Ricky Bottalico

Who is this? Phillies pitcher Ricky Bottalico.

What is this? An autographed 1995 Pinnacle card, number 143.

Where'd I get it? A card shop outside Nashville, Tennessee in about '97 or so.

How much did it cost? Two bucks

Why is this so special? There was a really good card shop up in Nashville back when I lived up there. I have no clue if it's still around and I don't feel like driving the four hours to find out. It was a great store though. It was a huge brightly lit store with lots of singles, tons of wax, and some memorabilia. They had a couple of boxes of autographed cards on sale for two bucks each. They got them from a guy who was a big baseball and hockey fan. He'd go to spring training and a bunch of hockey games and get autographs, and sold a bunch to the store. Most of the stuff they had for baseball was picked over, but I have a few sheets of hockey autos I got from them. One of the few baseball autos I bought there was this Ricky Bottalico card. It's a little smudgy, but the signature is strong and readable. Markers didn't play well with those newfangled glossy cards back in those days. Ricky was the Phillies' closer when I got it, and was an All-Star the year before. That was pretty much the height of his career. He had arm surgery in '98, was traded to the Cardinals in '99 and bounced around the league as a reliever until retiring in 2005 after a season in the Brewers' bullpen. He was a broadcaster for the Phillies in 2007 and is currently the analyst for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs minor league team. Who knows, with a lot of hard work maybe one day he'll be as good a broadcaster as Harry Kalas. He'll never be able to say his name like Harry though... Bowtahllleecooo. Man, if I didn't have Pete and Skip to listen to, I'd be really jealous of Phillie fans who got to hear Harry all those years.

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?

2006 Fleer Greats Mike Hargrove

Who is this? Indians first baseman Mike Hargrove.

What is this? An autograph card from 2006 Fleer Greats, card number NG-MH.

Where'd I get it? Atlanta Sports cards.

How much did it cost? $5.

Why is this so special? I always knew Mike Hargrove as Grover, the Indians' great manager, not The Human Rain Delay. Apparently Grover was the 70's version of Nomar Garciaparra with his OCD routine at the plate. I liked the Indians team back in the mid 90's and I thought Hargrove was a pretty good manager. I liked the fact that the Braves beat them in '95 better, but I was rooting for them in '97. He also managed for the Orioles and Mariners before resigning out of nowhere in 2007 in the middle of a winning streak. He's currently managing an independent league team in Kansas, the Liberal BeeJays. No, I'm not kidding. They're really called the Liberal BeeJays. Bee Jay as in American League founder Ban Johnson you dirty-minded folk.

This card is the autographed version of the Nickname Greats insert set from Greats of the Game. Mike even signed it with the nickname inscription. It's a pretty sweet idea but I'm not too thrilled about the clear plastic sticker stuck on the card. It simultaneously mars the photo and makes the signature hard to read. That aside, it's a pretty neat autograph from a guy who made a big impact in the league, especially in Cleveland.

2003 Team Topps Legends Bert Campaneris

Who is this? A's shortstop Bert Campaneris.

What is this? An autograph card from Topps, card number TT-BC.

Where'd I get it? A pack of something or other. Probably Heritage or Archives.

How much did it cost? Four bucks or so for the pack.

Why is this so special? Campy was the long time shortstop for the Oakland A's through their Championship years. Bert was not known for his power but he hit two homers in his debut for the A's, one off of pitcher Jim Kaat off the very first pitch he saw. Other than a fluke year in 1970 when he hit 22 homers out of nowhere, Campaneris never hit more than 8 homers in any season and ended his career with 79. Bert was a speed merchant who wreaked havoc on the basepaths as he bunted his way on base and stole bases right and left once he got there. He led the league in steals six times and retired with 649 total steals, good for 14th all time. Campy was a very popular player for the A's and as a publicity stunt, he played all nine positions in a game in 1965. The other stunt Bert is known for is chucking a bat at Lerrin LaGrow's head in a playoff game against the Tigers in 1972 after getting plunked by the pitcher. Tiger manager Billy Martin charged the field and was a major combatant in the brawl that ensued. Billy later managed Campy in 1983 as he brought back the speedster for one last season in New York.

