2009 UD SP Authentic Josh Reddick

Who is this? Oakland Athletics' Outfielder Josh Reddick.
What is this? An autograph card from 2009 UD SP Authentic
Where'd I get it? I got this card signed by Josh Reddick after a Pawtucket Red Sox game in 2010.
How much did it cost? A dollar or two.

Why is this so special? Josh Reddick, drafted by Boston in the Seventeenth-Round of the 2006 MLB Draft out of Middle Georgia College, was one of the Red Sox Top Prospects since 2008 before making his Major League debut in 2009. Since then, he has split his time between Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket, filling-in for an oft-injured Boston squad of JD Drew, Mike Cameron, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Carl Crawford.

Yesterday, Josh Reddick was one of the key pieces in the trade that sent closer Andrew Bailey to Boston from Oakland. Now an Athletic, Josh looks well-positioned to win a starting job in Oakland and reach his Major League potential.

During his time with Pawtucket, Josh was a good signer, especially in 2010. A "Good Ol' Boy" from Georgia, he used to sometimes vacuum his muscle car with a dust-buster while smoking a cigarette before games. I wish him all the best in Oakland and hope that he has a long and successful career.

Here are eight more cards that Josh signed for me during his time in Pawtucket.

1991 Leaf Bobby Witt

Who is this? former Texas Rangers pitcher Bobby Witt
What is this? An autographed card from the 1991 Leaf set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Witt last month and asked him to sign it; I got it back yesterday.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? Unless the mailman has something for me today, Bobby Witt's autograph will be the last one I add to my collection in 2010. I didn't keep a detailed count of the ones I got in person, through trades or purchases. However, my stats on SportsCollectors.Net tell me that I sent out 98 letters this year and got 62 responses, good for a 63% response rate. I'll probably see a few more trickle in after New Years, if history is any indication.

Witt has my vote as the most frustrating pitcher of all time. He had great stuff - especially early in his career. In his first five seasons, Witt struck out between 148 and 221 batters per season. The problem: he led the American League in walks in three of those five seasons and had the most wild pitches in two of them. Needless to say, he didn't pitch many fast games... but it was still fun to watch him rack up the strikeouts.

Though Witt spent the majority of his career with the Texas Rangers, he also pitched for six other teams during his 16 years in the big leagues. He won a World Series ring with the Diamondbacks in 2001, his final year in baseball. Witt retired with a 142-157 lifetime record, as well as 1955 strikeouts and 1375 walks.

His autograph is legible, which is more than I can say for many players today. Here's an Oakland card that he signed for me as well:

Happy New Year everyone! May you add lots of signatures to your collections in 2011.

2003 Bowman Derell McCall

Who is this? Camden Riversharks pitcher Derell McCall
What is this? An autographed card from the 2003 Bowman set
Where'd I get it? McCall signed it for me at a Newark Bears game this year.
How much did it cost? Around a quarter
Why is this so special? The Oakland Athletics made Derell McCall the 300th pick in the 2000 draft. He remained in their farm system until 2004, never making it above A-ball.

After spending parts of three seasons playing in independent leagues, McCall got another chance in the Marlins system. He stayed there until this season, pitching as high as AA.

This year, McCall split the season between the Camden Riversharks and the York Revolution. I'm not sure which team he was playing for when I got him to sign this card.

McCall has a fairly unique signature, but it's still pretty similar to the facsimile one on the card. It appears that he included a cross next to his name.

2008 Bowman Anthony Capra

Who is this? Midland Rockhounds pitcher Anthony Capra
What is this? An autographed card from the 2008 Bowman set
Where'd I get it? Zach included it in a package he mailed to me earlier this month.


Why is this so special? After I finished scanning a bunch of cards today, I decided to post Capra's card because I looked him up to find out if he's related to former Mets and Braves pitcher Buzz Capra. I can't conclusively say, but it looks like he's not.

Anthony Capra was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 4th round of the 2008 draft. He started his career with Kane County in the Midwest League that year, and he's made it as far as AA Midland in the Texas League this year.

Capra's 2010 numbers don't seem all that impressive - he's 6-11 with a 4.31 ERA in 24 starts - so I would expect to see Capra open next season in AA again.

I'm not sure where Zach got the card signed, but I think it's neat that Capra's signature is almost a perfect match for the facsimile on the card. That rarely happens, since the cards use contract signatures and players generally develop a quicker "autograph version" for use at the ballpark.

2007 Topps 52 Rookies Danny Putnam

Who is this? Bridgeport Bluefish outfielder Danny Putnam
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Topps 1952 Rookies set
 
Where'd I get it? I got it signed after a game between the Bluefish and the Bears in Newark earlier this year.
 
How much did it cost? 25-50 cents
 
Why is this so special? Putnam, a former California high school player of the year, was a first-round pick of the Oakland Athletics in 2004. He appeared in 11 major league games for them in 2007.

