2006 Topps, Kyle Davies

#239 Kyle Davies

Here is a card of Kyle Davies that I got signed at Royals Fanfest in 2009. At the event that year, all of the autograph stations were equipped with silver Sharpies. Since this card is dominated by the Braves dark warm-up jersey, I decided to give the silver Sharpie a shot. Unfortunately, it was barely noticeable and, before I left his station, I had Kyle resign the card in black. He did a good job of staying over his silver signature, but you can still see part of it and it kind of gives the sig a two-tone look to it. I wasn't into prepping cards yet at that point in 2009 and I wonder if prepping the card would have made a difference with the silver.

Kyle, a Georgia native, was drafted by the Braves out of high school in the fourth round of the 2001 draft. He ascended through the Braves system quickly and he made his Major league debut for them in 2005 at the age of twenty-one. He pitched in 21 games for the Braves that year (14 starts) and he finished the season 7-6 with a 4.93 ERA.

In 2006, Kyle split his time between the Atlanta Braves and the Richmond Braves. In 14 Major League starts that season, Kyle went 3-7 with a 8.38 ERA. The following season, Kyle was 4-8 through 17 starts with the Braves before being dealt to the Royals for Octavio Dotel.

Sorry about the recent lack of posts. I really have no excuse for it and I hope to pick it up a bit during the second half of this month.

2006 Topps, Jason Frasor

#197 Jason Frasor

Here is a card that I got signed during the Royals final home-stand this past season. Jason was pitching for the White Sox at the time and I got him to sign this prior to a Sunday afternoon game in September.

I almost didn't get this card signed that day because of inclement weather. It is almost a three hour drive to Kansas City for me and, although it was overcast the whole way there, it did not rain at all. But, as soon as I made my way down to the seating bowl inside the ballpark, it began to sprinkle. I've had some autographs ruined because of Sharpies hitting one little speck of moisture on the card, so I don't even try to get cards signed in those conditions any more. Because of that, I missed out on Matt Thornton and Sergio Santos that day. But, I waited out the weather and the workouts and I was able to get Jason to sign a couple of cards for me before heading to the clubhouse. I then went over to the Royals side because I thought the Sox were done and I ended up missing out on Chris Sale signing.

Overall, it was not a great day on the autograph front. But, there is only so much one can do when Mother Nature is not cooperative.

Jason was acquired by the White Sox from the Blue Jays in July last season. Since the season has ended, he has been traded back to the Jays.

2006 Topps, Mike Cameron

#128 Mike Cameron

Here is a card of the veteran outfielder, Mike Cameron, that was given to me by Rod, from Padrographs, a few years back. Just like the last 2006 Topps card I posted, the signature on this card did not take stick too well. I doubt that this card was even prepped, yet the signatures from the two are pretty similar as they are hard to make out.

Personally, I can't believe that Mike Cameron is still playing. That is not a knock on him, it's just that he has been in the league for seventeen seasons. I mostly remember Mike from his early years with the White Sox and Mariners and, since he's been mostly in the National League since 2004, I have not seen him play in-person for some time. I think that is the main reason that I have a hard time believing his career is still going. Maybe if I saw him play every other year or something, I'd be less surprised to see that he has a minor league contract with the Marlins set up for next season.

I honestly have no clue what is up with Mike's signature. Even though it is hard to see, I still can't make out any letters besides what kind of looks like a "D".

2006 Topps, Tony Graffanino

#76 Tony Graffanino

Here is a card that I got signed by Tony Graffanino at a Royals game in early 2009. Tony was playing for the Indians at the time and he signed this card for me during batting practice.

He signed two or three cards for me and I posted the first one about two years ago. While both cards were prepped, the signature on this one still bubbled up a bit. It sucks when I prep fifty cards before a game and get none of them signed. But, it sucks even more when I prep a card and the signature still bubbles. Tony signed the card at about the lowest part possible, so I don't know if I didn't spread the baby powder low enough or what. I guess that is just part of the game.

It appears that Tony retired after the 2009 season. In his thirteen year Major League career, Tony played in 981 games for seven teams and he it .265 with 58 home runs and 302 RBI. It is hard to pick out the best offensive season for a utility infielder, but I would have to go with his 2005 campaign. He began the year with the Royals and he hit .298 with 3 homers and 18 RBI. The Royals traded him to the Red Sox in July and he hit .319 with 4 home runs and 20 RBI.

