An Autograph a Day

We're finally getting down to the home stretch here.  It took a little (a lot) longer than expected, but I've finally gotten around to showing off most of my autographs from the past few months.


Of course the downside is that now I have an entire new stack of mail that came in.

David Bell is always a guy that I considered sort of a head scratcher.  He had a 12 year career, and racked up over 1200 hits.  And while he had a short career power surge, he was never the kind of guy who had power that you would associate with a corner infield spot.

 But decent offensive numbers, solid defense, and low strikeout totals were enough to keep him in the league quite a while.  

An Autograph a Day

The Hall of Fame has its fair share of liars, cheaters, racists, and probably enough narcissists to fill a small convention hall.  But there are also some damn fine human beings in there.  And while its the on field accomplishments that get you into the hall (well, mostly), Bobby Doerr has been one of the best friends imaginable to collectors.

Even at 90+ years of age, Doerr is still about as reliable of a signer as you'll find.  For a guy who was inducted into the HoF a year before I was born, it's amazing that he is still a gracious signer for collectors.

Side note: I imagine there can't be many, if any, other players from the Conlon set still alive.  It's one of the nicest sets ever produced in my eyes, and I'm beyond thrilled to have a card from the set signed.

Happy Friday, everybody!

An Autograph a Day

Once upon a time, it looked like Adam Piatt would be crushing homer runs in major league parks.  In 1999, he hit 39 homers in AA, posting a ridiculous .702 slugging percentage.  The next year, he put up a very impressive .490 slugging percentage in the majors during his rookie campaign. 

 At only 24, he was the kind of guy who you could see being part of the next wave of big boppers.  But the 90's ended, the power in baseball went away, and Adam Piatt hit a total of 36 homers between the majors and minors through the rest of his career after that '99 season.

Baseball can be a fickle game. 

An Autograph a Day

This one wasn't a ttm return, but rather a card I found while digging through a dollar box at a show.  Non-autograph collectors are always quick to pass up anything that isn't pack certified these days.  And that's fine by me, since I've found some amazing gems in dollar and two dollar boxes last year.  I'd much rather have Carter pictured as a Blue Jay, but for a dollar, I'm not going to complain.

Hopefully the same mall show this weekend will yield some more gems.

An Autograph a Day

Dave Nied was the Rockies first pick in the expansion draft.  Which basically meant he was the best prospect who wasn't good enough for his team to protect.  But after an impressive minor league track record and success in a short major league sample at 23, it was reasonable to think the Rockies had plucked a pretty solid piece from the pitching-rich Braves.

 But the results weren't so promising in the pre-humidor Coors days.  His minor league numbers after two years in the majors weren't much better.  But I think this is definitely a case of "what if" had Nied developed elsewhere, and not been exposed to the horrors that were Blake Street so early in his major league career.  Coors Field - where arms go to die.

An Autograph a Day

I thought it was pretty cool to have two cards from the same set signed.  Perhaps more impressively, Topps' airbrushing skills may have been better in the 70's than they are today.  Am I the only one who misses when a player would have multiple positions designated on a card?

An Autograph a Day

This is actually one of my longer returns, taking nearly two years to come back.  Still, it was worth the wait.  I love getting '87 Topps signed, though I'll never be crazy enough to try for the set.

An Autograph a Day

Anybody think he played better in August?  Corny jokes aside, I do miss the Brewers old logo.  What it had to do with brewing, I know not.  But it was really freaking cool.  And just as importantly, it would rid the world of those hideous gold jerseys they've been wearing the last couple years.

An Autograph a Day

Tuffy Rhodes didn't have much of an MLB career, playing in parts of a few seasons and slugging under .400 in the lone season where he saw regular playing time.  But in Japan?  The dude could rake.  He slugged 464 homers across 13 seasons in Japan, and has to be regarded of one of the better foreign players to play in the NPB.

An Autograph a Day

Fun facts for the day:  Non Lieber was originally drafted by the Cubs, but didn't sign.  The team he did sign with, the Royals, didn't keep him around for too long either, shipping him to Pittsburgh for Stan Belinda.

 And then of course the Pirates gave up on him waywaywayway too soon, as he would go on to be a staple of the Cubs rotations for a few years.

 The best part of all this?  This last card is indeed a Royals card - kinda.

