2008 Upper Deck, Yorvit Torrealba

#246 Yorvit Torrealba

Here is a card that I got signed at Kauffman Stadium in 2009 while Yorvit was with the visiting Colorado Rockies. I was able to get him during batting practice and he signed just this one card for me. It is quite possible that this was the only card I had of him at the time.

Yorvit spent parts of thirteen seasons in the Majors, seeing time with the Giants, Mariners, Rockies, Padres, Rangers, Blue Jays, and Brewers. Over that time, he was mainly used as a back-up or platoon catcher as he only played in more than 100 games in a season twice- once with the Rox and once with the Rangers. Nonetheless, he still racked up a .256 average for his career with 56 homers and 339 RBI. His best season was with the Rockies in 2007. Though he hit .255, he had career highs in homers and RBI with 8 and 47 respectively.

The two seasons that Yorvit played in more than 100 games are eerily similar. Both years, he played in 113 games. Both years, he had 396 at-bats. And both years, he played in the World Series.

I wish I would have used a blue Sharpie more often back then.

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, 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, Jamey Carroll

#137 Jamey Carroll

I have finally made it up to 2008 Topps. Prior to this year, it probably would have taken me at least four months to post the sixty or so cards from the set that I have got signed. But, now that I am (usually) only giving a player one post before lumping them into "Rest Of" set round-up, I should be able to get through this set in about a month.

So, here is the first card I have to post. It is a card of Jamey Carroll that I got signed at an Astros pre-season game in 2009. That spring, I had to head down to the Houston area for a cousin's wedding. The Astros had just wrapped up Spring Training in Florida and were home for two games against the Indians before the regular season started. They also hosted Fanfest during one of those games, so it worked out really well as I was able to get a lot of free Astros alumni autos while taking in a meaningless game. Jamey was playing for the Indians at the time and this was the only card I had of him to get signed.

Jamey wrapped up his twelve year career after the 2013 season. Over that time, he played with the Expos/Nationals, Rockies, Indians, Dodgers, Twins, and Royals. He was a career .272 hitter that had 13 home runs and 265 RBI. His best season was probably with the Rockies in 2006 when he hit .300 with 5 homers and 36 runs driven in.

The Rest of 2008 Stadium Club

#137 Brandon Jones
#139 Jayson Nix

This is it from the resurrected 2008 Stadium Club set. I have just three cards signed- one from a pack and two in-person sigs. Both of the in-person autos were obtained in Wichita's now extinct Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Brandon Jones- It has been four years since I posted a card of Brandon Jones. The former Braves prospect played in only five games in 2007, but he somehow got a decent amount of cards in 2008 sets. He played with the Braves for parts of three seasons and he hit .257 with 1 homer and 22 RBI over 51 games. His one home run was off of Ervin Santana. Brandon signed this card for me at a Winguts game in 2014 while he was a member of the Kansas City T-Bones.

Jayson Nix- I posted my first Jayson Nix card just six months ago when I finally got around to posting cards from 2008. In both initial posts of Jones and Nix, I talk about how I once thought I was going to run out of autographs for this blog. Silly me. Anyways, I got this card signed at a Kansas Stars game in 2016 when the team made their NBC World Series debut.

Next up is 2008 Topps. I probably have about sixty cards from the set signed. But, the majority of those cards are going to be repeats, so I should be able to get through the set in about a dozen posts. It might take me a full month to do twelve posts, but we will make it through.

2008 Just Minors

#27 Chris Getz
#46 Daniel Mayora
#60 Derrick Robinson

I only have three cards signed from this set and all three feature players that have been posted on here before. So, I get an easy day today.

Chris Getz- This card was signed at Royals Fanfest in 2013.

Daniel Mayora- I got this card signed at Dodgers Spring Training in 2014. To my surprise, Daniel is still playing ball. He is playing in Mexico, where he has played since 2017.

