1990 Best, Andy Tomberlin

#265 Andy Tomberlin

Here is the second of three cards that I got signed by Andy at the Rickwood Classic last month.

The reason why I picked out this card to get signed is simple. Prior to this autograph, I did not have a card from this set signed. Now I have one and I doubt that I will be able to add many more.

I got this card in a pack in 1990 or 1991. I'm not one hundred percent positive, but I think that the these were the first minor league cards that I ever bought. I'm not even sure where I bought these, but for some reason I want to think that I picked them up at a flea market. I bought one or two packs of these and I haven't seen any more since. So, I only have a small handful of cards from the set and I am now lucky enough to have one signed.

Can anyone tell me what kind of bat Andy is holding in the photo?

1991 Line Drive, Al Martin

#211 Al Martin

I got this card signed through the mail in the early '90s while Al was with the Pirates. If it wasn't for this card, I would have forgot that he was ever in the Braves organization.

Al was the starting left fielder for the Pirates for eight seasons. In 1999, he hit a career high 24 home runs. After that season, he was traded to San Diego for John Vander Wal. He was having a decent season there before being shipped off to Seattle at the trade deadline. He finished the season there and was back with the M's the next season, too. The next year, he was signed by the Cardinals, but was cut in Spring Training. He ended up sitting out that year but was back the next year with the Devil Rays. He played in 100 unproductive games for the D-Rays, and that was the end of his career.

This card shows Al as a Greenville Brave. A few years ago, the team moved to Pearl, Mississippi and are now known as the Mississippi Braves. They are still the AA affiliate of the Braves. Greenville, on the other hand, got a new ballpark and dropped down a level to the South Atlantic League. The new team is called the Greenville Drive.