2008 Just Minors

#27 Chris Getz
#46 Daniel Mayora
#60 Derrick Robinson

I only have three cards signed from this set and all three feature players that have been posted on here before. So, I get an easy day today.

Chris Getz- This card was signed at Royals Fanfest in 2013.

Daniel Mayora- I got this card signed at Dodgers Spring Training in 2014. To my surprise, Daniel is still playing ball. He is playing in Mexico, where he has played since 2017.

Derrick Robinson- Derrick signed this card for me in 2009 while he was a member of the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Derrick last played pro ball in 2017. In 2016, he played in the American Association and I was bummed that I could not find his 2013 Topps Update card to get signed at a game. It was in my collection, but missing in action.

I find it strange that this is a minor league set, but it really doesn't focus on the minor leagues. I know three cards is a small sample size, but only one of the three shows a definitive minor league uniform. While the other two could possibly be minor league unis, they could just as easily be Spring Training shots. The backs have no mention of the minor leagues and don't even tell you where the players played the previous season when the racked up the stats that are listed.

2007 Topps, Mike Zagurski

#UH198 Mike Zagurski

It has been a week since I last posted a card. Since that last post, I have worked every single day for twelve hours a day. I have three more days of this, but my shift is about to change. Instead of working 6 A.M. to 6 P.M, my next three shifts will be from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. Then, I will get a couple of days off and be back to normal. The one exception is that I am going to be on nights for good. So, I am not quite sure how that is going to affect my posting. I hope, at the vary least, that I will still post about twelve to fourteen cards a month. Who knows? Maybe I will be able to post more often on this schedule. Only time will tell.

Anyways, here is a card of Mike Zagurski that I got signed at Spring Training this year. Mike was in camp with the Brewers and I was able to get him at the team's minor league morning workout. I caught him as he was trying to leave the fields and head to the clubhouse. The Brewers were hosting the Royals that day, so I had some Royals gear on. Mike saw that and let it be known that he was not a Royals fan. I told him that I was from Kansas and I remembered that he played his college ball at KU. Once we got to talking, I found out that he played ball in community college in Hutchinson, which is twenty-five miles down the road. It is always fun to meet up with someone on the backfields in Arizona that has some Kansas ties.

That day, I did not even plan on 'graphing the Brewers minor league complex. I had planned on going to the game, but I wanted to hit up the White Sox morning practice first. When I got to Glendale to see the Sox, it was dead. We stood around with one other family waiting for the gates to open before someone from the other family made a phone call and found out the White Sox were hosting a night game that evening. Because of that, the gates to the practice field would not open until 3:00. So, we jetted over to Maryvale and did what I could there. Lesson learned.

As for Mike, he has seen stints at the big league level with the Phillies, Diamondbacks, Pirates, Yankees, and Brewers. Those stints were over six seasons that spanned twelve years. He made his debut with the Phillies in 2007 and then would not make it back to the Majors until 2010. He then saw action in 2011, '12, and 13. He then spent a few more years in the minors and in Japan before resurfacing with the Brewers for one inning of work this year. Over that time, he has a 1-1 record in 91 games with an ERA of 7.78. He is averaging a strikeout per inning, though.

2007 Topps, Scott Thorman

#582 Scott Thorman

Here is the second card that I got signed by Scott Thorman at Spring Training in 2017. Scott is the manager of the Royals South Atlantic League team and he was nice enough to stop and sign after a morning minor league workout. I posted the first card of Scott during the summer and it can be seen here.

Scott spent just two seasons in the Majors, both with the Braves. Over that time, he got into 175 games and hit .222 with 16 home runs and 50 RBI. He played in 120 games in 2007, but only started 66 of those. He got into most of the other games as a pinch hitter. But, he did most of his damage that season, smacking 11 dingers and driving in 36.

Scott played in the affiliated minors through the 2012 season, but never got another shot at the big leagues.

When I posted that last card of Scott, his Lexington Legends had just started the second half of their season and were off to a slow start. But, Scott was able to right the ship and get them going and they ended up winning the division in the second half en route to a league championship.

