The Rest of 2008 Upper Deck First Edition

#271 Rob Johnson
#278 Luis Mendoza
#297 JR Towles
#327 Kerry Wood
#408 Oliver Perez
#422 Wilson Betemit
#425 Bobby Abreu

I am not really sure what is going on with this set. I guess that it was Upper Deck's version of Topps Opening Day in that it lacks foil (although '08 Opening Day had foil). While all seven cards are foil-less, the cards come in two variations. The first three cards are from the main release of First Edition and the cards are glossy and they say "First Edition". The last four cards are from First Edition Update and the cards have no gloss and they do not say "First Edition". I have no clue why they switched up between the two releases, but I obviously prefer the non-gloss cards for getting signatures.

Rob Johnson- I didn't have much to choose from when I got Rob's autograph at a Rangers game in 2008. So, it was this card and his base Upper Deck card.

Luis Mendoza- Luis never pitched for the Red Sox. But, I guess this was the only photo Upper Deck had of him when they decided to make this card. Luis signed this one for me after the Royals home opener in 2012.

JR Towles- JR must have been a bigger prospect than Rob Johnson because I had a lot more options for cards with JR than I did with Rob. JR signed for me after a Round Rock Express game in 2008.

Kerry Wood- I got Kerry to sign at a Royals game in 2009 while he was with the Indians. Needless to say, but I was super-excited to get his autograph.

Oliver Perez- Speaking of the Indians, Ollie signed this card for me just last season when Cleveland came to The K. I saw the Indians play in Kansas City twice last year and Ollie signed both times. I took three cards to get signed the first time and he signed two of them. I got the third card signed when I saw them again a month later.

Wilson Betemit- I got Wilson to sign this card for me from the Royals parking lot in 2010.

Bobby Abreu- Bobby signed for me during batting practice at The K in 2009 while he was with the Angels.

2008 Tristar Projections, Eddie Kunz

#243 Eddie Kunz

In 2009, I went down to Houston for my cousin's wedding. While it was before the baseball season officially started, it was really good timing because the Astros were in town. They had wrapped up their Grapefruit League schedule and went home to Minute Maid Park for two exhibition games before the season got underway. During one of those games, Minute Maid hosted Astros Fanfest.

Strosfest was way different than Royals Fanfest. The biggest difference was that it was held during a ballgame. Because of that, no current Astros players participated. So, it was only alumni that signed. Some signed for free and some costs money. It was a rather busy afternoon with running around getting alumni autographs, a baseball game in the background, and a card show at the event. But, it was a great time and I got a lot of cool autographs from the alumni signings, including a couple of '81 Donruss cards. Plus, I pulled this card out of a pack from the card show.

Eddie was drafted by the Mets at the end of the first round of the 2007 draft. In 2008, he was making his Major League debut with them and would appear in four games and post a 13.50 ERA with a strikeout in 2.2 relief innings. Sadly, that would be the only time he pitched in the Majors.

Usually, when a players gets to the top that quick, they tend to stick around a bit. But, not Eddie. He spent 2009 in AAA before spending all of 2010 in AA. Prior to the 2011 season, he was dealt to the Padres and would repeat AA. 2012 was split between AA and AAA and Eddie called it quits after that season.

In case you are wondering, Eddie's one Major League strikeout was Marlins pitcher, Josh Johnson.

2008 Goudey, Billy Wagner

#GG-BW Billy Wagner

Here is a card that I pulled out of a pack in 2008. And, of course, the pack was a retail pack from Wal-Mart. Ninety percent of the packs I get are retail and all of my best pack pulled autos came out of retail packs.

Billy pitched in the Majors for sixteen seasons with the Astros, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox, and Braves. Over that time, he had a 47-40 record with 422 saves and a 2.31 ERA. Billy made seven All Star teams during his career, was in the top five of saves in the National League four times, and made the postseason seven times. His 422 saves rank him sixth all-time.

