2004 Bowman Heritage, Paul McAnulty

#294 Paul McAnulty

Here is another card that I was able to get signed in Colorado Spring over the summer. Paul was playing for the Salt Lake Bees and he was nice enough to sign two cards for me after their loss.

At that game, my buddy was graphing the Bees side of the field before the game for me. As soon as he got to his station, I see him walking back around the concourse towards me on the Sky Sox part of the field. He gets to me, hands me the book of cards he had, and says "I gotta go to the bathroom". Great. Of course, Paul happened to be one of the first Bees to take the field, so my buddy missed out on him because of his restroom break. But, to my friends credit, he did end up getting more cards signed before the game than I did so I can't give him too much grief over it. Plus, it worked out since I was able to get Paul after the game anyways.

I really love this 2004 Bowman Heritage set and I wish that I was collecting cards when this set was out. The cards look great and they look even better signed. This card is one of the thick ones that Topps loves including in Bowman packs and I guess that is why it is black and white instead of color. In a standard Bowman pack, this card would have a gold border instead of a black one. But even Topps know that you can't mess with the border of the iconical 1955 Bowman set, so they messed with the photo instead.

2004 Bowman Heritage, Zach Jackson

#237 Zach Jackson

Here is a card that I got signed in Omaha over the summer while Zach was playing for the Round Rock Express. The story of me getting this card signed is identical to the story of getting Kevin Cash to sign for me. The Express pitchers were working out on the field when I got to the ballpark. When Zach left the field for the clubhouse, I didn't recognize who he was until it was too late. But, I then had a picture in my head of what he looked like in person and I was able to get him on the way out.

Zach made his Major League debut with the Brewers in 2006. Since then, he has only appeared in 22 Major League ballgames- 10 with the Brewers in '06 and '08 and 12 with the Indians in '08-09. Over that stretch, he has a 4-5 record with a 5.81 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 105.1 innings of work. He took on his biggest workload with the Indians in 2008 when he made nine starts for them and went 2-3 with a 5.60 ERA over 54.2 innings.

Zach had a surprisingly good record this year for the Express despite posting a 5.51 ERA. He finished the season 13-5 while striking out 78 and walking 56. He must have had a ton of run support to have had such a good winning percentage.

Despite Zach's lack of Major League success, he has been a part of two big trades. In 2005, the Blue Jays traded him to the Brewers for Lyle Overbay. Then, in 2008, the Brewers packaged him in the deal that landed them CC Sabathia.

2004 Bowman, Van Pope

#BDP120 Van Pope

Here is a card that I got signed in Amarillo, Texas over the summer. Van was playing for the Amarillo Sox this past season and I was able to get this card signed before the game started.

Van was drafted by the Braves in fourth round of the draft in 2004 after playing at Meridian Junior College. He progressed steadily through the Braves system and hit AAA in 2009. He struggled at the AAA level and only hit .202 over 106 games. But that is not surprising. If you look at Van's stats year by year, he has struggled with every advancement. But after repeating the level a second year, he has always done better. But rather than have Van repeat AAA, the Braves had other ideas. They decided to convert him to a pitcher.

So, in 2010, Van was sent down to high-A Myrtle Beach to work on becoming a pitcher. He appeared in only nine game there and he had an 0-2 record with a 6.35 ERA over 11.1 innings while striking out 5 and walking 16. Ouch. It would appear that the Braves gave up on him then and released him.

So, the Amarillo Sox were more than happy to have him this season and they signed him as a third baseman. No more pitching for Van Pope. This past season with the Sox, Van ended up hitting .299 with 10 home runs and 61 RBI. Maybe another affiliated team will take a flier on Van next season.

2003 Upper Deck 40 Man, Jason Phillips

#624 Jason Phillips

Here is a card that I got signed earlier this year at a Royals game. The Mariners were in town and Jason works for them now. No, he isn't still playing and he wasn't actually a coach for them. His job title for the M's is bullpen catcher. Can you believe that? Four years ago, he was a backup catcher for the Blue Jays and now he is warming up Mariner pitchers in the bullpen. Technically, a good bullpen catcher conducts himself as a coach, so maybe this is his first step in getting into coaching. Either way, I thought it was kind of strange when I saw him on the M's roster in that role.

