The Rest of 2008 Topps Heritage, Part II

#472 Manny Corpas
#479 Tony LaRussa
#532 Willie Bloomquist
#561 Mike Aviles
#628 Esteban German
#670 Joakim Soria
#672 Taylor Teagarden
#RP2 Mike Aviles

Manny Corpas- This is the second card that Manny signed for me at a Royals game in 2010 while he was still with the Rockies.

Tony LaRussa- I got this one signed through the mail in 2009. I sent him his '81 Donruss card to sign and threw this one in with it. I still need to get an A's card signed by him and maybe even a card from his playing days. In case you are wondering, it looks like Tony still signs through the mail. If you need his autograph, send it care of the Boston Red Sox.

Willie Bloomquist- Willie signed this card for me in Minneapolis when I went to the Twins final regular season series at the Metrodome. Willie was playing for the Royals at the time.

Mike Aviles- I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot in 2009. Before leaving for Kansas City that week, I went by my local card shop to see if he had this card. He did not, so he opened packs until he pulled this one for me.

Esteban German- Esteban signed this one for me at Royals Fanfest in 2009.

Taylor Teagarden- I got this one signed in Springdale, Arkansas in 2010 while Taylor was playing for the Frisco Rough Riders. He was nice enough to sign for me from the dugout after the game.

Mike Aviles- In case you couldn't tell by the super thin signature, this card was signed at the same time as the other Aviles card on here. It was a regular Sharpie, so I am not sure why it came out so thin. He must have just been grazing the surface of the card with it.

On a side note, I almost posted one of these cards of Mike Aviles as its own post. Then, after a quick search, I realized I posted his 2006 Bowman card way back in 2011. Yikes! It took me eight years to get from my 2006 cards to my 2008s.

The Rest of 2008 Topps Heritage, Part I

#7 Joey Gathright
#42 Jason Jennings
#96 Mark DeRosa
#123 Sam Fuld
#144 JR Towles
#152 Brian Bannister
#211 Mike Sweeney
#269 Horacio Ramirez
#417 Nate Robertson

Joey Gathright- I got this card signed by Joey by the Royals parking lot in 2008. Back then, he was signing just his initials. I got him five years later at an American Association game and he was signing his full last name at that point.

Jason Jennings- Speaking of the American Association, Jason did some time there in 2011. He signed this card for me at an Amarillo Sox game in 2011 while he was a member of the Grand Prairie AirHogs.

Mark DeRosa- I got this card signed at a Royals game in 2009. Mark was with the Indians at the time and he signed during batting practice.

Sam Fuld- Sam signed this card for me between games of a doubleheader in Des Moines, Iowa in 2009. He was playing for the Iowa Cubs.

JR Towles- JR signed this card for me after a Round Rock Express game in 2008.

Brian Bannister- I got this card signed at a Royals game in 2008.

Mike Sweeney- This card was given to me by Uncle Moe in 2009. I probably sent him some cards for his 2008 Topps set and he hooked me up with a few autos in return.

Horacio Ramirez- Horacio signed for me from the Royals parking lot after a game in 2008.

Nate Robertson- I got this card signed by Nate at a card show in Wichita in 2015.

2008 Topps Heritage, Jose Arredondo

#638 Jose Arredondo

Here is a card that I got signed at Kauffman Stadium in 2009. The Angels were in town that day and Jose was the first guy on the team that appeared in the dugout right before batting practice. He just walked out in a warm-up jacket with headphones on to catch the end of the Royals batting practice session. With the jacket on, I wasn't really sure who he was and that was before I had a smart phone. So, I thumbed through my cards and deduced that it had to be Jose. I got his attention and was right. He made me go to the opposite end of the dugout to sign, but I was able to get my spot back afterwards.

Jose pitched in the Majors for just parts of four seasons with the Angels and Reds. Over that time, he was 22-11 with a save and a 3.27 ERA. His best season was his 2008 rookie campaign with the Angels. That year, he racked up an impressive 10-2 record while working exclusively out of the bullpen. Plus, he had a 1.62 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 61 innings of work.

Jose last pitched in the Majors in 2012. I am guessing that some arm problems derailed his career as he missed all of the 2010 season. He was out of baseball after 2013, only to reappear in the Atlantic League in 2016 and 2017. It looks like his career is officially over now.

I love Jose's signature. It is not readable, but it definitely has some flair and a very legible #66.

2008 Topps Heritage, Alexi Casilla

#588 Alexi Casilla

Card number 588 is the first card of this set that I am posting. But, it is not because I have very few cards from this set signed. It is because I have thirteen cards with a number lower than 588, but they all feature dudes that I have been posted on here before. So, '08 Heritage is going to go by quick- two individual posts and two "rest of" posts.

