2008 Topps Heritage, Alexi Casilla

#588 Alexi Casilla

Card number 588 is the first card of this set that I am posting. But, it is not because I have very few cards from this set signed. It is because I have thirteen cards with a number lower than 588, but they all feature dudes that I have been posted on here before. So, '08 Heritage is going to go by quick- two individual posts and two "rest of" posts.

This is the card of Alexi Casilla that I got signed outside of Kauffman Stadium in 2012. Alexi was still with the Twins at the time and he was nice enough to come over and sign this lone card for me after getting off of the team bus.

Alexi played in the Majors for parts of nine seasons with the Twins and Orioles. Over that time, he hit .247 with 12 homers and 157 RBI. His best season was with the Twinkies in 2008 when he hit .281 with 7 home runs and 50 RBI.

Alexi is still currently playing, but it is in independent ball. He is currently trying to steal first base with the York Revolution in the Atlantic League.

2008 Bowman, Jeff Lanning

#BDPP4 Jeff Lanning

Here is a card that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnuts game in 2012 while Jeff was playing for the Can-Am League's New Jersey Jackals. For a couple of years, the Can-Am and the American Association each had an odd number of teams. To counteract that, the leagues added interleague to the schedule so that there was always one interleague series going on. I thought it was a cool idea to combat the odd number of teams. The only problem, for me at least, was that the Jackals were the only team to travel to Wichita. But, on the day I got this card signed, I came home with 33 signed cards. That was my record for a Winguts game.

Jeff's career spanned five seasons. He played two years in the Twins organization before moving on to the Phillies for two years. He then played one season for New Jersey. Through all of that, he played in 223 games and never got above high-A. He was a .256 hitter that had 25 home runs and 102 RBI.

The funny thing about Jeff's career is that he never played in more than 53 games in any season. I guess it goes to show that even the lowest levels of the minor leagues need back-up catchers.

2008 Bowman, Alex Burnett

#BP64 Alex Burnett

Here is a card that I got signed at a Wingnuts game in 2014 while Alex was playing for Sioux City. It was about 95 degrees that day and he came out of the clubhouse in a hoody and with his hood up. I asked him what was up with the hoody and he was curious if it was too hot for that or not.

Alex played parts of four seasons in the Majors with the Twins, Orioles, and Cubs. Over that time, he appeared in 177 games in relief and racked up a record of 8-11 with a 4.69 ERA. His best season was probably the 2012 campaign with the Twins. That year, he appeared in a career-high 67 games and 71.2 innings. While his WHIP was well over 1.00 and his K/9 was around 4.5, he held opponents to a 3.52 ERA, which was nearly two runs less than his previous career-best. But, that was the beginning of the end for Alex. The next year was spent with four different franchises and he would only log 2.2 innings of work in the Majors, which was evenly split between the Orioles and Cubs. Then it was on to the American Association in 2014.

In 2015, Alex pitched 8.2 inning in Mexico before calling it a career. Nonetheless, encounters with players like Alex were definitely the highlights of 'graphing Wingnut games. While I am going to miss that franchise, especially this coming year when there will be no minor league ball in Wichita, I am sure I will forget about the American Association pretty quickly once AAA ball comes to town.

The rest of 2008 Allen & Ginter

#221 Tim Hudson
#237 Zack Greinke
#307 Pat Neshek
#US50 John Buck

I have over 250 cards signed from 2008 sets. Since I am doing good to average a post every other day, it is going to take me a year and half to get all of those cards posted. So, to help speed up the process, I am going to cut some corners for the first time ever on here. The new rule is that each player gets one post. If that player comes up again, he gets lumped into a set round-up post like this one. The one exception would be that if I only have one card from a set signed, it is getting its own post regardless. It only saved me three posts on this one. But, when I get to Topps, it will save me more than thirty posts.

Tim Hudson- Kansas Stars game in 2016

Zack Greinke- Royals Fanfest 2009, my first Greinke card on here since 2012. Can you believe I actually gave away a signed Greinke Sports Illustrated on here once?

Pat Neshek- TTM 2009, my first return from Pat

John Buck- Royals parking lot 2008

The links take you back to an original post of that player.

