2008 TriSTAR PROjections Austin Jackson

Who is this? Detroit Tigers Centerfielder Austin Jackson
What is this? An autograph card from 2008 TriSTAR PROjections
Where'd I get it? I got this card signed by Austin Jackson when he was a member of the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees in 2009.
How much did it cost? I got the card when I bought a set of 2008 TriSTAR PROjections.

Why is this so special? Austin Jackson has emerged as one of the top young players in Major League Baseball. As a rookie in 2010, Jackson hit .293 and was second in the American League with 10 triples. In his second season in 2011, Jackson continued to show that he belonged in the Majors, hitting .249 and leading the American League with 11 triples.

At the time that I got this card signed, Jackson was the New York Yankees Top Prospect and was on his way to winning the 2009 International League Rookie of the Year Award. After that season, Jackson was sent to Detroit as part of the trade that brought Curtis Granderson to New York.

Jackson is off to a hot start in 2012. On Opening Day, Jackson hit a walk-off single that drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth-inning to defeat the Boston Red Sox.

2007 Topps Co-Signers Andrew Miller

Who is this? Red Sox pitcher Andrew Miller.
What is this? An autograph rookie card from 2007 Topps Co-Signers, card #100 in the set.
Where'd I get it? I got it before a Pawtucket Red Sox game at McCoy Stadium in May.
How much did it cost? I got it from a 10 cent box at my local card show at the Mansfield Holiday Inn in March.

Why is this so special? Andrew Miller played for the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox from April to mid-June of this season after being acquired from the Florida Marlins in a trade for LHP Dustin Richardson in the offseason. Miller was selected six overall in the 2006 draft by the Detroit Tiger's out of the University of North Carolina, where he won Baseball America's College Player of the Year Award as a Junior and became the first player drafted in 2006 to make it to the Majors when he made his debut on 8/30/2006 against the New York Yankees. Unfortunately, so far in his career, Miller has been unable to find the form that made him such a dominant pitcher in college and has posted mediocre numbers.

To most fans, Miller is best remembered for being traded to the Marlins as part of the Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera deal in December of 2007. However, since being traded to the Red Sox, Miller has had better control of his pitches and has recently been added to the Red Sox rotation and won his first game as a member of the Red Sox today, June 26, 2011.

This autographed card is so special because Andrew Miller is a true Major Leaguer, even when he was in the Minors. While many players with his skills and background avoid fans at Minor League ballparks, Miller was always very kind: signing autographs, taking pictures, and talking to fans. I hope that he remains in Boston and finds the success that has eluded him for too long, and will have his autographed cards as a reminder of what a nice guy he was in Pawtucket.

1994 Topps Stadium Club John Doherty 1st Day Edition

Who is this? former Detroit Tigers pitcher John Doherty
What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Stadium Club set


Where'd I get it? Nick of Baseball Happenings got it signed for me last year. (Incidentally, Nick's conducting a private signing with legendary Cuban Hall of Fame pitcher and former Pittsburgh Pirate, Gonzalo "Cholly" Naranjo - click over for details)

Why is this so special? If you were looking for an average 1990s major league pitcher, John Doherty fits the bill pretty well. In five seasons as a starter and reliever, he had a 32-31 record with a 4.87 ERA and an adjusted ERA+ of 91.

This is the only signed 1st Day Edition Stadium Club card in my collection - I've never gotten any of the others I own signed. For those who don't remember collecting Stadium Club, the 1st Day Edition cards turned up at a rate of about one per box. Aside from the little rainbow foil stamp, there's no difference between the 1st Day Edition cards and the regular ones. Yet I was fascinated by them in 1993 and 1994, and even now I will buy them when I run across them.

Though some might deduct points for the printed initials, I rather like Doherty's autograph.

Signed 8x10 Cecil Fielder photo

Who is this? former Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder
What is this? An autographed 8x10 photo
Where'd I get it? I got it signed at an autograph show in Secaucus on Saturday
How much did it cost? $35


Why is this so special? Cecil Fielder was one of my favorite players in the early 1990s. He played a little bit for the Toronto Blue Jays in the late 1980s, but I don't think anybody other than die-hard Blue Jay fans noticed.

He went to Japan and played one season for the Hanshin Tigers, becoming a slugging superstar. Then he came back to America and joined the Detroit Tigers. He was a 3-time All-Star and two-time American League home run champion, hitting a career-high 51 in 1990.

