The Rest of 2008 Topps, Part V

Here are the final cards from 2008 Topps.

#UH207 Alberto Gonzalez
#UH211 Brett Tomko
#UH235 Eddie Guardado
#UH278 So Taguchi
#UH279 Alex Hinshaw
#TCP4 Luke Hochevar

Alberto Gonzalez- This is the second card of Alberto that I have posted on here and both have been lumped into a "best of" post. I have a third one coming up that will get its own post, so this is going to have to do for now. Alberto signed this card for me in 2015 while he was a member of the Wichita Wingnuts.

Brett Tomko- Believe it or not, but I did not get this card signed by the Royals parking lot. I actually got it at a Kansas Stars game in 2016.

Eddie Guardado- Eddie signed this one for me while I was waiting outside of Kauffman in 2017. Eddie was the Twins bullpen coach at the time.

So Taguchi- I got this card signed outside of Principle Park in Des Moines, Iowa in 2009. So was playing his final season in the U.S. that year and he spent the majority of the time with the Iowa Cubs. He signed two cards for me after the game and both featured his Japanese signature.

Alex Hinshaw- This is the first card of Alex that I have posted on here. But, I have another one that will get its own post. That one is a 2009 card, so it might not show up on here until 2022. Alex signed this card for me while he was with the Wingnuts in 2014.

Luke Hochevar- I have no clue where this card came from. Night Owl probably sent it to me. I am assuming that the card was a Target exclusive, but I am not even sure about that. All I know about the card is that Luke signed it for me at Fanfest in 2009.

And that is it for '08 Topps. You can say whatever you want about the design of the set, but I will say this- you will never get 2008 Topps confused with any other Topps set.

2008 Topps, Travis Denker

#UH201 Travis Denker

When I started posting my 2008 cards, I changed up my format a bit where I would not post multiple cards of the same player. Once a player gets a card posted, any subsequent cards would get lumped into a post with other guys from that set that had already been posted. I have been doing good with staying with that format, but I am going to make an exception today. So, here is the third and final card of Travis Denker that I have to post. I posted his first card four years ago and his second one three years ago. The reason why Travis gets a third post is because I have a neat piece of memorabilia from him that I had been planning to post with this card ever since I got it signed in 2015.

In 2014, Travis was playing for the Laredo Lemurs in the American Association. The Lemurs made the playoffs as the wild card and played against the number one seed Wichita Wingnuts in the first round of the playoffs. I attended the deciding game four of that series, which the Wingnuts won. But, just before the 'Nuts punched their ticket to the finals, Laredo had the tying run on base in the top of the ninth with two outs. Travis Denker was on deck and, when the batter made the third out to end the game, he smashed his bat into the ground.

The Wingnuts stormed the field to celebrate and the Lemurs made the long walk back to the clubhouse to get ready for a long bus ride home. While the 'Nuts were celebrating, I saw Laredo's trainer grab Denker's busted bat from the on deck circle. He then walked over to a kid and offered it to him and the kid didn't want it. So, the trainer started to make his way to the clubhouse and I hollered for him when he got by me and I asked for the bat. He seemed surprised that I wanted it and pointed out to me that it was broken. I told him it was okay and he brought it over to me.

So, I got the bat and just had to figure out a way to get it signed. Denker signed to play in Mexico the next season, so it looked like I was going to luck out. But, he ended up back in Laredo after the Mexican season was over and Laredo made the trip to Wichita shortly after. So, I took my bat to a game with me and I got his attention when he was coming to the field. I asked him if that was his bat and he said that it wasn't as he was using a different bat that year. I told him that it was from the previous season and he realized that it was his and was more than happy to sign it for me.

Sure, Travis only played in 24 Major League games. But I still think it is cool that I have a game used bat signed by him and it only cost me two general admission tickets to Wingnut games.

2008 Goudey, Bobby Thomson

#217 Bobby Thomson

This is probably my favorite signed 2008 Goudey that I own. While I have a few cards from the set signed by some bigger names, I also have other cards signed by those guys that I enjoy more. But, this one, on the other hand, is the only card that I have signed by Bobby and I absolutely love it. Plus, the fact that it is a mini makes it that much better.