This is the card of Alexi Casilla that I got signed outside of Kauffman Stadium in 2012. Alexi was still with the Twins at the time and he was nice enough to come over and sign this lone card for me after getting off of the team bus.

Alexi played in the Majors for parts of nine seasons with the Twins and Orioles. Over that time, he hit .247 with 12 homers and 157 RBI. His best season was with the Twinkies in 2008 when he hit .281 with 7 home runs and 50 RBI.

Alexi is still currently playing, but it is in independent ball. He is currently trying to steal first base with the York Revolution in the Atlantic League.

2007 Topps Heritage, Reggie Abercrombie

#398 Reggie Abercrombie

Here is another card of Reggie Abercrombie that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnuts game in 2016 while he was with the Winnipeg Goldeyes. I posted another card from that day about a week ago and it can be seen here. In that post, I talked extensively about Reggie's long career in the American Association. Unfortunately, his Major League career was not nearly as long.

Reggie spent parts of three seasons in the Majors with the Marlins and Astros. Over that time, he played in 180 games and he hit .223 with 9 home runs and 34 RBI. All but 34 of those games came with the Marlins, where he was a .208 hitter with 7 home runs and 29 RBI.

In his one season in Houston, Reggie got just 55 at-bats, but he responded by hitting .309 with a pair of dingers and driving in 5. He started the month of September with a .200 average, but finished strong to raise it to its final level. That apparently was not good enough as he wound back up in AAA the following season before landing in independent ball the year after that.

This is a good looking card, but it is a little bit off for a copy of the 1957 set. The non-posed shot is just wrong. It has a classic big head, but the head is not looking at the camera. It is looking at the pitcher. I am fairly certain that there are no cards in the '57 set where that is happening.

2006 Bowman Heritage, Nate Robertson

#28 Nate Robertson

Here is the second card of Nate Robertson that I have posted on here. I posted the first one three years ago after I got it signed at a free card show in Wichita. This one, on the other hand, was signed at a Kansas Stars game in 2016.

Nate and Adam LaRoche were the masterminds of the Kansas Stars. Nate had a venue and tournament, thanks to his Wichita Wingnuts hosting the NBC World Series at Lawrence Dumont Stadium, and Adam was freshly retired. The native Kansans got some friends together and the Kansas Stars were born. They debuted at the 2016 NBC World Series and took second place. They came back in 2017 and won it all. Then, in 2018, they were no more. Supposedly, the casino they stayed at, the Kansas Star, was booked up for the week of the tournament and they had no place to stay. But, I think that the powers that be just did not want a team of former pros, which included All Stars and Hall of Famers, whooping up on college kids. That is just my opinion, though.

The team stayed together this past summer as the Louisville Stars and played in the Bluegrass World Series. The Bluegrass World Series was created for the Stars and they competed against college level teams like they did at the NBC tournament. While Adam made the transition to Louisville, Nate did not.

Nate pitched in the Majors for parts of nine seasons with the Marlins, Tigers, and Phillies. Over that time, he was 57-77 with one save and a 5.01 ERA.

2005 Bowman Heritage, J.P. Howell

#SG-JH J.P. Howell

Here is a card that I picked up for cheap from COMC last year. This one set me back all of $1.50. I picked it up just because it showed JP as a Royal.

JP pitched more games for the Royals than I realized. He started fifteen games with them in 2005 and was 3-5 with a 6.19 ERA. He was then traded to the Devil Rays in 2006 for Joey Gathright. He started 18 games for the Rays in '06 and '07 before moving to the pen in '08 and establishing himself as a reliable reliever.

Over the course of his career, JP was 36-30 with 22 saves and a 3.83 ERA. His best season was with the Rays in 2008 when he went 6-1 with 3 saves, a 2.22 ERA and a career-high 92 strikeouts. He pitched for the Rays through the 2012 season before moving on to the Dodgers for four years. He spent last year, which looks like his final year, with the Blue Jays.

This is an odd card. I love Heritage cards and you cannot beat an on-card autograph. But, it just seems extremely odd that the players were told to sign the cards on the "No Pepper Games" sign.

I have no clue what is going on with JP's signature. Does he just sign Howell? Or is he trying to make his J and his P look like an H? Your guess is as good as mine.

2005 Bowman Heritage, Brad Corley

#290 Brad Corley

Two posts ago, I showed off the Gio Gonzalez auto that I got in a trade with a random reader for a pair of '05 Bowman Heritage Cesar Carrillo cards. When we made the deal, he gave me a list of cards that he had available for trade. I picked the Gio card and told him to throw in an '05 Bowman Heritage card that he had dupes of. This is that throw-in card.

