2009 Bowman Johnny Giavotella

Who is this? Kansas City Royals prospect Johnny Giavotella
What is this? An autographed card from one of the 2009 Bowman sets
Where'd I get it? Zach of Autographed Cards fame sent it to me last year.

Why is this so special? Gavotella was a second round draft pick in 2008. The 22-year-old Louisiana native played for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in the AA Texas League last year, where he hit .322 / .395 /.460. He had nine home runs and 13 stolen bases in 20 attempts.

I'm not quite sure where Giavotella ranks in the Royals' long-term plans. He didn't make Baseball America's Top 10 Royals' prospects list, but he is the second baseman in their projected 2014 lineup.

After I got this card from Zach, I pulled another Giavotella autograph from my box of Topps Pro Debut Series II.

There's quite a bit of difference between what I presume is Giavotella's ballpark signature vs. his paid "sit down" one, but I'm glad I don't have to read either one.

2010 Wichita Wingnuts Gabe Medina

Who is this? Wichita Wingnuts pitcher Gabe Medina
What is this? An autographed card from the 2010 Wichita Wingnuts team set
Where'd I get it? From Zach at Autographed Cards


Why is this so special? This is another signed card from the Wichita Wingnuts team set that Zach sent me a few weeks ago. I really like the classic vest style uniform that Medina is wearing, but I'm glad I don't have to decipher his autograph. I'd be thinking it was signed y someone whose last name began with the letter "C."

Medina, a native of Venezuela, had a 5-7 record in 20 starts for the Wingnuts this year, his second season with Wichita. Medina also pitched very briefly for the Camden Riversharks in 2010, though I didn't realize this until now.

The New York Yankees selected Medina in the 15th round of the 2006 draft, but in three seasons he never advanced past the South Atlantic League. Here's another card that shows him in his Yankees garb, also courtesy of Zach.

1991 Bowman Ever Magallanes

Who is this? Birmingham Barons manager Ever Magallanes
What is this? An autographed card from the 1991 Bowman set
Where'd I get it? From Zach of Autographed Cards, who probably got it signed at the Rickwood Classic this summer.


Why is this so special? Magallanes' major league career was of the "blink and you missed it" variety. He appeared in two games as a defensive replacement for the 1991 Cleveland Indians and one more as a pinch hitter. He did not get a hit in either of his major league at-bats, but he did reach base on a walk in his major league debut.

Magallanes' playing career lasted much longer - 19 years - with the majority of that time spent in his native Mexico. After retiring, Magallanes started a new career as a minor league manager with the Arizona League Angels in 2006. He is currently managing the Birmingham Barons, the White Sox' AA affiliate that briefly gained national attention when Michael Jordan tried to start a professional baseball career there in the mid-90s.

For a former player with a long name, Magallanes has a surprisingly neat autograph. Thanks for the card, Zach!

Since everyone will be busy with Thanksgiving, football and holiday shopping plans this weekend, this is going to be my last post on Auto-Matic for the People until Monday. Have a great holiday weekend everybody & be sure to take a moment to remember the things that you are thankful for.

2003 Bowman Derell McCall

Who is this? Camden Riversharks pitcher Derell McCall
What is this? An autographed card from the 2003 Bowman set
Where'd I get it? McCall signed it for me at a Newark Bears game this year.
How much did it cost? Around a quarter
Why is this so special? The Oakland Athletics made Derell McCall the 300th pick in the 2000 draft. He remained in their farm system until 2004, never making it above A-ball.

After spending parts of three seasons playing in independent leagues, McCall got another chance in the Marlins system. He stayed there until this season, pitching as high as AA.

This year, McCall split the season between the Camden Riversharks and the York Revolution. I'm not sure which team he was playing for when I got him to sign this card.

McCall has a fairly unique signature, but it's still pretty similar to the facsimile one on the card. It appears that he included a cross next to his name.