I got this card signed through the mail in November of 2008. In fact, over a four day stretch that month, I got back Bobby Doerr, Sparky Anderson, and this card, all from this set. That was a fun week of checking the mailbox.

Bobby had a fifteen year career in the Majors, playing with the Giants, Braves, Cubs, Red Sox, and Orioles. He was a .270 career hitter that racked up 264 home runs and 1,026 RBI. He made three All Star teams, had four 100 RBI seasons, played in one World Series, and hit one of the most iconic home runs in baseball history.

I didn't notice it on the Doerr or Anderson cards, but it just seems off to see Ken Griffey on the front of this card. I love that Upper Deck put Griffey and Jeter on there to replace Lou Gehrig, but it just doesn't work on cards that feature players that played before Griffey, Sr. played.

2001 Topps, Joe Nathan

#292 Joe Nathan

Here is a card that I got signed last summer at the NBC World Series. Joe was playing for the Kansas Stars, a team of former players taking on college players in a tournament. Like many players on the team, Joe was very fan-friendly and spent a decent amount of time signing autographs the day I was there.

Joe spent the majority of his career pitching in the American League Central, so I had the chance to see him many times in Kansas City. Every time I tried to 'graph his team, I always took this card with me. It was the only card of him I had with the Giants. And, for a long time, it was the only non-Twins card I had of him. I obviously struck out every time as he had to retire and come to Wichita in order for me to get it signed.

Joe spent his first four seasons pitching for the Giants. He started 29 games for then his first two years before becoming firmly entrenched in their bullpen in the fourth year. That season, he made a career-high 78 appearances. He logged 79 innings with a record of 12-4 and a 2.96 ERA and 83 strikeouts. While he finished nine games, he did not record a save. Tim Worrell was getting all the saves that season for the Giants.

After the season, San Francisco shipped Joe and Francisco Liriano off to Minnesota for A.J Pierzynski.

For his career with the Giants, which included the last 4.1 innings of his career in 2016, Joe was 25-10 with a save and a 4.06 ERA.

1997 Donruss, Marcus Jensen

#238 Marcus Jensen

Here is one of my most recent autographs. Marcus is the bullpen coach for the A's and I was able to get him to sign at Spring Training this year. I had planned on 'graphing the Angels that day at their home spring ballpark. But, by the time we got into the park, the Angels side was completely full. I looked over at the visiting A's side and there was not a soul to be seen. So, I went with the A's instead and it was a wise choice. I got about twenty cards signed over there and even came home with a Marcus Semien signed batting glove.

Marcus played in the Majors for parts of seven seasons. Over that time, he played in 145 games with the Giants, Tigers, Brewers, Cardinals, Twins, Red Sox, and Rangers. The most games he ever played in a single season was 52 with the Twins in 2000. That year, he hit .209 with 3 home runs and 14 RBI.

Marcus finished his career a .184 hitter with 6 home runs and 29 RBI.

In 2000, Marcus had the pleasure to represent the USA at the Olympics in Australia. He came home with the gold.

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.

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.

1990 CMC, Tony Perezchica

#547 Tony Perezchica

Here is one of my most recent additions to my collection. Tony is the third base coach for the Diamondbacks and they finished off their regular season in Kansas City this year. I was able to make it up to two of those games and I got him to sign for me outside of the ballpark on the final day of the season. He made it be known to me that he was in a hurry for a meeting, but he still stopped and signed both of the cards I had of him.

Even though Tony only played in the bigs for four seasons and 69 games, he still had seven base cards printed of him between 1989 and 1992. I looked in my collection for every single one of those cards and I only had one. Luckily, I had this card of him and was able to get two cards signed.

Tony made his Major League debut with the Giants in 1988. He played in 34 games with them over three seasons and he hit .220 with no homers and 4 RBI.

Back in the day before the Diamondbacks came around, Phoenix hosted the Giants AAA team, the Firebirds.

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.

1986 Fleer, Mike Aldrete

#U-1 Mike Aldrete

Here is the second card of Mike Aldrete that I have posted on here. But, unlike the first one, his '96 Leaf Signature Series card, I got this one in person. Mike is the hitting coach for the A's and he was nice enough to sign two cards for me at a Spring Training game this year.

