1952 Topps, Carl Erskine

#250 Carl Erskine

For no apparent reason, I haven't posted a card on here for two weeks. It is Christmas time and my weekends off have been dealing with shopping and whatnot. Plus, we finally got our house a puppy last week. But, for whatever reason, I haven't felt like posting much lately, which is a shame because I have got a few '50s cards to show off and those are really hard to beat. So, I made time tonight to feature one last 1952 Topps card. This is now the sixth '52 that I have got signed and I got it through the mail two months ago. It took me a whole nine days to get back. If I am going to make it to nine signed cards from this set, I am going to have to purchase the remaining three signed cards.

This is only the second card of Carl that I have posted on here and it has been nearly eleven and a half years since I posted the first one. I originally posted a '55 Bowman of Carl way back in the first month of this blog. I got that card signed at a Brooklyn Cyclones game and it was a blast getting (at that point) my oldest signed card autographed in-person. Since then, I have added three more signed cards of him to my collection and even one to my son's, all through the mail. In fact, the next card that I have to post on here is one of Oisk.

In that first post many moons ago, I mentioned nothing of Carl's playing career. Back then, it was all about how I got the card signed. But, Oisk had great career, all spent with the Dodgers. He suited up for them for twelve seasons and got to call Brooklyn and Los Angeles home. He finished his career with a 122-78 record with 13 saves and a 4.00 ERA. He made one All Star team and pitched in five World Series, winning it all in 1955.

1952 Topps, Howie Judson

#169 Howie Judson

Here is another recent through the mail success of mine. I sent this card to Howie in September and I had it back two weeks later.

Howie pitched in the Majors for seven seasons with the White Sox and Redlegs. He both started and relieved, but spent the majority of his career coming out of the bullpen. Over his career, he went 17-37 with 14 saves and a 4.29 ERA. I didn't even realize they tracked saves in the '40s.

It is so odd to me to see the strikeout and walk numbers from guys that played in Howie's era. Just like Carl Sheib, Howie finished his career with more walks than strikeouts. He walked 319 batters while just striking out 204 over 615 innings of work. That is good for a about three K's per nine innings of work. Nowadays, a pitcher with that kind of K/9 wouldn't even sniff the Majors, especially as a reliever. It is crazy how the game changes.

I noticed that Howie and Eddie Robinson, who are both pictured with the Sox in this set, are rocking two different hats. According to Dressed to the Nines, this hat was last used in 1945. The hat Eddie is wearing was last used in 1950. I wonder how accurate that site is as Howie didn't make it to the Majors until 1948.

1952 Topps, Irv Noren

#40 Irv Noren

Next up in the '52 Topps procession is this beautiful looking horizontal card of Irv Noren. I sent this card, along with ten bucks, to Irv in October and I had it back two weeks later. Sadly, Irv passed away three weeks after I got the card back.

Irv played in the Majors for eleven seasons with the Senators, Yankees, A's, Cardinals, Cubs, and Dodgers. Over that time, he was a .275 hitter with 65 home runs and 453 RBI. His best season was probably his rookie campaign in Washington. That year, he hit .295 with career-highs in homers (14) and RBI (98). Despite those impressive numbers, Irv did not receive a single vote for Rookie of the Year. Four years later, with the Yankees, Irv would get his lone All Star team nomination in a season in which he finished with a .319 average, 14 homers, and 66 RBI.

Irv appeared in three World Series as a Yankee, all against the Dodgers. The Yanks triumphed in two of the three and Irv hit .148 in eleven World Series games. He was also a member of the Yankees 1956 championship team, but missed most of the season and the Series to injuries.

Irv played in three NBA games in 1946 with the Chicago American Gears.

1952 Topps, Eddie Robinson

#32 Eddie Robinson

A few months ago, I decided to start a new project. My leads on 1981 Donruss were drying up and I needed a new excuse to send out some TTMs. So, I came up with my Topps Prime Nine project. The goal of the project is to get nine cards from every Topps base set signed, starting with this one. I picked nine because there are nine slots in a sheet and all of these are going in their own album. It is like the history of Topps, but with autographs added.

