1990 Topps, Jeff Russell

#395 Jeff Russell

Jeff Russell is the new pitching coach for the American Association's Grand Prairie AirHogs and he was nice enough to sign three cards for me on Opening Day in Wichita last month.

I was pretty excited when I saw that the 'Hogs picked up Russell as their coach. You don't see too many managers/coaches in the American Association that were Major Leaguers, let alone All Stars. Frank White is the first base coach with the Kansas City T-Bones, but he doesn't always travel with the team. For the most part, the coaches are guys that never even played in the big leagues. So, when a former player joins an Am-Ass coaching staff, it is an exciting day for me.

I had actually picked up a Jeff Russell autograph a couple months prior to getting my cards signed at the game. I acquired some extra autographs from Royals Fanfest for set collector Tom of The Angels, In Order. He was nice enough to give me a list of dupes he had sitting around and he let me pick a few. One I picked was Jeff's 1984 Topps card. Had I known that he was coming to the American Association, I might have chose differently.

Jeff was an All Star for the Rangers in 1988 and 1989. He lead the American League in saves in 1989 with 38.

On the college baseball front, there have been quite a few teams eliminated so far. As of right now, that list includes Bryant, Indiana St, Youngstown St, Liberty, Bucknell (1), Campbell (1), Old Dominion (4), Columbia (1), Bethune-Cookman (1), North Dakota St, Dallas Baptist (2), Florida (9), George Mason, San Diego St (6), Kent St, Kansas (1), Clemson (3), Xavier, Jacksonville St, Arizona St (8), Binghamton, Nebraska (3), Florida St (13), and Georgia Southern (1). The number in parentheses is how many people picked them to go on to Omaha.

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.

1986 Topps, Bill Russell

#506 Bill Russell

This is the third and final Bill Russell card that I got signed through the mail last month. You can see the first one here and the second one here.

When I send multiple cards to players or former players, I take the time to carefully choose which cards I send. I don't worry about the '81 Donruss cards, I just send those. Many times, when I send one of those cards out, it is the only card that I send becuase I want to make sure that I do get that card signed.

With Bill Russell, I sent along his '71 Topps card just because I had it sitting in a box and I wanted to put it to good use. I sent this card for a different reason. Sure, it was sitting in a box just like the '71 card. But, this one was different. I remember this card very well from my early days of collecting. The reaon why I remember it is because of the photo.

When I was a seven-year old in 1986, I was convinced that Bill looked just like Clint Eastwood.

I got a vintage card in the mail today and rather than waiting to wrap up the 1996 cards (which will begin tomorrow) before I show it off, I'll post it tonight after work. So, stay tuned.

1981 Donruss, Bill Russell

#57 Bill Russell

Back to the good stuff, and yes, 1981 Donruss is the good stuff (when it's signed at least).

Here is the second Bill Russell card that I got back in the mail last month. You can see the first one if you scroll down a bit. If it wasn't for this card and my goal of getting 100 cards from this set signed, I probably wouldn't have sent the cards to him. But now that I did, I am gald that I did it. I especially like the third and final card that I'll show next week.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 36/100

1994 Ultra, Jeff Russell

#17 Jeff Russell

Here is the third and final card that Jeff Russell signed for me this summer. Jeff is the pitching coach for the Grand Prairie AirHogs and he signed the cards for me before a game in Wichita. You can see his A's card here and his Rangers card here.

Jeff pitched in Boston for a season and a half. After landing there via free agency in 1993, he had a very solid first season. He was 1-4 with 33 saves and 2.70 ERA. That was Jeff's third and final 30 save season. It was a little more rocky the following season, though. That year he was 0-5 with 12 saves and a lofty 5.14 ERA. The Sox traded him to Cleveland mid-season and he went 1-1 with 5 saves to finish off the season.

The following year, Jeff was back with the Rangers, the team where he had had the most success. He spent his final two seasons there and was 4-3 with 23 saves over the two years.

Jeff finished his career 56-73 with 186 saves and a 3.75 ERA.

1993 Select, Jeff Russell

#365 Jeff Russell

Here is the second of three cards that Jeff Russell signed for me earlier this season. Jeff is the pitching coach for the Grand Prairie AirHogs of the American Association and he signed three for me on Opening Night in Wichita. I posted the first card two and a half months ago and it can be seen here.

Jeff pitched in the Majors for fourteen seasons, spending a majority of the time with the Rangers. He made two All Star teams with Texas in the late '80s and was the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award winner in 1989 when he lead the league with 38 saves. That was one of three years of 30+ saves.

On the last day of Auguest, 1992, Jeff, Ruben Sierra, and Bobby Witt were sent to Oakland for Jose Canseco. Jeff's tenure in Oakland lasted for the last month of the '92 season before moving on via free agency. In that one month, he was 2-0 with 2 saves in 8 games. He gave up just 4 hits and no runs in 9.2 innings of work.

This '93 Select set was really made for the A's players. The border, even though it has two shades of green, really works for the A's. I like it when borders match the team color. Because of that, I really like the Topps Wal-Mart blue border cards for my Royals.

1971 Topps, Bill Russell

#226 Bill Russell

Here is another through the mail return that I got last month. This one came the same day as the Jerry Reuss cards and the day before the Dave Duncan card. It was a good two day stretch that netted me six signed cards, three of which were from this set and two from the '81 Donruss set.

Bill has the distinction of spending his entire career with the Dodgers. His is in the team's top ten in many catagories and is their all-time leader in intentional walks. He was a three-time All Star and he played in four World Series. He even managed the team for parts of three seasons where he had a .537 winning percentage.

This is the oldest signed card that I have of a player wearing a batting glove.

