2007 Bowman Cody Johnson

Who is this? Braves Draft Pick Cody Johnson.

What is this? An autograph card from 2007 Bowman, card BP118.

Where'd I get it? In a trade with Brandon of Baseball Cards and More.

How much did it cost? Received in a trade.

Why is this so special? Cody was the Braves 1st round pick in 2006, number 24 overall. I had no idea who he was at the time, but if you click on the Scout.com profile of him above, the Braves scouts really loved him. He's a very young potential slugger who is raw but had a fantastic year in Rookie ball last year. Seventeen homers in 63 games with a 1.004 OPS, yikes! I'll really have to start watching him now. I got this in a big trade from Brandon. Here's Brandon's Want List, the cards came very fast and were well packaged. Plus Brandon put up with my extreme slowness when trading, which is nice. I technically traded two Josh Hamilton cards for this one, but it was a 8 cards for 4 deal that worked out well for both sides. I hope Cody develops his penmanship along with his batting skills, because this auto is a scribbly mess. Maybe Chipper Jones can pull him aside in spring training and give him some autographing tips.

2007 Topps '52 Rookie Card Nathan Haynes

Who is this? Angels outfielder Nathan Haynes.

What is this? An autograph card from 2007 '52 Rookie Card, card number 52S-NH.

Where'd I get it? Out of a blaster of '52 Rookie.

How much did it cost? Two-fifty for the pack.

Why is this so special? This card was pulled during a live box rip on A Pack A Day. Nathan was a former first round pick of the Athletics, but ended up in the minors for ten years before he made is debut last year. Unfortunately with the addition of Torii Hunter, Nathan is falling way back on the Angels' depth chart and will have to fight hard for a job. Nathan's signature is really tight and looks good on this card even though there is only a tiny space for the player to autograph.

2001 Royal Rookies Jake Peavy

Who is this? Padres pitcher Jake Peavy.

What is this? An autograph card from 2001 Royal Rookies High Yield, card HY-05. The card is serial numbered 123/3995.

Where'd I get it? In a large autograph lot bought in an auction a few years back.

How much did it cost? The price for the lot was under a dollar a card.

Why is this so special? This is one of the cards that inspired this blog. Jake won the Cy Young award last year and I was surprised to find I had one of his autograph cards. I got this in a Yahoo auction lot a few years ago, in 2002 or 2003 probably. Somebody was blowing out a lot of autographs cheap and I picked up a lot of over 75 for about 50 bucks. There was a lot of junk in there, but also some gems like this. Sometimes you just get lucky. The card isn't that great looking and it's really hard to see the autograph on top of the dark shirt. It's an auto of a Cy Young winner though and it's serial numbered to boot so I didn't do too badly at all.

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.

1998 Donruss Signature Aaron Boone

Who is this? Reds third baseman Aaron Boone.

What is this? An autograph card from 1998 Donruss Signature.

Where'd I get it? A card show at the now defunct Venture Mall in Gwinnett.

How much did it cost? I got a handful of autograph cards from a dealer for about 20 bucks.

Why is this so special? This was the last product Donruss released before going belly up in 1998. Aaron spent most of his career with the Reds, but is best remembered for one at bat with the Yankees. He spent only 54 games with that team before screwing up his knee in the offseason and missing all of 2004. He has a couple of lackluster seasons for Cleveland before becoming a role player for the Marlins last year. He signed with the Nationals this winter and will come off the bench for them in 2008. This card is being sent to Joe of Cincinnati Reds Cards to complete a trade for tomorrow's autograph card. This was an excellent signature set, and Aaron's auto looks nice on the card.

1983 Topps Traded Ron Kittle

Who is this? White Sox outfielder Ron Kittle.

What is this? An autographed 1893 Topps card, number 55T.

Where'd I get it? I have no idea.

How much did it cost? Not much.

Why is this so special? 1983 was the first year I really paid close attention to what was going on in baseball, and since he was a home run hitter who wore big clunky glasses like me Ron was one of my favorites. Ron won the AL Rookie of the Year award that year and the high-power, low-average slugger was popular with Sox fans. He had a few good years with Chicago before the injury bug hit. He was traded to the Yankees in 1986 and bounced around the American League for the rest of his career. Ron is now a motivational speaker, and I sincerely hope he's not living in a van down by the river. He has gotten Lasik or something though, and no longer wears the glasses. That makes me very sad. I have no earthly idea where I got this card, it was probably in a cheap auto box at a show or in a large lot of autographs I bought a while back. The autograph is nice but the ballpoint doesn't show up very well on the card. This auto on his superior 1983 Fleer card is much better.

