1992 Score No-Hit Club Dennis Martinez

Who is this? former Montreal Expos pitcher Dennis Martinez
What is this? An autographed card from the 1992 Score set
Where'd I get it? I purchased it from a Sportsgraphing.com forum member late last year.
How much did it cost? around $3


Why is this so special? "El Presidente" was the first player from Nicaragua to reach the major leagues. During his 23-year career, Martinez won 245 games - with more than 100 victories in each league. He struck out over 2,000 batters and he was a 4-time All-Star. This card commemorates Martinez's perfect game against the Dodgers in 1991 -- one of 7 no-hitters thrown in major league baseball that year.

Martinez has worked as a spring training instructor for the Baltimore Orioles and a minor league coach in the Cardinals organization since retiring. He has an interesting autograph - I've never seen another person write the letter "M" like that.

1992 Donruss Frank Seminara

Who is this? former San Diego Padres and New York Mets pitcher Frank Seminara
What is this? An autographed card from the 1992 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Seminara last month and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? A quarter for the card.

Why is this so special? This is my first autograph of 2011, arriving in my mailbox on Jan. 5th. Since Seminara only had one Mets "card" (a spring training program insert that I wasn't about to cut out or risk losing), this will be going into my all-time Mets roster autograph collection.

Seminara is a Brooklyn native and grew up as a Mets fan. He was drafted in the 12th round of the 1988 draft by the New York Yankees, but he never played for them. In 1990, the San Diego Padres selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule V draft.

Two years later, Seminara made his major league debut and finished 7th in the Rookie of the Year balloting after posting a 9-4 record in 18 starts for the Padres. Seminara didn't enjoy as much success in 1993, so he spent most of his time in the majors in the bullpen.

That December, the Mets swapped prospect Marc Kroon for Seminara in a deal that also included four other minor leaguers. (Kroon never had much success in the majors, but he became a star closer in Japan.)

Seminara appeared in 10 games for the 1994 Mets, losing his only 2 decisions. Except for one spot start, all of his appearances came out of the bullpen. He continued pitching in the minor leagues through 1995, but never again reached the majors.

For more about Seminara (and a look at an easier-to-see version of his signature, visit Lee Harmon's Amazing Shea Stadium Autograph Project.)

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:

2009 MultiAd Sports Greenville Drive Bob Kipper

Who is this? Portland Sea Dogs pitching coach Bob Kipper
What is this? An autographed card from the 2009 Greenville Drive team set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Kipper and asked him to sign a few cards earlier this month. A little over a week later, I got them back.
How much did it cost? Nothing, except postage.


Why is this so special? Bob Kipper was a major league pitcher for 8 seasons between 1985 and 1992 with the California Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. He began his career as a starter, but moved to the bullpen in 1988.

Kipper had a lifetime 27-37 record with a 4.34 ERA in 271 major league games. He finished his career in 1994 in the Mets' farm system. After retiring as a player, Kipper became a coach in the Red Sox system.

Kipper's autograph is quick and difficult to read, but you can make out more than just his initials. This is the first 2009 Greenville Drive card I've posted, and the first one that I've gotten signed. The set seems perfect for autographs, with a light background and nice portrait shots for most of the players and coaches.

Here are two other cards that he signed for me:

Last week's most-viewed posts were:

1. Star Driver Autograph Board signed by Masahiko Minami
2. 1991 Bowman Ever Magallanes
3. Autographed photo of James Marsters as Spike and Juliet Landau as Drusilla
4. 2010 Trenton Thunder Edwar Gonzalez
5. Autographed photo of Camden Toy and Doug Jones as The Gentlemen

1992 Donruss Ced Landrum

Who is this? Joliet Jackhammers hitting coach Ced Landrum
What is this? An autographed card from the 1992 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? Zach sent it to me. I imagine he got it signed at a Northern League game.


