1994 Signature Rookies Hiram Bocachica

Who is this? Former Montreal Expos prospect Hiram Bocachica
What is this? An autographed Signature Rookies insert card
Where'd I get it? I purchased it from a dealer at the local card show this month
How much did it cost? 50 cents

Why is this so special? This is the second Hiram Bochachica card I've posted this year. The first one, from the 2003 Topps Total set, is one that I got signed in person last season. His autograph has changed a lot since 1994.

Bocachica has been playing professional baseball since 1994. He spent parts of 8 seasons in the major leagues and two more in Japan. In 2008, Bocachica hit 20 home runs for the Saitama Seibu Lions and helped them to win the Japan Series.

Last year, he split the season between Bridgeport in the Atlantic League and the Broncos de Reynosa in Mexico. For the Bluefish, he batted .282 with 8 home runs and 32 RBI in 69 games.

1994 Signature Rookies Paul Spoljaric

Who is this? Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Paul Spoljaric
What is this? An autographed insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
Where'd I get it? Purchased from a dealer at the local card show
How much did it cost? 50 cents.

Why is this so special? I admit I purchased Spoljaric's card mostly because we share the same first name.

If I was paying more attention to baseball in the late 1990s, I might remember Spoljaric - he was a middle reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners, and made a few appearances for the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies. In total, he appeared in 195 major league games between 1994 and 2000.

Spoljaric represented Canada in the 2004 Olympics.

I think it's interesting that "Paul" is written so clearly, but Spoljaric's last name sort of devolves into a condensed scribble. Again, I cannot imagine signing 8000+ cards.

1994 Signature Rookies Brook Fordyce

Who is this? former major league catcher Brook Fordyce
What is this? An autographed insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
Where'd I get it? Purchased from a dealer at this month's local card show
How much did it cost? 50 cents

Why is this so special? Brook Fordyce was a Mets prospect in the early 1990s, and at one point I hope that he would be the successor to Gary Carter. Fordyce did play in 4 games for the 1995 Mets, but he didn't stick. Fordyce did have a nice career as a major league backup catcher, retiring after the 2004 season.

I have a few other Brook Fordyce autographs obtained later in his career - in those instances, he signed his full name. On every Signature Rookies card I've seen, he signed "Brook 4-Dyce." I guess if I had to sign 8000+ cards, I would have been looking for ways to make the process faster or more interesting, too. :-)

1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks Ramon Castro

Who is this? Chicago White Sox catcher Ramon Castro
What is this? An autographed insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks set
Where'd I get it? card show purchase
How much did it cost? 50 cents

Why is this so special? Ramon Castro, who is two days younger than me, was drafted out of high school by the Houston Astros in 1994. He was the 17th overall pick in the nation.

I almost passed up the card because I didn't realize that the guy who played for the Marlins and Mets began his career in the Astros' organization that long ago. Castro spent five years in the Houston system, but he didn't really distinguish himself and only rose to the AA level in 1998. That year, he was traded to the Florida Marlins. In 1999, Castro made his major league debut.

Castro developed into a solid backup catcher who provides a bit of power. He never became the star that the Astros were hoping for when they drafted him, but Castro has played in 544 more major league games than most people - and he'll still be adding to that total in 2011.

Castro's autograph was neater and more complete in 1994 than it is now - you can see a card I got signed through the mail in 2008 at RandomBaseballStuff.com.

1994 Flair Darrin Jackson

Who is this? Chicago White Sox broadcaster Darrin Jackson
What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Flair set
Where'd I get it? I purchased it from a dealer at an autograph show earlier this month.
How much did it cost? $4

Why is this so special? Jackson was a major league outfielder for 12 seasons, playing for seven different teams including the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and New York Mets. He was known as a good defensive outfielder, but offense wasn't his strong suit. Jackson's best season was 1991 when he hit .262 with 21 home runs and 49 RBI for the Padres.

In addition to his time in major league baseball, Jackson played for the Seibu Lions in Japan in 1995 and 1996. After he retired, Jackson became a television broadcaster for the White Sox. Since 2009, he's worked on the radio side.

Jackson's autograph is very legible for a recent player.

1994 Topps Stadium Club John Doherty 1st Day Edition

Who is this? former Detroit Tigers pitcher John Doherty
What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Stadium Club set


Where'd I get it? Nick of Baseball Happenings got it signed for me last year. (Incidentally, Nick's conducting a private signing with legendary Cuban Hall of Fame pitcher and former Pittsburgh Pirate, Gonzalo "Cholly" Naranjo - click over for details)

Why is this so special? If you were looking for an average 1990s major league pitcher, John Doherty fits the bill pretty well. In five seasons as a starter and reliever, he had a 32-31 record with a 4.87 ERA and an adjusted ERA+ of 91.

This is the only signed 1st Day Edition Stadium Club card in my collection - I've never gotten any of the others I own signed. For those who don't remember collecting Stadium Club, the 1st Day Edition cards turned up at a rate of about one per box. Aside from the little rainbow foil stamp, there's no difference between the 1st Day Edition cards and the regular ones. Yet I was fascinated by them in 1993 and 1994, and even now I will buy them when I run across them.

