1993 Topps Bob MacDonald

Who is this? Former Toronto Blue Jays reliever Bob MacDonald
What is this? An autographed card from the 1993 Topps set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to MacDonald at the beginning of November and asked him to sign a few cards for me. I got them back the day after Thanksgiving.
How much did it cost? Not much, beyond the postage.

Why is this so special? MacDonald was born in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University. He spent parts of six seasons in the majors in the 1990s. Though he pitched primarily for the Blue Jays, MacDonald also played for the Mets, Yankees and Tigers. According to his Wikipedia page, MacDonald now manages a semi-pro slow pitch softball team.

MacDonald has a decent signature that would likely be quite nice on a larger item... it seems a bit cramped on the baseball cards he signed for me. Here are the other two:

1989 Star Andy Tomberlin

Who is this? Birmingham Barons hitting coach Andy Tomberlin
What is this? An autographed card from from the 1989 Star minor league set
Where'd I get it? From Zach. I think he got it signed at the Rickwood Classic this summer.


Why is this so special? Andy Tomberlin had an interesting career. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 1985, Tomberlin began his pro career as a pitcher. He apparently had control issues, so the Braves decided to turn him into an outfielder in 1988.

Tomberlin didn't get his first shot at the majors until 1993, after he left the Braves organization. He got into 27 games for the Pirates that year. In 1994, he played in 17 games for Boston. In 1995, it was 46 games for Oakland. In 1996 and 1997, Tomberlin played a total of 69 games for the Mets. Then in 1998, he played in 32 games for Detroit.

Between 1985 and 2000, Tomberlin played in nearly 1000 minor league games. He stayed in baseball following his retirement, working as a scout and minor league coach.

Tomberlin's signature is somewhat recognizable, but it wouldn't earn him a very good penmanship grade. (Do they still teach that subject in grade school? Somehow I doubt it.)

1989 Fleer John Tudor

Who is this? Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher John Tudor
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 1989 Fleer set
 
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Tudor and asked him to sign it earlier this year.
 
How much did it cost? Less than a dollar, including postage, since I sent it out with the 1986 Topps card I posted last month.
 
Why is this so special? John Tudor spent 12 seasons in the majors, retiring with a 117-72 record. In August 1988, the Dodgers sent Pedro Guerrero to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Tudor as they prepared their roster for the playoffs.

That year, the Mets swept the regular season series from Los Angeles, so the Dodgers went looking for lefty pitching to counter Darryl Strawberry and Keith Hernandez.

Tudor started game four in the NLCS, but didn't factor into the decision. Los Angeles took an early lead in the game, but the Mets battled back and took a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning. Dwight Gooden pitched into the ninth inning for New York, but he allowed a game-tying home run to Mike Scioscia. Kirk Gibson hit another home run in the 12th off Roger McDowell to win the game, even up the series and swing momentum back to Los Angeles.

Tudor missed most of the 1989 season with an injury. He returned in 1990 to pitch one final year with the Cardinals before retiring.

Tudor's signature is mostly illegible, but you can read the letters "T" and "u" clearly. "J" "o" and "d" are visible with effort.

1989 Score Danny Cox

Who is this? Lancaster Barnstormers pitching coach Danny Cox
 
What is this? An autograph card from the 1989 Score set
 
Where'd I get it? Cox signed it for me after a game between the Barnstormers and Bears in Newark last week
 
How much did it cost? Not much.

Why is this so special? Danny Cox spent 11 years in the majors, retiring with a 74-75 lifetime record. He pitched in three World Series - 1985 and 1987 for the Cardinals and 1993 for the Blue Jays

After he retired, Cox managed the Gateway Grizzlies in the Frontier League for three seasons. He is currently the pitching coach for the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League.

Score had one of the better card designs of 1989, but as I remember it included a lot of photos like this. Cox's card uses an action shot that would be decent, except for the little fact that a shadow obscures most of his face. Still, it looks better signed -- and it will most likely be the last card I ask Cox to sign this year.

