of us 'graphers were wishing him the best of luck against the Yankees in the ALDS, and he really seemed to appreciate the good wishes.

In case you didn't notice, Brandon had an off year this year. He is only a .235 career hitter, but he failed to reach .200 this year for the first time since his rookie season. It was so bad for him that the Tigers traded for Wilson Betemit a few weeks before the deadline and sent Inge, a 2009 All Star, to AAA.

Inge tore up the International League for 29 games before getting called back to Detroit for the final month and a half of the season. He did raise his average twenty points after being back with Detroit. He even had his average above the Mendoza Line for a bit before slipping over the final week. So, it would appear that the demotion might have helped him out a bit.

Since I have gotten back into collecting autographs, I have taken this card with me every time I have 'graphed the Tigers. I like this card because it is the only card of Inge that I have that shows him as a catcher. Inge began his career as a catcher, but he switched to third base in 2005. Then, being the team player that he is, he went back to catcher in 2008 after the Tigers traded Ivan Rodriguez to the Yankees. He has been playing third ever since.

2002 Upper Deck 40 Man, Eric Junge

2011-10-21T10:20:00.003-05:00

#907 Eric Junge

Here is a card that I got signed in Colorado Springs this summer. Actually, my buddy Adam got this card signed since he was 'graphing the Salt Lake Bees side of the field. Junge was the starting pitcher for the Bees that day, so it is kind of surprising that Adam was able to get this card signed since a lot of starters don't like to sign before games they are starting. Adam doesn't collect autographs, or usually try to get them, so I guess that it was his lucky day.

Eric Junge only has ten Major League appearances under his belt and they all came between 2002 and 2003. Prior to that, he advanced quickly through the minors and reached AAA in just his fourth professional season. That fourth season happened to be in 2002 and Eric was a September call-up for the Phillies that year. Eric made the Phillies Opening Day roster in 2004 and he made five relief appearances before hitting the disabled list. He came off the disabled list a month later and made one appearance before going back on it.

Whatever injury Eric suffered really seems to have derailed his career. He made just ten appearances the rest of that season in AAA and, the following season, he made just sixteen appearances at three different minor league levels. At that point, the Phillies must have realized that he was never going to be the same pitcher again and they released him.

Since then, it has been a whirlwind experience for Eric. He has since played for four different organizations as well as playing in the Atlantic League, Japan, and Korea. After making all of those stops, it is kind of amazing that he was pitching at the AAA level in 2011.

2002 Donruss Rookies, Kevin Cash

2011-10-20T17:52:00.003-05:00

#61 Kevin Cash

Here is an autograph that I was able to pick up this summer at an Omaha Storm Chasers game. Kevin was playing with the Round Rock Express at the time and I was able to get this card signed when Kevin was making his way from the clubhouse to the dugout.

When I made it into the ballpark that day, some of the Express pitchers were out on the field getting their work in. Most of the guys were in shorts and t-shirts, so it was a little difficult telling who was who. When they walked back to the clubhouse, none of us 'graphers could figure out who the players were until it was too late (if we even figured it out at all). Kevin was part of that group and I didn't figure out who he was until he was entering the clubhouse. But, I knew the face and I figured that I would get him on the way out.

Obviously, I did get him on the way out, but I fealt kind of bad about it. When he left the field, all he had with him was his glove and mask. But when he left the clubhouse for the dugout, he was carrying his big equipment bag with all of his catching gear, bats, and batting helmet. I still asked him to sign and I would have completely understood if he didn't want to. But he set all of his stuff down and signed for me with no problem at all.

2002 Donruss Originals, Darin Erstad

2011-10-19T14:31:00.003-05:00

#382 Darin Erstad

Here is another Darin Erstad card that I got signed at the Kansas State baseball game last spring. Did I mention that the K-State football team in undefeated right now? Anyways, Darin is an assistant coach with the Nebraska baseball team and was nice enough to sign a few cards for me.

I guess when Topps started rolling out their Heritage releases, Donruss felt a little left out. Luckily, they came up with their Originals set and they redid most of their sets from the '80s. At least that is how I think they did it.

In 2003, I graduated college and I started started buying a few random packs at Wal-Mart. For some reason, I had no clue that Wal-Mart carried so many baseball cards when I was in college. So when I got out, there was a plethora of cards available that I had never seen before. I bought a little bit of everything and never really knew what I had until I got out of the Army and really started getting into cards again.

So, I bought one (or maybe two) packs of '02 Donruss Originals and those pack(s) are what I am basing my description of the set on. However, I do not recall seeing a card with an '81 border. I hope that there are some of those included in the set and if there are, I may have to look into getting a few of those signed.

The border for this card is obviously from the 1988 Donruss set. It is kind of cool seeing a modern photo and logo on a card style from the '80s. At first glance, this card looks just like a real '88. But one you compare it to an actual '88 Donruss card, you can see a few discrepancies. The while border around the photo is a little thinner on this card than on the real '88 and the fonts are different between the two. The team logo may be a little bit smaller, but it is hard to tell when you only have one card to go by. Either way, it is still a good looking card.

2001 Topps Gallery, Mike Jacobs

2011-10-17T18:52:00.002-05:00

#126 Mike Jacobs

Here is a card that I got signed in Colorado Springs over the summer while Mike was playing for the Sky Sox. I asked him to sign when he was coming out of the tunnel and he said that he would after he set his things down (he was carrying his glove, helmet, and a couple of bats at the time). He went into the dugout, set his stuff down, and then came out and signed for everybody. Mike seemed like a good signer during his one year with the Royals and it looks like that has not changed, even though he is not in the big leagues. I wish I could say that about his teammate this summer, Dexter Fowler.

I got more than a couple of cards signed by Mike during his short stint in Kansas City. But, I was unable to get this card signed because I acquired it in a trade a couple of weeks before Mike was released by the team. I was so bummed out about the whole thing that I took my want list down and have never put it back up. I did finally get this card signed, though, and I now feel better about the trade.

After belting 32 home runs with the Marlins in 2008, it surprises me that Mike cannot find a Major League job. I know he really struggled against left-handed pitching while with the Royals. A team just needs to find someone that mashes lefties and than platoon that person with Mike at the DH spot.

2001 Fleer Showcase, Ben Sheets

2011-10-16T11:44:00.002-05:00

#21 Ben Sheets

Here is a card that I picked up from checkoutmycards.com for cheap. It wasn't nearly as cheap as most of the '96 Leaf Signature Series cards that I usually acquire, but I could not pass it up for $4.99. It doesn't say anything on the card about the piece of wood being from a bat Ben used, so it is more than likely just a signed piece of wood. But, it is still much better than a sticker autograph.

Ben had the stuff to be a top tier pitcher in baseball if he could have stayed healthy. In 2004, Ben had a career year and posted career bests in ERA (2.70) and strikeouts (264). Plus, he only walked 32 batters. The Brewers rewarded him with a four year contract and, because of various injuries over those four years, he was only able to make 94 starts while he had made 127 starts over the previous four seasons.

After the 2008 season, Ben became a free agent. But, because of arm issues, no one was willing to take a chance on him and he did not play in 2009. The A's, though, signed him to a contract in 2010 and Ben went 4-9 with a 4.53 ERA over 20 starts. A torn flexor in his elbow shut Ben down at the end of July of that season and he has not pitched in the Majors since.

Ben still has a player page on the the official website of Major League Baseball, so I guess that means that he has not officially retired. He is only 33 years old, so a comeback might not be too far fetched. It only depends on if his body can handle the demands of pitching in the Major Leagues.

2000 Bowman, Mike Bacsik

2011-10-15T11:36:00.002-05:00

#357 Mike Bacsik

Here is a card that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnuts game back in May. Mike was pitching for the Ft. Worth Cats at the time and I was able to get this card signed after the game was over. Mike started the game I attended, so he spent all of his pregame time in the bullpen. I tried to get him to sign right before the game started, but he was in game mode and said he would sign afterwards. He came through on that, despite just pitching one inning and giving up five runs. I did have to go to the clubhouse area after the game, but Mike came straight over to me without me asking and signed all three cards like he said he would.

