1986 Topps, Joe Carter

#377 Joe Carter

Here is the second card of Joe Carter that Rod, from Padrographs, gave me at a Hillsboro Hops game in 2015. I posted the first one earlier this month and it can be seen here.

After looking at these last two cards of Joe, I might be starting to doubt their authenticity. The reason for that is because of the star shaped "t" that is scribbled on each card. The two cards that I got signed by Joe in-person had nothing like that. In fact, those two cards had two distinct letters after his "t", while the signature on this one stops after the star shape. Plus, I looked at a bunch of Carter autographs on COMC and I did not see anything that resembles the star shape.

But who knows? My cards were signed in a controlled environment. Maybe these newer ones are actually hurried ballpark sigs from Joe's playing days. Or, maybe they are not.

When I was about five or six years old, my grandparents bought me a Cleveland Indians helmet as a souvenir from their trip to Disneyland. I thought it was pretty cool except nobody in my family really knew which team it was from. I didn't figure it out until I saw the Indians hats on an '85 Topps card.

Speaking of Joe's autographed cards on COMC, they must be a hot commodity. COMC has sold over thirty different autographs of Joe Carter. But right now, there is only one for sale and it is listed at $65.25. It is numbered 2/2, though.

1986 Topps, Razor Shines

#132 Razor Shines

Here is the second card that Razor Shines signed for me at Spring Training in 2014. Razor was the manager of the Dodgers AA team in Chattanooga at the time and he signed my two cards after the minor league workouts. I posted the first card of Razor in 2014 and that card can be seen here.

Razor's time in the big leagues consisted of 68 games over four years with the Expos. Over that time, he got 81 at-bats and had 15 hits, good for a .185 average. All of his hits were singles except for a lone double. He never scored a run, but he did drive 5 in.

Razor even had the privilege of pitching one inning for Montreal in 1985. The team was getting shelled by the Phillies 11-0, so they threw Razor out to pitch the ninth. He ended up giving up a single to Steve Jeltz while getting the other three batters to ground out.

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.

1986 Fleer, Neil Allen

#U-3 Neil Allen

Here is the first of three cards that I got signed by Neil Allen earlier this season. Neil is the pitching coach for the Twins and I was able to get him outside of Kauffman Stadium when the Twins bus rolled up.

The one bad thing was that I did not get his '81 Donruss signed that day. The reason for that is because I do not have it. So, you will notice that I have a want list up on the top right side of the screen underneath the header. Take a look at it and help me out if you can. If you are wondering, Neil Allen's card from that set is #276.

Neil pitched in the Majors for eleven seasons with five different clubs- the Mets, Cardinals, Yankees, White Sox, and Indians. Over that time, he accumulated a 58-70 record with 75 saves and a 3.88 ERA. He never made an All Star team and he never appeared in the playoffs.

When Neil joined the White Sox for the '86 season, they decided to move him into the rotation. He made 17 starts with the club and did well, going 7-2 with a 3.82 ERA. Things did not go that good the following season, though, as he was 0-7 through 10 starts and 5 relief appearances. On top of that, he had a 7.07 ERA. The Sox released him in August and Neil would finish up the season pitching out of the bullpen in the Bronx. He fared a little better there, going 0-1 with a save and a 2.76 ERA over 29.1 innings.

1986 Fleer, Mike Aldrete

#U-1 Mike Aldrete

Here is the second card of Mike Aldrete that I have posted on here. But, unlike the first one, his '96 Leaf Signature Series card, I got this one in person. Mike is the hitting coach for the A's and he was nice enough to sign two cards for me at a Spring Training game this year.

At that game, there was a decent crowd 'graphing the A's at home. I was mixed in with that crowd on the outfield side of the dugout. I got a couple of players there, but there wasn't too much action. The game was about to get underway, so I went over to the home plate side of the dugout to see if I could get anyone over there. Mike was nearby and I asked him to sign. He came over right as the players were leaving the dugout for the National Anthem. Now he had to hurry, but he has a nice and slow deliberate signature. So, he only signed two of the three cards and ran up the stairs to get on the field. He ended up tripping on the top step and fell onto the field. At that point I cringed and felt bad for him because he was in such a hurry because of me. Lucky for him, his team had their backs to the dugout and no one noticed.

I stayed in that spot after the anthem and thanked him for signing and to make sure he was okay, which he was.

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.

1986 Donruss, John Wathan

#496 John Wathan

By my count, this is the eleventh card of John Wathan that I have posted on here. One gets to the point where they really do not need anything else signed by a player. I am at that point with a few Royals alumni. But, these guys are at so many events that I always take a card of them with me just in case I run into them and they are my best, or only, option.

That was the case at Royals Fanfest in 2014. I hopped in a line and John Wathan appeared before me and signed this card.

Here are the other ten cards that he has signed for me over the years.