2006 Upper Deck, Melky Cabrera

#1134 Melky Cabrera

It is hard to believe that I was actually looking forward to writing this post just a couple of months ago. Around that time, Melky was a league leader is batting average and was just coming out of the All Star game as the MVP of the game. I, on the other hand, was only about eight cards away from posting this card and should have had it posted no later than two weeks after the game.

Then, a thing called life got in the way and it took me two months to get eight cards posted and the Melk Man had to get busted for taking testosterone. Damn you, life!!

So, anyways, here is one of the two Melky Cabrera autographs that I have in my collection. Melky was with the Royals in 2011 and I was able to get this card signed at Royals Fanfest prior to that season.

I actually took my time deciding which Yankee card I wanted to get signed by Melky and I put some serious thought into it. I eventually chose this card because of all of the open space and the lack of a facsimile autograph on it. Then Melky got a hold of it and signed his tiny signature on the only dark part of the card. Damn you, Melky!

In Melky-related news, the Melk Man, who technically still leads the league in batting, will not win the batting crown this year. There is some weird rule that would have allowed him to win it by giving him one "hypothetical" at-bat to qualify for the 502 at-bats needed to win the crown. But Melky, being the stand-up guy that he is, asked that the provision be waived this year so that the award would not be tainted. The Players Association and Commissioner's Office complied.

2006 Upper Deck, Zach Miner

#1068 Zach Miner

Here is a card that I got signed in Omaha last summer while Zach was pitching for the Omaha Storm Chasers. He was hurt for much of last season and spent his time split between AA, AAA, and the disabled list. He must have been recently promoted back to AAA when I was there because the locals I was standing by were not sure who he was. I got lucky and took an educated guess and was rewarded with three signed cards by him.

Last season was Zach's only season in the Royals organization. He was originally drafted by the Braves and he saw his only Major League time with the Tigers. He pitched for them from 2006-2009 and posted a 25-20 record with a save and a 4.24 ERA.

This season, Zach found himself back in the Tiger organization again. He spent a majority of the time relieving for the AAA Toledo Mudhens and he finished the season with a 2-0 record with 2 saves and a 2.50 ERA.

2006 Upper Deck, JR House

#1086 JR House

Here is a quick post showing the third and final JR House card that I have posted on here. This autograph was obtained in Des Moines in 2009 in between games of a doubleheader. JR was playing for the Omaha Royals at the time and he was nice enough to sign all three cards that I had of him.

You can see the first JR post that I did here and the second one here.

As pointed out by Paul, of Paul's Random Stuff, on the last JR House post, JR was the hitting coach for the Missoula Osprey this year. The Osprey are the D-Backs rookie level team and JR must have done an alright job as they are currently playing for the Pioneer League championship.

2006 Upper Deck, Jim johnson

#1022 Jim Johnson

Here is a card that I got signed at Kauffman Stadium earlier this summer. I went to a Thursday day game that day and Jim is one of the few pitchers that signed. I asked him to sign after he got done getting his work in and all he did was point to the dugout. I wasn't sure if that meant that he was going into the clubhouse or if he was going to sign over there. Since I get cards signed instead of baseballs, the dugout is not one of top choices to get autographs because you have to throw the stuff you want signed over the dugout to the player. So, I just stood where I was to see what was going to happen.

When Jim got to the dugout, he started signing balls for people. I was a little weary, but I made my way over there anyways. On the way, I saw a guy throw Jim a hat to sign. His throw, however, came up a little bit short and the hat landed on the dugout. Jim just leaned forward a bit and grabbed that hat pretty easily and I then had an idea. I didn't need to toss my card book the whole seven or eight feet to Jim. I just had to lob it about four feet onto the top of the dugout. That is what I did and Jim signed all three cards for me. He then winged the book back at me and I thought for sure that I was going to lose at least a card or two, but that was not the case. I really do not like throwing my card book.

Jim is having an impressive season, so far. Through 134 games, Jim has racked up a career-high 41 saves. He is currently tied with Fernando Rodney for the Major League lead in that category.

2006 Upper Deck, Matt Belisle

#576 Matt Belisle

Here is a card that I got signed at Kauffman Stadium in 2010. I went to The K that day for the 1985 World Series softball game and I got there before the gates opened in the hopes that I could get some autos from the old-timers when they arrived at the park. Unfortunately, all of the old-timers arrived in a bus and didn't sign at all outside of the park. But, I did get lucky enough to get a few of the Rockies players when they arrived and Matt was nice enough to sign both cards that I had of him.

I took a couple of friends with me that day and one was a really good friend that is never able to get out to the ballpark. He had always heard of my autographing exploits and was looking forward to see me in action. So, we got to the main gate and he pulled up a seat on one of the limestone blocks outside of the park and opened a beer. Minutes later, a cab pulled up and it was time for me to get to work.

One of the things I hate about 'graphing outside of the park is identifying the players without their uniform on. It is hard enough to do it when they are warming up in jackets and it is a whole different ballgame when they are in their street clothes.

Anyways, a guy got out of the cab and I had no clue who he was. Luckily, there was a nice crowd outside of the park that day and someone pointed out that the guy was Joe Beimel. So I walked up to him as he was signing some things and I handed him my cards to sign. He took one look at them and handed them back to me and said "that's not me". I didn't have any cards of Joe and, in the heat of the moment, I got Joe Beimel and Matt Belisle mixed up and I handed him my Belisle cards.

To this day, whenever I am around my friend and the conversation turns to baseball or autographs, he always pulls out the story of the first time he saw me try to get an autograph. It is a little embarrassing for me, but he sure gets a good chuckle out of it.

2006 Upper Deck, Bruce Chen

#525 Bruce Chen

This is one of the first Bruce Chen autographs that I ever got. I got this card signed in June of 2009 in Des Moines, Iowa while Bruce was a member of the Omaha Royals. The O-Royals played a doubleheader that day and Bruce pitched a complete game shutout in the second game that night. It was only a seven inning complete game because of minor league doubleheader rules, but a shutout is still a shutout.

Most of the cards that I got signed that day were autographed between games of the doubleheader. Two of the exceptions, though, were the two cards that Bruce signed for me. Since he was pitching the second game, he did not sign between games, but I was lucky enough to get him outside of the ballpark after the game. I was actually kind of surprised that Bruce signed because his wife and kid were waiting outside of the park for him. Nevertheless, Bruce still signed for everyone. He only signed 2/3 for me. But, under those circumstances, I was really amazed that he even signed at all.

Bruce has been a consistent presence for the Royals pitching staff since the end of that season. His 12-8 record and 3.77 ERA last season was even good enough for him to be named the Royals Pitcher of the Year. He has had a rocky 2012, though, as his ERA is currently at 5.68 while his record is 7-9.

2006 Upper Deck, Lance Cormier

#522 Lance Cormier

Here is the third and final Lance Cormier card that I got signed at a Royals game in 2010. Lance was playing for the Rays at the time and he was nice enough to stop and sign all three cards for me. The first card I posted of him can be seen here and the second one here.

When I posted the last card of Lance last season, he had just been designated for assignment. That appears to have been the end of his career as I cannot find any stats of him for this season. He finished his career having pitched for the Diamondbacks, Braves, Orioles, Rays, and Dodgers and he was 24-28 with 3 saves and a 5.03 ERA.

I am pretty sure I mentioned this on the last two cards I posted of him, but I really like Lance's signature. Out of the three cards he signed for me, though, this one is my favorite. I like how his autograph kind of blends in with the blue line on the tomahawk on his chest. If one did not know any better, it might be thought that that was part of his signature.