At that game, there was a decent crowd 'graphing the A's at home. I was mixed in with that crowd on the outfield side of the dugout. I got a couple of players there, but there wasn't too much action. The game was about to get underway, so I went over to the home plate side of the dugout to see if I could get anyone over there. Mike was nearby and I asked him to sign. He came over right as the players were leaving the dugout for the National Anthem. Now he had to hurry, but he has a nice and slow deliberate signature. So, he only signed two of the three cards and ran up the stairs to get on the field. He ended up tripping on the top step and fell onto the field. At that point I cringed and felt bad for him because he was in such a hurry because of me. Lucky for him, his team had their backs to the dugout and no one noticed.

I stayed in that spot after the anthem and thanked him for signing and to make sure he was okay, which he was.

1981 Donruss, Gary Lavelle

#314 Gary Lavelle

This is the third card of Gary Lavelle that I have posted on here. I originally wrote to Gary in 2011 when I obtained his '78 Topps card in the Topps Million Card Giveaway. I did not own this card at the time, so I added a card from the '85 Fleer Update set to get signed. I finally bought this card three years later and sent it to him in early 2014. Gary had it back to me in less than ten days.

Gary was a two-time All Star for the Giants as a reliever. Over his career, he had three 20 save seasons. He racked up 136 during his career, with all but 9 coming with the Giants.

When I posted my first card of Gary in 2011, he was fourth on the Giants all time saves leaderboard. At the time, he was behind Brian Wilson and I speculated that Brian might be in first after the 2012 season. It turns out I was completely wrong on that guess as Brian only pitched in two games in 2012 before joining the Dodgers in 2013.

It looks like Gary's fourth place spot should be secure for the time being. I have no clue who the Giants closer is now, but Sergio Rome and Santiago Casilla have both joined other teams and they were the two closest active players to Gary. Casilla was only four saves behind him.

I am heading to Arizona next week, so this might be my last post until I get back from Spring Training. Follow me on Twitter (@zmills40) to see all the cards I am getting signed down there.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #204

1981 Donruss, Tom Griffin

#75 Tom Griffin

This is the card from Tom Griffin that I got signed through the mail about a year ago. I sent this card to Tom last January and I got it back nine days later.

Tom pitched in the Major Leagues for fourteen seasons with the Astros, Padres, Angels, Giants, and Pirates. He spent his first seven and a half years in Houston before starting to jump around a bit in the second half of his career. He both started and relieved throughout his career and amassed a 77-94 record with 5 saves and a 4.07 ERA.

Tom's best season was his rookie campaign when he went 11-10 with a 3.54 ERA and 200 strikeouts. Those 200 Ks were ninety more than he would ever get in any other single season.

Tom also had a little pop in his bat. Though he was just a .163 hitter, he did smack 10 home runs during his career. Two of those came off of Hall of Fame pitchers Fergie Jenkins and Steve Carlton.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #184

1959 Topps, Joe Shipley

#141 Joe Shipley

It has been over a week since I have posted an actual card, so here is the next one in the more recent line of '59 Topps I got signed. This one was signed through the mail in 2013 and it took about nine days to get back to me. It is pretty sad that I consider cards that I got signed in 2013 as recent.

Joe had a short Major League career that spanned parts of four seasons, but just twenty-nine games. All of those games came with the Giants except for three outings with the White Sox in 1963. Over that span, Joe had a 0-1 record with a 5.93 ERA with 35 walks to 23 strikeouts.

Sadly, Joe's only decision came in game twenty-seven for him when he pitched one inning and gave up four unearned runs. Instead of walking one and striking out two in the fourth inning in a game against the Red Sox, strike three for the second out ended up as a passed ball and the runner made it to first. After the second strikeout, which should have been the third out, the next four batters each single driving in the four runs. The White Sox went from a 2-1 lead to a 5-2 deficit en route to a 6-2 loss.

On the college baseball front, Oklahoma State lost today and will play against Arizona again tomorrow. If they lose, The Lost Collector wins the CWS Contest. If they win, it is a three-way tie and we will have to wait for the conclusion of the tournament for the winner. Personally, I hope OSU and TCU win tomorrow to set up an all Big 12 final. But, that is just the Midwesterner in me.