Mike's unfortunate claim to fame is that he gave up Barry Bond's 756th home run in 2007 while pitching for the Nationals.

1996 Signature Rookies Autobilia, Darin Erstad

2011-10-14T20:27:00.002-05:00

#B3 Darin Erstad

Way back in March, I attended my first baseball game of the year. Unfortunately, it was not a Spring Training game. It was just a college game. But one of the teams involved was Nebraska and the newest addition to the Nebraska coaching staff was none other than Darin Erstad. So, rather than being "just" a college game, it was one of the few college games played in my area where a former big leaguer was a part of the coaching staff. Not only did I leave the park with my first ballpark autographs of the year, but I also got to see a Kansas State victory. It was a good day all around.

I took this card with me to get signed for two reasons. The first reason is because I like this card. If I remember correctly, this card was a preview card that was inserted into a Signature Rookies football set. The set it was previewing never came out, so I would think that this card might be harder to find than most other Darin Erstad cards.

The second reason why I took this card is because it shows Darin in his old Nebraska uniform and that is the team he coaches with now. Plus, it was nice getting a non-Angel card signed even though it technically is an Angel card.

I was surprised to see the other day that Nebraska is coming back to Manhattan again next season. That surprises me because Nebraska is no longer in the Big 12. So, if anyone needs a Darin Erstad autograph this spring, let me know and I will see what I can do.

Here is a fun Nebraska themed fact- Darin was the punter on the 1994 Nebraska National Championship football team and he was the fourteenth best punter in the nation, based on average punt.

1996 Leaf Signature Series Extended, Jorge Fabregas

2011-10-12T10:24:00.002-05:00

#50 Jorge Fabregas

Here is another COMC purchase that I bought for no particular reason besides the fact that it was only a buck. The only other reason I could think of buying it is because Jorge was the backup catcher for the highest scoring Royals team ever- the 2000 Royals.

Jorge was your standard journeyman backup catcher. He was a first round pick by the Angels in 1991 and he made his Major League debut with them in 1994. He stayed with the Halos for a few years. Then, after a 3-38 (.079) start at the plate in 1997, he was traded to the White Sox.

With the Sox, Jorge experienced the best season of his career. He played in 100 games for the only time and he had career highs in nearly all of the offensive categories. It was a short-lived tenure with the team, though, as the Diamondbacks selected Jorge in the expansion draft after the season.

He then played in 50 games for the D-Backs before being traded to the Mets mid-season. He then caught on with the Marlins in 1999 before being released at the end of August and signing with the Braves. He spent 2000 with the Royals and put up some decent numbers in limited action. In 2001, he was back with the Angels and he stayed with them until he was traded to Milwaukee in 2002. That was the last season that he played in the big leagues.

For his career, Jorge played for eight teams in nine seasons and he hit .241 with 23 home runs and 211 RBI.

If I remember correctly, Jorge was behind the plate for the Angles when Cal broke Lou's consecutive games streak.

1996 Leaf Signature Series Extended, Archi Cianfrocco

2011-10-10T18:31:00.002-05:00

#29 Archi Cianfrocco

Here is yet another checkoutmycards.com bargain bin find. This autograph from former Expo and Padre, Archi Cianfrocco, set me back a whole dollar.

I am really not sure why I thought that I had to have this card. The only thing that I can come up with is the name- Archi Cianfrocco. That has got to be one of the coolest names for any ballplayer. It doesn't really roll off the tongue, but it sounds pretty cool when said correctly.

Archi played in the Majors for seven seasons. He never played in a hundred games in a season and was mainly used as a utility guy. In his seven seasons, he played every position except for pitcher and center field. None of his seasons stand out against the rest, but he did finish his career with a .241 average with 34 home runs and 185 RBI.

Based off of his signature, I never would have guessed that his first name began with an "A". But, it is a cool looking signature.

1996 Leaf Signature Series, Quilvio Veras

2011-10-09T11:30:00.002-05:00

#230 Quilvio Veras

Here is another card that I picked up from checkoutmycards.com for cheap. This card set me back all of ninety-eight cents.

I remember Quilvio for two reasons. The first reason is because he lead the Major Leagues in stolen bases in 1995 when he stole 56 in his rookie season. But, the main reason why I remember Quilvio is because his name begins with a "Q".

Back in my high school years when I was playing American Legion baseball, we would always play "The Name Game" (TNG) while we were criss-crossing Kansas in vans. TNG was a simple game that helped pass the time in the days before smart phones and laptop computers. It was really easy. The first player would name any baseball player. Let's say George Brett. George's last name begins with a "B", so the next player had to think of a ballplayer whose first name began with a "B", like Bret Saberhagan. Each player had about a thirty second time limit to come up with a name that hadn't been said or he would be eliminated. The object of TNG was to be the last person standing and I quickly learned that if you wanted to win, you had better have a decent stockpile of ballplayers whose first names began with "Q", "Y", and "Z". That is where Quilvio Veras came in handy.

This is the first card that I have posted on here of a player whose first name begins with a "Q". Unfortunately, Quilvio's signature didn't meet my expectations as the first letter he signed looks more like an "O" or even a "D".

1996 Leaf Signature Series, Ben McDonald

2011-10-07T10:04:00.002-05:00

#151 Ben McDonald

Here is another checkoutmycards.com bargain that I could not pass up. I was able to add this Ben McDonald autograph to my collection for just one dollar. How could I pass this one up?

Ben was a stud college pitcher for Louisiana State in the late '80s. He won the Golden Spikes award with them in 1989 for being the best college player in the nation. For his efforts that season, the Orioles rewarded him by making him the number one pick in the draft that year.

Ben made it to the Major Leagues in the same season that he was drafted, making six relief appearances for the O's that September. After making ten minor league starts in 1990, Jeff moved up to the big club for good. Again, he started out in the bullpen before he was eased into the starting rotaion. He finished up that season 8-5 with a 2.43 ERA.

Unfortunately, Ben could not maintain that level of success in the Major Leagues. His record dipped to 6-8 the following year while his ERA rose to 4.84. He posted slightly better numbers in 1992 before having a career year in 1993. His record was only 13-14 that season, but he had career highs in ERA (3.39 [20 or more starts]), complete games (7), and strikeouts (171).

Back to back seasons of more than 220 innings caught up to Ben as he made only 24 starts in 1994 and 13 in 1995. After that season, the O's and Ben parted ways and Ben signed with the Brewers.

For some reason, I do not remeber Ben ever playing for the Brewers.

Ben had a strong 1996 with the Brewers. He went 12-10 that season with a 3.90 ERA in 221.1 innings. But the arm problems caught back up with him the following season, limiting him to just 21 starts.

The Brewers traded Ben to the Indians after that season was over. But, when the Indians learned that Ben wasn't going to be able to pitch at all that season, they traded him back to Milwaukee. Ben then retired from baseball.

For his career, Ben was 78-70 with a 3.91 ERA.

1994 Ulta, Chris Bosio

2011-10-06T19:11:00.005-05:00

#417 Chris Bosio

Here is my third and final Chris Bosio card that I got signed in Des Moines, Iowa this summer while Chris was working as the Nashville Sounds pitching coach. You can see the first card here and the second card here.

In my last Bosio post, I talked about his days in Milwaukee where Chris won fourteen or more games three times. After the 1992 season, he hit the free agent market and ended up with Seattle. Unfortunately for the M's, Chris didn't achieve the same level of success that he had had with the Brewers.

Chris spent four seasons in Seattle and, during that time, he made more than thirty starts once and less that twenty starts twice. He posted a decent ERA of 3.45 in his first season, but it ballooned each year after that. It was 4.32 his second season, 4.92 his third season, and then 5.93 in his fourth and final season. Also, he only reached double digit wins once with the M's and that was in 1995 when he won ten games.

