1999 Topps Chrome, Ryan Christenson

#88 Ryan Christenson

Here is a card that I got signed by Ryan Christenson at a Spring Training game earlier this year. Ryan is the bench coach for the A's and he was nice enough to sign my one card for me prior to the start of the game.

Ryan played in the Majors for six seasons with the A's, Diamondbacks, Brewers, and Rangers. Over that time, he got into 452 games and he hit .222 with 16 home runs and 102 RBI. His best season was his rookie campaign with the A's in 1998. That year, he hit .257 with 5 homers and 40 RBI, all single season highs for him.

Ryan's playing career overlapped the time when I was in college and not actively collecting cards. Still, I somehow ended up with a decent amount of Topps product from 1999 and was lucky enough to have this lone card of him to get signed. Ryan has a long last name and I am amazed whenever I see a plaery sign every single letter like he does. That is a rarity in this day and age.

1999 Topps, David Dellucci

#179 David Dellucci

Here is the first of three cards that David Dellucci signed for me when he played of the Kansas Stars last summer. The Stars were a group of former pro players that competed in the NBC World Series against predominantly college athletes.

David played in the Majors for thirteen seasons with the Orioles, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Rangers, Phillies, Indians, and Blue Jays. Out of all those teams, he spent the most time with the D-Backs, playing with them for parts of five and a half seasons. Over that time, he got into 503 games and he hit .272 with 25 home runs and 156 RBI. He was with the club when they won the World Series in 2001 and was mainly used as a defensive replacement during the playoffs. He got into six games and was 2-4 at the dish. Just prior to the 2003 trade deadline, David was traded to the Yankees. He would make his second and final World Series appearance with them and go 0-2 in four games.

The Kansas Stars are no more this year, which is pretty disappointing for me. I had quite a time 'graphing them the last two years. But, the team is still going to be playing together this summer at the Bluegrass World Series in Louisville as the Louisville Stars. I have no idea who they will be competing against, but it is sure to be a good time. So, if you are going to be in the Louisville area between July 30th and August 4th, it may be worth checking out.

1999 Topps, Jeff Fassero

#117 Jeff Fassero

Here is the second of three cards that Jeff Fassero signed for me at a Reds Spring Training game last year. Jeff is the pitching coach for the Reds AAA affiliate in Louisville and he was nice enough to stop and sign three cards for me before a game at Goodyear Ballpark. I posted the first card earlier this year and it can be seen here.

After having a career-year with the Expos in 1996, Montreal shipped Jeff to Seattle shortly after the season for almost nothing in return. Jeff had two solid seasons in his first two years in Seattle, hitting double-digit wins each year and helping the club to a playoff birth in 1997. He made one start in the Division Series that season and pitched eight inning of one run ball for the win.

Then, in 1999, his third season with the Mariners, Jeff's numbers took a gigantic plunge. Over a 139 innings, Jeff was 4-14 while posting a 7.38 ERA. He ended up back in the bullpen for the first time since his second year in the Majors. The M's ended up trading him to the Rangers for a player to be named later and that later named player never played an inning in the Major Leagues.

For his nearly three seasons with the M's, Jeff was 33-35 with a 4.62 ERA.

1999 Topps, Darryl Strawberry

#18 Darryl Strawberry

Here is the fourth and final card that I got signed by Darryl Strawberry when he was preaching in Wichita two years ago. There are four of us in the family and we all got one card signed. My wife and my then eight month old baby got extra cards signed for me. My oldest son got to pick out a card of Darryl for himself. This is the card he picked out and it is currently in my collection as he didn't really care for it. Had I known that before the event, I would have just picked out another Mets card of my choosing.

This was not the first time that had happened. I have a signed '84 Topps Ken Oberkfell in my collection that my kid abandoned.

I was hoping to post the picture that we all took with Darryl, but I am not even sure if we even have it anymore. It was on my wife's phone and that thing got wiped clean around that time. She is in bed now, but if she does happen to have it still, I will post in on here soon.

You can see my first three cards of Darryl here, here, and here.

The Super Regionals are set and there were a decent amount of upsets. No one has a chance of locking up all eight spots, but every one has a chance for points. Here are the teams that every one has a chance of getting in. They are all one seeds unless otherwise noted.

