1973 Topps Jim Nettles

Who is this? former Minnesota Twins outfielder Jim Nettles
What is this? An autographed card from the 1973 Topps set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Nettles and asked him to sign it; I got it back yesterday, about 10 days later.
How much did it cost? I got the unsigned card for a dime.

Why is this so special? Jim Nettles is the brother of famed 1970s Yankee third baseman Graig Nettles. Jim didn't enjoy the same degree of success in baseball - he was strictly a part-time player. Jim played for four different teams over six seasons, but never had more than 235 at-bats in a season.

I was interested in adding Jim's autograph to my collection because I watched his nephew, Jeff, play for the Somerset Patriots in the Atlantic League for several seasons. I already had Jeff and Graig's autographs.

1973 Topps Ellie Rodriguez

Who is this? Former major league catcher Ellie Rodriguez

What is this? An autographed card from the 1973 Topps set  

Where'd I get it? I got it signed before a doubleheader between the Newark Bears and Bridgeport Bluefish earlier this month.

How much did it cost? I think that I got the card in a quarter bin during the off-season.
 
Why is this so special? Ellie Rodriguez was an original Kansas City Royal, a two-time American League All-Star and the catcher for Nolan Ryan's fourth no-hitter.  Rodriguez is now a player development consultant for the Atlantic League.

I'm still trying to figure out what was going through the mind of the photo editor at Topps; this is one of the most unusual baseball cards in my collection. There are four men in the foreground of this card, and you can't see any of their faces clearly.

The signature looks a little compressed; I don't think Rodriguez wanted to sign over anything important on the card.