2009 Upper Deck, Royals Team Leaders

#459 Zack Greinke/Gil Meche/David DeJesus

Anytime you can get a card signed by two players, it feels like an accomplishment. But completing a card with more than two players is almost indescribable. Sometimes, the stars have to align just right and they all came together to get this card done.

Gil was the first player to sign this card for me. The card came out in 2009 and, to be honest, I thought that I would get all three guys that year. That year, the Royals parking lot was a great place to get sigs as the players arrived to the park. That was how I got Gil and how I thought I would get the other two. But, for whatever reasons, Zack and David eluded me the rest of the season.

Fast forward to the following year. That is when I got Greinke on this card and I got him early- at Royals Fanfest. Oddly, the only sig on the card in blue is from a signing and the two black ones are provided by me. Oh, the good old days. It looks like Greinke's sig missed a beat after hitting that foil Royals logo, but it still came out OK. At least it is in blue. I just wish he signed on his photo and not over that big blue border.

It wouldn't be until 2013 that I could finish off this card with DeJesus. By that time, David was with the Cubs and the family made our maiden voyage to Arizona for Spring Training. We took in a Mariners night game there where they hosted the Cubbies. David, like usual, was real cool and signed for everyone when he came out of the game and passed through "Autograph Alley". When I handed him this card, he looked at it and actually said "ahh, cute". It is still the only interaction I have ever had with a player where cute came out of their mouth.

While getting this card done was somewhat of a milestone that night, the highlight of the evening came before the game. David passed through Autograph Alley, where I had set up with the fam. I made sure my kid, who was seven at the time, had a card of David to try to get signed. David passed through on the way to the field and stopped to sign a few autographs. He only signed a couple and then announced that he would get everyone after the game. My boy was right by him and seemed devastated that he wasn't going to get his card signed and cried out "can I PLEASE have your autograph?" in the most desperate voice I have ever heard from him in his life, before or since. David just chuckled and told him he would get him after the game, which he did. Seven years later, my wife and I still joke about that desperate plea from our son.

2010 Bowman Platinum, Mike Trout

#BPA-MT Mike Trout

Here is the best pull of my life! I had the pleasure of pulling this out of a pack in 2010 that I purchased at Target. At the time, Mike was the top rated prospect in baseball, so I was pretty happy to get this card. Ten years, eight All Star teams, and three MVPs has really amped up my appreciation for this card and I doubt that I will ever pull another autograph of a generational player again.

Mike's signature looks a lot different now than it did when he signed this card. He now has more loops and he doesn't lift his pen between his first and last name. He added his number to his signature for a bit, but that has been dropped off. Yesterday, I stumbled upon a Twitter post that chronicles the evolution of Mike's signature.

I have had the pleasure to see Mike play seven times. One of those was a Spring Training game in Tempe and one was at Safeco Field. The rest all occurred at Kauffman Stadium. Of the five games at The K, three were regular season games, one was the 2012 All Star Game, and one was the last postseason game that Mike appeared in. In case you aren't sure, that playoff game was back in 2014.

1981 Donruss, Reggie Jackson

#228, 348, and 468 Reggie Jackson

I'm still alive and kicking! For whatever reason, I gave up on this blog. I guess a dozen years of blogging can do that to a person. But now, there really isn't a whole lot going one and I am stuck at home more than I would like. So, I figured I would dust this page off and randomly post some cards.

Here are my three most recent additions. With my Spring Training trip getting canceled and no sign of the season starting, I have had a hard time getting cards signed. Relief came on Monday when these three cards and Dave Winfield's 81D made it back from a private signing. The Jacksons were signed on the 3rd and I was starting to get a little worried about them. But they finally made it home and I could not be more happy with the results.

I have been officially working on this set for five or six years now and these new additions get me to 433 signed cards. Only 167 more to go! Reggie was one of the few guys in it with three cards and I am glad that I don't have to worry about him anymore.

Sorry about the crappy image. I normally scan my cards. But, I just posted these on Twitter the other day and figured I would save some time and work off of that photo.

1952 Topps, Irv Noren

#40 Irv Noren

Next up in the '52 Topps procession is this beautiful looking horizontal card of Irv Noren. I sent this card, along with ten bucks, to Irv in October and I had it back two weeks later. Sadly, Irv passed away three weeks after I got the card back.