2005 Bowman Heritage Matt Bush

Who is this? Padres shortstop prospect Matt Bush.

What is this? An autograph card from 2005 Bowman Heritage, card SG-MB.

Where'd I get it? This was the auto hit from a box of Bowman Heritage.

How much did it cost? Threeish dollars.

Why is this so special? Matt was the number one overall pick in the 2004 MLB draft. Matt was taken by the Padres over such players as Justin Verlander, Stephen Drew, Jared Weaver, Huston Street, Yovani Gallardo and Dustin Pedroia. Matt went to Mission Bay High School in San Diego, and was chosen for his local ties and for the fact he would not demand as high a signing bonus as other picks. Right after signing, Matt was suspended by the Padres for fighting outside a nightclub. Matt never developed offensively, but was converted into a pitcher in 2007 and hit 95 on the radar gun. Before the year was out he had an appointment for Tommy John surgery. Bush is not the first number one overall pick to have major problems early in his career. Matt is still young and will likely be back in the minors pitching by 2009. The 2005 Bowman Heritage autograph design is one of my favorites, and Matt's signature is pretty good looking even if the Bush goes sort of weird toward the end. I am also a fan of the huge Charlie Brown hat Matt chose to wear for the picture.

2003 Topps Paul LoDuca

Who is this? Dodgers catcher Paul LoDuca.

What is this? An autograph card from 2003 Topps, TA-PL

Where'd I get it? Out of a pack.

How much did it cost? Two bucks for the retail pack.

Why is this so special? I actually remember exactly when I got this pack. I was going to visit a friend who lived on the other side of town. He bought a house in the neighborhood where I grew up and this was the first time I had been back in a while. A Target had been built a short way away after I had left. I went in to check it out and get a couple of things I needed. I got a couple of packs of Topps and this card was inside one of them. My reaction was "Yeah, an Auto! No! I already have LoDuca!"I'm not sure what the odds of pulling two autographs of the same player from two separate products within a few weeks time is, but I managed to do it. Paul either has a very tight, nervous signature or his hand got used to signing all those Topps205 cards and it cramped up the rest of the autos he had to sign. It's still a good looking card though, I kind of like it best out of the two.

2005 Topps Series 2 Michael Rogers

Who is this? Oakland pitching prospect Michael Rogers.

What is this? An autograph card from 2005 Topps series 2, card TA-MR.

Where'd I get it? Out of a pack.

How much did it cost? A couple bucks for the pack.

Why is this so special? Michael was the A's second round pick on the 2004 draft. He was a very good starter at N.C. State, but has had big problems in the minors the past couple of years. Finding good information on minor league players who aren't top 10 prospects is a real pain in the keister. What little info there is seems to be locked behind insider subscription sites. His most recent news on Scout.com has the ominous headline "The Oakland A's have released five minor league players." plus his Rotowire profile shows him as a member of the Twins organization. Rotowire seems fishy though, they have his age and throwing arm wrong. Wherever he pitches next year it probably won't be in the majors, but he's still young enough to have a chance to make the show one day. It's a longshot though. The signature is clean, but a little scribbly.

2002 Donruss Originals Brent Abernathy

Who is this? Tampa Bay Devil Rays second baseman Brent Abernathy.

What is this? An autograph card from 2002 Donruss Originals, card SM-35. The card is serial numbered 192/200.

Where'd I get it? A pack bought at the local Wal-Mart.

How much did it cost? However much a pack of Originals cost. Two or three bucks I think.

Why is this so special? Brent didn't have a heck of a lot of success in the majors, but this is still kind of a cool card. Brent is an Atlanta native and went to high school at Lovett High, which is close to where I live. He was a member of the 2000 Olympic Gold Medal team in Sydney. He had a decent debut for the Devil Rays in 2001, a not so good follow up year in 2002 and has bounced around many organizations since then. His 2001 performance netted him a lot of rookie and autograph cards in 2002. This card sums up the disappointing Donruss Originals set pretty well. It's a great looking signature on a nice looking card, plus it's even serial numbered, but it's still Brent Abernathy. I was really excited when I originally pulled this card though, so I like it anyway. Brent is currently in the Nationals organization and played for the Columbus Clippers last season. Brent even pitched a couple of games for the Clippers. Pete Orr better watch his back.