I got this card many years ago from the same friend that I got the Reuss card from. Both cards had just been sitting in a box, so it was nice to get some use out of them and breath some new life into them. It took just over two months to get this card back.

1984 Topps, Jeff Russell

#270 Jeff Russell

Here is the last of the three cards that Tom, from The Angels In Order, sent me. The cards were in exchange for getting some cards signed for him at Royals Fanfest.

I had gotten three cards signed by Jeff in 2014 when the Grand Prairie AirHogs came to Wichita. Jeff was the pitching coach for the 'Hogs and I got him to sign cards for me as a Ranger, Red Sox, and Athletic. With the addition of this Reds card, I got a signed card of him with every team he played for except the Indians.

On the last card I posted of Willie Wilson, I guessed that the picture was taken at the All Star Game in 1983. This is another example where it is easy to tell when the picture was taken. In the background, you can see a blurry image of Willie McCovey's retired number in San Francisco.

Jeff only pitched once in San Fran in 1983 and it was on September 5th. He started that game for the Reds and pitched an eight inning complete game, losing 3-2. He had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning before giving up a lead-off double that was followed by a home run. A runner had scored earlier in the game by walking, moving to second on a sac bunt, third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a sac fly. Jeff finished with just the two hits allowed and five walks and five strikeouts.

Three teams have clinched their spots in Omaha. Texas A&M, Oregon State, and Louisville are all in. We will see who gets in today.

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.

1981 Donruss, Art Howe

#258 Art Howe

We go from a player turned manager for the '81 Donruss set to a player from the set that later became a manager. I wonder how many future managers are in this set. Off of the top of my head, I can only think of Bruce Bochy, Jim Tracy, Clint Hurdle, Bob Baylor, Dusty Baker, and Bob Boone, but I am sure there has to be a few more.

Art played for eleven seasons with the Pirates, Astros, and Cardinals. He got some regular playing time with the Astros, but was mainly a utility infielder throughout his career as he could man all four positions. He spent he most time at third base during his career while batting .260 with 43 home runs and 293 RBI.

After his playing days were over, he managed the Astros, A's, and Mets for fourteen seasons. Over that span, he had a 1129-1137 record. He made the playoffs three times with the A's and came in second place for the AL Manager of the Year Award for four straight seasons.

The Astro cards from this set look great when they are signed with a blue Sharpie.

Other players from the set that would go on to manage that I just looked up- Alan Trammell, Bill Russell, Cecil Cooper, Pete Rose, Larry Bowa, Paul Molitor, John Wathan, Jerry Narron, Dave Lopes, Hal McRae, Jim Essian, and Ken Macha. There might be a few more in there, but that is all I could come up with from my list of autographs from the set.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #197

1981 Donruss, Fred Stanley

#585 Fred Stanley

Here is the second Fred Stanley card that I got through the mail eleven months ago. The first one was a '72 Topps card that I sent along just because I am really starting to like signed cards from that set. I posted that card as soon as I got it and it can be seen here.

This is one of the fun cards from the set where the picture of the player does not match up with the team name. Here Fred is in a Yankee uniform and it says A's on the card. I have posted a few of these cards already, but haven't said a whole lot about the team name mix-up. Rather than go into detail about that fun part of the set, I will just redirect you over to Garvey Cey Russell Lopes. He did a recap on the guys that were traded to different teams, but were still pictured with their old team, a few months back and that post can be seen here.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 173/100

The Joy of a Completed Page, 1986 Topps

When I did my first JoaCP, I said I wasn't going to show one from this set. Well, I got bored and changed my mind. Here it is.

I only have nine cards from the set signed (and yes, the Leonard card is from the traded set), so I figured that I might as well post this while they still fit into one page.

Here is the final tally for this sheet.

Game: 4
AAA game: 1 (Ready)- he signs his first and last name the same
Indy game (NL): 1 (Youmans)
Charity Game: 1 (Johnstone)- one of he few autographs across the face
NCAA: 1 (Law)- his signature looks a lot like his dad's
TTM: 2 ( Swift and Russell)-aka- Swift and Eastwood
Padrographs: 1 (Bochy)
College World Series: 1 (Fingers)- Hall of Famer
Spring into Sports: 1 (Leonard)- Probably has the most unique "D" in pro sports

1998 Best, Russ Ortiz

NN Russ Ortiz

Check out this early Russ Ortiz signature card. It is so early in his career, in fact, that he was still going by his given name of Russell. That may be why I was able buy this card for a mere seventy-five cents. At least that is what I thought until I got it and noticed it had a small wrinkle in it. But, for the price, I don't really care.

Russ pitched in the Majors for parts of twelve seasons with the Giants, Braves, Diamondbacks, Orioles, Astros, and Dodgers. He was mostly a starter and spent half of his big league seasons with the Giants. He was a 20 game winner once and made his lone All Star team that season. For his career, Russ was 113-89 with a 4.51 ERA and 1,192 strikeouts.

Russ pitched in one World Series for the 2002 Giants. After a solid start in the NLDS, where he was 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA, Russ started to have some issues in the second round. In the NLCS, he was 0-0 in one start with a 7.71 ERA. He got two more starts in the World Series and again had no decisions and a 10.13 ERA.

His poor postseason performance might have been the main reason why the Giants shipped him off to Atlanta during the off-season for Damian Moss and Merkin Valdez. The Braves got the better end of that deal as Russ had his All Star season in Atlanta in 2003. His postseason struggles continued, though, as he was 1-1 with a 7.24 ERA in three starts over two Division Series.

The Braves let him walk after the 2004 season and Russ's career as a journeyman began.