A quick Opening Day contest

I have four more 2005 Bowman Padrographs to post. So, to make it a tad bit more interesting, I am going to give one of them away. I was planning on giving the final one away since I already have a card signed by him. But, if you would prefer a different 2005 Bowman Padrograph, we might be able to work something out.

All you have to do to win the card is to correctly guess any of the next four Padrographs that are coming up. All four of them are coming from the '05 Draft Picks and Prospects set, so that should narrow it down a bit. You get only one guess. But, if there is not a winner by the time I post the next card on Friday, everyone can guess again. If nobody has won by Saturday's post (or if you are the only person trying), you can guess again. Same goes for Sunday.

Good luck and thanks for playing.

2005 Bowman, Peeter Ramos

#271 Peeter Ramos

Here is the first of five 2005 Bowman Padrographs. This one features Peeter Ramos and Peeter never made it to the Major Leagues. He began his pro career in 2002 and he played in the Padres system through 2005, reaching as high as AA. He spent the next two seasons in the Phillies system, spending most of the time at AA. He did reach AAA with the Phillies, but that stint lasted just one game and two at-bats. He then spent 2008 in the Mets system before missing all of the 2009 season. He spent last season with Yuma of the Golden Baseball League.

Throughout his minor league career, Peeter is a .274 hitter with 22 home runs. He is only 29, so he might have a few more seasons left in him.

Tomorrow is Opening Day and I am looking forward to spending it in Kansas City for the first time since the 2007 season. There is a 50% chance of showers, but there isn't anything that I can do about that. If I get a chance, I will try to run a super-small contest tomorrow.

2005 Bowman, Kyle Nichols

#267 Kyle Nichols

Here is a card that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnuts game last season. Kyle was playing for the El Paso Diablos at the time and I was able to get him to sign this card just prior to gametime. I had actually bought this card the previous year to get signed at a KC T-Bones game. But, Kyle was released by the Joliet Jackhammers before the team got to Kansas City. Lucky for me, he found his way to the American Association for 2010.

Kyle was an undrafted free agent that was signed by the Diamondbacks out of college in 2001. He did well in the D-Backs system and by 2004, he was hitting .293 at the AAA level. That must not have been good enough for the D-Backs, though, as Kyle spent 2005 playing AA ball for the Reds and high-A for the Phillies. That was his last season in affiliated ball.

Since then, Kyle has been making the rounds in the independent circuits. He has played in the Northern League, the Atlantic League, the Golden league, and the American Association. Maybe he might find his way to the Can-Am League or the North American League this season, just to try something new.

Kyle has the distinction of having played with El Paso Diablos in both the Texas League and the American Association. There cannot be too many guys that can make that claim.

There will not be a post tomorrow. But, starting Wednesday, I will have five straight posts of Padrographs from this set. Just to break it up a bit, I may have a quick contest on Thursday or Friday. So, stayed tuned for that.

2005 Bowman, Shane Costa

#200 Shane Costa

Here is a card that I did get signed in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2008. Shane was playing for Omaha that season and I was able to get him to sign this card after the O-Royals took fielding practice. I did not own a card of Shane at that time, so I had to buy this card off of ebay. It obviously wasn't the best card to choose because of the Royals stupid black jerseys, but I was just starting to get back into autographs at that point and jersey color wasn't something that I was thinking about. You live and learn.

Shane has played parts of three seasons for the Royals, the most recent being 2007. He has 154 Major League games under his belt and he is a .254 hitter with 28 doubles, 5 home runs, and 42 RBI.

Shane hasn't played too much since the 2008 campaign. In 2009, he played in just one game and in 2010, he got into 14 games. He has obviously been injured, but I cannot find anything listing his injury.

It looks like the Royals failed to resign Shane and now he is going to try his luck with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association. Maybe I will be able to get a better card signed by him this season at a Wingnuts game.

I'm not sure whose fake signature is on this card, but I am pretty sure that it is not Shane's. Adam Lind would be my first guess.

