2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Mark Cohoon

Who is this? Buffalo Bisons pitcher Mark Cohoon
What is this? An autographed 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition card
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Cohoon c/o the Bisons last month and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? The card was about a quarter, and postage was 88 cents.


Why is this so special? Mark Cohoon was a 12th round draft choice in 2008 who has enjoyed some success in the Mets' organization. He got off to a phenomenal start at Class A Savannah last season, earing a 7-1 record with a 1.30 ERA before being promoted to Double A Binghamton. After some early struggles, he rebounded and received the Sterling Organizational Pitcher of the Year award.

Cohoon began 2011 in Binghamton and was later promoted to Triple A Buffalo. Although he has had difficulties there, he was briefly considered for promotion to the majors when R.A. Dickey hurt his foot earlier this season.

Cohoon is not a hard-thrower, but he does have a reputation as a hard worker. He could be a solid, if unspectacular pitcher at the major league level.

Cohoon has simplified has autograph to include just a few letters - I'm not sure if this is to save time or because of the limited space on a baseball card. Nevertheless, it's more readable than many.

1988 Donruss Cory Snyder

Who is this? former Cleveland Indians outfielder Cory Snyder
What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Snyder after Thanksgiving and asked him to sign it. I got it back in Friday's mail.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically.

Why is this so special? Cory Snyder played in over 1,000 major league games during a nine-season career. He had a powerful throwing arm - in 1987, he had 16 assists in right field and made 9 errors.

Snyder also struck out a lot. He led the National League in Ks in 1993, and would have led the American League in 1987 except for a couple of guys named Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia. But that made Snyder fun to watch - you never knew quite what was going to happen, but there was a decent chance that it would be exciting.

Before he turned pro, Snyder played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1984.

Here's the other card Snyder signed for me - it's a little easier to make out his autograph on this 1993 Leaf card.

1983 Donruss Diamond King Eddie Murray

Who is this? Hall of Famer Eddie Murray
What is this? An autographed card from the 1983 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? I bought it from a dealer at the autograph show in Secaucus this past weekend.
How much did it cost? $25


Why is this so special? Eddie Murray was one of the best switch-hitters in baseball history, and the best one I ever saw play. He retired with more than 3,000 hits and more the 500 home runs. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1977 and was an 8-time All-Star.

Murray spent most of his career with the Orioles, so it's fitting to have him represented in my collection with an Orioles card. However, he did play for the New York Mets for two seasons in the early 1990s - Murray hit his 400th home run while wearing a Mets uniform. Someday, I'd like to get a Mets card signed - I'm just not eager to pay his $80 signing fee to do it.

It's clear that Murray takes pride in his autograph - you can read every letter in his name.

1991 Donruss Darrin Fletcher

Who is this? former Philadelphia Phillies catcher Darrin Fletcher
What is this? An autographed card from the 1991 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? Earlier this month, I wrote to Fletcher and asked him to sign it. I got it back about two weeks later.
How much did it cost? I got the unsigned card for a dime.


Why is this so special? It's funny how memory works. Fletcher played for four teams during the course of a 14-year major league career. I remember him almost exclusively as a Philadelphia Phillie - a team he played 55 games for between 1990 and 1991.

To be fair, Fletcher did have the best single day of his baseball career as a Phillie - he caught Tommy Greene's no-hitter in 1991.

Fletcher was an All-Star for the 1994 Montreal Expos - and he wasn't chosen just because the National League needed an Expo - three other Montreal players went to the All-Star Game that year. (There's every reason to believe that the Expos would have won the NL East pennant if the season hadn't been ended in August.)

He hit 20 home runs for the 2000 Toronto Blue Jays in somewhat limited playing time. But for whatever reason, I just remember Fletcher as a Phillie.

He's got a pretty nice autograph that's easy to read.

1992 Donruss Frank Seminara

Who is this? former San Diego Padres and New York Mets pitcher Frank Seminara
What is this? An autographed card from the 1992 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Seminara last month and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? A quarter for the card.