Irv played in the Majors for eleven seasons with the Senators, Yankees, A's, Cardinals, Cubs, and Dodgers. Over that time, he was a .275 hitter with 65 home runs and 453 RBI. His best season was probably his rookie campaign in Washington. That year, he hit .295 with career-highs in homers (14) and RBI (98). Despite those impressive numbers, Irv did not receive a single vote for Rookie of the Year. Four years later, with the Yankees, Irv would get his lone All Star team nomination in a season in which he finished with a .319 average, 14 homers, and 66 RBI.

Irv appeared in three World Series as a Yankee, all against the Dodgers. The Yanks triumphed in two of the three and Irv hit .148 in eleven World Series games. He was also a member of the Yankees 1956 championship team, but missed most of the season and the Series to injuries.

Irv played in three NBA games in 1946 with the Chicago American Gears.

The Rest of 2008 Upper Deck Timelines

#85 Rico Washington
#95 Yaz Yabuta
#186 Chris Smith
#196 Joakim Soria
#328 Brandon Jones

This set was basically an Upper Deck version of Topps Archives. While some of the cards had their own borders made just for the set (see Washington and Yabuta), most of the cards were inspired by some Upper Deck cards that came out in the '90s.

Rico Washington- Rico signed this card for me at a Winguts game in 2010 while he was with the Kansas City T-Bones.

Yaz Yabuta- Yaz signed this card for me after a Royals game in 2009. He was in the parking lot and about to hop in his card before coming over and signing two cards for me.

Chris Smith- Chris spent a season playing for the Wingnuts in 2013, which is when he signed this card for me. When I last posted a card of Chris in 2015, he was pitching in the Padres system. The following year, he made it back to the Majors with the A's and pitched in 27 games with them between 2016 and 2017. He finished his career with a 1-4 record with a 5.41 ERA.

Joakim Soria- Joakim signed this card for me from the Royals parking lot in 2010. That was probably the last year that you could get a decent amount of autographs from the Royals lot.

Brandon Jones- I got this card signed by Brandon in 2014 at a Wingnuts game. He was playing for the Sioux Falls Canaries at the time.

The Rest of 2008 Upper Deck Heroes

#88 Brad Penny
#142 Felix Pie

I guess this set was kind of an Upper Deck version of Topps Heritage. In the early '90s, Upper Deck had Heroes insert cards that focused on a different player each year and this set mimics those inserts. The 2008 version was a 200 card set that featured past and present stars along with some rookies. And the set had about a bazillion parallels of numbered variations. You could pull base cards numbered to 25, 49, 99, 149, 199, 249, 299, 399, and 499. It was a little ridiculous.

Brad Penny- I got this card signed by Brad at a Twins game in 2012 while he was with the Tigers. I missed out on getting a card signed by Brad while he was on a rehab assignment in Oklahoma City in 2008 because I did not know about the assignment. So, I was happy to make up for that at the Twins game and was pretty excited to get a relic signed by him. Five years later, I would add six more autographs from him to my collection when he played for the Kansas Stars.

Felix Pie- This is the third and final card that I got signed by Felix at an Orioles game in 2009. I was thinking that I got an Orioles card signed by Felix, but that is not the case. After having about 100 Cubs cards made of him in 2007 and '08, he only got three base cards in 2009 as an Oriole.

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.

The Rest of 2008 Upper Deck, Part II

#407 Doug Davis
#427 Luis Hernandez
#446 Felix Pie
#518 Reggie Abercrombie
#526 Mark Teahen
#549 Delwyn Young
#670 Vincente Padilla
#712 Elliot Johnson
#98-JK Jason Kendall

Here are the last of the 2008 Upper Deck base set.

Doug Davis- Doug signed this card for me at an Oklahoma Redhawks game in 2012. He was playing for the visiting Omaha Storm Chasers.

Luis Hernandez- Luis signed this card for me after batting practice at The K in 2009 during his one season with the Royals. He would later go on to play for the Wichita Wingnuts. But, by the time he was in Wichita, all of my cards of him were already signed.

Felix Pie- I was able to get Felix by the Orioles dugout on my last visit to Camden Yards in 2009.

Reggie Abercrombie- Though he never played for the Wingnuts, he played in the American Association long enough for me to get multiple autographs from him throughout the years. This one was obtained in 2016 while he was with Winnipeg. He was still with the club this past season at the age of thirty-eight.