John- 2.Auburn, Stetson, Minnesota
Greg- Florida, Texas, 3.Cal St Fullerton, 2.Vanderbilt, UNC
Rod- 2.Tennessee Tech, Stetson, Oregon St
The Lost Collector- 2.South Carolina, Texas, 3.Cal St Fullerton, UNC
Kin- Florida, Texas Tech, Texas, UNC, Oregon St
Joey- Florida, UNC, Oregon St
Jeff- Florida, Texas Tech, 2.South Carolina, Oregon St
Wilson- Florida, Arkansas, UNC, Oregon St

1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated, Bob Feller

NN Bob Feller

Here is a card of Bob Feller that I won in a contest three years ago. Brian, from Play at the Plate, picked up some cards and happened to get a couple of autographed cards from Hall of Famers. All you had to do to win one of them was guess who he got. I threw Bob Feller out there and came home a winner.

I have actually posted an autograph from Bob Feller on here before. In 2009, I stopped at Van Meter, Iowa to visit the Bob Feller Museum. Back then, I had a lot more time on my hands and I actually did a write-up on the visit and my trip to the Metrodome. You can read about it and see the signed card of Bob that I bought there here.

I thought I had heard rumblings about the museum closing after Bob passed away in 2010. But, it looks like it is still up and running.

Bob pitched for the Indians for eighteen seasons. During that time, he went 266-162 with 21 saves. He was a 20 game winner six times and had a career high of 27 in 1940. In 1946, he struck out 346 batters and was the first pitcher to hit the 300 strikeout mark in over thirty years. He finished his career with 2581 Ks and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.

1998 Topps, Pete Rose, Jr.

#240 Pete Rose, Jr.

Here is the third and final card that I got Pete Junior to sign for me at a Wingnuts game in 2016. Pete was the manager of the Wingnuts at the time and he signed all three cards for me before an early season game. You can see the first card he signed for me here and the second one here.

After spending nearly a decade playing in the minor leagues, Pete Junior got a cup of coffee with the Reds in 1997. He was a September call-up and he made his first start on September 1st against the Royals. He batted seventh and played third base. He finished the day 1-3 with a single and two strikeouts. He got one more hit two games later and was 2-5. He then went hitless the rest of the season and finished 2-14 with two runs and two walks. That was the only time he would play in the Majors.

Pete managed the Wingnuts for two seasons and he lead the team to two division championships and a 122-77 record. But, for whatever reason, the Nuts wanted to go a different direction this year and Pete's contract was not renewed.

While there are a lot of cards of Pete Junior, this is the only one from his time in the Majors.

1998 Pacific Online, Rex Hudler

#562 Rex Hudler

I believe that this is tenth card of Rex Hudler that I have posted on here. Rex took over the Royals color commentator role in 2012 and I seem to get him to sign at least once a year. But, I am slowing running out of cards of him. And, at this point, he is not a priority anymore. I got the cards signed by him that I wanted signed. But, I still take cards of him to games just in case he might be the only autograph I get.

This card was first Phillies card that I got signed by Rex. I got it signed at a Royals game two years ago. I thought it would be the only Phils card of him that I would own, but I picked one up from a former co-worker last year and got that one signed at Spring Training this year. I posted that card last month and it can be seen here.

Rex spent his last two seasons in the Majors with the Phillies. He saw limited playing time and had less than spectacular results. He got 175 at-bats with the Phils and he hit .196 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI.

On the Royals broadcast last night, Rex was telling a story about how he once ate a June Bug at a game on a dare. Plus, he made $800 by doing so. It tasted like bacon he said.

1998 Multi Ad Sports, Wichita Wranglers

#1 Jamie Bluma
#24 Dan Reichert

A few years back, I came across this Wranglers team set at the oldest card shop in Kansas, Rock's Dugout. It was only a dollar, so I could not pass it up. There are no big names in it, but I am always needing cards of Jamie Bluma.

I got Bluma to sign his card at Royals Fanfest in 2016. Even though Jamie only pitched 20 innings with the Royals, he is always at Fanfest and showing up for alumni events. That is why I am always on the lookout for cards of him.

I got Dan to sign this card at a Lincoln Saltdogs game last summer. We stayed in Lincon when we went to the College World Series last year and decided to take in a Saltdog game the night before the Series started. We only stayed three or four innings before a massive storm rolled in, but I was able to get this card signed before the game started.

