Sunday, August 31, 2014

1994 Fleer, Rex Hudler


#U17 Rex Hudler

Here is the fifth and final card of Rex Hudler that I have to post. And by final, I mean that it is currently the last one. But, that will hopefully change at some point as I have a couple more that I want signed by him. I have got an Orioles Crown card that I need signed and then I need to obtain a Yankee and Phillie card of him to get signed. If I can make that happen, I will then have all of those to go along with a signed Expos, Cardinals, Swallows, and this Angels card. But, first I need a Yankees and Phillies card of him.

Rex played for the Angels for three seasons. Like the rest of his career, he was a utilityman. But, he saw most of the time at second base. Over those three seasons, he hit .293, his best average with any franchise. He also had 30 home runs, including a career high of 16 in 1996, his final season in Anaheim.

For some reason, I seem to have a lot of signed Angels cards. This is the sixtieth one that I have posted. That is the third most of any team, behind the Royals and the Padres.

It was a good month of posting for me. Somehow, I was able to post twenty-three cards. That is the most I have posted in a single month since early 2011. Hopefully I can keep that up.

Wingnuts game today! Hopefully I can bring home a dozen more signed cards for the collection.

Saturday, August 30, 2014

1994 Fleer, Tim Wallach


#527 Tim Wallach

Here is a card that I got signed by Tim Wallach earlier this summer. Tim is the bench coach for the Dodgers and I was able to get three cards signed by him when the Dodgers came to Kansas City.

On that day, there were a lot of people out 'graphing the parking lot, much more than I am used to. Very few players signed that day, but I got a few cards signed by some of the Dodger coaches. When Tim arrived in his cab, everyone gathered around to see who it was. Tim popped out and everyone faded away. Everyone except for me, of course. I recognized him from his picture on the Dodgers website and I asked him to sign. Once people saw him signing, a small group came over to get in on the action.

It is not too often that I am the one identifying opposing players outside of the ballpark. It is hard enough figuring out who is who during batting practice when most of them have jackets on hiding their name and number. It is even harder when they pull up in normal clothes in the parking lot. You don't know if it is an actual player or a trainer half of the time.

I had gotten Tim's autograph through the mail about twenty years ago and I posted that card in the first year of this blog. It is amazing how little his signature has changed over time.

Tim spent three and a half of his final four seasons playing with the Dodgers. During that time, he hit .251 with 48 home runs and 200 RBI.

Friday, August 29, 2014

1994 Collector's Choice, Ed Sprague


#423 Ed Sprague

Here is one of the three cards that I got signed by Ed Sprague in 2012. Ed is the head baseball coach for the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. I was able to get him when the Tigers came to Kansas to play Kansas State. I posted the first card of him shortly after getting it signed and you can read more about that day here. Here is the second card I posted.

Ed played in the Majors for eleven seasons. He spent a majority of the time with the Blue Jays, but he also played for the A's, Pirates, Padres, Red Sox, and Mariners. Ed was a .247 career hitter with 152 home runs and 558 RBI. His best season was with the Jays in 1996. That season, he hit 36 home runs with 35 doubles and 101 RBI, all season highs.

In 1999, Ed made the All Star team as a member of the Pirates. That season, he had 22 home runs (the second most of his career) with 81 RBI.

Next season will mark Ed's twelfth season at Pacific. It looks like he will be coaching his son, Jed, this season, too.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

1994 Collector's Choice, John Kruk


#326 John Kruk

Here is the second card that John Kruk signed for me at the College World Series this summer. The first one can be seen here.

Most of the time, when I am trying to find cards for a signing, I will hit up checkoutmycards. I don't usually go there to buy cards. I mostly got there to look at the pretty pictures. Basically, I use the site to give me a general idea of where I need to look when starting my card hunt. While there are better sites available as a card database, I choose COMC for the large pictures. I go on there to see which cards look the best to get signed and then I start digging through my cards for the ones I like.

That is how I came to choose this card to get signed. I saw it on COMC and it looked familiar, so I figured I had it in my collection. Turns out I was right. I do not usually go out of my way to find checklists to get signed, but I could not pass this card up. And, I must say that I am extremely happy with the results.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

1993 Ultra, Doug Henry


#220 Doug Henry

Wow. Doug Henry is the bullpen coach for the Royals, and has been for a couple of years now, but I just now realized that he actually pitched for the Royals at one time. The bad part is that he didn't pitch for them in the '90s when I was too busy playing baseball to go to pro baseball games. He actually pitched for the Royals in 2001. I became a Royals fan in 2000 after my first year at Kansas State. Manhattan is less than two hours away from Kansas City, so I probably averaged at least a dozen games a year while going to school there. In 2001, I just happened to see Doug pitch in person eight times. He was 2-0 in those games with a 4.96 ERA in 16.1 innings of work. I thought I was pretty good with the Royals of my generation, but I apparently am not nearly as good as I thought I was.

