1993 Team Stadium Club Ryan Klesko

Who is this? Braves first baseman Ryan Klesko.

What is this? An autographed 1993 Team Stadium Club card, card number 26.

Where'd I get it? EBay auction.

How much did it cost? One penny.

Why is this so special? As I stated over here, I've gone on some real eBay binges lately. One such binge recently netted me four cards for this blog. Here's how it happens: I'm looking for something completely unrelated, often not to buy but for a blog post. I find a cool auction and click on the seller's other auctions. I find something I ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE. Then I look through the rest of the listings to see if I can combine shipping and save some money by spending even more money. I discover in the fine print that if I buy 10 or more auctions, I seve even MORE on shipping. Now, I'm buying the store because I am an idiot. I ended up with a ton of cool stuff though and it was all under 15 bucks. Gotta love penny auctions. That's where I got this card. Here's the disclaimer from the listing:

I GOT THIS CARD IN A COLLECTION I BOUGHT. IT LOOKS LIKE A GOOD SIGNATURE BUT I CAN'T GUARENTEE IT, THIER'S NO PROOF EITHER WAY,BUT I'VE LOOKED AT COA AUTO'S BY HIM AND IT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD.

So yeah, it's an autograph card with no COA and dubious provenance of a player that could be described as a 'minor star' if you're feeling generous that day. Who freaking cares? It cost me a penny. The signature doesn't look a whole lot like my other autograph card of him, but it does look like the signature on another '93 Stadium Club card. I remember clearly that these exact cards were signed, placed in a blister pack and sold in Wal-Mart and book stores in the early nineties with a COA, so this could be one of those cards. Or it could be a total fake. Again, it cost me a penny. Ok, plus 50 cents for the shipping. Where else could you get such a thrilling mystery for 51 cents? Maybe a used book store in the bargain section. I'll save my money for the cards and read up on the mysteries online.

1998 Donruss Signature Ryan Klesko

Who is this? Braves outfielder Ryan Klesko.

What is this? An autograph card from 1998 Donruss Signature Millenium Marks, numbered 1032.

Where'd I get it? Received in a trade with Cincinnati Reds Cards.

How much did it cost? Received in trade.

Why is this so special? Klesko was one of the big group of Braves Rookies that panned out in the early nineties along with Chipper, Javy and others. He was a slugging first baseman/outfielder that was better with the bat than the glove early on. He got in Bobby's doghouse frequently which is why he had a hard time holding down a full time job until he left the Braves. Klesko is prominently featured on the Sports Illustrated cover for the 1995 World Series, which is apparently not as Iconic as I thought since I can't find it online anywhere. He was traded to the Padres after the 1999 season for Wally Joyner, Reggie Sanders and Quilvio Veras, none of which had even close to the impact that Klesko had with the Padres. Ryan Played for the Giants last year where he was Barry Bonds' hunting partner, oddly enough. Ryan is currently a free agent and has not signed for 2008. This is the Millennium Green version of Donruss Signature, which according to SCD the first 100 signed were blue, the next 1000 were green and all the rest were Red. This is actually his most common colored signature from the set, as he signed only 1500 total cards (100 blue, 400 red). The card and auto both look great. This came in a group of cards from Joe at Cincinnatti Reds Cards.