1991 Leaf, Eric Bullock

#470 Eric Bullock

About a month ago, I posted a card of Don Slaught that I won in a Twitter contest. This card is one of the two others that was included with the Slaught.

This one features former Astro, Twin, Phillie, and Expo, Eric Bullock. Eric played in parts of seven seasons in the Majors and appeared in 131 games over that time. At that level, he was a .205 hitter with a home run and 12 RBI.

The position listed on this card sums up Eric's career- pinch hitter. Despite appearing in 131 games, Eric only had 146 at-bats. Even with playing part of a season in the American League, Eric only started 17 games in the field. In fact, he only played the field 33 times during his whole Major League career. I have posted a card of a pinch runner on here before, but this is the first one listed as a pinch hitter.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year. See you sometime in 2018!

1991 Donruss, Rex Hudler

#599 Rex Hudler

I just posted a card of Rex four days ago. In that post, I mentioned how good the signature was on that card and that it was the best I have gotten from him. This, on the other hand, is the complete opposite of that. This is one of Rex's hurried ballpark signatures that I got from him at a game in 2016. It is so different from the one that I got four months later that it is not even funny.

If I am not mistaken, this is the seventh card of Rex that I have posted on here and I still have two more to go. On top of that, I have one more card of Rex that I need to get signed, his '85 Donruss card. When I get that one signed, I will have a card signed by him with each team he played for- the Yankees, Expos, Cardinals, Angels, and Phillies. I even have a Japanese card signed by him. Hopefully I will be able to get the Yankees card signed at Fanfest, if I am able to go.

Even though the picture on this card was taken in 1990, it still seems like a pic from the '80s with the pullover jersey. It's too bad that it is not powder blue.

1990 Upper Deck, Chip Hale

#475 Chip Hale

Here is another card of Chip Hale. I just posted a card of him last week that I got in-person this past spring. This one, on the other hand, was given to me two years ago by Rod, from Padrographs. If you look at the two cards side by side, you will notice something. The signatures do not look similar in any way, shape, or form.

Usually, that is not a good thing. I got him in-person, so I know that card is good. So, I start to wonder about this card. But, after a quick peek at COMC, I find Chip's 1996 Leaf Signature Series card and that card is signed like this one. That makes me feel better. At some point, Chip drastically changed his signature. Or I just got the super hurried up ballpark version.

Merry Christmas!

1990 Upper Deck, Rex Hudler

#411 Rex Hudler

By my best count, this is the sixth card of Rex Hudler that I have posted on here. Rex is the color commentator for Royals broadcasts and is a fairly easy autograph to get if you see him. That is why I have posted cards of him six times and still have a few more to post.

I got this card signed at Royals Fanfest this year. We were standing in line waiting for the doors to open and Rex was just walking around and talking to fans waiting. When he came by our area, everyone was trying to get a picture with him. I finally got up to him and asked for him to sign this card. He jokingly asked me something to the effect of "Why would you want me to sign this card and bring down its value? It's only worth a couple of cents as it is." That was just Rex being Rex as he was more saying it to get a reaction from the crowd around him than making a comment to me.

I will say that this is probably the best-looking signature that I have ever got from him, though. Some of his signatures are little more than his initials.

1990 Upper Deck, Pete Incaviglia

#333 Pete Incaviglia

Here is the ninth card of Pete Incaviglia that I have posted on here. Pete used to manage in the American Association and I got him to sign for me three or four times during his tenure. I have one more card of Pete to post, but it is an Obak card and is obviously a long ways out right now.

But, here are the other eight cards of Pete that I have posted throughout the years.

1990 Topps, Chip Hale

#704 Chip Hale

Here is the first of three cards that I got signed by Chip Hale at an A's minor league game this past spring. Chip was the A's third base coach at the time and he stopped and signed by the dugout before the game started.

Preparing to go to Spring Training is a monumental task for me. After getting the easy parts done, figuring out which games to go to and getting a hotel, I then have to get cards ready for as many as six teams. I got lucky last year as the Brewers were the visiting team for each game we planned on attending, so I only had get cards for four teams.

I keep my cards somewhat organized. Current players are sorted by teams and past players are sorted by sets. The current players are sorted decently from Spring Training to the trade deadline. Once the deadline passes, I get behind and then fall even further behind during the free agent frenzy.

So, by the time Spring Training comes around, not only do I have to find cards to take with me, I have to sort all the cards I bought from June on just so I have a chance of finding the cards I need. As you can imagine, it is not an easy or fun task. By the time I get to finding cards to take with me, I just want to get through it as fast as possible. That is how I ended up getting three cards from this set signed at Spring Training last year. I was able to knock out three needs in one set and I took it. Otherwise, like most people, I am not a huge fan of this set.

But, having said that, all five cards from this set that I posted recently all came out looking good. So, the set has that going for it. I was a little worried about this card because of the dark warm up jersey Chip is wearing. But, to my surprise, the blue contrasted against the navy better than I would have imagined and you can make out the signature very easily.

1990 Topps, Bob McClure

#458 Bob McClure

Here is the third and final card that I got signed by Bob McClure at a Giants game in 2015. Bob was the Phillies pitching coach at the time and he signed three for me by the Phil's bullpen. He was the only person that signed for me that day.

Bob spent parts of thee seasons with the Angels in the early '90s. Over that time, he appeared in 72 games and was 8-1 with 3 saves and a 3.11 ERA. He was having a rocky season with them in 1991 and got released mid-season. He was able to bounce back from it and still pitch in the Majors for two more years.

Bob's career spanned nineteen seasons. Over that time, he was 68-57 with 52 saves and a 3.81 ERA.

