2006 Topps Chrome, Tommy Murphy

#287 Tommy Murphy

Here is the third and final Tommy Murphy card that I got signed in Des Moines, Iowa in 2009. Tommy was playing with the Omaha Royals at the time and he signed this card for me between games of a double header. You can see the first Tommy Murphy card here and the second one here.

In general, I really am not a huge fan of chrome cards. They seem to either cost more than the base cards or are the same price with fewer cards in the pack. Because of that, I tend to stay away from them. But, I picked up this card from checkoutmycards and I could not be happier with the results. The signature really pops off of this card.

Sorry this was such a short post. But, on a positive note, this is my fifth straight day of posting. I guess that is better than nothing.

2006 Topps, Damon Hollins

#UH94 Damon Hollins

This card right here is the first baseball card that I got signed at a ballpark. Before that, all of my autographed cards were obtained TTM, at card shows, or in packs. I had some signatures from ballparks before, but most of them were on baseballs. That all changed in 2008 when my buddy and I made our first ballpark trip west. It was such a long journey just to get to the west coast that we had to stop at some minor league parks just to break up the drive times. The first park we stopped at on that trip was Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico and that is where I got this card signed. Damon was playing for the Omaha Royals at the time and I was able to get this card signed after the O-Royals got done with fielding practice.

Damon was really nice and he was signing everything for everybody. One guy handed him a stack of about a dozen cards and Damon signed each and every one of them with a smile. I only got this card signed because I didn't think I had a card of Damon. So, I purchased this card off of ebay for a penny and overpaid for shipping just so I had a card to get signed (back when you could buy stuff for a penny on ebay and before I knew about checkoutmycards). Unfortunately, about a year later, I was going through an old minor league baseball card album and found two or three minor league cards of Damon that I could have took with me to get signed. This was also before I knew about the Beckett website. But, that is OK. Tampa Bay is the only team that Damon saw any significant Major League time with, so I am glad that I have a signed Devil Rays card of him.

Damon was drafted by the Braves in the fourth round of the 1992 draft and he was a top-100 prospect for the Braves prior to the 1995 and 1996 seasons. He made his Major League debut with the Braves in 1998, but was traded to the Dodgers after only playing in three games. He played in five more games with the Dodgers that season before being released. After his release, it was back to the minors for Damon and he would stay there until he got called back up to the Braves in 2004. Then, in 2005, he stuck on with the Devil Rays and played in 120 games that year and 121 the following year. He only hit .239 as a Ray, but he did club 28 home runs over the two seasons while driving in 79. He then spent all of 2008 with Omaha and retired after the season.

2006 Topps, Josh Bard

#UH54 Josh Bard

Here is another card in the long line of Padrographs sent to me by Rod. This one features back-up catcher Josh Bard.

Josh was drafted by the Rockies in the third round of the 1999 draft out of Texas Tech. He played in the Rox organization for only one season before being dealt to Cleveland in 2001. With the Indians organization, he rose up the ranks quickly and made his Major League debut with the Tribe late in the 2002 season. That year, he played in 24 games and hit .222 with 3 home runs. He would bounce back and forth between the minors and the big league club over the next couple of seasons before solidifying himself as the Indians back-up catcher in 2005.

That job was short-lived, however, as the Tribe traded Bard to the Red Sox after the season in the Coco Crisp/Andy Marte trade. Josh's tenure in Boston was extremely short as they then traded him to San Diego after only appearing in seven games with the Sox. He saw much more action with the Padres, though, as he had career highs in games played and at-bats with the Friars in 2007. He even hit a robust .338 in his first season with the club, which is about eighty points higher than his career average.

Josh spent 2009 with the Nationals and then split the last two seasons between Seattle and their AAA team in Tacoma. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers before this season started, but his Major League Baseball page lists him as released. The Dodgers AAA team's website still lists him as an active member of their club, so I am not really sure what is going on there.

Josh's signature is much better than yesterday's Padrograph of Russell Branyan. But, it really is no more than a "J" and a "B" with a little line to make up what I am assuming is part of the last letter in his name.

2006 Topps, Russell Branyan

#UH11 Russell Branyan

Here is a Padrograph of Russell Branyan that was sent to me by Rod a few years back. In case you have forgotten what a Padrograph is, it is a term that Rod coined for his Padre autograph collection. He's got a seemingly unlimited supply of them and every once in a while he will send some extras my way. This one happened to come from the initial lot that he sent me which included more than 150 Padrographs. Like I said, he has a bunch!

Russell has had a long and journeyed career in the Majors. He broke into the league with the Indians in 1998 and, as best as I can tell, he is still playing although he is currently rehabbing from a herniated disc. During his career, he has played for the Indians, Reds, Brewers, Devil Rays, Padres, Phillies, Cardinals, Mariners, Diamondbacks, Angels, and he is currently signed to a minor league deal with the Yankees. He has 194 career home runs and a .232 batting average. His best season came with the M's in 2009 when he had a career-high 31 homers and 76 RBI.

Russell's signature doesn't do much for me. But, by all accounts, this is a fairly standard signature from him.

2006 Topps, Brian Bannister

#642 Brian Bannister

Here is the card that almost killed off this blog.

Back in January, I was posting fairly regularly. I wasn't posting daily like I used to, but I was pumping out two to four posts a week. I had a lot going on in my life at the time and still do, so this blog wasn't a top priority. But, I was still finding time to get some posts in whenever I could. Then it was time to post this card.

I cropped the scan of this card, started a new post, and then I could not think of anything to write. I said screw it and started over the next day and the exact same thing happened. I did the same thing the following day and then ended up going a whole month without posting on here.

