2000 Topps Traded Autographs Tony Pena Jr.

Who is this? Tony Pena Jr., a former shortstop for the Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals

What is this? An autographed card from the 2000 Topps Traded Autographs insert set

Where'd I get it? This is yet another baseball card show purchase

How much did it cost? $1

Why is this so special? Tony Pena Jr. is the son of former catcher and former Kansas City Royals manager Tony Pena. He reached the majors in 2006 with the Atlanta Braves, but he was traded to Kansas City before the 2007 season.

He was the Royals starting shortstop in 2007, batting .267 with 2 home runs and 47 RBI. Those numbers probably would have been good enough in the 1970s, but not now. And the next year, he did worse - just .169 in 95 games. Pena's struggles at the plate continued this year; he hit .098 in 40 games in 2009, primarily as a defensive replacement.

But he's still trying. He went back to the minors and is trying to make it as a pitcher now.

Tony Pena Jr.'s autograph looks like it was definitely influenced by his father's.

2000 Topps Traded Tony Pena Jr.

Who is this? Braves shortstop Tony Pena Jr.

What is this? An autograph card from 2000 Topps Traded, card number TTA39.

Where'd I get it? Same eBay seller as the Klesko.

How much did it cost? $1.29

Why is this so special? This card kind of illustrates the danger in interweb shopping sprees. Ok, it's a Brave, he did actually have a cup of coffee with the team in 2006, I like his pop as a player, but good lord, it's Tony Pena Jr. Mario Mendoza is worried about losing his relevance with Tony starting in KC. To wit: Chipper Jones would have to go 0 for 331 in order to drop to Tony's batting average. Great Googely Moogely. Still, you have to be a pretty damn good player to keep your job while hitting about .150. Or maybe he has photos of David Glass shopping at Target, who knows. It was cheap, I like this autograph set, it's an on-card autograph, and most importantly, it's a Brave. Plus Tony can't his any worse this season, can he?