With the exception of the early Topps sets, it was going to be an easy task to accomplish. But, I made one stipulation and that has proven to make the task much more difficult than I anticipated- a player can only appear in the album one time. So, while my log says that I have thirteen 1976 Topps cards signed, a few of those guys are Royals alums that I have many autographs from. Then I have to choose if I use that player for that set or if he is needed to fill up a page in another set. Because of that, some Royals greats are in my Prime Nine album in uniforms other than the Royals just so I can fill up a page. John Mayberry is a Blue Jay and Willie Wilson is a Cub. That isn't right, but that is the way it is for now.

Anyways, the Prime Nine album is why I got this card signed. Before I started it, I had just two 1952 Topps cards signed. I figured I had better start sending out some cards for this set because there are not too many guys from it still around. Eddie, for instance, turns ninety-nine in three weeks. I sent this card to him in September, along with ten bucks, and I had it back in eight days.

Eddie played in the Majors for parts of thirteen seasons with the Indians, Senators, White Sox, A's, Yankees, Tigers, and Orioles. He was a big first baseman that could really swing the stick. The .268 lifetime hitter had four straight seasons in the early '50s with 20 or more homers and three straight years of 100+ RBI. He made the All Star team in each of his 100 RBI campaigns as well as the 1949 season. Eddie's best year was with the Sox in 1951 when he hit .282 with 29 homers and 117 RBI. Besides the four All Star games, he also played in the World Series twice.

Follow me on Twitter to see all of the Prime Nine TTMs as they arrive in my mailbox. @zmills40

1951 Topps, Wally Westlake

#27 Wally Westlake

Around the same time I decided that I needed a signed '51 Bowman for the collection, I also decided that I needed a signed '51 Topps. So, I found this card of Wally Westlake at a reasonable price and dropped it in the mail. The beautiful, small, squarish piece of cardboard made it back home one month later. Wally even included three signed postcards commemorating highlights of his career.

Wally played in the Majors for parts of ten seasons with the Pirates, Cardinals, Reds, Indians, Orioles, and Phillies. He came up with Pittsburgh in 1947 at the age of twenty-seven and would go five straight seasons of hitting double digit home runs, including a single season best of 24 with the 1950 squad. Over that time, he also had two 90+ RBI campaigns and topped out at 105 in 1949.

Then, in June of 1951, Wally got traded to the Cardinals. Despite making his first and only All Star team that season, that trade signaled the beginning of the end for Wally's career. In 1952, Wally got traded twice more and eventually ended up in Cleveland. He stuck around there for for two and half seasons, but only as a part time player. It was with the Indians in 1954 where Wally played in his lone World Series. He got into just two games and went 1-7.

In 1956, Wally played in five games for the Phillies and then called it a career. Like many young men of Wally's generation, he lost three years of playing time to the War. That obviously delayed his Major League debut, but he had a fine start just the same. Besides playing in an All Star game and a World Series, he also hit for the cycle twice and was the first white batter ever hit by a black pitcher. That last part felt really weird typing, but is a true statement.

As for 1951 Topps, the set was actually some type of game. It consists of just 52 cards, just like a card deck. You can tell on the top of this card that the card has some perforation to it, so I have no idea how these cards were distributed. But, I am willing to bet that they did not come with gum. That is just a guess, though.

Here are the postcards Wally sent me.

Wally passed away a little over two months ago.

1951 Bowman, Carl Scheib

#83 Carl Scheib

Two years ago, I was looking through my signed cards and I realized that I did not have a signed 1951 Bowman. So, I purchased this card of Carl, mailed it to him the next day, and had it back signed the next week. Three months later, at the ripe ol' age of 91, Carl passed away.

Carl pitched in the Majors for parts of eleven seasons with the A's and Cardinals. He broke into the Majors at the age of sixteen in 1943 and hung in the game until 1954. Over that time, he went 45-65 with 17 saves and a 4.88 ERA. One of his best seasons was with Philadelphia in 1951. Though he finished the year with a 1-12 record, he posted a 4.47 ERA and had career highs in saves (10) and strikeouts (49).

One thing that strikes me when I look at Carl's stats is his strikeouts and walks. Carl was not a strikeout pitcher by any means. In '51 when he struck out 49, it took him 143 innings to reach that number. In fact, Carl was more likely to walk the batter than strike him out. He finished his career with 493 walks to only 290 strikeouts. That has got to be one of the worse K:BB ratios in the history of the game. In 1949, he walked 118 batters. Add in his 191 hits allowed in his 182.2 innings of work and you have a WHIP of 1.692, which was barely above his career average. It was a different game back then and probably better, too.

