2008 Upper Deck Timelines, Joey Votto

#119 Joey Votto

Back in the day, Joey Votto was a TTM machine. But, he stopped signing through the mail in 2012. Luckily I was able to get him when the getting was good in 2009. I sent this card to the Reds Spring Training facility and I had it back about three weeks later.

Joey had a rough season this year. But, he is still a .307 lifetime hitter. Even if the 2010 National League MVP has a repeat of 2019 in 2020, he still should reach some milestones. Right now he is just 16 home runs shy of 300 and 134 hits shy of 2,000. The 2,000 hit mark is going to be the easier of the two to reach since he hasn't hit 16 or more dingers in a season since 2017 when he smacked 36.

I really like the card that I picked out to get signed. Sure, he Allen & Ginter rookie card would have looked fantastic. But, I really love the nostalgia of this card with its 1992 feel.

2008 Upper Deck, Jeff Keppinger

#237 Jeff Keppinger

I like to think that I know all of the players that have put on a Royals uniform since I started rooting for the team in 2000. But, every now and then, one evades me. That is the case with Jeff Keppinger. Until I just looked at his stats, I had no idea that he once suited up for the Royals. It was only for 22 games in 2006, but it still counts.

Jeff had a good career as a utility man that lasted nine seasons. Over that time, he played for the Mets, Royals, Reds, Astros, Giants, Rays, and White Sox. He was a .282 career hitter that ended up with 45 home runs and 295 RBI. His best season was probably with the Rays in 2012. That season, he had 40 RBI while having a career year with 9 dingers and a .325 average.

I got this card signed at an Astros preseason game at Minute Maid Park in 2009. That was Jeff's first season with Houston and this is probably the first autograph he signed as an Astro at Minute Maid Park.

I only got two cards signed by Jeff that day because that was all I could find of him. Despite entering his fifth season in the league, there were only a handful of cards made of him at that point. The other card he signed was his '09 Topps Heritage.

At that point in 2009, I was still relatively new to in-person 'graphing. I still had not learned about prepping cards, so there is some slight bubbling going on with this card. That is something that you will be seeing more or as I move through this set. Also, I was obviously still using a black Sharpie. This card would have came out so much better had I used blue.

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.

2008 Topps, Paul Janish

#UH16 Paul Janish

Here is a card that I got signed by Paul Janish at a Royals game in 2009. The Reds were in town and I stopped at the game on the way up to Omaha for the College World Series. It was a heck of a game as I saw Luke Hochevar pitch a complete game on just 80 pitches. It was unreal. While Hochevar only allowed three hits, he wasn't dominating as he only struck out three batters. He was just pitching to contact and the Reds were up there hacking, with only seven of the thirty-one batters seeing four or more pitches. As for Paul, he signed this one card for me during batting practice and did not get in the game.

Paul played in the Majors for parts of nine seasons with the Reds, Braves, and Orioles. He was a .212 hitter that had 7 homers and 87 RBI over his 473 big league games. His best season was with the Reds in 2010. That year, he played in a career-high 114 games and he hit .260 with 5 home runs and 25 RBI. Paul last appeared in a Major League game in 2017 and appears to have called it a career since then.

Speaking of the College World Series, it wrapped up last night with another Vanderbilt championship. I did not attend the event for the first time since 2006, so that was kind of strange. I also did not hold the College World Series Contest for the first time since 2008. I am hoping to get back on track in Omaha next summer, though I probably won't hold the contest.

The Rest of 2008 Playoff Contenders

#8 Byron Wiley
#32 Josh Vitters

That is it, just two posts from Playoff Contenders. There was just one new guy and two repeats.

I never bought any packs of this product. I just bought a few singles in the hope that I could get them signed. Overall, they are not bad cards to get autographed. The lack of a background helps out by making the auto that much easier to see.

But, one thing that I do not like about these cards is that they say "ROOKIE" in big font right across the front of the card. I think that just looks tacky and takes away from what is only an average looking card at best. Plus, and I know it is a small sample size, none of the three guys I posted were even rookies in 2008. Two are in their college unis and the other is maybe in a Spring Training uniform and sporting a snap back. The earliest any of the guys made the Majors and officially became a rookie was Chase d'Arnaud in 2011.

Byron Wiley- I got this card signed at a Wingnuts game in 2014. I believe Byron was playing for the Laredo Lemurs at the time. I like this card just because he is rocking his Kansas State digs in the photo, though it is not quite as cool as the card I linked to.