2004 Sweet Spot Ben Sheets

Who is this? Brewers pitcher Ben Sheets.

What is this? An autograph card from 2004 Sweet Spot, card SS-BS.

Where'd I get it? An eBay auction.

How much did it cost? Nine bucks.

Why is this so special? This is the first Sweet Spot auto I ever got. Not the first auto on ball on card though. Ben Sheets is an excellent pitcher who should have a better win-loss record than he does. His ERA is constantly better then the league average, he usually doesn't let too many people on base and he can strike people out. Ben had a super year in 2004, striking out 264 with a 2.70 ERA for a really awful Brewer team. Ben has had injury problems since then and has only averaged 21 starts a year the past three years. A healthy Sheets plus a greatly improved Brewer lineup could put Ben in Cy Young contention this year. Ben's sig looks nice on the sweet spot of this card and you have to see one of these in person to appreciate how nice they are.

2004 Bowman Heritage Mike Reilly

Who is this? MLB Umpire Mike Reilly.

What is this? An autograph card from 2004 Bowman Heritage, card SA-MR.

Where'd I get it? It was the auto hit from a box of 2004 Bowman Heritage.

How much did it cost? 1/24ths of a hobby box, about 3 bucks.

Why is this so special? Well if nothing else it's unique. In 1955, Bowman added cards of umpires to their high series cards. Kids despised them and threw them out, burned them, tore them to shreds and generally desecrated them in droves. As a result, they are quite scarce and expensive, even if people still don't want them. Oddly enough, Bowman was out of business the next year after getting bought out by Topps. In The Bowman Heritage set that used the 1955 design, Topps once again inserted umpires into the checklist. They also went one step further and had the umpires autograph cards as well. While interesting, it is still kind of a downer to have your one a box auto hit end up being a dirty ump. Boooooo! Kill da ump! Actually, Mike looks like quite a jolly and friendly fellow from the picture on his card. His signature is also a rare combination of being distinctive yet readable. The angle of Mike's auto indicates that he could be a lefty. Why isn't there a throws L/R stat on his card? Umps throw the ball to the mound, it's important to know these things. He's also active with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters charity. Well dang, I can't hate a nice fellow with such a great autograph even if he is a rotten blind umpire! Thank goodness there are three other umps on the field to hate. BOOOOOO!

2002 Bowman Heritage Hank Blalock

Who is this? Rangers third basemen Hank Blalock.

What is this? An autograph card from 2002 Bowman Heritage, card BHA-HB

Where'd I get it? Out of a pack.

How much did it cost? Three bucks for the pack.

Why is this so special? This is the first auto I pulled from a Heritage product. It's a nice feeling to open a pack and see that blue ink. Blalock was still a prospect when this card came out. The following year he hit the game winning home run off Eric Gagne in the All Star game. Costing Andruw Jones the MVP and John Smoltz a save opportunity. Grrrr. Blalock has had a couple of rough years recently, but could have a comeback season after an injury-filled 2007. The auto is nice, but doesn't look much like Hank Blalock. The H looks like the astronomical symbol for Jupiter and the last name is clearly Bee. Jupiter Bee sounds like a bad 60's cartoon. I don't know where I'm going with this.

1993 Upper Deck Clutch Performers Terry Pendleton

Who is this? Braves third baseman Terry Pendleton.

What is this? An autographed 1993 Upper Deck Clutch Performers card, number R16.

Where'd I get it? A dealer at the 2008 Braves FanFest.

How much did it cost? Eight dollars.

Why is this so special? I found this looking through a box of Braves autographs hoping to find some two-dollar bargains. After finding nothing of interest in the first row of the box, this card was the first one in the second row and I knew this autograph was much better than getting a handful of no-names. The autograph is gorgeous and has the 91 NL MVP inscription on a nice insert from 1993 Upper Deck. A few years ago Terry was vilified by some for "stealing" the MVP award from Barry Bonds in 1991. Times have changed. Terry is currently the hitting coach for the Braves and is considered to be a top managerial prospect. Terry is the heir apparent to Bobby Cox in Atlanta, assuming Bobby ever retires.

1972 Topps Darrell Evans

Who is this? Braves third baseman Darrell Evans.

What is this? An autographed 1972 Topps card, number 171.

Where'd I get it? A dealer at the 2008 Braves FanFest.

How much did it cost? Five bucks.