2010 Bowman Topps 100 Austin Romine

Who is this? Trenton Thunder catcher Austin Romine
What is this? An autographed card from Topps 100 insert in this year's Bowman set.
Where'd I get it? Romine signed it before last Sunday's Trenton Thunder game.
How much did it cost? I spent $1 for the card, the curse of living in the New York metro area.

Why is this so special? Romine was ranked as the 2nd best prospect in the Yankees' farm system and the 86th best in all of baseball by Baseball America at the beginning of the 2010 season.

Despite the hype (and the daily demand of autograph seekers), he seemed like a pleasant enough kid. Since he had the day off on Sunday, he spent 5-10 minutes signing autographs along the stands by the dugout. I don't think he stopped before everybody got one.

In 101 games, Romine is batting .266 with 8 home runs and 58 RBI. If he played any other position, I don't think those numbers would have anybody excited. But he is a catcher, and from the one game I saw him play in the field he looked like a pretty good one.

Romine has a very angular, compressed autograph. It's perfect for baseball cards, but I think he should probably work on it a little more before he starts signing sweetspot baseballs for Steiner. :)

Here's Romine's 2010 Trenton Thunder team set card, which I also got signed last Sunday.

2008 Bowman Anthony Capra

Who is this? Midland Rockhounds pitcher Anthony Capra
What is this? An autographed card from the 2008 Bowman set
Where'd I get it? Zach included it in a package he mailed to me earlier this month.


Why is this so special? After I finished scanning a bunch of cards today, I decided to post Capra's card because I looked him up to find out if he's related to former Mets and Braves pitcher Buzz Capra. I can't conclusively say, but it looks like he's not.

Anthony Capra was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 4th round of the 2008 draft. He started his career with Kane County in the Midwest League that year, and he's made it as far as AA Midland in the Texas League this year.

Capra's 2010 numbers don't seem all that impressive - he's 6-11 with a 4.31 ERA in 24 starts - so I would expect to see Capra open next season in AA again.

I'm not sure where Zach got the card signed, but I think it's neat that Capra's signature is almost a perfect match for the facsimile on the card. That rarely happens, since the cards use contract signatures and players generally develop a quicker "autograph version" for use at the ballpark.

2010 Bowman Eric Niesen

Who is this? Binghamton Mets pitcher Eric Niesen

What is this? An autographed card from the 2008 St. Lucie Mets team set

Where'd I get it? Niesen signed it for me after a game in Trenton earlier this year.

How much did it cost? A quarter

Why is this so special? Niesen, yet another Mets farmhand, was a third round draft selection in 2007. Although he's never put up eye-popping stats, Niesen has progressed steadily through the farm system. Until this year, he's worked exclusively as a starting pitcher.


Fortunately for us all, this is the final Eric Niesen autograph I have to post. Unfortunately, it's the ugliest of the three because the signature bubbled a bit.

2010 Bowman Scott Shaw

Who is this? Binghamton Mets pitcher Scott Shaw


What is this? An autographed card from the 2010 Bowman set

Where'd I get it? Shaw signed it for me after a game in Trenton earlier this year.

How much did it cost? Fifty cents?  


Why is this so special? Scott Shaw was the Mets 13th round selection in the 2008 draft. He had a good season for Brooklyn that year, but his stats haven't really stood out since then. He has advanced through the system and is currently on the Binghamton Mets roster.

He has a fairly artistic autograph, which is a pretty good match for the facsimile signature on his card.

2009 Bowman Patrick Ryan

Who is this? Salem Red Sox pitcher Patrick Ryan
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 2009 Bowman set
 
Where'd I get it? I got it signed before a game between the Bridgeport Bluefish and Newark Bears in Newark earlier this year.
 
How much did it cost? A quarter?  

Why is this so special? Patrick Ryan was a 19th round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2005, and was a good enough prospect for somebody at Topps to decide to put him in last year's Bowman set.


Of course, Ryan wasn't in the Brewers organization by the time the card came out. He started the season with the West Tennesee Diamond Jaxx in the Seattle Mariners' organization, and he struggled. He eventually got released and joined the Bridgeport Bluefish last summer.