I was glad that I was able to find a card of Chris that wasn't a Brewers card. But, I do have issues with this card. Whenever I display a horizontal card in a binder, I always have the bottom horizontal edge on the right side of a nine pocket sheet. Basically, it would look like this.

With the strange layout of '94 Ultra, the card now appears to be in the pocket upside down and I do not put cards in binders upside down. That would just be dumb. If I rotate the card 180 degrees, the name and team become readable again, but now the card is facing a different direction than every other horizontal card in my collection. So, instead of looking upside down, it now appears to be backwards. What should I do?

1994 Topps, Bret Saberhagen

2011-10-05T10:41:00.003-05:00

#245 Bret Saberhagen

You didn't think I was going to get all of these cards signed by Bret and only get Royals cards signed, did you? No way, Jose. I had to get at least one Mets card signed and I would have gotten cards signed by him as a Rockie and Red Sock if I could have found some.

The eleventh of December, 1991, is still regarded as one of the saddest days in Royals history. It was on that day that the Royals traded two-time American League Cy Yound Award winner, Bret Saberhagen, (and Bill Pecota) to the Mets for Gregg Jeffries, Keith Miller, and Kevin McReynolds.

In hindsight, though, the trade does not look as bad today. It seems like the Royals traded Saberhagen at the right time. It would have looked a little better if the Royals had gotten some better players in return, but that is said of just about every single trade made.

Kevin McReynolds had two average seasons in Kansas City before being dealt back to the Mets. Gregg Jeffries spent just one season in KC before he was traded to St. Louis. Keith Miller lasted four seasons for the Royals, but he missed most of the last three because of injuries.

On the other hand, Bill Pecota played just one year for the Mets before leaving for Atlanta via free agency. Bret Saberhagen only lasted with the Mets for three and a half seasons and he was hurt for much of that time.

So in the end, this trade was pretty much a bust for both sides.

1994 Fleer Procards, Doug Sisson

2011-10-03T21:33:00.001-05:00

#3402 Doug Sisson

Here is the second card of Doug Sisson that I was able get signed at the Royals last home game of the season. The first one can be seen here.

I wrote a good deal about Doug on his previous post, so I am going to write about something different this time around. For this post, I am going to write about my experience autographing at that final game. And I will say that it certainly was a new experience for me, both good and bad.

For starters, my plan for the final game was to get to the park early enough to get autographs as the players arrived at the ballpark. I hadn't made it up to a game this year to 'graph the parking lot and I was hoping for a large haul as I have always done well there in the past. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to leave early enough to take full advantage of that, but I was there early enough to catch some of the late stragglers.

As soon as I got to the park, I saw Melky Cabrera about to enter the park and I asked him to sign. He just ignored me and went on his way. No big deal. But then, a Royals parking lot attendant came up to me and told me that I was in a "no autograph zone". I gave him my best "are you serious?" look since I have gotten 'graphs there more than a few times over the past couple of years. He kept talking a bit, but I just ignored him and waited for him to leave on his golf cart.

The next thing you know, a cab pulled up and out walked the Tigers Will Rhymes. I went up to him and asked him to sign and he signed my two cards for me. By the time he entered the park, a Royals employee came out of the park dressed in suit and tie and said to me "you do realize this is a no autograph zone, don't you?". I was just like "wow, they are serious about this".

He gave me a map of the two spots that were allocated as "autograph zones" and went on to tell me that it has been this way for a few months. I asked him why they changed things and he said it all happened during the Red Sox and Yankees series because they had some issues, but he wouldn't get into any specifics. So, I just said whatever and went to hang out with the guys in the "autograph zone". It then dawned on me why I was the only person trying to get Will Ryhmes' autograph.

Over in the "autograph zone", I started to get some feedback from the other 'graphers about what had happened. They said it all started with someone tying to get Melky Cabrera's autograph. When he declined to sign, one person started talking smack and bringing up a past DUI infraction or something. I guess Melky got kind of heated over it and that is what started it. The same guy then pulled the same stunt with a couple of other players and rather than dealing with the problem, the Royals got all drastic and divided up the outside of the park like a post Desert Storm Iraq.

Now, when a Royals player parks in the players lot, he has two options. The first option is to take the underground tunnel into the park. This seems like the longer route and it is usually utilized by the early arrivers. In this scenario, the player walks by the first designated "autograph zone", but he can still be about fifteen feet from the fans if he doesn't want to sign.

In the second scenario, the player parks in the lot and then walks across a small public lot to the park. At least that was how the scenario used to play out. Now, when they leave the lot, they are picked up by the lot attendant in the golf cart and are dropped off at the "no autograph zone" main entrance. From what I could gather from the other disgruntled 'graphers, the Royals encourage the players to ride the cart rather than walking.

So all in all, my experience outside of Kauffman Stadium was rather unpleasant and not at all fan-friendly. I hope that they can get something figured out in time for the All Star game next year or they are going to be in a world of hurt.

So, while I was all bummed out by that experience, another 'grapher told me about the "early bird tour". He said that it was basically a trimmed down ballpark tour, but it is usually dominated by 'graphers who just went down to the dugouts for Royals batting practice. It cost ten dollars a head, but it got you into the ballpark an hour earlier than everyone else. So, I went ahead and bought a pair.

For some reason, I had never heard of this option. But, even though it cost as much as tickets to fanfest, I enjoyed the "early bird tour". For one, I got to see the Royals entire batting practice. It has been some time since I have been able to see that at home.

But more importantly, it allowed me to get some much needed Royals autographs that I wouldn't be able to get if I waited for the gates to open (like this card). When the gates usually open, Royals batting practice is almost finished and I always head to the visiting team side. But with the "early bird tour", I was able to 'graph the Royals while I had my dad saved me my spot on the visiting team side. I'm not sure if it was really worth twenty dollars, but it was the final game of what has been a crappy autograph season for me and it turned out for the best.

Here are my rankings of the new autograph policies at Kauffman Stadium.

Autograph Zones: Thumbs down. Hopefully, they will come up with a happy compromise before next year.

Early Bird Tour: Thumbs up, as long as you are not expecting an actual tour.

1993 Fleer Procards, Erik Bennett

2011-10-02T16:05:00.000-05:00

#314 Erik Bennett

Here is another card that I got signed in Colorado Springs this past July. Erik was the pitching coach for the visiting Salt Lake Bees and he was nice enough to sign this card for me after the game.

Colorado Srpings has a nice setup for graphing the visiting team. The visiting team clubhouse is behind third base, but on the same level as the concourse. In order for the players to get to the field, they have to go down the same steps that a fan sitting in the first row would go down to get to his seat. That makes them very accessable to the fans. Surprisingly, very few people were taking advantage of this fan-friendly environment. Most of the people that wanted autographs were hanging out on the Sky Sox side of the field where there was a direct route from the clubhouse to the field.

As far as I can tell, Erik Bennett has only one Major League baseball card and it is from the 1996 Leaf Signature Series set and it is, of course, already signed. Lucky for me then that I was able to find this card on checkoutmycards.com for less than a buck and then get it signed. Of course, I could have just bought his signed Leaf card for just four cents more and then saved money by not going out to Colorado Springs this summer. But, what fun would that have been?

Erik pitched in the Major Leagues for parts of two seasons and that is putting it genorously. In 1995, Erik pitched one third of an inning for the Angels. The strange part about it is that his Major League Debut came in May and not September. He came into a game against the Twins with two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the eigth and got the pinch hitter to fly out to center. That was the only game he got into as an Angel.

The Twins must have liked what they saw that game because they signed him to a deal after the season was over. With the Twins, Erik got into 24 games and he went 2-0 with a save and a lofty 7.90 ERA in 27.1 innings of work.

After that, it was back to the minors for Erik. He continued to pitch until 2001, spending his final three seasons in the now defunt Western League.