Why is this so special? This is my first autograph of 2011, arriving in my mailbox on Jan. 5th. Since Seminara only had one Mets "card" (a spring training program insert that I wasn't about to cut out or risk losing), this will be going into my all-time Mets roster autograph collection.

Seminara is a Brooklyn native and grew up as a Mets fan. He was drafted in the 12th round of the 1988 draft by the New York Yankees, but he never played for them. In 1990, the San Diego Padres selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule V draft.

Two years later, Seminara made his major league debut and finished 7th in the Rookie of the Year balloting after posting a 9-4 record in 18 starts for the Padres. Seminara didn't enjoy as much success in 1993, so he spent most of his time in the majors in the bullpen.

That December, the Mets swapped prospect Marc Kroon for Seminara in a deal that also included four other minor leaguers. (Kroon never had much success in the majors, but he became a star closer in Japan.)

Seminara appeared in 10 games for the 1994 Mets, losing his only 2 decisions. Except for one spot start, all of his appearances came out of the bullpen. He continued pitching in the minor leagues through 1995, but never again reached the majors.

For more about Seminara (and a look at an easier-to-see version of his signature, visit Lee Harmon's Amazing Shea Stadium Autograph Project.)

1988 Donruss Greg Gagne

Who is this? former Minnesota Twins shortstop Greg Gagne
What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? Last year, I wrote to Gagne and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? Greg Gagne was the shortstop for two World Championship Minnesota Twins teams. He spent 15 seasons in the big leagues - 10 with the Twins, 3 with the Kansas City Royals and 2 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During that time, he appeared in 1,798 games and had 1,440 hits.

Last year, he was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

It's a bit difficult to read Gagne's signature, but his initials seem recognizable enough. It looks like he may have included a Bible verse inscription, but I can't quite make it out.

Here is a 1994 Pinnacle card picturing him with the Royals that he signed for me last year as well:

2003 Donruss Franklin Perez

Who is this? Kansas City T-Bones pitcher Franklin Perez
What is this? An autographed card from the 2003 Donruss set... I think. Was "The Rookies" a designation on regular cards, or is this a separate set?
Where'd I get it? From Zach at Autographed Cards, who probably got it signed at a T-Bones game.


Why is this so special? Perez spent 7 seasons in affiliated minor league ball, primarily in the Phillies organization. He never made it to the majors, but did get as far as AAA. In 2008, he had a fairly unimpressive season for the Bridgeport Bluefish in the Atlantic League, earning a 6-3 record with a 5.25 ERA as a starter and a reliever.

In 2009, Perez played for half of the teams in the Atlantic League - the Bluefish again, the Camden Riversharks, the Long Island Ducks and the Newark Bears. He was somewhat effective for the Riversharks, earning 6 saves in 27 appearances. The less said about his time with the other teams, the better.

This year, Perez had 6 saves and a sparkling 0.87 ERA in 11 games for the T-Bones.

Perez has an interesting autograph that would likely cause confusion for anyone trying to identify it on a generic item.

1992 Donruss Ced Landrum

Who is this? Joliet Jackhammers hitting coach Ced Landrum
What is this? An autographed card from the 1992 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? Zach sent it to me. I imagine he got it signed at a Northern League game.


Why is this so special? Ced Landrum was not a high round draft pick. In fact, he never got drafted at all. He signed with the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent in 1985 and worked his way through the minors, making his big league debut in 1991.

Landrum hit .233 / .313 / .279 in 99 plate appearances for the Cubs, yet he stole 27 bases in those 56 games. A spring training injury cost Landrum the first part of the 1992 season. By July, the Cubs decided to trade him to Milwaukee for infielder Jeff Kunkel.

Milwaukee cut Landrum loose at the end of the season, and he signed with Minnesota. Before the end of April 1993, Landrum was a free agent again. This time, the Mets signed him and gave him his second shot in the majors. Primarily as a pinch-hitter, Landrum was 5-for-19 in 22 games.

Landrum was out of baseball in 1994, but he decided to give it one more shot as a replacement player during the 1995 lockout. To learn more about Ced Landrum, check out Steve's post at The Greatest 21 Days.