This season, Ryan returned to the Bluefish and had a 5-1 record with 2 saves and a 1.39 ERA, working out of the bullpen and in the starting rotation. He was signed by the Red Sox and assigned to Salem in the Class A Carolina League, though he's only pitched once so far.

Ryan's autograph looks very different than the facsimile signature on the card, which was probably lifted from the contract he signed with Topps.

2008 Bowman Luke Montz

Who is this? Binghamton Mets catcher Luke Montz

What is this? An autographed card from the 2008 Bowman set

Where'd I get it? I got it signed after a game between the Binghamton Mets and Trenton Thunder earlier this month

How much did it cost? I think the card cost a quarter.

Why is this so special? Luke Montz had a cup of coffee with the Washington Nationals in 2008, but he signed a minor league contract with the Mets organization at the beginning of this season. Montz was assigned to AA Binghamton, where he played in 17 games before getting hurt.

After the game, Montz stopped to sign autographs for the fans who asked him. I thanked him for signing my card, and he thanked me for asking him. That's something that happens maybe once every two or three years, if that often.

Montz has a legible signature, but it really doesn't look much like the facsimile autograph on his Bowman card.

2007 Bowman Danny Putnam

Who is this? Bridgeport Bluefish outfielder Danny Putnam
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Bowman set
 
Where'd I get it? Danny Putnam signed it for me after a doubleheader between the Newark Bears and Bridgeport Bluefish last week.
 
How much did it cost? The card came out of a random pack of Bowman cards purchased in 2007
 
Why is this so special? Putnam had a cup of coffee with the Oakland Athletics in 2007, but now he's playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish. And he's not having a particularly good time of it -- through 25 games, he's hitting .173 with 1 home run and 9 RBI.

I saw him hit that home run -- it was a solo shot in a blowout. He almost had another one. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bluefish trailed the Bears 3-2 in the final inning. Armando Benitez came in to finish the game and struck out the first two Bluefish batters. Putnam came up and hit a fly ball down the left field line, where the fence is only about 300 feet from home plate. I thought it was gone and we had a tie game, but John-Ford Griffin was able to make the catch for the final out.

After the game, as he was heading back to the locker room, I took a chance and asked Putnam to sign my cards. He couldn't have been nicer, though he did joke that he'd only gotten 11 percent of that last pitch -- if he'd gotten 13 percent, it would have gone out.

Putnam has a nice signature that's fairly close to the facsimile signature on the card, though he signs "Danny" instead of "Daniel." The green Bowman cards work really well for the Athletics, but aren't so great for other teams.

1997 Bowman R.A. Dickey

Who is this? Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 1997 Bowman set
 
Where'd I get it? A trade with Pete27  

How much did it cost? I gave up a Brian Reith autograph to get it.  

Why is this so special? R.A. Dickey will make his Mets debut in less than an hour, taking over Oliver Perez's roster spot. Dickey will be the first starting pitcher in Mets history who goes by initials, and he'll be one of a very few knuckleballers to take the hill for the Metrolpolitans.

Aside from a spring training appearance or two, I've only watched R.A. Dickey pitch once. That one game was a gem. After giving up a leadoff single, Dickey set a Buffalo Bisons record by setting down the next 27 batters in order. SNY really picked a great game to broadcast!

The Mets will be Dickey's fourth major league team. He made his debut with the Rangers in 2001. He also pitched for Seattle and Minnesota. He's got a 22-28 lifetime major league record with a 5.43 ERA.

I can't really make out any letters in the signature, but that's not exactly unusual with modern players.

2009 Bowman Andre Ethier

Who is this? Andre Ethier, an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers

What is this? An autographed card from the 2009 Bowman set

Where'd I get it? I got it in the mail with the other Andre Ethier autograph I posted last week.

How much did it cost? Absolutely nothing.

Why is this so special? This card was a gift from Ethier, and it's personalized to me. I think that's pretty neat.