Erik dosn't have much for an autograph, but at least he dots his imaginary "i" and crosses his "t's".

Erik is playing for the Midland Angels in this card. While Texas League ball is still being played in Midland, they are no longer called the Angels or even affiliated with them. The team is now called the Rock Hounds and the A's are their parent club.

1992 Upper Deck, Mo Vaughn

2011-09-30T11:06:00.004-05:00

#445 Mo Vaughn

Here is another card that Padrograph Rod sent me back in January that I somehow forgot to scan. The one features the former Red Sox, Angels, and Mets slugger, Mo Vaughn.

This is the second Mo Vaughn card that I have posted on here. I posted the first one back in 2009 and it can be seen here.

If you check out my first Vaughn post, you will see that the two signatures are completely different. The first one was obtained TTM in the early '90s and I have no idea how this one was obtained. I looked at some photos of Mo's signature on SCN and I found examples that matched both autographs. The earliest one on there looks just like the first card I posted. That make sense since both cards were signed TTM around the same time.

I also found signatures that resemble this signature. All of the more recent signatures from Mo look like a shortened version of this signature, so that would make me think that this is an authentic autograph. So, that raises one question.

Is my early '90s Mo Vaughn autograph legit? Or did Mo use a ghost signer that didn't even know what to sign the cards with?

1992 Skybox AAA, Doug Linton

2011-09-29T19:04:00.002-05:00

#228 Doug Linton

Here is the second and final Doug Linton card that I was able to get signed in Colorado Springs over the summer. Doug was the pitching coach for the Sky Sox and I got this card signed just prior to the game.

For some reason, I did not buy nearly as many of these Skybox cards as I did of the Line Drive cards that looked similar and came out the previous year. I'm not sure if that was because my local supermarket did not carry these or if it was because I was about to enter high school and collecting was about to hit the back burner. Either way, it kind of sucks because I have few of these cards to search through when looking for cards to get signed.

If you haven't already, you need to head over to The Great Orioles Autograph Project and enter his second annual postseason contest. It is real easy to enter and you could come out with cool and unique prizes. The deadline to enter is at first pitch tomorrow (Friday).

1992 Score. Chris Bosio

2011-09-28T10:42:00.002-05:00

#37 Chris Bosio

Here is the second of three Chris Bosio cards that I got signed at an Iowa Cubs game in July. Chris was the pitching coach for the visiting Nashville Sounds.

Chris pitched for the Brewers for seven seasons and spent a majority of the time as a starter. Though he never made an All Star team or propelled the Brewers to the playoffs, he did have some really good seasons. He had double digit wins in four of his seven seasons with the club, including a career high of 16 in 1992.

Even though he finished that season 16-6, I would say that 1989 was his best season as a Brewer. That year, he finished 15-10. Obviously, that is not as good as 16-6, but he had other stats stand out as well. His ERA that year was a career best 2.95 and he struck out 173 batter which was also a career high. That must be why Donruss rewarded him with a Diamond King card in their 1990 set.

After 1992, Chris left Milwaukee and headed to Seattle via the free agent route. But, I will get into that next week when I post my third and final card of Chris.

CONTEST TIME!!

2011-09-27T14:53:00.002-05:00

But not here, though. I run the College World Series Contest. Ryan, from The Great Orioles Autograph Project, is holding his second annual Postseason Baseball Contest. The two contests are actually pretty similar while being worlds apart. His is certainly simpler than mine, plus it involves teams that everyone is familar with. All you have to do is fill out a postseason bracket and you have the potential to win some really cool stuff. Since not all of the playoff spots are locked down, you will not be able to enter until Thursday (or whenever all the spots are clinched). But don't wait too long because once the playoffs get underway, the entry period will be over. Good luck!

1991 Topps, Rich Rodriguez

2011-09-26T21:28:00.002-05:00

#573 Rich Rodriguez

Here is a card that I was supposed to post a long time ago. This card was sent to me by Rod, from Padrographs, back in January. Somehow though, this card got skipped in my scanning and I am just now getting around to it.

This is not the first Rich Rodriguez autograph that Rod has sent me. He sent me one a few years ago and I posted in at the end of 2008 and it can be see here. If you take a peek at that post, one thing should stand out to you and that would be that the two signatures look completely different. The first one takes up most of the card and is real loopy and hard to make out. While this one is also hard to make out, it looks completely different than the first one. The easiest parts of the signature to compare to each other is the "z" and the end of his name. The one on this card looks like a normal-looking cursive "z" while the one on the '91 Leaf card looks way more stylized.

So, if I had to pick one or the other as authentic, I think that I would go with this one. I haven't taken the time to look up any other Rich Rodriguez autographs on the web beside the one on his Baseball Almanac page and that one mostly resembles this one. Whether or not that is a correct guess or not remains to be seen. Maybe there is someone reading this that got Rich in-person who could be of some help.

1991 Stadium Club, Bret Saberhagen

2011-09-25T18:57:00.002-05:00

#28 Bret Saberhagen

Here is what I beleive is the fourth Bret Saberhagen card I have posted in the past couple of months. I am running out of stuff to say about Bret, so I guess I'll talk more about the card than him.

This is the first card that I have got signed from the inaugural Stadium Club set. The set was so pricey when it came out that I did not buy too many packs. As a result, I have little to rummage through when I try to find cards to get signed.

This card is from the Members Only set and, to be honest, I know nothing about the set. I don't know how they were obtained or how many cards were in the set. All I know is that they say "MEMBERS ONLY" in foil on the front and the backs are completely different than the regular set. The regular set had stats on the back and other stuff while this card here just talks about Bret no-hitting the Pale Hose. And yes, it actually calls the Sox the Pale Hose.

So, even though this card is from the Members Only set, I am still happy to have a '91 Stadium Club of any kind signed.

1991 Sport Pro Butte Copper Kings, Doug Sisson

2011-09-23T20:43:00.002-05:00

#27 Doug Sisson

Here is a card that I got signed at the Royals last home game of the season on Wednesday. Doug is the Royals first base coach and I was able to get this card signed before batting practice started.

If you have never heard of Doug, don't feel bad. I was the same way when the Royals announced his addition to the coaching staff. I promptly looked at checkoutmycards.com to see what cards he had and was disappointed to see that he didn't have one on there. But, thanks to a seller on there by the name of "minorleaguemania", some Doug Sisson cards eventually became available and I picked a couple up and finally got them signed at the last home game.

Amazingly, Doug has never played pro ball. Wikipedia says that he was signed by the Twins, but I can't find any stats of his on Baseball Reference. In fact, when I typed his name in there, it took me directly to his minor league managing page. I didn't even know such a page existed.

But, let me tell you what Doug has done this year for the Royals. He is not only their first base coach, but he is also the outfielders coach. And under his watch, the Royals have quietly put together one of the best outfields in baseball. This year, the Royals became the first team in the history of the game to have three outfielders with forty or more doubles. Now, that probably has more to do with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer than it does with the outfielders coach. But, the Royals outfielder's play in the field has been pretty good, too. For instance, the Royals outfield leads the Majors in assists. Plus, Alex Gordon leads the Majors in outfield assists this year with twenty (a new Royals record) while Jeff Francouer is second with four less. Did I mention that Alex Gordon was a third baseman until a season and a half ago?

Doug is also the base running coach and the Royals somehow lead the American League in stolen bases right now. Francouer has somehow swiped twenty-two bases and that broke his previous career high of eight. As Mel Allen would have said- "How about that?"

Doug is pictured with the Butte Copper Kings on this card. The Copper Kings are no longer playing in Butte, though, as they relocated to Casper, Wyoming in 2001. The Copper Kings played in the Pioneer League and were affiliated with the Texas Rangers when this card came out.

1991 Orioles Crown, Dick Hall

2011-09-22T20:10:00.000-05:00

#174 Dick Hall

Here is a card that I got in a little trade with Ryan from The Great Orioles Autograph Project. If you have never seen his blog, you should check it out. Ryan is trying to get one autograph from every single Oriole that has played for them and, amazingly, he is only nine signatures short of completing the task. That just shows how determined Ryan is on completing his project and his blog reflects that passion as well.