I finally attended my first Major League game of the year this weekend. I went and saw the Yankees whoop up on the Royals. I took cards to get signed, but came home empty-handed. It has been a while since that has happened. Turns out the Yankees aren't great signers. Who would have thought? Aaron Judge signed for a bit, but he was on the opposite side of the dugout that I was on. Clint Frazier signed for some people that had on-field passes. And Neil Walker signed two autographs for some kids in the $500 seats. That was the only signing I saw. I even called for Reggie Willits and Marcus Thames to come and sign. Reggie just waved at me and Marcus told me he had to get to a meeting. Oh well, it was worth a shot.

1998 Mother's Cookies, Donne Wall

#27 Donne Wall

Here is the second card from the 1998 Mother's Cookies Padres set that I referred to in the last post. For me, Donne Wall is not nearly as big a name as the guy in the last post, Greg Vaughn. But, it is a signed Mother's Cookies card, so it is cool regardless.

Donne pitched in the Majors for eight seasons with the Astros, Padres, Mets, and Angels. After beginning his career as a starter for the 'Stros, he pitched out of the bullpen for the last five years of his career. Over that time, he racked up a 31-28 record with 2 saves and a 4.20 ERA.

Donne's best season was probably during the Padres pennant winning 1998 campaign. That year, he was 5-4 with a save in 46 outings and had a career-best 2.43 ERA. He pitched in all three of the Padres postseason series that fall and he was 0-1 with a save and a 5.40 ERA in 6.2 innings of work. That was Donne's only postseason action during his Major League career.

1998 Mother's Cookies, Greg Vaughn

#7 Greg Vaughn

Here is a cool card that was given to me by Rod, from Padrographs, when we met up at a Hillsboro Hops game in 2015. You never know what you are going to get when Rod gives you a care package. You know there are going to be signed Padre cards, but who or what kind are always a mystery. It is mostly standard issue stuff, but every once on a while you get a gem like this.

This is a Mother's Cookie card that was a Stadium Giveaway in 1998. From what I can tell, Mother's Cookie made at least five teams sets in 1998. All of the sets were for California based teams except for one, the Astros. Naturally, I did not go to any Padres games in '98, so it is really cool to get a signed one to add to my collection. Rod actually gave me two signed cards from this set, but this is my favorite of the two.

Greg was a monster hitter that played for 15 years with the Brewers, Padres, Reds, Devil Rays, and Rockies. Over that time, he hit .242 while mashing 355 homers and driving in 1072 RBI. He made two All Star teams, going 2-2 with a run and 2 RBI in his Mid-Summer Classic appearances. He played in the postseason twice, both with the Padres, and helped the team to the 1998 National League pennant.

His best season was with the Pads in 1998. That year, he hit .272 and had career highs with 50 home runs and 119 RBI.

1998 Donruss, Miguel Cairo

#320 Miguel Cairo

This is the first Devil Rays card I have posted on here in over two years and is only the third Devil Ray on here to feature the team's inaugural uniforms. Needless to say, but I bet there are not too many Rays fans that check out this blog.

I got this card, and two others, signed by Miguel last year at Spring Training. At the time, he held a front office title and I was able to find him in the back fields helping out the minor league players.

Miguel was an original D-Ray and he spent three years with the club after being taken from the Cubs in the expansion draft. Despite being a utility player for most of his career, he was the Rays everyday second baseman while he was there and he never played any other defensive position. Over those three years, Miguel would hit .275 with 9 home runs, 116 RBI, and 69 stolen bases. His 48 RBI for the inaugural Rays were a single season high for him.

1997 Ultra, Darryl Strawberry

#103 Darryl Strawberry

Here is the Yankees card that I picked out to get signed by Darryl two years ago when he came to Wichita to preach at a local church. I already posted a card of him with the Mets and Dodgers and I did not have a Giants card of him to get signed.

Darryl spent his last five seasons wearing Yankee pinstripes. Those five years were riddled with injuries and his treatment for colon cancer, but the Yankees kept bringing him back every year. The reason for that was because, unlike his Dodger days, he did real well.

Darryl played in 231 regular season games with the Yankees and he hit .255 with 41 home runs and 114 RBI. That is a 162 game average of 29 homers and 80 RBI. Who wouldn't want that in their lineup? That is even more impressive considering that Darryl played for the Yanks in his age 33-37 seasons.

Though past his prime during his second go-around in New York, Darryl still accomplished some feats. He had a three home run game in 1996, which was only the second of his career. He hit 24 homers in '98, he next to last season. He got to play in the postseason three more times and came home with a ring each time. Though his postseason numbers with the Yankees were not that great, he was red hot during the 1996 ALCS. In the four games he played against the Orioles, Darryl was 5-12 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI.

