2007 Topps '52, Neal Musser

#132 Neal Musser

Here is the final card of Neal Musser that I have to show on here. This one is the first signature from him that I got. I got is signed after an Albuquerque Isotopes game in 2008 while Neal was playing for the Omaha Royals. The other two cards that he signed for me were his '07 Bowman and his '07 Omaha Royals team card.

That summer, my best friend and I took an epic ballpark trip to the West Coast. Over the course of the trip, we stopped and saw games for the Albuquerque Isotopes, Arizona Diamondbacks, Anaheim Angels, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, San Diego Padres, Tijuana Potros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Lancaster JetHawks, Salt Lake Bees, and Colorado Rockies. I 'graphed all of the minor league games and it is what got me back into collecting autographed cards. The Isotopes game was the first ballgame that I ever got a card signed.

Since this is the last card I had to show that was signed at Isotopes Park, it is now time to show off some pics of the ballpark. Isotopes Park is a great place to catch a game. It is beautiful from the outside and on the inside.

Centerfield features a hill reminiscent of Tal's Hill in Houston. At the game we attended, we saw Omaha's Mitch Maier make an over the shoulder diving catch up this hill that was one for the ages.

The 'Topes even had a bullpen cart. Unfortunately, it was only used for between innings promotions.

2007 Topps '52, Matt Chico

#115 Matt Chico

Here is the second card that I got signed by Matt Chico at a Wingnuts game in 2012. For a few seasons, the Can-Am League and the American Association both had an odd number of teams in the league. To combat that problem, the leagues did year-long interleague play so there wasn't a team in each league with a three to four day long off stretch. Because of that, I got to see the New Jersey Jackals play a couple of times and that is who Matt was with when he signed for me.

The first card I posted of Matt was his '07 Bowman Heritage card and it can be seen here.

In that last post, I talked about Matt's rookie season in 2007, where he went 7-9 with a 4.63 ERA. In his second season, things took a turn for the worse. He started the season in the rotation. After getting a no decision in his first start, he went on to lose five straight starts. He had one quality start over that span and failed make it into the fifth inning in the two last starts. He made one more start, where he got a no decision over 4.1 innings, before being demoted to the bullpen.

Things got a little better in the bullpen. He made three appearances out of the pen and pitched 6.1 innings and only gave up one run. His efforts got him a second chance in the rotation and he gave up four runs over five innings of work. After that, he was shut down for the season for the Nationals. He made one AAA start and that was it for his season. He ended up having elbow reconstruction surgery and would be out until mid-season 2009.

He finished his 2008 season 0-6 with a 6.19 ERA.

2007 Topps '52, Joakim Soria

#98 Joakim Soria

Here is the second card of Joakim Soria that I have posted on here. I posted the first one, a gold '07 Topps, two weeks ago and that one can be seen here.

The first one I posted was signed at Royals Fanfest and it has a beautiful signature on it. This one, on the other hand, was signed by the Royals parking lot in 2010 and it features Soria's rushed ballpark signature. For me, this is the more common version of his signature in my collection. It is basically an "S" followed by a line and his number. In his nice signature, you can actually make out some other letters in his last name. I still find it strange that he only signs his last name, though. Maybe he is the Mexican Ichiro.

Joakim is going to be at Royals Fanfest this weekend, so it will be interesting to see if his signature has changed at all since I got him last in 2011.

Speaking of Fanfest, I will be heading up there Saturday. I took a year off last year, but I got back on board this time around. I wanted to head up there Friday, to try to beat some of the weekend crowd, but a job interview is interfering with that. So, Saturday it is. I am sure it is going to be a madhouse that day since we are World Champs and all. But, hopefully everything will go smoothly.

So far, this list of Royals attending the event is a little lacking. While the normal guys that are there consistently are still going to be there (Gordon, Hosmer, Moose, and Perez), some of the newer guys that I still need 'graphs from are not (Morales, Infante, and Paulo Orlando). Even our one "big" free agent pick-up, Ian Kennedy, is not on the list yet. I keep waiting for the list to expand a bit, but with only two days before the event, it is not looking like much is going to happen. I will just have to wait to see how it goes.

On a related note, it appears the Royals disbanded their caravan for the first time ever. The sad part about it was that there was no announcement of it ceasing operations this season. They just did not talk about it. I've seen many people asking about it on Twitter and those questions are completely ignored. I hope this World Champs euphoria does not last too long because this is not going to be the same team after 2017. When that time comes, the team is going to need its loyal fans that stuck by them through all the bad years. And cancelling the caravan is not a way to appease the fans that cannot make it to Fanfest.

2007 Topps '52, Jamie Vermilyea

#69 Jamie Vermilyea

Here is the second card of Jamie Vermilyea that I got signed at a Wingnuts game this past season. Jamie is the pitching coach for the Winnipeg Goldeyes. The first card I posted of him can be seen here.