1989 Fleer Update Todd Zeile

Who is this? Former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Todd Zeile  

What is this? A signed card from the 1989 Fleer Update set

Where'd I get it? I found it in the dollar box at this month's card show
 
How much did it cost? $1

Why is this so special? I'm hoping that I got a Todd Zeile autograph for a buck, but I really haven't had a chance to look into it yet. The signature on this card looks very similar to some that are for sale on eBay, and significantly different from others.

Zeile began and ended his 16-year major league career as a catcher, but he spent more time at third base than any other position. Zeile played for 11 different teams, but appeared in the most games for Cardinals.

He retired with a .265 batting average, 2004 hits, 253 home runs and 1110 RBI. Zeile ended his career in memorable fashion -- he hit a home run in his final at-bat

1989 Fleer Danny Cox

Who is this? Lancaster Barnstormers' pitching coach Danny Cox
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 1989 Fleer set
 
Where'd I get it? Cox signed it for me before a doubleheader between the Barnstormers and the Newark Bears last week.
 
How much did it cost? I'm sure where I got the card.
 
Why is this so special? I wrote a bit about Cox last week, when I posted the other card he signed for me at that game.

1989 was an interesting year for baseball card design. Upper Deck released their first set, which was considered the nicest of the year. Topps had a fairly bland design, but it's aged well and now looks classic. Donruss and Score were colorful, but they were hit and miss -- if the colors worked with your team's logo, they looked ok.

Then there was Fleer. My scanner doesn't like the design and has added a rainbow effect to the ugly grey columns in the border. The saving point is the nice action photo of Danny Cox. Of course, I think the card looks a lot nicer with an autograph.

1989 Donruss Danny Cox

Who is this? Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Danny Cox
 
What is this? An autograph card from the 1989 Donruss set  

Where'd I get it? I got it signed before yesterday's doubleheader between the Lancaster Barnstormers and the Newark Bears.
 
How much did it cost? No idea where I picked up the card
 
Why is this so special? Danny Cox spent 11 years in the majors, retiring with a 74-75 lifetime record. He pitched in three World Series - 1985 and 1987 for the Cardinals and 1993 for the Blue Jays

After he retired, Cox managed the Gateway Grizzlies in the Frontier League for three seasons. He is currently the pitching coach for the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League. And he still has that great mustache. :)

Cox doesn't have the prettiest signature, but it's fairly legible.

1989 Pro Set William Perry

Who is this? Bears legend William "The Refrigerator" Perry

What is this? An autographed card from 1989 Pro Set, card number 445.

Where'd I get it? I got this card signed at an Oklahoma Redhawks game this past summer.

How much did it cost? The autograph was free. The card came out of a 50 cent pack in 1989.

Why is this so special? It's "THE FRIDGE"! Without even going back and looking at all of the previous posts on here, I can guarantee that none of the players featured had a G.I. Joe action figure made of them. But, The Fridge did. He even came with a medieval-style mace with a football on the end of the chain.

Besides that, he was one of the main members of the great 1985 Super Bowl winning (and shuffling) Chicago Bears. He also has more Super Bowl touchdowns than the great Walter Payton. He was one of the few 300+ pound players in the NFL in the mid-80s. Because of that, Mike Ditka would throw Perry in at fullback on short yard situations. He had five rushes during the regular season that year for seven yards and two touchdowns. He added a touchdown in the Super Bowl and even tried to pass a ball on an option pass play, but was tackled for a loss instead.

At the baseball game where I got this autograph, The Fridge was not looking very well. He had lost lots of weight from his playing days, which is good, but he was in a wheel chair. He even had a hard time holding the pens to sign with. He had to hold it between his thumb and forefinger. It's hard to explain, but it looked like he was holding chopsticks with two fingers. But, he was in good spirits. He was talking to the fans and taking pictures with them. He even signed two cards for me, which I wasn't expecting. Later on, I learned that he was suffering from Guillain-Barré syndrome. It's a complicated disease that is too hard to explain, but you can read more about it here.