2008 Tristar Projections, Duane Below

#62 Duane Below

First off, I fianlly made it back home after a little ballpark trip with the family. I have always wanted to take my dad to Wrigley Field and I finally had that chance last week. Chicago is about twelve hours away from here. So, with my three year old, I had to break the drive down in segments so we would all survive. Because of that, the five day trip took us to four ballparks. Besides Wrigley, we took in Busch Stadium, Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana and Impact Field in Rosemont, Illinois. Personally, I had a blast. I am not too sure about my fourteen year old and wife, though. But, I am glad that they came along, nonetheless.

As far as this card, I got it signed at a Royals game in 2011. Duane was with the Tigers at the time and he signed two of these cards for me before the game started. I still have the other one he signed, so it is available to anybody that needs it.

Duane pitched in the Majors for parts of three seasons with the Tigers and Marlins. In that time, he pitched in 44 games (3 starts) and was 2-4 with a 4.27 ERA. He last pitched in the Majors in 2013 and has pitched in Korea and Japan since then. He is still playing now as he is working on stepping off of the rubber to throw to first in the Atlantic League.

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 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 Bowman, Matt Joyce

#BDP25 Matt Joyce

In 2009, a family friend was racing stock cars in the ARCA series. Every weekend, they were off with their car at some major race track across the country. One weekend, I got invited to go and I jumped at the chance. Even though I am not a race fan, I like road trips and a trip to Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania sounded like a good time. Plus, the nearby Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees were in town that weekend. Once I got confirmation that we would have time for a ballgame, I was all in.

The SWB Yankees were hosting the Durham Bulls that weekend. Though I had cards for both teams, I was only going to be able to 'graph one side of the field. I chose the Bulls. I did send my buddy over to the Yankee side to snag Butch Wynegar for my '81 Donruss set and he came though for me. Matt was playing for the Bulls at the time and he was nice enough to sign this one card for me.

It is pretty cool to be posting a card of a current player on here. That rarely happens on this blog. Matt spent last season with Oakland and had a rough season. In 83 games, he hit just .208 with 7 home runs and 15 RBI.

Matt's best season was with the Rays in 2011. That year, he had career highs in average (.277) and RBI (.277) while also knocking 19 home runs. He was rewarded for his efforts with his lone All Star Game selection. In that game, he was 1-2 with a single off of Joel Hanrahan in the top of the ninth.

To date, Matt is a .240 hitter with 138 home runs and 459 RBI for his career. Matt's contract with Oakland was up after last season and he is currently a free agent.

Here is an updated 2008 Bowman map. I think that there is just one more state to add to it.

2008 Bowman, Will Rhymes

#BP108 Will Rhymes

Here is a card that I got signed outside of Kauffman Stadium in 2011. Prior to 2011, The K was a great spot for 'graphing as players arrived at the ballpark. Then, there was an incident involving Melky Cabrera and an idiot fan and the Royals made a lot of changes that made it not so great for getting autographs. The biggest change was that Royals players got shuttled into the park from their parking lot in a golf cart. I use to get a ton of 'graphs from Royals players as they arrived, but that is a thing of the past. Maybe five percent of the arriving Royals will stop to sign on the way in now.

Another thing the team did after the Melky incident was declare certain areas outside the park as "NO AUTOGRAPH ZONES". They had signs made up with that saying and everything. The signs only lasted a couple of seasons and they now have barricades set up where visiting players can walk into the park. At least with the barricade, you can still ask the player to sign at the barricade.

On the day that I got this card signed, I was breaking the rules. Will arrived in a cab and got dropped off at the "no autograph zone" (nowadays, they all show up in Ubers). I went over and asked him to sign anyways. I just had this one card of him and I was in and out. Now, if it was a big name player and he got mobbed, security would have come out. But, I had him one-on-one and it was quick, so there was no issue.

Will played parts of three seasons in the Majors with the Tigers and Rays. He appeared in 130 games and he hit .266 with 2 home runs and 29 RBI. His best season was his rookie campaign in 2010. That year, he got into 54 games and he hit .304 with a home run and 19 RBI. That first home run was off of Zack Greinke.