I really like the idea of the Topps '52 concept. It is an entire set of guys that made their debut during the previous season and, in many cases, is the only rookie card that player will ever get. Add in the fact that the set is printed on non-glossy Heritage card stock and you have definitely built a winner, especially for the autograph collectors.

The one problem with this set is that they put out the same set two years in a row. The 2006 and 2007 Topps '52 sets are completely identical except for the tiny copyright date on the back. I've recently been getting my collection a little better organized and, when it comes to these two sets, I just throw them all together. When I get a little more time, I will go back and strain my eyes to divide them up by year.

So, while I really like the idea of rookie sets printed on Heritage card stock, Topps overdid it by putting out the same set in consecutive years. Thank goodness they did not do it again in 2008. While I like the idea of a rookie set, something has to be done to differentiate them from year to year.

2007 Topps '52. Jailen Peguero

#66 Jailen Peguero

Here is a card that I got signed by the former Diamondback, Jailen Peguero, this past summer. Jailen was playing for the Winnipeg Goldeyes and I was able to get him to sign this card during pregame at a Wingnuts game early in the season.

Jailen played for the D-Backs for parts of two seasons, 2007 and 2008. That was his only time in the Majors and he did not do too great. In 2007, he got into 18 games and pitched 14.2 innings. Over that time, he gave up 15 runs (9.21 ERA) on 17 hits with 13 walks to 9 strikeouts. That is a WHIP of 2.04. Yikes! It is going to be hard to limit runs with a WHIP like that. He did better, though, the following year. He only made 7 appearances, but he lasted 9.1 innings while only surrendering 5 earned runs. Plus, he struck out 5 and only walked 4. That performance was good for a 4.82 ERA. For his career, Jailen was 1-0 with a 7.50 ERA.

On a positive note, Jailen only faced one batter more than three times in the Majors. That batter was Matt Holliday and he was owned by Jailen. Holliday was 0-4 with two strikeouts. He was the only batter to strikeout more than once against Jailen.

After the 2008 season, Jailen bounced around the AAA circuit for a few years before ending up in Mexico in 2011. He played there until joining Winnipeg last year. With Winnipeg, he was 5-4 with 16 saves and a 3.76 ERA.

2007 Topps '52, Chase Headley

#27 Chase Headley

Here is a card that I got signed at a Salt Lake Bees game in 2008 while Chase was playing for the Portland Beavers. My buddy and I were on our way back from ballparking the left coast and Salt Lake City was one of the stops on the way home to break up the drive. Chase was nice enough to sign my lone card of him before the game.

Even though this is the only card he signed for me, it is not the first Chase Headley card I have posted on here. In 2011, I posted a card of Chase that was sent to me by Rod, from Padrographs. I think I gave that card away in a contest that was won by Night Owl and he eventually traded it to Backstop Cards.

When I posted the last Headley card, he was just starting his third full season as a Major Leaguer. That was about five years ago and he has done a lot since then. The biggest thing that happened to him was getting traded to the Yankees prior to the deadline in 2014. As a result of that, he got to play in his first playoff game this last season, a Wild Card loss to the Astros. He also had a monster year in 2012 when he went off with his bat. That season, he hit .286 with 31 home runs and 115 RBI. Those power numbers are so outside the norm for him that it isn't even funny. The most home runs he has had in a season, before or after that, is 13. And the most RBI was 64. I am not sure what was going on in 2012 for Chase.

One of the things that I like to do on here when I post the last card I got at a ballpark is to show some photos of that ballpark. So, here are some pics of lovely Smith's Ballpark, which was Franklin Covey Field when I was there. If you ever get a chance to take in a game there, do it! It has the most beautiful backdrop that I have ever seen at a game. Unfortunately, these pics do not do it justice.

2007 Topps Chrome, Joaquin Arias

#346 Joaquin Arias

Here is a card that I obtained in a trade with Night Owl about eight years ago. Night Owl posted this card on his blog after he pulled it from a pack. He had no interest in it and offered it up to anyone that wanted it. Since it had a signature on it, I thought I needed to have it. So, we worked out a trade and I sent him a Rafael Furcal jersey card for this one.

This is the second card of Joaquin Arias that I have posted on here. The first was posted in 2011 and it can be seen here.

When I posted that last card of Arias, he had just completed a season with the Omaha Storm Chasers. It was the first time in four years that he did not play in a Major League game. That all changed the next season when he got called up by the Giants. He was a member of the team through this past season. After his year in Omaha, I just figured that he was a AAAA type player, but he proved me wrong.

Since he went on to play for the Giants for so long, I am sure that Night Owl was quite happy that he got this card out of his collection.