Brad played in the minors for five seasons, never making it above AA. The second round pick out of Mississippi State reached the AA level in just his third year of pro ball, but could never get any higher. Despite hitting .262 in his first full season there, the Bucs cut ties with him in 2009 and he finished the season playing for the Rockies AA team. That was Brad's last year in baseball.

In parts of three season in AA, Brad hit .249 with 18 home runs and 81 RBI.

In my last post, I poked fun at the pose that Drew Butera was in. This one isn't much better, but it looks much cooler thanks to the Heritage effect.

2004 Bowman Heritage, Blake Hawksworth

#320 Blake Hawksworth

Here is a card that I got signed at the College World Series last summer. Blake was the pitching coach for Cal State Fullerton and I was able to get him to sign two cards for me prior to a game in which his pitching staff blew a lead against Oregon State. Somehow, this autograph got smudged and I have no clue how it happened.

It is not very often that I get autographs from coaches at the College World Series, but I have got a few. Off the top of my head, I have got Mike Benjamin, Mike Birkbeck, Ray Heyward, Lars Davis, and Chris Valaika. Considering that I have been going to the CWS every year for a dozen years now, you can see that autograph chances with guys that have cards are pretty scarce.

Blake pitched in the Majors for three seasons with the Cardinals and Dodgers. Over that span, he was 10-13 with a 4.07 ERA in 183.1 innings of work. His best season was with the Cards in his rookie season, 2009. That year, he was 4-0 in 30 appearances out of the pen and had an ERA of 2.03.

Cal State Fullerton seems to go through pitching coaches pretty rapidly. The year before Blake was the pitching coach, Chad Cordero had the role and some other guy had the job this season. Right now, the Titans do not even have a pitching coach listed on their website.

2007 Topps Heritage, Mike Jacobs

#414 Mike Jacobs

There is nothing quite like a card that looks like a 1958 Florida Marlins card to bring back a bit of nostalgia. While I love the Topps Heritage sets because of the cardstock and how well they come out looking signed, there are obviously a few drawbacks. But, to Topps credit, I think this card looks good. If there was a team in the 1950s sporting teal on their uniform, their '58 Topps card probably would have looked pretty similar to this.

This is the third card of Mike Jacobs that I have posted on here. The first one was posted over four years ago and the last one was posted in September. The signature on this card was obtained at Royals Fanfest in 2009.

To my surprise, Mike spent all of last season playing in Mexico. I know he hasn't appeared in a Major League game since 2012, but I figured someone would want a guy on their AAA team that could mash right-handed pitching. In 2014, Mike hit .299 with 19 home runs and 99 RBI for the D-Backs top minor league affiliate.

Though Mike only played with the Royals for one season, I really liked him. He might have struggled against lefties, but he was a great guy that was always willing to sign for fans. For me, I will take a .228 hitter with some pop, that is fan-friendly, over a .300 hitter, that is a dick, any day.

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 Heritage, James Shields

#237 James Shields

Here is a card that I got signed before a Royals day game in 2010 while James was still with Tampa Bay. It just happened to be the Royals annual Bark in the Park game where fans are encouraged to bring their dogs. At Kauffman Stadium, the fans get to parade their pooches around the warning track prior to the start of the game. James and a few other Rays pitchers were on the field getting their work in when the parade started. Once that happened, they were essentially stuck out there, so they just watched the show like everyone else. Afterwards, James came over to sign and I asked him if the Rays did a Bark in the Park. He wasn't sure, but he knew that there was rays there everyday, referring to the ray petting tank at Tropicana Field.

James pitched for Tampa Bay for seven seasons, going 87-73 for them along the way with a 3.89 ERA. He hit double digit wins for them every season except his first one and made his lone All Star team as a Ray in 2011. That season, he logged 249.1 innings while tossing 11 complete games with 4 shutouts. He struck out a career-high 225 batters while going 16-12 with a 2.82 ERA, also a career best.

Prior to the 2013 season, James was dealt to Kansas City with Wade Davis and Elliot Johnson for Wil Myers, Mike Montgomery, and Jake Odorizzi. Considering that Wade Davis is the dominant beast that he is, I would say that the Royals fared much better in that trade.

Unfortunately, my time of nearly posting daily has come to an end. Tomorrow, it is back to the bump and grind of the 48 hour work week. I really enjoyed having the time to pump out a bunch of posts over the past five weeks, but that will be grinding to a halt. Hopefully, I will be able to get two to three posts done in a week. We will just have to wait and see.