Back in the winter of 2010, Ryan sent me a Jamie Quirk Crown card to get signed at Royals Fanfest and, to my dismay, I was unable to get the card signed. So, to make it up to him this year, I bought my own Quirk Crown card and had planned on surprising him by getting it signed and sent without him knowing about it. But then, right before Orioles Fanfest, Ryan posted on his blog about him willing to get some cards signed at O'sFest for his readers if they sent him a card of those players. I wanted to take advantage of Ryan's generosity, but I didn't have any cards of the guys that he was offering to get some cards signed for (I don't think "take advantage" were the right words). So, I told Ryan what I was up to and he agreed to get a card or two signed for me.

After O'sFest, Ryan told me which cards that he got signed and he let me pick the ones I wanted. For Dick Hall, he had this card and a 1970 Topps card. Normally, I would have jumped all over the '70 Topps because I love getting older cards signed. But, while I had the Quirk Crown card in my collection for a week and a half, I got kind of attached to it. So, I picked this Crown card over the 1970 card just to fill a void in my collection and I could not have been happier with my choice. Thanks, Ryan!

As for Dick, he had an interesting career. He broke into the big leagues in 1952 with the Pirates as an outfielder/infielder. That lasted all of three seasons before being converted to a pitcher in '55. It seems like that was a good choice since Dick pitched in the Majors until his final year in 1971. He was mainly a reliever and he recorded twelve saves in a season twice and finished his career with 68. He also had an amazing strikeout to walk ratio of 3.14. That is the kind of guy any team wants coming out of the pen, especially if there are men on base.

Thanks again, Ryan!

1991 Line Drive AAA, Terry Clark

2011-09-19T18:07:00.003-05:00

#607 Terry Clark

Here is the third and final Terry Clark card that I got signed in Omaha this summer. Terry is the pitching coach for the Round Rock Express and he signed this card prior to a game in July.

I really have nothing else to say about Terry that I hadn't already said in the previous two posts. But, I will say this:

First- I love how well the blue Sharpie came out over the red jersey. The signature just pops off the card.

Second- I think it is funny that Line Drive dubbed this set as "pre-rookie" even though Terry and yesterdays post, Robbie Wine, had actual rookie cards in base sets in the late '80s. Maybe 'pre-rookie" is not the best moniker for a AAA set.

And Last- If I did not know any better, I would think that Terry's name is Ty Clark, based off his signature.

One Last Thing- Terry is still rocking the mustache.

1991 Line Drive AAA, Robbie Wine

2011-09-18T21:16:00.002-05:00

#572 Robbie Wine

Here is the third and final Robbiw Wine card that I got signed at a Wichita State game this past spring. Robbie is the head baseball coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

This card shows Robbie as a member of the Tidewater Tides. The funny thing about this card is that Robbie never played a game for the Tides. Robbie's Baseball Reference page lists 1990 as his final season as a player and that season was spent with the Indians AA team. So, I guess that the Mets signed him after that season and assigned him to their AAA team and then cut him before he ever appeared in a game for them? Sounds good to me. At least he was around for photo day to take this nice posed shot.

I went to the Royals game today and it could have been a good day for 'graphing if the weather would have cooperated. It had been cloudy all day, but the rain stayed away. But, shortly after the gates opened, it started to sprinkle. I still got a few signatures, but it would have been much better if it was dry. I missed out on the White Sox Matt Thornton, Sergio Santos, and Chris Sale because I didn't want to get my cards signed while it was sprinkling. If you have ever tried 'graphing cards in wet weather, it is usually not a good idea. The smallest sprinkle of rain on a wet Sharpie signature shows up real easily and if the Sharpie hits a water drop on the card, you end up with a two-tone signature. Either way, it is not good. About half of the cards that I did get signed today had one of those two problems associated with it.

1989-90 Pacific Senior League, Bobby Jones

2011-09-16T17:26:00.003-05:00

#98 Bobby Jones

Here is the second card that I got Bobby to sign for me before his Round Rock Express took on the Omaha Storm Chasers in Omaha this summer. The first card can be seen here.

I really love this set and I enjoy getting cards signed from it. Unfortunately, this is the only signed one that I have been able to aquire this year. The last time I posted a card from this set was June of 2010. That was quite a drout. But, I finally got one signed over the summer and it was also my first Fort Myers Sun Sox card from the set that I got signed. I think there is just one more team that I do not have a card signed from and that is the Orlando Juice.

Bobby lead the Express to the playoffs this season, but the team fell to the Storm Chasers in the first round.

1990 Donruss, Chris Bosio

2011-09-15T16:50:00.003-05:00

#20 Chris Bosio

Here is a card that I got signed in Des Moines this summer. Chris is the pitching coach for the Nashville Sounds and I was able to get this card signed just before the game started. I was a little worried that I would get denied on this one since the the National Anthem had already been sung and the I-Cubs were already on the field. But, Chris came right over and signed all three cards for me.

The signatures seem kind of sloppy, but they seem like a shorter version of the sample provided by Baseball Almanac in the link. I am not sure if this is what Chris' signature looks like now or if this a hurried "the game is about to start" signature.

This is the second Diamond King from this set that I have got signed. I got Dan Gladden in Arlington a couple of years ago and it looks just as good. Actually, it looks a bit better since Dan has a neater signature. But, either way, you cannot beat a signed Diamond king.

It looks to me like Dick Perez created the wi-fi logo that pops up on my phone whenever I find a hot spot. I hope that he is getting credit for it.

1990 CMC, Terry Clark

2011-09-14T11:19:00.003-05:00

#605 Terry Clark

Here is the second of three cards that Terry signed for me at a Omaha Storm Chasers game this summer. The first one can be seen by scrolling down a bit.

In the first Terry Clark post, I mentioned that he pitched over 1800 innings in the minors. So, it is only appropriate that I got him to sign a minor league card, too.

Thank goodness for the plethora of minor league cards that came out in the late '80s and early '90s. Most of them are about worthless now as the pre-rookie concept never really caught on. But, without all of those minor league sets, my autograph collection would be a little thinner since a minor league card is sometimes the only card available to get autographed.

In my last post about Doug Linton, I said that I was able to find two minor league cards of him and then not a single Major League card. I was a little more lucky with Terry. With him, I also quickly found two minor league cards of him. Then I started to look for a Major League card and I quickly found his '89 Donruss card that I posted previously. It turns out that that card is a double print. So, if I had continued to go through my '89 Donruss collection, I probably could have found seven more of the same card. Why couldn't Doug Linton have had a card doubled printed?

Terry is playing for the Tucson Toros in this card. They were the Astros AAA team at the time. The Toros (and Tucson Sidewinders) quit playing in the Pacific Coast League after the 1997 season. But, thanks to the banishment of baseball in Portland, Oregon, Tucson has a new AAA team- the Tucson Padres. Tucson is only supposed to be a temporary home for the Padres AAA team, so it will be interesting to see how long they stay there.

1990 CMC, Doug Linton

2011-09-12T18:01:00.004-05:00

#331 Doug Linton

Here is a card that I got signed in Colorado Springs over the summer. Doug is the pitching coach for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and I was able to get this card signed just before the game started (and right after I got the previous post to sign).

Doug pitched in the Majors for parts of seven seasons, but I was unable to find a single Major League card of him. I bought a bunch of cards to get signed on that trip, but I did not bother to buy any cards of Doug. I had dug up two minor league cards of him and I thought for sure that I would be able to find a Major League card in my collection. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Doug's Major League career only lasted seven seasons, but those seven seasons spanned over twelve years. He made his debut with the Jays in 1992 and he pitched a few games with them in '93 before being claimed by the Angels early on that season. He then pitched for the Mets in '94 before playing for the Royals in '95 and '96. After that, he disappeared to the minors for a few years before appearing for the Orioles in '99 and then the Jays again in 2003.

