2005 Bowman, Cole Armstrong

#195 Cole Armstrong

Here is another card that I got signed at a Wingnuts game in 2013. Cole was playing for the 'Nuts that season and I was able to get him to sign this card prior to a mid-season game.

Bowman cards are awesome for Wingnut games. Eighty percent of the time, if I have a card to get signed there of a player, it is a Bowman. Tristar and Topps minor league cards make up about eighteen percent with the last two percent being assorted cards. So, if it was not for Bowman, I probably would not go to as many Wingnut games.

Cole played in the minor leagues for eleven seasons. Originally drafted by the Braves, he played in their system for three seasons before being drafted by the White Sox in the minor league portion of the Rule V Draft. He then played for the Sox for five seasons. He played AAA one year, but spent the majority of the time at the AA level. He even played one full year of AA after his AAA season. He then played one year of AAA for the Angels and then one for the Marlins. He found himself in the American Association in 2013, his last season of pro ball.

I actually bought this card of Cole in 2010, three years before he became a Wingnut. He was playing for the Birmingham Barons the year I went down to see the Rickwood Classic. I was unable to get the card signed then, but it worked out when he came to Wichita.

2005 Bazooka, Angel Berroa

#BB-AB Angel Berroa

Here is the second card that Angel Berroa signed for me at a Wingnuts game in 2012. Angel was playing for the New Jersey Jackals at the time. Back then, the American Association and Can-Am League each had an odd number of teams in the league. To overcome that, they had one interleague series going on all season, just like the Major Leagues do now. That is why the Jackals were in Wichita. I posted the first card Angel signed for me about a month ago and it can be seen here.

Angel played for the Royals for parts of seven seasons. He spent his first two seasons in Kansas City as a September call-up. He then broke camp with the club in 2003 and went on to have his best season. He hit .287 with 17 home runs and 73 RBI, all career bests. Those number earned him American League Rookie of the Year honors and the Royals gave him a contract extension and a hefty raise.

Angel played decently for the next two seasons, hitting .262 and .270 with 19 home runs. But his average slipped to .234 in 2006. In 2007, he spent the majority of the season in AAA. I actually got to see him play in Omaha that summer and I told my friend that he was the highest paid player in the minor leagues. I have no idea whether that was true or not, but he was making about $7 million that season.

Here he is coming off of the field at the game I was at.

I always thought it was weird that the Omaha Royals home and road jerseys both said Omaha on them.

Anyway, Angel started off in Omaha again in 2008 and played there before finally getting dealt to the Dodgers in June.

I like this card. It might not have been the best card to get signed, but for about $1.25, I am not going to complain. I miss the Bazooka sets. They were cheap and great for autographs.

2004 Upper Deck, Lincoln Holdzkom

#511 Lincoln Holdzkom

Here is the second of three cards that Lincoln signed for me at a Wingnuts game in 2013. The first one was posted last week and should be just a couple of posts down from this one.

In the previous post, I talked about Lincoln's time with the Marlins. Things were on the up-and-up for him until he hurt his arm and missed all of the 2004 season. The Fish cut him loose after 12 appearances in 2005.

The Cubs took a flyer on him the next year and he split time between their Rookie, High-A, and AA teams. He spent the most time at AA and went 2-3 with a 1.95 ERA over 32.1 innings. But, he struck out just 27 batters compared to 74 in 57 innings the season before his surgery. The Cubs let him go after that season and Lincoln caught on with Boston for the 2007 campaign.

Lincoln pitched in the Red Sox organization for two seasons and spent most of it in AAA. In his initial run at that level, he had a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings of work. But, his ERA ballooned to 5.33 the following season and the Sox let him go. He played one more year of AA in the Pirates organization before hanging them up.

2004 Topps Total, Jeremy Guthrie

#757 Jeremy Guthrie

Here is a card of a current Royal that I got signed at Royals Fanfest last year. To date, that is the only time that I have got any 'graphs from him, but I did get three signed that day. I got this Indians card, an Orioles card, and a Royals card. I still have a Rockies card that I need signed.

