2005 Topps, Brian Lawrence

#112 Brain Lawrence

Here is the second card of Brian Lawrence that I have ever posted on here. The first one was posted way back in 2010. It was given to me by Rod, from Padrographs. This one, on the other hand, I got in-person at Spring Training last year. Brain was the pitching coach for the Cub's Boise Hawks last year. The Cubs no longer have Boise as an affiliation, but Brian has the same role with their new team, the South Bend Cubs.

When I posted the previous card of Brian, he was a free agent after pitching for the Marlins AAA team in New Orleans. Brian got picked up by the Angels the following season, 2011, and he pitched for their AAA team in Salt Lake City. He went 2-5 with a 8.07 ERA over 7 starts before getting released. He retired from playing after that season.

Brian became a pitching coach the following season, starting out with the Normanl CornBelters of the Frontier League. He then coached for the Lake Elsinore Storm before joining the Cubs minor league coaching staff last season.

The two Brian Lawrence cards that I have posted on here have slightly varied signatures. I know when and where this card was signed. I cannot say that for the previous card. It is entirely possible that that card was signed way back in 2004 and Brian's signature has changed a bit over the past decade. I would say that is probably the case after looking at some Brian Lawrence autos on COMC from 2003.

2005 Leaf, Lincoln Holdzkom

#232 Lincoln Holdzkom

Here is the third and final card that Lincoln Holdzkom signed for me before a Wingnuts game in 2013. The first one can be seen here and the second one can be seen here.

Over those first two posts, I talked about Lincoln's tenure in affiliated ball. That all came to an end after fourteen games with the Altoona Curve in 2009. At that point, it looked like Lincoln had retired. But then the Wichita Wingnuts came knocking at the door in 2013 and he decided to give it one more try.

With the 'Nuts, he pitched in 40 games and threw 38.2 innings. He went 2-4 with a save and posted a 3.72 ERA. He struck out 30 while walking 20. Then, he called it a career.

For his career, Lincoln was 18-29 with 22 saves and a 3.04 ERA.

On an unrelated note, I got two autographs in the mail today. I only sent out about six cards to Spring Training this year, so it was nice to get a third of those back today. I now have two signed cards from the 2015 Topps set.

2005 Donruss Champions, Joey Gathright

#181 Joey Gathright

Here is the second card of Joey Gathright that I have ever posted on here. Joey spent some time with the Royals, so I have a few sigs from him. But this one I picked up a little more recently. In 2013, Joey was playing for the other Kansas City team, the American Association's T-Bones. He signed three cards for me before a game in Wichita that summer.

Joey last played for the Royals in 2008 and all of my prior autographs from him were obtained that season. Back then, all his signatures looked like his initials. I was shocked when I got these cards signed in Wichita and he had more of an actual signature. I was not expecting that. Here is the first card I posted of him in 2011 to compare.

Joey played for the Devil Rays from 2004 til a mid-season trade in 2006. In his two and a half seasons in Tampa Bay, Joey hit .244 with 65 runs, 27 RBI, and 38 stolen bases. The Rays sent him to Kansas City for JP Howell. JP pitched for the Rays through 2012, so I would say that trade worked out great for them.

Two bat cards in one week? I doubt that will ever happen again.

Apparently, Joey notified the public yesterday, via Facebook, that he has officially retired from baseball.

2005 Bowman Heritage, Cesar Carrillo

#336 Cesar Carrillo

Here is a card of Cesar Carrillo that I got signed at a Wichita Wingnut playoff game last season. Cesar was playing for the Laredo Lemurs and he signed the card prior to game three in the first round series.

I posted a card of Cesar about four years ago and that card can be seen here. That card is from the same set as this one and even has the same number. I am not sure if one is a variation or if it is just Topps being Topps. I am tending to lean toward the second option.

Cesar pitched in three Major League games with the Padres in 2009. In that span, he went 1-2 with a 13.07 ERA over 10.1 innings. He struck out 4 and walked 12.