Derrick Robinson- Derrick signed this card for me in 2009 while he was a member of the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Derrick last played pro ball in 2017. In 2016, he played in the American Association and I was bummed that I could not find his 2013 Topps Update card to get signed at a game. It was in my collection, but missing in action.

I find it strange that this is a minor league set, but it really doesn't focus on the minor leagues. I know three cards is a small sample size, but only one of the three shows a definitive minor league uniform. While the other two could possibly be minor league unis, they could just as easily be Spring Training shots. The backs have no mention of the minor leagues and don't even tell you where the players played the previous season when the racked up the stats that are listed.

2008 DAV Tulsa Drillers, Ubaldo Jimenez

#146 Ubaldo Jimenez

Here is the second card from the 2008 DAV Tulsa Drillers "team set" that I have been able to get signed. The set was given away at a random Drillers game I attended in 2008.

I got this card signed at a Royals game in 2012 while Ubaldo was a member of the Indians. He signed down the line right after batting practice. I had three cards of him, but wasn't sure if he would sign all three. So, I gave one to my dad and, since he signed the two I had, I came home with three signed cards from him that day.

Ubaldo last pitched for the Orioles in 2017. For his career, he holds a 114-117 record with a save, a 4.34 ERA and 1720 strikeouts. He had six double-digit win seasons, but also seven double-digit loss seasons. He played in one World Series and made one All Star team.

He was an All Star in 2010 and that was by far his best season as a Major League hurler. He finished the season 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA and 214 strikeouts, all of which were season highs for him. He finished third in the National Cy Young vote behind Roy Halladay and Adam Wainwright. He got the start in the All Star Game that year and threw two shutout innings while striking out Vladimir Guerrero.

2008 DAV Tulsa Drillers, Manuel Corpas

#141 Manuel Corpas

Normally, when I get to a minor league team set, I will just post all the cards that I have signed from that set in a single post. But, I only have two cards signed from this set and this set is a little different. So, each card will get its own post.

This set was a stadium giveaway. Rather than giving away a set of the current players on the Drillers, this one features the best Drillers players from their time as a Rockies affiliate. The Rockies began their affiliation with the Drillers in 2003, so it is impressive that they were able to put out a "best of" set after just four years.

The first card from the set that I got signed was this card of Manny Corpas. I got this one signed by the visiting team dugout at a Royals game in 2010 when the Rockies came to town. I ran across Manny outside the park on his way in, but he wouldn't sign then. His reason was that he had signed the day before. Luckily, he changed his mind once he got inside. Manny signed three cards for me.

Manny pitched in the Majors for seven seasons with the Rockies and Cubs. Over that time, he was 13-20 with 34 saves and a 4.14 ERA. His best season was with the Rox in 2007. That year, he was 4-2 with a career-high 19 saves and a 2.08 ERA. He was just as effective in the postseason that year as well, allowing just one earned run in 10.1 innings of work.

I was a little skeptical about how cards from this set were going to turn out signed with the odd background and all. But, to my amazement, they both came out looking good.

2008 Allen & Ginter, Jayson Nix

#82 Jayson Nix

Way back when in 2008, I started this blog. That was the year I got back into collecting autographs and I thought this blog would be a fun way to show off my cards. About a year into it, I thought I was going to eventually run out of cards to post on here. Well, long story short, it is ten years later and I am just now getting to cards that were made the year I started this thing. I started getting too many autographs and quit posting on a daily basis. Now, in 2018, I am posting a rookie card that was released in the year I started this blog and that guy doesn't even play any more.

Here is a card that I got signed by Jayson Nix at the Kansas Stars game in 2016. I was pretty lucky to get Jayson to sign because I did not recognize him at all. He was sporting a large beard at the time and he had always seemed pretty clean cut while he was playing. Eventually, he got close enough to me that I could barely make out his name on his bat. He came over and signed three cards for both my dad and myself.

Jayson had a whirlwind career. In his seven year Major League career, he saw time with eight teams. He started out with the Rockies before playing with the White Sox, Indians, Blue Jays, Yankees, Phillies, Pirates, and Royals. Before this post, I had forgotten he played briefly for the Royals in 2014. I guess he didn't stand out too much when he went 0-11 in ten regular season and postseason games.

