1992-93 Fleer Excel, Les Norman

#176 Les Norman

Here is a card that my dad got signed for me at Royals Fanfest in 2016. That was the worst Fanfest that I ever went to thanks to the team winning the World Series a few months beforehand. Because of that, fans came out in droves to see the team. I even saw Marlins Man at the event.

I took my dad, my oldest boy, and one of his friends with me. When we got in, all the autograph lines were full and people were lining up for the signings that started ninety minutes later. Normally, I would have got in that line. But, since I had the kids with me, I said screw it and stayed out of the autograph lines that day. I still managed a handful of signatures from an alumni signing spot and from guys giving instruction at the wiffleball field.

That was where my dad got this card signed. I was in the long line with the boys to get their picture with the World Series trophy. Next thing I know, my dad came up to me and told me to give him a card of Norman and Jerry Terrell and he would get them signed for me. How cool is that? My dad sure has come a long way from when I first started doing this over ten years ago. I used to have to nearly push him to venture over to get me an autograph and now he takes it upon himself. I really never would have thought he would have transitioned the way he did.

As for Les, he was recently on "The Wheel of Fortune". I guess the show came through Kansas City and he somehow got picked to participate. I never saw the airing, but he apparently won $17,650.

1993-94 Fleer Excel, Jose Herrera

#145 Jose Herrera

This is another card that Paul was able to get signed for me at an Atlantic League game. Paul got this card signed for me while Jose was playing with the Long Island Ducks.

Jose's professional career closely resembles that of Kevin Baez. Both made it to the Major Leagues fairly early in the careers in the '90s. But, with less than two years of Major League service time, they would never appear in another Major League game. Yet, their dream of one day getting back would last for some time.

For Jose, he had a slow start in the pros and had to repeat Rookie ball. But, in his fifth season, he got called up from AA and made it into 33 games with the A's. He started the next season in AA, but was quickly called up to the A's. This time around, he appeared in 108 games and hit .269. That was his last stint in the Majors as he started out the next season playing for Oakland's AAA team. That was his first tour for a AAA team in his career.

He spent the next three seasons in AAA. He sat out for two seasons before appearing in the Mexican League. He sat out the next season before becoming a Newark Bear in 2005 (plus fives games with Bowie of the Eastern League). He stayed with Newark until at least the 2008 season. I can't find any stats of him from this year and he is not on Long Island's current roster, so I am not sure how much time he spent with them. But, he has done a good job of keeping his dream alive. I hope that he can get into coaching at some point.

As for this card, the back of it lists Jose as an Athletic. But, he is obviously wearing a uniform of a Toronto affiliate. Apperantly, Jose was part of an August waiver trade that sent him and Steve Karsay to the Oakland organization for Rickey Henderson. As a result of that, he only played in four games that season as a A's minor leaguer.

As for the Hagerstown Suns, they are still in the South Atlantic League. They are currently affiliated with the Nationals.

1992-93 Fleer Excel, Joe Randa

#177 Joe Randa

I got this card signed at Royals Fanfest this past January. I was always a fan of Randa, so it was great to see the Joker back in Kansas City. I didn't recognise him when I first saw him, though. His hair was much longer than it was in his playing days. Anyway, he singed all three cards that I had and even gave me one of the Royals provided 4"x6" cards that was also signed. I told him that it was great to see him back in KC and he said something of the sort that it was great to be back. I saw him on TV Friday at the Royals home opener, so I have a feeling that he is going to be a many more Fanfests.

As for the Baseball City Royals, they were only around from 1989 to 1992. They might have moved to Wilmington and became the Blue Rocks, but I am not really sure about that. This is the last minor league card from 1993. Back to the Majors tomorrow.

1992-93 Fleer Excel, Mike Lansing

#61 Mike Lansing

Here is the second Mike Landing card that I have signed (here is the first). I think that I got the '91 Classic Best card signed first and then sent this card to him after I pulled it from a pack. I guess that I wanted a card signed that had him with an affiliated team.

If you read my first post about Mike Lansing, you'll know that I thought that the signatures that I got from him and the one Baseball Almanac have are pretty different. Does anyone else have any Mike Lansing autographs to compare with?

Check out the giant Mountain Dew can in the background. It is amazing how much minor league baseball has changed since the early '90s.

1992-93 Fleer Excel, James Mouton

#48 James Mouton

Here is another card that I got signed last week at the Astros Fanfest. James has a funky signature. I like how he signs his first name (or at least what appears to be his first name) inside of the J. His last name is impossible to make out. It look like there is a capitol H in the middle of his last name.

For a minute, I didn't think that I was going to get this card signed. The Astros had two alumni lines going at one time and they were each signing for 50 minutes. When I got to this line after being in the other line, I still had about 35 minutes to spare. When I finally moved up close enough to see the autograph table, James wasn't there. Terry Puhl was up there signing by himself. So, I started watching the Astros game, that I was missing, on a flat screen that I was next to. By the time I moved away from the TV, I looked back up at the table and James was up there signing. I guess it was a good thing that I got in the other line first.

This card depicts James as a Osceola Astro. This team is no longer a part of the Florida State League. For a short time, they changed their name to the Kissimmee Cobras. Their last season was in 2000. The Astros still use the ballpark for Spring Training, though.

1992-93 Fleer Excel, Matt Walbeck

Here is the second of three cards that Matt signed for me last summer as the thrid base coach for the Rangers.

As for these cards, I believe that this set is Fleer's only minor league set that they ever made. The weirdest part about the set is that they are listed as '92-93 on the top of the card, just like a hockey or basketball card would be. That has never made any sense to me. On the back, they have a '92 copyright date which makes them sound like a '92. But, they have the '92 stats back there too, which makes them sound like a '93. They are basically a '93 card that got printed in '92. I do not know why they felt like they had add both years to the card front.

As for the team, the Charlotte Knights, they are still playing today in Ft. Mills, South Carolina. Yes, they are still the Charlotte Knights. They just play their games outside of Charlotte. The only difference is that they are now part of the International League and are affiliated with the White Sox. In 1992, they were in the Southern League and were the AA affiliate of the Cubs. That was their last season in that league.