2006 Topps, Brandon Inge

#28 Brandon Inge

Back-to-back Tigers and back-to-back card number 28. What are the odds?

This is the third card of Brandon that I have posted on here. I posted the first two over five years ago and they can be seen here and here. I got those two signed at a Royals game in 2011. I got this one signed at a Kansas Stars game last year.

When I went to that game, Brandon was signing autographs right when I got into the seating bowl. I almost didn't go down there to get my cards signed by him because I got three done at that Royals game in 2011 and I got six from him at a Stars game the previous year. But, I figured that I brought some cards of him with me, so I might as well get them signed. So, now I have a cool dozen cards signed by Brandon. That is the most of a single player that I have that did not ever play for the Royals. In fact, it might be the most cards that I have signed by one guy irregardless of team.

When I last posted a card of Brandon, he was still an active player that had just joined the A's in 2012. He went on to play one more season after that with the Pirates before calling it a career. The 2009 All Star finished his career a .233 hitter with 152 home runs and 648 RBI.

I would call this card an error because Brandon is listed as a second baseman. Brandon played third in 160 games in 2005. He played second 19 times in his career, but those games occurred in his last two years of playing. On the back of the card, he is listed as a third baseman.

2006 Bowman Heritage, Nate Robertson

#28 Nate Robertson

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

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

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

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

2005 Topps Total, Troy Percival

#233 Troy Percival

Here is the second card of Troy Percival that I got signed at a Kansas State baseball game last year. I posted the first one back in April. You can see that card and read about the miserable conditions Troy and I endured here.

I, and I am assuming most people, associate Troy as an Angel. After all, he spent eleven seasons with that organization. During that time, he racked up a club record 316 saves while making four All Star teams and helping the club to its lone World Championship. But, that all ended after the 2004 season when the Angels let him leave via free agency.

He signed on with the Tigers for 2005 and it was not a good one for Troy. He recorded only 8 saves while posting a then career worst ERA of 5.76. The Tigers shut him down in mid-July and he missed the rest of the season. He then missed all of the 2006 season, as well.

Troy finished his time in Detroit with a 1-3 record and 20 strikeouts.

Troy is currently the head coach of the UC Riverside baseball team.

1993 Select, Dan Gladden

#244 Dan Gladden

Here is a card of Dan Gladden that I got signed at a Royals game last season. The Twins were in town and Dan is a broadcaster for the team. I noticed him on the field during batting practice and I got him to come over and sign for me right before he left the field.

That was the second time that I got Dan to sign for me. I got him at The Ballpark in Arlington (or whatever it was called at the time) in 2009 and that card can be seen here. When I got that card signed, I gave Dan my book with three cards of him and he just signed the one. This time, eight years later, I gave him my book with two cards to sign. Those two cards were the same two cards that he didn't sign in Texas. The next time I see Dan, I am sure I will just have his '86 Topps card to sign, the one he didn't sign the other two times.

Dan spent his last two seasons with Detroit. In 1993, his final season in the Majors, he had a good year. Though he played in just 91 games, he still hit .267 and had a single season best of 13 home runs. His 56 RBI were the second most that he ever had in a season.

Dan would play the 1994 season in Japan before calling it a career.

1988 Fleer, Alan Trammell

#9 Alan Trammell

Here is the card of Alan Trammell that I got signed at Spring Training in 2014. Alan was the bench coach for the Diamondbacks at the time and he signed for fans by the Major League practice field. Alan would only sign one card per person and this is the card that he signed for me. But, he signed for quite a few people, and I was able to send my son up there to get another card signed. I posted that card three years ago and it can be seen here.

This is the third card of Alan that I have posted on here. While I only got two cards signed by him at Spring Training that year, I did get him through the mail in 2009. He was working for the Cubs then and I sent him his '81 Donruss to sign for me. That card can be seen here.