Josh Vitters- This card was signed at the same time as the last two cards of him I posted- at the 2009 Futures Game. Those were all the cards I had of him at the time, but I would eventually run into him a couple of years later and add two more signed cards by him to the collection.

2008 Goudey, Sparky Anderson

#46 Sparky Anderson

Here is the second card in the set that is a repeat post of a Hall of Famer. I first posted a card of Sparky over nine years ago and it can be seen here. That card was, of course, his '81 Donruss card. I am so glad that I got that card signed for my set. I am even more glad that I mailed it to him when I did; he passed away eight months later.

This one was obtained through the mail in 2008, two years before the '81D. But, the '81D sports a slightly better looking signature. I could just be thinking that because that one is signed in blue, though.

The Big Red Machine was before my time. Whenever I think of Sparky Anderson, I always picture him in a Tigers uniform. So, when this card came out with him as a Red, I knew I had to get it signed. The Big Red Machine might have preceded me, but I still know of their accolades and know that Sparky was at the helm.

Sparky managed in the Majors for a whopping twenty-six years, nine with the Reds and the rest with Detroit. Over that time, he had a .545 winning percentage while going to the postseason five times and winning it all three times. He was twice named manager of the year and got inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000.

2008 Donruss Elite, Byron Wiley

#CP-23 Byron Wiley

This is my last card from 2008 Donruss Elite. Unlike all the other cards from the set that I have posted, I did not get this card signed in-person or pull it from a pack. I actually bought this card from COMC. Being a K-State grad, I just could not pass this beautiful card up. Even if it wasn't signed, I still might have bought it. Now, since the Cats got spanked today in the opening round of the tournament, there will be no more talk about them.

Byron was drafted by the Reds in the 22nd round of the 2008 draft. He lasted just three seasons in affiliated ball. Over that time, he never made it out of A ball and he hit .275 with 23 homers and 119 RBI in 191 contests. Those aren't horrible numbers. But, they are a bit skewed as he hit .328 in his first season of rookie ball and then hit 12 home runs and drove in 64 in his second pro season. In 2010, he played in just 42 games before missing all of 2011.

By the time he came back in 2012, he was playing independent ball. He played a season in the Frontier League before joining the American Association for three seasons. Coincidentally, I ran across him at a Wingnuts game once and was able to add a couple more autographs to the collection from him. But, this one is still by far my favorite. You just cannot beat a signed card with a Powercat on it.

2008 Donruss Elite, Juan Carlos Sulbaran

#60 Juan Carlos Sulbaran

Here is a card that I got signed at an Omaha Storm Chasers game in 2015. JC was playing for the Chasers at the time and was nice enough to sign all three cards that I had of him.

That was my second attempt at getting this card signed. In 2009, I got about as close to getting a card signed as you can without it being signed. It was in St. Louis at the Futures Game. JC was representing the World team. Though I did most of my 'graphing on the USA side that day, I did venture over to the World side when all of the American players were off the field. JC was making his way down the line signing for people. As he was doing so, there was a staffer nearby telling him that it was about time to head in. He kept on signing and he made it to me. He grabbed my card book and my Sharpie and then the staffer told him it was time to go. Rather than signing this card real quick, he handed it back to me and told me sorry. Close, but no cigar. At least I made up for it six years later.

JC spent eight seasons in the minor leagues and never made it up to the Majors. He spent time in the Reds, Royals, and Cardinals organizations and played parts of two seasons in AAA. Over those eight seasons, he was 49-65 with a 5.48 ERA.

The Curacao native also had the pleasure of representing the Netherlands in two WBC tournaments.

2008 Allen & Ginter, Brandon Phillips

#285 Brandon Phillips

Here is a card that I got signed through the mail back when Brandon Phillips signed through the mail. At one point, he was a pretty reliable TTM signer. But, he hasn't signed anything TTM since 2009, which just happens to be the year I sent this to him. I sent it to him during Spring Training and I got it back just as the season was starting. I sent along an Indians card with this one, but that one did not make it home. I am not sure which card I sent him, but there is no way it would have came back looking as good as this Allen & Ginter.

Brandon played in nine Major League games last year with the Red Sox and hit just .130 in his limited action. Considering that he will be turning 38 this summer, I think the chances of him getting picked up by a team are slim. But, you never know.