Landrum has a nice, legible autograph. I like the photo choice by Donruss - Landrum's most notable success came on the basepaths, so it's fitting to have a shot of him sliding into base.

2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Who is this? Binghamton Mets outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis

What is this? the 2008 Donurss Elite Extra Edition set

Where'd I get it? Nieuwenhuis signed it for me after a game in Trenton earlier this year.


How much did it cost? Fifty cents?

Why is this so special? Nieuwenhuis was the Mets third round pick in the 2008 draft and he's having a decent season in Binghamton so far. Through 86 games, he's hitting .298 with 16 home runs and 58 RBI. Nieuwenhuis sat out both games I went to this year, so I never got to see him play in person.

His autograph looks a bit like a seismograph, doesn't it?

2005 Donurss Adam Loewen

Who is this? former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Adam Loewen
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 2005 Donruss set
 
Where'd I get it? Loewen signed it for me before Sunday's game between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and the Trenton Thunder in Trenton
 
How much did it cost? I'm pretty sure I got the card out of a pack.
 
Why is this so special? Adam Loewen was the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft, the highest spot a Canadian player has ever been selected. He was once considered the top prospect in the Orioles' farm system.

In 2006, Loewen played for Canada in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Later that year, he made his major league debut with the Orioles. He made 19 starts in his rookie season, finishing the year with a 6-6 record and a 5.37 ERA.

In 2007 and 2008, Loewen missed a substantial amount of time due to injury. During the 2008 season, he made the decision to give up pitching.

Loewen's autograph looks like nothing more than some loops and scribbles, but I do give him credit for signing for everybody who asked.

2004 Donruss Timelines Recollection Collection Julio Franco

Who is this? Former Texas Rangers second baseman Julio Franco

What is this? An autographed buyback card from the 2004 Donruss Timelines set

Where'd I get it? Found it at the local card shop

How much did it cost? $10

Why is this so special? I went to the card shop today hoping to find a card of Richmond Flying Squirrels pitching coach Ross Grimsley. I struck out, but I found something better - this autographed buyback card of Julio Franco.

To me, it seemed like Franco played forever. He "only" played in the majors for 23 seasons, though. During that time, he accumulated 2,586 hits and was a three-time All-Star. He finally retired from the game in 2008, months short of his 50th birthday.

Franco spent parts of two seasons as a pinch hitter for the New York Mets, which added to my interest in acquiring the card. He now manages the Mets Gulf Coast League team.

The Sharpie that Franco used to sign the cards was starting to dry out, but it still looks great signed.

1989 Donruss Danny Cox

Who is this? Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Danny Cox
 
What is this? An autograph card from the 1989 Donruss set  

Where'd I get it? I got it signed before yesterday's doubleheader between the Lancaster Barnstormers and the Newark Bears.
 
How much did it cost? No idea where I picked up the card
 
Why is this so special? Danny Cox spent 11 years in the majors, retiring with a 74-75 lifetime record. He pitched in three World Series - 1985 and 1987 for the Cardinals and 1993 for the Blue Jays

After he retired, Cox managed the Gateway Grizzlies in the Frontier League for three seasons. He is currently the pitching coach for the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League. And he still has that great mustache. :)

Cox doesn't have the prettiest signature, but it's fairly legible.

1987 Donruss John Mizerock

Who is this? John Mizerock, a former catcher for the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves, and a former coach for the Kansas City Royals

What is this? An autograph card from the 1987 Donruss set

Where'd I get it? Zach of Autographed Cards sent it to me

How much did it cost? You'd have to ask him

Why is this so special? The Houston Astros made John Mizerock the eighth overall pick in the 1979 amateur draft. He was chosen ahead of Tim Wallach, Steve Buechele, Scott Garrelts and Atlee Hammaker -- all of whom had nice Major League careers.

Mizerock played in 103 games over four seasons, finished with a .186 career average, two home runs and 24 RBI.

After his playing career, Mizerock became a minor league coach and manager. He has also been a member of the Kansas City Royals coaching staff and briefly managed the team in 2002.

Mizerock may have the most legible signature of the ones I've posted this week.