2007 Topps Heritage, Gil Meche

#127 Gil Meche

Here is the third card of Gil Meche that I have posted on here and the first one in five years. It is also the first one that shows him with the Royals.

When I posted the last card of Gil, it was prior to the 2011 season. He was entering into the final year of his five year/$55 million contract and he had a torn up shoulder. In that post, I talked about how much integrity he had for what he was trying to do. When he hurt his shoulder in 2010, he needed labrum surgery that would have cost him all of 2011. Rather than have the surgery and sit out the final year of his contract, he elected to pitch through the pain and discomfort out of the bullpen. So, he finished the 2010 season in the 'pen and planned on doing the same thing in 2011.

Then, during the offseason, Gil did something totally unexpected. He retired from baseball. Rather than cash in on one final payday, he walked away from the game he loved because wasn't the same pitcher that he was when the Royals signed him. Since he could not give it his all, he called it quits. Some people may say that he is a quitter for doing that, but I respect him for it. He could have ground his way through sixty innings of relief work that season and got paid heftily for it. But that was not what he was in Kansas City to do, so he turned down the money. You just don't see athletes do something like that any more.

So, Gil finished up his career with the Royals with a 29-39 record and a 4.27 ERA and 475 strikeouts. His best season with the club was in 2008 when he was 14-11 with a 3.98 ERA and 183 strikeouts.

I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot prior to a game in 2008.

2007 Topps Heritage, Gerald Laird

#117 Gerald Laird

Here is the second card that Gerald signed for me in 2008. Gerald was playing for the Rangers at the time and he signed for me during bating practice at Kauffman Stadium. I posted the first card back in October and it can be seen here.

2008 was my first year getting cards signed at ballparks, so I was a rookie then who mainly used black Sharpies. The black did not turn out that good on Gerald's '07 Topps card, but it sure looks good on this one. Blue would have looked good, too, but it's a little late for that.

Gerald spent two seasons with Detroit after being traded from the Rangers prior to the 2009 season. Playing in a career-high 135 games that season, Gerald hit just .225 with 4 home runs and 33 RBI. He saw less playing time the next season while hitting .207 with 5 homers and 25 RBI.

He joined St. Louis for the 2011 season as Yadier Molina's backup before rejoining the Tigers in 2012. He hit .282 in his return to Motown, the second best average he put up for his career.

2007 Topps Heritage, Ryan Madson

#116 Ryan Madson

Here is one of my more recent signatures as I was able to get this card signed at a Royals game this past summer. Ryan was out on the field playing catch during pregame at the day game I attended and he was nice enough to come over and sign afterwards. He signed all three cards I had, though one got a little screwed up in the exchange.

Before this past season, Ryan last pitched in the Major Leagues in 2011. Because of that, I was a little skeptical when he got invited to Spring Training last year. I was then shocked that he made the team. But, he earned his way into the pen and he did a better job than anyone could have imagined him doing.

He ended up pitching 63.1 innings and posting a 1-2 record with 3 saves, a 2.13 ERA and 58 strikeouts. That ERA was the best of his career. At one point in early August, I thought the wheels were about to fall off when he gave up seven earned runs over two separate outings where he did not record an out. Though he had 1.2 innings of scoreless ball between those outings, his ERA rose from 1.69 to 2.64. I figured his arm was worn out after not pitching for four years. But he bounced back and allowed just two earned runs over the next twenty appearances. He was then a little shaky in the postseason before settling down in the World Series, where he pitched three scoreless innings while striking out five.

Overall, it was a great season for a player who's career was pretty much over two years ago. Plus, he was able to turn his success last season into a three year contract with the A's for $22 million. That is quite a turnaround.

2007 Topps Heritage, Ross Gload

#72 Ross Gload

Here is the second card of Ross Gload that I have posted on here. The first one, an '05 Topps card, was posted back in 2011 and it can be seen here. The two cards were signed at the same time in the Royals parking lot in 2008.

The last card of Ross showed him with the White Sox, the third team he played for in the Majors. Originally drafted by the Marlins in the 1997 draft, he played in their system for three seasons before being dealt to the Cubs for Henry Rodriguez in 2000. Ross made his Major League debut that year and hit .194 with a home run and 3 RBI in 31 at-bats that September.

It was back to the minors in 2001 and he stayed there all season, even after being selected off waivers by the Rockies in September. Prior to the 2002 season, Ross was part of a three team trade, ten player trade that involved such players as Todd Zeile and Jeremy Burnitz. He ended up with the Mets, but it was short-lived as they sold him back to the Rockies five days later. He ended up getting 31 at-bats with them that season and he hit .258 with a home run and 4 RBI.