Billy was fairly consistent his whole career, minus the postseason where he had a 10.03 ERA in 11.2 innings of work. But, the one season that stands out to me is his final season in 2010 with the Braves. Billy turned thirty-nine during his one season in Atlanta and had a phenomenal year. That season, he was 7-2 with 37 saves and a 1.43 ERA. Better yet, he struck out 104 batters in just 69.1 innings. It was his first 100 strikeout season since 2003. Way to go out on top, Billy!

Billy has been eligible for the Hall of Fame for four years now. He stayed in the 10-11% voting range for the first three years before jumping up to 16.7% this year. It was a nice spike, but he has a long ways to go to reach the magical 75% plateau.

2006 Topps, Miguel Cairo

#204 Miguel Cairo

Here is the second card that I got signed by Miguel Cairo at Spring Training in 2017. Miguel was helping out the Reds at the time and I got him to sign three cards for me after the team's minor league workout. I posted the first one back in May and it can be seen here.

The first card I posted showed Miguel with the third team he played for, the Devil Rays. After three seasons with the Rays, he spent half a year with the Cubs, two and a half with the Cardinals, and one year with the Yankees before joining the Mets on the other side of town. His tenure in Queens lasted just one season before shifting back over to the Bronx for another year and half. But, while with the Mets, Miguel managed a .251 average with 2 home runs and 19 RBI in 100 games.

I was shocked to see that Miguel played parts of seventeen seasons in the Major Leagues. But, he was around for a while and I got to see him play eleven times between 2000-2008. I saw him in uniform with the Devil Rays, Cubs, Cardinals, Yankees, and Mariners. Over those eleven games, he hit just .143 with a home run and four RBI. I also saw him man five different positions as well as DH and pinch hit in those contests.

After his second stint with the Yankees, he would also go on to play with the Cardinals (again), Mariners, Phillies, and Reds.

2005 Bowman, Drew Butera

#BDP44 Drew Butera

Drew Butera played for the Royals for parts of four seasons. Over that time, this is one of the two cards that I got him to sign for me. Granted, he does not have a lot of cards out there and I got him to sign a card for me once when he was a Dodger. But still, two cards in four years just goes to show how hard it has gotten to get Royals autographs in Kansas City.

I got this card signed by Drew at Royals Fanfest in 2016. The Royals were coming off their World Series championship and Fanfest was a madhouse. Because of the outrageous number of people attending the event, I did not bother standing in line for autographs. It just did not make sense to get in a line for an unknown signer that was going to show up in two hours. Luckily, I was able to snag some alumni autos at the alumni line whenever they showed up. Plus, I got a few alums by the wiffle ball field when they went over there to help the kids out. Right when we got in the doors, my kid got Mike Moustakas by the wiffle ball field, but he did not sign for me. But, I was able to get Drew over there later on that day and it was the only card I got signed at Fanfest by a current player. It was an odd Fanfest for me to say the least. But, that is what happens when your favorite team is a World Champ.

Despite being drafted by the Mets in the fifth round of the 2005 draft, Drew never played in the Majors with the club. He played in their system for two years before getting traded to the Twins for Luis Castillo.

This has got to be one of the worst poses for a catcher. Despite the lack of catcher equipment, it really does not look like Drew is playing catcher. What is that pose supposed to represent? Is it him catching a pitch out or a throw home from an infielder for a force out?

1989 Score, Bob McClure

#572 Bob McClure

Here is the second of three cards that Bob McClure signed for me at a San Francisco Giants game in 2015. Bob was the pitching coach for the visiting Phillies and he signed for me by their bullpen prior to the game. I posted the first card that he signed for me in August and that card can be seen here.

Bob pitched for the Mets during the second half of the 1988 season. After being released by the Expos in early July, the Mets picked him up eleven days later. With the Mets, he was 1-0 with a save and a 4.09 ERA in 14 contests. He walked 2 and struck out 7 in his 11 innings of work.

He was released after that season and would go on to sign with the Angels the following year.

With the Phillies currently looking for a new manager, Bob could possibly be looking for a new job next year if the new manager wants to go in a "different direction" with his pitching coach.

