2003 Leaf, Carlos Rivera

#286 Carlos Rivera

Here is a card that I got signed at the final Wingnut game I attended this year. Carlos was one of the last 'Nuts to head to the dugout and when I asked him to sign, he pointed to the dugout. I went over to the dugout and waited for him while he put his bats in the rack and sat down his glove and got a drink. While I was waiting, I saw Butch Henry making his way to the visiting team dugout and I went over to try to get Butch's signature. Butch was running behind and told me that he would get me after the game. Luckily, by the time I made it back over to the 'Nuts dugout, Carlos was still there and was patiently waiting for me.

Prior to checking out Carlos' stats today, I had no idea that he actually played in the Majors. He got 95 at-bats in 2003 and 15 in 2004, both with the Pirates. During that span, he hit .218 with 3 home runs and 11 RBI.

Carlos has played in the Mexican League in three out of the previous four seasons. In fact, Carlos was brought to the Nuts late in the season after the Mexican League finished up with the hopes that he would help get them to the playoffs. The 'Nuts ended up falling one game short, but it wasn't Carlos' fault. In 28 games with the 'Nuts this year, Carlos hit .372 with 8 doubles, 6 home runs, and 16 RBI. He is still on the 'Nuts roster, so it will be interesting to see if he comes back next year.

Carlos has one of the more unique signatures that I have ever seen. When I was watching him sign my card, all I was thinking was "WTF is that?". His signature is just a "C" with a couple of very small scribbles at the end of it. The funny thing about it is that he took his time and made three very deliberate pen strokes when signing the scribble part.

Tomorrow, I will be starting my 2004 cards and they will begin with about two weeks worth of Bowman.