1997 Collector's Choice, Rex Hudler

#422 Rex Hudler

Here is one of my newest Rex Hudler autographs. My older son got this card signed for me at Spring Training this year. The two of us had the same arrangement as last year where I would give him a dollar for every card that he got signed. Unfortunately, he had a rough time this year and only netted five bucks. Three dollars of it was courtesy of Rex.

A couple of years ago, I found out that a work colleague of mine used to collect cards. We had worked side-by-side daily for a year before she transferred to another store. Somehow, during that whole year, I had no clue that she had ever collected cards. I didn't even realize she knew anything about baseball. The only reason I found out about it was that she gave a few cards for Christmas one year. When she told me that they came from her collection, my mind was blown.

Last year, she dropped off a container of cards that were from 1995-1998 and she told me to take anything I wanted. There were a lot of star cards from the day in the box, but those weren't the ones I was looking for. I was looking for cards that I could get signed. That is where this card came from.

I like the vague position listed on this card- IF/OF. In case you were wondering, The Hud played mostly second base in 1996 and he appeared at that position 53 times. He also played first 7 times, center field 15 times, and left field 8 times. I think that they probably could have just listed him as a second baseman.

1996 Collector's Choice, Steve Scarsone

#718 Steve Scarsone

Here is the second of two cards that I got signed by Steve Scarsone in 2015. Steve was the skipper of the Nashville Sounds at the time and he signed for me at an Omaha Storm Chasers game. I posted the first card last month and it can be seen here.

Steve played in the Majors for parts of seven seasons with five different clubs- the Orioles, Phillies, Giants, Cardinals, and Royals. Over that time, he was a .239 hitter with 20 home runs and 86 RBI.

The Giants were the only team that Steve saw any significant time with. He played with them for four seasons. He never played in more than fifty games with any other club and played in less than a dozen games with three clubs. With San Francisco, Steve played in 281 games and hit .247 with all 20 of his home runs and 80 of his RBI. Even though he got into 103 games with the 1996 squad, 1995 was his best season. That year, he hit .266 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI.

From what I can tell, all of Steve's Major League cards are of him as a Giant, except for two. There is one of him as a Phillie and one as an Oriole.

The signature on this card came out looking much better than I ever would have expected. The black warm-up jersey and shadowy backdrop are usually not a good combo, but I guess I got lucky on this one.

1996 Collector's Choice, Doug Henry

#627 Doug Henry

Here is one of my most recent Doug Henry signatures. Doug is the bullpen coach for the Royals and he is one of my two go-to guys on slow 'graphing days.

Between the Royals late success this season and getting married, it was kind of a strange end of the year for 'graphing The K this season. Over the final five games I went to, I got two cards and one ball signed. Doug Henry signed the cards and David Ortiz signed the ball.

It all started in early September when we went to The K for my bachelor party. We got to the park about three hours before gametime. While I might have been able to catch the second Red Sox team bus about then, that was not the mission. We were there strictly to tailgate. And tailgate we did. We might have overdone it a bit as most of us do not remember the game. But, that is what bachelor parties are for, right?

Then, we went to the last Royal's regular season home game of the season against Detroit. I was a few weeks away from getting married and had no time to get cards ready for the Tigers. But, I took some Royals cards with me to see if I could get them signed at the pregame autograph session. I had only been to one Sunday autograph session this summer and Billy Butler and Bruce Chen signed. I had seen some other ones and they almost always had one starting pitcher and one position player signing. But, for the final one of the year, they had Dusty Coleman and Francisco Pena. I no cards of either guy with me, so we got out of line and I settled with Doug Henry.

The last three games I went to were all playoff games, one from each series. We did some form of tailgating at each of those, so autographs were not a priority. But, once I found out where the Fox pregame booth was set up at game one of the World Series, getting a ball signed by David Ortiz turned into a must. I stood around for some time, but I eventually came out on top.

I picked this card up from COMC this summer so I could get a card signed by Doug that was not a Brewers card. He apparently has a Topps Total card that pictures him as a Royal. I need to find that card before next summer.

1996 Collector's Choice, Les Norman

#576 Les Norman

Here is the second and final card that I got signed by Les Norman at Royals Fanfest this past winter. I posted my first Norman card about three months ago and that card can be seen here.

Les played parts of two seasons with the Royals in 1995 and '96. He was an outfielder that could play all three spots and he hit .169 in the Majors. In 89 at-bats, Les had 15 hits, all of them singles except for a lone triple. He drove in 4 runs while scoring 15 and swiping one bag.