For his career, Doug was 17-20 with zero saves and a 5.78 ERA.

I really like Doug's signature. His last name isn't exactly readable, but it sure looks cool.

1990 Best Memphis Chicks, Stu Cole

2011-09-09T10:07:00.002-05:00

#4 Stu Cole

Here is another card that I got signed in Colorado Springs this summer. This one was signed by Stu Cole, the Sky Sox manager.

Unknown to me at the time, Stu saw a bit of Major League action in 1991 as a Royals September call-up. Since the only card I could find of him was a minor league card, I just figured that he was a career minor leaguer. But, that was not the case and I was actually surprised to see that Stu did appear in two different Topps set. He was in 1992 Stadium Club and 1992 Topps Debut, a set I had never heard of before. I knew Topps put out a Debut set in 1990, but I had no idea that they did it more than once.

Stu got into nine games with the Royals that September and October and he went 1-7 at the plate with a run and two walks. The one hit he did have set up a twelfth inning walk-off walk for the Royals. He only started one game during the call-up and it was on the final day of the season. On that day, most of the regulars got the day off and the Kansas City Royals basically put the Omaha Royals out on the field that day. Here are some of the names that filled out Hal McRea's lineup that day- Bobby Moore, Harvey Pulliam, Jorge Pedre, and Tim Spehr. Stu was eventually pinch hit for in the bottom of the ninth by some guy named George Brett, who struck out looking.

After that season, it was back to the minors for good for Stu. He played for four more seasons, spending the final three with the Sky Sox, the team he currently manages.

1989 Upper Deck, Jim Eppard

2011-09-08T19:40:00.002-05:00

#614 Jim Eppard

Here is the second and final card that I got Jim Eppard to sign for me after a Colorado Springs Sky Sox game this summer. Jim is the hitting coach for the Salt Lake Bees and he was nice enough to sign this card for me after a crushing ten inning loss to the Sox.

I had to buy this card from checkoutmycards.com because I could not find a single card of Jim in my collection. That was kind of sad, especially because I know I have his '89 Topps card somewhere. I took that card with me to a Bees game in 2008 and I did not get it signed. I haven't seen it since. I posted about this very problem with Mike Mason a week and a half ago. I think I may make it my goal this winter to get all of my cards organized and vow to keep them that way. We'll see how well that goes, if it even goes at all.

Jim played parts of four seasons with the Angels and Blue Jays from 1987-90. His biggest season was in '88 and that was the only time he had more than 12 at-bats in a season. That year, he got into 56 games and he came to the plate 126 times. He hit .283 that season with a OBP of .347. He had 3 doubles, a triple, and 14 RBI. That may not seem all that great, but it certainly isn't bad for the fourth outfielder. Sure, he didn't have much power, but at least he got on base.

After his last appearance in the Majors, Jim played three more seasons in the minors. In 1991, he was with a high-A team. He was back in AAA in '92. And in '93, he was with the St.Paul Saints of the independent Northern League. If you check out the Saints roster from that year, you will see that Jim was teammates with Leon Durham, Kevin Millar, and Rey Ordonez. Minnie Minoso even had one at-bat with them that season. That sounds like it might have been a fun team to watch.

1989 Topps, Robin Ventura

2011-09-07T11:37:00.002-05:00

#764 Robin Ventura

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times- Do not go to the College World Series without something for Robin Ventura to sign. He works as the color commentator for ESPN and he is at the CWS every single year. Some years he does signings for the corporate sponsors and some years he does not. But, it is always handy to have something for him to sign just in case. I've been to the CWS each of the last five years and Robin has signed in three of the five.

The first time I came across Robin at the CWS, he was signing at the State Farm booth and they did not have anything for him to sign. The AT&T booth always provides 8x10s for free, but State Farm was behind the curve that year and I passed on a free autograph since I had nothing worth getting signed.

Two years later, Robin signed at the AT&T booth and I got an 8x10 signed and a card of him as a Dodger. The only reason I got that card signed was because it was the first card of him that I dug up. Last year, I took a little more effort to find some better cards of Robin to get signed and this was the best one that I found. What better card is there to have Robin sign at the College World Series than this one?

I missed out on Robin last year, but I got him this year at the Capital One booth. The card came out looking great with the black Sharpie on the orange jersey and background. This card just screams out Oklahoma State.

Robin signed the next day at the AT&T tent, but I was so happy with this card that I decided to save my 1994 Bowman's Best card of him for another time.

1989 Donruss, Terry Clark

2011-09-04T10:11:00.002-05:00

#607 Terry Clark

Here is a card that I got signed in Omaha in July. The Round Rock Express were in town to face the Storm Chasers and Terry is the pitching coach for the Express. I was able to get this card signed prior to the contest.

Terry had a long career as a professional pitcher, but you would not have guessed that based on the number of baseball cards of him. Terry has a card in each of the five main sets in 1989 and then only one other card after that. When I was trying to dig up some cards of him, I just assumed that he only played in the Major Leagues for one season. Boy was I wrong.

Terry made his Major League debut with the Angels in 1988 and he went 6-6 with them over 15 starts. He only made 4 starts in the Majors in '89 and 1, with the Astros, in 1990. He then disappeared to the minors for four full seasons before resurfacing with the Braves in '95. At that point, he went into full journeyman mode and proceeded to play for six different teams over a three year span. 1995 was with Atlanta and Baltimore, '96 was with Kansas City and Houston, and '97 was with Cleveland and Texas. Terry even pitched for two more seasons in the minors, but he never made it back up to the Show.

When he was all said and done, Terry had pitched professionally for twenty-one seasons and eleven organizations. While he only threw 232.1 innings in the Majors, he did log over 1800 in the minors. That has got to be worth something.

1989 Baseabll Card Magazine, Bret Saberhagen

2011-09-03T11:20:00.000-05:00

#48 Bret Saberhagen

Here is the next Bret Saberhagen card that I was able to get signed at the Menards grand opening in May. Somehow, the card got a little crooked in the scanner, but I am too lazy to rescan it.

I took this card with me to get signed just because it is fun to get an oddball card signed sometimes. Unfortunately, oddball cards like this rarely hit the market anymore with Topps' stranglehold on the industry, but it was a different world in the late '80s. I am assuming that this card was part of an uncut sheet in the magazine and that someone took the time to cut it out and add to their collection. I don't remember Baseball Card Magazine, but since this card is numbered 48, I am assuming that they inserted five or six cards per issue over the course of the year.

I think it is funny that BCM copied a classic Topps design for this card. They did forget one thing, though, and that is the facsimile signature. Luckily, I was able to correct that by getting Bret to sign it himself. It is not signed in black like it should be, but Bret was pretty content with signing all the cards in blue that day.

You don't see this too often on cards, but check out the cutie behind Bret. It looks like she is posing for the photographer as well.

1988 Topps, Robbie Wine

2011-09-01T20:30:00.002-05:00

#119 Robbie Wine

Here is the second of three cards that Robbie signed for me at a Wichita State baseball game in March. Robbie is the head baseball coach for Penn State and the first card can be seen by scrolling down a couple of posts.

Since I still have one more card to post of Robbie and little else to say about him, I am going to dedicate this post to the 88 Topps Blog. That blog was the first baseball card blog that I encountered and I tried to model my blog as best I could off of it. Back then, I didn't even realize I was reading a blog at all. That stuff was still new to me and I just figured I was checking in on an actual web page. I know that sounds dumb today, but I had no clue back in 2008.

It is kind of funny if you check out the post about this card on that blog because Andy was really short on words with Robbie as well. All Robbie got from Andy was two sentences, but the second one is very informative. It states that "since 1980, Wine has the 6th most career at-bats for a player who never registered an RBI or HR". That is a fascinating stat and that was one of the fun things about the '88 Topps blog- Andy truly knew how to manipulate the baseball reference site to the fullest. I wish I could find half of the stuff that he was able to dig up.