Before coaching with the Royals, Doug was the pitching coach for their AAA team in Omaha. On a whim one day in 2012, I wanted to go to a ballgame and the closest one being played to me that day was in Oklahoma City. So, I made the four hour trek down there and watched the Storm Chasers whoop up on the Redhawks. It was a fun game as I had great seats and got to see my favorite team's top farm club pull out a victory. Plus, I got my then new girlfriend, now fiance, to get her first autographs for me. This was not one of the ones she got, though.

Doug has a simple, yet effective, autograph. While it is by no means readable, if you know who signed that signature, you can say "yeah, I can see that".

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

1993 SP, Chili Davis


#20 Chili Davis

Here is another card that I was able to get signed at Spring Training this year. Chili is the A's hitting coach and he was nice enough to sign this card for me before the visiting A's took on the White Sox. He just signed one of the three cards, but he definitely signed the best of the three.

Chili had a long Major League career. He broke into the league with the Giants in 1981 and played his final game in the World Series for the Yankees in 1999. Over the course of his career, he also saw time with the Twins, Angels, and Royals. During those eighteen seasons, Chile accumulated 350 home runs and 1,372 RBI to go along with his .274 batting average. He was a three time All Star that also won three World Series rings- two with the Yankees and one with the Twins.

Chili had just one 30 home run season, though he had 20 or more nine times. He also eclipsed the 100 RBI plateau just once while having 90-plus five times. While he started out his career as an outfielder in the National League, he spent the second half of his career almost exclusively as a designated hitter. He did quite well in that role and was the best DH in 1991 when he won the Outstanding Designated Hitter Award (now the Edgar Martinez Award).

Chili was such a good hitter that in his final season, at the age of thirty-nine, he hit .269 with 19 home runs and 78 RBI.

It is hard to make much out of Chili's signature. But, if you compare it to the one on his Baseball Almanac page that is linked above, you can make a little more sense of it.

Monday, August 25, 2014

1993 Score, Mike Butcher


#277 Mike Butcher

Here is the second and final card, I believe, that Mike Butcher signed for me last year at a Royals game. Mike is the pitching coach for the Angels and I got the cards signed prior to a game as he was talking to an acquaintance in the stands. I could have got some more cards signed by him this year as he was talking to whom I assume was the same acquaintance, but I do not have any cards of him besides the ones that are already signed.

Mike pitched in the Majors for four seasons, all with the Angels. He pitched entirely out of the bullpen and compiled an 11-4 ERA with 9 saves and 4.47 ERA for his career. His best season was in 1993. That year, he was 1-0 with a 2.86 ERA and 8 saves.

Mike has been the Angles pitching coach for eight seasons.

The first card I posted of Mike can be seen here. It is kind of funny that he added his number to that minor league card, but not this Major League one.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

1993 Select, Willie Wilson


#395 Willie Wilson

It has been over a year since I posted a card of Willie Wilson. The last one I posted was his '81 Donruss card and that one can be seen here. You can check out a few other Wilson cards from the blog's early days here, here, and here.

This card, like the '81 Donruss, was signed at a Royals Caravan stop in early 2013. After a three year exile from my home town, the Royals Caravan returned that year with Willie, Aaron Crow, Everett Teaford, and Eric Hosmer. It was a pretty good selection and I thoroughly enjoyed the event. However, it was a short-lived reprieve as the Caravan bypassed Salina again this year. Why this happens is unknown to me. I know that turn-out wasn't super-awesome, but what do they expect when they announce it three days prior and schedule it mid-day on a Thursday?

Before getting some cards signed by Willie at the Caravan stop, I had gotten three cards signed by him in 2008 after I had jumped back into autograph collecting. I picked out cards then based on the first ones I found. Nowadays, I try to be more choosy if I have the time to be. So, when I got cards signed by Willie last year, I took my '81 Donruss and two non-Royals cards since all of my other signed cards were him as a Royal. That is how I came to have a signed A's card of him.