On the flip side, Carl was a decent hitter that hit .250 for his career. In 1948, he hit .298 in 104 at-bats with 21 RBI and 13 extra base hits. He hit so well that year that he got two starts in the outfield. Like I said, it was a different game back then.

And probably better, too.

2008 Upper Deck Timelines, Joey Votto

#119 Joey Votto

Back in the day, Joey Votto was a TTM machine. But, he stopped signing through the mail in 2012. Luckily I was able to get him when the getting was good in 2009. I sent this card to the Reds Spring Training facility and I had it back about three weeks later.

Joey had a rough season this year. But, he is still a .307 lifetime hitter. Even if the 2010 National League MVP has a repeat of 2019 in 2020, he still should reach some milestones. Right now he is just 16 home runs shy of 300 and 134 hits shy of 2,000. The 2,000 hit mark is going to be the easier of the two to reach since he hasn't hit 16 or more dingers in a season since 2017 when he smacked 36.

I really like the card that I picked out to get signed. Sure, he Allen & Ginter rookie card would have looked fantastic. But, I really love the nostalgia of this card with its 1992 feel.

The Rest of 2008 Topps Heritage, Part II

#472 Manny Corpas
#479 Tony LaRussa
#532 Willie Bloomquist
#561 Mike Aviles
#628 Esteban German
#670 Joakim Soria
#672 Taylor Teagarden
#RP2 Mike Aviles

Manny Corpas- This is the second card that Manny signed for me at a Royals game in 2010 while he was still with the Rockies.

Tony LaRussa- I got this one signed through the mail in 2009. I sent him his '81 Donruss card to sign and threw this one in with it. I still need to get an A's card signed by him and maybe even a card from his playing days. In case you are wondering, it looks like Tony still signs through the mail. If you need his autograph, send it care of the Boston Red Sox.

Willie Bloomquist- Willie signed this card for me in Minneapolis when I went to the Twins final regular season series at the Metrodome. Willie was playing for the Royals at the time.

Mike Aviles- I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot in 2009. Before leaving for Kansas City that week, I went by my local card shop to see if he had this card. He did not, so he opened packs until he pulled this one for me.

Esteban German- Esteban signed this one for me at Royals Fanfest in 2009.

Taylor Teagarden- I got this one signed in Springdale, Arkansas in 2010 while Taylor was playing for the Frisco Rough Riders. He was nice enough to sign for me from the dugout after the game.

Mike Aviles- In case you couldn't tell by the super thin signature, this card was signed at the same time as the other Aviles card on here. It was a regular Sharpie, so I am not sure why it came out so thin. He must have just been grazing the surface of the card with it.

On a side note, I almost posted one of these cards of Mike Aviles as its own post. Then, after a quick search, I realized I posted his 2006 Bowman card way back in 2011. Yikes! It took me eight years to get from my 2006 cards to my 2008s.

The Rest of 2008 Topps, Part II

#208 David DeJesus
#237 Eric Wedge
#302 Horacio Ramirez
#313 Kameron Loe
#318 Ned Yost
#333 Jayson Nix
#342 Matt Belisle
#403 Nate Robertson
#404 Cecil Cooper

David DeJesus- This is another one that I got signed by the Royals parking lot in 2008. This one was done a month before the German and Gload cards from the previous post.

Eric Wedge- I got this one signed by Eric during Indians batting practice in Kansas City in 2008. In case you haven't heard, last month Eric was named the new head coach at Wichita State. Hopefully he can bring some luster back to a once proud baseball institution.

Horacio Ramirez- Horacio signed for me after a Royals game from the team parking lot in 2008.

Kameron Loe- I got Kameron after an Oklahoma Redhawks game in 2008.

Ned Yost- Ned yosted this card for me after Royals batting practice at The K in 2011. Normally, you can't see the Royals take batting practice at home. But, you can buy early bird stadium tour tickets that get you in just in time for Royals BP. They cost about $10-12 a person and you still need a separate game ticket. In all actuality, all the early bird ticket is good for is getting a great 'graphing spot.

Jayson Nix- I believe this is the third card I have posted of Jayson. There should be three more coming and all six of them came from the Kansas Stars game I attended at the 2016 NBC Wolrd Series.

Matt Belisle- Outside of The K in 2010. That was about the time that it really started to suck 'graphing outside that ballpark. Since then, it has primarily been about hitting up the visiting team as they straggle in.