Mark Teahen- Mark was always a great signer while with the Royals. This is one of the cards that he signed for me by the Royals parking lot in 2008.

Delwyn Young- I got Delwyn to sign two years ago while he was a member of the second, and last, incarnation of the Kansas Stars.

Vincente Padilla- Vincente signed for me at a Royals game in 2008. His Rangers were taking batting practice at the time.

Elliot Johnson- Elliot signed for me at a Scranton-Wilkes/Barre Yankees game in 2009. He was playing for the visiting Durham Bulls at the time.

Jason Kendall- Jason worked as a special adviser for the Royals for a few seasons and I was able to get this card signed outside The K in 2013. That day, I had just this one card of him and it was on the same page as two Emilio Bonifacio cards. When I gave him my book to sign, he said "dude, that's not me". When I pointed out his card, he was like "oh, I was going to say I'm not black".

2008 Upper Deck, Scott Hairston

#633 Scott Hairston

Here is a card that was given to me by Rod, from Padrographs, many years ago. If I remember correctly, it was in his initial package he sent me that included over 125 signed Padre cards. That has been over ten years ago now. It is truly hard to believe that I have been at this blog for that long.

As for Scott, he had a long eleven year Major League career. During that time, he played with the Diamondbacks, Padres, A's, Mets, Cubs, and Nationals. He was a .242 career hitter that knocked 106 home runs and drove in 313 RBI. His best season was with the Mets in 2012. That year, he played in a career high 134 games and responded by batting .263 with 20 home runs and 57 RBI. Despite the long career, Scott never appeared in the postseason.

It looks like Rod and I were in the same boat in 2008 and getting glossy cards signed without prepping them first.

2008 Upper Deck, Justin Maxwell

#326 Justin Maxwell

Here is a card that I got signed outside of Kauffman Stadium in 2014 while Justin was with the Royals. He got dropped off at the park that day and was nice enough to sign all three cards for me.

I like to think that signing autographs is good karma and that the player usually has a good game after signing earlier in the day. That was not the case for Justin. He got the start in right that night and went 0-3 against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers. He made one more start for the Royals four days later before being shipped to Omaha for the remainder of the season while the rest of the club went on to the World Series.

Justin played in the Majors for parts of seven seasons with the Nationals, Astros, Royals, and Giants. Over that time, he was a .220 hitter with 41 home runs and 133 RBI. His best season was with the 'Stros in 2012. He played in a career high 124 games that season and responded with 18 dingers and 53 RBI.

Speaking of dingers, I got to see Justin hit a memorable one with the Royals in 2012. It was a Sunday afternoon in late September against the Rangers. James Shields and Alexi Ogando were the starting pitchers and they each cruised through their outings without allowing any runs. The bullpens took over and took a 0-0 game into the tenth inning. In the bottom of the tenth, the Rangers bullpen started to falter as Neal Cotts and Joakim Soria loaded the bases with nobody out. Joakim then induced a foul pop and a weak ground ball for two easy outs and was on the verge of getting out of the inning. But, Justin Maxwell came up and battled. He worked the count full before sending the sixth pitch of the at-bat about 400 feet to left field for a walk-off grand slam. It was phenomenal! That was the second walk off granny I had ever seen and, coincidentally, the second walk off granny Justin had hit.

I love the picture on this card. Apparently in 2007, the Nationals had the chance to head over to the then under construction Nationals Park and take some batting practice. Luckily, Upper Deck added this card to their set.

2008 Upper Deck, Milton Bradley

#189 Milton Bradley

We have finally made it to Upper Deck! It was looking like that was never going to happen, but here we are. If I can get back to a semi-consistent posting schedule, I might be able to wrap up all of the 2008 cards by Thanksgiving. That is a big IF, though.

First up from 2008 Upper Deck is this card of Milton Bradley that was given to me by Rod, from Padrographs. If it wasn't for this card, I wouldn't even remember that Milton played for the Padres. He seems to have played for quite a few teams during his career, but all I remember him with are the Indians, Rangers, and Cubs. It turns out that he also played with the Expos, Dodgers, A's, and Mariners.

During his twelve year big league career, Milton was a .271 hitter with 125 home runs and 481 RBI. His best season was with Texas in 2008 when he made his lone All Star team while hitting .321 with 22 dingers and 77 driven in.

Unfortunately, Bradley's long baseball career has been overshadowed by his temper and domestic issues, which resulted in a 32 month prison sentence.