You'll notice that Either's signature has changed significantly from the one Topps is using for the facsimile autograph on his card. The older one was much more legible, but I imagine that the newer one is quicker to sign.

Merry Christmas!

2000 Bowman Mike Lockwood

Who is this? Mike Lockwood, a former minor league outfielder

What is this? An autograph card from the 2000 Bowman set.

Where'd I get it? I got the card signed at a Somerset Patriots game in 2007

How much did it cost? I acquired the card in a trade; the autograph was free

Why is this so special? To most of you, this card isn't very special. Lockwood never played in the majors -- he didn't even play in the Olympics. But he was absolutely amazing for the Somerset Patriots in 2007. We got a look at what he could do to Atlantic League pitching in 2006, but he only stayed for a little over a month before signing with a team in Taiwan.

In 2007, he hit 23 home runs and stole 22 bases while striking out just 42 times in 464 at bats. He also played great defense for a team that nearly won the Atlantic League championship. Lockwood started the 2008 season in Italy, but came back for the end of the Atlantic League season. As far as I know, he's retired from baseball.

Lockwood has a few versions of his autograph; this is the average one. You can see the nice one on this certified Bowman auto card. The sloppy one is little more than a squiggle.

1997 Bowman Sam Marsonek

Who is this? Sam Marsonek, a former pitcher for the New York Yankees

What is this? An autograph card from the 1997 Bowman set

Where'd I get it? I got the card signed at a Somerset Patriots game in 2007

How much did it cost? The card was probably a quarter or so; the autograph was free

Why is this so special? Sam Marsonek was the Texas Rangers' first round draft pick in 1996. He was traded to the Yankees in exchange for Chad Curtis in 1999.

Marsonek's major league career began on a Sunday afternoon in July 2004. He came in to finish a blowout victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Four outs later, Marsonek's major league career was over.

In 2007, Marsonek pitched for the Somerset Patriots in a final bid to get back to the majors. He got a contract from the Washington Nationals organization for the 2008 season, but he was apparently cut during spring training.

I'm not sure how I'd handle it if I spent all those years trying to get to the majors and my chance was over after facing just six batters. On the one hand, he can say that he got to pitch off the mound at Yankee Stadium -- not many people can. On the other hand, it would be awfully hard not to think about what might have been.

Marsonek's autograph is a simplified S_M_k, which he could sign quite quickly.

2008 Bowman Chrome Jason Heyward

Who is this? Braves prospect Jason Heyward.

What is this? An autograph card from 2008 Bowman Chrome, card number BCP121. The card is serial numbered 306/500.

Where'd I get it? Trade with Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius.

How much did it cost? Got it in trade.

Why is this so special? Man, I haven't posted in a long time. I need to get on the ball. I've got all my 2009 pet projects more or less up and running so expect more posts in February.

Simply put, Jason Heyward is a Freaking Beast. He's the #3 overall prospect on Keith Law's top 100 prospects list and after the year he had in Rome last year, I'm not surprised. He's been compared to Cliff Floyd and Fred McGriff and some even say that Golden Boy Jeff Francoeur is just keeping his right feild spot warm for when he arrives in Atlanta. Yeah, he's that well thought of. He's also another local prospect, from Henry County, GA. Do not be surprised if he is in Atlanta very soon. I had been hunting for an affordable autograph of him since his cards started coming out in the fall of 2007 and Heartbreaking floored me when he sent this card in a trade. I've got a big surprise waiting to sent to him, but as anyone knows who's traded with me before, I'm kind of slow. I'll get to it soon though. I have to say of all the cards I got in 2008, other than the Florida Agriculture Mark Lemke card, this is my favorite.

2006 Bowman Originals Beau Jones

Who is this? Braves pitching prospect Beau Jones.

What is this? An autographed buyback card from 2006 Bowman Originals, card BDP33. The card is hand serial numbered 155/576.

Where'd I get it? Atlanta Sports Cards.

How much did it cost? A buck.