Nate Robertson- Here is the third card of Wichita native, Nate Robertson, that I have posted on here. The first one came from a Wichita card show and the second was from a Stars game. This one was obtained at the same card show as the first card. That show was at Rock's Dugout in Wichita. Rock usually hosts six shows a year, but I think he cut back to four this year. He always either brings in someone to sign or he has Beckett there grading cards. Unfortunately, Rock hasn't had a baseball player there signing in quite some time and, because of that, I don't think that I have attended a show there in three years.

Cecil Cooper- I posted that first card of Cecil way back in 2009. That card was obtained through the mail, just like this one. But, this card was signed about a year ago when I was getting a bunch of Senior League cards signed. I needed Cecil for that set and sent this one along, too, just so I could have a manager card signed by him.

2008 Goudey, Bobby Thomson

#217 Bobby Thomson

This is probably my favorite signed 2008 Goudey that I own. While I have a few cards from the set signed by some bigger names, I also have other cards signed by those guys that I enjoy more. But, this one, on the other hand, is the only card that I have signed by Bobby and I absolutely love it. Plus, the fact that it is a mini makes it that much better.

I got this card signed through the mail in November of 2008. In fact, over a four day stretch that month, I got back Bobby Doerr, Sparky Anderson, and this card, all from this set. That was a fun week of checking the mailbox.

Bobby had a fifteen year career in the Majors, playing with the Giants, Braves, Cubs, Red Sox, and Orioles. He was a .270 career hitter that racked up 264 home runs and 1,026 RBI. He made three All Star teams, had four 100 RBI seasons, played in one World Series, and hit one of the most iconic home runs in baseball history.

I didn't notice it on the Doerr or Anderson cards, but it just seems off to see Ken Griffey on the front of this card. I love that Upper Deck put Griffey and Jeter on there to replace Lou Gehrig, but it just doesn't work on cards that feature players that played before Griffey, Sr. played.

2008 Goudey, Sparky Anderson

#46 Sparky Anderson

Here is the second card in the set that is a repeat post of a Hall of Famer. I first posted a card of Sparky over nine years ago and it can be seen here. That card was, of course, his '81 Donruss card. I am so glad that I got that card signed for my set. I am even more glad that I mailed it to him when I did; he passed away eight months later.

This one was obtained through the mail in 2008, two years before the '81D. But, the '81D sports a slightly better looking signature. I could just be thinking that because that one is signed in blue, though.

The Big Red Machine was before my time. Whenever I think of Sparky Anderson, I always picture him in a Tigers uniform. So, when this card came out with him as a Red, I knew I had to get it signed. The Big Red Machine might have preceded me, but I still know of their accolades and know that Sparky was at the helm.

Sparky managed in the Majors for a whopping twenty-six years, nine with the Reds and the rest with Detroit. Over that time, he had a .545 winning percentage while going to the postseason five times and winning it all three times. He was twice named manager of the year and got inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

2008 Goudey, Alfonso Soriano

#33 Alfonso Soriano

Last year, for a brief four month span, Alfonso Soriano was signing autographs through the mail. I noticed it in August. By Thanksgiving, it was over. Luckily, I sent this one card to him in the middle of October and I had it back before the honey hole dried up. I thought I might have been too late on the action, but it made it back home in about two weeks time.

It is always nice when a six time All Star starts randomly signing cards through the mail. But, I am sure that he got overwhelmed real quickly and that is why he gave it up. On SCN, there are probably over 125 successes listed on there and that is just from the people that bother to track their successes on the site. Who knows how many requests he actually got during that time.

Nonetheless, I was able to add an autograph to my favorite set from 2008 for a dollar in postage. I will take it.

Alfonso played in the Majors for sixteen seasons with the Yankees, Rangers, Nationals, and Cubs. Over that time, he hit .270 with 412 home runs and 1,159 RBI. He played in the postseason five times, including two World Series appearances. He had over 100 RBI four times and hit 30+ homers seven times, including a career high of 46 with the Nats in 2006.

2008 Goudey, Bobby Doerr

#26 Bobby Doerr

I know I said that I was going to change things up and not do individual posts of guys that have been posted on here before. But, I have three cards signed by Hall of Famers in this Goudey set and it does not feel right to just lump them together with the other guys. So, for now, two of the three Hall of Famers will get their own post. In the end, I am sure all three will get their own.