Why is this so special? I've been looking for an auto of Darrell for a long time. I actually bought one about 8 years ago from a dealer in Utah, but it was missing from the package that was sent. This one is a nice example of his looping signature. A rule V pick for Atlanta in 1969, Darrell worked with Eddie Mathews to become an excellent fielding third baseman. In 1973 Darrell, along with Hank Aaron and Davey Johnson, became the first three teammates to hit over 40 home runs in a season. Darrell set another first with the Tigers in 1985 when he became the first player to hit 40 home runs in both leagues. Bill James considers him one of the most underrated players in history due to his defense, power and high on base percentage. Darrell played one last season with Atlanta in 1989 before retiring.

1968 Topps Tony Cloninger

Who is this? Braves pitcher Tony Cloninger.

What is this? An autographed 1968 Topps card, number 93.

Where'd I get it? A dealer at the 2008 Braves FanFest.

How much did it cost? Five bucks.

Why is this so special? This is an autograph from Tony on a 1968 Topps card, the year the long time Brave was traded to Cincinnati. Tony is best known for hitting two grand slams in a game against San Francisco. He still holds the record for most RBIs in a game for an Atlanta Braves player. Tony also had the bad fortune to go 24-11 the same year Sandy Koufax went 26-8. No Cy Young votes for Tony. Cloninger also holds the distinction of getting the opening day start for the first game the Braves played in Atlanta on April 12, 1966. He took the loss after giving up a two-run home run to Willie Stargell in the 13th inning. This is a very nice looking autograph on a vintage Topps card.

1965 Topps Denis Menke

Who is this? Braves infielder Denis Menke.

What is this? An autographed 1965 Topps card, number 327.

Where'd I get it? A dealer at the 2008 Braves FanFest.

How much did it cost? Five bucks.

Why is this so special? I love obscure players from the fifties and sixties, doubly so when they are Braves. This is a pretty nice looking auto on a great looking '65 Topps card. Menke was an OK shortstop for the Braves before he was traded to the Astros and became an All Star. Denis had a career year in 1964 when he hit twenty homers for the Braves, but his most amazing statistical year was 1973 when he had 23 more walks than hits. My grandfather had a habit of calling Mark Lemke "Denis Menke" for some reason.

2005 Topps Heritage Johnny Podres

Who is this? Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Johnny Podres.

What is this? An autograph card from the 2005 Topps Heritage Team Topps insert set, card TT-JP

Where'd I get it? Out of a pack of 2005 Topps Heritage pulled from Champion Sports Cards in Kennesaw, GA.

How much did it cost? The price of a pack of Heritage, about $3.50 or so.

Why is this so special? I normally don't like pulling shiny cards out of Heritage products, but in this case I'll make an exception. Johnny was a long time pitcher for the Dodgers who will always be best known for defeating the Yankees in the 7th game of the 1955 World Series, bringing Brooklyn their only championship. Podres had a fantastic changeup and went on to teach it as a successful pitching coach after his playing days were over. Sadly, Podres passed away yesterday at the age of 75. Unfortunately in our hobby this is often seen as an opportunity to change the price tag on the card. The $6.00 price tag on this card was stuck on an old top loader I recycled to protect my great pull. It will not be changed. So long, ya bum.

2003 Topps205 Second Series Luis Castillo

Who is this? Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo.

What is this? An autograph card from 2003 Topps205 Second Series, card TA-LC.

Where'd I get it? Not sure, actually. The local flea market perhaps.

How much did it cost? Probably not much.

Why is this so special? Castillo is a former all-star second baseman, although his production has declined in recent years. This card is notable for a complete disaster of an autograph from a player who normally has a very nice one. Mini cards can be hard to sign, but this is ridiculous. Castillo recently signed a 4 year contract with the Mets and will most likely be their opening day starter at second base.

2007 Allen & Ginter Nook Logan

Who is this? Nationals outfielder Nook Logan.

What is this? An autograph card from 2007 Allen & Ginter, card AGA-NL.

Where'd I get it? An eBay auction.

How much did it cost? Very little, maybe a buck.

Why is this so special? Anyone named Nook is special by default. I got this at the same time as the 2006 Allen & Ginter Lew Ford autograph as a type card for my A&G set. Both cards were extremely inexpensive and I believe this sold for the opening bid of 99 cents. This is actually a typical autograph for Logan. Nook was not offered a contract by the Nationals due to their acquisition of Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes, and is currently a free agent.

