2000 Team Best Rookies Autographs B.J. Ryan

Who is this? former Baltimore Orioles reliever B.J. Ryan
What is this? An autographed card from the 2000 Team Best set
Where'd I get it? Card show purchase
How much did it cost? This is one of 7 autographed cards I bought for $5 over the weekend.


Why is this so special? B.J. Ryan appeared in 560 major league games over 11 seasons and he was a two-time All-Star. Ryan's best season was 2006, when he saved 38 games for the Blue Jays and finished the year with a 1.37 ERA.

Ryan had a really tiny autograph when he signed this card. I like how he has the tail on the "y" in his last name underline the rest of his signature.

1999 Team Best Jason Standridge

Who is this? Devil Rays pitcher Jason Standridge.

What is this? An autograph card from 1999 Team Best.

Where'd I get it? El cheapo eBay Auction.

How much did it cost? One cent.

Why is this so special? Standridge was a first round pick of the Devil Rays in 1997 but only pitched 21 games for them before bouncing around to Texas, Cincinnati and Kansas City. He signed with Fukuoka of the Japanese Pacific League after being waived by the Royals. The Alabama native has dropped off the earth since then as I can't find any info for 2008. I used to be active in several simulation leagues that ran off of Front Page Sports '98, and Jason was in my bullpen for one of those teams. That's the reason I picked up his autograph, because of a computer game I played about 6 or 7 years ago. Hey, it cost a penny. Jason has a nice out of control signature with a bold J and a last name that looks like it's trying to eat itself. There's an inscription underneath that looks kind of like a bible verse, but I can't tell what it is. The Book of Squiggle 4:13. Actually, it might be Philemon. That kind of looks like Phil, right? No , there was no apostle Phil. It's a dude that Paul wrote a letter to. Actually now that I looked it up there is no Philemon 4:13 at all. So uh, yeah, I don't know what that is down there. Maybe Jason was going out with a Christian chick at the time and she was watching him sign these cards so he started putting random bible verses on there to make her happy. Maybe I should go to church tomorrow and ask the priest what the heck verse this is.