After that, Les was back down in the minors. He played in AAA through the 2000 season. He then retired, only to re-appear in the Northern League for a few games in 2003 and 2005.

Les is now in radio and his Saturday morning show, "Breaking the Norm", can be heard on a handful of stations in the Midwest.

The foil signature on this card varies a great deal from his current signature.

1996 Collector's Choice, Mike Sweeney

#438 Mike Sweeney

Here is a card that I got signed at All Star Game Fanfest in Kansas City in 2012. I was pretty excited that Mike was taking part in the event for a couple of reasons. The main reason I was excited was because I had never got a card signed by him in-person. When he was playing for the Royals, I was into getting balls signed. The other reason I was excited was because he has never attended Royals Fanfest and I was looking forward to seeing him after his playing days were over.

I became a Royals fan in 2000 and Mike had a career year that season. In 2000, Mike hit .333 with 29 home runs, 105 runs, and 144 RBI. On top of that, he walked more than he struck out. It was insane. That Royals team had the best offensive season that the franchise had ever seen. It was a fun time to be a new Royals fan, but it would have been even better if they had some pitching to complement the likes of Sweeney, Joe Randa, Jermaine Dye, Johnny Damon, and Carlos Beltran.

Side note: Of the previous five players mentioned, only one has ever attended Royals Fanfest- Joe Randa. Something needs to be done to rectify that.

If I remember right, Mike ended up hurting his back during an All Star break while riding in a vehicle with his family in California. He had constant back issues after that and was never the same player again. That really sucked as a Royals fan as he was the one the franchise dished out the long-term contract to. Nevertheless, he is the face of the franchise for the 2000s and one day he will be in the Royals Hall of Fame. Now if only he would show up for a Royals Fanfest.

I decided to get this card signed because I liked the stripes and you can see Mike's shinguards. Mike finished his career a pinch hitter/designated hitter, and had his best times as a first baseman, but did begin his career as a catcher. I would assume that most people have forgotten that.

I got this card signed early on the first day of Fanfest. The guys that authenticated stuff must have been a little dumbfounded that I was getting a card signed as they put the sicker on the front of the card. All of the other cards that they authenticated the rest of the week had the sicker placed on the back.

1994 Collector's Choice, Ed Sprague

#423 Ed Sprague

Here is one of the three cards that I got signed by Ed Sprague in 2012. Ed is the head baseball coach for the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. I was able to get him when the Tigers came to Kansas to play Kansas State. I posted the first card of him shortly after getting it signed and you can read more about that day here. Here is the second card I posted.

Ed played in the Majors for eleven seasons. He spent a majority of the time with the Blue Jays, but he also played for the A's, Pirates, Padres, Red Sox, and Mariners. Ed was a .247 career hitter with 152 home runs and 558 RBI. His best season was with the Jays in 1996. That season, he hit 36 home runs with 35 doubles and 101 RBI, all season highs.

In 1999, Ed made the All Star team as a member of the Pirates. That season, he had 22 home runs (the second most of his career) with 81 RBI.

Next season will mark Ed's twelfth season at Pacific. It looks like he will be coaching his son, Jed, this season, too.

1994 Collector's Choice, John Kruk

#326 John Kruk

Here is the second card that John Kruk signed for me at the College World Series this summer. The first one can be seen here.

Most of the time, when I am trying to find cards for a signing, I will hit up checkoutmycards. I don't usually go there to buy cards. I mostly got there to look at the pretty pictures. Basically, I use the site to give me a general idea of where I need to look when starting my card hunt. While there are better sites available as a card database, I choose COMC for the large pictures. I go on there to see which cards look the best to get signed and then I start digging through my cards for the ones I like.

That is how I came to choose this card to get signed. I saw it on COMC and it looked familiar, so I figured I had it in my collection. Turns out I was right. I do not usually go out of my way to find checklists to get signed, but I could not pass this card up. And, I must say that I am extremely happy with the results.

1994 Clollector's Choice, Scott Radinsky

#235 Scott Radinsky

Here is the third and final Scott Radinsky card that I got signed last month. Just scroll down a bit to see the other two.

Unfortunately, I could only find cards of Scott as a White Sock. He played for the Dodgers, Indians, and Cardinals, too, but I only have White Sox cards of him. It looks like there wasn't any cards of him as a Cardinal or Indian, but there are a couple of cards out there of him as a Dodger. But, those cards came out when I wasn't collecting, so I obviously have none of them.

