1998 Pacific Omega, Tim Belcher

#111 Tim Belcher

Here is a card that I got signed at a Royals game last month. The Indians were in town and Tim is their pitching coach. The game was a Sunday day game, so there wasn't any batting practice. But, the pitchers were on the field and I was able to get this card signed while Tim was leaving the field. He only signed one card and I am glad it was this one. But, I'll get into that later.

Tim pitched in the Majors for fourteen seasons with seven different clubs- the Dodgers, Reds, White Sox, Tigers, Mariners, Royals, and Angels. He was a 15 game winner three times, but he never made an All Star team. He finished his career 146-140 and he even picked up 5 saves early in his career.

2010 was Tim's first season as the Indians pitching coach.

I found this card in a stack of Royals cards that I have accumulated since joining the blogosphere. It was the only Belcher Royals card that I could find and I love it. This is a fantastic looking card. I know the late '90s cards take a lot of crap for being overly shiney and foiled up, but not this card. This card actually looks really nice.

I have no idea how long I have had this card (less than two years) and I never noticed it until the day I pulled it out of its stack. But, once I re-found it and actually looked at it, I couldn't believe that I have had this beauty and never realized it.

It kind of looks like a '90s version of Upper Deck Sweet Spot. I love how they have the seams on the card and how they break up the three images. Even though about a fifth of the card is covered in foil, the foil is used in a way that I have never noticed before. It has a picture etched in it and it actually looks good. Even the scan looks good.

All in all, this is a great looking card and I am glad that I was able to get it signed. It certainly looks better than the '89 Donruss card of Tim that didn't get signed.

1995 Pacific, Hector Carrasco

#34 Hector Carrasco

Here is the second of three cards that Hector signed for me at the American Association All Star Game this summer. Luckily, I have more than 300 cards to post between this one and the next Carrasco card. So, this might seem like the final card of Carrasco, for now.

This past season, Hector pitched for the American Association champions, the Shreveport-Bossier Captains. He finished the season with a 2-4 record with 22 saves and an ERA of 3.83. His 22 saves was good for second in the league. In the playoffs, he pitched 9 scoreless innings while picking up 3 more saves.

I was looking forward to seeing Hector pitch in the All Star Game, but it was not to be. Apparently, Hector had better things to do that night and he ended up heading to the clubhouse after the first inning, never to be seen again. It's not like the South squad needed him as they rolled the North 12-3. They could have avoided pitching their starting shortstop for the final two outs if he would have stayed, though.

But, it not like I never saw Hector pitch. I got to see him pitch two times in the early 2000s with the Twins in Kansas City.

1995 Topps, Butch Henry

#498 Butch Henry

Here is the second of three cards that Butch Henry signed for me at a Wingnuts game in August while he was managing the El Paso Diablos.

Butch pitched in the Majors for seven seasons with four different clubs. He pitched one year with the Astros, half of one with the Rockies, two and a half with the Expos, two with the Red Sox, and one with the Mariners. When he was all said and done, Butch finished his career with a 33-33 record with 7 saves and a 3.83 ERA. That is not too bad for a guy that bounced around as much as he did.

I'll have one more Butch Henry card to post later this week and I will have one more card up later tonight.

1995 Donruss, Butch Henry

#455 Butch Henry

Here is a card that I got signed at the last Wichita Wingnut game I attended this year. Butch was the manager of the visiting El Paso Diablos and he was nice enough to sign all three cards after the game.

I asked him to sign before the game, but he was running a little behind and the umpires were already congregated around the plate. He told me that he couldn't sign then, but he would get me after the game. So, as soon as the ballgame was over, I went down by El Paso's dugout to get the cards signed. Before he signed for me, he asked if I was the guy that asked him for his autograph by the 'Nuts dugout just prior to the game. I told him that I was and he told me that he was going to look for me on his way back to the clubhouse. I thought that was pretty cool. When asking for autographs, you get rejected in more ways than one, but one of the most used is "I'll get you later" and then later never happens. So, it was nice to see a player/coach actually follow up on what they said.

I attended my last baseball game of the season yesterday. For the first time ever, I got to see a meaningful game in October in Kansas City. Sure the Rays clinched the AL East while they were down 2-0, but they were able to pull it off in extras to gain an actual lead in the standings. Plus, I got a game-used bat card signed by Evan Longoria. So, yeah, I had a pretty good day.

How long until Royals Fanfest? I need some more autographs!!

1994 Upper Deck, Hector Carrasco

#511 Hector Carrasco

Here is a card that I got signed at the American Association All Star game in July. Hector was representing the eventual league champions, the Shreveprt-Bossier Capatains, at the game and he was nice enough to sign all three cards for me. I will post the second card on Monday, but it might be another year before I post the third card. It's from 2007.

Hector pitched in the Majors for parts of twelve seasons. During that time, he played with the Reds, Royals, Twins, Red Sox, Orioles, Nationals, and Angels. He played in 647 Major League games and posted a record of 44-50 with 19 saves while compiling a 3.99 ERA and 662 strikeouts.

He last pitched in the Majors in 2007, but he is obviously still playing ball. He pitched for the Iowa Cubs in 2008 before moving on to the Atlantic League in 2009. He played for three different teams last year before heading to the American Association this season.

1994 Clollector's Choice, Scott Radinsky

#235 Scott Radinsky

Here is the third and final Scott Radinsky card that I got signed last month. Just scroll down a bit to see the other two.

Unfortunately, I could only find cards of Scott as a White Sock. He played for the Dodgers, Indians, and Cardinals, too, but I only have White Sox cards of him. It looks like there wasn't any cards of him as a Cardinal or Indian, but there are a couple of cards out there of him as a Dodger. But, those cards came out when I wasn't collecting, so I obviously have none of them.

According to Wikipedia, Scott is one of the best Jewish pitchers in the history of the game, he is in a punk band, and he owns a skate park and skateboard museum. That is quite a resume.

1992 Topps, Ced Landrum

#81 Ced Landrum

Here is the second and final Ced Landrum card that I have to post on here. If you missed the first one, scroll down one post.

When Ced was leaving the field the day he signed my cards, he had his daughter with him. She was probably in middle school and was carrying around a softball. I've seen a few players/coaches at the park with their boys before, but that was the first time I've noticed a daughter. I thought it was pretty cool that she was with him and was obviously into baseball/softball and was even on a road trip. You don't see that too often at games.

I'll get one more post up later tonight and then it will be back to one post a day for a a couple of days.