1985 Topps, Darryl Strawberry

#278 Darryl Strawberry

Last summer, my dad and I were heading to a Wichita Wingnuts game. When we got off the interstate, my dad saw a sign by a church with Darryl Strawberry's picture on it. He pointed it out to me, but it was too late and I did not see it. My dad only caught part of he sign and he knew Darryl was coming to Wichita and that was about it. When I got to the ballpark, I hit up Google to see what it was all about. What I learned was that Darryl was going to be preaching at that church. I am not much of a church-goer myself, but I instantly knew I was going to be in church in Wichita that Sunday.

The church it was at did a really good job hosting the event. They invited everyone to wear their favorite jersey that day and to stay after the service for ballpark snacks and to meet Darryl. They even lead off the service by singing "Put Me In Coach". Darryl preached for about an hour and, even though I don't think it was the best message for the under 12 crowd, it was still a good service.

Everyone there wanted to meet Darryl after the event. Somehow, we ended up towards the front of the line. That was a good thing as it was the slowest moving line ever. There was a professional photographer there taking free pictures and that was what was slowing the line down. We were about forty people deep and it took us about forty minutes to get through it. I felt sorry to 200+ people behind us.

But, we made it through and Darryl was kind enough to sign a card for each of us and take a picture with us. When I post the next card of Darryl, I will show the picture, too.

When we were heading back home that day, my wife was looking at the signed cards and she commented on this one. She was wondering why I got this card signed since it was so dinged up. I explained to her that I pulled this card out of a pack thirty years ago when I was six. When I think of a Darryl Strawberry card, this is the one I think of and that is why I wanted it signed. Luckily, this card looks better than most of cards I have from then.

1981 Donruss, John Stearns

#35 John Stearns

Here is another through the mail request that I sent out in 2014. If I remember correctly, John was working with the Tacoma Rainiers at the time. I sent this card to him at the tail end of the season and I got it back a week later.

John played in the Major Leagues for eleven seasons. After being the number two pick in the 1973 draft, John made his Major League debut with the Phillies the following year. He got into just one game for them and went 1-2. The Phils traded him to the Mets after that season and John would go on to spend the rest of his career with them. During that time, he was the team's primary catcher from 1977-1982 and he had a .259 average with 46 home runs and 312 RBI as a Met.

His best season was the 1978 campaign. That year, John hit .264 with career-highs in home runs (15), RBI (73), and stolen bases (25). John made four All Star teams with the Mets, but he did not make the '78 team.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #180

1964 Topps, Duke Carmel

#44 Duke Carmel

Here is the second of two cards that Duke Carmel signed for me through the mail in 2013. I posted the first card two months ago and it can be seen here. That card was Duke's 1960 rookie card with the Cardinals. I was also able to pick up this sweet-looking Mets card of him at the same card show to include in the TTM.

Duke, a New York native, played for the Mets for only the second half of the 1963 season after St. Louis traded him there at the end of July. He got into 47 games as a Met, playing center field and first base. Over those 47 games, Duke hit .235 with 5 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs, and 18 RBI.

He spent all of '64 in the minors, but resurfaced in the Majors in '65 as a Yankee. He played in just six games with them and went 0-8 at the plate. That was the last time he would play in the Majors. For his career, Duke hit .211 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI.

This is the oldest signed Mets card that I own.

2006 Topps, Xavier Nady

#102 Xavier Nady

This is the third time I have posted a card of Xavier Nady on here, but the last two times were five years ago. Those two cards were Padrographs given to me by Rod. This one I got in-person in 2013 in Des Moines, Iowa when Xavier and his Omaha Storm Chasers were visiting the Iowa Cubs. Xavier was really good about signing, which you do not always get from a veteran Major Leaguer spending the year in AAA. But, he signed a bunch that day and signed all three cards that I had of him.

Though not as well traveled as Kenny Lofton, who I posted yesterday, Xavier did move around quite a bit. He started out with the Padres and spent parts of four seasons with them. That was his longest tenure with any franchise. Then it was off to the Mets for half a season before being dealt to the Pirates. He spent two seasons in Pittsburgh before being traded to the Yankees. He then played for the Cubs, Diamondbacks, Nationals, and Giants in a three year span before spending 2013 in AAA. Last year, he made it back up to the big leagues for a bit with his original team, the Padres. It currently looks like Xavier is not playing this year, so he might have called it a career. The most recent news article on him that I can find is about him opting out of a contract with the Mariners last season.