According to Wikipedia, Scott is one of the best Jewish pitchers in the history of the game, he is in a punk band, and he owns a skate park and skateboard museum. That is quite a resume.

1994 Collector's Coice, Glenallen Hill

#137 Glenallen Hill

Here is a card that I got signed in front of Kauffman Stadium in May when the Rockies were in town. Glenallen is the Rockies first base coach. I had three cards in my book for him to sign, but he only signed this one. If I would have known that he was only going to sign this one, I would have given him a black Sharpie instead of the blue one. But, that is how it goes sometimes.

I actually have a pretty neat memory of Glenallen Hill. I remember watching a Cubs game on TV in 1998 or 1999. Glenallen was at bat and at one point, he called time out and stepped out of the box. The umpire, however, didn't grant him time and he stayed in his crouch and actually motioned for the pitcher to pitch the ball. So, the pitcher pitched it and Glenallen jumped back into the batter's box and somehow managed to get a base hit out of it.

I really can't make out much from Glenallen's signature. It kind of looks like he might only sign his first name, but it is hard to tell.

1999 UD Choice, George Lombard

#25 George Lombard

This is the second George Lombard card that I have posted on here. Like the first, Paul, of Paul's Random Stuff, got this card signed for me at an Atlantic League game.

When Paul put out the offer to get cards signed for other people, I jumped at the chance. When I figured out who I had cards of, I emailed Paul the list. Paul replied and asked me if I had any extras of a few players on the list. The only person I had cards of was George and for some reason, I had five or six of this card. I sent them all to Paul and told him give the extras to his friends. I wasn't expecting to get one back because I was mainly concerned with the minor league card of George. So I was pleasantly surprised when I got this one back with the other. The black and white background really makes the autograph stand out.

For some reason, Upper Deck changed the name of this set in 1999. It used to be Collector's Choice.

1998 Collector's Choice, Jamey Wright

#364 Jamey Wright

This is the second card that Jamey signed for me by the Royals parking lot back in April. That was the day I drove three hours to the ballpark, froze my butt off for three hours getting autographs, and then drove three hours home. I wasn't prepared for the unpleasant weather during the day and I did not want to put up with it that night. That was my only Royals parking lot autograph experience this past season.

I would say a little more about Jamey here, but I have one more card of him to post and I'll save it for that. It's late and these extra-long hours I've been working are starting to take their tole on me.

But, on a bright note, I got my first Christmas present of the year and I am ecstatic to say that I have a new oldest signed card. It is so old that it almost beat my former oldest signed card by a decade. I thought about posting it tonight, but I'll go ahead and finish off the '98s before I post it.

Speaking of "new oldest signed card", that phrase just sounds so awkward that I may have to copyright it.

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but I like Collector's Choice. I'm just kidding; I say it on about every other card I post about it. I haven't completely lost my mind yet.

1998 Collector's Choice, Jamie Navarro

#336 Jamie Navarro

Here is another card that the Troll sent to me. He sent this one along a couple of months ago with the Jared Sandberg card.

Jamie pitched for twelve seasons with the Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, and Indians. He was 116-126 for his career with a 4.72 ERA. He was mostly a starter and he won a career high 17 games with the Brewers in 1992. He pitched in over 200 innings a year six times and he recorded 32 complete games. As a Cub in 1996, he had 158 strikeouts which was also a career high.

He made his final Major League appearance in 2000, but his career wasn't quite over yet. In 2001, he pitched for Newark of the Atlantic League. It looks like he sat out of the '02 season, but he made a comeback in 2003. That year, he 17 games with Newark, 2 games with the Louisville Bats, and 5 games with Oaxaca of the Mexican League. That was his final season playing professional ball.

I like this card since the picture is of him signing autographs. Those are always good cards to have signed. But, one thing kind of freaks me out. That is the hand in the top left. If you click on the scan, you might see what I'm talking about. The hand looks kind of shapeless since you can't see any fingers from that angle. If even appears that Jamie is kind of looking at strangely, like he is trying to figure out what is going on with it. Or, maybe I have just been working too much lately.

1997 Collector's Choice, Sandy Alomar Jr.

#93 Sandy Alomar Jr.

I got this card signed through the mail in either 1997 or '98. It was either the last or next to last success I had for about eight years.