Here is the card of Bobby Doerr that I got signed through the mail in 2008. I sent two cards his way towards the end of the year and I had them both back and signed in about eight days. That turn around time still impresses me.

Bobby might have been one of the greatest signers to ever live and I have no clue how he was able to pull it off like he did into his late nineties. I can't imagine the amount of fanmail that he had to receive on a daily basis. That man had to have set aside time every day to keep churning out the autographs like he did. He was truly an asset to the autograph community and is dearly missed.

I posted the other Doerr card way back in 2010 and you can see that post here. That card is from a 2003 set. It is pretty sad that I have only gotten up to my 2008 cards since posting that card nearly nine years ago. If you don't want to go back to see that post, here is the card.

Four years ago, I posted another Bobby Doerr through the mail autograph. For Christmas in 2013, my then fiance ponied-up some dough and bought me a graded 1939 Playball Bobby Doerr. Being the autograph nerd that I am, I busted that beauty out and sent it to get signed. While his signature wasn't nearly as neat as it was in 2008, it still came out looking great. I am forever thankful for my wife for buying me that card. She is pretty freaking awesome.

2008 Donruss Threads, Duke Snider

#13 Duke Snider

In 2008, I got back into collecting autographs in a big way. After being away from the hobby for over ten years, 2008 was a reawakening for me. I started taking cards with me to games instead of balls, I started this blog, and, maybe most importantly, I got back into through the mail autographs again.

I started sending autograph requests through the mail during Spring Training in 1988. I only got one back, but I was so excited about it that I became hooked. I kept sending out TTMs to teams into my high school years before finding other interests. Then, in 2008, I found that there were databases online with retired players home addresses. Finding that rekindled my TTM spirit and I got back at it again.

This was one of the cards that I sent out TTM in my return to the hobby. Even though this set is great for autographs, I wish I would have sent another card. Ideally, an actual card of Duke's from his playing day would have been the best option. Second best option would have been a Topps All-Time Fan Favorite card. But, I went with what I had handy and it still came out looking great. It just didn't look time specific for Duke Snider.

Nonetheless, I still love this card and am glad to have it in my collection. Duke is a Hall of Famer that had five 40 home runs seasons, six 100 RBI seasons, made eight All Star teams, and played in six World Series. He got elected to the Hall in 1980.

I do not recall paying a fee for Duke to sign this for me, but I would not be surprised if I sent a ten dollar bill along with it.

I will say that for a non-licensed Donruss set, I am surprised that you can make out most of the team name on the front of the jersey, not to mention the cap logo.

2008 Donruss Elite, Dusty Coleman

#32 Dusty Coleman

Here is a card that I got signed through the mail in 2009. I mailed this to the single-A team that Dusty was playing for at the end of the season and I got it back a few weeks before Thanksgiving.

The reason why I felt I needed to get this card signed is because it features a Wichita State player. When I was growing up, Wichita State baseball was the cream of the crop. They were always winning their conference and were always in the hunt to go to Omaha. While they are nowhere close to where they used to be, I still keep tabs on them. I saw Dusty play a few times in the 2008 Regional and Super Regional, so I thought it would be cool to try to get a card signed by him.

Dusty was drafted in the 28th round by the A's in 2008, but would never make it to the Majors with them. He got his first taste of big league action when he got into four games with the Royals in 2015, going 0-5 with three strikeouts.

Luckily, he got another shot two years later with the Padres. That time, he played in 27 games and he it .227 with 4 home runs and 9 driven in.

Dusty played in AAA all last year with the Padres organization. It looks like he is teamless right now and, considering he hit just .202 in 103 games last season, it very well could be that his career is over.

2008 Allen & Ginter, Brandon Phillips

#285 Brandon Phillips

Here is a card that I got signed through the mail back when Brandon Phillips signed through the mail. At one point, he was a pretty reliable TTM signer. But, he hasn't signed anything TTM since 2009, which just happens to be the year I sent this to him. I sent it to him during Spring Training and I got it back just as the season was starting. I sent along an Indians card with this one, but that one did not make it home. I am not sure which card I sent him, but there is no way it would have came back looking as good as this Allen & Ginter.

Brandon played in nine Major League games last year with the Red Sox and hit just .130 in his limited action. Considering that he will be turning 38 this summer, I think the chances of him getting picked up by a team are slim. But, you never know.

