The Rest of 2008 Upper Deck Timelines

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008 Topps Opening Day

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

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

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

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

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

2008 Topps, Josh Anderson

#UH7 Josh Anderson

Here is the first of three cards that I got signed by Josh Anderson in 2009. Josh was with the Royals at the time and I was able to snag him in Minnesota at the final regular season series at the Metrodome.

Josh appeared in 179 Major League games with four teams over a three year stretch. He saw action with the Astros, Braves, Tigers, and Royals. Over those 179 games, he managed to hit .272 with 4 home runs and 47 RBI. After his first two big league seasons, Josh was a .315 hitter. Then, after playing in 118 games in 2009 and hitting .240, his average dipped down to that respectable .272 lifetime average.

On a totally unrelated note, I went up to Omaha this weekend. I was hoping to catch an "if necessary" College World Series game, but the game wasn't necessary. I instead took in an Omaha Storm Chasers game, where I have had great 'graphing success in the past. Well, that success came to an end Saturday night. I came home from that game with four cards signed from two different guys. I wasn't very thrilled with those results.

The main reason for the low numbers was because it was a bobblehead night and quite a few fans showed up super early for that. When we arrived at the park fifteen minutes before the gates opened, there were lines halfway through the parking lot to get in and we didn't even have tickets yet. By the time we got inside, we were about forty people away from the clubhouse. Most of the guys that did sign only signed a few and it was for the first people they came across. I was hoping to get Keston Huira there, but he quit signing after the first ten people.

When it was all said and done, I got one card signed by Jake Hager and three from Brett Phillips, which probably gives me eight of him because he is a signing machine. My little guy got a card signed by Brett, too, so I am glad that he didn't come home empty handed.

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 Stadium Club, Brent Lillibridge

#157 Brent Lillibridge

Here is a card that I pulled out of a blaster in late 2009. I guess I was really wanting to open some packs at the time and there wasn't anything new out. So, I found a year old blaster at Walmart for a reduced price and went that route. It worked out well for me as I got this card in it.

Brent spent parts of six seasons in the Majors with six different clubs. He made his debut with the Braves in 2008 before being dealt to the White Sox after the season. He then spent nearly four years in Chicago before they dealt him to the Red Sox in 2012. His tenure in Boston lasted exactly one month before they shipped him to Cleveland. He finished off the season with the Indians before signing with the Cubs for the 2013 season. He lasted in the Cubs organization for for half the season before they sold him to the Yankees. Though he played AAA ball in 2014, he never made it back up to the Major Leagues.

For his career, Brent played in 358 games and hit .205 with 19 home runs and 71 RBI. His best season was with the White Sox in 2011. That year, he played in a career-high 97 games and he hit .258 with 13 homers and 29 driven in.

Nearly three years after pulling this card, I would get Brent's autograph in-person. Actually, my oldest boy got it for me and then held the card against his Royals jersey and smeared it. So, this is one of the rare instances where I prefer a certified autograph over an in-person autograph.

2008 Goudey, Jeff Francoeur

#M-JF Jeff Francoeur

Here is a card that I got signed by Jeff Francoeur at Royals Fanfest in 2011. Back then, it seemed like I would get at least one jersey card a year signed at the event. That is not the case anymore. Nowadays, it is impossible to get in more than one line per session and the bigger name guys (ie, the ones with jersey cards) only sign once a day. With six lines and not knowing who you are going to be getting, I don't even waste my time buying these for Fanfest anymore. But, I am glad that I bought this one the 2011 event.

Frenchy was an absolute stud when he came up. I had the privilege of watching him play multiple times in his first full season in the Majors since I was stationed in Georgia at the time and he was a joy to watch. But then 2008 came and his numbers dropped off dramatically. While he was never the same run driving-in-machine that he was in 2006 and '07, but he still stuck around in the league through the 2016 season.

He finished his career a .261 hitter with 160 home runs and 698 RBI. He had three really good seasons- the aforementioned 2006 and '07 seasons and 2011 with the Royals. In '06, he hit a career high 29 home runs. In '07, he hit .293 and knocked in 105 runs. In 2011, he hit .285 and had 20 homers, 87 RBI, and hit a career best 47 doubles. He made history that season by being part of what I believe is the first outfield trio to all have 40+ doubles in a season. His other two counterparts were Melky Cabrera and Alex Gordon.

One of my best memories at a game involves Frenchy. On May 13, 2006, I was at Turner Field to see the Braves host the Nationals. The Braves entered the ninth inning down 5-3. Brian McCann lead off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to bring the game to within one. A handful of singles later, Jeff came up with the bases loaded. Instead of just knotting up the game or driving in two on a single, Jeff hit a walk off grand slam to send the Braves home a 8-5 winner. That was so awesome! I mentioned the walk off to him when he signed this card and he told me it was still his best memory as a ballplayer.

