2005 Fleer, Ryan Madson

#142 Ryan Madson

Here is the second of three cards that I got signed by Ryan Madson at a Royals game in 2015. I posted the first card two years ago and it can be seen here.

When I posted that last card, Ryan had just come off of a World Series victory with the Royals and signed himself a nice three-year deal with the A's. His tenure in Oakland lasted just a year and a half, though, as he was traded to the Nationals at the deadline last year. He pitched well for them down the stretch last season, but was a bit shaky this year, posting a 5.28 ERA in 44.1 innings of work. Nonetheless, the Nats were able to send him to the Dodgers at the end of August for a minor league player. Unfortunately, things haven't gotten any better in Los Angeles as he has racked up a 7.36 ERA in just 7.1 innings of work.

Being 38 years old and having an expiring contract, I would be surprised to see Ryan pitching next year. But, you never know. I didn't think he was going to make the Royals roster in 2015 after not pitching in four years and he still has a job in the Majors.

2004 Fleer Tradition, Jack Wilson

#291 Jack Wilson

Here is the first of six cards that Jack Wilson signed for my dad and I after the Kansas Stars game last year. Unlike the previous year, we actually stuck around for the whole game since there were fewer people and I thought that I could get a few cards signed. I am glad I did as I was able to add Jack to the collection. Even though there was a paid autograph session after the game, Jack still made his way down the line, hurrying as many free signatures as he could. Being in such a rush, I really did not expect him to sign three for each of us.

The signature is really hard to make out, but he signed the cards in record time. I tried to find a newer, authentic auto from Topps to compare these to, but it appears Jack hand't had an autograph insert since 2005. The ones from '05 are definitely easier to read, though. I am just curious if all of his signatures look similar to this now or if this is just a super-rushed version.

You have got to love the retro uniform on this card. It would be much better, though, if it wasn't so baggy. It looks like this photo is from a contest against the Phillies at old Veterans Stadium.

2004 Fleer Tradition, Brad Penny

#236 Brad Penny

I have gotten Brad penny to sign for me a couple of times during his playing days, so I assumed that this was going to be my third post about him. It turns out it is just the second as I haven't posted the jersey card that he signed for me in 2012. The one card I posted was a minor league signature card that I picked up for cheap. I bought that card to make up for me not having a card of him to sign at a AAA rehab start he made in 2008. Then, of course, I get him to sign at a game a few years later.

I got this card signed at a Kansas Stars game in 2016. Brad was pulled out of the clubhouse to do an interview with a local TV outlet and I got him to sign after the interview. He signed my three cards and the three that my dad gave him. So, I will be having a couple Brad Penny cards coming up on here over the next few months.

Brad was originally drafted by the Diamondbacks in the fifth round of the 1996 draft. But, he would never play for their big league club. They traded him to the Marlins in 1999 for Matt Mantei. Brad would make his Major League debut with the fish the following season. He won his debut, pitching seven innings of one run ball against the Rockies. He struck out three batters and the lone run he gave up was a solo home run to Mike Lansing in the first inning.

2003 Fleer Tradition, Eric Hinske

#483 Eric Hinske

I have only been to two Royals games this summer and the 'graphing has not gone well. The first game I went to was against the Yankees and I got shutout on autographs. The last game I went to was against the Angels. It was a three o'clock start time, so I got there early to try to get some of the players when they arrived at the ballpark. It was a complete waste of time since Hansel Robles was the only Angel to sign and I did not have a card of him. All of the players and coaches that came off the bus completely ignored everybody.

The one exception to that was Eric Hinske. He arrived early in a cab and was nice enough to sign for whoever wanted him to. He was pretty funny because he signed a ball for a kid who then asked him who he was and he started giving the kid crap for not knowing who he was asking an autograph from. The funny part was that the kid's mom didn't think Eric was funny and she started defending her little boy. Eric had a big smile on his face and told her "I'm just giving you a hard time; but seriously, you should know who you are asking to get an autograph from". The mom really didn't like that, but I thought it was funny and completely true.

Eric had a huge rookie season with the Jays in 2002. That year, he wound up hitting .279 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI. Those numbers were good enough to land him the American League Rookie of the Year Award. Unfortunately, even though he would go on to play eleven more years, he was never able to match the numbers he put up in his rookie season. He would, however, play in three straight World Series from 2007-2009 with three different clubs. He brought home a ring in two of the three.

Eric is currently the hitting coach for the Angels.