If, in fact, he is done playing, he had a good career. Spending parts of seventeen seasons in the Majors with the Indians, Reds, Braves, Angels, and Sox, Brandon was a .275 hitter with 2,029 hits, 211 home runs, and 951 RBI. He was a three time All Star that snagged four Gold Glove awards and a Silver Slugger. He had double digit home runs in eleven seasons and he even reached the 100 RBI plateau once.

2005 Topps, Scott Sullivan

#224 Scott Sullivan

Here is a card that I got signed through the mail earlier this year. I got on a kick for a bit of sending cards out to former Royals who I did not have any cards signed by and that is why I wrote to Scott. It took about three months to get this card back.

Scott pitched in Kansas City for just one season, his final season in the Majors. That year, he was 3-4 with a 4.77 ERA in 60.1 innings of work. Prior to joining the Royals, Scott pitched nine and half years for the Reds and had a half season with the White Sox. He was 40-28 with 9 saves and a 3.98 ERA for his career.

Here is a fun fact- forty different ballplayers have appeared in the Majors with the last name of Sullivan. I never would have guessed that. But apparently, Sullivan was a very common surname back in the day. For instance, only two Sullivans have played in the Majors this century. On the opposite end of the spectrum, eighteen different Sullivans pitched in the 1800s, including three that were born in Ireland.

Scott has got a beautiful looking signature.

2002 Fleer Tradition, Brandon Berger

#U173 Brandon Berger

Here is another former Royal that I got signed through the mail this year. I sent this card to Brandon in February and I had it back ten days later.

Brandon was 14th round pick by the Royals in 1996 out of Eastern Kentucky. While he was slowly moving up the organizational ladder, he wasn't even a blip on the radar. That all changed in 2001 when he had a monster year in AA. That season, he batted .308 with 40 home runs and 118 RBI. He got a September call-up from the Royals and continued his hot season, going 5-16 with four extra-base hits, including two dingers.

He made the Royals Opening Day roster in 2001 and it turned out to be a rough season for Brandon. Through July 20th, he hit .227 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI. He was then sent down to AAA for the second time that season and would stay there until the rosters expanded in September. It was a rough September for him and he finished the season with a .207 average with 6 homers and 17 RBI.

After that, Brandon would only play in 24 more Major League games over the 2003-2004 seasons. He never hit another home run and he finished his career a .212 hitter with 8 home runs and 24 RBI.

2001 Topps, Brian Meadows

#316 Brian Meadows

This is a card that I got signed through the mail earlier this year. For a bit, I was sending out TTMs to former Royals that I did not have signed cards from. This is the third one of those out of the last five card posts and my next one will be the same. It was fun adding Meadows, Reboulet, and McCarthy to the collection since they were members of the Royals team I grew to love, the 2000 squad.

Brian only pitched in Kansas City for two seasons and he had just 21 appearances, with all but one being starts. He went 6-2 in his first season there with two complete games and a 4.77 ERA. But, the next year, he dropped to 1-6 with an ERA of 6.97. That was that for Brian with the Royals.

He went on to pitch five more years after that, mainly with the Pirates, where he found a home in their bullpen. Brian finished his career with a 47-62 record with 10 saves and a 5.05 ERA.

Prior to joining the Royals, Brian pitched with the Marlins and Padres. He also played one season, his final one, with the Devil Rays.

2001 Topps, Jeff Reboulet

#141 Jeff Reboulet

Here is the card that I got signed through the mail by Jeff Reboulet. I sent this card to him at the end of January and I had it back in about a week.

I sent this card to get signed since Jeff is a former Royal and I never got his autograph when he was with the team. He spent one season in Kansas City in 2000. That was a fun offense to watch, though Jeff did not provide much of it. He hit .242 with 14 RBI and no home runs as a Royal.

Jeff spent twelve seasons in the Majors as a utility player with the Twins, Orioles, Royals, Dodgers, and Pirates. He played in 100+ games twice, but never got over 250 at-bats in any given season. He hit .240 for his career with 20 home runs and 202 RBI.

With the O's in 1997, he made his only trip to the postseason. In the two series, he was 1-7. His lone hit was a solo home run off of Randy Johnson in the fourth and final game of the Division Series.

The back of this card lists Jeff's position as SS-3B. That is odd since he played second base 50 times in 2000. He played third 11 times and short only 5 times.