2004 Topps, Phil Nevin

#446 Phil Nevin

Here is the first of three straight Padre cards. This one is a Padrograph that was given to me by Rod in 2015.

This is now the sixth card of Phil Nevin that I have posted on here. I got three signed by him in Spring Training in 2014 and Rod has given me three cards on two separate occasions. I think I am good to go on cards signed by Phil. When I went and saw the Yankees play earlier this year, I didn't even bother looking for any cards of him.

Phil played for a handful of clubs during his career, but San Diego is where he spent the majority of his time. He spent nearly seven seasons with the Friars and racked up a .288 batting average with 156 home runs and 573 RBI. He ranks in the franchise's top ten in average, slugging, OPS, runs, hits, singles, doubles, home runs, total bases, and RBI. He made his lone All Star team as a Padre in 2001.

If I do ever get a chance to get Phil's signature again, I might try to find a card or two of him. But, with five signed Padre cards already, I will probably stay away from those cards. Instead, I will look for him playing with the Astros, Angels, Cubs, Rangers, or Twins. I already have a Tiger card signed by him.

2004 Topps, Ron Gardenhire

#283 Ron Gardenhire

Here is a card of Ron Gardenhire that I got signed at a Royals game last year. Ron was the bench coach for the Diamondbacks at the time and he seemed a little shocked that I asked for his autograph. He asked me why I wanted his autograph and assumed it was because I couldn't get Paul Goldschmidt to come over. I told him it was because I don't get to see him anymore since he doesn't lead the Twins to town a dozen times a year to whoop up on the Royals. He just chuckled and signed the three cards I had of him.

After the season, he got the Tigers managerial job and gets to come back to Kansas City a dozen times a year. Luckily, though, his new team currently lacks the talent that he had in Minnestoa a decade ago.

Ron managed the Twins for thirteen seasons and was 1068-1039. During that time, he lead the Twins to a AL Central crown six times. Unfortunately, they never fared well in the postseason, going 6-21 while winning just one series. That series was Gardenhire's first trip to the postseason in his first year of managing, 2002, when his team beat the A's in five games.

2004 Topps, Brad Penny

#236 Brad Penny

Here is the second card of Brad Penny that I got signed at the NBC World Series in 2016 while Brad was a member of the Kansas Stars. I posted the first card about ten days ago and it can be seen here.

Brad pitched for the Marlins for parts of six seasons. Over that span, he was 50-43 with a 4.12 ERA and 583 strikeouts. He never made an All Star team with the club, but he did help them win their second World Series title in 2003 by going 14-10 during the regular season.

The 2003 postseason was a mixed bag for Brad. He made two appearances in the Division Series and pitched 5.2 innings while giving up 4 runs in a start and a relief appearance. Despite his bad start and blown save, the Marlins won both games he pitched in. In the NLCS, Brad did a little worse. Pitching in three games, with only one being a start, he was 1-1 with a 15.75 ERA in four innings of work. In his start in Game 2, Brad lasted just 2 innings while giving up 7 runs. He got moved to the bullpen after that and threw two scoreless innings in his two outings and picked up the win in Game 7.

Then, in the World Series, he got moved back to the starting rotation and got the ball in Game 1. He stepped it up for that series and picked up W's in the two games he pitched. He threw 12.1 innings in the Fall Classic and gave up just 3 earned runs for a 2.19 ERA. Though Brad would see the postseason two more times in his career, that was his only trip to the World Series.

At the trade deadline the following year, Brad is dealt to Los Angeles in a six-player deal.

2004 Topps, Jack Wilson

#204 Jack Wilson

Here is the second card of Jack Wilson that I have posted on here. Jack signed six cards for my dad and I last summer after a Kansas Stars game at the NBC World Series. I posted the first card just last week and it can be seen here.

For me, Jack was a household name during his years with the Pirates. The Pirates were a little lean while he played and that might have helped him stand out more. But, for whatever reason, I would have thought that he would have been on more All Star teams than the shortstop I posted two days ago, Jason Bartlett. But, that is not the case. Both guys made one All Star team.

Jack made the team in 2004. That season was a good one for him. He hit over .300 for the only time in his career. He also had single season highs in doubles (41), triples (12), and hits (201). In the All Star Game, he went 0-2 after entering the game in the sixth inning.

I have seen this card referenced as something like "turning two on Tatooine"

2004 Studio, Jason Bartlett

#208 Jason Bartlett

Every once in a while, my dad will buy me some baseball cards. He's been doing it since the mid-80s and I do not see him stopping anytime soon. Even when I was in college and could care less about baseball cards, my dad would still buy me a pack or two every now and then. I think he is just curious of what they are looking like from year to year.

Anyways, a couple of years ago, my dad called me to tell me that he pulled an autograph out of a pack. I was expecting something cool out of a current pack of Allen & Ginter or even Topps Archives. Nope, this was the card he pulled. It turns out that he got bored by the card selection at Target, so he picked up a repack box with a few packs and a 100 loose cards. This was one of the loose cards.

Now, I don't mean to sound like I am ungrateful that my dad pulled this card. That is not the case as I love any and all autographs, especially guys that I never got in-person that had respectable careers, like Jason. I just wasn't expecting him to pull an auto that was a dozen years old.

Jason played in the Majors for ten seasons with the Twins, Rays, and Padres. Over that time, he hit .270 with 31 home runs and 286 RBI while playing in the postseason three times. He best season was with the Rays in 2009 when he had career-highs in nearly every offensive category including average (.320), runs (90), doubles (29), home runs (14), RBI (66), and stolen bases (30). He was rewarded that season with his only All Star team selection.

2004 Grandstand Midwest League Top Prospects, Sean Thompson

Here is a Padrograph that was given to me in 2015 when I met up with Rod in Hillsboro, Oregon. This one features Padre farmhand, Sean Thompson.

Leading up to this post, I was thinking that this was going to be my third post of Sean because I thought that Rod had given me a couple of autographs from him ten years ago. It turns out that this is the first post of Sean because those other two posts were of former Padre, Mike Thompson.

While Mike actually pitched in a handful of games at the Major League level, the same cannot be said of Sean. The highest Sean reached was the three games he pitched in AAA in 2007. Aside from the scoreless inning he accumulated at that level, he spent parts of three seasons in AA and was 19-23 with a 4.05 ERA.

In his All Star season with the Fort Wayne Wizards, Sean was 9-6 with a 3.65 ERA and had 157 strikeouts in 148 innings.

Fort Wayne joined the Midwest League in 1993 and kept the Wizards moniker until changing the name to the Tin Caps in 2009.

2004 Fleer Tradition, Jack Wilson

#291 Jack Wilson

Here is the first of six cards that Jack Wilson signed for my dad and I after the Kansas Stars game last year. Unlike the previous year, we actually stuck around for the whole game since there were fewer people and I thought that I could get a few cards signed. I am glad I did as I was able to add Jack to the collection. Even though there was a paid autograph session after the game, Jack still made his way down the line, hurrying as many free signatures as he could. Being in such a rush, I really did not expect him to sign three for each of us.

The signature is really hard to make out, but he signed the cards in record time. I tried to find a newer, authentic auto from Topps to compare these to, but it appears Jack hand't had an autograph insert since 2005. The ones from '05 are definitely easier to read, though. I am just curious if all of his signatures look similar to this now or if this is just a super-rushed version.

You have got to love the retro uniform on this card. It would be much better, though, if it wasn't so baggy. It looks like this photo is from a contest against the Phillies at old Veterans Stadium.