At the game I was at, Jason was catching for Dave Aardsma, who was on the disabled list at the time. When he came out of his crouch and started talking to the other coaches, I thought he was done warming up Aardsma. I asked him to sign and he told me he would when he was done. He looked done to me, but I waited patiently nonetheless. About five minutes later, he got back into his crouch and caught some more pitches from Aardsma. As soon as that barrage was done, he took off some of his gear and came over and signed like he said he would. While he was signing, I asked him if that was a simulated game that Aardsma was throwing. It was, of course.

The blue Sharpie looks really good on top of that orange Mets warm-up jersey.

2003 Upper Deck 40 Man, Brandon Inge

#273 Brandon Inge

Here is a card that I got signed prior to the Royals final game of the season this year. Brandon was nice enough to have his cabbie drop him off at the "designated autograph zone" (for more on that, see this post) and he signed everything for everybody, including all three cards that I had. All of us 'graphers were wishing him the best of luck against the Yankees in the ALDS, and he really seemed to appreciate the good wishes.

In case you didn't notice, Brandon had an off year this year. He is only a .235 career hitter, but he failed to reach .200 this year for the first time since his rookie season. It was so bad for him that the Tigers traded for Wilson Betemit a few weeks before the deadline and sent Inge, a 2009 All Star, to AAA.

Inge tore up the International League for 29 games before getting called back to Detroit for the final month and a half of the season. He did raise his average twenty points after being back with Detroit. He even had his average above the Mendoza Line for a bit before slipping over the final week. So, it would appear that the demotion might have helped him out a bit.

Since I have gotten back into collecting autographs, I have taken this card with me every time I have 'graphed the Tigers. I like this card because it is the only card of Inge that I have that shows him as a catcher. Inge began his career as a catcher, but he switched to third base in 2005. Then, being the team player that he is, he went back to catcher in 2008 after the Tigers traded Ivan Rodriguez to the Yankees. He has been playing third ever since.

2002 Upper Deck 40 Man, Eric Junge

#907 Eric Junge

Here is a card that I got signed in Colorado Springs this summer. Actually, my buddy Adam got this card signed since he was 'graphing the Salt Lake Bees side of the field. Junge was the starting pitcher for the Bees that day, so it is kind of surprising that Adam was able to get this card signed since a lot of starters don't like to sign before games they are starting. Adam doesn't collect autographs, or usually try to get them, so I guess that it was his lucky day.

Eric Junge only has ten Major League appearances under his belt and they all came between 2002 and 2003. Prior to that, he advanced quickly through the minors and reached AAA in just his fourth professional season. That fourth season happened to be in 2002 and Eric was a September call-up for the Phillies that year. Eric made the Phillies Opening Day roster in 2004 and he made five relief appearances before hitting the disabled list. He came off the disabled list a month later and made one appearance before going back on it.

Whatever injury Eric suffered really seems to have derailed his career. He made just ten appearances the rest of that season in AAA and, the following season, he made just sixteen appearances at three different minor league levels. At that point, the Phillies must have realized that he was never going to be the same pitcher again and they released him.

Since then, it has been a whirlwind experience for Eric. He has since played for four different organizations as well as playing in the Atlantic League, Japan, and Korea. After making all of those stops, it is kind of amazing that he was pitching at the AAA level in 2011.

2002 Donruss Rookies, Kevin Cash

#61 Kevin Cash

Here is an autograph that I was able to pick up this summer at an Omaha Storm Chasers game. Kevin was playing with the Round Rock Express at the time and I was able to get this card signed when Kevin was making his way from the clubhouse to the dugout.

When I made it into the ballpark that day, some of the Express pitchers were out on the field getting their work in. Most of the guys were in shorts and t-shirts, so it was a little difficult telling who was who. When they walked back to the clubhouse, none of us 'graphers could figure out who the players were until it was too late (if we even figured it out at all). Kevin was part of that group and I didn't figure out who he was until he was entering the clubhouse. But, I knew the face and I figured that I would get him on the way out.

Obviously, I did get him on the way out, but I fealt kind of bad about it. When he left the field, all he had with him was his glove and mask. But when he left the clubhouse for the dugout, he was carrying his big equipment bag with all of his catching gear, bats, and batting helmet. I still asked him to sign and I would have completely understood if he didn't want to. But he set all of his stuff down and signed for me with no problem at all.