Willie joined the A's for the 1992 season after fifteen seasons in Kansas City. He had a rough year his first year in Oakland and hit just .238. That was the lowest average he had posted since his first full season in the Majors in 1978. But, he bounced back the next season and had an average of .270.

Willie seemed a little surprised to see an A's card of himself. I handed it to him and and he just stopped and looked at it for a few seconds. He then showed it off to Everett Teaford and started telling him about the place he had in the Bay Area.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

1993 Select, Jeff Russell


#365 Jeff Russell

Here is the second of three cards that Jeff Russell signed for me earlier this season. Jeff is the pitching coach for the Grand Prairie AirHogs of the American Association and he signed three for me on Opening Night in Wichita. I posted the first card two and a half months ago and it can be seen here.

Jeff pitched in the Majors for fourteen seasons, spending a majority of the time with the Rangers. He made two All Star teams with Texas in the late '80s and was the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award winner in 1989 when he lead the league with 38 saves. That was one of three years of 30+ saves.

On the last day of Auguest, 1992, Jeff, Ruben Sierra, and Bobby Witt were sent to Oakland for Jose Canseco. Jeff's tenure in Oakland lasted for the last month of the '92 season before moving on via free agency. In that one month, he was 2-0 with 2 saves in 8 games. He gave up just 4 hits and no runs in 9.2 innings of work.

This '93 Select set was really made for the A's players. The border, even though it has two shades of green, really works for the A's. I like it when borders match the team color. Because of that, I really like the Topps Wal-Mart blue border cards for my Royals.

Friday, August 22, 2014

1993 Select, Jason Kendall


#359 Jason Kendall

Here is a card that I got signed outside of Kauffman Stadium earlier this season. Jason works for the Royals in some capacity. I honestly have no clue what his role actually is as he is not even listed anywhere on the Royals website. But, I do know that if you are going to 'graph outside of The K, take along a card of Kendall because you will most likely see him at some point.

Jason had a long career as a Major League catcher. The former first round draft pick of the Pirates spent nine successful years in Pittsburgh and was a .306 hitter with the Bucs. He made three All Star teams with them and even made the team in his rookie season. His best season with them came in 1998 when he hit .327 with 12 home runs and had career-highs in RBI (75) and stolen bases (26).

Jason never played in the World Series, but he did play in the playoffs three times with three different teams. The 2006 A's team he was on made it to the ALCS, which is as far as he ever made it.

Jason recently put out a book- Throwback: A Big-League Catcher Tells How the Game Is Really Played.

What was up with Score and the cloud backdrops on their 1993 cards? The card of Dave Magadan I posted a couple of days ago had the same backdrop. However, that card was cropped much better so that it didn't look like he was floating on air. I wish I could say that about this card.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

1993 Select, Mariano Duncan


#151 Mariano Duncan

Here is a card that I got signed by Mariano Duncan this past Spring Training. Mariano is the batting coach for the Cubs A+ team in Daytona and he was nice enough to sign two cards for me after the Cubs minor leaguers worked out the day I was there.

Mariano played in the Major Leagues for twelve seasons with five clubs- the Dodgers, Reds, Phillies, Yankees, and Blue Jays. He mainly played up the middle, spending a tad bit more time at second than at short. He was a .267 career hitter that had 87 home runs and 491 RBI.

I am glad that Mariano signed a Phillies card for me as he had his best season as a Phillie (he signed two of the three cards I had). In 1993, his second season in Philadelphia, Mariano hit .282 with 11 home runs and a career-high 73 RBI. It might have been a little late, but he was rewarded for his good season with a trip to the All Star Game the following season. That was the only All Star team that he ever made, but at least he got to start it. He was 0-1 in the game with a ground out off of Jimmy Key.

Mariano was lucky enough to play in three World Series. He played in it in 1990 (Cincinnati), '93 (Philadelphia), and '96 (New York). He did really well in the '93 Series (10-29 with a triple and 2 RBI), but not so hot in the other two (3-33). Strangely, the two he hit poorly in were the two he won.

It has been a bit of a Phillies parade of late. Three out of the last six cards I have posted have been of one.

I like this card because it features two other predominant middle infielders from the '90s- Micky Morandidi and Jay Bell.

This card lists Mariano as playing second base and left field. Surprisingly, in 1992, he started more games in left than at second.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

1993 Pinnacle, Dave Magadan


#237 Dave Magadan

Here is a card that I got signed in Kansas City last summer. Dave is the batting coach for the Rangers and I was able to get him to sign one card outside of the ballpark before the last Royals game of the season.