Though some might deduct points for the printed initials, I rather like Doherty's autograph.

1994 Leaf Jim Eisenreich

Who is this? former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jim Eisenreich
What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Leaf set
Where'd I get it? Nick from Baseball Happenings got it signed for me last year.


Why is this so special? Eisenreich broke into Major League Baseball in 1982 with the Minnesota Twins. He played a handful of games over three seasons in Minnesota, but retired from baseball for two seasons while undergoing treatment for Tourette Syndrome.

In 1987, Eisenreich returned to baseball with the Kansas City Royals. He became a solid contributor during his six seasons in Kansas City. After the 1992 season, he became a free agent and signed with the Phillies.
He hit .318 with an Adjusted OPS+ of 117 for the National League pennant winners that year.

Eisenreich would later win a World Series ring with the Florida Marlins near the end of his career in 1997. The next year, he was traded to Los Angeles in the deal that brought Mike Piazza to the Florida Marlins for a week. He retired for good at the end of the 1998 season.

I don't exactly blame him due to the length of his name, but Eisenreich leaves out a lot of letters when signing autographs.

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.

1994 Signature Rookies James Mouton

Who is this? former Houston Astros outfielder James Mouton
What is this? An autograph insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
Where'd I get it? I bought it from a dealer at the local baseball card show last year.
How much did it cost? $1


Why is this so special? While there had been some attempts at autographed insert cards before Signature Rookies came onto the scene in 1994, they took it to a new level. Every pack had an autograph of a prospect who you hoped would be the next Ken Griffey Jr.

James Mouton may not be a household name for most baseball fans, but he had a better career than many who signed cards for Signature Rookies. He spent parts of 8 seasons in the big leagues as a part-time outfielder, mostly for the Houston Astros. He stole 109 bases despite having only 386 hits during his major league career.

Mouton had a very legible autograph when he signed this card... though I wonder how it looked by the time he reached card #5,250.

1988 Donruss Greg Gagne

Who is this? former Minnesota Twins shortstop Greg Gagne
What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? Last year, I wrote to Gagne and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? Greg Gagne was the shortstop for two World Championship Minnesota Twins teams. He spent 15 seasons in the big leagues - 10 with the Twins, 3 with the Kansas City Royals and 2 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During that time, he appeared in 1,798 games and had 1,440 hits.

Last year, he was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

It's a bit difficult to read Gagne's signature, but his initials seem recognizable enough. It looks like he may have included a Bible verse inscription, but I can't quite make it out.

Here is a 1994 Pinnacle card picturing him with the Royals that he signed for me last year as well:

1991 Leaf Bobby Witt

Who is this? former Texas Rangers pitcher Bobby Witt
What is this? An autographed card from the 1991 Leaf set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Witt last month and asked him to sign it; I got it back yesterday.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? Unless the mailman has something for me today, Bobby Witt's autograph will be the last one I add to my collection in 2010. I didn't keep a detailed count of the ones I got in person, through trades or purchases. However, my stats on SportsCollectors.Net tell me that I sent out 98 letters this year and got 62 responses, good for a 63% response rate. I'll probably see a few more trickle in after New Years, if history is any indication.

Witt has my vote as the most frustrating pitcher of all time. He had great stuff - especially early in his career. In his first five seasons, Witt struck out between 148 and 221 batters per season. The problem: he led the American League in walks in three of those five seasons and had the most wild pitches in two of them. Needless to say, he didn't pitch many fast games... but it was still fun to watch him rack up the strikeouts.

Though Witt spent the majority of his career with the Texas Rangers, he also pitched for six other teams during his 16 years in the big leagues. He won a World Series ring with the Diamondbacks in 2001, his final year in baseball. Witt retired with a 142-157 lifetime record, as well as 1955 strikeouts and 1375 walks.

His autograph is legible, which is more than I can say for many players today. Here's an Oakland card that he signed for me as well:

Happy New Year everyone! May you add lots of signatures to your collections in 2011.

1994 Pinnacle Doug Henry

Who is this? Omaha Royals pitching coach Doug Henry
What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Pinnacle set
Where'd I get it? Back during spring training 2008, I wrote to Henry and asked him to sign this card. It took over two years, but I finally got it back earlier this month.
How much did it cost? The card came from a junk wax box I got for $8-$10.

Why is this so special? Check out the retro uniform, the great smile and the mustache. For a portrait shot baseball card, you can't ask for much more.

Henry spent 11 seasons in the majors, with the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals. Though he was a middle reliever for most of his career, Henry came up as a closer with the Milwaukee Brewers. He saved 15 games in his rookie year and finished 8th in the 1991 AL Rookie of the Year voting even though he didn't come up to the big leagues until after the All-Star Break.

Henry's autograph simplifies a lot of the letters in his name, but you'd probably be able puzzle it out on a team-signed baseball or other generic item if you had some clues.

1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks Doug Jennings

Who is this? former Oakland Athletics outfielder Doug Jennings

What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks set

Where'd I get it? A baseball card show dealer's dollar box

How much did it cost? $1

Why is this so special? I remember Doug Jennings best from the final days of his career, when he was a player/coach for the Long Island Ducks in 2005. He is actually one of the best players in the independent league team's history, probably not a mark that he ever wanted to achieve.