He was traded to the White Sox during Spring Training the following season and spent the entire year in AAA. He made up for it the following year by spending the entire season in the Majors. In his first full season, he hit .321 with 7 home runs and 44 RBI. He had an off 2005 where he hit only .197 in the Majors and he spent a majority of the season in AAA. But, he bounced back in '06 and hit .327 over 156 at-bats.

Prior to the 2007 season, Ross was traded to the Royals for Andy Sisco. He finished his White Sox career a .308 hitter on the South Side, with 10 dingers and 67 RBI.

2007 Topps Heritage, Mitch Maier

#39 Mitch Maier

Here is another card of Mitch Maier. The last one, posted three days ago, was signed at a Twins game in 2009. This one was signed a year earlier by the Royals parking lot. Those were the good ol' days when you could actually get signatures from the Royals parking lot.

Mitch last played in the Major Leagues in 2012 and played professionally through 2014, though that season was spent at AA. Last season, he transitioned into coaching with the Royals. Though he didn't have an official title, he bounced back and forth between the AA and AAA clubs helping them with hitting, outfield positioning, and coaching first base. I would assume he would be doing the same thing this year, but I saw a weird post on MLB Trade Rumors last month. On a minor league transactions post, it said that Mitch and the Royals have once again united and that it's not clear what role he will have as he coached last year, even though he still expressed a desire to play. It was a vague post that created more questions than answers. But, I would be willing to bet that he continues on the coaching path.

I think it is pretty funny that Topps lists Mitch's position as catcher. Originally drafted as a catcher in 2003, he gave up the position after one minor league season. The only positions Mitch ever saw time at in the Majors was outfield, first, and pitcher. He only pitched two innings and played first for two innings.

2007 Topps Heritage, Wilson Betemit

#16 Wilson Betemit

Here is the third card of Wilson Betemit that I have posted on here. I posted the first one about five years ago and the second one three and a half years ago. The first one can be seen here and the second one here.

The first two cards showed Wilson as a Brave. Prior to the 2006 trade deadline, the Braves shipped Wilson to Los Angeles for Willy Aybar and Danys Baez. Before the trade, Wilson had played in 233 games and he hit .281 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI. With the Dodgers, he played in 139 games and he hit .236 with 19 home runs and 50 RBI. So, while his batting average slipped a bit, he certainly stepped up his power numbers a bit. Somehow, he even managed more home runs than doubles as a Dodger. He must have just been swinging for the fences as he had more strikeouts that hits, something that did not happen in Atlanta.

About a full year after being dealt to LA, the Dodgers traded Wilson to the Yankees for Scott Proctor.

I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot in 2010.

2007 Bowman Heritage, Mike Thompson

#SG-MT Mike Thompson

This is the second Mike Thompson autograph that I have posted on here and both of them were given to me. I posted the first card of him back 2011. That card was given to me by Rod, of Padrographs. This one was given to me by Matt, from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius. I sent him some random cards way back when and he repaid me by sending me a couple of random autographs.

I have mixed feelings about this Signs of Greatness insert set. The design isn't bad for a signature set with the obvious white signing area. But, this Bowman Heritage set looks great signed, so the white signing area may be a little overdone. It probably comes in handy for a card of a player in a darker jersey. But, it is unnecessary on a card with a white or grey. Still, I like the look of this card better than the first Mike Thompson card I posted.

Mike last pitched professionally in 2010. After being out of baseball for a year, he joined the Atlantic League's Somerset Patriots for one season. He started 11 games for them and went 4-3 with a 4.29 ERA.

If I did not know any better, I would think that the first letter in Mike's name started with a "Z".

2007 Bowman Heritage, Greg Porter

#BHP96 Greg Porter

This is a card that I got signed signed by Greg Porter at a Wingnuts spring training game in 2009. Every year, the Nuts open their spring schedule with a game against one of the local colleges in Wichita. In 2009, they played Kansas Newman, an NAIA school. My best friend's brother-in-law was playing for Newman at the time, so we went down to the game to see him play. I took a few cards with me and this is one of the ones I got signed that day.

This is the second card of Greg Porter that I have posted. The first one was posted just a couple of months ago and that card can be seen here. I have one more Greg Porter card to post after this one and it should be up in a few days.

Greg was drafted by the Reds in the third round of the 1998 draft out of high school. He did not sign, however, and instead went to Texas A&M. He played there for three seasons before being drafted by the Angels in the 45th round of the 2001 draft. I am not sure what happened while he was in college, but his draft stock sure plummeted while at College Station.