This is a fun card of Alan. These All Star cards were randomly inserted into Fleer packs back when insert wasn't even a term in the hobby. I am surprised that I even have this card because I have virtually no cards from the '88 Fleer set. Looking at what I have, I could not have bought more than four packs of Fleer that year. Why that is the case, I have no idea. I loved Fleer in '87 and I do not hate the '88 design. I just barely bought any that year.

This insert set was limited to twelve cards and it is a random assortment of "All Stars". Eight of the cards are American League players and only four are from the National League. Only four of the cards feature players that started in the '87 All Star Game and there are three cards of players that weren't even on the All Star team. I guess these are just guys that would have been on Fleer's All Star team. Still, it is a fun card to have signed.

1986 Topps, Darnell Coles

#26T Darnell Coles

Here is the first of three cards of Darnell Coles that my oldest boy got signed for me at Spring Training this year. Darnell is the hitting coach for the Brewers and he was nice enough to sign before a game against the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark.

We were supposed to go to three Spring Training games this year, but ended up skipping the third one. But, in all three games, the Brewers just happened to be the visiting team. So, I made a deal with my boy and I put him in charge of 'graphing the Brewers for me. For every card that he got signed, I would give him a dollar.

I gave him a fat stack of Brewers cards and he thought he was going to really cash in. The only problem was that 'graphing is not his thing. I tried to set him up with some 'graphers to help him out and a father/son duo at the Reds games helped him get more than he would have otherwise, like this card. But, in the end, over the two games he made $14. He was a little bummed, but I certainly appreciated the effort. I ended up getting him a cheap $20 skateboard from Wal-Mart and I think everyone was happy.

Darnell had a career year for the Tigers in 1986. After being sent there from the Mariners in the offseason, he would end up playing in 142 games and hit .273 with 30 doubles, 20 home runs, and 86 RBI, all career highs. The following season did not go as well, though. Darnell was hitting .181 through 53 games before being shipped off to Pittsburgh for Jim Morrison.

1986 Donruss, Bob Melvin

#456 Bob Melvin

Here is the second card of Bob Melvin that I have posted on here. I posted the first one back in 2014, just a few months after getting the cards signed. Bob was nice enough to sign three for me prior to a Spring Training game when his A's were visiting the White Sox at Camelback Ranch.

Bob was drafted by the Tigers and made his Major League debut with them in 1985. He got into 41 games and, in 82 at-bats, he hit .220 with 4 doubles and 4 RBI. He was then traded to the Giants shortly after the season ended for a trio of players that included Matt Nokes. That trade worked out for the Tigers in 1987 as Nokes made the All Star team and blasted 32 bombs.

If I had to guess, I probably got one pack of '86 Donruss back in 1986. All of my local super markets only carried Topps at the time, so that was what I always got. But, the one pack of Donruss that I did find that year included this card.

1981 Donruss, Tim Corocoran

#367 Tim Corcoran

This is the second card of Tim Corcoran that I have posted on here. The funny thing is that this Tim Corcoran card is of a completely different Tim Corcoran than the first one posted. Who knew that two different Tim Corcorans played Major League Baseball? The first post I did can be seen here.

This Tim played in the Majors for nine seasons with the Tigers, Twins, Phillies, and Mets. He played first base and right field and hit .270 with 12 home runs and 128 RBI over his career.

His best season was with the Phillies in 1984. That year, he got into 102 games and had 208 at-bats. He hit a career-best .341 that year with 5 home runs and 36 RBI.

I mailed this card to Tim last summer and he had it back to me four months later.

Surprisingly, both Tim Corcorans have good looking signatures.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #209

1981 Donruss, Ricky Peters

#10 Ricky Peters

It has been three years since I last posted a card from the '81 Donruss set. Over that time, I have got about thirty more cards signed from that set. So, be prepared to be seeing the '81D for the next few months.

The first one is of Ricky Peters. I got this one signed through the mail last year. I sent it to Ricky in November and I got it back three weeks later.

Ricky played in the Major Leagues for five seasons with the Tigers and A's. He hit .277 in the show with 2 home runs and 80 RBI. His first home run was a grand slam that he hit for the Tigers in 1980. Too bad they were down by seven when he hit it.