Jeremy Guthrie, aka "The Real J-Guts", was drafted by the Indians in the first round of the 2002 draft out of Stanford. He pitched in their system for just a few seasons before making his Major League debut with the Tribe in 2004. He made appearances with the club over three seasons, but never started a game and never pitched more than 20 innings in a season. With Cleveland, Jeremy was 0-0 with a 6.08 ERA. He was claimed off waivers by the Orioles prior to the 2007 season.

Jeremy is a unique individual. Though he has made millions of dollars as a professional ballplayer, he routinely arrives at the ballpark in his Toyota Prius or Chevy Volt. Those vehicles tend to look out of place in the Royals parking lot where a majority of the players drive pimped-out SUVs or jacked-up trucks.

2004 Topps Cracker Jack, Kenny Lofton

#28 Kenny Lofton

Here is the fourth card that I have posted from the Kenny Lofton signing at the College World Series Fanfest last year. Kenny was signing at the Capital One booth and I was able to make it through the line several times. Because of that, this is not the last of the cards that Kenny signed for me that day. I think that there is still one more to post.

The last card I posted of Kenny was of him as an Indian, the team I think of when I think of him. After his final season in Cleveland in 2001, Kenny became quite the journeyman. He played six more seasons after that and managed to play on nine different teams. He played for the White Sox, Giants, Pirates, Cubs, Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Rangers, and finished up an Indian. He played in the postseason every year during that journey, except for 2005.

Kenny spent all of the 2004 season with the Yankees. He got into 83 games that season and he hit .275. He stole a career low 7 bases that season. In the playoffs, the Yankees went to the ALCS and Kenny played in four games in the two series. He hit .285 that postseason with a home run and a stolen base.

After the season, Kenny was traded to the Phillies for Felix Rodriguez.

I like this set. I know you cannot tell by the scan, but this card is a mini. The weird thing about the card is that the text is upside down on the back. Are all of the cards from this set like that?

2004 Topps, Lincon Holdzkom

#T202 Lincoln Holdzkom

Here is a card that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnuts game in 2013. Lincoln was playing for the 'Nuts and I got the cards signed prior to a game early that season. Lincoln was impressed to see some old cards of himself and stated that they were from "back when he was going places".

Lincoln was drafted by the Fish on the seventh round of the 2001 draft. In 2003, the year before this card came out, he split the season between A ball and high A. He finished the season 1-6 with 6 saves and a 2.89 ERA. He pitched exclusively out of the bullpen and struck out 94 batters in just 71.2 innings. I am sure it was those strikeout numbers that prompted Topps to put out this card.

Unfortunately, Lincoln missed the entire 2004 season. So, when this card came out, he wasn't even playing. He came back in 2005 and was only able to appear in 12 games, which were split between the Gulf Coast League and the Florida State League. In the FSL, he pitched 9.1 innings and struck out 9 with a 5.79 ERA.

The Marlins released him after that season.

2004 SP Prospects, Brett Hayes

#NH-BH Brett Hayes

Here is a card of Brett Hayes that I got signed at Royals Fanfest last year. The set-up for Fanfest last year was less than ideal. The set-up for this year looked nearly identical which led to me not attending Fanfest for the first time. But, the one bright spot to Fanfest last year was the final signing of the evening. By that time, the autograph lines had thinned out immensely. Because of that, we were able to hit up four of the six lines they had. Prior to that, you could not go through more than one line per session. Brett was in the second line that we hit as we criss-crossed Bartle Hall to end the long day.

Brett was the Royals back-up catcher last season. Or at least he was until they acquired Eric Kratz from the Blue Jays. He got into 27 games and hit .135 with a home run and 2 RBI.

It looks like Brett is going to be playing for the Indians this season.

I only have three cards from this set that are signed. One of the other ones just happens to be another jersey card from this insert set. It is of Luke Hochevar. You cannot beat a signed jersey card, especially when you can pick one up for about a buck.