2006 Topps, Miguel Cairo

#204 Miguel Cairo

Here is the second card that I got signed by Miguel Cairo at Spring Training in 2017. Miguel was helping out the Reds at the time and I got him to sign three cards for me after the team's minor league workout. I posted the first one back in May and it can be seen here.

The first card I posted showed Miguel with the third team he played for, the Devil Rays. After three seasons with the Rays, he spent half a year with the Cubs, two and a half with the Cardinals, and one year with the Yankees before joining the Mets on the other side of town. His tenure in Queens lasted just one season before shifting back over to the Bronx for another year and half. But, while with the Mets, Miguel managed a .251 average with 2 home runs and 19 RBI in 100 games.

I was shocked to see that Miguel played parts of seventeen seasons in the Major Leagues. But, he was around for a while and I got to see him play eleven times between 2000-2008. I saw him in uniform with the Devil Rays, Cubs, Cardinals, Yankees, and Mariners. Over those eleven games, he hit just .143 with a home run and four RBI. I also saw him man five different positions as well as DH and pinch hit in those contests.

After his second stint with the Yankees, he would also go on to play with the Cardinals (again), Mariners, Phillies, and Reds.

2005 Topps Total, Corky Miller

#461 Corky Miller

Here is the lone card that I got signed by Corky Miller at Spring Training in 2017. Corky is the Reds roving catching instructor and I was able to get him to sign this lone card at Reds minor league camp.

This is the only card of Corky that I own, so I assumed he had a relatively short career. That is not the case as he played in Major League games in eleven different seasons. He never played in more than 39 in any given season, so he was more of a third string catcher than anything.

Over his eleven seasons, Corky got into 216 games with the Reds, Twins, Red Sox, Braves, and White Sox. The majority of his playing time came during his two stints with the Reds, with whom he played in 153 games. For his career, Corky hit .193 with 11 home runs and 67 RBI. His best season was with the Reds in 2002. That year, he played in a career-high 39 games and hit .254 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI.

This is the only Major League card of Corky that does not show him playing for the Reds. And, even though his career lasted into the 2013 season, this is the last Major League card of him.

I was looking forward to seeing what Corky's real name was. It turns out that it is actually Corky. His full name is Corky Abraham Philip Miller. There have been two other players that played in the Majors that went by Corky, but it was just a nickname for the other two.

2005 Topps Total, Eli Marrero

#99 Eli Marrero

About ten years ago, I bought a box of 2005 Topps Total on Ebay. Because of that, I have a decent selection of cards from the set and it is a go-to whenever I need to find cards from someone that played in the mid-'00s. So here is the first in a long line of posts from this set that, knowing my posting routine, could very well last until Thanksgiving.

First up is this Eli Marrero card from his short tenure with the Royals. I got this card signed at the Reds minor league workout at Spring Training last year. Eli was the manager of the Reds Florida State League team in Daytona.

When I think of Eli Marrero, I think of a catcher with the Cardinals, not an outfielder with the Royals. Unfortunately, this was the only card of Eli that I could scrounge up before last year's Spring Training trip.

Eli played in the Majors for ten seasons with the Cardinals, Braves, Royals, Orioles, Rockies, and Mets. Over that time, he was a .243 hitter with 66 homers and 261 RBI. His best season was with the Cardinals in 2002. That year, he played in a 131 games and hit .262 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI.

I got to see Eli play in the big leagues on nine different occasions. Ironically, none of those were with the Royals. His tenure in Kansas City lasted just 32 games in 2005.

2001 Stadium Club, Scott Thorman

#159 Scott Thorman

Here is a card that I got signed at Spring Training last year. Scott is the manager of the Royals South Atlantic League affiliate, Lexington, and I was able to get him to sign two cards for me after the Royals minor leaguers worked out.

Out of all the Arizona League home's that I have been to, the Royals side of Surprise Stadium is one of my favorites. While you are not going to get any 'graphs from the big leaguers, it is a great spot to hit up the guys in the minors. The main reason for that is that the Royals put names on the back of the jerseys. Most of the teams do not do that and it is a pain trying to identify the lesser known guys. Also a plus is that the players have to walk quite a ways to get back to the clubhouse. There is no easy exit for them and you can get guys that you missed just by catching up to them.