1988 Topps, Mike Mason

2011-08-30T19:57:00.003-05:00

#87 Mike Mason

Here is the second of two cards that Mike Mason signed for me in Des Moines last month. Normally, I always take three cards of a player/coach with me with the hopes that they might sign all three. But, I only took two cards of Mike with me on that trip because that was I all I could find. I have most of my cards from the '80s and '90s neatly organized in 5000 count boxes. But I have one major flaw with my collection. Once a card comes out of those boxes for whatever reason, it rarely makes it back into them. That's why I could only find two cards of Mike this summer. I went to my first I-Cubs game two years ago and Mike was their pitching coach back then, too. I took three cards of him to that game and didn't get them signed. Those three cards had been missing ever since. I actually came across those cards a couple of weeks ago while searching for another long-lost card, but it was a little late by then. I guess that if there is one thing I need to improve upon with my collection, it is keeping up with my organization. This was not the first time that this situation had occurred.

Mike pitched in the Major Leagues for parts of seven seasons. He spent the majority of the time with the Rangers, but he did spend some time with the Cubs and Twins as well. He was mostly a starter and his best season probably came in 1984. He was only 9-13 that year, but his did post career bests in ERA (3.61) and strikeouts (113).

Mike has been the I-Cubs pitching coach since 2008.

1988 Donruss, Robbie Wine

2011-08-27T11:07:00.002-05:00

#508 Robbie Wine

I am completely understaffed at work and have been working 55+ hours a week the past two weeks. So, if you have been wondering where I have gone, that's where. The bad news is that there is no immediate end in site. But, I will be working less nights next week, so I hope to post a few more cards next week than I posted this week. The key word there is hope.

Anyway, here is a card of Robbie Wine that I got signed in March. Robbie is the head coach for the Penn State baseball team and I was able to get this card signed at a Wichita State game. Robbie was really nice and he signed all three cards that I had of him.

I got the cards signed on the 20th of March and I was surprised to learn that Penn State hadn't even played a home game yet. By that time, the Shockers had hosted eight home games and six of them were held in February. Now, hosting outdoor baseball in Kansas in February is somewhat questionable since the temperatures barely reach the 40s, but they somehow pulled it off. It just seems strange to me when northern and eastern colleges travel to Kansas for their spring break games.

The one year I played JUCO baseball in southern Kansas, we went down to Texas on spring break to get games in. This past year, I had at least four NAIA schools come through my store that were playing the local Kansas schools for their spring break. That just seems so weird to me. It might have something to do with the economy and gas prices, but is still seems odd. I just never envisioned Kansas as an ideal spring break destination. But if you play baseball for Iowa Wesleyan, apparently Kansas is the place to be in March.

Robbie is the son of former player/manager Bobby Wine. I recently traded for a card of Bobby on the Topps Diamond Giveaway site to send to him TTM for an autograph. If it wasn't for getting his son's autograph, I probably would have traded for someone else.

1988 CMC, Jim Eppard

2011-08-22T18:12:00.004-05:00

#498 Jim Eppard

Here is a card that I was able to get signed last month at a Colorado Springs Sky Sox game. Jim was the hitting coach for the visiting Salt Lake Bees and I was able to get this card signed after the game.

That game, I decided to 'graph the home team side and I had my buddy 'graph the visiting team side. My friend doesn't collect cards or autographs, so I basically just threw him to the fire. He had a little bit of practice the night before at an American Association game, but that is nothing like 'graphing a AAA game where seventy-five percent of the players have cards made of them. But, my buddy did a surprisingly good job and I think that he got more autographs at the game than I did. And, even though he doesn't collect cards, he has started a small autograph collection for his son with some of the doubles that he got signed for me on that trip. His son, who is only four, absolutely loved the autographs. Hopefully I have created a new autograph collector.

Unfortunately, my buddy missed all of the Bees coaches. Since none of them had much for Major League cards, I was lucky enough to find some minor league cards of them on checkoutmycards.com. I've noticed that there has been much more minor league cards on there recently and most of them cost less than a dollar. So, I picked some up on there and I was not leaving that park without a few of them signed. Even though the Bees lost in ten innings, I was still able to get cards signed by two of their three coaches. The manager was the only one that wasn't willing to sign.

Jim is playing for the Edmonton Trappers in this card. At that time, they were the Angels AAA team. Since then, though, the Trappers have moved to Texas where they are now known as the Round Rock Express. Pro ball is still being played in Edmonton, though, but it is in the form of the North American League's Edmonton Capitals.

This is the first card from this set that I have got signed.

1987 Topps, Spike Owen

2011-08-21T17:09:00.003-05:00

#591 Spike Owen

Here is the second and final Spike Owen card that I was able to get signed in Omaha last month. Spike is a coach for the Round Rock Express and I got this card signed prior to a game against the Storm Chasers.

Spike played in the Majors for thirteen seasons and he played for five teams- the Mariners, Red Sox, Expos, Yankees, and Angels. He never made an All Star team, but he did start all seven games of the 1986 World Series where he hit .300 and played errorless shortstop. He hit .246 for his career and he hit 46 home runs, including a season-best 7 with the Expos in 1992.

I don't know what it is about this card, but the signature sure does stand out.

1987 Donruss, Mike Mason

2011-08-20T11:56:00.004-05:00

#284 Mike Mason

Here is a card that I got signed in Des Moines last month. Mike is the pitching coach for the Iowa Cubs and I was able to get this card signed prior to a game against the Nashville Sounds.

Mike spent most of his pre-game time talking with that nights starter, Casey Coleman. When I asked him to sign for me, he just held out his finger like he was telling me to wait a minute. He then continued talking to Casey for another five minutes or so. When they were done talking, Mike started to make his way to the stands to sign and by that time, there was a bunch of kids around asking for his autograph. But, he came straight to me and signed my two cards before moving over and signing for the kids. I thought that was pretty cool.

As for his pre-game pep talk to Casey Coleman, I hope that they were talking about batting. Casey lasted seven innings, but he surrendered six runs. At the plate, though, he was 2-3 with a triple and two RBI. I'm not sure if I had ever seen a pitcher hit a triple before that night.

Mike has got to have the two craziest "M's" that I have ever seen in a signature. I really do not know what to make of them. If you click on the link at the top of the post, you'll be redirected to Mike's Baseball Almanac page. They have an autograph of him there that must have been obtained a few years ago becuase the signature is similar, but the "M's" are completely different.

1986 Topps, Jerry Mumphrey

2011-08-19T18:17:00.000-05:00

#76T Jerry Mumphrey

Here is the third and final card that Jerry signed for me TTM this past winter. I sent Jerry his '78 Topps card, his '81 Donruss card, and this one. I sent the '78 just because I had unlocked it in the Topps Million Card giveaway and the '81 because I like the set. I sent this one, though, for a little bit different reason.

When I posted the '85 Fleer Update card of Gary Lavelle, I talked about how I got an incomplete complete set out of a stocking that my buddy gave me for Christmas. When I saw the set in there, I asked him where he got it and if they still had any left. He said that they did and that they were on clearance, too. So, a couple of days later, I went over to the hardware store and bought four more stockings. One had the '86 Topps Update set(minus Bo, Barry, Bobby, and Wally Joyner), one had the '88 Donruss Rookies set, one had an actual sealed and unopened set of '90 Fleer Update, and the last had a '91 Score Rookie/Traded set.

Since the '86 Topps set was not complete, I had no problem with sending this card out with the other two. The funny thing is that this one actually got damaged on the trip home while the other two cards came out unscathed. It's funny how things work out like that.

Jerry sure does have an interesting "J". I would say that it looks more like a "Z" than a "J", but what do I know?

1986 Topps, Bret Saberhagen

2011-08-18T11:37:00.002-05:00

#720 Bret Saberhagen

Here is the second Bret Saberhagan card that I got signed at my local Menards grand opening in May. If you haven't read about how great a show Meanrds does for their grand openings, just scroll down a few posts to the previous Saberhagen post and check it out. They seem to go all-out for them.