2008 Bowman, Ernesto Mejia

#BCP213 Ernesto Mejia

Here is a card that I got signed in Springdale, Arkansas in 2010. Ernesto was playing for the home team Northwest Arkansas Naturals at the time and he signed for me on the way in from warming up.

When I was looking up Ernesto's stats, I was surprised to see that he is still playing ball. At this point, I figured that he would be in an independent league by now or even Mexico. I was wrong on both of those guesses. Ernesto has spent the past five seasons with the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League.

He had an off year last year, but he might have been hurt since he only played in 82 games. Two years prior, though, he had a monster season. That year, he hit .252 with 35 homers and 103 driven in. Those 35 dingers were the second most in the league and his RBI total ranked third. That is pretty impressive. And to think that I just assumed that he was a career minor leaguer that never panned out.

Ernesto is only 33 years old. I wonder if he will ever get a chance to come back to the States to play.

Arkansas is now added to the '08 Bowman map.

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.

2007 Topps, Scott Thorman

#582 Scott Thorman

Here is the second card that I got signed by Scott Thorman at Spring Training in 2017. Scott is the manager of the Royals South Atlantic League team and he was nice enough to stop and sign after a morning minor league workout. I posted the first card of Scott during the summer and it can be seen here.

Scott spent just two seasons in the Majors, both with the Braves. Over that time, he got into 175 games and hit .222 with 16 home runs and 50 RBI. He played in 120 games in 2007, but only started 66 of those. He got into most of the other games as a pinch hitter. But, he did most of his damage that season, smacking 11 dingers and driving in 36.

Scott played in the affiliated minors through the 2012 season, but never got another shot at the big leagues.

When I posted that last card of Scott, his Lexington Legends had just started the second half of their season and were off to a slow start. But, Scott was able to right the ship and get them going and they ended up winning the division in the second half en route to a league championship.

2005 Topps Total, Tom Martin

#624 Tom Martin

Here is the third and final card of Tom Martin that I got signed at the Kansas Stars game last year. I posted the first card, an Orioles minor league card, nearly a year ago and an '04 Topps Total card two months ago.

This is also the last card from the 2005 Topps Total set that I have to post for now. When I posted the first one nearly three weeks ago, I speculated that it would take me until Thanksgiving to get the nine cards posted. Having got them all by Halloween has been a nice accomplishment for me. I still wish I had the time to post one a day like I did ten years ago, but life doesn't always allow you to do the things you want to do.

Tom pitched for Atlanta for just parts of two seasons. During that time, he was 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA in 33 games.

I thought that it was very odd where Tom signed this card. I have seven dual player cards from this set that I have got signed and every single one of them, except for this one, is signed on one side or the other. I am not sure what Chris Reitsma is up to these days. But, if I ever run across him to finish this card off, Tom's signature in the middle of the card will definitely throw the card out of balance.

As for Tom, he is now one of the Buckmen from Buck Commander.

2001 Stadium Club, Scott Thorman

#159 Scott Thorman

Here is a card that I got signed at Spring Training last year. Scott is the manager of the Royals South Atlantic League affiliate, Lexington, and I was able to get him to sign two cards for me after the Royals minor leaguers worked out.

Out of all the Arizona League home's that I have been to, the Royals side of Surprise Stadium is one of my favorites. While you are not going to get any 'graphs from the big leaguers, it is a great spot to hit up the guys in the minors. The main reason for that is that the Royals put names on the back of the jerseys. Most of the teams do not do that and it is a pain trying to identify the lesser known guys. Also a plus is that the players have to walk quite a ways to get back to the clubhouse. There is no easy exit for them and you can get guys that you missed just by catching up to them.

The Lexington Legends finished up the first half of their season 2.5 games out of first place. It is still early into the second half, but they are off to a sluggish start. Through eight games, they are 2-6 and bringing up the rear of the South Atlantic League Southern Division.

I bought this card online as I wasn't really collecting cards in 2001. It just seems odd to me that Stadium Club would have draft pick cards. I know they did some draft pick sets early on in the brand, but this card feels out of place to me. This seems like something that should have been in Bowman.

2001 Bowman, Jason Marquis

#291 Jason Marquis

Here is a card of Jason Marquis that was given to me by Rod, from Padrographs, when we met up at a Hillsboro Hops game in 2015. Jason pitched for the Padres for two seasons, so I am assuming Rod picked up this card with a signed Padres card to add to his collection.

Jason pitched in the Majors for parts of fifteen seasons with nine clubs- the Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Rockies, Nationals, Diamondbacks, Twins, Padres, and Reds. Over that time, he amassed a 124-118 record with one save and a 4.61 ERA. He pitched in five postseasons and won a Silver Slugger Award.