The Lexington Legends finished up the first half of their season 2.5 games out of first place. It is still early into the second half, but they are off to a sluggish start. Through eight games, they are 2-6 and bringing up the rear of the South Atlantic League Southern Division.

I bought this card online as I wasn't really collecting cards in 2001. It just seems odd to me that Stadium Club would have draft pick cards. I know they did some draft pick sets early on in the brand, but this card feels out of place to me. This seems like something that should have been in Bowman.

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.

1992 Score, Tony Fossas

#389 Tony Fossas

Here is the third and final card that I got signed by Tony Fossas at Spring Training last year. Tony was working with the Reds at the time and he signed for me while the team's minor league players were having their morning practice. You can see the first card of him that I posted here and the second one here.

Those first two cards both showed Tony with the Brewers. For whatever reason, I seem to have a decent amount of signatures from Brewers pitchers. Luckily, I was able to find this card and mix it up a bit. Even though I am not a Red Sox fan, signed cards of Red Sox players do not appear on this blog enough.

Tony pitched for the Sox for four seasons in the early '90s. During his tenure in Boston, he went 7-5 with 4 saves and a 3.98 ERA. It was with the Sox that he settled into his LOOGY role, pitching just 160.2 innings over 239 appearances.

After leaving Boston, Tony went on to pitch with the Cardinals, Mariners, Cubs, Rangers, and Yankees. He finished his twelve year career with a record of 17-24 with 7 saves and 3.90 ERA.

1991 Score, Danny Darwin

#24T Danny Darwin

Here is the third and final card that Danny Darwin signed for me at Spring Training last year. Danny was the pitching coach for the Reds AAA team and I got him to sign for me at the Reds minor league practice. You can see the first card I posted here and the second one here. On top of that, I got him through the mail on an '81D eight years ago and that one can be seen here.

That makes four signed cards of Danny Darwin with four different teams- the Rangers, Brewers, Astros, and Red Sox. Danny went on to pitch with four more clubs after his time in Boston, so I still have some work to do to get a card signed of him with each team he played for. That is probably not going to happen since there are not very many cards of him with the other four teams and I can't seem to find a single card of him with the White Sox.

Danny pitched for Boston for four seasons. During his tenure there, he went 34-31 with 3 saves and a 4.14 ERA.

By the time Danny was done pitching in Boston, he had played for four teams over a seventeen year career. He went on to pitch four more seasons, but he bounced around considerably. 1995 was spent with the Blue Jays and Rangers. 1996 was with the Pirates and Astros. 1997 was with the White Sox and Giants. 1998, his final season, was all spent with the Giants.

Danny finished his career with a 171-182 record with 32 saves and a 3.84 ERA.

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 Leaf, Milt Thompson

#308 Milt Thompson

Here is the third and final card that I got signed by Milt Thompson at Spring Training earlier this year. Milt was the hitting coordinator for the Reds and I was able to get him to sign while switching fields at the Reds minor league workout. At first, he told me he couldn't sign because he was working. But, once he realized I was by myself, he motioned for me to come over and he signed all three cards for me. You can see the first card I posted here and the second one here.

That first card had Milt with the Braves and the second one had him with the Phillies. Here he is with his third team, the Cardinals. He played with them from 1989-'92 and had some productive years there, hitting .274 with 20 home runs and 149 RBI with the club. His best offensive season was with them in 1989 when he hit .290 with 8 homers and had career highs in doubles, 28, and RBI, 68.

After the Cardinals, he went back to the Phillies for a couple of years before finishing up with the Astros, Dodgers, and Rockies. Unfortunately, I do not think there are any mainstream cards of him playing for those last three teams.

1990 Donruss, Tony Fossas

#457 Tony Fossas

Here is the first of three cards that I got signed by Tony Fossas at Spring Training this year. Tony was the Reds pitching coordinator last season and I was able to get him to sign while the club's minor league players were participating in their morning practice.