If, in fact, he is done playing, he had a good career. Spending parts of seventeen seasons in the Majors with the Indians, Reds, Braves, Angels, and Sox, Brandon was a .275 hitter with 2,029 hits, 211 home runs, and 951 RBI. He was a three time All Star that snagged four Gold Glove awards and a Silver Slugger. He had double digit home runs in eleven seasons and he even reached the 100 RBI plateau once.

2006 Upper Deck, Eddie Guardado

#1078 Eddie Guardado

Here is the second card of Everyday Eddie that I got signed outside of Kauffman Stadium in 2017. Eddie was the bullpen coach for the Twins and he was nice enough to stop and sign on the way into the ballpark. I posted the first card of him this past summer and that card can be seen here.

Even though Eddie spent most of his career pitching for the Twins, he did see time with a few other clubs. After the 2003 season, Eddie signed with the Mariners. He pitched for them for two and a half years and racked up 59 saves. The M's then traded Eddie to the Reds in early July of 2006 and Eddie got his first taste of National League baseball.

Prior to the trade, the Reds were 44-41 and two games back in the Central. Though Eddie pitched well that season Cincy, he ultimately did not matter and the club finished 80-82, three and a half games back of the eventual World Champion Cardinals. Though he had a 1.29 ERA and 8 saves, Eddie threw his last pitch that season in mid-August before being shut down for the rest of the season.

He nearly missed the entire 2007 season, but came back in August and was not his usual self. In fifteen games, Eddie was 0-2 in save opportunities and had an ERA of 7.24. He would become a free agent after the season and end up in Texas. But, during his tenure in Cincinnati, Eddie was 0-0 with 8 saves and a 4.23 ERA in 30 games.

When I posted that last card of Eddie, he was still the Twins bullpen coach. Since then, the Twins fired Paul Molitor and have hired Rocco Baldelli to manage the club. Naturally, the new guy wanted to build his own coaching staff and Eddie has been let go. Based on my brief run-in with him in 2017, I doubt that he is too terribly sad about it. When I asked him how he liked coaching, he said that it was just OK and that today's players are too soft.

1998 Topps, Pete Rose, Jr.

#240 Pete Rose, Jr.

Here is the third and final card that I got Pete Junior to sign for me at a Wingnuts game in 2016. Pete was the manager of the Wingnuts at the time and he signed all three cards for me before an early season game. You can see the first card he signed for me here and the second one here.

After spending nearly a decade playing in the minor leagues, Pete Junior got a cup of coffee with the Reds in 1997. He was a September call-up and he made his first start on September 1st against the Royals. He batted seventh and played third base. He finished the day 1-3 with a single and two strikeouts. He got one more hit two games later and was 2-5. He then went hitless the rest of the season and finished 2-14 with two runs and two walks. That was the only time he would play in the Majors.

Pete managed the Wingnuts for two seasons and he lead the team to two division championships and a 122-77 record. But, for whatever reason, the Nuts wanted to go a different direction this year and Pete's contract was not renewed.

While there are a lot of cards of Pete Junior, this is the only one from his time in the Majors.

1990 CMC, Neil Allen

#148 Neil Allen

Here is the third and final card that Neil Allen signed for me in Kansas City this past season. Neil was the pitching coach for the Twins and he signed for me after stepping off the team bus outside of The K. You can see the first card I posted of him here and the second one here.

Even though the Twins captured the second Wild Card spot after finishing the year 85-77, Neil was let go by the club after the season was finished. He was replaced by Garvin Alston. That means that I will not be getting Neil to sign his '81 Donurss card next year when the Twins come to town. That is, if I actually had that card ('81D want list posted underneath blog header, hint, hint).

By the time this card came out, Neil's Major League career was over. He appeared in just three games with the Indians in 1989 and was 0-1 with an ERA of 15.00. With Nashville in 1990, he pitched in twelve games before calling it a career.

For his career, he was 58-70 with 75 saves and a 3.88 ERA.

1984 Topps, Jeff Russell

#270 Jeff Russell

Here is the last of the three cards that Tom, from The Angels In Order, sent me. The cards were in exchange for getting some cards signed for him at Royals Fanfest.

I had gotten three cards signed by Jeff in 2014 when the Grand Prairie AirHogs came to Wichita. Jeff was the pitching coach for the 'Hogs and I got him to sign cards for me as a Ranger, Red Sox, and Athletic. With the addition of this Reds card, I got a signed card of him with every team he played for except the Indians.

On the last card I posted of Willie Wilson, I guessed that the picture was taken at the All Star Game in 1983. This is another example where it is easy to tell when the picture was taken. In the background, you can see a blurry image of Willie McCovey's retired number in San Francisco.