2005 Topps Total, Corky Miller

#461 Corky Miller

Here is the lone card that I got signed by Corky Miller at Spring Training in 2017. Corky is the Reds roving catching instructor and I was able to get him to sign this lone card at Reds minor league camp.

This is the only card of Corky that I own, so I assumed he had a relatively short career. That is not the case as he played in Major League games in eleven different seasons. He never played in more than 39 in any given season, so he was more of a third string catcher than anything.

Over his eleven seasons, Corky got into 216 games with the Reds, Twins, Red Sox, Braves, and White Sox. The majority of his playing time came during his two stints with the Reds, with whom he played in 153 games. For his career, Corky hit .193 with 11 home runs and 67 RBI. His best season was with the Reds in 2002. That year, he played in a career-high 39 games and hit .254 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI.

This is the only Major League card of Corky that does not show him playing for the Reds. And, even though his career lasted into the 2013 season, this is the last Major League card of him.

I was looking forward to seeing what Corky's real name was. It turns out that it is actually Corky. His full name is Corky Abraham Philip Miller. There have been two other players that played in the Majors that went by Corky, but it was just a nickname for the other two.

2004 Topps, Ron Gardenhire

#283 Ron Gardenhire

Here is a card of Ron Gardenhire that I got signed at a Royals game last year. Ron was the bench coach for the Diamondbacks at the time and he seemed a little shocked that I asked for his autograph. He asked me why I wanted his autograph and assumed it was because I couldn't get Paul Goldschmidt to come over. I told him it was because I don't get to see him anymore since he doesn't lead the Twins to town a dozen times a year to whoop up on the Royals. He just chuckled and signed the three cards I had of him.

After the season, he got the Tigers managerial job and gets to come back to Kansas City a dozen times a year. Luckily, though, his new team currently lacks the talent that he had in Minnestoa a decade ago.

Ron managed the Twins for thirteen seasons and was 1068-1039. During that time, he lead the Twins to a AL Central crown six times. Unfortunately, they never fared well in the postseason, going 6-21 while winning just one series. That series was Gardenhire's first trip to the postseason in his first year of managing, 2002, when his team beat the A's in five games.

2004 Studio, Jason Bartlett

#208 Jason Bartlett

Every once in a while, my dad will buy me some baseball cards. He's been doing it since the mid-80s and I do not see him stopping anytime soon. Even when I was in college and could care less about baseball cards, my dad would still buy me a pack or two every now and then. I think he is just curious of what they are looking like from year to year.

Anyways, a couple of years ago, my dad called me to tell me that he pulled an autograph out of a pack. I was expecting something cool out of a current pack of Allen & Ginter or even Topps Archives. Nope, this was the card he pulled. It turns out that he got bored by the card selection at Target, so he picked up a repack box with a few packs and a 100 loose cards. This was one of the loose cards.

Now, I don't mean to sound like I am ungrateful that my dad pulled this card. That is not the case as I love any and all autographs, especially guys that I never got in-person that had respectable careers, like Jason. I just wasn't expecting him to pull an auto that was a dozen years old.

Jason played in the Majors for ten seasons with the Twins, Rays, and Padres. Over that time, he hit .270 with 31 home runs and 286 RBI while playing in the postseason three times. He best season was with the Rays in 2009 when he had career-highs in nearly every offensive category including average (.320), runs (90), doubles (29), home runs (14), RBI (66), and stolen bases (30). He was rewarded that season with his only All Star team selection.

2002 Fleer Tradition, Eddie Guardado

#U320 Eddie Guardado

Here is a card I got signed last year when the Twins were in Kansas City. Eddie is the Twins bullpen coach and he stopped to sign for me after getting off the team bus. I asked him how he was enjoying coaching and he told me that it was "OK". I asked him why it was just OK and he told me that players are just too soft these days. It seems that Eddie and Mike Matheny are on the same page.

Eddie pitched for the Twins for the first eleven seasons of seventeen year career. Over that time, he held about every role a left-handed pitcher could hold. He started, was a LOOGY, did middle relief, and was a closer. Counting the seven games he appeared in for the Twins after being acquired at the 2008 trade deadline, Everyday Eddie was 37-48 with 116 saves and a 4.53 ERA with the Twins.