I'm pretty sure that the photo on this card was taken at Kauffman Stadium while Tony was still with the Royals.

2006 Sweet Spot, Zack Greinke

#86 Zack Greinke

Here is another card from the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner that I got signed in April of that season. This is now the fourth Greinke card that I have posted on here and the last two were both signed by the Royals parking lot before a game. I never bought any Sweet Spot in 2006, so this card was most likely given to me by another blogger with some random Royals cards. It is always cool to get some higher end base cards to get signed since I am not willing to shell out the money for the higher end stuff.

I meant to post this yesterday on my day off, but I could not think of anything to say. I enjoyed Zack's time with the Royals, but his chronic bitching over his final season in Kansas City got old and I was happy to see him go. Do I wish he was still a Royal now that they have some talent surfacing at the Major League level? Of course I do. But he didn't want to be a part of it and I think everyone is better off after the trade.

When I first heard of the trade, I thought that Royals could have gotten a little more in the deal. But when I saw that they included Yuniesky Betancourt in the deal with Greinke, I was happy with it. Two clubhouse cancers gone in one swoop. That is I was happy with it until the Royals signed Betancourt to be their utility infielder next season. Yuni has never played third in his life and hasn't played second in about five years. How does that make him a utility infielder? He can only play shortstop. I'm starting to not like the Greinke trade as much as I did a year ago.

2006 Grandstand Aberdeen IronBirds, Jason Berken

#26 Jason Berken

Here is a card that was sent to me last year by Ryan of the Great Orioles Autograph Project. Prior to going to Orioles Fanfest last year, Ryan did a post offering up some free autographs for a couple of players that he did not need signatures from. All his readers had to do was post a comment on who they wanted and then send him a card of that player.

There were a couple of people that I wanted autographs from, but unfortunately, I did not have any cards of them. So, I ended up working out a trade with Ryan where I would get a Jamie Quirk Orioles Crown card signed at Royals Fanfest in exchange for an autograph from one of the players on his list.

But Ryan, being the class act that he is, sweetened up the deal and I ended up getting two autographed cards for the Quirk Crown card. And as if that was not enough, Ryan emailed me which cards he had and he let me pick out which two I wanted. How cool is that?

So in the end, I ended up with this card and a Dick Hall Crown card. Thanks again, Ryan!

2006 Fleer Tradition, Ryan Shealy

#165 Ryan Shealy

Here is a card of Ryan Shealy that I got signed outside of the Royals parking lot in 2008. I am pretty sure that this is the only Shealy card that I owned at the time, so this is the only autograph that I have from him.

Ryan used to be a big name prospect that never really panned out. He was drafted by the Rockies in the eleventh round of the draft in 2002 and then tore up the Pioneer League that season by hitting 19 home runs in 69 games. He moved up to the California League the next season and he hit 14 dingers there. In 2004, he was promoted to AA and he hit 29 homers in the Texas League. He was promoted to AAA the following season and he hit 26 home runs in the Pacific Coast League. Ryan also saw some big league action that year and he hit .330 in 91 at-bats for the Rockies.

The only obstacle standing in Ryan's way was Todd Helton. Ryan was a first basemen by trade and there was no way he was going to get any significant playing time with Colorado. So, the Rockies traded him to the Royals during the 2006 season and, as a Royals fan, I was ecstatic.

In Ryan's first season with the Royals, he hit .280 with 7 home runs in 51 games. It was a good start and I am sure that most Royals fans were looking forward to see what he could do over a full season. Unfortunately, that never happened.

Ryan broke camp with the Royals in 2007 and was basically the everyday first baseman through June. By the end of that month though, he was only hitting .220 with 3 home runs. I can't remember if he was hurt or battling an illness, but the Royals shut him down and he finished up the season in AAA.

He played most of the 2008 season in AAA, only getting called up to the Majors when the rosters expanded in September. He then had a hot September for the Royals and he hit .301 with 7 home runs in 20 games. Unfortunately, the Billy Butler era had started in Kansas City and Ryan never played another game as a Kansas City Royal.

He played for the Royals AAA again in 2009 and was released after the season was over. He was picked up by Tampa Bay and he played for their AAA team before getting released in June. Two days later, he was signed by Boston and assigned to their AAA team. He did get a brief call-up to the Red Sox and he went 0-7 in the five games he played for them. Last season, he was with the Blue Jays AAA team and he hit .272 with 11 home runs in 62 games. According to Baseball Reference, Ryan is currently a free agent.