2001 Bowman, JR House

#363 JR House

Here is a card that I got signed in Des Moines, Iowa last year when JR was playing for the Omaha Royals. I got this card and a couple others signed between games of a doubleheader.

JR was a fifth round draft pick by the Pirates in the 1999 draft. By 2001, he was ranked as baseballs 21st best prospect and the Pirates number one prospect. He even played in the Futures Game that year. In 2002, he was still the number one prospect in the Pirate organization, but he had slipped to 41st in all of baseball. Then, it looks like he got hurt a couple of times and he got off the fast-track. But, in September of 2003, JR made his Major League debut. He pinch hit in the eighth inning in a game against the Cubs and he got a single off of Ryan Dempster. That was his lone at-bat for the year and he finished the year with a 1.000 career batting average.

That perfect batting average wouldn't last long, though. In 2004, he got another cup of coffee with the Bucs. This time, he got into five games and went 1-9. The next season found him in the Astros organization. He spent most of the year in the minors, but did get another cup of coffee. 2007 was his biggest year in the Majors. By biggest, I mean that he got into a career high 19 games with the Orioles. He hit .211 with the O's and hit his first Major League home run off of Jesse Litsch at Rogers Centre. 2008 found him back in the Astros organization and he only got three Major League at-bats. He spent all of 2009 in the minors.

For his career, JR is hitting .167 with 3 homers and 4 RBI in 60 at-bats. The minor league website lists him as a free agent.

I have no idea what is going on with JR's signature. I think that I may be able to make out an "H", but I am not positive about that.