1990 donruss bob tewksbury

Who is this? bob tewksbury

What is this? an autographed 1990 donruss card

Where'd I get it? perhaps the tewks fairy? i really don't remember. in person at twinsfest or through a trade, most likely.

How much did it cost? not much, i am sure.

Why is this so special? i really like this card. the red border complements the red in the cardinals uniform, and the signature is strong in blue.

bob tewksbury pitched for the twins in 1998, and i saw him go against the cardinals one stormy day in the metrodome. this was during mark mcgwire's home run chase, so the dome was packed. tewksbury had been quoted as saying he was not afraid to use the eephus pitch, and sure enough, he threw it to mcgwire. i think mcgwire grounded out.

he was also part of the 96 padres, who, led by ken caminiti, beat the dodgers for the nl west title. but i won't hold that against him.

2004 Donruss Estrellas Tim Hudson

Who is this? Braves (and formerly A's) pitcher Tim Hudson.

What is this? An autographed 2004 Donruss Estrellas card.

Where'd I get it? Trade with

How much did it cost? Not much.

Why is this so special? This card came me via Andy from 78 Topps Cards who got it from avid from TribeCards who traded it for a book offered up by Andy on his 88 Topps Cards blog. Now it's with me and will not be going anywhere. Donruss Estrellas was a neat Spanish language set that Donruss put out in 2004. Pacific used to have the monopoly on Spanish language cards, but I guess Donruss picked up the banner when Pacific flopped. This is a simple, attractive set with a few insert sets to chase. I'm not sure exactly where the autograph came from though. There weren't any autograph inserts in that set so this is probably a TTM or spring training autograph. Or is it? Could this just be some fool scribbling on a card? Well, here's a bunch of autos for comparison. Let's see, Big loop to start off? Yep. Two lines for the H? Check. A smaller loop followed by a flourish at the end? Yessiree Bob. Eh, that's good enough for me. If it's not Tim, it's the work of a master forger and I'm a bigger fan of criminal masterminds than I am of All-Star pitchers. Don't count out a master forger creating this masterpiece, with some luck Tim might be able to come back from Tommy John surgery by the end of next year and then this sucker will be worth TENS of cents. Muahaha! I love when an evil plan comes together.

2005 Donruss Mariano Gomez

Who is this? Indians pitcher Mariano Gomez.

What is this? An autograph card from 2005 Donruss, card number 32.

Where'd I get it? I have no earthly idea.

How much did it cost? Couldn't have been too much.

Why is this so special? Mariano is now pitching for the Twins' organization in Triple-A Rochester. He's a lefty reliever with decent stats this year, so there's always a chance he could make his debut soon. Until then, I don't have a whole lot to say about him. With the sorry state of pitching in the league you have to think that an effective lefty would get a chance to pitch in someone's bullpen sooner or later. It's a decent looking card, I like the shiny holo stickers for autographs. At least you can see the sig unlike with that Marlon Byrd card. The signature starts off strong and then devolves into weirdness for some reason. One day I need to buy a pack of Avery labels and sign every dang one of them so I can feel the pain of these poor prospects that are leaned on so heavily for autograph inserts nowadays.

2005 Donruss Diamond Kings Chone Figgins

Who is this? Angels jack of all trades Chone Figgins.

What is this? An autograph card from 2005 Diamond Kings, card number 7. The card is serial numbered 155/200.

Where'd I get it? Flea market dude.

How much did it cost? Seven bucks if I recall correctly.

Why is this so special? It's an autograph, bat and jersey piece card, that's pretty special I guess. Figgins is a pretty good player, a 60 steal guy in an era where speedsters are rare, and can play just about anywhere on the field. I've been a fan of Chone for a while, he's from Georgia and I was following his career early on when I picked up a couple of his rookies cheap. These kind of cards stuffed with relics and a signature are commonplace now, but this is the first one that I picked up. There were rumors that he might have been traded to the Braves to replace Andruw floating around for a while this offseason, but nothing ever came of them. It's still a nifty looking card even if it has been rendered dirt common by legions of hundred dollar and up per pack products. I dig Chones' C-squiggle-F-squiggle-dot-dot signature too. You can see a smiling face on the right if youuse your imagination. The most special thing about this is that I have managed to post a card every day this month. Hooray for me!