2005 Bazooka, Dallas McPherson

#171 Dallas McPherson

Here is a card that I got signed by the former Angels prospect, Dallas McPherson. I bought this card off of ebay in 2008. That was either before checkoutmycards.com or before I knew about the site. I bought this card because I was going to Albuquerque for a game and Dallas was playing for the Isotopes at the time, who were still affiliated with the Marlins. Unfortunately, I did not get this card signed at that game because I spent the entire time 'graphing the Omaha Royals in the visiting dugout. Luckily, I did catch up to Dallas a few months later when the 'Topes were playing in Round Rock. I had three cards in my book for Dallas to sign, but he would only sign one item. But, I am glad that he signed this card since it is the only card from this set that I have got signed.

Dallas was a top notch prospect that never panned out. He was the #12 prospect in baseball prior to the 2005 season, yet he has only seen action in 128 Major League games. The most time he saw in one season was in 2005 when he played in 61 games with the Angels. Since then, he has seen some time with the Marlins, missed all of 2009, and then played for the A's AAA team last season. He was in camp this spring with the White Sox, but they just recently sent him down to the minor league camp. You have got to wonder how much more Dallas has in his tank.

Dallas sure has an interesting signature. All I can make out of it is the "D" and his number 8. It sure looks a lot different than the one that is featured on his Baseball Almanac page.

2004 Topps, Reggie Taylor

#142 Reggie Taylor

Here is the final card before I start into my 2005 cards. When I finished up with the 2004 cards, I thought I would be on to the '05s in three weeks or less. That was on January 9th, so I obviously did not meet my deadline. A couple of autograph packages, Royals Fanfest, and a job promotion turned my three week timetable into about eleven weeks. But, I made it through and I will start on the '05s tomorrow or Saturday.

Speaking of autograph packages, that is where I got this card. It was included in the last package that was sent to me by Paul's Random Stuff.

Reggie played in the big leagues with the Phillies, Reds, and Devil Rays. He only got into a handful of games with Philly and Tampa Bay, but he saw some decent playing time with the Reds in 2002 and 2003. In '02, he played in 135 games and he hit .254 with 9 home runs and 38 RBI. That was his best season at the Major League level.

Even though Reggie hasn't played in the Majors since 2005, it looks like he is still playing. Since 2005, Reggie has played in the Atlantic League, Mexican League, International League, and American Association. Last season was split between Mexico and the Atlantic League.

2004 SP Prospects, Luke Hochevar

#NH-LH Luke Hochevar

Here is a card that I got signed by Luke Hochevar at Royals Fanfest. This was one of four game-used cards that I got signed that day and it is the first game-used card that I have posted on here. I think that I now have six game-used cards signed.

This year, Luke gets the nod as the Royals Opening Day starter. I have mixed feelings about that, but after the loss of Grienke and Meche, Luke kind of became the ace of the staff by default. The main problem I have with Hochevar is that he has a hard time staying healthy. In three seasons with the Royals, he has yet to throw over 150 innings. Last season, he only threw 103 innings. Maybe all of that will change this season and he will be able to last 180 innings or more. I can only hope that that is the case.

The other problem I have with Luke is his consistency. There are some days when he looks like he really knows what he is doing and then other days where he just looks confused and beaten on the mound. I would prefer him to be in control every game he pitches, but just being more consistent in his starts would be good enough for me.

On an unrelated note, I will say that Luke has been a good signer thus far into his career. I have got him to sign inside the ballpark and outside by the parking lot. He even signed outside the ballpark one day for about ten minutes when he had his Saint Bernard with him.

I didn't realize that the flat bill trend was going on in 2004. I don't recall seeing flat bills until Chad Cordero was sporting one in the 2005 season. Nevertheless, Luke still wears the flat bill. Maybe it was he that started the trend.

Not only is this the first game-used card that I have posted on here, this is also the fisrt Team USA card as well.