Sunday, January 9, 2011

1994 Pinnacle Tim Belcher



Who is this? former Detroit Tigers pitcher Tim Belcher
What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Pinnacle set
Where'd I get it? In November, I wrote to Belcher and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? This is my second autograph of 2011, and I will always remember that it was signed during 1/11 since Belcher chose to add the month and year when he autographed it. He's got a pretty good signature for a modern player, though he did drop some letters from his last name.

Belcher stamped the back of my envelope with this message "Thanks for being a fan of baseball! All the best, Tim." That's an unusual gesture, but kind of nice.

A major league pitcher for 14 season, Belcher retired with a 146-140 lifetime record. His best seasons came early in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was a member of the starting rotation for the 1988 World Series champions and he led the National League in shutouts (with 8) in 1989.

Belcher also pitched well for the Royals, racking up double digit win totals in each of his three seasons in Kansas City. He only pitched for the Tigers for one season - 1994 - and it was arguably the worst year of his career. In a strike-shortened season, he led the American League with 15 losses. 

Keeping that in mind, I'm surprised he signed the card I sent - I would have picked a different one, but it was the only one I had.

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