So, if his career really is done, here are his final numbers. 12 seasons, .268 average, 104 home runs, and 410 RBI. His best season was his 2008 season that was split between the Pirates and Yankees. That year he hit .305 with career highs in homers (25) and RBI (97).

1998 Pacific Paramount, Brian McRae

#207 Brian McRae

Many months ago, I posted some minor league cards that I got Brian McRae to sign for me at Royals Fanfest earlier this year. Here is the final card that he signed for me that day. I bought this card of Brian because I did not have any Mets cards signed by him. I had Royals cards and Cubs cards, but no Mets cards. That is not an issue any more.

Brian played for the Mets for about two seasons. He was traded there towards the end of the 1997 campaign and played with the team before being shipped off to Colorado nearly two years later. In his one full season in New York, he hit .264 with a career high 21 home runs and 79 RBI.

Brian was hitting just .221 when he was dealt to the Rockies. His tenure in Colorado lasted all of seven games before his was sent to Toronto. He finished the season there and then called it a career.

As far as I can tell, there is not a Rockies card of Brian. There is a Blue Jays card, but it is from the 2000 MLB Showdown game. I may have to try to track one of those down for Fanfest this year. I am sure Brian will be there. Maybe he can bring his dad with him.

1996 Collector's Choice, Doug Henry

#627 Doug Henry

Here is one of my most recent Doug Henry signatures. Doug is the bullpen coach for the Royals and he is one of my two go-to guys on slow 'graphing days.

Between the Royals late success this season and getting married, it was kind of a strange end of the year for 'graphing The K this season. Over the final five games I went to, I got two cards and one ball signed. Doug Henry signed the cards and David Ortiz signed the ball.

It all started in early September when we went to The K for my bachelor party. We got to the park about three hours before gametime. While I might have been able to catch the second Red Sox team bus about then, that was not the mission. We were there strictly to tailgate. And tailgate we did. We might have overdone it a bit as most of us do not remember the game. But, that is what bachelor parties are for, right?

Then, we went to the last Royal's regular season home game of the season against Detroit. I was a few weeks away from getting married and had no time to get cards ready for the Tigers. But, I took some Royals cards with me to see if I could get them signed at the pregame autograph session. I had only been to one Sunday autograph session this summer and Billy Butler and Bruce Chen signed. I had seen some other ones and they almost always had one starting pitcher and one position player signing. But, for the final one of the year, they had Dusty Coleman and Francisco Pena. I no cards of either guy with me, so we got out of line and I settled with Doug Henry.

The last three games I went to were all playoff games, one from each series. We did some form of tailgating at each of those, so autographs were not a priority. But, once I found out where the Fox pregame booth was set up at game one of the World Series, getting a ball signed by David Ortiz turned into a must. I stood around for some time, but I eventually came out on top.

I picked this card up from COMC this summer so I could get a card signed by Doug that was not a Brewers card. He apparently has a Topps Total card that pictures him as a Royal. I need to find that card before next summer.

1996 Best Binghamton Mets, Brian Edmondson

#6 Brian Edmondson

Here is another minor league card that was given to me by Ryan, from the Great Orioles Autograph Project. This was part of a small lot of random autos and Royals that Ryan sent me a couple of years ago.

When I got this card, I assumed that Brian Edmondson was just one of the many minor league players that never made it to the Major Leagues. It turns out that I was wrong.

Brian was originally drafted in the third round by the Tigers in 1991. He advanced up to AA with them before landing in the Mets organization. He spent three years in the Mets system and in his final year, he posted a 1.23 ERA at AA and a 2.90 ERA in AAA. The Braves took notice and selected Brian in the Rule V Draft after the season.

He made his Major League debut with the Braves in 1998 and was 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA in 10 games. The Braves designated him for assignment in June and he was picked up by the Marlins, whom he finished the season with. He was back with the Marlins again in '99 and pitched in 68 games for them, all out of the bullpen.