Eddie had back-to-back 40 save seasons with the Twins in 2002 and 2003. He racked up 45 the first year and 41 in the second. He was rewarded both years with an All Star selection, the only two of his career. This card represents his first selection. In the 2002 mid-summer classic, Eddie struck out the only two batters he faced- Andruw Jones and Jose Hernandez. Maybe if he would have pitched longer, or not relieved Barry Zito after he faced just one batter, the game might not have ended in a tie.

1994 Score, Chip Hale

#609 Chip Hale

If you have been wondering where I have been the last couple of weeks, I was prepping for my Spring Training trip last week. We left for Arizona last Monday and got back Saturday morning. We ended up going to three Spring Training games, two minor league camps, and one college game. I did okay on the 'graphing front, bringing home seventy-five signed cards and a signed batting glove. My goal was 100 cards, so I came up a bit short. I had planned on hitting the White Sox minor league camp hard, but it wasn't open the day we where there. So, we ended up in Maryvale for the Brewers and I was not as prepared for them as I was for the Sox. But, overall, it was a good trip.

Speaking of Spring Training, here is a card that I got signed at Spring Training last year. Chip was the third base coach for the A's at the time and he signed three cards for me before a game. I posted the first one three months ago and it can be seen here.

As for the A's, I really like 'graphing that club at Spring Training. I have hit them up three times over the years and I always do really well, especially with the coaches. It was the same this year as I got twenty-one cards signed by them at the Angels game I attended. On top of that, I got one of Marcus Semien's batting gloves and he signed that for me as well.

As for Chip, he is no longer with the A's. He is now the bench coach for the Nationals.

1990 Upper Deck, Chip Hale

#475 Chip Hale

Here is another card of Chip Hale. I just posted a card of him last week that I got in-person this past spring. This one, on the other hand, was given to me two years ago by Rod, from Padrographs. If you look at the two cards side by side, you will notice something. The signatures do not look similar in any way, shape, or form.

Usually, that is not a good thing. I got him in-person, so I know that card is good. So, I start to wonder about this card. But, after a quick peek at COMC, I find Chip's 1996 Leaf Signature Series card and that card is signed like this one. That makes me feel better. At some point, Chip drastically changed his signature. Or I just got the super hurried up ballpark version.

Merry Christmas!

1990 Topps, Chip Hale

#704 Chip Hale

Here is the first of three cards that I got signed by Chip Hale at an A's minor league game this past spring. Chip was the A's third base coach at the time and he stopped and signed by the dugout before the game started.

Preparing to go to Spring Training is a monumental task for me. After getting the easy parts done, figuring out which games to go to and getting a hotel, I then have to get cards ready for as many as six teams. I got lucky last year as the Brewers were the visiting team for each game we planned on attending, so I only had get cards for four teams.

I keep my cards somewhat organized. Current players are sorted by teams and past players are sorted by sets. The current players are sorted decently from Spring Training to the trade deadline. Once the deadline passes, I get behind and then fall even further behind during the free agent frenzy.

So, by the time Spring Training comes around, not only do I have to find cards to take with me, I have to sort all the cards I bought from June on just so I have a chance of finding the cards I need. As you can imagine, it is not an easy or fun task. By the time I get to finding cards to take with me, I just want to get through it as fast as possible. That is how I ended up getting three cards from this set signed at Spring Training last year. I was able to knock out three needs in one set and I took it. Otherwise, like most people, I am not a huge fan of this set.

But, having said that, all five cards from this set that I posted recently all came out looking good. So, the set has that going for it. I was a little worried about this card because of the dark warm up jersey Chip is wearing. But, to my surprise, the blue contrasted against the navy better than I would have imagined and you can make out the signature very easily.

1987 Topps, Mark Salas

#87 Mark Salas

I cannot believe that it has been over a week since I have posted last. It has been some time since I have gone that long without a post. I was posting daily for a bit while I was looking for a job. While I am still on the job hunt, I found a job to keep me busy and bring in some kind of income; it's just not the job I want and it tends to take up more time than I like.

So, here is Mark Salas card number five. This one, like the last two of Mark, were signed at Kauffman Stadium by the visiting team's bullpen. Mark works for the White Sox and one might assume that he is the bullpen coach for the club. That is not the case. Mark is actually the bullpen catcher. Mark is 56 years-old and he is still able crouch down behind a plate. I am not even 40 yet and I could not do that job.