Tony pitched in the Majors for twelve seasons. He pitched for seven teams during that span- the Brewers, Red Sox, Cardinals, Mariners, Cubs, Rangers, and Yankees. It looks like he bounced around all the time, but that really didn't happen until the last two years of his career when he played for four different teams, including three alone in the 1998 season.

It is amazing that he had such a long career considering how long it took him to get to the Major Leagues. Tony was drafted by the Rangers in 1979. He would get released or granted free agency four times before finally making his big league debut in 1988 at the age of 30.

Over his career, Tony never started a game and he was not a closer. He was mainly a left-handed specialist who logged 415.2 innings over 567 appearances. During that time, he racked up a 17-24 record with 7 saves and a 3.90 ERA.

1989 Topps, Danny Darwin

#719 Danny Darwin

The Houston Astros are the World Champions and it just so happens that the next card I have to post features an Astro. Sure, it is an Astro that has nothing to do with this year's team, but it is an Astro nonetheless.

Even though Danny was traded to the 'Stros during their great 1986 season, he was not on the postseason roster and never appeared in a postseason game in his career.

Danny ended up pitching for Houston for about five seasons during his long career. Over that span, he was 47-35 with 12 saves and a 3.21 ERA.

Congratulations Astros, especially former Royals Carlos Beltran and AJ Hinch.

And no, I was not saving this card for the possibility of Houston winning. This card was supposed to be posted Sunday, but I fell behind this weekend and fell more behind when the week started with a sick kid.

1988 Iowa Cubs Procards, Damon Berryhill

#537 Damon Berryhill

Here is the third and final card that I got signed by Damon Berryhill at Spring Training in 2014. Damon was the manager of the Dodgers AAA affiliate at the time and he was nice enough to stop and sign while moving between practice fields. I posted the first card of him later that season and it can be seen here. The second one was posted Sunday and that one can be seen here.

Damon Berryhill is a guy I remember from my younger days and I was surprised to see that he was usually a backup catcher. Backup catchers usually do not stick with me over the years. Damon could have stuck with me because of his unusual last name. But, I am willing to bet that I remember him because he played with the Cubs and so many Cubs games were on WGN when I was a kid.

Back then, I would watch a lot of Cubs games just because there was never anything good on in the middle of the afternoon. While I do not have cable or satellite TV these days, I highly doubt that the Cubs get airtime on WGN like they did in the '80s and '90s. I wouldn't even be surprised if they were not televised on that channel at all.

This is just the second card from this team set that I have got signed. Jim Wright signed one for me in 2010 and that card can be seen here. I would like to get the Mark Grace card signed for the set, but that has not happened yet.

1988 Fleer, Alan Trammell

#9 Alan Trammell

Here is the card of Alan Trammell that I got signed at Spring Training in 2014. Alan was the bench coach for the Diamondbacks at the time and he signed for fans by the Major League practice field. Alan would only sign one card per person and this is the card that he signed for me. But, he signed for quite a few people, and I was able to send my son up there to get another card signed. I posted that card three years ago and it can be seen here.

This is the third card of Alan that I have posted on here. While I only got two cards signed by him at Spring Training that year, I did get him through the mail in 2009. He was working for the Cubs then and I sent him his '81 Donruss to sign for me. That card can be seen here.

This is a fun card of Alan. These All Star cards were randomly inserted into Fleer packs back when insert wasn't even a term in the hobby. I am surprised that I even have this card because I have virtually no cards from the '88 Fleer set. Looking at what I have, I could not have bought more than four packs of Fleer that year. Why that is the case, I have no idea. I loved Fleer in '87 and I do not hate the '88 design. I just barely bought any that year.

This insert set was limited to twelve cards and it is a random assortment of "All Stars". Eight of the cards are American League players and only four are from the National League. Only four of the cards feature players that started in the '87 All Star Game and there are three cards of players that weren't even on the All Star team. I guess these are just guys that would have been on Fleer's All Star team. Still, it is a fun card to have signed.