He seems to have missed all of the 2000 season, but played for three more seasons after that in the minor leagues. For his career, Brian pitched in 121 Major League games and was 9-12 with 1 save and a 4.98 ERA.

1992 Leaf, Bill Pecota

#244 Bill Pecota

Here is the fourth Bill Pecota card that I have posted from this year's Royals Fanfest. The first three featured Bill as a Royal. Now I finally have one of him as a Met.

The reason I wanted a signed Mets card of him is because he was packaged into the deal that is widely considered as one of the worst in Royals history. On December 11th, 1991, Bill and Bret Saberhagen were shipped off to New York for Kevin McReynolds, Keith Miller, and Gregg Jefferies.

The funny thing about that trade is that the trade really didn't benefit either team. Saberhagen, the centerpiece of the deal, would pitch four seasons in New York and pitch in twenty or more games once. Pecota played there just one season and hit just .227. For Kansas City, McReynolds lasted two seasons and hit .246 with just 24 home runs and 91 RBI. Jefferies only lasted a season and he hit .285 with 75 RBI. Miller played with KC for four seasons. But, after 416 at-bats and a .284 average the first year, he would see just 138 at-bats over the next three years.

So, all in all, the trade was a push.

Over Bill's career, he played every position at least once. He caught once, pitched and played center twice, and played the corner outfield spots less than twenty times. Most of his time was spent playing infield.

1981 Donruss, Tom Hausman

#396 Tom Hausman

Next up is the Tom Hausman card that I got signed through the mail. I sent this card to Tom in January and I had it back eight days later.

Tom pitched in the big leagues for parts of seven seasons. He mainly played for the Mets, though he did pitch in a handful of games with the Brewers and three games for the Braves. He was mostly used out of the bullpen, but he did start a few games in the first half of his career.

1980 was the season where Tom was used the most. He appeared in 55 games for the Mets that season (4 starts) and pitched in a career-high 122 innings. He finished the season 6-5 with a save and a 3.98 ERA and 53 strikeouts.

For his career, Tom was 15-23 with 3 saves and a 3.80 ERA.

This is one of the few action shots from this set that was not taken in Chicago.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 143/100

1981 Donruss, Pat Zachry

#275 Pat Zachry

Next up is this Pat Zachry card that I got signed through the mail. I sent this card to Pat in January and I had it back twelve days later.

Pat pitched in the Majors for ten seasons with four different clubs- the Reds, Mets, Dodgers, and Phillies. He split his time between starting and relieving and he finished his career with a 69-67 record with 3 saves and a 3.52 ERA.

His best season was his rookie year with the Reds in 1976. That season, he went 14-7 with a 2.74 ERA and 143 strikeouts. He even racked up two more victories in the post-season. The season was good enough to give him a piece of the National League Rookie of the Year Award, as he had to share it with the Padres Butch Metzger.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 131/100

1977 Topps, Bud Harrelson

#44 Bud Harrelson

I got this card from an unlikely place. It came out of a repack box. It wasn't even your standard repack box with a mixture of somewhat recent packs mixed in with junk wax. It was one of those lots of a hundred random cards that you can get at Target. It probably isn't technically a repack box, but I don't know what else to call it.

Anyway, I was visiting my dad one day over the summer and he was proud to announce to me that he had got me some cards. I was curious to see which Topps brand he had bought me and then was a little disappointed when I saw what he had actually bought. I gave him a hard time about knowing better than to buy those things, but he didn't care. He was bored. So I flipped through all of the cards and it was mainly standard junk stuff. But I did come across one 1981 Donruss card and this card.

I was a little surprised to find a card from the '70s in the lot. It is not in great shape, but who cares. I was fairly certain that Bud was a good TTM signer, so I grabbed this card and the '81 Donruss card and brought them home. The rest of the 98 cards were left at my dad's house.

I sent this card to Bud in early November and I had it back ten days later.

Bud spent sixteen seasons in the Majors. He was mostly a Met, though he did also play for the Phillies and Rangers at the end of his career. He was a light-hitting, slick-fielding shortstop that played in two All Star Games and won one Gold Glove Award. He hit .236 for his career and tallied 7 home runs, the first of which was of the inside-the-park variety at Forbes Field in 1967.