I guess the main reason for my writers block was because I had posted a card of Brian about a month and a half earlier. In that post, I commented on how Brian was always a great signer when he was with the Royals and that he has one of the nicest and most consistant signatures in baseball. And for some reason, that was all I really had to say about Brian. Never mind the fact that this is only the second Brian Bannister card that I have posted and I still probably have another half dozen or so cards of him as a Royal. But, I will get to them as they come.

In my last Bannister post, I commented how Brian left Japan after last year's earthquake and tsunami. I figured that he must have been a free agent. But, according to Wikipedia, Brian has retired from baseball and is now running a photography studio in Phoenix. I didn't see that one coming.

As for me, I am doing well. I have moved towns and am living with my girlfriend and her son and I could not be happier. I have been to two Royals games so far (both obviously losses) and I got twenty-six cards signed between the two games.

I'm not quite used to the new blogger, so I hope this post comes out looking like it is supposed to.

1991 Line Drive AAA, Rick Adair/Jim Gabella

#100 Rick Adair and Jim Gabella

I originally posted this card about two and half years ago and that post can be seen here. The original post only contained Jim Gabella's signature, so I am re-posting the card now that I have been able to add Rick Adair's signature to the card.

A few weeks ago, I was browsing the blogs when I noticed a post on The Great Orioles Autograph Project that included a signed Orioles postcard of Rick Adair. I didn't even realize that Rick was with the O's now and I left a comment asking Ryan what Rick's signing habits were. The O's are in Kansas City in May and I have tickets to one of the games. So, I was basically just trying to gauge what my chances of getting Rick's autograph at that game were going to be like.

Much to my surprise, Ryan emailed me the next day saying that he was heading down to Florida for Spring Training and that if I sent the card to him, he would try to get it signed for me. So, I did just that and Ryan obviously got it signed.

Thanks a lot, Ryan! I really do appreciate it.

This is definitely the oddest card that I have signed by two people. The photos are split up a little differently than usual. But, both coaches signed the card at the same angle as the line that divides them and it came out looking great.

This is actually the second card that is signed by two players that Ryan has helped me out on. A few years ago, he got the ball rolling on a 1987 Fleer John Stefero/Kevin Seitzer card. You're the best, Ryan!

1988 Topps, Ed Sprague

#113T Ed Sprague

First off, I am sorry for the absence of posts over the last month and a half or so. Between work, going to the gym, and a great new girlfriend, I have had little time to do anything else. Anymore, I may come home and shower and grab some clothes, but I spend most of my time either at work or at her place. I still check out the other blogs when I get a chance, but this blog has kind of been put on the back burner for now. I am hoping to get in a sporadic post every once in a while, but I doubt that it will be anything like it was anytime soon.

Having said that, here is my first signed card this year. This card features the former Blue Jay, Ed Sprague. Ed is the head baseball coach for Pacific and I was able to get this card and two others signed by him at a Kansas State baseball game this past Sunday.

I had plenty of cards of Ed to choose from, but I wanted this card because I have always enjoyed Team USA cards. I didn't own the card, so I purchased it from checkoutmycards. I ordered the card about two weeks before the game and I was a little disappointed when it hadn't arrived by Saturday. So, I called my local card shop and, although he didn't have this card as a single, he did have the '88 Topps Traded set in stock and said it would be about ten bucks. I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend that much for basically this card, but I said screw it and went downtown to get it. When I got there, the owner was nice enough to drop the price down to four dollars since that was what they were going for online. I was a little surprised to hear that line from him, but I certainly appreciated it.

Having overcome that obstacle, I was feeling good until game day came. The problem that morning was my girlfriend. This was our first baseball game together and she doesn't quite understand why I have to get to the park so early to get autographs. Hopefully, she will grasp this new concept sooner rather than later. So, needless to say, we were running behind. Instead of getting to the park a half hour before first pitch, we got there maybe ten minutes before. I started to make my way over to the Pacific dugout to maybe get my cards signed when the coaches went to the plate to exchange lineup cards. That seemed like a bad time for that and all of the Pacific coaches were wearing jackets, so I couldn't tell who was who anyway.

Instead, we went and found a seat and had a great time at the game. K-State ended up winning 9-3 and my girl's little boy got a baseball from an usher and a free t-shirt from the mascot.

Towards the end of the game, we moved down by the Pacific dugout and I was still struggling to figure out which coach Ed was. Three of the four coaches looked really similar. Eventually, I found a guy wearing a Pacific hat and I went and chatted him up. He was from California and was out for the game and was nice enough to point Ed out to me. As soon as the game was over and Ed headed for the clubhouse, I asked him to sign and he signed all three cards for me. I brought some cards for my girl's son to get signed, but he was in line to run the bases by that time and missed out. Maybe next time.

I miss posting cards that have a story with them. I think that was one of the reasons I went so long between posts. The next card I was planning on posting was a Brian Bannister card and there really isn't much more to say about him than what I said in the first two or three cards I posted of him. Maybe I need to reevaluate the way I do things here.

So, there is my Ed Sprague story. While some of you are lucky enough to be 'graphing in the Florida or Arizona sun, I am stuck braving strong Kansas winds at college games to get mine. But, it is better than nothing. I'm going to a Wichita State game a week from today and former Met Jeff Duncan will be in town with Purdue. I just realized this today, so I don't have time to order any cards of him. I luckily have an '03 Ultra card to get signed, but I wouldn't mind a couple more. If anyone might be interested in a 50/50 trade, just let me know.

*I was feeling lazy and didn't want to warm up the scanner, so this photo was taken with my phone. Sorry about the thumb.