Wednesday, November 25, 2009

2008 TriStar Projections Donald Veal


Who is this? Donald Veal, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates

What is this? An autographed card from the 2008 TriStar Projections set, #123

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Donald Veal c/o his Arizona Fall League team and asked him to sign it. I got it back yesterday.


How much did it cost?
The card came out of a half-price blaster box, and postage was 88 cents.

Why is this so special? Donald Veal was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the second round of the 2005 amateur draft. He was left off the Cubs 40-man roster last winter, so the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to take him in the Rule V draft.

Veal spent most of the season in the majors, but didn't really pitch much. He appeared in just 19 games, and was generally ineffective. The Pirates sent him to the Arizona Fall League, and Veal had success there. At age 25 entering the 2010 season, there is still time for Veal to become a productive Major League pitcher. Mostly, though, I was amused by his name.

I wasn't very impressed with the design of the 2008 TriStar Projections set when I opened the blaster box. Now I understand why. They were designed to be autographed, and they just don't look complete without a signature.

Veal has an autograph that's mainly made of of loops, but it works and is even somewhat legible. It's a cool-looking, stylized version of his name. He gets bonus points for personalizing my card.

3 comments:

zman40 said...

I agree that these cards are made for autographs. The funny part is the cards are not consistant. Most cards stop at the stripe in the middle and some extend into the bottom half.

Anonymous said...

I noticed that, but I assumed it was a change between the regular & high number series. I could be wrong - I wasn't paying that much attention when I opened my two blasters.

zman40 said...

That could be. I never bothered to figure it out. I just put it in the "that's stange" category.