Jason finished his career a .212 hitter with 38 home runs and 130 RBI. His best season was probably during the 2010 campaign, which was split with the White Sox and Indians. He got off to a rocky start in Chicago, but ended up hitting .234 with 13 homers and 29 RBI after the Tribe claimed him on waivers in June.

2007 Bowman, Lars Davis

#BDPP19 Lars Davis

Here is a card that I got signed at the College World Series in 2015. Lars is a coach for the University of Florida Gators and I was able to get him before one of the games I attended. I could not got this card signed without the help of Peter Alonso. I had to ask him where Lars was and Peter sent him over to me. The way it is looking, I should have been asking Peter for his autograph.

Lars played minor league ball for eight seasons without getting a crack at the Majors. Over that time, he was a .250 hitter that had 30 home runs and 197 RBI. He reached AAA and played 92 games at that level and hit .253.

It seems odd that Lars ended up at Florida. For starters, Lars is Canadian and Florida is about as far away from Canada as one can get. On top of that, he played college ball at Illinois. I am not sure how he got on at Florida, but they sure have done well since he joined the staff five years ago. Since that time, they have won the College World Series and have made four consecutive trips to Omaha.

While t doesn't happen every year, it is fun to find a guy coaching in Omaha that I have a card of.

1993 Stadium Club, Freddie Benavides

#456 Freddie Benavides

Here is a card that I got signed at Spring Training last season at the Reds game I attended. Freddie is the first base coach for the Reds and he signed for me by the Reds dugout. This was the only card that he signed.

Freddie spent parts of four seasons in the Majors with the Reds, Rockies, and Expos. Over that time, he was a .253 hitter with 4 home runs and 52 RBI while playing all four infield positions.

Freddie had his best season playing for the expansion Rockies in 1993. He played in 74 games that year and had career highs in average (.276), home runs (3), and RBI (26). He took the field as the starting shortstop in the Rockies first game and, like most of his teammates that day against Doc Gooden, went hitless in three at-bats.

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars, Jeff Baker

#RD-BA Jeff Baker

Here is a card that I got signed by Jeff Baker at a Royals game in 2013. Jeff was playing with the Rangers at the time and I was able to get three cards signed by him during batting practice. That happened to be one of the rare Saturday games that I have been able to make it to and, like most games I attend with my family, I was running a little behind schedule. Because of that, I was not able to get my primo spot by the visitor's dugout. I was close, but a row back from where I needed to be. Luckily, the guy in front of me was really helpful and he was passing my cards up to the guys signing to help me out.

This was one of the hard to pull inserts out of the 2007 Future Stars set. Like I said in the last post, I bought two blasters of these and I think I got two inserts total. The funny thing is that the inserts are the only cards that have anything to do with future stars. When I bought these cards, I was basically expecting an Upper Deck version of Topps '52. That was not the case at all.

Regardless, I was pleased with how this card came out looking signed. It is severely lacking color, so the blue signature helps out with that. It is hard to see in the scan, but this card is numbered 995/999.

2007 Topps '52, Edwin Bellorin

#159 Edwin Bellorin

Here is the second card of Edwin Bellorin that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnuts game in 2011. On that day, I missed him coming out onto the field and ended up getting him by the clubhouses in left field after the game. Out there, there is a chain link fence separating fans from the clubhouse and the fence is probably at least eight feet tall. In order to get my cards to Ed, I ended up shoving them through a crevice at the bottom of the fence. Though it wasn't ideal, it got the job done.

The first card of Ed can be seen here.

Edwin's Major League service time spanned eight games over three seasons. Over those games, he started three, pinch hit twice, and was a defensive replacement in the other three. In those games, he had three hits in thirteen at-bats with one run and a walk and a strikeout. The Rockies were 6-2 in the games that Edwin played in.