An Autograph a Day

 Geeze, he looks like those Sidney Crosby mumps photos in the first card.  Or perhaps a squirrel gathering nuts for winter joke would be more seasonal?  Either way, I'm glad more players have moved away from chewing tobacco and big buckets of bubble gum are more common these days.

An Autograph a Day

Al Bumbry played for some really good Orioles teams.  But his autograph is in my collection for this awesome Senior League card I snagged from a dime box earlier this year.  In theory, the Senior League was actually a pretty cool concept.  Of course the financial realities made it tough to keep alive.  And if the next two decades of major league baseball in Florida were any indication, the SL may have seen better crowds playing in North Dakota.  

An Autograph a Day

Remember when the Flying Elvis logo was new and novel and slightly less terrible?  I think it's about time the Pats are due for a new (or better yet, old) logo.

An Autograph a Day

I had always written off the Ted Williams' sets as one of countless off-brand sets from the early 90's when just about anybody with two thumbs could get a card license.  But over the last few months I've come to appreciate the set a lot more, as it includes some of the retired players that were really good players, but have been ignored by the SP Legendary Cuts/Archives/Greats of the Game releases over the last 15 years that tend to angle towards either guys who are willing to sign a ton of autographs dirt cheap or Hall of Famers.

 Dave Dravecky is probably one of the better pitchers in Padres history, but I had absolutely no idea he suited up for the Giants.  Just one of those fun quirks to the Williams set that can be easily missed.

An Autograph a Day

Beltin' Bill Melton had a pretty nice stretch for the White Sox as a power hitter, including leading the league in homers  in 1971.   But his career would be short lived, lasting only parts of two seasons and hitting 6 more homers after leaving the Windy City at age 29.

 Still, these are some of the cooler autos I've added this year.  I love the 1976 traded cards, the White Sox red/white color scheme just looks sooooo out of place after a couple decades of the white/black look, and how can you not love a signed league leaders card.

 Needless to say, Beltin Bill outhomered some pretty impressive names in'71.

An Autograph a Day

Remember when nicknames were cool?  Not just lame mashups of the player's actual name (ARod) or the player's freaking initials.  Real, badass, nicknames.  Cause quite honestly, there are few things that would frighten me as much as calling somebody the Mad Hungarian.  Sounds like the kind of dude that would cut off your ear and boil it in a stew.  One of those really funky Eastern Eurpoean stews, too.  Not some warm, homely English stew, dammit.

 In other news, check out the cap on the top card.  This is one of the throwback pillbox hats that were worn during the 1976 season.  It's definitely a unique look, and I think only a few cards feature players wearing those caps.

An Autograph a Day

Eric Montross was the 9th overall pick in the '94 Draft, but like man big men was never really able to deliver on that potential.  He bounced around the NBA until 2002, and is currently a color commentator for UNC basketball.

An Autograph a Day, Part 15

Steve "Psycho" Lyons is one of those guys that seems hellbent on living up to his nickname.  After his playing days, Lyons made a pretty nice career for himself in the broadcast booth.  But he has a pretty impressive track record of making comments that are, well, shall we say less than enlightened on various subjects.

He's currently working as a studio analyst for the Red Sox, which presumably should give him fewer opportunities to stuff his foot down his throat.

An Autograph a Day, Part 14

These are definitely two of my favorite sets to get signed.  I don't think I'll ever be crazy (or rich) enough to chase a signed set.  But if I hit the Powerball, these two would be at the top of the list.   

 Is it just me, or did the Brewers change their uniforms every freaking year through the 90's?  My favorite look was the interlocking MB from '95 or '96 with the dark blue/teal/gold color scheme.  I really can't stand the Brewers current colors and look, and it may be my third least favorite in front of only the D'Bags and the Padres plain-jane look.

An Autograph a Day, Part 13

 Dave Hostetler is one of those flash in the pan type players.  He hit 22 homers for the Rangers in 1982, but would have fewer than 400 more at bats in the majors.

But that's not what interests me.  Not really.  I'm interested in the last 8 of those at bats, coming across 6 games for the Pirates in 1988.  Hostetler had been out of the majors since 1984.  He slugged 29 homers at AAA in '85, before spending 1986 and '87 playing in Japan.

He signed with the Pirates before the '88 season, and logged those 6 games from early April to early May.  He would spend the bulk of the year at AAA Buffalo, but the prodigious power numbers that had made him a AAAA masher seemed gone.  In 225 AAA at bats he hit only 4 homers with a paltry .189 average.