Why is this so special? Ced Landrum was not a high round draft pick. In fact, he never got drafted at all. He signed with the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent in 1985 and worked his way through the minors, making his big league debut in 1991.

Landrum hit .233 / .313 / .279 in 99 plate appearances for the Cubs, yet he stole 27 bases in those 56 games. A spring training injury cost Landrum the first part of the 1992 season. By July, the Cubs decided to trade him to Milwaukee for infielder Jeff Kunkel.

Milwaukee cut Landrum loose at the end of the season, and he signed with Minnesota. Before the end of April 1993, Landrum was a free agent again. This time, the Mets signed him and gave him his second shot in the majors. Primarily as a pinch-hitter, Landrum was 5-for-19 in 22 games.

Landrum was out of baseball in 1994, but he decided to give it one more shot as a replacement player during the 1995 lockout. To learn more about Ced Landrum, check out Steve's post at The Greatest 21 Days.

Landrum has a nice, legible autograph. I like the photo choice by Donruss - Landrum's most notable success came on the basepaths, so it's fitting to have a shot of him sliding into base.

2004 Donruss Timelines Recollection Collection Julio Franco

Who is this? Former Texas Rangers second baseman Julio Franco

What is this? An autographed buyback card from the 2004 Donruss Timelines set

Where'd I get it? Found it at the local card shop

How much did it cost? $10

Why is this so special? I went to the card shop today hoping to find a card of Richmond Flying Squirrels pitching coach Ross Grimsley. I struck out, but I found something better - this autographed buyback card of Julio Franco.

To me, it seemed like Franco played forever. He "only" played in the majors for 23 seasons, though. During that time, he accumulated 2,586 hits and was a three-time All-Star. He finally retired from the game in 2008, months short of his 50th birthday.

Franco spent parts of two seasons as a pinch hitter for the New York Mets, which added to my interest in acquiring the card. He now manages the Mets Gulf Coast League team.

The Sharpie that Franco used to sign the cards was starting to dry out, but it still looks great signed.

1992 Classic Four Sport Manon Rheaume

Who is this? Female hockey player, Manon Rheaume.

What is this? An autograph card from 1992 Classic Four Sport, card number 224.

Where'd I get it? Out of a pack in 1992, probably from a card shop.

How much did it cost? Whatever the pack cost, plus two stamps.

Why is this so special? As far as I know, this is the first female to play professional hockey with the big boys. During the 1992-93 season, Manon got into two games with the Atlanta Knights (Tampa Bay's top affiliate) of the old IHL. Unlike Cammie Granato, who was known as a good hockey player playing against other women, Manon made her name playing against guys.

I remember the media making a big deal out of this with Classic doing the same by making a ton of cards of her for a few different sets. I sent this card to the Knights. They must have forward the letter to her, since it was unlikely that I actually sent the card to her while she was with the team (life was rough before the internet). In here two games with the Knights, she played sixty-six minutes and gave up seven goals. Ouch.

The next few years she played a few games in the ECHL, PSHL, WCHL and two more games in the IHL (where she did much better than the first time around). All told, she played in twenty-two minor league games (according to hockeydatabase.com).

Well, I just checked her Wikipedia page and she was not the first women to play minor league hockey. But, she was the first one to play in an NHL exhibition game, which she did twice. So, that is even cooler.

1992 Donruss Sam Militello

Who is this? Yankees pitcher Sam Militello.

What is this? An autographed card from 1992 Donruss "The Rookies", Card number BC-16.

Where'd I get it? Out of a large autograph lot won off of Yahoo! Auctions.

How much did it cost? Less than a buck.

Why is this so special? I don't have a whole lot of memories of Sam other than he completely tore up the minors, got called up to the Yankees, ended up on a bunch of rookie cards and then injuries ate him up. It's a shame, a guy with a name like Sam Militello should have had a long career with the Yankees. This is a really nice looking card of Sam but the gold foil is rendered invisible by the scanner. The signature is nice and clean though, a distinctive Smilitello with big swooping Ls. I wonder what those buildings are in the background. Sorry folks, the Yankees were completely off my radar in the early 90's and I just can't think of anything to write about today. There's probably a ton of Yankee fans with long tales of disappointment and woe out there, but I ain't one of 'em. I promise to have a more interesting post tomorrow.