Jeff only pitched once in San Fran in 1983 and it was on September 5th. He started that game for the Reds and pitched an eight inning complete game, losing 3-2. He had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning before giving up a lead-off double that was followed by a home run. A runner had scored earlier in the game by walking, moving to second on a sac bunt, third on a wild pitch, and scoring on a sac fly. Jeff finished with just the two hits allowed and five walks and five strikeouts.

Three teams have clinched their spots in Omaha. Texas A&M, Oregon State, and Louisville are all in. We will see who gets in today.

2007 Upper Deck, Josh Hamilton

#630 Josh Hamilton

Here is the third and final card that I got signed by Josh Hamilton at a Rangers game in 2008. You can see the first card here and the second one here.

When I was making that trip to Texas, the only cards of Josh that I could find were two 2007 cards and an older card of him with the Devil Rays. I know for a fact that I had his 2008 Bowman card of him which showed him as a Ranger. But, I was unable to find that card. I, of course, found it a couple of weeks later which is usually the case for me when I cannot find a card I am looking for. Since I always take three cards per player, I try to mix up the teams as much as I can if the player has been around a bit. One Rays, Reds, and Rangers cards would have been perfect at the time, but I screwed that up, especially since the Rangers are the team that Josh is known for.

So far this year, Josh has missed all of Spring Training with an ailing knee. He had two operations on it last year and is still trying to work himself into game shape. As of right now, he is hoping to be back in early May.

When I went to Josh's MLB page, I did not recognize him. His profile picture on there has him sporting a three inch long goatee.

2007 Topps, Josh Hamilton

#625 Josh Hamilton

Here is the second card that Josh Hamilton signed for me at a Rangers game in 2008. I posted the first card over five years ago and that one can be seen here.

The first card I posted of Josh showed him with the team that drafted him, Tampa Bay. Here he is with the Reds, the team that he made his Major League debut with. After being out of baseball for three seasons because of his drug addiction, Josh came back in 2006 and played in 15 games in the New York Penn League. He hit .260 with 3 doubles and 5 RBI. He must have shown signs that he was ready to break out because the Cubs picked him up in the Rule V Draft and promptly sold him to the Reds.

His time in Cincinnati lasted just one season. That year, he got into 90 games and hit .292 with 19 home runs and 47 RBI. That is really good considering that the highest level of baseball before that was 23 games of AA ball six years prior. After that season, the Reds shipped him to the Rangers for Edinson Volquez and another pitcher. Josh went off in the home run derby that next season and has pretty much been a household name ever since.

I got to see Josh play one time with the Reds. It was at Wrigley Field and Josh pinch hit in the eighth inning of a tied game. He hit a two run home run to propel the Reds to a win. It was pretty awesome. I have seen him play nine more times since then and have seen two more home runs. But, that first one, as a Red, was the most memorable.

2005 Turkey Red, Joe Randa

#196 Joe Randa

Here is the latest installment in the long line of Joe Randa autographs. I got this card signed so that I could have a card of him as a Red signed.

Joe's tenure in Cincinnati was a typical Smiling Joe Randa season. He arrived there as a free agent for the 2005 season. Through 92 games, he was hitting .289 with 13 home runs, 26 doubles, and 48 RBI. The Reds then shipped him to San Diego prior to the trade deadline for Justin Germano and Travis Chick. In 56 games with the Padres, Joe hit .256 with 17 doubles, 4 home runs, and 20 RBI.

At thirty-six years of age, Joe had a really good 2005 season. His 43 doubles and 17 home runs were career highs for him. But, more importantly, he got his only taste of the postseason that year. The Padres ended up 82-80, but it was good enough to win a weak NL West by five games. They ended up getting swept by a strong Cardinals team in the NLDS, but Joe had a good showing, going 4-11 in the three games.

Joe would go on to play just one more season after that. I'll have a card of him as a Pirate coming up later this year, I hope. Actually, at my rate, it probably will not get posted until next year sometime.

I got this card signed at Royals Fanfest two years ago.

For as fun as the Turkey Red cards were, they were not a great card for autographs. The card stock was on point, but the pictures usually turned out too dark to make them a go-to for signatures.

2002 Upper Deck Vintage, David Espinosa

#260 David Espinosa

This is probably going to be the last Danny Espinosa card that I will ever post. This is the fourth or fifth one that I have got signed and I do not see myself going out of my way to buy any more cards of him.