Incidentally, this is not the first Junior Alomar card that I have posted on here. I posted the first one almost a year ago. That one was on a '90 Fleer card that was given to me by Rod of Padrographs. It's kind of cool to have two signed cards from him on two different teams.

If I said it once, I've said it twice, but I really liked Collector's Choioce. If Upper Deck would have released some CC sets in the last couple of years instead Upper Deck X, maybe they would still have a Major League liscense. It's unlikely, but you never know.

If you compare the two signatures of Sandy that I have, you'll see that they are very similar. The only difference is that the first one was signed on a vertical card and he signed his last name under his first. This one is horizontal and he had enough room to put his two names side by side. It's good to see that he took advantage of the extra space provided by the horizontal card. Most players would just sign it the same or just sign it like it was a vertical card.

1996 Collector's Choice, Mark McLemore

#324 Mark McLemore

This is the third and final card that I got signed by Mark McLemore prior to the Rangers pre-game show this summer. You can see the first one here and the second one here.

Mark is one of the few players that signs his first name above his last name. That has got to be something that just comes from signing baseballs, bats, and cards for years. I wonder if it is strange for him to sign on a line anymore.

Mark's career lasted 19 seasons. During that time, he played for the Angels, Indians, Astros, Orioles, Rangers, Mariners, and A's. He was a career .259 hitter that could play just about anywhere. He spent most of his time and second base, but he also logged time at all three outfield positions as well as third base and shortstop.

I miss Collector's Choice.

1995 Collector's Choice, Joe Randa

#14 Joe Randa

This is the second or three Randa autographs that I got at Royals Fanfest. You can see the first one that I posted here. At the rate I am on, the third Joe Randa should pop up sometime in 2011 (although a Padrograph might make an appearance next year).

Joe was a fan-favorite during his time in Kansas City and I enjoyed watching him play. One of the reasons he was so popular was because he was always smiling. In fact, I think it is impossible for him to frown. He was called the Joker because he had the same permanent grin that Jack Nicholson's character had in the original Batman movie. If you don't believe me, just take a look at that card. He is in the act of throwing, yet appears to have an odd smile on his face. That's the Joker for you.

Joe had two stints with the Royals. Many KC fans were sad to see him go after the 2004 season. But the Royals front office wanted a youth-movement and they didn't see Joe in the plans. So Joe signed with the Reds and did good enough to get traded to the Padres before the trade deadline. With San Diego, Joe got his only playoff appearance as the Padres lost in the first round to the Cardinals, 3-1.

1994 Collector's Choice, Tim Salmon

#251 Tim Salmon

This is the second Tim Salmon autograph that I have had on here. The first one was a '93 Donruss card that was way too glossy and the signature didn't turn out too good. Because of that, I sent Tim another card the next season and this one came out looking much better.

1994 Collector's Choice, Dave Clark

#78 Dave Clark

Here is the third and final card that I got signed by Dave last year in Round Rock. Dave was the manager of the Express at the time. This year, he is the Astros third base coach. You can see the first card I posted here and the second one here.

This card comes form the parallel set that I think is called Silver Signatures. These were ramdomly inserted into packs and were the Collector's Choice version of Topps Gold. It is kind of a neat way of doing a parallel set. It is much better than this year's O-Pee-Chee black border cards.

It is a little strange who much Dave's "D" has changed through the years. Those two look like they were done by two different people

1994 Collector's Choice, Brian Anderson

#21 Brian Anderson

I got this card through the mail back in the mid '90s. It seems like I haven't said that in awhile. About every other 1993 card was obtained that way.

Brian had a long, undistinguished career. He played for thirteen seasons with four different teams. He was mostly a starter and he finished his career with an 82-83 record and a 4.74 ERA. The most wins that he ever had in a season was 14 in 2003. That year he was 9-10 with the Indians until the Royals acquired him for the stretch run (it hardly seems like it was only five years ago that the Royals were in first place at this point in the season). After being traded to the Royals, he finished the season with a 5-1 mark. I was actually at the game that he lost that year as a Royal. He was 6-12 for the Royals the next year. After six starts into 2005, he got injured and never played again.

Brian did make four appearances in the World Series. He had three relief appearances for the Indians in 1997 and even earned a save. He made one start for the D-Backs in 2001. He pitched 5.1 innings and gave up two runs to take the loss (2-1).

1994 was the first year of Collector's Choice. I always liked this product. It was a nice glossy card but was always cheaper than the regular Upper Deck. Plus, they always seemed to have some original subsets.