2003 Fleer Focus, Guillermo Quiroz

#175 Guillermo Quiroz

Here is a card that I got signed at a Sacramento Rivercats game in 2015. Quiroz was playing for the Cats at the time and he was nice enough to stop and sign two cards for me. I opted to get him in black because of the blue jersey and I must say that I am pleased with the results.

Back then, I used to always take a black and a blue Sharpie with me when I would go 'graphing. Since I used to do well with the Royals, it was a must with all the cards with blue jerseys like this one. But now the Royals are crap signers and I rarely bother with a black Sharpie any more. It is now blue or nothing.

Quiroz played parts of ten seasons in the big leagues with six different clubs. He topped out at 56 games in a season and was mostly used as a team's third catcher. There were five seasons when he played in less than five games and only two where he played in more than seventeen. For his career, he hit .199 with 3 home runs and 34 RBI.

2002 Fleer Tradition, Eddie Guardado

#U320 Eddie Guardado

Here is a card I got signed last year when the Twins were in Kansas City. Eddie is the Twins bullpen coach and he stopped to sign for me after getting off the team bus. I asked him how he was enjoying coaching and he told me that it was "OK". I asked him why it was just OK and he told me that players are just too soft these days. It seems that Eddie and Mike Matheny are on the same page.

Eddie pitched for the Twins for the first eleven seasons of seventeen year career. Over that time, he held about every role a left-handed pitcher could hold. He started, was a LOOGY, did middle relief, and was a closer. Counting the seven games he appeared in for the Twins after being acquired at the 2008 trade deadline, Everyday Eddie was 37-48 with 116 saves and a 4.53 ERA with the Twins.

Eddie had back-to-back 40 save seasons with the Twins in 2002 and 2003. He racked up 45 the first year and 41 in the second. He was rewarded both years with an All Star selection, the only two of his career. This card represents his first selection. In the 2002 mid-summer classic, Eddie struck out the only two batters he faced- Andruw Jones and Jose Hernandez. Maybe if he would have pitched longer, or not relieved Barry Zito after he faced just one batter, the game might not have ended in a tie.

2002 Fleer Tradition, Brandon Berger

#U173 Brandon Berger

Here is another former Royal that I got signed through the mail this year. I sent this card to Brandon in February and I had it back ten days later.

Brandon was 14th round pick by the Royals in 1996 out of Eastern Kentucky. While he was slowly moving up the organizational ladder, he wasn't even a blip on the radar. That all changed in 2001 when he had a monster year in AA. That season, he batted .308 with 40 home runs and 118 RBI. He got a September call-up from the Royals and continued his hot season, going 5-16 with four extra-base hits, including two dingers.

He made the Royals Opening Day roster in 2001 and it turned out to be a rough season for Brandon. Through July 20th, he hit .227 with 5 home runs and 14 RBI. He was then sent down to AAA for the second time that season and would stay there until the rosters expanded in September. It was a rough September for him and he finished the season with a .207 average with 6 homers and 17 RBI.

After that, Brandon would only play in 24 more Major League games over the 2003-2004 seasons. He never hit another home run and he finished his career a .212 hitter with 8 home runs and 24 RBI.

2000 Fleer Tradition, Jeff Montgomery

#244 Jeff Montgomery

I cannot believe that it has been nearly four years since I have posted a card of Jeff Montgomery. When I posted that last card, the ninth signed card from Jeff, I complained that I had too many signed cards from him. While I don't mind a lot of different signed cards of the same person, it gets really hard to posts those cards with meaningful commentary on here after the third post. Luckily, I haven't had to worry about that the last four years.

I got this card signed at the last Royals Caravan that the team held in 2015. The team was fresh off their American League pennant run and they threw a less than spectacular Caravan together. The leg that came through Kansas consisted of Monty, Lane Adams, and Brandon Finnegan. It wasn't completely awful since I did not have an autograph from Adams or Finnegan. But, I had to find a card of Finnegan quick since he was drafted in 2014 and didn't have any mainstream cards yet. I ended up with a Panini Draft card and all was well.

The Royals went on to win it all in 2015 and they did a rather unusual Caravan in 2016. Rather than take players around, they took their World Series trophy. Knowing that the trophy was going to be displayed for eternity at Kauffman Stadium, I did not bother with that. In 2017 and 2018, the Royals did nothing and, as of right now, the Royals Caravan appears to be dead in the water. But, with how awful the team is right now, it might not be a bad idea to get something restarted next year. We will have to wait to see what happens.