Since then, it has been a steady diet of minor league hitters. He pitched in the Astros and Tigers systems for a couple of years. He spent the past two seasons in the independent leagues, one in the Atlantic League and last year in the American Association. He did really well with the Lemurs last season by posting a 8-5 record with a 2.80 ERA. His ERA was the lowest mark that he had ever recorded in his professional career. Plus, he pitched his first, and only, shutout with Laredo.

I have no clue what is on tap for Cesar this year. Laredo does not have the most up to date website, so I am not sure if he will be back with them or not.

2005 Bowman Heritage, Trevor Bell

#244 Trevor Bell

Here is a card that I picked up a little over three years ago in a trade with The Angels, In Order. Tom is working on a signed set of 2006 Fleer Tradition and he swapped me this card for a Tim Hamulak card from the set.

Trevor pitched for the Angels for parts of three seasons, from 2009-2011. He started a few games with them, but mostly pitched out of the bullpen. During that time, he was 4-8 with a 5.21 ERA. He posted a career-best ERA of 3.41 over 19 outings in his final season with the club. But, it wasn't enough and they let him walk after that season.

He was picked up by Detroit for 2012, but he was cut during Spring Training. The Reds grabbed him after that and he has been pitching in their system since. He did resurface on the Majors last summer with them. He made just two appearances and they did not go too well. He pitched just .2 innings and gave up 5 runs on 5 hits and a pair of walks.

It would appear that Trevor is currently a free agent.

2005 Bowman, Mike Costanzo

#BDP89 Mike Costanzo

Here is another card that was sent to me by Ryan, from The Great Orioles Autograph Project, a few years back. When I first got this card, I had not heard of Mike Costanzo. So, I just figured it was another Bowman card of a guy that never made it. It turns out I was wrong.

Mike Costanzo played in 17 games for the Reds in 2012. He was used as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement in all but two of those games. In those games, he got 18 at-bats, but recorded just a single hit (.056). He drove in 2 runs, both on sac flies, and he walked twice while striking out 10 times.

After that, it was back to AAA for Mike. He finished up the season in Louisville before joining the Nationals organization via free agency. He lasted with them until getting released in July of 2013. The Reds picked him back up and he spent the past season and a half back in Louisville.

Mike's Major League page says he is signed right now, but I can find no evidence that backs that up. He is not listed on the Bats roster. After searching, without much luck, I came across an Italian baseball site. Mike played for Team Italy in the 2013 WBC and, according to the loose translation on the site, Mike is without a team right now. He sounds like an Atlantic League candidate to me.

2005 Bowman, Brett Hayes

#BDP59 Brett Hayes

Here is the second card that I got signed by Brett Hayes at Royals Fanfest last year. I posted the first one a couple of weeks ago and it can be seen here.

Brett was drafted by the Marlins in the second round of the 2005 draft out of Nevada. By 2007, he was in AA and he got his first taste of Major League action in 2009. In limited action that season, Brett hit .273 with a home run and 2 RBI in 14 games. He split 2010 between AAA and the Majors and finished with a .208 mark with the Fish. In 2011, he was on the Major League roster the entire year as John Buck's backup. He got into 64 games that season with about half of those being starts. To date, it is the only season where he did not play in the minors and he hit .231 with 5 home runs and 16 RBI. 2012 was his final season as a Marlin and he hit .202 in 39 games. After the season, he was picked up off of waivers by the Royals.

As a Marlin, Brett hit .217 with 8 home runs and 27 RBI in 144 games.

As a Royal in 2013, Brett was the third string catcher. Because of that, he spent most of the season in AAA. He had a monster year there and hit a career-high 17 home runs. He only got into 5 games at the Major League level, but he went 5-18 with four of his five hits being for extra bases. Because of his strong finish, and the departure of George Kottaras, Brett went into the 2014 season firmly implanted as Salvador Perez's back-up. Because of that, he was at Fanfest and I was able to get some cards signed by him.