2005 Donruss Yadier Molina

Who is this? Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

What is this? A 2004 Studio autograph card inserted into 2005 Donruss. I'll explain later. Card number is 241 and it is serial numbered 083/100.

Where'd I get it? Not entirely sure.

How much did it cost? If I got it from a pack, three bucks. If not, who knows.

Why is this so special? In 2005, Donruss inserted 50 2004 Studio 'update' cards into their base brand packs. The cards had 2004 Studio stamped on them as well as a 2004 copyright date. The only way to distinguish these update cards from the regular '04 Studio cards is by the card number. [edit- I goofed] Numbers 1-200 are from 2004 Studio, 201-250 are the '05 inserts. There was a parallel autograph version called "Private Signings" and this is one of those parallels. They are sneaky, even the authentic signature impression on the sticker reads 2004. I got fooled the first time I posted one of these cards, thinking it was from 2004.

Everyone in St. Louis and half the people in New York know why Yadier is special. His home run in game 7 of the 2006 NLCS sent the Mets packing and put the Cardinals in the World Series. He's only hit 27 other homers in his 5 years with the Cards so he definitely has a good sense of timing. His brothers Bengie and Jose are also catchers in the majors and like Yadier have earned World Series championship rings. Yadier got absolutely hammered in a collision at the plate with Eric Bruntlett in a game on June 15th, but he's already back in the lineup for the Cards. Catchers are tough sonofaguns. This would be a dream card for any Cardinal fans, with the playoff hero posing with the Gateway Arch in the background. Like our buddy Miguel Montero (and Abe for that matter) Yadier has a pretty cryptic signature. m0_y0. It looks good though, I wish I had a funky signature like that.

Harry Spilman

Who is this? Astros first baseman Harry Spilman.

What is this? An autographed 1984 Donruss card, number 258.

Where'd I get it? Out of a huge lot from Yahoo! auctions.

How much did it cost? Less than a buck.

Why is this so special? I don't have a heck of a lot to say about 'ol Harry. He was a bench player at best during his 12 year career. I don't remember this guy at all from his playing days and can't really think of anything to say about him. He's from Albany Georgia, and he currently is the hitting coach for the Nashville Sounds. He probably has a card in the Sounds' 2007 team set if you're a fan. Only five bucks and you get a Ryan Braun too, not a bad deal! I went to a bunch of Sounds games when I lived up in Nashville and it looks like they did a cool revamp of their logo. Hopefully they kept the big guitar scoreboard. Harry is also the best pinch hitter in R.B.I. Baseball for all you 8-bit aficionados. The signature is damn hard to read in the scan but the way Harry is signed so it looks kind of like an upside down 41 is pretty nifty looking. It's not certified, and I don't even remember who the guy is, it's probably worth less than your average '84 Donruss common, but what the heck it's an autograph. Do YOU have an autograph of Harry Spilman?

1992 Donruss Sam Militello

Who is this? Yankees pitcher Sam Militello.

What is this? An autographed card from 1992 Donruss "The Rookies", Card number BC-16.

Where'd I get it? Out of a large autograph lot won off of Yahoo! Auctions.

How much did it cost? Less than a buck.

Why is this so special? I don't have a whole lot of memories of Sam other than he completely tore up the minors, got called up to the Yankees, ended up on a bunch of rookie cards and then injuries ate him up. It's a shame, a guy with a name like Sam Militello should have had a long career with the Yankees. This is a really nice looking card of Sam but the gold foil is rendered invisible by the scanner. The signature is nice and clean though, a distinctive Smilitello with big swooping Ls. I wonder what those buildings are in the background. Sorry folks, the Yankees were completely off my radar in the early 90's and I just can't think of anything to write about today. There's probably a ton of Yankee fans with long tales of disappointment and woe out there, but I ain't one of 'em. I promise to have a more interesting post tomorrow.