Mark played with the Twins for two and a half seasons. Over that time, he hit .279 with 20 home runs and 83 RBI. His best season came with them in 1985 when he hit .300 with career-highs in homers (9) and RBI (41).

1986 Topps, Mark Salas

#537 Mark Salas

Here is the second of three cards that Mark Salas signed for me from the visiting team's bullpen at Kauffman Stadium in 2014. I posted the first card three years ago and it can be seen here. I had posted two cards prior to that and those two can be linked to from the last Salas card I posted.

For those of you that are unaware, Mark is the bullpen catcher for the Chicago White Sox. Not the bullpen coach, but the bullpen catcher. That still amazes me every time I say it, think it, or type it. The reason for that is that Mark is fifty-six years old. I have no idea how his knees are still able to squat down like that still.

Mark played for the Cardinals, Twins, Yankees, White Sox, Indians, and Tigers during his career. Yet, for whatever reason, I only have Twins and Tigers cards signed by him. While he doesn't appear to have a single Indians card, he does have one Cardinal card, three Yankees cards, and a handful of White Sox cards. Considering that the Sox come to Kansas City pretty regularly, it looks like I need to grab a Cardinal and Yankee card of him.

The White Sox website points out that Mark is one of five players to have a last name that is a palindrome. Any ideas who the other four are?

1986 Leaf, Bert Blyleven

#88 Bert Blyleven

Here is the third card of Bert Blyleven that I have posted on here. I posted the first two cards in 2009, though one was a TTM success from the early '90s and the other was in-person at a Rangers game that year.

This one, on the other hand, was signed in-person this year at the Twins/Royals game I attended in Kansas City this May. Bert is the color commentator for the Twinkies and I was lucky enough to get him to sign one of three when he got off the team bus outside the park.

I had a buddy with me at that game and he was helping me get some Twins autographs. Many of the bigger names on the Twins would only sign one card and my buddy would go and get a second card signed for me. When Bert only signed the one card, my friend came over to grab a card to get signed by Bert. I told him not to worry about is as I now have three of him. What I didn't realize until later was that I should have sent him over with my ball to get signed. I was saving the ball for Paul Molitor and he had already entered the park without signing for anyone. Why I did not think of getting Bert on it is still has me kicking myself in the butt.

I have no clue why I grabbed this card to get signed by Bert. I guess I still consider '80s Leaf as more oddball than mainstream and who does not like an occasional signed oddball? The only thing I do not like about is that I sort my autographs by year and set. Within the year, I sort the sets alphabetically. My Fleer cards separate this Leaf card from its Donruss twins and it just looks lonely and out of place in my binder.

1983 Topps, Jim Eisenreich

#197 Jim Eisenreich

It has been a little over two years since I last posted a card of Jim Eisenreich. Jim played for the Royals for six seasons and is a constant at Royals Fanfests, which is where I got this card signed in 2014. At that particular Fanfest, I was finally able to get him to sign a Dodger card and this Twins card. After getting those two signed, I had a signed card for each Major League team he played for. The Marlins and Phillies were the other teams.

This was almost the only card Jim ever had. He made his debut with the Twins in 1982 and he got into 48 games with them over three years. But, he kept going on the disabled list with a nervous twitch and even retired for two full seasons. His twitch finally got diagnosed as Tourette's Syndrome and, with proper medication, he was able to get back in the game and have a long, successful career.

As a member of the Twins, Jim hit .283 with 2 home runs and 12 RBI.

Tomorrow is selection Monday for the college baseball postseason. That means the College World Series contest will be kicking off this week. Stay tuned!

1981 Donruss, Dave Edwards

#595 Dave Edwards

After five months of nothing but 1981 Donruss posts, it saddens me to say that this will be the last one for some time on here. While I look forward to posting some new stuff, I really like the '81D.

I got this card signed by Dave Edwards through the mail earlier this year. I saw a success from him on another blog, so I made sure to send my card shortly thereafter. I sent the card in February and I had it back five weeks later.

Dave played for the Twins and Padres during his five year career. Over that time, he hit .238 with 14 home runs and 73 RBI. His best season was with the Twins in 1979. That year, he hit .249 with career-highs in homers (8) and RBI (35).