I know I pulled this card from a pack, but which pack it was from is stumping me. I think Team Topps Legend was a cross-brand insert set anyway. I'm going to say it was from Archives or Fan Favorites or whatever they called it that year. I had some good luck with pulling autos from that set in '03. Bert is another one of those greats from the 60's and 70's that aren't remembered as much as they should be simply because they didn't make the Hall of Fame. It's still a nice autograph from an A's legend. I'm getting spoiled by all these great looking on-card autographs. The streak ends tomorrow, sadly.

2000 Fleer Autographics Joe Crede

Who is this? White Sox third baseman Joe Crede.

What is this? An autograph card from 2000 Fleer something or other. I can't find it in my price guide.

Where'd I get it? Could be from anywhere, really.

How much did it cost? I have no earthly idea. I might have shoplifted the thing for all I know.

Why is this so special? This is one of those 'mystery' cards where I have no idea where it came from. I've had it forever though. Might have been out of a pack, might have been from a shop, might have been an auction. It's a pretty kick ass card though wherever it came from. Autograph cards from the late 90's and early '00s just seem to have been designed better than a lot of them today. This card is a perfect example. There's a good action shot of Joe, a little color in the background to keep it from getting boring, and a nice large clear space for a signature where the name and logo don't get in the way. Joe's signature, by the way is fantastic. A nice big J and C with flair, and even better every letter is completely legible. You can paste that sig to the bottom of the Declaration of Independence it looks so nice. Joe is having a pretty fantastic year himself, having hit 14 homers already. It looks like prospect Josh Fields pushing for Crede's job has gotten Joe back on track after an injury riddled '07 season.

2005 Topps Finest Jake Stevens

Who is this? Braves pitcher Jake Stevens.

What is this? An autograph card from 2005 Topps Finest, card number FA-JST.

Where'd I get it? EBay auction.

How much did it cost? Would you believe a quarter?

Why is this so special? Yeah, I know. An autograph for a quarter? A refractor autograph for a quarter? I shiny, pretty, red and blue with little diamonds all over it refractor autograph for a quarter? And it's a Brave! What's up with this? Jake Stevens was a third round pick of the Braves back in 2003. He had a fantastic year for A-Ball Rome in 2004, winning 9 games and striking out over a batter an inning. In 2005 he hit all the top prospect lists (and check out the names on that linked list, holy frijoles!) and had 'rookie' cards all over the place in '05 card issues. He technically was in Upper Deck's prospect premieres set in '03, but those don't count this week. As his card issues went up, so did his ERA. He also had disciplinary issues, and got suspended and demoted. He still managed to pitch one game in Triple-A Richmond last year, getting a win in long relief. After that though all news dried up on 'ol Jake, which is strange for a 23 year old former top prospect. After some digging I found this link that stated he retired after getting suspended (or maybe cut) from the team last year. I got some confirmation on a autograph hunter blog, and if anyone would know they would. I guess that's why it was a quarter. It's still a Brave, and it's still shiny and it's still signed so who cares.

2002 Fleer Greats Maury Wills

Who is this? Dodger shortstop Maury Wills.

What is this? An autograph card from 2002 Fleer Greats.

Where'd I get it? Atlanta Sports Cards in Alpharetta.

How much did it cost? Five bucks.

Why is this so special? I'm not sure if I'm ecstatic for getting a certified autograph of an all-time great for five bucks or mad that I found it so cheap. This card cost something like 1/1000th of a scrub prospect's superfractor. Can someone explain this to me? It's not the first time Maury was disrespected, on the advice of their scouts Topps declined to sign Maury to a contract in the minors. Later on they scrambled to get him on a card once he hit the bigs and became a star. Upstart Fleer beat them to the punch in 1963, and Topps ended up faking a 1962 rookie card in their MVP subset in 1975. Maury's '62 season was amazing as he won the MVP award and broke Ty Cobb's single season stolen base record. Like Maris a year earlier, Maury got the dreaded Asterisk because he played in a 162 game season that year. Asterisk or no, he revolutionized the use of the stolen base as a weapon in the 60's and led the Dodgers to 3 World Series titles. Plus he named his son Bump. How cool is that. I bought a ton of these packs when they first came out but never landed an autograph. I would have been thrilled to pull this gold sparkly card with Maury's John Hancock. You suckers buy the superfractors, I'll buy up the stars.