1986 Topps, Darnell Coles

#26T Darnell Coles

Here is the first of three cards of Darnell Coles that my oldest boy got signed for me at Spring Training this year. Darnell is the hitting coach for the Brewers and he was nice enough to sign before a game against the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark.

We were supposed to go to three Spring Training games this year, but ended up skipping the third one. But, in all three games, the Brewers just happened to be the visiting team. So, I made a deal with my boy and I put him in charge of 'graphing the Brewers for me. For every card that he got signed, I would give him a dollar.

I gave him a fat stack of Brewers cards and he thought he was going to really cash in. The only problem was that 'graphing is not his thing. I tried to set him up with some 'graphers to help him out and a father/son duo at the Reds games helped him get more than he would have otherwise, like this card. But, in the end, over the two games he made $14. He was a little bummed, but I certainly appreciated the effort. I ended up getting him a cheap $20 skateboard from Wal-Mart and I think everyone was happy.

Darnell had a career year for the Tigers in 1986. After being sent there from the Mariners in the offseason, he would end up playing in 142 games and hit .273 with 30 doubles, 20 home runs, and 86 RBI, all career highs. The following season did not go as well, though. Darnell was hitting .181 through 53 games before being shipped off to Pittsburgh for Jim Morrison.