Jason pitched for Atlanta for four seasons, going 14-15 with a 4.45 ERA. He also picked up his lone save as a Brave. After the 2003 season, he and Adam Wainwright were dealt to St. Louis for JD Drew and Eli Marrero. The Cardinals went on to play in two World Series over the next three years, so I would say that they fared better from that trade. Interestingly, when the won the Series in 2006, Jason did not appear in a single postseason game.

1986 Fleer, Milt Thompson

#530 Milt Thompson

Here is the first of three cards that I got signed by Milt Thompson at Spring Training this year. Milt is currently the hitting coordinator for the Reds and he was nice enough to sign the cards for me while walking from field to field at the Reds minor league complex.

When I first asked him to sign, he told me he couldn't then because he was working. Then he looked around and, since I was all by myself, he told me to go ahead and come over. He even took the time to chitchat while he was signing. I knew he had worked for the Royals the year before because I saw him at a Storm Chasers game. I asked him how he was liking it with the Reds and he told me he loved it because he got to concentrate on the one thing he loved, hitting. I wish I could say that about my job right now.

Milt was a second round draft pick by the Braves and played for them for two seasons. Over that time, he hit .302 with 2 home runs and 10 RBI. He was traded to the Phillies after the 1985 season.

You just do not see cards miscut like this anymore. Every once in a while, you will see some gold foil misprinted, but that is about it.

1981 Donruss, Glenn Hubbard

#469 Glenn Hubbard

Here is something I have not posted in over four months. This card was not signed through the mail or purchased for me. This card was signed in-person! I had probably gone four years without getting an '81 Donruss card signed in-person. But, that slump came to an end last month when I was able to get two cards from the set signed at Spring Training in Arizona.

Glenn, who is a good TTM signer, is a minor league manager in the Royals system and he signed this card for me after minor league practice. Normally, I take three cards of a player to get signed. But, since not everyone will sign three at a time, I only took this one card of Glenn just to make sure I got my '81D signed.

The other card I got signed in Arizona was of Mario Soto. That one might not turn up on here for four years.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #216

1981 Donruss, Brian Asselstine

#186 Brian Asselstine

When I send out a card from the '81 Donruss set, I usually send to some pretty good signers. I don't even have a complete set of '81 Donruss, so I don't send out to people deemed a long shot to get the card back. Because of that, I typically know what I am getting myself into when I send one off. That normally means that I have the card back within a month. That was not the case with this card here. This one took me just over eight months to get back. That was by no means the longest wait for a card from the set, but it is longer than normal. In fact, I had planned on having this card back in time for my last go-around here with the '81D in 2013. But, it just missed the cut-off and had to wait almost four years to finally make it on here.

Brian spent six seasons in the Majors, all with the Braves. The first round pick would go on to hit .254 with 12 home runs and 68 RBI for his career. Brian's best season was probably the 1980 season. That year, he got into more games and had more at-bats than in any other season. While his power numbers obviously were at an all-time best with the increased playing time, his average was also a career-high of .284

'81 Donruss Tracker: #192

1981 Donruss, Luis Gomez

#88 Luis Gomez

There was no 2017 Topps out at my local Wal-Mart, so I have time to post a card. When I sent this card out to Luis, I thought I would be posting it when I last posted some '81 Donruss cards in 2013. But, this card had a longer turnaround time, and it came back just a tad late to be posted on the last go around. I sent the card to Luis towards the end of 2012 and it took six months to make it back home.

Luis played in the Majors for eight seasons with the Twins, Blue Jays, and Braves. He was mainly a back-up infielder, though he was a starter for two seasons. For his career, he was a .210 hitter with no home runs and 90 RBI. With the Blue Jays in 1978, Luis started 153 games at shortstop. He hit .223 that season with 39 runs scored and 32 RBI.

Luis was a horrible base stealer. He had 6 stolen bases in his career and was thrown out 22 times. That was a success rate of 21.4%. Ouch! The Blue Jays can take most of the blame for that low success rate. During that '78 season, they sent Luis running twelve times. He arrived safely twice, or 16.7% of the time.

'81 Donruss Tracker: #185

1960 Leaf, Al Spangler

#38 Al Spangler

I am starting off my newer cards from the '60s with an oddball from the 1960 Leaf set. I know absolutely nothing about this set. But I saw one on COMC one day and I knew that I had to get one to get signed. So I picked up this Al Spangler card and mailed it to him in early 2013 and he had this beauty back to me in about three weeks.

Al played for the Braves, Colt .45s/Astros, Angels, and Cubs during his thirteen year Major League career. Most of that time, he was the team's fourth outfielder. But, he did get a lot of starts while playing in Houston. For his career, Al was a .262 hitter with 21 home runs and 175 RBI.