Has anyone found any 2013 Topps in their neck of the woods yet? I haven't been to a card shop, but the two Wal-Marts I have been to did not have any.

1974 Topps, Jon Matlack

#153 Jon Matlack

This is another card that I unlocked from the Topps Diamond Giveaway. Unlike most of the others I have posted, though, I had a little trouble getting this card signed through the mail. I originally sent this card to Jon last November to the address that is listed on SCN, but it came back returned to sender. I then waited around for a few months waiting for a new address for Jon or a success from the address that I used. I finally saw that someone got an autograph back from him from the original address this past September and I resent this card to him at his Texas home address. Just over a month later, I got my cards back signed and they were postmarked from Syracuse, new York. SCN is still listing the Texas address as his current mailing address and someone got a successful return from him about a week ago.

John pitched in the Majors for 13 years with the Mets and Rangers. He was the 1972 Rookie of the Year and he was a three-time All Star in the mid '70s and was even the MVP of the 1975 mid-summer classic. His best season was with the Mets in '76 when he finished the season 17-10 with a 2.95 ERA.

I traded for this card on the Million Card Giveaway site. I can't remember which card I originally had, but I know that it was a Reggie Jackson playoff or World Series card from 1974. I knew that I was never going to get that card signed, so I looked into trading it. I saw that Jon had a playoff card from the '74 set, but I could not find it by searching for it on the site. I found this one though, and I figured that this one would end up looking really nice once signed.

1972 Topps, Duffy Dyer

#127 Duffy Dyer

This is a card that I got signed just because I wanted to get an '81 Donruss card signed by Duffy. I had the '81 Donruss card in my collection. But, when I saw this card of him on Checkoutmycards.com, I decided I needed to have this card signed, too. So, I bought it and sent it to him right after Thanksgiving. He had both cards back to my house a week later.

Duffy played in the Majors for parts of fourteen seasons with the Mets, Pirates, Expos, and Tigers. He was mainly a back-up catcher, having only played in 80 or more games a season twice. His best season probably came with the Mets in 1972 when he had career highs in doubles (17), home runs (8), and RBI (36). That was also the only season in his career that he got over 300 at-bats. For his career, Duffy was a .221 hitter with 30 homers.

How could you not be a fan of a ballplayer named Duffy?

I am really starting to like getting '72 Topps cards autographed. Prior to this past summer, I only had two signed. Now I am up to eight. I got one more to post in my next post and I am looking forward to having five straight posts of '72 Topps showing on my blog.

2006 Topps, Brian Bannister

#642 Brian Bannister

Here is the card that almost killed off this blog.

Back in January, I was posting fairly regularly. I wasn't posting daily like I used to, but I was pumping out two to four posts a week. I had a lot going on in my life at the time and still do, so this blog wasn't a top priority. But, I was still finding time to get some posts in whenever I could. Then it was time to post this card.

I cropped the scan of this card, started a new post, and then I could not think of anything to write. I said screw it and started over the next day and the exact same thing happened. I did the same thing the following day and then ended up going a whole month without posting on here.

I guess the main reason for my writers block was because I had posted a card of Brian about a month and a half earlier. In that post, I commented on how Brian was always a great signer when he was with the Royals and that he has one of the nicest and most consistant signatures in baseball. And for some reason, that was all I really had to say about Brian. Never mind the fact that this is only the second Brian Bannister card that I have posted and I still probably have another half dozen or so cards of him as a Royal. But, I will get to them as they come.

In my last Bannister post, I commented how Brian left Japan after last year's earthquake and tsunami. I figured that he must have been a free agent. But, according to Wikipedia, Brian has retired from baseball and is now running a photography studio in Phoenix. I didn't see that one coming.

As for me, I am doing well. I have moved towns and am living with my girlfriend and her son and I could not be happier. I have been to two Royals games so far (both obviously losses) and I got twenty-six cards signed between the two games.

I'm not quite used to the new blogger, so I hope this post comes out looking like it is supposed to.