This card, however, did not cost me a thing. A few years back, one of my employees had a brother that died in a car accident. When going through his things, she found some cards. Since she didn't know anybody else that had anything to do with cards, she offered them to me. Being that it was me or the dumpster, I gladly accepted them. There were only a couple hundred of them, mostly of mid-90s junk. But, there was a healthy stack of cards from this set.

If you have never seen this set before, it was basically Upper Deck's version of 1971 Topps. The stack included a little bit of everything, from your commons to semi-stars to stars to a Fred Lynn jersey card.

In 2012, I was going to a Kansas City T-Bones game to get a Frank White Bobblehead. They were hosting the Lincoln Saltdogs and Danny was playing for them at the time. He signed this card for me before the game. To date, this is the only card from my employees brother's collection that I have got signed. While it was a very tragic way for me to acquire cards, I am glad she kept me in mind and that I put one to good use.

David Espinosa has been a mainstay in the American Association since 2008. He has played for the AirHogs, Saltdogs, T-Bones, and Wingnuts. He was a big contributor for Wichita when they picked him up mid-season last year. In 36 regular season games with the Nuts, David hit .338 with 6 home runs and 22 RBI.

David was only 32 years-old when this last season ended and he has already played in 1500+ minor league games.

1995 Upper Deck Minors, Aaron Boone

#95 Aaron Boone

This is the second of three cards that I got signed by Aaron Boone at the College World Series this past summer. I posted the first one about a month ago and it can be seen here.

This is only the second signed card from this set that I own, and the first one that I have gotten in person. That is kind of a shame, because for a minor league set, this one really sets itself apart. Upper Deck did a good job with this one, even if they only copied their '95 base set look.

Aaron was working for ESPN when I got this card signed. He is still with them and you can hear him tonight working the World Series for ESPN Radio.

Speaking of the World Series, I made it to game one last week. The game did not turn out the way I wanted, but I still had a great time and enjoyed the experience. Since the Royals lost badly, the highlight of my day was getting a ball signed by Big Papi, David Ortiz.

I had to camp out by the Fox booth for over an hour to get the ball signed, but it was definitely worth it. Here was my view from the field while I was waiting.

Here was our view from the seats. Not too bad for just $165.

1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks, Aaron Boone

#62 Aaron Boone

Here is a card that I got signed at the College World Series this summer. Aaron works for ESPN and he was in town to work the games. All State took advantage of him being there and had him at their booth signing autographs the day before the games started. His line went rather quick and I was able to get all three of my cards signed, and a few 8x10s, while I was standing in line for John Kruk.

I had a really hard time finding cards of Aaron to take to get signed. My card storage system is rather lacking. I need to spend some serious time getting my stuff together and sorted. I can find stuff for all of the current players and all of my cards pre-2004 are pretty well sorted. But, I have to do some major digging to find cards of any player that has retired in the past ten years.

That is how I came to get this card signed. It would not have been my first option, but I could not find anything better. I found this card, a minor league card, and an '08 Topps Heritage card. Do you know what team he is playing for on the Heritage card? The Astros. Do you know how long his career as an Astro lasted? Thirteen at-bats. I could not find a single Reds card of him, or even a Yankee or Indians card. I need to get my stuff together.

Even though this was not my first choice, I am still glad I got it signed. It was at the College World Series and it shows him playing for USC. The 8x10s they handed out also depicted him as a Trojan.

1991 Line Drive, Leo Garcia

#256 Leo Garcia

Here is the second card that I got Leo Garcia to sign at Spring Training this year. Leo is the batting coach for the Dodgers Pioneer League team, the Ogden Raptors. He signed two cards for me and the first one can be seen here.

Since I could only find two minor league cards of Leo, I assumed that he never played in the Majors. WRONG! It turns out that Leo had two stints with the Reds in the late '80s. He got into 31 games in 1987 and went 6-30 with 8 runs, 2 RBI, and a home run. He got into 23 games the following year and was 4-28 with 2 runs and a double. For his career, Leo hit .172.

Speaking of being wrong, something funny happened to me the other day at a Wingnuts game. Earlier this year, the Sioux Falls Canaries had signed Chris Duffy and I had been planning on going to a game in Wichita to get some cards signed. And by Chris Duffy, I assumed that it was this Chris Duffy, the former Pirate.

Turns out that it was this Chris Duffy. See any differences?

Luckily, it was obvious that it was the wrong Chris Duffy and I did not make an ass out of myself.