With this card, I now have cards signed by Bob as a Brewer, Expo, Met, Angel, and Cardinal. The only teams I am missing are the Royals and Marlins.

With the new manager in Philadelphia, some changes were made and Bob is no longer with the organization. He is now employed by the Twins as their special pitching adviser.

1990 Topps, Willie Wilson

#323 Willie Wilson

Here is the second of two cards that Willie Wilson signed for me at a Royals game in 2015. On Sunday games, the Royals always have an alumni or two signing at the Royals Hall of Fame. That was how I got the cards signed. I took my wife through with me and we each got a card signed. I posted the other card this past summer and it can be seen here.

This is Willie's next to last Topps card as a Royal. While a good-looking card to get signed, it is definitely not an exciting photo. It is just Willie chilling in the dugout. For some odd reason, Willie's '91 Topps card has another photo of him chilling in the dugout. Topps makes it seem like Willie was not playing much during his last two seasons in Kansas City.

Even though Willie hasn't played for the Royals in over twenty-five years, he is still a leader in many single season stats for the club. Willie had an amazing season in 1980 when he batted 745 times, had 705 official at-bats, recorded 230 hits that included 184 singles. All of those were single season franchise records. Plus, his 83 steals in '79 and his 21 triples in '85 are also franchise records. On top of that, he is the Royals all-time steals leader with 612, almost doubling second place.

Hopefully, I do not go over a week before I post the next card.

1990 Topps, Ted Power

#59 Ted Power

Here is the card that I got signed by Ted Power at a Reds Spring Training game earlier this year. Ted is the team's assistant pitching coach and he stopped to sign one card for me by the dugout.

Ted pitched in the Majors for thirteen seasons with eight different clubs- the Dodgers, Reds, Royals, Tigers, Cardinals, Pirates, Indians, and Mariners. Over that time, he racked up a record of 68-69 with 70 saves and a 4.00 ERA. Ted bounced around a bunch towards the end of his career, but he did spend about half of his career in Cincinnati. It was with the Reds when he had his best season in 1985. He was 8-6 that season with a 2.70 ERA and a career high 27 saves.

I did not know it at the time that Ted signed this card, but we share a couple of things in common. We both grew up in Kansas and Ted went to high school about twenty miles from my home town. Also, we both went to Kansas State. How I did not know that he went there is beyond me.

Here is my dilemma. I have kind of started a little Royals autograph project. I have been sending out TTM requests to random former Royals that I do not have autographs from. All of the cards that I send out feature the player with the Royals. So, I obviously have Ted's autograph. But, I do not have a Royals card signed by him. Ted seems to be a good TTM signer. Do I send out a Royals card of him to sign or just be happy with the one?

1990 Topps, Tony Fossas

#34 Tony Fossas

Here is the second of three cards that I got signed by Tony Fossas at Spring Training earlier this year. Tony was the Reds pitching coordinator and I got him to sign at the team's minor league workout. I posted the first card of him last month and that one can be seen here.

After making his big league debut with the Rangers in 1988, he joined the Brewers as a free agent prior to the 1989 season. He had a good season in Milwaukee that year and pitched in a career-high 61 innings. Over that span, he was 2-2 with a save and a 3.54 ERA. He struck out 42 batters, also a career high.

Things did not go as well the following season. Pitching in just 29.1 innings, Tony's record was 2-3 with a 6.44 ERA. It looks like the problem that year was that he wasn't missing many bats. He gave up 44 hits in those 29.1 innings compared to 57 hits the year before. The Brewers let him walk after the season and Tony was picked up by the Red Sox for the 1991 campaign.

Tony's transaction page is super-long. It is worth checking out. Over the course of his career, he was released or granted free agency fifteen times, four times before he even made his Major League debut.

I love the collared jacket in this card. This is probably one of the last times that fashion ever appeared on cardboard.

On an unrelated note, today is the day that Wichita is going to announce if they have lured an affiliated minor league team to the city. I really hope that they land one.

1990 Score, Mark Williamson

#332 Mark Williamson

Here is a random autograph that I got from Rod, of Padrographs, when I met up with him at a Hillsboro Hops game in 2015. While Rod is known for giving me random Padre autographs, this one was even more random than usual as Mark Williamson never played a game with the Padres.

Mark was, however, drafted by the Padres in 1982. But he and Terry Kennedy were shipped to the Orioles after the 1986 season for Storm Davis. It was with the O's in 1987 when Mark would make his Major League debut and he would play his entire career with the club.

Mark lasted eight seasons in the Majors. Over that time, he was 46-35 with 21 saves and a 3.86 ERA. In 65 relief outings in 1989, Mark was 10-5 with 9 saves and a 2.93 ERA. He came back in 1990 and was 8-2 with a save and an ERA to 2.21. Those were his best seasons of his career.

1990 Pucko Welland Pirates, Marcus Hanel

#17 Marcus Hanel

Here is kind of an oddball minor league team set that I have laying around. I mentioned in a post from a couple of weeks ago that I stocked up on holiday card stockings a few years back. In each stocking was an older update/traded set, a minor league team set, and some junk wax. This card came out of one of those random team sets.

Before I got this set, I had never heard of the Welland Pirates before. I hadn't even heard of Welland before. It turns out that Welland is in Ontario and the Pirates played in the New York-Penn League for six seasons in the early '90s. The team never finished above .500 and ended up moving to Erie and joining the AA ranks.

My son got this card signed for me at Spring Training this year. Marcus is the bullpen catcher for the Brewers and he signed for us before a games against the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark. We never would have got this card signed if not for another father/son duo that spotted Marcus and got him to come over and sign for my kid. I was busy 'graphing the home team that day and I put the kid to work for me. He got paid a dollar an autograph.