1958 Topps, Jim Davenport

#413 Jim Davenport

This is the last card from the '58 set that I have to post. After this one, I have about a half dozen cards from the '59 set.

I got this card signed by Jim Davenport through the mail in 2014. It was about a ten day wait to get it back. Unfortunately, Jim passed away earlier this year.

Jim played in the Majors for thirteen seasons and he played every single one of them with the Giants. He was their regular third baseman early in his career before transitioning into their infield utility player. Jim was a .258 hitter for his career and he had 77 home runs and 456 RBI.

Jim's best season was in 1962. That year he had career-highs for average (.297) and home runs (14). To top it off, he made his lone All Star team, won his only Gold Glove, and played in his first, and last, World Series.

As of right now, their are five teams that have punched their ticket to Omaha. They are UC Santa Barbara, Miami, Arizona, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech. So far, The Lost Collector has picked three teams to advance with one of them being a two seed. Four other people have two teams picked thus far. We should know at least two more teams tonight with the last one possibly being decided tomorrow.

1958 Topps, Daryl Spencer

#68 Daryl Spencer

Here is the next '58 Topps card that I got signed through the mail in 2013. This one took me all of five days to get back as I only had to send it down the road to Wichita.

Daryl played in the Majors for ten seasons with the Giants, Cardinals, Dodgers, and Reds. He played second, third, and short, but spent most of his time at shortstop. He had some decent pop for a shortstop in the '50s, hitting double digit home runs in each of his first six seasons. The most he ever hit was 20 and that came during his rookie campaign in 1953. 14 of those 20 came at the Polo Grounds, so I am sure he was taking advantage of the short porch in left field (280 feet). Nonetheless, 20 dingers by a shortstop in 1953 sounds pretty good.

For his career, Daryl was a .244 hitter with 105 home runs and 428 RBI. All of his best seasons came with the Giants, though none really stand out more than any other. He had those 20 home runs in '53, had 31 doubles in '57, 74 RBI in '58, and a .265 average in '59. It is too bad he missed the '54-55 seasons for serving in the military. Those might have been the seasons where everything came together for him.

1958 was the first year the Giants were in San Francisco. That is why Daryl is sporting the spiffy-looking airbrushed hat.

Daryl is a Wichita native and will sometimes appear at the local card show there. Unfortunately, he has not been there when I have attended.

On a side note, there is about fourteen hour left to get in the on the College World Series contest. Get those picks in as time is ticking.

1955 Topps, Monte Irvin

#100 Monte Irvin

Next up is Hall of Famer, Monte Irvin. I think I originally bought this card for All Star Fanfest in 2012 when Monte and Ernie Banks were on the initial list of players to attend. Both of them ended up not making it to the event, but luckily, Monte was a great TTM signer. He charged ten dollars to sign a card and that seemed like a bargain to me. So, I sent this card to him at the end of November that year and I had it back two weeks later.

Sadly, Monte passed away earlier this year. He was about a month shy of his 97th birthday. I thought about posting this card that day, but there were so many tributes to him on the card blogs that I did not even want to try to compete with all of them. So here it is now, right where it belongs on this blog.

Monte's career in the Major Leagues spanned just eight seasons as some of the better years of his life were spent in the Negro Leagues. Though he only made one All Star team, he had two monster seasons with the Giants. The first one came in 1951 when he hit .312 with 24 home runs and 121 RBI. The second one came two years later when he hit .329 with 21 dingers and 97 RBI.

He finished his career a .293 Major League hitter with 99 home runs and 443 RBI. He won one World Series and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.

2007 Turkey Red, Barry Zito

#41 Barry Zito

Here is the second card of Barry Zito that I have posted on here. The first card was a TTM that I received in 2005. I posted that card about five years ago and it can be seen here. This one, on the other hand, is the first of three that Barry signed for me last season while playing for the Nashville Sounds.

