1992 Upper Deck, Mo Vaughn

#445 Mo Vaughn

Here is another card that Padrograph Rod sent me back in January that I somehow forgot to scan. The one features the former Red Sox, Angels, and Mets slugger, Mo Vaughn.

This is the second Mo Vaughn card that I have posted on here. I posted the first one back in 2009 and it can be seen here.

If you check out my first Vaughn post, you will see that the two signatures are completely different. The first one was obtained TTM in the early '90s and I have no idea how this one was obtained. I looked at some photos of Mo's signature on SCN and I found examples that matched both autographs. The earliest one on there looks just like the first card I posted. That make sense since both cards were signed TTM around the same time.

I also found signatures that resemble this signature. All of the more recent signatures from Mo look like a shortened version of this signature, so that would make me think that this is an authentic autograph. So, that raises one question.

Is my early '90s Mo Vaughn autograph legit? Or did Mo use a ghost signer that didn't even know what to sign the cards with?

1992 Skybox AAA, Doug Linton

#228 Doug Linton

Here is the second and final Doug Linton card that I was able to get signed in Colorado Springs over the summer. Doug was the pitching coach for the Sky Sox and I got this card signed just prior to the game.

For some reason, I did not buy nearly as many of these Skybox cards as I did of the Line Drive cards that looked similar and came out the previous year. I'm not sure if that was because my local supermarket did not carry these or if it was because I was about to enter high school and collecting was about to hit the back burner. Either way, it kind of sucks because I have few of these cards to search through when looking for cards to get signed.

If you haven't already, you need to head over to The Great Orioles Autograph Project and enter his second annual postseason contest. It is real easy to enter and you could come out with cool and unique prizes. The deadline to enter is at first pitch tomorrow (Friday).

1992 Score. Chris Bosio

#37 Chris Bosio

Here is the second of three Chris Bosio cards that I got signed at an Iowa Cubs game in July. Chris was the pitching coach for the visiting Nashville Sounds.

Chris pitched for the Brewers for seven seasons and spent a majority of the time as a starter. Though he never made an All Star team or propelled the Brewers to the playoffs, he did have some really good seasons. He had double digit wins in four of his seven seasons with the club, including a career high of 16 in 1992.

Even though he finished that season 16-6, I would say that 1989 was his best season as a Brewer. That year, he finished 15-10. Obviously, that is not as good as 16-6, but he had other stats stand out as well. His ERA that year was a career best 2.95 and he struck out 173 batter which was also a career high. That must be why Donruss rewarded him with a Diamond King card in their 1990 set.

After 1992, Chris left Milwaukee and headed to Seattle via the free agent route. But, I will get into that next week when I post my third and final card of Chris.

CONTEST TIME!!

But not here, though. I run the College World Series Contest. Ryan, from The Great Orioles Autograph Project, is holding his second annual Postseason Baseball Contest. The two contests are actually pretty similar while being worlds apart. His is certainly simpler than mine, plus it involves teams that everyone is familar with. All you have to do is fill out a postseason bracket and you have the potential to win some really cool stuff. Since not all of the playoff spots are locked down, you will not be able to enter until Thursday (or whenever all the spots are clinched). But don't wait too long because once the playoffs get underway, the entry period will be over. Good luck!

1991 Topps, Rich Rodriguez

#573 Rich Rodriguez

Here is a card that I was supposed to post a long time ago. This card was sent to me by Rod, from Padrographs, back in January. Somehow though, this card got skipped in my scanning and I am just now getting around to it.

This is not the first Rich Rodriguez autograph that Rod has sent me. He sent me one a few years ago and I posted in at the end of 2008 and it can be see here. If you take a peek at that post, one thing should stand out to you and that would be that the two signatures look completely different. The first one takes up most of the card and is real loopy and hard to make out. While this one is also hard to make out, it looks completely different than the first one. The easiest parts of the signature to compare to each other is the "z" and the end of his name. The one on this card looks like a normal-looking cursive "z" while the one on the '91 Leaf card looks way more stylized.

So, if I had to pick one or the other as authentic, I think that I would go with this one. I haven't taken the time to look up any other Rich Rodriguez autographs on the web beside the one on his Baseball Almanac page and that one mostly resembles this one. Whether or not that is a correct guess or not remains to be seen. Maybe there is someone reading this that got Rich in-person who could be of some help.

1991 Stadium Club, Bret Saberhagen

#28 Bret Saberhagen

Here is what I beleive is the fourth Bret Saberhagen card I have posted in the past couple of months. I am running out of stuff to say about Bret, so I guess I'll talk more about the card than him.

This is the first card that I have got signed from the inaugural Stadium Club set. The set was so pricey when it came out that I did not buy too many packs. As a result, I have little to rummage through when I try to find cards to get signed.

This card is from the Members Only set and, to be honest, I know nothing about the set. I don't know how they were obtained or how many cards were in the set. All I know is that they say "MEMBERS ONLY" in foil on the front and the backs are completely different than the regular set. The regular set had stats on the back and other stuff while this card here just talks about Bret no-hitting the Pale Hose. And yes, it actually calls the Sox the Pale Hose.

So, even though this card is from the Members Only set, I am still happy to have a '91 Stadium Club of any kind signed.

1991 Sport Pro Butte Copper Kings, Doug Sisson

#27 Doug Sisson

Here is a card that I got signed at the Royals last home game of the season on Wednesday. Doug is the Royals first base coach and I was able to get this card signed before batting practice started.

If you have never heard of Doug, don't feel bad. I was the same way when the Royals announced his addition to the coaching staff. I promptly looked at checkoutmycards.com to see what cards he had and was disappointed to see that he didn't have one on there. But, thanks to a seller on there by the name of "minorleaguemania", some Doug Sisson cards eventually became available and I picked a couple up and finally got them signed at the last home game.

Amazingly, Doug has never played pro ball. Wikipedia says that he was signed by the Twins, but I can't find any stats of his on Baseball Reference. In fact, when I typed his name in there, it took me directly to his minor league managing page. I didn't even know such a page existed.

But, let me tell you what Doug has done this year for the Royals. He is not only their first base coach, but he is also the outfielders coach. And under his watch, the Royals have quietly put together one of the best outfields in baseball. This year, the Royals became the first team in the history of the game to have three outfielders with forty or more doubles. Now, that probably has more to do with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer than it does with the outfielders coach. But, the Royals outfielder's play in the field has been pretty good, too. For instance, the Royals outfield leads the Majors in assists. Plus, Alex Gordon leads the Majors in outfield assists this year with twenty (a new Royals record) while Jeff Francouer is second with four less. Did I mention that Alex Gordon was a third baseman until a season and a half ago?

Doug is also the base running coach and the Royals somehow lead the American League in stolen bases right now. Francouer has somehow swiped twenty-two bases and that broke his previous career high of eight. As Mel Allen would have said- "How about that?"

Doug is pictured with the Butte Copper Kings on this card. The Copper Kings are no longer playing in Butte, though, as they relocated to Casper, Wyoming in 2001. The Copper Kings played in the Pioneer League and were affiliated with the Texas Rangers when this card came out.