Ricky got most of his playing time with the Tigers from 1979-1981. He got into 208 games with them including a career high of 133 in 1980. That season, he hit .291 with both of his homers and 42 RBI. He missed all of the '82 season before getting released by Detroit. The A's picked him up and he played in 99 games for them during the '83 and '85 seasons before calling it a career.

I really like Ricky's signature. The star is unique.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #176

I originally started the Donruss Tracker to track them as I got closer to my goal of 100 cards signed from the set. Since I met and exceeded my goal, I figured that there is no need to track them out of 100 (ie no more 176/100).

1978 Topps, John Wockenfuss

#723 John Wockenfuss

Back in 2013, I sent an '81 Donruss card to John to add him to that set. I got that card back twelve days later with two extra cards that he sent me. This is one of the extra cards. The other that he included was his '85 Donruss card that I posted three years ago.

While the two extra cards were cool, the best part was that he wrote me a note back. In that note, he talked about how he loved to bow hunt for deer and that he has heard about the deer in Kansas. In short, he wanted to know if I had any places here to deer hunt and he gave me his phone number to call him if I did. I have posted this story twice before and I still get a little giddy thinking about it because it such a cool and unique TTM response.

I have a cousin-in-law out in western Kansas that is a big hunter. Maybe I should hook these two up next fall and go hang out with John Wockenfuss for a week.

1975 Topps, Gene Lamont

#593 Gene Lamont

Here is something I haven't posted in some time- a recent addition to my collection. Most of the cards I have been posting have been waiting to make it on here for up to three years. Not this one. I got this card signed in Kansas City less than three months ago when the Tigers came to play the Royals. Gene is the Tigers bench coach and he was nice enough to sign two cards for me after hopping off of the bus at Kauffman Stadium.

Gene spent his entire Major League playing career with the Tigers. That career spanned five seasons, but he only got into 87 games over that span. He spent most of those summers playing for the Tigers AAA affiliate, with one summer playing for the Braves top minor league team. It seems that Gene was just the Tigers third catcher and they would call him up when they needed him.

Gene made his Major League debut in 1970 and did well in the 15 games he got into. He hit .295 with 3 doubles, a triple, a home run, and 4 RBI. That one home run he hit came in his first Major League at-bat. But, the following season, he would only get into 7 games with the Tigers. The year after that, he got into one game and did not even bat. He spent the '73 season playing for the Braves organization before rejoining the Tigers in '74.

That season, he got into a career-high 60 games. He .217 with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, and 8 RBI. He was back in AAA the following season, though, and got into just 4 big league games that year. He would play one more full season of AAA before calling it a career and joining the coaching ranks.

For his career, Gene hit .233 with 4 homers and 14 RBI.

1961 Topps, Paul Foytack

#171 Paul Foytack

This is a card of Paul Foytack that I got signed through the mail in 2013. I sent this card to Paul mid-April and I had it back just eight days later.

Paul pitched in the Majors for eleven seasons. He spent the majority of the time with the Tigers before spending his final two seasons with the Angels. He spent time in the rotation and the bullpen, but got most of his appearances as a starter.

For his career, Paul was 86-87 with 7 saves and a 4.14 ERA. He had four straight seasons of 100+ strikeouts and six seasons with double-digit wins. Unfortunately, he also posted six straight double digit loss seasons. His best season was probably the 1956 season when he went 15-13 with a save, a 3.59 ERA, and a career high 186 strikeouts.

Last night, I went to Wichita to attend my very first NBC World Series game. It was a special event as Nate Robertson and Adam LaRoche put together a team of former Major League players to take on the college kids. I went, of course, just to get autographs and I did pretty well. With my dad's help, I came home with autographs from former All Stars Brandon Inge, Roy Oswalt, Brad Penny, Josh Beckett, and Tim Hudson.

I got there early and found the spot to be by the clubhouse. My dad and I were the only ones there for some time and were doing well. Then a couple more people came over and then a few more and a few more. At the peak, there might have been ten people over there getting autographs over or under a ten foot fence. At that point, security guards came out and erected a new plastic fence to keep us away from the big fence and prevent us from getting autographs. I was pretty bummed over it, but it was still a fun experience, overall.