I have three more Saberhagen cards to post after this one and I am short on time, so I am going to keep this one short. But, I will say this. For some reason, I have always liked the '86 Topps All Star cards. They are similar to the base set, but are clearly different. There is no black on the border and these cards tend to look a little better than the base cards after twenty-five years of wear and tear.

I'm real OCD when it comes to my autographed cards and I like to store them in binders by year, brand, and card number (just like I post them on here). It just happened to turn out that this card sits next to my John Tudor All Star card from the same set. For those of you that don't remember or weren't around then, the Royals and Cardinals squared off in the '85 World Series and Tudor and Saberhagen were the number one starters for their respective teams. Every time I flip my binder to that page and I notice those two cards, I always chuckle to myself and mumble something to the effect of "suck it Cardinals".

1986 Topps, Spike Owen

2011-08-16T19:26:00.002-05:00

#248 Spike Owen

Here is another card that I got signed in Omaha last month. This one is signed by the Round Rock Express (I mistakenly called them the Oklahoma Redhawks yesterday) third base coach, Spike Owen. At least I think he is their third base coach. The Express website lists Spike as the interim manager. But since the actual Express manager was at that game, I doubt that the interim manager tag has much truth left in it. Spike may have been the interim manager at some point this season, but that is no longer the case. Maybe he was the hitting coach until Bobby Jones was needed by the Texas Rangers. In any case, the Express are now operating with four coaches and that is a bit unusual in the minors.

I will always remember Spike Owen from my youth. His cards were worthless and I knew nothing about him, but I'll be damned if he did not have the coolest name in baseball in the '80s. Being all grown up now, I just figured that Spike was his nickname. Luckily, that is not the case. His given name is Spike Dee Owen and I am not making that up. If he had been born in the late '80s/early '90s, one would think that he was named after Spike Lee. The funny thing is that Spike's older brother, Dave, was born three years before him. So, in a three year stint, their parents went from giving the kids ordinary names to naming one Spike Dee. It doesn't get any better than that. It should therefore come as no surprise that Dave went to Texas-Arlington while Spike attended Texas-Austin. That just goes to show a far a name can take you.

Before Spike signed this card, he informed everyone that he was in a hurry and couldn't sign everything. But, he still signed two of the three cards that I had of him and I could not have been happier. Thanks Spike Dee!

1986 Topps, Bob Jones

2011-08-15T18:10:00.003-05:00

#142 Bob Jones

Here is a card that I was able to get signed in Omaha last month. Bobby is the manager of the the Rangers AAA affiliate, the Round Rock Express, and I was able to get this card signed prior to their contest against the Storm Chasers. Omaha has a nice set-up for the autograph seekers as both teams enter the field from left field. I didn't recognize Bobby when he walked by, but I was lucky enough that the Hawks had names on the back of their jerseys and I was able to back track to get him.

Bobby had a long and interesting career. He played pro ball until he was 37-years old. But, throughout that time, he only appeared in 314 Major League games. On the flip-side, Bobby played in 1417 minor league games with over 1000 of them at the AAA level. I guess Bobby was basically a AAAA player. He did great in AAA, but couldn't quite put it together in the Majors.

His career line in interesting to look at. He played in a little over 100 Major League games in the '70s and all of those came from 1974-'77 with 78 of the games coming in 1976. He then disappeared to the minors for a few seasons, but did play in ten games for the Rangers in 1981. He then spent all of '82 in AAA before splitting time between the Majors and minors for the next four years. For his career, Bobby is a .221 hitter with 20 home runs.

1985 Topps, Jeff Jones

2011-08-12T19:11:00.003-05:00

#319 Jeff Jones

Here is the second and final card that I was able to get Jeff to sign for me at Target Field a few weeks ago. I love this card. The only thing that would have made it better is if it was signed Jeff "Cheech" Jones. That would have been classic.

Jeff pitched in the Majors for parts of five seasons and all of them were spent with Oakland. He pitched mainly out of the 'pen and his best season was probably his rookie campaign in 1980. That year, he appeared in 35 games and he had a 1-3 record with 5 saves and a 2.84 ERA. For his career, Jeff is 9-9 with 8 saves and a 3.95 ERA.

For those of you with inquiring minds- Yes. Jeff does in fact still rock the 'stache.

1985 Fleer, Gary Lavelle

2011-08-11T09:52:00.003-05:00

#U-69 Gary Lavelle

Here is another Gary Lavelle card that I got signed through the mail. I originally decided to write to Gary when I unlocked his '78 Topps card on the Topps Million Card Giveaway site. Since I do not own Gary's '81 Donruss card, all I planned to send him was the '78. But, for Christmas last year, my best friend gave me a sports card stocking that he found at a hardware store. In it was random packs of sports cards, a minor league team set, and a complete set of 1985 Fleer Update that was missing four cards. And in that set was this card. Since the set was missing four cards, it wasn't really complete and I had no trouble breaking into it and mailing this card out.

Gary played for the Jays for just a season and a half. In that time, he went 7-10 with 9 saves and a 3.77 ERA. He was released by the Jays in August of 1987 and the A's picked him up. With them, he was 0-0 with 0 saves and a 8.31 ERA in just 6 games. Gary retired after the season was up.

How many Blue Jay logos can you find on this card?

1985 Fleer, Bret Saberhagen

2011-08-10T18:12:00.001-05:00

#212 Bret Saberhagen

Here is one of six cards that I was able to get signed at a signing here in town back in May. That month, a new Menards opened up here and they went all out with their grand opening. For the first day of the week long grand opening, they brought in current Chief, Dwayne Bowe. I went there for that just to see how the setup was going to be and I posted my two Dwayne Bowe cards on Auto-Matic for the People. On the second day, Bret Saberhagen signed. The third day was the Menards racing team and the fourth day featured the former Chief, Christian Okoye.

So, while I would have appreciated more baseball players than football, I could not complain one bit. It's not everyday that a current Pro Bowler, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, the 1989 NFL rushing leader, and a NASCAR driver comes to Salina, Kansas to sign autographs for free. It was a top-notch event and I really appreciate Menards doing that. The only thing is is that they need to do that again. I haven't been back there since.

So, if you ever hear about a new Menards opening up near you, you might want to look into their grand opening. The one here in Salina went over really well.

1984 Topps, Rene Lachemann

2011-08-08T19:36:00.003-05:00

#67T Rene Lachemann

Here is the second Rene Lachemann card that I got signed last month in Colorado Springs. Of the three cards that he signed for me, he signed this one last. I bring that point up because he signed the first two cards sideways (just scroll down to the next post to see what I mean). Then, when he got to this card, he started turning my book left and right, trying to find the best place to sign the card. He then decided that it would probably be best to sign it diagonally and that is what he did. I really didn't see anything different from this card to the other two, but it looks like Rene did. Personally, I like the way this one came out the best.

Rene only managed the Brewers for the 1984 season. They went 67-94 that year, finishing seventh. He was replaced by George Bamberger the following season.

Rene didn't manage again until the Florida Marlins came into existence in 1993. He was at the helm of the expansion team for its first three and a half seasons. While the team obviously never went to the playoffs, they also never lost 100 games in a season. That seems pretty good for an expansion team to me.

After that, Rene has just been a coach in the Majors and minors with one exception. That one exception came in the 2002 season when he took over as the interim manager of the Chicago Cubs after Don Baylor got fired. The Cubs lost that game and Bruce Kimm was hired as the manager the next day.

For Rene's managerial career, he lead his teams to a 428-560 record. That my not look too good, but its not like he ever managed a good team.

This card is the first Topps Tiffany card that I have got signed. Compared to the rest of the '84 Topps cards that I have, this one has yellowed a little bit. You can't really notice it by itself, but you can when it is around other regular '84 Topps cards.