In 2007, Edwin got into just three games and he had two at-bats. But, thanks to this set, he has a card commemorating him playing in the big leagues. That is why I love the idea of this set. Now if only they did not repeat the design from 2006.

2007 Topps, Aaron Cook

#415 Aaron Cook

I got this card signed at a Royals game in 2008 while the Rockies were taking batting practice. I never would have thought that I was going to get Aaron's autograph that day as he was scheduled to start the game. But, there he was standing in the dugout during BP signing for people. When he got to me, I said "I thought you were starting today". He gave me a quizzical glance and told me that he was.

To this day, I am pretty sure that this is the only autograph that I have ever gotten from a starting pitcher during pregame on a day he pitches. Starters usually have a routine and that routine normally does not include signing autographs. Even at all of the Wichita Wingnuts games I have been to, I cannot remember ever getting an auto from a starter. It was very weird.

2008 was my first year back into autograph collecting after a long hiatus. All of the Topps cards from 2007 and 2008 had the pre-printed signature on them. But, back then, I was too naive to ever think about using a blue Sharpie to contradict more with the black pre-print. Because of that, I have a few cards from those sets where the real one and the fake one overlap. Some look better than others. This may just be the worst one I have, though, as they overlap so well that it is kind of hard to make out his actual signature. I, of course, got his '08 Topps signed that day, too, and it looks about the same.

2007 Bowman's Best, Joe Gaetti

Here is a card of Gary Gaetti's son, Joe, that I got signed at a Kansas City T-Bones game in 2009. Joe was playing for the Northern League's Joliet JackHammers.

Joe was drafted by the Rockies in the twelfth round of the 2003 draft out of North Carolina State. He rose steadily up the Rockies minor league ladder and reached AAA in 2007. At that level, he hit .270 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in 74 games. But, it was not enough as the Rockies let him go after the season.

Joe then began a whirlwind minor league journey where he played for five different organizations over the next two seasons. He saw time in the Texas League with the A's and Rangers. He played in the Eastern League with the Red Sox and Twins. Just to not leave out the Southern League, he played there too with the Rays. And for good measure, he saw some time in the Pacific Coast League and the Northen League. Joe spent 2010 in the Atlantic League before calling it a career.

His best season was with the Modesto Nuts in 2005. He hit .332 with 21 home runs and 87 RBI.

This card came out looking great signed.

Since I have posted every single card that I got signed at T-Bones games, I guess it is time to check out some picture of the T-Bones field, Community America Ballpark. The place was built in 2003 for the Bones and is in the Legends district that features shopping, dining, the Kansas Speedway, and Sporting KC's soccer stadium. The park is dug into the earth and doesn't have much view from the outside.

In 2009, Sporting KC (then the Kansas City Wizards) played at Community America Ballpark while Arrowhead Stadium was being renovated. Some changes were made to the ballpark to accommodate soccer. Bleachers were added in left field and most of the dirt was removed from the field. The diamond then resembled an astroturf field with its dirt sliding pits.

The bleachers have since been removed and the infield has returned to normal.

The clubhouses are behind the berm seating in right field which makes it easy to get autographs at the games.

I had the privilege of seeing a few Major Leaguers play at the park. In 2008, the ballpark hosted the Willie Wilson Classic old-timers game. Fergie Jenkins started the game for the green team.

In 2009, Willie Wilson played one game for the T-Bones and started in center. He went 0-1 with a strikeout.

Community American Ballpark is a great place to see a game. With so much to do in the area, it is easy to see why the T-Bones are consistently in the top third of the American Association's attendance.

2007 Bowman Heritage, Daniel Mayora

#BHP29 Daniel Mayora

Here is a card that I got signed at Spring Training last year. Daniel was in the Dodgers minor league camp and I was able to get this card signed as he was walking between fields.