He currently plays for the Bridgeport Bluefish. In 43 games, Putnam is batting .200 with 2 home runs and 15 RBI. His autograph is remarkably legible for a current player. It hasn't changed much from the one Topps used when creating his card, though Putnam signed "Danny" instead of "Daniel."

2007 Bowman Danny Putnam

Who is this? Bridgeport Bluefish outfielder Danny Putnam
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Bowman set
 
Where'd I get it? Danny Putnam signed it for me after a doubleheader between the Newark Bears and Bridgeport Bluefish last week.
 
How much did it cost? The card came out of a random pack of Bowman cards purchased in 2007
 
Why is this so special? Putnam had a cup of coffee with the Oakland Athletics in 2007, but now he's playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish. And he's not having a particularly good time of it -- through 25 games, he's hitting .173 with 1 home run and 9 RBI.

I saw him hit that home run -- it was a solo shot in a blowout. He almost had another one. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bluefish trailed the Bears 3-2 in the final inning. Armando Benitez came in to finish the game and struck out the first two Bluefish batters. Putnam came up and hit a fly ball down the left field line, where the fence is only about 300 feet from home plate. I thought it was gone and we had a tie game, but John-Ford Griffin was able to make the catch for the final out.

After the game, as he was heading back to the locker room, I took a chance and asked Putnam to sign my cards. He couldn't have been nicer, though he did joke that he'd only gotten 11 percent of that last pitch -- if he'd gotten 13 percent, it would have gone out.

Putnam has a nice signature that's fairly close to the facsimile signature on the card, though he signs "Danny" instead of "Daniel." The green Bowman cards work really well for the Athletics, but aren't so great for other teams.

2010 National Chicle Andrew Bailey

Who is this? Oakland A's closer Andrew Bailey

What is this? An autograph card from the 2010 Topps National Chicle set

Where'd I get it? I bought it at a local card show this weekend

How much did it cost? $5, a dollar more than unopened packs of National Chicle cards were going for.

Why is this so special? Bailey is a New Jersey native, the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year and a 2009 All-Star. He's also lucky enough to get one of the nice cards in the National Chicle set.

He doesn't have the neatest autograph, but you can make out the letters A, B & y.

2008 Upper Deck Lenny DiNardo

Who is this? Lenny DiNardo, a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics, formerly of the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals

What is this? An autographed card from the 2008 Upper Deck set

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

How much did it cost? You'd have to check with Zach.

Why is this so special? Lenny DiNardo began his pro career in the Mets' minor league system, but the Boston Red Sox selected him in the Rule V Draft prior to the 2004 season. They managed to keep him on their roster throughout the whole season, so they got to keep him and he earned a World Series ring.

DiNardo played in a few games for the Red Sox in 2005 and 2006, but he spent more time in the minors. During spring training in 2007, Oakland claimed DiNardo on waivers. They used him as a starter for a bit more than half of the season, but he also worked out of the bullpen. DiNardo remained in Oakland in 2008, but signed with the Royals for 2009. This year, he's back in Oakland's system again.

DiNardo has been a member of Italy's team in both the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.

I'm very happy that I do not have to try to read Lenny DiNardo's handwriting.

2000 Bowman Mike Lockwood

Who is this? Mike Lockwood, a former minor league outfielder

What is this? An autograph card from the 2000 Bowman set.

Where'd I get it? I got the card signed at a Somerset Patriots game in 2007

How much did it cost? I acquired the card in a trade; the autograph was free

Why is this so special? To most of you, this card isn't very special. Lockwood never played in the majors -- he didn't even play in the Olympics. But he was absolutely amazing for the Somerset Patriots in 2007. We got a look at what he could do to Atlantic League pitching in 2006, but he only stayed for a little over a month before signing with a team in Taiwan.

In 2007, he hit 23 home runs and stole 22 bases while striking out just 42 times in 464 at bats. He also played great defense for a team that nearly won the Atlantic League championship. Lockwood started the 2008 season in Italy, but came back for the end of the Atlantic League season. As far as I know, he's retired from baseball.

Lockwood has a few versions of his autograph; this is the average one. You can see the nice one on this certified Bowman auto card. The sloppy one is little more than a squiggle.

1996 Leaf Signature Series Ariel Prieto

Who is this? Ariel Prieto, a former Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitcher

What is this? An autograph card from the 1996 Leaf Signature Series

Where'd I get it? I bought it at a baseball card show last weekend

How much did it cost? $1

Why is this so special? Ariel Prieto earned his fame with the Cuban National Team. He was widely expected to be the first overall pick in the 1995 amateur draft, but he lasted until the Oakland Athletics took him with the number five pick. He made his Major League debut later that year.

In six seasons, Prieto compiled a 15-24 record with a 4.85 lifetime ERA. This season, he was a coach for the A's Arizona League team.

The card comes from the 1996 Leaf Signature Series, the first major release to guarantee an autograph in every pack.

Prieto has a neat, careful signature, but I think I'd have a hard time deciphering his handwriting.