1996 Leaf Signature Series, Alex Fernandez

#67 Alex Fernandez

Here is another checkoutmycards purchase. I was able to pick this beauty up for one dollar. This is one of the first cards that I have had from this set and I must say that Leaf did a really nice job on this card design. These cards were made for autographs. I wish Topps, Upper Deck, and Tri-Star would take notes.

I remember Alex being a popular player when he first burst onto the scene. Most of his cards had some value and they always seemed to find their way into my albums rather then the common bins. 1993 was probably his best year and he went 18-9 with a 3.13 ERA. Unfortunately, those numbers weren't even good enough for one Cy young award vote.

Alex played for the Marlins for his final three seasons. He won 17 games for them in 1997. He must have hurt his arm at the end of the season since he only made one disastrous start in the NLCS and didn't appear in the World Series. He then missed all of the '98 season. But, his 7-8 record in 1999 was good enough for the Comeback Player of the Year Award. In 2000, Alex made eight starts for the Fish before calling it quits.