Last season, Barry signed a minor league contract with the A's and nearly spent the entire season playing for Nashville. My family went to see the Sounds take on the Storm Chaser in Omaha over Labor Day weekend and I was looking forward to getting some cards signed by Barry. He had just come off the disabled list and pitched in relief the night before we were there. It was early September and the A's had already chosen most of their September call-ups and Barry was not one of them. Because of that, I thought his outing the night before was going to be his last time pitching professionally. When he signed for me, I thanked him for all he had done for the game and congratulated him on his outing the night before, a perfect inning with a strikeout.

Luckily, the Oakland brass came to their senses and let Barry go out as an Athletic. While he did not fare well in three appearances the last week of the season, it was the right thing to do. He even got to start a game against the Giants and former teammate, Tim Hudson.

2007 Topps Heritage, Eliezer Alfonzo

#364 Eliezer Alfonzo

Here is a card that I got signed at a Colorado Sky Sox game in 2011. Eliezer was playing for the Sky Sox at the time and was nice enough to sign two cards for me. I posted the first card about three and a half years ago and it can be seen here.

When I posted that card, it appeared that Eliezer's time in affiliated ball might have come to an end as he had just finished up a season in Mexico. But, he was back in the Pacific Coast League the next season with the Albuquerque Isotopes. That gig, though, lasted only 19 games where he hit .284. The rest of the season, and all of 2014, were spent back in Mexico.

It seems like Elizier's playing days are pretty much over as he did not play last summer. He continues to play in the Venezuelan Winter League, though, so there is always a chance. But, those chances are getting slimmer for a thirty-seven year old catcher.

Nevertheless, he did play in 193 Major League games with the Giants, Padres, Mariners, and Rockies. Over parts of six seasons, he hit .240 with 17 home runs and 67 RBI.

2007 Topps, Todd Greene

#44 Todd Greene

Here is the third and final card that I got signed by Todd Greene in 2009. Todd signed for me twice that summer, once in Kansas City and once in Baltimore. He was the Rays quality assurance coach at the time. I posted the first card from Baltimore in 2009 and it can be seen here. The lone card from Kansas City was posted in 2011 and that one can be seen here. This one was signed along with the first one while I was in Baltimore in September of 2009.

As far as I can tell, Todd only coached with the Rays for one season. After 2009, he got into scouting. He scouted for the Mariners for a few years before joining the Diamondbacks in 2013 as a scout and a special assistant to the general manager. But, according to some, he is apparently a Major League managerial candidate. That is news to me, but I just found this article from Baseball Essential that backs that up. According to it, Todd would be a cross between Mike Sciosca, Mike Matheny, and Joe Maddon. It will be interesting to see if he gets a shot at the Majors without any minor league managing experience.

I had no idea, but, according to that Baseball Essential article, Todd caught the ceremonial first pitch that president George W. Bush threw out prior to game three of the 2001 World Series.

2007 Bowman, Adam Cowart

#BC188 Adam Cowart

Here is a card that I got signed at a Ft. Worth Cats game in 2009. I was heading down to see my grandparents that summer and I made it a point to stop at some games to and from their house. When I was at the Cats game, my local Wichita Wingnuts happened to be in town and Jared was pitching for them at the time. Jared and I went to school at Kansas State, so I made sure to wear a K-State shirt to the game. When I got him to sign the card, he did not say anything about the shirt. But then the Nuts pitching coach walked by, who is also a K-State alum, and he sure made a big deal about it. He was asking Adam if he noticed my shirt and we ended up talking for about fifteen minutes about K-State and their baseball program.

Adam was drafted by the Giants in the 35th round of the 2006 draft. He played in their system for four seasons and moved up a level in each of his first three seasons, reaching AA in 2008. His numbers went up each year as he progressed, starting with a 1.08 ERA in Low-A and then up to 3.76 in AA. In 2009, he was demoted to High-A, a level he had skipped, and he posted a 7.56 ERA in nine relief outings before the Giants released him.

After that, he was picked up by the Wingnuts and he pitched for them in 2009 and 2010. Over those two seasons, he was 15-12 with a ERA around 3.50. He joined the Sioux Falls Canaries in 2011 and was 5-8 with a 6.24 ERA over 19 starts. That was the last season Adam played.

This is the third player out of the last four that played their college ball in the Big 12. Adam was at K-State, Greg Porter at Texas A&M, and Ole Sheldon at Oklahoma.