The Rest of 2008 Tristar Prospect Plus

#3 Eric Hosmer
#52 Jaff Decker

Eric Hosmer- I can't believe this is only the second card of Hos that I have posted on here. The guy was a mainstay on the Royals for seven seasons and I racked up a few autographs from him during his time in the Royals organization. Then, when I finally get around to posting some cards of him, he is with the Padres. But, that is how it goes. That is especially how it goes when I post cards on here from oldest to "newest".

I got this card signed by Eric in Burlington, Iowa in 2009 while he was playing for the Bees.

Jaff Decker- I have not posted a card of Jaff on here before. But, at some point, I will. So, he gets lumped into this "rest of" post just so I did not have to do a repeat Hosmer post. This card was given to me by Rod in 2011.

I am glad I never bought much of this product. In the limited cards that I have signed, they are horrible for autographs. There is a dark border, zoomed in shots, and dark pictures. This set is the complete opposite of that year's Tristar Projections set. I glad I bought a lot of Projections and passed on this one.

2008 Topps Opening Day

#166 Brian Bannister
#205 Brandon Jones
#210 Josh Anderson

Brian Bannister- Man, does this card look good or what? Brian probably has the best looking signature from anyone that has played in the past ten years with the exception of Mariano Rivera. All three of these cards are signed in blue, but this one just stands out more because of that majestic signature. Brian signed this card for me at Royals Fanfest in 2010. When he was signing it, I told him what a good looking signature he had and he told me that he got it from his dad and that I should take a look at his dad's signature. So, I did that and Floyd has a nice sig, but not quite as nice as Brian's.

Brandon Jones- Brandon played in the American Association for three seasons, so I was able to get him a couple of times in Wichita. This one was signed there in 2012 while he was with the Kansas City T-Bones.

Josh Anderson- Josh signed for me at the final regular season series at the Metrodome while playing for the Royals. If I would have gotten the regular issue Topps card signed that looked like this, I would have had both of his 2008 Topps cards signed. But, I had to be a bit different and go the Opening Day route.

This set is way different that Opening Day sets are now. Anymore, they look just like the base set with two exception- the Opening Day logo and no foil. This set added foil instead of taking it away.

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.

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, Part IV

#597 Kyle Davies
#623 Trey Hillman
#UH15 Kevin Cash
#UH89 Joakim Soria
#UH92 Eric Hinske
#UH144 Robinson Tejeda

I am almost done with '08 Topps, so I had to break down the last two post to six cards each. This one is a little Royals heavy.

Kyle Davies- Believe it or not, I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot in 2008.

Trey Hillman- I almost posted this card by itself a few weeks back. Then I remembered that I posted a minor league card of Trey many years ago. This one was signed by the Royals parking lot in 2008.

Kevin Cash- I got this card signed in Omaha in 2011 while Kevin was coaching for Round Rock. He has moved up a bit since then and is currently the manager for the Rays.

Joakim Soria- The one current player in the batch, who is currently pitching for the A's. Unlike the last two Royals, I got this card signed at Royals Fanfest in 2009.

Eric Hinske- I got this card signed last year outside of Kauffman Stadium when Eric got dropped off from an Uber. That is another thing that has changed while 'graphing outside of The K in the last ten years. Players now get dropped off from Ubers instead of cabs. The cabs could be seen from miles away and the Ubers now just magically appears. Eric was a coach for the Angels at the time, but has since moved on to the Diamondbacks.

Robinson Tejeda- I got this one signed by the Royals parking lot, but it was is in 2009. I think this is the first time that I got a players base card and update card signed from the same year.

The Rest of 2008 Topps, Part II

#208 David DeJesus
#237 Eric Wedge
#302 Horacio Ramirez
#313 Kameron Loe
#318 Ned Yost
#333 Jayson Nix
#342 Matt Belisle
#403 Nate Robertson
#404 Cecil Cooper

David DeJesus- This is another one that I got signed by the Royals parking lot in 2008. This one was done a month before the German and Gload cards from the previous post.

Eric Wedge- I got this one signed by Eric during Indians batting practice in Kansas City in 2008. In case you haven't heard, last month Eric was named the new head coach at Wichita State. Hopefully he can bring some luster back to a once proud baseball institution.

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

Kameron Loe- I got Kameron after an Oklahoma Redhawks game in 2008.