1997 Pinnacle, Craig Paquette

#58 Craig Paquette

Here is another former Royal player that I was able to get through the mail earlier this year. I sent this card to Craig in January and I had it back eight days after I sent it.

Craig played in the Majors for eleven seasons with the A's, Royals, Mets, Cardinals, and Tigers. He could play just about anywhere, but spent most of his time at a corner infield or outfield spot. For his career, he was a .239 hitter with 99 home runs and 377 RBI. He got to play in three playoff series with the Cardinals in 2000 and 2001.

Craig spent just two seasons in Kansas City. He had a career year there in his first season, 1996. That year, he mainly played third and left and he hit .259 with a career high of 22 home runs and 67 RBI. His production fell off the following year and the Royals let him walk after the 1997 season.

I did not buy very many cards in 1997. I am not even sure if I bought any from this set or not. I never noticed all the words in the gold foil on this card until I was getting ready to send it out. All of the words on the card are specific to Kansas City or the Royals. Some of the things on there are- George Brett, fountains, Ewing Kauffman, and Negro League Hall of Fame. That is kind of cool. I am have tempted to see if I have any other cards from that set just to see what it says for other teams.

1997 Fleer, Glendon Rusch

#567 Glendon Rusch

Here is another new addition to the collection. This signature was obtained through the mail two months ago. It took exactly one month to make it back home.

Glendon pitched in the Majors for twelve seasons with the Royals, Mets, Brewers, Cubs, Padres, and Rockies. Over that time, he amassed a 67-99 record with 4 saves and a 5.04 ERA. His best season was with the Mets in 2000. That year, he was 11-11 and those 11 wins were a career high. He also had career bests in strikeouts (157) and ERA (4.01). He even got to pitch in three games of the World Series that season and he allowed one run in four innings of work.

But, the only reason that I wrote to Glendon was because he was once a Royal. That only lasted for about two and a half seasons. In that time, he was 12-25 with a save and 5.80 ERA.

Even though Glendon was only a .151 hitter for his career, he did manage to smack three home runs. Two of those came in the same season while with the Cubs in 2004.

While I am not one to complain about a free autograph, especially when someone takes the time to respond to my request from the comfort of their own home, I must say that Glendon's signature is really lacking. I am not sure if this is typical of him, but clearly all I got from him were his initials.

1997 Donruss, Marcus Jensen

#238 Marcus Jensen

Here is one of my most recent autographs. Marcus is the bullpen coach for the A's and I was able to get him to sign at Spring Training this year. I had planned on 'graphing the Angels that day at their home spring ballpark. But, by the time we got into the park, the Angels side was completely full. I looked over at the visiting A's side and there was not a soul to be seen. So, I went with the A's instead and it was a wise choice. I got about twenty cards signed over there and even came home with a Marcus Semien signed batting glove.

Marcus played in the Majors for parts of seven seasons. Over that time, he played in 145 games with the Giants, Tigers, Brewers, Cardinals, Twins, Red Sox, and Rangers. The most games he ever played in a single season was 52 with the Twins in 2000. That year, he hit .209 with 3 home runs and 14 RBI.

Marcus finished his career a .184 hitter with 6 home runs and 29 RBI.

In 2000, Marcus had the pleasure to represent the USA at the Olympics in Australia. He came home with the gold.

1997 Collector's Choice, Rex Hudler

#422 Rex Hudler

Here is one of my newest Rex Hudler autographs. My older son got this card signed for me at Spring Training this year. The two of us had the same arrangement as last year where I would give him a dollar for every card that he got signed. Unfortunately, he had a rough time this year and only netted five bucks. Three dollars of it was courtesy of Rex.

A couple of years ago, I found out that a work colleague of mine used to collect cards. We had worked side-by-side daily for a year before she transferred to another store. Somehow, during that whole year, I had no clue that she had ever collected cards. I didn't even realize she knew anything about baseball. The only reason I found out about it was that she gave a few cards for Christmas one year. When she told me that they came from her collection, my mind was blown.

Last year, she dropped off a container of cards that were from 1995-1998 and she told me to take anything I wanted. There were a lot of star cards from the day in the box, but those weren't the ones I was looking for. I was looking for cards that I could get signed. That is where this card came from.

I like the vague position listed on this card- IF/OF. In case you were wondering, The Hud played mostly second base in 1996 and he appeared at that position 53 times. He also played first 7 times, center field 15 times, and left field 8 times. I think that they probably could have just listed him as a second baseman.