Dave was traded by the Twins to San Diego in early December of 1980, just in time for Donruss to update the team on this card.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #223

1981 Donruss, Jose Morales

#495 Jose Morales

I said in yesterdays post that the card was a recent addition to my collection since I obtained the signature within the past year. Based on that, this one is practically brand new. I mailed this card to Jose in February and I had it back a week later.

Jose played in the Major Leagues for twelve seasons with the A's, Expos, Twins, Orioles, and Dodgers. Though he played in over 700 games for his career, Jose took the field in only 104 times. He was a DH for 265 games and spent the rest of the time pinch hitting. Jose was a professional hitter that hit .278 for his career with 26 home runs and 207 RBI.

In 1976, Jose set the Major League record for pinch hits in a season. With the Expos, he racked up 25 pinch hits that year. His record stood for nineteen years before being broken by the Rockies John Vander Wal.

It is kind of funny that Jose is listed as a catcher on this card. He caught just two games in 1980 and played first base just as much. But, he did DH 86 times. Sounds like Jose is a designated hitter to me.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #219

1981 Donruss, John Castino

#488 John Castino

Here is another somewhat recent addition to the '81 Donruss set. And by recent, I mean that it was obtained in the last year. I got this card signed through the mail last summer. It took just six days to get this card back.

John played in the Majors for six seasons, all with the Twins. Over that time. he was a .278 hitter with 41 home runs and 249 RBI. His best season was the 1980 campaign where he had single season highs in average (.302), home runs (13), and RBI (64).

Speaking of the Twins, I had the pleasure seeing them play Friday in Kansas City and I did really well 'graphing that day. I came home with two cards signed from most of their better players including Miguel Sano, Joe Mauer, and Brian Dozier. Plus, I got another card signed by Bert Blyleven. I had a ball that I wanted Paul Molitor on. He didn't sign and I kind ofregret not getting Bert on in.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #218

1975 Topps Mini, Jerry Terrell

#654 Jerry Terrell

Here is another '75 Topps Mini that I was able to get signed this year. Actually, my dad got this one signed for me at Royals Fanfest. I was in line with my boy and his friend to get pictures with the championship trophy and my dad was just wandering around. He came back because he saw Jerry and Les Norman by the wiffleball field. So I gave him a couple of cards and he got one signed by each player.

Unfortunately, that was how the 'graphing was going at Fanfest following the World Series victory. The only current player I got that day was back-up catcher Drew Butera and I got that one by the whiffleball field, too. All of the autograph lines filled up super-quick and I did not want to stand in a line for three hours not knowing who was going to be signing there after the long wait. So I just grabbed who I could when I could. Besides Butera, it was all alumni. But, this was the first time that I had got Jerry and, since it was on a '75 mini, I was pretty happy about it.

I could not have done it without my dad, so props to him for helping me out.

After that experience with Fanfest, I am still undecided about heading back up there this year. Deep down I want to go as it might be the last time I see Eric Hosmer and I still do not have a card signed by Salvador Perez. But at the same time, I usually get really annoyed at the event because the Royals do not run the autograph lines as well as they should and I miss out on some people I should have been able to get. I still have time to decide, though.

2007 Granstand New Britian Rock Cats 25th Anniversary, Pat Neshek

#17 Pat Neshek

This is probably the longest title of any post I have done yet. I always thought the longest title would have Hollandsworth or Saltalamacchia in it. Turns out I just needed to post a minor league 25th anniversary card.

Earlier this year, right before Spring Training started, I sent Pat Neshek his 2014 Topps All Star card to sign. Since it is Pat, I included three signed cards that I had extras of. In exchange for those three cards, Pat sent back the signed All Star card was well as three minor league cards that he signed for me. This is one of those cards. I have already posted the other two and those can be seen here and here.

By Pat's standards, he is having an off year this season. He has pitched in 61 games and he has a record of 3-6 with a save and a 3.46 ERA. That ERA is about a half a run over his career ERA. It probably doesn't help that he has to pitch half of his games in little ol' Minute Maid Park. But, that is what he signed on to do. If the Astros do not blow it, at least he has a chance to pitch in the postseason this year.