Ned Yost- Ned yosted this card for me after Royals batting practice at The K in 2011. Normally, you can't see the Royals take batting practice at home. But, you can buy early bird stadium tour tickets that get you in just in time for Royals BP. They cost about $10-12 a person and you still need a separate game ticket. In all actuality, all the early bird ticket is good for is getting a great 'graphing spot.

Jayson Nix- I believe this is the third card I have posted of Jayson. There should be three more coming and all six of them came from the Kansas Stars game I attended at the 2016 NBC Wolrd Series.

Matt Belisle- Outside of The K in 2010. That was about the time that it really started to suck 'graphing outside that ballpark. Since then, it has primarily been about hitting up the visiting team as they straggle in.

Nate Robertson- Here is the third card of Wichita native, Nate Robertson, that I have posted on here. The first one came from a Wichita card show and the second was from a Stars game. This one was obtained at the same card show as the first card. That show was at Rock's Dugout in Wichita. Rock usually hosts six shows a year, but I think he cut back to four this year. He always either brings in someone to sign or he has Beckett there grading cards. Unfortunately, Rock hasn't had a baseball player there signing in quite some time and, because of that, I don't think that I have attended a show there in three years.

Cecil Cooper- I posted that first card of Cecil way back in 2009. That card was obtained through the mail, just like this one. But, this card was signed about a year ago when I was getting a bunch of Senior League cards signed. I needed Cecil for that set and sent this one along, too, just so I could have a manager card signed by him.

The Rest of 2008 Topps, Part I

#19 Robinson Tejada
#23 Chin-lung Hu
#34 Aaron Cook
#57 Wladimir Balentien
#133 Mike Bacsik
#148 Gerald Laird
#153 Luis Mendoza
#189 Esteban German
#196 Ross Gload

I posted thirteen individual cards from 2008 Topps with all but one of them being players that have never been featured on here. Now, it is time to the forty or so players that have been posted previously. This is the first in a five part series for this set.

Robinson Tejada- I got this card signed at a Royals game in 2008 while Rob was still with the Rangers. This is another example of me getting a guy's autograph before they become a Royal.

Chin-lung Hu- I got this card signed at an Oklahoma Redhawks game while he was playing for the visiting Las Vegas 51s.

Aaron Cook- Aaron signed two cards for me at a Royals game in 2008. He signed during batting practice and he is still the only starting pitcher to sign for me in the ballpark prior to their start. Both cards he signed for me were signed in black and both signatures were placed right on top of the pre-printed signature and are really hard to make out. That is why you should use blue Sharpies kids.

Wladimir Balentien- This is one of the three cards that Wlad signed for me at a Rangers game while his Mariners were taking batting practice in 2008.

Mike Bacsik- Mike signed three cards for me at a Wingnuts game in 2011 while he was playing for Ft. Worth.

Gerald Laird- Gerald signed three for me during batting practice at Kauffman Stadium during the 2008 season.

Luis Mendoza- Here is another future Royal. But, unlike Robinson Tejada, I did not get his autograph until he joined the organization. I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot after their home opener in 2012. This is the first card of Luis that I have posted on here, but he will be getting his own post shortly.

Esteban German- I got this card signed by the Royals parking lot in 2008.

Ross Gload- I also got this card signed by the Royals parking lot in 2008, probably on the same day that I got the German card signed. It is crazy that I got so many 2008 cards signed in 2008. We are at the All Star break in 2019 and I only have two 2019 Topps cards signed.

2008 Topps, Shelley Duncan

#UH308 Shelley Duncan

Here is the final single card post from 2008 Topps. I still have quite a few cards from the set to show and those are going to have to be broken up into multiple posts, so I am not quite done with the set yet.

Here is the card of Shelley Duncan that I got signed at a Diamondbacks Spring Training game in 2014. I had set up shop along the third base line that day and somehow he had gotten past me down the line. But when I called out to him, he came back over to me and signed one of the three cards I had of him.

Shelley played in the Majors for parts of 7 seasons with the Yankees, Indians, and Rays. Over that time, he was a .226 hitter with 43 home runs and 144 RBI. His best season was with the Indians in 2011 when he had career highs in average (.260), doubles (17), homers (11), and RBI (47).

Currently, Shelley is working for the Blue Jays as their Major League field coordinator. I have no idea what a field coordinator does. But he is listed with the Jays coaching staff and is assigned a number, so he must suit up for games.