2003 Topps205 Second Series Eric Duncan

Who is this? Yankees prospect Eric Duncan.

What is this? An autograph card from 2003 Topps205 Second Series, card TA-ED.

Where'd I get it? This was one of the hits from a box of Topps205.

How much did it cost? One twenty fourth the price of the box, which I can't remember.

Why is this so special? I really like Topps205, although this is the worst of the three autographs I have from the set. Duncan was once a hot prospect, but he has not yet advanced past Triple-A. Eric plays third base, so advancement opportunities are slim unless he changes organizations. The auto looks more like abstract art than a signature, although his autograph appears to be consistently obtuse.

2002 Topps206 Cristian Guzman

Who is this? Twins shortstop Cristian Guzman.

What is this? An autograph card from 2002 Topps206, card TA-CG.

Where'd I get it? An eBay auction.

How much did it cost? Probably not much.

Why is this so special? I attempted to build the Topps206 set and I wanted an autograph card for my collection. I got this one cheap. Cristian had a career year in 2001 that he has never come close to matching. Cristian has a lousy looking autograph that is not helped by being cramped up on a mini card. He is currently a member of the Washington Nationals and will be in the mix for the starting shortstop job if healthy.

2003 Topps205 Paul LoDuca

Who is this? Dodgers catcher Paul LoDuca.

What is this? An autograph card from 2003 Topps205, card TA-PL.

Where'd I get it? This was one of the hits from a box of Topps205.

How much did it cost? One twenty fourth the price of the box, which I can't remember.

Why is this so special? Topps205 is one of my favorite sets, this is one of three autos I have from that product. I like the mini card in a frame concept as well. Paul LoDuca is an all-star caliber catcher even though he played for some of my not-so favorite teams. He did a really good job squinching his autograph on the tiny card without making it illegible, although it's a bit outside the lines. LoDuca signed with the Washington Nationals this offseason.

2006 Allen & Ginter Lew Ford

Who is this? Twins Outfielder Lew Ford.

What is this? An autograph card from 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter, card AGA-LF.

Where'd I get it? eBay.

How much did it cost? A couple bucks or so.

Why is this so special? I'm a big fan of Allen & Ginter cards and I wanted an auto card from the set for my collection. I got this one cheap sometime last year. The frame looks neat and I like the autograph logo on the back with the quill. It kinda looks like an original A&G header with the funky typeface. The autograph looks good even though it is squashed on the tiny card. Lew had a good year in 2004 and then fell of the face of the earth. The Twins released him this offseason and he will be playing in Japan in 2008.

Why this blog exists

All right. Some of you may be asking what in the world is this thing. Well, it's a blog. Ha, ha, funnyman. We knew that. But what is it?. What is it's reason for being? Why does the interwebs need yet another blog cluttering up the joint? Well, let me explain.

You can get the full interesting story here. Here's the boring antiseptic version. I have a lot of trading cards. All kinds of cards. Baseball, football, basketball, hockey, non-sports, game cards, playing cards, business cards, a whole lotta cards. Some of them are special cards. Rookies, inserts, relics, autographs, again, all kinds of cards. I want to organize these cards - at least the good ones - and post a list online so I can pull up a page and see what I have.

Ok, we get it. You have a lot of cards. Buy why the blog? And why autographs?

The reason why I'm posting all my autograph cards is simple. After really sitting down and thinking about it, of all my "expensive" cards, I believe the autographs are the most worthwhile and will in the long run retain the most value. While rookie cards and relic cards and short printed serial numbered cards are popular and can be sold for a lot of money in the right circumstances, they are are in essence just pieces of cardboard. Cardboard with artificially inflated values. Don't get me wrong, I love cardboard. Cardboard is wonderful. I have a lot of cardboard. Even the relic cards, yeah there is a little slice of memorabilia in there, but it's still just a little object embedded in cardboard.

Get to the point.

Ok. The thing about autographs is they represent a tiny little piece of another person's life.

Come again?

An autograph - any autograph - is the result of a physical act by a person. It takes about 3 to 5 seconds of that person's life to grab a pen and scribble their name. It's something a lot more personal than an object they may have touched at one time. That autograph came from their own hand. Even if it's faked someone had to write it whether it's a forger, or a bat boy or the player's wife.

So... you don't like relic cards, but you do like forgeries?

No. You're completely missing the point here. An autograph is personal is all, and I find them to be more interesting than other insert cards.

Ok, autographs are interesting. So why a blog?