Jennings seems an odd choice for a draft pick set from 1994; he was a second round pick by the California Angels in the 1984 draft. By the time this card came out, Jennings had finished his entire 189-game major league career - though I'm sure he didn't realize it.

Before he hung up his spikes, Jennings played in over 1600 minor league and independent league games. He also spent three years in Japan playing for the Orix Blue Wave. It might not have been the career that Jennings dreamed of when he signed his first pro contract, but it wasn't a bad one.

Jennings had a fairly legible signature in 1994, though if I recall correctly it was looking a bit sloppier towards the end of his career.

1994 Signature Rookes Draft Picks Doug Million

Who is this? former minor league pitcher Doug Million


What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks set

Where'd I get it? The dollar box of a dealer at the local card show

How much did it cost? $1


Why is this so special? I had never heard of Doug Million before I saw this card, but I had to get it because of his name. The Colorado Rockies made Million the 7th overall selection in the 1994 draft. According to Wikipedia, he won the Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year Award in 1994.

Million played in the minor leagues for four seasons, advancing as far as AA New Haven. In 1997, he died after suffering an asthma attack. Now I'm depressed - nobody should die that young.

1994 D.J. Boston

Who is this? Former Toronto Blue Jays prospect D.J. Boston  

What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
 
Where'd I get it? Out of the dollar box at my local card shop
 
How much did it cost? $1
 
Why is this so special? I'm continuing the Signature Rookies theme that I started on my own blog today. Signature Rookies helped launch the trend of prospect autographs by producing a set of minor league players and including an autographed card in every (expensive) pack.

They came along right around the time I was finishing up high school, so fortunately I didn't have the money to really collect them. Now, it's fun to pick up cheap autographs of players I remember.

D.J. likely made it into the Signature Rookies set because he won the South Atlantic League MVP award in 1993. He never made it past AAA, unfortunately. I remember D.J. from the Atlantic League, where he was a star for the now-defunct Nashua Pride and the Bridgeport Bluefish.

After he retired in 2006, D.J. went into coaching. He got his start with the Atlantic League's Road Warriors in 2007, and move back into affiliated ball with the Greenville Astros in 2008. Last year, he was the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Astros.

D.J.'s 1994 signature is a little nicer than I remember the ones I got during his Atlantic League days.

1994 Upper Deck Derek Wallace

Who is this? Derek Wallace, a former relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets

What is this? An autograph card from the 1994 Upper Deck MInor League set, #201

Where'd I get it? From Nick of Baseball Happenings

How much did it cost? $1
Why is this so special? Derek Wallace was the first-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in 1992; he was the 11th player chosen overall. He struggled, and soon found himself in a new organization.

The Cubs included Wallace in the 1996 trade that brought Brian McRae from Kansas City to Chicago. Later that year, the Royals traded him to the Mets in a deal for pitcher Jason Jacome.

In New York, Wallace made his Major League debut. He wasn't particularly impressive in 19 relief appearances, but he was only 25 and showed some promise. There was even some thought that he could eventually assume the closer's role held by John Franco.

The next spring, Wallace was diagnosed with an aneurysm that caused him to miss much of the 1997 season. He worked his way back after surgery, but he didn't appear in another Major League game for the Mets.

Late in the 1999 season, the Mets sent Wallace back to Kansas City in a minor league deal. He appeared in eight games for the Royals in what turned out to be his final season as a professional baseball player.

You've got to admire Wallace's persistence. It's just too bad that his baseball career didn't work out quite the way he probably would have hoped.

His signature is a little bit sloppy on this card, but I've seen a lot worse.

1994 Fleer Greg Olson

Who is this? Braves catcher Greg Olson.

What is this? An autographed 1994 Fleer card, number 370.

Where'd I get it? In a trade with Russ.

How much did it cost? Received in trade.

Why is this so special? Another great auto out of nowhere! All star Greg Olson (not Gregg) was only with the Braves for four seasons but it sure does seem like he was there a lot longer. Great auto from a great guy who would stand on his head for the team. Thanks Russ!

1994 Signature Rookies Hiram Bocachica

Who is this? Expos prospect Hiram Bocachica.

What is this? An autograph card from 1994 Signature Rookies, card #21.

Where'd I get it? In a pack bought from Atlanta Sports Cards.

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

Why is this so special? This is the first autograph card I pulled from a pack. It wasn't a surprise, as every pack of these cards had an auto inside. The shop I bought it from had some packs for two bucks each and I bought one. In retrospect I should have bought more at two bucks a pack but I was in college, didn't have a whole lot of cash and wasn't terribly impressed by my pull. I tried following Hiram for a couple of years but he didn't make the show and I lost interest. To my surprise, he finally debuted in 2000 with the Dodgers and he put together an 8 year career in the bigs. He was the fringiest of fringe players to be sure, but he made it and was able to hang around at least. Good for you, Hiram. He will be playing in Japan for the Seibu Lions in 2008.