1996 Upper Deck, Glenn Dishman

#186 Glenn Dishman

Here is a card of Glenn Dishman that was given to me by Rod, from Padrographs, when we met up at a Hillsboro Hops game in 2015.

Glenn pitched in the Majors for three seasons with the Padres, Phillies, and Tigers. He made his Major League debut with the Padres in 1995 and saw the majority of his big league action that season. He appeared in 19 games, starting 16, and pitched 97 innings with a 4-8 record and 5.01 ERA.

He would go on to only throw 38 more innings at that level over two more seasons. Glenn finished his career with a record of 5-10 and a 5.25 ERA.

Glenn is now into coaching and is currently working as the pitching coach for the Giants AA team in Richmond.

1996 Pinnacle, Troy Percival

#296 Troy Percival

Here is a card of Troy Percival that I got signed at a Kansas State game last year. Troy is the head coach for his alma mater, UC Riverside, and they had the misfortune of playing baseball in Kansas in March.

I had planned on going to the game as soon as the schedule was released and I saw Troy was coaching. But, come game day, it was freezing out. I do not remember the exact temperature, but it had to have been between 30-35 degrees with a strong wind. I did not want to go to a game in those conditions and I certainly wasn't taking my one year-old out in that. So, I did the next best thing. We all drove to the park. The family stayed in the car and I went and bought one general admission ticket. I went in, got Troy's autograph, used the restroom, and then left. I was in and out in five minutes. We then left and enjoyed the day in lovely Manhattan, Kansas.

As for Troy, he was real easy to talk to as I asked him about coaching and the weather. He was clearly disappointed that they were not playing in California where it was 80 degrees at the time. I can't say that I blame him.

I got three cards signed by Troy, but this was the only Angel card. This card kind of reminds of some current Donruss cards, with the exception of some barely visible logos.

Troy is the Angels all-time save leader with 316 of them. He has 108 more saves than the second place closer and no current Angel is even in the top ten. I am sure his team record will be intact for some time.

1996 Leaf Signature Series Extended, Carlos Hernandez

#77 Carlos Hernandez

Here is another card I got from Night Owl a while back in exchange for a Jackie Robinson manu-bat knob. Other autos he gave me were of Rick Dempsey, Billy Ashley, and Todd Hollandsworth. The other three cards were all base cards that had been signed at some point. This, an autographed insert, is more of what I expected to get in the trade since Greg isn't an autograph collector.

Carlos played in the Majors for parts of ten seasons with the Dodgers, Padres, and Cardinals. He spent the better part of his career in Los Angeles in the back-up catcher role. But, in 1998 with Padres, he was the team's primary catcher and he had a good season. He ended up playing in 129 games while starting 102 of those. For the year, he hit .262 with 15 doubles, 9 home runs, and 52 runs driven in.

For his career, Carlos was a .253 hitter with 24 homers and 141 RBI. He got to play in all four of the Padres 1998 World Series games and was 2-10.

1996 Donruss, Keith Lockhart

#386 Keith Lockhart

Here is a card that I got signed through the mail earlier this year. For whatever reason, I have hit the TTM front hard since last season ended. My three main focuses have been the '81 Donruss set, the Pacific Senior League set, and former Royals. Guess which category this one falls into.

After making his Major League debut with the Padres at the age of 30 in 1994, Keith ended up in Kansas City the following year. His tenure there would only last two seasons, but they were two fairly productive seasons. In '95, though he played in just 94 games, Keith hit a career-best .321. That was the only time he would ever hit over .300 in a season. Then, in '96, Keith played a career-high 138 games. Because of that, he set a few single season bests like doubles (33) and RBI (55). Then, right before the '97 season began, he was shipped to Atlanta with Michael Tucker for Jaime Walker and Jermaine Dye.

Keith played with the Braves for six seasons. While he was never an everyday player in Atlanta, he was a key contributor that helped the Braves make the playoffs every season he was there. With the Braves, Keith hit .248 with 26 home runs and 166 RBI. In the postseason, he played in 37 games and hit .287 with one dinger and 8 RBI.

I never bought a single pack of Donruss in 1996. I am pretty sure that the only Donruss cards I have from that season were Royals that were sent to me by other bloggers. I have one other card signed from that set and it is a Jeff Montgomery card that I got signed at Fanfest in 2009.