2008 Donruss Threads, Sean O'Sullivan

#67 Sean O'Sullivan

In 2011, my best friend and I took one of our annual ballpark road trips and we headed north that year. It was a short trip by our standards as we just took in a Twins game and a couple of minor league games. One of the minor league games that we saw was an Omaha Storm Chasers game.

Werner Park, the Chasers home, has one of the best set-ups for autograph collectors. Both clubhouses are in left field and the players walk down a single walkway to enter the field. Both teams use the same ramp and it is great. It can be a struggle as is gets closer to gametime, though, as there are quite a few players from both teams jamming up the walkway and you are trying to figure out who is who and find their cards. So, on that particular trip, I decided to 'graph the visiting team and I made by friend get the home team for me.

By the time Sean O'Sullivan came out, it was close to gametime and the walkway was crowded. I was able to pick Sean out of the pack and I called for him. I was getting cards signed by a visiting player at the time. He came over to me and I just played it off like I didn't call for him and pointed at my buddy. He had the card ready and handed it down and this is the end result.

With Wichita building a new ballpark, I hope that they have an entrance like Werner Park where you can 'graph both teams from one spot. It is so convenient.

As for Sean, he saw time in the Majors for parts of seven seasons with the Angels, Royals, Padres, Phillies, and Red Sox. Over that time, he was 13-23 with a 6.01 ERA. His best season was probably in 2009, his initial call-up to the Majors. He pitched in twelve games, ten starts, and was 4-2 with a 5.92 ERA. That was the only time that he threw over 50 innings in a season and had an ERA under 6.00.

I actually own a game worn Sean O'Sullivan Spring Training jersey. I picked it up for ten bucks at a Fanfest once thinking it would be easy to get signed. That never happened.

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, Byron Wiley

#CP-23 Byron Wiley

This is my last card from 2008 Donruss Elite. Unlike all the other cards from the set that I have posted, I did not get this card signed in-person or pull it from a pack. I actually bought this card from COMC. Being a K-State grad, I just could not pass this beautiful card up. Even if it wasn't signed, I still might have bought it. Now, since the Cats got spanked today in the opening round of the tournament, there will be no more talk about them.

Byron was drafted by the Reds in the 22nd round of the 2008 draft. He lasted just three seasons in affiliated ball. Over that time, he never made it out of A ball and he hit .275 with 23 homers and 119 RBI in 191 contests. Those aren't horrible numbers. But, they are a bit skewed as he hit .328 in his first season of rookie ball and then hit 12 home runs and drove in 64 in his second pro season. In 2010, he played in just 42 games before missing all of 2011.

By the time he came back in 2012, he was playing independent ball. He played a season in the Frontier League before joining the American Association for three seasons. Coincidentally, I ran across him at a Wingnuts game once and was able to add a couple more autographs to the collection from him. But, this one is still by far my favorite. You just cannot beat a signed card with a Powercat on it.

2008 Donruss Elite, Shelby Ford

#160 Shelby Ford

How is that for a name? It is certainly better than being named Taurus, Escort, or Focus. Ranger might have been cool, though.

I got this card signed by Shelby in 2017 at a Wingnuts game. He was the hitting coach for the Grand Prairie Airhogs at the time. The 'Hogs had a rough season that year and got a little short on players. Because of that, they had to activate Shelby. He played in just two games for them and went 1-4 with his lone hit being a single.

Shelby was drafted by the Pirates in the 3rd round of the 2006 draft out of Oklahoma State. He reached AAA in 2009 and struggled mightily at the level, hitting just .188 in nearly 300 at-bats. Despite hitting .285 in AA the previous season, that stint in AAA seems to have broke Shelby. He got demoted to AA in 2009 and would hit just .233 there. He went back to AA in 2010 and he hit .245. In AA in 2011, he could only muster a .194 average through 62 at-bats (though he hit .304 in 23 AAA at-bats). The Pirates cut him loose.

He would go on to play parts of five seasons in the independent ranks before calling it a career after the 2015 season and then again after 2017. He finished his affiliated minor league career a .253 hitter with 30 home runs and 203 RBI.

2008 Donruss Elite, Danny Espinosa

#147 Danny Espinosa

Next up from the 2008 Donruss Elite set is this die-cut card of Danny Espinosa. This card is limited to 150 copies and I was able to get it signed at the Futures Game in St. Louis in 2009. Danny signed this card and one other for me.

Danny has played eight seasons in the Majors, with all but one of them with the Nationals. He also saw time with the Angels, Mariners, and Rays during the 2017 season. Last year was spent with three different organizations at the AAA level. Right now, he is in camp with the Mets as a non-roster invitee. It will be interesting to see if he can find his way back to the majors this season. Considering that he his hitting just .067 in 30 Grapefruit League at-bats, that may be a long shot.

During his time in DC, Danny was a .226 hitter with 92 home runs and 285 RBI. In 2016, he set single-season marks for himself by hitting 24 homers and driving in 72 runs. On the flip side, he hit just .209 with 174 strikeouts and just 15 doubles. The Nats traded him to the Angels after the season and, since then, he has signed with seven different teams.

If Danny is unable to find his way back to the Majors, he will have finished his career a .221 hitter with 98 home runs and 316 RBI.

2008 Donruss Elite, Petey Paramore

#80 Petey Paramore

Here is a card of Petey Paramore that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnuts game in 2013. Petey was playing with the visiting Kansas City T-Bones at the time and he was nice enough to sign all three cards that I had of him.

Petey was drafted by the A's in the third round of the 2008 draft out of Arizona State. He would play in the A's farm system for just five years before moving on to the independent ranks. In those five years, he would spend the bulk of his time in some form of A ball and he hit .237 with 22 home runs and 136 driven in.

He played in the American Association and Atlantic League for two seasons before retiring after the 2014 season.

Petey got the opportunity to play in two AAA games in 2012 and he did well in the limited action. In the two games, he was 2-7 with a solo home run.

2008 Donruss Elite, Juan Carlos Sulbaran

#60 Juan Carlos Sulbaran

Here is a card that I got signed at an Omaha Storm Chasers game in 2015. JC was playing for the Chasers at the time and was nice enough to sign all three cards that I had of him.

That was my second attempt at getting this card signed. In 2009, I got about as close to getting a card signed as you can without it being signed. It was in St. Louis at the Futures Game. JC was representing the World team. Though I did most of my 'graphing on the USA side that day, I did venture over to the World side when all of the American players were off the field. JC was making his way down the line signing for people. As he was doing so, there was a staffer nearby telling him that it was about time to head in. He kept on signing and he made it to me. He grabbed my card book and my Sharpie and then the staffer told him it was time to go. Rather than signing this card real quick, he handed it back to me and told me sorry. Close, but no cigar. At least I made up for it six years later.

JC spent eight seasons in the minor leagues and never made it up to the Majors. He spent time in the Reds, Royals, and Cardinals organizations and played parts of two seasons in AAA. Over those eight seasons, he was 49-65 with a 5.48 ERA.

The Curacao native also had the pleasure of representing the Netherlands in two WBC tournaments.