1997 Cal/Car All-Stars, George Lombard

#35 George Lombard

Sorry for the super-late post, but I've had a long day today. For starters, I ended up having to work three and half hours longer than I was supposed to. To make the day even worse, I stayed up too late last night and got up too early today. Then throw in the fact that I am getting a cold and you might begin to see how my day was. I came home from work and ate and then fell asleep on the couch watching hockey.

I'm up now, so here is a post for George Lombard.

This is another card that Paul, from Paul's Random Stuff, got signed for me at an Atlantic League game this past summer. George was playing for the Ducks at the time.

George has been playing pro ball since 1994. I thought that he was a career minor leaguer, but I was wrong. He has appeared in 144 Major League games with the Braves, Tigers, Devil Rays, and Nationals. Half of those games came in 2002 as a member of the Tigers. For his career, he is a .220 hitter who has 77 hits and 111 strikeouts.

He has also played at the AAA level with Boston, Florida, Los Angeles, and Cleveland. He played in 8 games this past year with the Columbus Clippers before moving to the Atlantic League. With the Ducks, he hit .343 in 50 games with 11 homers and 49 RBI. I would think with a season like that, he will have a job somewhere next season.

1997 Cal/Car All Stars, Mark DeRosa

#30 Mark DeRosa

I got this card signed this past April at the first Major League game I attended this year. Mark was with the Indians then and he signed all three of my cards during batting practice. I have four cards from this set signed, and this is by far the best one.

I find it hard to believe that Mark has been in the Majors since 1998. When I think of him, I don't think of a ten-year vet. He is a free agent this year and it will be interesting to see what king of deal he gets. He is a versatile player that can play anywhere in the infield and the corner outfield positions. He's good for 20 home runs and 75 RBI, but he will be turning 35 in February. I really don't see him getting more than a three year deal, but you never know.

I didn't notice it on the first two cards from this set I posted, but it is pretty obvious on this card. Whoever made this set decided to tilt all of the pictures so the they are aligned with the reddish-orange border. I thought that they were trying to outdo some of the '70s Topps shots, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

As for the Durham Bulls, they are still around. But, they moved from high-A all the way up to AAA. You don't see that very often. I hear that it might have something to do with some movie.

1997 Cal/Car All Stars, John Mizerock

#26 John Mizerock

I got this card signed in '08 at a Royals game. John was the Royals bullpen coach at the time and I got this card signed by the bullpen while John was smoking a cigarette (actually, I got it right after he smoked it). He signed all three cards for me and a fourth at a later date. I'm not sure which is which now, but you can see them here, here, and here.

I like how this sets reverses the colors for the two leagues. I also like cards of players/coaches signing autographs. Those are fun cards to have signed.

John was the manager of the Wilmington Blue Rocks in this card. They are still playing in the Carolina League and they are still affiliated with the Royals, though they were not for a few years. John managed at every level for the Royals and was even an interim manager in Kansas City once. He won at every level and has even been a base coach for the big league club. But for some reason, Dayton Moore and Trey Hillman thought that he was best suited for a bullpen coach. That is until this season ended and they decided they need a former pitcher for a bullpen coach. So, for the first time in a while, John is no longer a part of the Royals organization. I wish him the best of luck.

1997 California/Carolina League All Stars, Tim Garland

#7 Tim Garland

This is the second card that I got signed by Tim Garland at a Lancaster JetHawks game in 2008. Tim was the visiting Stockton Ports batting coach at the time. I got the first card signed prior to the game. I bought this set and a couple of other for cheap right before the game started. This was by far the best set that I bought as there are many established Major League players in it. I was also pleasantly surprised to find this card of Tim in there as well. I was able to get this card signed after the game.

In 1997, Tim stole 85 bases and earned himself a spot on the California League All-Star team. The only problem with that was that he was about 27-years old at the time. That is kind of up there for a high-A player.

Tim seems to have had an on and off career. There are a few gaps in his stats. Read the first post to see what I mean. Make sure you check out the comments on it, too. I sure I will get some great comments on this one in a few months from my favorite anonymous commenter.

Tim is representing the San Jose Giants in this card. The SJ Giants are still alive and kicking in the California League.

I have no idea who made this set. There is no copyright data on the back or anything.