His best years were with the Colts when he was patrolling their outfield most days. In 1962, his first year with the club, he had career highs in average (.285), home runs (5), and walks (70). In '63, he had career-highs in runs (52) and doubles (25). Then, in '64, he had a career-best 38 RBI. He was then traded to the Angels the next season where would resume his fourth outfielder duties.

According to baseballcardpedia, this Leaf set contains 144 cards and they were distributed in packs. Each pack came with a marble instead of chewing gum.

1952 Topps, Del Crandall

#162 Del Crandall

If I am going to show off some cards from the 1950s, what better way is there to start than by showing off a '52 Topps card? This is only the second card from the set that I have got signed and, just like the first one, I got it signed through the mail. TTM successes are going to be the theme of this blog for some time to come. The first '52 Topps card I got signed was by Eddie Joost and that card can be seen here.

The last time I was posting some vintage TTM successes on here, I posted a Colt 45s card and declared that I had a signed card of every team to ever play from 1952 on up. And, not only did I have every team, I also had a card from every city that the teams played in since 1952. Then it dawned on me. I had forgotten about the Boston Braves. I had a Milwaukee Braves card signed, but not Boston. I guess I just assumed they were in Milwaukee by 1952. Once I had figured out I was missing a team, I quickly picked up this card from COMC for a few bucks. This card would be in decent shape if it wasn't for the staple holes running down the middle of the card. Apparently this card's original owner was not a Del Crandall fan.

I sent this card to Del in November of 2012 and I had it back three weeks later. Del charges five dollars to sign through the mail and it was well worth it to get this card signed.

Del had a long and productive Major League career. He played for sixteen seasons with the Braves, Giants, Pirates, and Indians, spending the majority of the time with the Braves. As a Brave, he played in two World Series and was an eight-time All Star and four-time Gold Glove catcher. Del was a .254 career hitter with 179 home runs. He had three 20 home runs seasons and caught three no-hitters

I am kind of surprised that Topps even made this card of Del in 1952. He missed all of the '51 season serving in the military. The card notes Del's service on the back and even adds that he "does not expect to be discharged in time to play this year", which proved to be true.

2007 Upper Deck Elements, Marcus Giles

#CCE-MG Marcus Giles

This is a card that I bought off of Check Out My Cards three years ago. I bought this card because I needed a signed card of Marcus Giles. The reason why I needed this card is because I once got an autograph from Marcus at a game. I am pretty sure I got it at a Rockies game in 2002 or '03. The one problem was that I got that autograph on a ball. So, I needed a signed card to rectify that problem and this was the cheapest one I could find at that time. This card set me back $2.74. Right now it is going for $8.24, but there are a few signed Giles cards on there going for less than two bucks.

When I was prepping for this post, I was a little surprised how short of a career Marcus had. He only played in the Majors for seven seasons. For some reason, I just figured that he was up there for a little longer than that.

Marcus played for the Braves for six of his seven seasons. He was their main second baseman for four seasons and he hit .285 for them with 72 home runs and 294 RBI. He then signed with the Padres for the 2007 season to play with his brother Brian and things just went south there. He hit a career-worst .229 with only 4 dingers and 39 RBI. The Padres released him after the season and, though he played in Spring Training games for two more years, he never played another Major or minor league game.

Marcus' best season was 2003 when he made the National League All Star team. That year, he had career highs in average (.316), home runs (21), doubles (49), and RBI (69).

While this is a neat card and I am glad that I got it cheap, it is a nasty-looking sticker autograph. If you look real closely, you can see some slight bubbling in the signature. And, of course, the sig disappears off of the sticker in a couple of spots.

2007 Upper Deck, Kyle Davies

#546 Kyle Davies

Here is one last card of Kyle Davies as a Brave. The last card of Davies I posted, an '07 Topps card, featured him with the Royals. At the trade deadline in 2007, the Royals obtained Davies in exchange for reliever, Octavio Dotel. Dotel would pitch in 7.2 innings with the Braves while Davies played in Kansas City into the 2011 season. For better or worse, I would say that the Royals got more out of that trade than Atlanta did, especially after missing the playoffs that season.

Royals GM, Dayton Moore, came over from the Braves organization and, through the years, has brought over a few former Braves. In the earlier years, there was Davies, Wilson Betemit, and Jeff Francoeur. It is kind of strange that Dayton has been with the Royals for a solid decade now, yet he is still bringing over reclamation projects from the Braves. Over the past two years, he has brought in Kris Medlen, Peter Moylan, and Mike Minor, with Minor and Medlen both coming off of Tommy John surgery. You would think that over that much time, he would have less ties to the Braves. But, being a small market team, I guess he just looks for any advantage he can get.

As for Davies' time with the Braves, he pitched there for two and a half seasons and went 14-21 with a 6.15 ERA. He wasn't much better with the bat as he hit .141 with two dingers and 9 RBI. His home runs came off of Aaron Sele and Randy Wolf.

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