1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated, Bob Feller

NN Bob Feller

Here is a card of Bob Feller that I won in a contest three years ago. Brian, from Play at the Plate, picked up some cards and happened to get a couple of autographed cards from Hall of Famers. All you had to do to win one of them was guess who he got. I threw Bob Feller out there and came home a winner.

I have actually posted an autograph from Bob Feller on here before. In 2009, I stopped at Van Meter, Iowa to visit the Bob Feller Museum. Back then, I had a lot more time on my hands and I actually did a write-up on the visit and my trip to the Metrodome. You can read about it and see the signed card of Bob that I bought there here.

I thought I had heard rumblings about the museum closing after Bob passed away in 2010. But, it looks like it is still up and running.

Bob pitched for the Indians for eighteen seasons. During that time, he went 266-162 with 21 saves. He was a 20 game winner six times and had a career high of 27 in 1940. In 1946, he struck out 346 batters and was the first pitcher to hit the 300 strikeout mark in over thirty years. He finished his career with 2581 Ks and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.

1997 Fleer, Glendon Rusch

#567 Glendon Rusch

Here is another new addition to the collection. This signature was obtained through the mail two months ago. It took exactly one month to make it back home.

Glendon pitched in the Majors for twelve seasons with the Royals, Mets, Brewers, Cubs, Padres, and Rockies. Over that time, he amassed a 67-99 record with 4 saves and a 5.04 ERA. His best season was with the Mets in 2000. That year, he was 11-11 and those 11 wins were a career high. He also had career bests in strikeouts (157) and ERA (4.01). He even got to pitch in three games of the World Series that season and he allowed one run in four innings of work.

But, the only reason that I wrote to Glendon was because he was once a Royal. That only lasted for about two and a half seasons. In that time, he was 12-25 with a save and 5.80 ERA.

Even though Glendon was only a .151 hitter for his career, he did manage to smack three home runs. Two of those came in the same season while with the Cubs in 2004.

While I am not one to complain about a free autograph, especially when someone takes the time to respond to my request from the comfort of their own home, I must say that Glendon's signature is really lacking. I am not sure if this is typical of him, but clearly all I got from him were his initials.

1994 Fleer, Steve Scarsone

#701 Steve Scarsone

Here is the first of two cards that I got signed by Steve Scarsone when I was in Omaha in 2015. Steve was the manager for the visiting Nashville Sounds and he stopped to sign for me on the way out to the field.

Omaha's Werner Park has a cool set-up where both the home and visiting clubhouses are in left field. To get to the field, both teams use a ramp that leads down under the concourse to the field. Because of that, it is one of the best spots in baseball to do some 'graphing because you can get players from both teams in one area. It can get a little hectic, though, when there are a bunch of guys heading to the field at once, so you have got to be real organized there. But, other than that, it is a great set-up that is rivaled only by the Round Rock Express, who have a similar set-up.

As for Steve, he is no longer with the Sounds. But, he is still in the A's organization. He is currently listed as their coordinator of baserunning/defense.

1994 Fleer, Darnell Coles

#328 Darnell Coles

Here is the third and final card that Darnell Coles signed for my oldest boy at Spring Training last year. Darnell is the batting coach for the Brewers and he signed at Goodyear Ballpark at a game against the Reds. We saw the Brewers twice last spring and I tasked my son with 'graphing them for me. He didn't do great, but I have definitely had far worse days than he had.

We are going to see the Brewers play again this spring. Only this time, I will be 'graphing the club. Darnell is not a high priority this year, but I have pulled a Pirates card of him if he happens to sign. He already signed a Tiger and Mariner card for me. I will only need a Reds card signed by him if I get the Pirates one done.

Darnell played for the Blue Jays for two seasons. Over that time, he hit .234 with 8 home runs and 41 RBI. Despite playing for the World Champion Blue Jays in 1993, Darnell was not on any of their playoff rosters.

1990 Fleer, Ozzie Canseco

#U-117 Ozzie Canseco

Here is the second of three cards that Ozzie Canseco signed for me at a Wingnuts game in 2015. He was the hitting coach for the Sioux Falls Canaries at the time, but has since been replaced. I posted the first card of Ozzie a few weeks back and that one can be seen here.

About seven or eight years ago, I got a Christmas gift from my best friend. It was a pre-packaged baseball card stocking that he bought at Ace Hardware. In it was some junk wax packs, a minor league team set, and a boxed update or traded set. The boxed set was the highlight of the stocking and I went to Ace the next day and bought four more of them. Out of them all, I ended up with '85 Fleer Update, '86 Topps Traded, '88 Donruss Rookies, '91 Score Traded, and this set. The Topps set was missing the main top rookies, but all the rest were complete sets.