Dave played in the Major Leagues for sixteen seasons. He saw time with the Mets, Marlins, Mariners, Astros, Cubs, A's, and Padres. He was a corner infielder throughout his career who saw a tad bit more time from the left side of the diamond. Dave was a .288 career hitter with 42 home runs and 495 RBI. He finished his career with a .390 OBP and had about 150 more walks than strikeouts.

His best season came with the Mets in 1990. That season, he had career-highs in average (.328), home runs (6), and RBI (72).

I had three cards of Dave that day, but he just signed this one. I would have preferred that he signed his '87 Topps Future Stars card, but beggars can't be choosers. This is still a good looking card that commemorates the inaugural Marlins team. Plus, it is the only card that I have signed from this set.

Monday, August 18, 2014

1993 Leaf, John Kruk


#366 John Kruk

There has been quite a few repeat players on here of late, but that is changing for the next few days. First up is the first of five John Kruk cards.

John was one of the signers at this year's College World Series Fanfest. I usually head up to the CWS on Saturday morning, but this year we decided to check out the Henry Doorly Zoo next to old Rosenblatt. Every year I have been to Omaha, I always said that I wanted to go to the zoo. Finally, after seven years, it actually happened. Since I had the family and my dad this year, I figured the zoo would be some good non-baseball entertainment for them. To make that happen, we went up there Friday morning. But, since I was in Omaha on Friday, I made sure we left the zoo in time to get to Fanfest to get autographs from Aaron Boone and John Kruk.

John signed at the AT&T booth on Friday and then made a surprise visit to the Buick booth on Saturday. Because of the two signings, I think I came home with five cards signed and a couple of 8x10s.

John's signing at the AT&T booth was probably the slowest moving line I had ever been in at that tent. Normally, that it not a positive thing, but with Krukker it was. It was slow moving because John would talk to every single person for as long as that person would stand there and talk back. It was pretty awesome. Most of the guys that are there are friendly, but nobody has come close to John Kruk's level. For instance, when my fiance and kid got up to him, he was asking how old he was and what position he played. He just went out of his way to make everybody feel welcome and that is not something done by many former athletes.

John Kruk is an awesome dude!

Sunday, August 17, 2014

1993 Fleer, Mike Gallego


#648 Mike Gallego

This is the third and final card that I got signed by the A's third base coach during Spring Training this year. The first two cards were both A's cards and you can see the first one here and the second one here.

Mike signed with the Yankees prior to the 1992 season. He played with them for three seasons. For two of the three seasons, he was either a part time player or was hurt. In 1993, though, he had one of his most productive seasons of his career. That season, he had career-highs in average (.278), RBI (54) and doubles (20). In his three seasons in the Bronx, Mike hit .262 with 19 home runs and 109 RBI.

After his time with the Yankees, Mike played one more year with Oakland before spending his final two seasons with the Cardinals. Mike finished his career a .239 hitter with 42 home runs and 282 RBI.

Friday, August 15, 2014

1993 Flair, Pete Incaviglia


#103 Pete Incaviglia

Here is the next card that Pete Incaviglia signed for me this summer. Pete is the manager of the Laredo Lemurs of the American Association and I was able to get him to sign three cards for me when his team visited Wichita earlier this season. I posted the first card about a month ago and it can be seen here. It will be a long time before the third card gets posted.

Pete played for the Phillies for three seasons. His best season came in his initial season there in 1993. That year, he hit a career-high .274 while clubbing 24 home runs and notching a career-best 89 RBI. Unfortunately, Pete hit a bit of a skid in the playoffs that fall. He was 2-12 with a solo home run in the NLCS. Then he went 1-7 in the World Series.

Pete has got his Lemurs playing some good baseball right now. They have won seven straight and are positioned atop the Wild Card right now. With a five game lead over St. Paul, the Wild Card is their's to lose.

This is Flair's inaugural set and it is a beauty. This is just the third card from the set that I have got signed and the first one that was not a Royal.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

1993 Bowman, Les Norman


#673 Les Norman

Here is a card that I got signed at Royals Fanfest this past winter. Les played for the Royals for parts of just two seasons, so it is kind of neat that he attends even though he spent just a little bit of time with the team. A little variety at Fanfest is always good and it is always nice to add a new autograph to the collection.

I thought that I didn't have any cards of Les, so I picked up a couple from COMC. Then, of course, a couple of months later, I was thumbing through some minor league cards and I came across a card of Les. Oh well. At least I have one for the nest time he is there.