Later in his career, Fielder was traded to the New York Yankees and won a World Series ring with them in 1996. He retired with 319 major league home runs during a 13 year career. He and his son Prince are the only father-son duo in Major League Baseball history to have 50 home run seasons.

Fielder has a neat autograph - he signed the big, looping "C" first, then filled in the rest of his first name. Next was the big, stylized looping "F," and finally the rest of his last name.

2007 Topps 52 Andrew Miller

Who is this? Boston Red Sox reliever Andrew Miller
What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Topps 52 set
Where'd I get it? I bought it from a SportsGraphing.com forum member
How much did it cost? $2


Why is this so special? This is another card from the 2007 Topps 52 set that I am kinda (but not really) working on trying to get signed.

At one point, Miller was a really big prospect. The Tigers made him the 6th overall pick in the 2006 draft. In 2007, Miller went to the Marlins as a key part of the Miguel Cabrera trade. This off-season, the Marlins traded Miller to Boston,

Unfortunately, he's never enjoyed a lot of success in the majors. Last year, in 9 appearances Miller was 1-5 with an 8.54 ERA for Florida.  He's running out of chances to prove that he belongs in the major leagues - if he gets a chance with the Red Sox, it will be in the bullpen. And Miller's not really suited to being a situational lefty - for his career, lefty batters hit .267 with a .404 on-base percentage and a .415 slugging average against him.

Miller's autograph is unusual, but it's fairly consistent with the facsimile one on the card.

1994 Pinnacle Tim Belcher

Who is this? former Detroit Tigers pitcher Tim Belcher
What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Pinnacle set
Where'd I get it? In November, I wrote to Belcher and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? This is my second autograph of 2011, and I will always remember that it was signed during 1/11 since Belcher chose to add the month and year when he autographed it. He's got a pretty good signature for a modern player, though he did drop some letters from his last name.

Belcher stamped the back of my envelope with this message "Thanks for being a fan of baseball! All the best, Tim." That's an unusual gesture, but kind of nice.

A major league pitcher for 14 season, Belcher retired with a 146-140 lifetime record. His best seasons came early in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a member of the starting rotation for the 1988 World Series champions and he led the National League in shutouts (with 8) in 1989.

Belcher also pitched well for the Royals, racking up double digit win totals in each of his three seasons in Kansas City. He only pitched for the Tigers for one season - 1994 - and it was arguably the worst year of his career. In a strike-shortened season, he led the American League with 15 losses. 

Keeping that in mind, I'm surprised he signed the card I sent - I would have picked a different one, but it was the only one I had.

2003 Topps Total Hiram Bocachica

Who is this? Bridgeport Bluefish utility player Hiram Bocachica
What is this? An autographed card from the 2003 Topps Total set
Where'd I get it? Bocachica signed it for me at a Newark Bears game last year.
How much did it cost? I got the card out of a pack in 2003


Why is this so special? This was one of the last baseball cards I got signed in person in 2010.

Bocachica has been playing professional baseball since 1994. He spent parts of 8 seasons in the major leagues and two more in Japan. In 2008, Bocachica hit 20 home runs for the Saitama Seibu Lions and helped them to win the Japan Series.

Last year, he split the season between Bridgeport in the Atlantic League and the Broncos de Reynosa in Mexico. For the Bluefish, he batted .282 with 8 home runs and 32 RBI in 69 games.

Bocachica appears to have just signed his last name on my card, though I can't read his writing well enough to be sure. In 2008, dayf posted a card that Bocachica signed during his first year as a pro... you can tell that his signature changed a lot since then.

2002 Fleer Tradition Eric Munson

Who is this? Newark Bears third baseman Eric Munson
What is this? An autographed card from the 2002 Fleer Tradition set
Where'd I get it? Munson signed it after a game in Newark earlier this month.
How much did it cost? I got the card out of a pack.


Why is this so special? Eric Munson was the third overall selection in the 1999 draft. He was chosen ahead of Barry Zito, Ben Sheets and Brian Roberts, among others.

Munson appeared in 361 games over a nine year major league career with Detroit, Houston, Tampa Bay and Oakland. In 2004, he hit a home run 457 feet over the center field fence at Comerica Park, the longest home run ever hit there to that point.

Munson had been playing with the AAA Portland Beavers in the Pacific Coast League until July. He is hitting .206 with 4 home runs and 7 RBI in 17 games for the Bears.