1988 Donruss Rookies, Damon Berryhill

#31 Damon Berryhill

Here is the second of three cards that Damon Berryhill signed for me at Spring Training in 2014. Damon was the manager of the Dodgers AAA team at the time and I got him during the minor league morning practice. I posted the first card the same year I got it signed and it can be seen here.

Damon spent parts of five seasons with the Cubs. Over that time, he saw significant playing time for two seasons. And by significant, I mean that he started nearly half of the games behind the plate. That was during the 1988 and '89 seasons and he did well those years. He hit .259 in '88 and .257 in '89. Those were two of the four seasons in his ten year big league career that he hit over .250. That is not too bad for a .240 lifetime hitter.

Damon left the Dodgers system after the 2015 season and he ended up managing the Braves AAA team this summer. The Gwinnett Braves finished the season at .500, 71-71, 15 games back of the International League champion Durham Bulls. Make that the AAA champion as the Bulls beat the Memphis Redbirds tonight to take the crown.

1987 Fleer, Bob Melvin

#281 Bob Melvin

Here is the third and final card of Bob Melvin that I got signed at Spring Training in 2014. Bob and his A's were visiting the White Sox that day and I did pretty well with the A's coaches. I only got a few players to sign that day since the bigger named A's did not make the road trip. Along with Bob, I also got Chili Davis, Curt Young, Ariel Prieto, and Mike Gallego.

With this card, I have signed cards from Bob as a Giant, Oriole, and Tiger, the first three teams he played with. He also played for the Royals, Red Sox, Yankees, and Red Sox over the final three seasons of his career. Of those four teams, I don't think he has a Yankee or White Sox card and he only has a couple of Royal and Red Sox cards. When I went and saw the A's this past Spring Training, the three cards I took with me to get signed by him were all managers cards. I took one of each team he managed, the Mariners, Diamondbacks, and A's. I did not get him this year, so I still have some work to do to get a card signed for each team he was with.

Bob played for the Giants for three seasons. Over that time, he played in 265 games and hit .220 with 24 home runs and 83 RBI. His only postseason action came with the club in 1987. That fall, he got into three games of the NLCS and was 3-7.

1987 Donruss Opening Day, Mariano Duncan

#84 Mariano Duncan

Here is the second card of Mariano Duncan to be posted on here. The first one was posted in 2014 and it can be seen here. The two cards were signed at the same time, during a Cubs minor league Spring Training workout in 2014. Mariano was the hitting coach for the Daytona Cubs at the time. The Daytona Cubs are no more and Mariano has moved up to AAA to fill the same role for the Iowa Cubs.

Mariano played for the Dodgers for parts of four seasons before being dealt to the Reds for Lenny Harris and Kal Daniels. Over that time, he hit just .234 with 20 home runs and 95 RBI. More impressively, he stole 100 bases for the Dodgers, including a career high of 48 in 1986. The most bases he would steal in a season with any other organization was 23 with the Phillies in 1992.

Mariano did not do as well as Franklin Stubbs did on Opening Day in 1987. While Franklin went 3-4, Mariano went hitless in four at-bats while striking out three times.

1987 Donruss Opening Day, Franklin Stubbs

#83 Franklin Stubbs

Here is the third and final card of Franklin Stubbs that I have to post on here. The first two were posted in 2014, shortly after I got them signed at a Dodger minor league Spring Training workout. You can see his Astros card here and Brewers card here.

Franklin spent parts of six seasons with the Dodgers, his longest tenure with any club. Over that time, he would play fist base and outfield and hit .227 with 59 home runs and 178 RBI. His best season with them was in 1986 when he clubbed 23 homers and drove in 58. He was a member of the '88 World Championship team and hit .294 with two doubles and two RBI in the Series.

If you are not familiar of the '87 Donruss Opening Day set, let me tell you about it. It was only available as a set and it only featured players that started on opening day in 1987. I wish Topps Opening Day set was like that. The back of the card even tells how opening day went for the player. On the back of this card, we learn that Franklin went 3-4 with a double and a run in a 4-3 loss to the Astros.

One of my local card shops in 1987 broke up a few sets of these and sold team sets and grab bags. Because of that I have a few cards from the set, but not many. I have only posted one other card from this set and it can be seen here.