Les was drafted by the Royals out of St. Francis (Illinois) in the twenty-fifth round of the 1991 draft. He signed that year and played in 30 low-A games, hitting .245. He was moved up to high-A the following season and did good enough to get a mid-season promotion to AA in Memphis. He then played in Memphis for another two seasons before getting bumped up to AAA at the end of the 1994 season.

Through three AA seasons, Les hit .278 with 33 home runs and 156 RBI.

In 1995, Les made his Major League debut. But, I still have one more card of him to post, so I had better save something for that card.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

1993 BBM, Rex Hudler


#327 Rex Hudler

This is just the second Japanese card that I have gotten signed. The first one had some Royal ties and it was obtained five years ago. This one was acquired this Spring Training.

My family went to Arizona for the second straight year to watch some spring ball. We of course hit up a Royals game and I decided to 'graph the Rangers side. But, to not miss out, I sent my fiance and kid to see what they could get on the Royals side. None of us were doing very good, but I noticed that Rex was out on the field doing a pregame show. I called my soon to be better half to let her know because I really wanted this card signed. She said that she would do what she could.

So, she kept an eye on Rex while watching out for any other Royals that came her way. While trying to flag down a player, Rex started to leave the field. At the last second, she noticed this, and sent our kid over to the dugout. He is just nine-years old, but he was able to get Rex to sign before heading up to the booth and Rex signed two cards for him/me.

Rex spent just one season in Japan and he did really well. He hit .300 while hitting 14 home runs and driving in 64. He did good enough there to get a job back in the states the following season.

This card is slightly smaller than a normal card. It it no where near mini-card small, but it is not quite full sized. The border on the card reminds me of some early '90s Pro Set football cards.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

1992 Upper Deck, Rex Hudler


#670 Rex Hudler

A couple of weeks ago, I had back-to-back posts of Dave Eiland. Now it is time for back-to-back posts of Rex Hudler.

This is the third Rex Hudler card that I have posted on here. Like the previous two, this one was signed outside of Kauffman Stadium prior to the Royals final game of the 2012 season.

Rex joined the Cardinals early in the 1990 season after being traded there by the Expos. That first season in St. Louis was was Rex's finest season at that point. He had career highs in average (.281), home runs (7), and RBI (22). He played two more seasons with the Cards, but his numbers slipped enough in 1991 that he only saw 98 at-bats in 1992.

Like I mentioned in the previous Rex Hudler posts, he is the color commentator for the Royals TV broadcasts.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

1992 Topps, Kenny Lofton


#69 Kenny Lofton

This is the second card of Kenny Lofton that I have posted from this year's College World Series. Kenny signed at the Capital One booth this year and I was able to make it through the line several times. I posted the first card from the signing last month and you can read about that experience here.

Kenny's time in Houston lasted all of twenty games during the 1991 season. He was a September call-up and he started seventeen of the Astros final twenty-one games of the season. He had a nice Major League debut, going 3-4 with a double against the Reds. He came back to reality the rest of the month and finished the season, and his Houston tenure, with a .203 average, that one double, and two stolen bases.

The following off-season, Kenny and Dave Rohde were shipped off to Cleveland for Eddie Taubensee and Willie Blair. I am not proficient with Astros history by any means, but that has got to be one of their worst deals ever.

I said earlier that I went through the Lofton signing booth multiple times. I probably took six cards of Kenny with me because I could not decide which ones I wanted signed. Out of all those cards, this was the last one that I got signed. It is a nice looking card, but it was a low priority because I had gotten an Astros minor league card signed during my first excursion through the line. And, way back when, I had gotten an Astros card signed by Kenny through the mail.

This is my last post until sometime next week. After work today, my family and my best friend's family are headed to Chicago to see a Cubs game. Since it is the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field, we figured it would be a fun time for my best friend and I to check out the park again. But, more importantly, the rest of the families have never been there, or Chicago for that matter, and it is going to be fun to take them there.

Since the Cubs are giving away "First Night Game" bobbleheads at the game that look like they feature Rick Sutcliffe, we figured we might as well stop at a Clinton Lumberkings game on the way home and pick up a Kyle Seager bobblehead. Then we will be at Field of Dreams on Sunday before trekking on home.

It is going to be a quick weekend with a lot of driving and baseball. I just hope the wives enjoy it.

