2001 Upper Deck Legends of New York Carl Erskine

Who is this? Carl Erskine, a former pitcher for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers

What is this? An autographed card from the 2001 Upper Deck Legends of New York set, #2

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Carl Erskine earlier this month and asked him to sign it; I got it back yesterday.

How much did it cost? The card was free. (I got it from the same dealer who sold me all of the Leaf Signature Series cards I've been posting this month.) Postage was 88 cents.

Why is this so special? Carl Erskine was a major league pitcher for 12 seasons. He had a lifetime 122-78 record with a 4.00 ERA. He threw two no-hitters and appeared in 11 World Series games. For a time, he held the record for strikeouts in a World Series game with his 14 strikeout performance in game 3 of the 1953 World Series.

Erskine authored two books about his playing days: "What I Learned From Jackie Robinson: A Teammate's Reflections On and Off the Field" and "Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings"

I'm not sure how much fanmail Erskine still receives (SportsCollectors.Net has logged 26 autograph requests in the past two months), but I'm amazed that he seems to take the time to carefully sign everything that people send to him. I'm happy to have an autograph from one of the great names of New York National League baseball.

1997 Leaf Signature Series Jorge Brito

Who is this? Jorge Brito, a former catcher for the Colorado Rockies

What is this? An autographed card from the 1997 Leaf Signature Series

Where'd I get it? This month's baseball card show

How much did it cost? $1

Why is this so special? There's not much to say about Jorge Brito. He was a backup catcher for the 1995 & 1996 Colorado Rockies teams, but he only appeared in 26 Major League games. His lifetime numbers are a .185 batting average, no home runs and seven RBI.

Brito spent 14 seasons as a pro, beginning in 1986 with the Medford A's and finishing with the Louisville RiverBats in 1999. He had over 2,200 minor league at-bats, finishing with a .240 lifetime average, 51 home runs and 276 RBI. That's a lot of baseball for what turned out to be a pretty brief shot.

Brito's signature is legible, but it's an interesting mix of cursive and printed characters.

1997 Leaf Signature Series Alex Arias

Who is this? Alex Arias, a former infielder for the Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees

What is this? An autographed card from the 1997 Leaf Signature Series

Where'd I get it? This month's baseball card show

How much did it cost? $1

Why is this so special? Alex Arias was an original Florida Marlin, acquired in an expansion draft-day trade with the Cubs, along with Gary Scott, for Greg Hibbard. He is one of just two original Marlins who were still in Florida when the Marlins won the 1997 World Series. That's not bad for a utility infielder who never had more than 390 at-bats in a season.

Arias clearly took the time to write all of the letters in his name, but he doesn't have a particularly neat signature. Then again, neither would I if I had to sign a few thousand baseball cards. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008 TriStar Projections Donald Veal

Who is this? Donald Veal, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates

What is this? An autographed card from the 2008 TriStar Projections set, #123

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Donald Veal c/o his Arizona Fall League team and asked him to sign it. I got it back yesterday.


How much did it cost? The card came out of a half-price blaster box, and postage was 88 cents.

Why is this so special? Donald Veal was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the second round of the 2005 amateur draft. He was left off the Cubs 40-man roster last winter, so the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to take him in the Rule V draft.

Veal spent most of the season in the majors, but didn't really pitch much. He appeared in just 19 games, and was generally ineffective. The Pirates sent him to the Arizona Fall League, and Veal had success there. At age 25 entering the 2010 season, there is still time for Veal to become a productive Major League pitcher. Mostly, though, I was amused by his name.

I wasn't very impressed with the design of the 2008 TriStar Projections set when I opened the blaster box. Now I understand why. They were designed to be autographed, and they just don't look complete without a signature.

Veal has an autograph that's mainly made of of loops, but it works and is even somewhat legible. It's a cool-looking, stylized version of his name. He gets bonus points for personalizing my card.

1991 Leaf Joe Boever

Who is this? Joe Boever, a former relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates

What is this? An autographed card from the 1991 Leaf set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Joe Boever after Christmas last year and asked him to sign it. I got it back Monday along with the one I had previously posted.

How much did it cost? The card came out of a $10 wax box a few years ago, so really just postage.

Why is this so special? Out of the multitude of teams Boever played for, I really only have memories of him as a Brave and a Phillie... and he was better as a Brave.

I like the 1991 Leaf cards; even though they are junk wax, I couldn't really afford them when they were new. So I never had the chance to get sick of them like most of the other cards from that year. And Boever's card has a nice photo. It looks great signed.

1990 Upper Deck Joe Boever

Who is this? Joe Boever, a former relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates

What is this? An autographed card from the 1990 Upper Deck set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Joe Boever after Christmas last year and asked him to sign it. I got it back today.

How much did it cost? I'm not sure where the card came from; the only real cost was the 84 cents for postage.

Why is this so special? The Atlanta Braves weren't very good when Joe Boever was their closer, so it was ok to root for "Boever the Saver." It was a good story... a journeyman reliever got a chance to be a closer and saved 21 games for an Atlanta team that only won 67 in 1989.

By 1990, the league started to catch up with Boever's palmball. The Braves traded him to Philadelphia for "Starvin' Marvin" Freeman. Boever pitched in the big leagues for another six seasons, but he was never a closer again after 1990.

After he retired, Boever went into coaching. He is now a real estate agent in Tennessee.

Boever has a nice autograph. I like how the letter "B" loops around part of his last name.

2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Don Zimmer

Who is this? Don Zimmer, former infielder for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Washington Senators; former manager for the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs; current advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays

What is this? An autographed card from the 2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set

Where'd I get it? eBay

How much did it cost? $12.99 shipped

Why is this so special? Don Zimmer is a baseball lifer. He signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers at the age of 18, and he's been involved with baseball as a player, coach, manager or executive ever since.

Zimmer was an original member of the New York Mets. He was the third baseman in the first game they ever played.

As with many old-time baseball players, Zimmer has a neat, clear autograph.