Daniel was originally signed by the Rockies and he began his professional career for them in 2005. Eleven yeas later and, while he may not be with the Rockies organization any more, Daniel is still toiling around in the minor leagues. And, while he is at least playing affiliated baseball, he is not even playing AAA. He is in AA. In fact, Daniel has only played in 51 AAA games and they all came in 2011 while he was in the Rays organization. He hit .262 in AAA and got released by the Rays afterwards. He was then picked up by the Giants and then demoted back to AA. They released him after the season, and he spent 2013 in the Atlantic League before being picked up by the Dodgers last year. His two seasons in the Dodger organization were both spent in AA so far.

As of right now, Daniel has played in 580 AA games. He has hit .288 at that level, though he is hitting just .251 right now. You have to wonder how much more AA ball he has left in him.

1996 Leaf Signature Series, Marvin Freeman

#73 Marvin Freeman

Here is another COMC addition that cost less than a dollar. I bought this card because I got Marvin's autograph at a Rockies game in 1996 and all I had to get signed was a Rockies program. I was barely collecting cards at the time and didn't even realize I would be heading to a Rockies game when we went to Colorado to play some baseball games. So this card is to make up for not getting a card signed at the game. There will be a few more like this coming up with this set.

Marvin played in the Majors for ten seasons with the Phillies, Braves, Rockies, and White Sox. He was both a reliever and a starter while getting most of his starts at the end of his career. Marvin's career record is 35-28 with 5 saves and a 4.64 ERA.

Marvin's best season came with the Rockies in 1994. That season, he was 10-2 with a 2.80 ERA over 18 starts and a relief appearance. Those are pretty good numbers for a pre-humidor Rockies pitcher. Unfortunately, he could not reproduce those numbers the following seasons in Denver as his ERA jumped to 5.89 the next season and 6.04 the season after that.

This apparently is the first Rockies card I have posted in over two years.

2006 Topps, Turkey Red, Clint Barmes

#TRA-CB Clint Barmes

Here is a card that I won in a contest about three years ago. The contest was held at "A Pack a Day" (remember that blog?) by skoormit. He had a bunch of packs of late '80s Topps and the contest was called "California vs The World". To win the contest, I think you had to pick if the cards would contain more California-born ballplayers or foreign players and how many more there would be. I guessed California and somehow managed to guess a closer amount than anyone else. Skoormit asked me what I wanted for a prize and, when I told him that I mainly just focus on autographs, he sent this card to me as the grand prize. He also included a Bo Jackson bat card that I thought was pretty cool and a bunch of random Royals cards.

Speaking of contests, the college baseball season is heating up and that can only mean one thing. It's about time for my third annual College World Series contest. On Monday, the 64 team field will be introduced and it will be on. I have to work all day tomorrow, so expect the contest to be posted later in the evening. The contest will be run like it has in the past and you can check out the past ones by clicking on the contest label on the right side of the blog.

2006 Topps, Clint Hurdle

#274 Clint Hurdle

Here is a card that I got signed by Clint Hurdle in 2008. He was managing the Rockies at the time and I got this card signed in Kansas City when the Rox came to town for interleague play. Clint signed three cards for me that day and this is actually the last card of the three that I have posted. I posted the first two about three and a half years ago during the infancy of this blog. Back then I was a blogger of few words, but at least I was able to get a new post in daily. I wish I could say that about this blog now. Anyway, if you want to check out the first two Hurdle cards I posted, the first one can be seen here and the second one here.

Clint got his first managerial job with the Rockies in 2002 when he replaced Buddy Bell early in the season. He managed the team into the 2009 season before he started the season 18-28 and was relieved of his duties. During that span, he lead the team to just one winning season. It just so happened, though, that that one winning season included winning the Wild Card in the 163rd game of the season and then advancing to the World Series. I actually had a ticket to game five of that Series, but it wasn't meant to be as the Red Sox swept the Rox in four.

Last season, Clint was hired on to manage the Pirates and he almost made a contender out of an over-achieving team. Some say the team's demise came on the blown call against the Braves, but I guess that is arguable. The team did slip a bunch after that game and the Bucs finished with a 72-90 season, fourth in the division.