Monday, August 4, 2014

1992 Score, Dave Eiland


#679 Dave Eiland

Here is the fifth and final Dave Eiland card that I have to post on here, for now. I found a '93 Upper Deck card of him a little while ago, but I have yet to get it signed.

In yesterdays post, I mainly talked about Dave's time with the Padres in 1992 and '93. Dave made it back with the Yankees in 1995 and went 1-1 with a 6.30 ERA in four games. It was then back to the minors until the Devil Rays came around. Dave pitched for the Rays during parts of their first three seasons. During that time, he set his career-high for games and starts in a season. In 1999, Dave got into 21 games (15 starts) and went 4-8 with a 5.60 ERA and 53 strikeouts. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a card of Dave as a Devil Ray.

The 2000 season was Dave's last as a player. He finished his career 12-27 with a 5.74 ERA.

Dave was basically a AAAA pitcher. He was too good for AAA (89-49 with a 3.61 ERA), but not quite good enough for the Majors.

Dave began his coaching career in the minor leagues with the Yankees in 2003. He rose up the ranks and eventually found himself as the pitching coach for the Major League Yankees in 2008. He held that role for three years before being fired. He was hired by the Royals to be their pitching coach prior to the 2012 season and has been there ever since.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

1992 Leaf, Dave Eiland


#488 Dave Eiland

Ready for back-to-back Dave Eiland signatures? I hope so because here is the first one.

I think I got five cards signed by Dave during his first year as the Royals pitching coach. All of him feature him as a Yankee, or Yankee minor leaguer, except for this one. When I saw that he had a couple of Padre cards, I picked one up off of Check Out My Cards for cheap. I like a little variety with my autographed cards.

Dave pitched in San Diego sparingly over two seasons. In his first season in 1992, he made 7 starts and pitched just 27 innings. Yikes, that is less than four innings per start! He was 0-2 with a 5.67 ERA and 5 walks with 10 strikeouts.

The next season, he made 9 starts and had a lone relief appearance and lasted 48.1 innings. He was 0-3 with a 5.21 ERA with 17 walks and 14 strikeouts. That is not a good strikeout to walk ratio.

He got released by the Padres in May of that year. He went on to pitch for two more organizations that season, but would not make it back to the Majors until 1995 when he resurfaced with the Yankees.

1992 Leaf, Bill Pecota


#244 Bill Pecota

Here is the fourth Bill Pecota card that I have posted from this year's Royals Fanfest. The first three featured Bill as a Royal. Now I finally have one of him as a Met.

The reason I wanted a signed Mets card of him is because he was packaged into the deal that is widely considered as one of the worst in Royals history. On December 11th, 1991, Bill and Bret Saberhagen were shipped off to New York for Kevin McReynolds, Keith Miller, and Gregg Jefferies.

The funny thing about that trade is that the trade really didn't benefit either team. Saberhagen, the centerpiece of the deal, would pitch four seasons in New York and pitch in twenty or more games once. Pecota played there just one season and hit just .227. For Kansas City, McReynolds lasted two seasons and hit .246 with just 24 home runs and 91 RBI. Jefferies only lasted a season and he hit .285 with 75 RBI. Miller played with KC for four seasons. But, after 416 at-bats and a .284 average the first year, he would see just 138 at-bats over the next three years.

So, all in all, the trade was a push.

Over Bill's career, he played every position at least once. He caught once, pitched and played center twice, and played the corner outfield spots less than twenty times. Most of his time was spent playing infield.

Friday, August 1, 2014

1992 Fleer, Curt Young


#272 Curt Young

Here is the third and final card that Curt Young signed for me this past Spring Training. Curt is the pitching coach for the A's and he signed the cards for me before a road game at Camelback Ranch.

I mentioned in the first two posts of Curt that he spent ten out of his eleven seasons with Oakland. After the 1991 season, and a 5.00 ERA, the A's granted Curt free agency. He was picked up by the Royals and appeared in ten games with them in 1992. He was 1-2 with a 5.18 ERA before getting released in June. The Yankees picked him up six days later and he went 3-3 with a 3.32 ERA over thirteen games. He was again granted free agency after the season and the A's picked him back up. He made just three starts with Oakland in 1993 and went 1-1 with a 4.30 ERA. That was the end of Curt's career.

Curt finished his career 69-53 with a 4.31 ERA.

This action shot must be one of the most popular ones for Curt. All three cards that he signed for me featured similar shots. You can see his 1991 Fleer card here and his 1990 Topps card here.