I want to organize my autograph cards in a way where I can easily see what I have and who I have. Writing them all down in a notebook just won't cut it. Neither will putting them all in a spreadsheet or database. Sure, I would be able to sort them all, but I couldn't actually see them. I could dump them all in an image bucket, but that would require some work and would limit the amount of info I could include on each card. Now, in a blog I can post a scan of the card, include relevant information about it, and label it for easy reference. I can also share them with everyone else. Why have a neat collection if it's just going to sit in a musty box in the basement until you croak and your wife sells them to the first card shop that will take them for about .001% of book value? I might as well show 'em off.

In other words it's more fun?

Yep.

Ok, so you like autographs and like blogging. So what's up with the name?

It's a pun. Auto... autograph... I'm sharing them in a blog so it's for the People...

Well, Duh, but why a reference to an old R.E.M. album?

I went to the University of Georgia in the early 90's. Automatic for the People was the first album they released while I was a student there. There has a huge deal made about it since it was the first one since Out of Time completely blew up and sold about 30 billion copies. The title was a reference to a local restaurant, Weaver D's. I think it was a soul food place. I wanted to go there because R.E.M. liked it but I was a chickenshit freshman too scared to leave the dining halls. Oh well. Basically it was a nice pun from a kick-ass album by a really good band.

So is that your favorite R.E.M. album?

Nah, Out of Time is better simply because Texarkana is one of the best songs ever. If I had to choose one I'd probably pick Fables of the Reconstruction. It's still a decent album though and Drive is one of my favorite songs from them.

So you really think you'll get sued by R.E.M.?

No, that's just another joke. Stranger things have happened though, I guess it depends on whether their lawyers get paid by the lawsuit. If I get a C&D order, I'll probably write back asking for an autograph and change the name of the blog.

You'd want Michael Stipe's autograph even if his lawyers threaten you?

Sure, why not? I was one of the only people at UGA to go through my entire college career without having an R.E.M. sighting so what the heck. I'd take an auto. I wouldn't ask for Stipe's though.

Whose autograph would you want then?

I'd ask for one from Mike Mills. Stipe probably gets pestered for autographs all the time, but no one ever shows the bass player any love.

So what would you name the blog if/when you get sued?

Planet Claire.

Planet Claire?!?

Yeah, it's a B-52's song. The B-52's are ten times as good a band as R.E.M. anyway.

You're really weird, do you know that?

I blog about baseball cards, what did you expect?

I didn't expect you to talk to yourself in a sort of fake interview.

Oh, I can explain that. That's going to be the structure of the posts. I'll have five questions on who, what, where, how and why for each card that I will answer. It will make things easier on me and it will keep me from bullshitting for twenty paragraphs on every card.

Interesting. What are the questions?

Here they are:

Who is this?

What is this?

Where'd I get it?

How much did it cost?

Why is this so special?

Those five questions sum up the card pretty well.

Why isn't there a question for when?

Man, I've been collecting for 25 years, I can't remember when I got all these cards. I'll be damn lucky if I can remember the where and how, let alone the when. Any extra info I have will end up in the why answer anyway.

You already have a baseball card blog, Cardboard Junkie and you post regularly on A Pack A Day. How are you going to keep up with another one?

It really won't be that hard. It takes all of 10 minutes to scan nine cards front and back. The post structure keeps things concise and to the point. I can probably knock out a month's worth of posts in a couple hours. I want to get a lot of these done quickly anyway, to build up the inventory and then I can dole them out one per day with no additional work.

So it this how this blog is always going to look?

No. I found a template I could live with for now, but I plan to create a logo eventually and do some tweaking with the design. Set a background, add some links, that sort of thing. I'm going to build up the posts before I mess with that though. This looks good enough for now.

Alright, man. Good luck with that.

Ok thanks, um, me.

You really are weird.

I can't argue that.

What the heck is this

This is the first post of my new blog Auto-Matic for the People. It is a 1991 Classic Draft Picks card of Mike Kelly, the second overall pick in the 1991 draft by the Atlanta Braves, graciously signed by Chris Harris of Stale Gum.

I received this card directly from Chris in a trade. It is an official 1/1 card, there is no other like it in the world, unless Chris traded with a huge Mike Kelly fan recently. This is the first of many autographs that will be posted one per day, to so I can get organized and you can enjoy my autographs. Stay tuned, I'll explain this further (or you could click here) and there will be many autographs to come.

Auto-Matic... For the People.