Out of all of those sets, I have at least four cards from each one signed. They are still in their boxes and they are small, so they are really easy to look through to find a card to get signed. But, this Canseco card is the only one from the '90 Fleer Update set that I have signed. I am not sure why that is exactly. I know I have taken a few cards out to get signed and had no luck, so it is not because I overlook the set. It must be because I don't really like 1990 Fleer. There is just too much white on them.

That is probably why '91 Fleer is blinding yellow. They got too much grief for this set being boring, so the spiced things up the next year.

1989 Fleer, Pete Incaviglia

#523 Pete Incaviglia

I thought that this was going to be the last Pete Incaviglia card that I would post for some time and that I could take the easy way out by showing all of the other cards of Pete that I have posted on here. But, that is not the case. I still have one more after this one. So, here are a few random thoughts related to this card.

First off, I find the cropping on this card a little odd. Why allow Pete's head to peak over the border, but not his bat? Obviously, his head has to be in the shot. I just think it would make sense to have a little more bat in the picture. It looks like the bat would go behind his head anyway.

Out of the 1989 Fleer set, I only have ten cards signed. Of those ten cards, three of them are Rangers. No other team has more than one card. The other two are Ray Hayward and Steve Buechele. Like I said, random thoughts.

I got this card signed by Pete at a Wingnuts game in 2015 while he was the manager of the Laredo Lemurs.

1989 Fleer, Ray Hayward

#521 Ray Hayward

Here is the third and final card that Ray Hayward signed for me at the College World Series in 2014. Ray was the pitching coach for Texas Tech and he signed for me on the field as he was watching his guys get loosened up. You can see the first card I posted of him here and the second one here.

Ray started 12 games for the Rangers in 1988, his last season in the Majors. Over those starts, he went 4-6 with a 5.46 ERA. He lasted 62.2 innings and gave up 63 hits while walking 35 and striking out 37. The highlight of that season was the complete game shutout he hurled in Toronto. Over the 9 innings, he scattered just 6 hits while walking 3 and striking out 5. That win improved him to 3-0 on the year. His ERA was 1.63 after that contest.

Ray began his tenure at Texas Tech in 2013. Under his tutelage, the Red Raiders pitchers have lead the team to the College World Series twice and won the Big 12 championship in 2016. On top of that, prior to the 2017 season, seventeen Tech pitchers have gone on to get drafted or sign free agent minor league contracts with clubs.

It looks like Ray will be taking on a new role next season. Though he will still be with Tech, he will no longer be their pitching coach and is instead listed as a special assistant.

I am glad that I got this card signed in black. Since I rarely get autographs from Royals anymore, I hardly bother with a black Sharpie. But, I was still carrying one around in 2014 and it came in handy on this card.

1988 Fleer, Alan Trammell

#9 Alan Trammell

Here is the card of Alan Trammell that I got signed at Spring Training in 2014. Alan was the bench coach for the Diamondbacks at the time and he signed for fans by the Major League practice field. Alan would only sign one card per person and this is the card that he signed for me. But, he signed for quite a few people, and I was able to send my son up there to get another card signed. I posted that card three years ago and it can be seen here.

This is the third card of Alan that I have posted on here. While I only got two cards signed by him at Spring Training that year, I did get him through the mail in 2009. He was working for the Cubs then and I sent him his '81 Donruss to sign for me. That card can be seen here.

This is a fun card of Alan. These All Star cards were randomly inserted into Fleer packs back when insert wasn't even a term in the hobby. I am surprised that I even have this card because I have virtually no cards from the '88 Fleer set. Looking at what I have, I could not have bought more than four packs of Fleer that year. Why that is the case, I have no idea. I loved Fleer in '87 and I do not hate the '88 design. I just barely bought any that year.

This insert set was limited to twelve cards and it is a random assortment of "All Stars". Eight of the cards are American League players and only four are from the National League. Only four of the cards feature players that started in the '87 All Star Game and there are three cards of players that weren't even on the All Star team. I guess these are just guys that would have been on Fleer's All Star team. Still, it is a fun card to have signed.

1987 Fleer, Steve Carlton

#635 Steve Carlton

Here is a fun card of Steve Carlton that I got signed at the College World Series in 2014. This is the third and final card that I got signed that day. The first one, his '81 Donruss, can bee seen here and the second one here.