1993 Classic Best Derek Jeter

Who is this? Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

What is this? An autographed 1992 Classic Best Blue Bonus card, number BC22.

Where'd I get it? In a large autographed lot from Yahoo! auctions.

How much did it cost? Less than a buck per card.

Why is this so special? I've mentioned a few times that I've gotten cards from a huge Yahoo! auction lot and this is one that I got. I don't remember the details of the auction, just that there were a whole bunch of autographed cards (75 to 80 at least) for not a whole lot of money. It seemed like some one was just liquidating a collection, and I had a little extra cash so I pounced. Yahoo! auctions has been dead for a while now, but if anyone remembers the good ol' days when they had free listings, it was a haven for cheap cards. Lots of commons auctions, lots of deals and many sellers blowing out stuff cheap because they didn't have the overhead that eBay charged. Yahoo! killed the golden goose though and started charging listing fees and kaboom, the auction site was dead in a couple of weeks. They finally shut down for good a year or two ago.

This lot had a couple of really good cards (Jeter being one of them) a bunch of non-certified on-card autos, a bunch of minor league autos and a few late 90's one-per pack autos. The Jeter was a nice surprise, but I couldn't figure out where it was from. The Classic Best set inserted these blue prospect cards one in each specially marked jumbo pack (there was another type of jumbo with red foil inserts) but none were inserted with autographs. I do remember seeing some packages for sale in the early 90's with one autographed card for 10 or 15 bucks at book stores. The packages featured such luminaries as Sam Militello and Pat Listach, but there was also signed cards of Ryan Klesko (still kicking myself for not getting one of them) and Good 'ol Derek. There was no COA for Derek in the lot so I couldn't be sure if it was from one of those packs or not. There was quite a few non-certified cards in the lot, so I just assumed it was had signed in person. Maybe the guy I bought it from got it in person, maybe not. I compared the sig to some other Jeter autos and it looked legit to me, so I stuck it in a top loader and filed it away.

Fast forward from the early 90's to a couple of months ago. Mario at Wax Heaven made me a trade offer of a bunch of Braves cards for all the Cansecos I could find. Sure, I said and started plowing through boxes. Goddamn, I got a lot of boxes of cards. Mario said take your time and sent a sweet package of stuff, including one really nice card. (I'll show that one off later) I scrounged through my cards, pulled all the Cansecos I could find and started sending them off. At the same time his wife Tatiana started getting into cards, and became a big Derek Jeter fan. While I was looking for cards to post here I found this card. Thing is, I had also recently pulled a redemption card for an Upper Deck Artifacts Jeter autograph just a few months ago. One Jeter autograph is plenty for someone who doesn't specifically collect Jeter, so I slipped this card in a package for Mario and sent it off. Apparently Tatiana enjoyed the card. Now I got cool cards, Mario has cool cards and Tatiana has a cool card. Trades where everyone wins are one of the best parts of this hobby.

1992 Topps Otis Nixon

Who is this? Braves outfielder Otis Nixon.

What is this? An autographed 1992 Topps card, number 340.

Where'd I get it? Given to me by my grandfather.

How much did it cost? Free.

Why is this so special? My grandfather was a salesman and continued to sell stuff out of his home through newspaper ads once he was retired. He met a lot of people doing this and met Otis Nixon's lawyer or agent one time while doing this. He apparently gave the guy a good deal, because he got this autographed card from him in appreciation. Otis was The Man, and I really wish he could have played in the '91 World Series. The ballpoint autograph is very clear and readable on the card. This card will always have a special place in my collection since it's from my grandfather.