The game didn't get started until about 10:30 PM, so we only stayed for four innings. But we got to see Tim Hudson throw three innings and Josh Beckett one. It took a while for the former big league hitters to get their bats going, but we did see JD Drew rip a RBI double in the first. The Kansas Stars, as they are called, went on to win 8-0, so they obviously got their bats going later on in the game.

1958 Topps, Red Wilson

#213 Red Wilson

Here is the next card in the long line of TTMs I got back in 2013. I sent this card to Red in February and I had it back about five weeks later.

Red played in the Majors for ten seasons with the White Sox, Tigers, and Indians. Like most of the vintage catchers I have been posting recently, Red was also a back-up throughout his career. He spent the majority of his time with the Tigers and was a .258 hitter for his career with 24 home runs and 189 RBI. His best season was probably with Detroit in 1956 when he hit .289 with a career high in home runs (7) and RBI (38).

In 1960, Red was traded from the Tigers to the Indians for Hank Foiles. I posted a card of Hank two weeks ago.

After a rainy regional weekend, the super regionals are now set. There were a few upsets with Virginia, Vanderbilt, and Clemson failing to advance off of their home turf. Some surprises to make it out of the regionals were Boston College and East Carolina, both three seeds.

As of right now, both Wilson and anonymous Brandon have all eight of their teams in the super regionals. Everyone else has between three and six teams remaining. Most people only have one seeds left. The Lost Collector has five teams left with two of them being two seeds. Greg also has five teams, with one two seed and a three seed. If all of his teams win, he could go into phase two with a nice lead with nine points.

On a side note, this summer will be my tenth straight year of going to the College World Series. I have gone with my dad every year and every year he picks a California team to root for. He has t-shirts for UC Irvine, Cal, Fresno State, Fullerton, and UCLA. Right now, there is only one California team left- UC Santa Barbara. The odds are stacked against them as they take on Louisville. Will they be able to pull off the upset or will my dad go to his first Californialess CWS?

2007 Topps '52, Kevin Hooper

#214 Kevin Hooper

This is, I believe, the sixth and final card of Kevin Hooper that I have to post on here. At least it is the final card until I eventually get into the Wingnuts team sets in the very distant future. This card, like most of my Hooper cards, was signed before a Wingnuts game, the team he managed for seven seasons.

While I am sure that there are a couple cards of Hoop out there that I don't have, I will not be able to get them signed because he is moving on. After seven seasons as the manager of the 'Nuts, Hoop found a position in affiliated ball. He will now be joining the Padres as their minor league infield coordinator.

Hoop played for the inaugural 'Nuts team before moving to the dugout the following season. In his time as the skipper of the 'Nuts, he led the team to a 422-270 record with five straight division titles and one championship. He was also named Manager of the Year three times.

While it is sad to see him go, I hope that he does well and moves up the ranks of the affiliated coaching ladder. Now, the Wingnuts need to find a new manager with some Major League service time so I can get some autographs from him.

Last season, the 'Nuts finally did something extra to showcase their brand around the ballpark. They did that by hanging banners around the concourse. While the banners are not extremely noticeable, they are better than nothing. Here is a banner that was hung commemorating Hoop's batting title in 2008.

2007 Topps, Eulogio de la Cruz

#UH190 Eulogio de la Cruz

Here is a card that I got signed a couple of days before the previous one of Ryan Rowland-Smith. This was signed at a Round Rock Express game while he was playing for the Albuquerque Isotopes. He signed this lone card for me before making his way onto the field. And since this was me getting this card signed in 2008, it was unprepped and came out looking like total crap.

Eulogio, who also goes by Frankie, played in parts of four Major League seasons with the Tigers, Marlins, Padres, and Brewers. He saw the most big league action with Milwaukee in 2011 when he got into 11 games and logged 13 innings while posting a 2.77 ERA. For his career, Frankie has no record and a 8.16 ERA. He walked 26 while only striking out 20.

Frankie last pitched in Mexico in 2014.