On August 5th, 1986, Steve struck out Eric Davis to record his 4,000th career strikeout. In my opinion, that is quite a milestone. At that point, he was just the second pitcher to ever record 4,000 strikeouts. Yet, for some reason, this is the only base card of Steve commemorating that feat. While Donruss never really had a subset for milestones or record breakers, Topps did at that time and this one went unrecognized by them. I think it is funny that Steve broke the record while with the Giants, but us shown with the White Sox on this card, though.

In case you are wondering, Steve is now fourth on the all-time strikeout leaderboard with 4,136 K's. Nolan Ryan is first, followed by Randy Johnson and then Roger Clemens.

It is so strange seeing Steve with the White Sox. It is about as strange as seeing Tom Seaver with them.

1987 Fleer, Dennis Eckersley

#563 Dennis Eckersley

Here is the second of three cards that I got signed by Hall of Famer, Dennis Eckersley, at the College World Series in 2014. Those were the good days when they brought in former players to sign autographs. I got a lot of great signatures over the years while they were doing that. But, on the other hand, it is kind of nice that they don't do it anymore. The signings were kind of a distraction and made it hard to watch baseball. I would leave games early to get in line or hang out in line while the people I was with went into the game to get a seat. Now I just get to relax and watch competitive college baseball. And not get autographs from Hall of Famers.

My wife actually got this particular card signed for me. In fact, she got two signed. I gave her this one and an A's card and told her to pick one out. Being indecisive, she was unable to do that, so Eck went ahead and signed both for her. Since he signed two, he did not add the Hall of Fame inscription like he did with the '81 Donruss he signed for me.

Dennis pitched for the Cubs for two and a half seasons. He was dealt to Chicago for Bill Buckner during the '84 season. After starting the season 4-4 with the Red Sox, he went 10-8 with the Cubbies and posted a 3.03 ERA. The next season, he was 11-7 with a 3.08 ERA. In 1986, he went 6-11 with a 4.57 ERA. The Cubs traded him to Oakland right before the start of the '87 season for three minor leaguers that would never play in the Majors. Eckersley would never start a game again and would go on to punch his ticket to Cooperstown as the A's closer.

1987 Fleer, Dale Sveum

#358 Dale Sveum

Dale Sveum has been the Royals hitting coach since 2014 and this is the only autograph that I have gotten from him. I was lucky enough to catch him outside The K before a game late last season and he was nice enough to sign one of three for me.

Dale played in the Majors for twelve seasons with the Brewers, Phillies, White Sox, A's, Mariners, Pirates, and Yankees. Over that time, he was a .236 hitter with 69 home runs and 340 RBI. He had one monster season with the Brew Crew in 1987. That year, he hit a robust .252 with 25 dingers and 95 RBI. It was only one of two seasons that he hit double digit home runs and the only one where he hit more than 15.

Dale spent his first five seasons in Milwaukee and then bounced around a ton after that. Even though he played with seven different teams, good luck finding a card of him not with the Brewers. From what I have seen, he only has a couple of Phillies and A's cards, one Yankee card, and not a single card of him with the White Sox, Mariners, or Pirates. The lack of a Pirates card surprises me since he got 306 at-bats with them in 1997. That was the most he had in a single season since 1988.

I find it funny that Dale has 59 more strikeouts than hits as a Major Leaguer. That is funny to me because he is the hitting coach for a team that won a World Series two years ago by not striking out. How does that work?

1987 Fleer, Bob Melvin

#281 Bob Melvin

Here is the third and final card of Bob Melvin that I got signed at Spring Training in 2014. Bob and his A's were visiting the White Sox that day and I did pretty well with the A's coaches. I only got a few players to sign that day since the bigger named A's did not make the road trip. Along with Bob, I also got Chili Davis, Curt Young, Ariel Prieto, and Mike Gallego.

With this card, I have signed cards from Bob as a Giant, Oriole, and Tiger, the first three teams he played with. He also played for the Royals, Red Sox, Yankees, and Red Sox over the final three seasons of his career. Of those four teams, I don't think he has a Yankee or White Sox card and he only has a couple of Royal and Red Sox cards. When I went and saw the A's this past Spring Training, the three cards I took with me to get signed by him were all managers cards. I took one of each team he managed, the Mariners, Diamondbacks, and A's. I did not get him this year, so I still have some work to do to get a card signed for each team he was with.

Bob played for the Giants for three seasons. Over that time, he played in 265 games and hit .220 with 24 home runs and 83 RBI. His only postseason action came with the club in 1987. That fall, he got into three games of the NLCS and was 3-7.