Munson does not like to sign autographs before the game and made us wait around until afterwards to get our cards signed. Even though he made the last out that spoiled a ninth-inning rally, he kept his promise to sign autographs.

Here is the 2005 Fleer card that he also signed that day.

Munson has a loopy signature, but it hasn't changed much from the one printed on his 2005 card.

2006 Topps Heritage Nook Logan

Who is this? Newark Bears outfielder Nook Logan
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 2006 Topps Heritage set
 
Where'd I get it? I got it signed before a Newark Bears game earlier this month
 
How much did it cost? I'm not sure, but I'd guess around a quarter for the card.
 
Why is this so special? Nook Logan spent parts of four seasons in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers and the Washington Nationals. Speed, not power, was Logan's biggest asset. Unfortunately, Logan didn't get on base often enough to take full advantage of it.

Logan was named in the Mitchell report in December 2007, and hasn't played a game in the majors since. He spent time with the Long Island Ducks in 2008 before playing for the Bears this season.

Logan's autograph is just a quick "initials" version, since he signed my card while reaching over a rail & trying to hang onto his bats at the same time.

2009 Topps Heritage Fu-Te Ni

Who is this? Fu-Te Ni, a relief pitcher for the Detroit Tigers

What is this? An autographed card from the 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Ni at the Tigers' spring training camp and asked him to sign it. I got it back on Saturday

How much did it cost? I think the card cost about a quarter last fall.

Why is this so special? Fu-Te Ni is the sixth player from Taiwan to appear in a Major League Baseball game. He began his professional career with the Chinatrust Whales in 2007, but signed a minor league contract with the Tigers in 2009 after the Whales disbanded.

Ni was called up to the majors in June when Nate Robertson was injured, and he pitched well. He appeared in 36 games, striking out 21 in 31 innings and finishing with a 2.61 ERA.

I didn't see him pitch until the 163rd game of the season, the one game playoff between the Tigers and the Minnesota Twins. With the Tigers down 4-3 in the seventh inning and Joe Mauer on first base with one out, Ni came in to retire Jason Kubel to keep the Tigers in the game.

I'm not sure what's going on with Ni's signature. It's not English, but it doesn't look a lot like the traditional Chinese version of his name - 倪福德 - either. It's one of the more unique autographs I have in my collection.

1956 Topps Virgil Trucks

Who is this? Virgil Trucks, a former major league pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees

What is this? An autographed card from the 1956 Topps set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Virgil Trucks and asked him to sign it; I got the autographed card back about two weeks later.

How much did it cost? A little over $4 for the card and postage.

Why is this so special? This is the oldest card in my collection, signed or unsigned.

Virgil Trucks threw two no-hitters during 1952, only the third pitcher in major league history to accomplish that feat at that point in time. He won 177 games, and easily might have won more if he had played on better teams more often. He finished with a career ERA of 3.39 and twice led the American League in shutouts.

For more about Virgil Trucks, check out this interview at Baseball Almanac.

Virgil Trucks is also special because he is one of those former baseball players who really seems to enjoy hearing from baseball fans. When I wrote to him, I asked if he still follows baseball today and if so, who was the best pitcher in the game today.

He included a short note saying that he was glad to sign the card for me. He also wrote that it is difficult to say who is the best pitcher in modern baseball because they all only pitch five or six innings. He also added a signed card commemorating his two no-hitters and a signed postcard promoting his book.



If I reach age 92, I hope my handwriting looks that good. (Who am I kidding, it doesn't look that good now.)

You just have to love the version of his autograph on the postcard with the fire truck stamp and his nickname written in red ink. Pat Neshek is the only one I can think of who does anything near that clever with his autograph.

2002 Topps Traded Demetrius Heath

Who is this? Demetrius Heath, a former minor league second baseman and outfielder

What is this? An autograph card from the 2002 Topps Traded set

Where'd I get it? At a Somerset Patriots game in 2006

How much did it cost? The card was about a dime; the autograph was free.

Why is this so special? Demetrius Heath had the nickname "Meatball" during his days as a player with the now-defunct Atlantic City Surf, which is pretty cool. He stole 71 bases for the Surf in 2006, which was probably a team record and may even be the league mark -- unfortunately, there's no Atlantic League record book for me to check.

I'm not quite sure how Heath landed in the 2002 Topps Traded set, though. He was not a high-round draft pick and he never made it past A-ball. Nevertheless, he was a fun player to watch and he has a cool autograph.