Why is this so special? I'm still wondering how I got this card for a buck. There must be an ancent Indian curse on it or something. It's another buyback card from Bowman Originals, which had two of these encased autos in every very expensive pack. And I just picked this one up for a buck, lucky me. Beau is another in my increasingly large lefty reliever autograph collection. He was the #41 overall pick in the 2005 draft, was once in Baseball America's top 10 Braves prospects list and was sent to the Rangers in the Mark Teixeira trade. Ah, now I know how I got it for only a buck. He's only 21 years old though so in a few years this might be a hot card. Or not. I mean, he's a lefty reliever for Texas, even if he makes the bigs Arlington will wear him out no matter how good he is. Of particular note is how closely the autograph squiggle matches the squiggle printed on the original Bowman card. That's consistency!

2008 Bowman Jose Mijares

Who is this? Twins pitcher Jose Mijares.

What is this? An autograph card from 2008 Bowman, card number SOF-JM.

Where'd I get it? It was a redemption card from Topps.

How much did it cost? One buck for the redemption card.

Why is this so special? One of my two favorite card shops in Atlanta has a couple of auto-relic binders on the counter for all the low-end hit cards that aren't quite caseworthy. The first page or two of each binder (one is for baseball, the other everything else) has cards for a dollar, the rest of the cards range from three to fifteen. When I went last week there was a UD Ballpark with a quad jersey (very similar to a quad laser, actually) with Griffey, Schmidt, and a couple of other dudes that was tempting, but I passed in favor of a Tony Gwynn rookie. I think I made the right choice, but Michael Jack is one of my weaknesses. At any rate, whenever I go there I make a point of getting at least one or two dollar autos to use as posts here and for trade fodder. We all love opening a package and pulling an autograph, and for a buck it's a cheap way of sweetening the pot on some trades. I got five of 'em when I went last week, and I got this redemption card when I went the month before. Most of the cheapo autos are late '90s to early '00s minor league stuff like this, but someone apparently busted a box or two of Bowman recently and there was some '08 stuff in there including the redemption. Everyone hates redemption cards as much as they love autographs so I got one cheap. Delayed gratification paid off today as Tristar Fulfillment came through for me today.

When I first sent this card off, it looked like Jose was a minor league relief pitcher who was injured. While this card was being processed, Jose got called up to the bigs and debuted against the Orioles on September 13th. Jose is getting a good, hard look by manager Ron Gardenhire, and has been thrown in some high pressure set up situations so far. He's pitched really well too, and is making a case to be on the 2009 roster. The Twins don't need a closer right now as Joe Nathan is signed through 2011, but a dominant setup man is just as critical in today's game. Plus closers generally have pretty short lifespans in the bigs and it's always good to have one waiting in the wings, especially a young one that isn't going to require a huge contract. Jose has only pitched 6 games in the majors so it's a little early to anoint him as a future elite closer but it looks like he'll be interesting to watch anyway. He does have an elite signature though, look at that work of art. An elegant, unique, legible autograph from a twenty-three year old? That's big league stuff right there.

2006 Bowman Originals Jason Marquis

Who is this? Braves pitcher Jason Marquis.

What is this? An autograph buyback card from 2006 Bowman Originals, 2000 Bowman Chrome card number 12. The cards is numbered 14/16.

Where'd I get it? Flea market dude.

How much did it cost? Ten bucks.

Why is this so special? This is a situation where I went looking to buy an autograph card no matter what and ended up paying more than I planned for a player I don't like. It's a Brave, it's short printed and it's purdy so no big deal. Bowman Originals was a high-end product where Topps bought back a bunch of old Bowman cards, got them signed, serial numbered them, slabbed them and stuck 'em two per pack with a few base cards to fatten up the box. They weren't quite as expensive as these packs, but they weren't cheap either. There was only one card numbered to 25 or less per every 8 boxes so believe it or not Jason here was the case hit. I still got it for ten bucks and I still think I paid too much.

Jason is a solid pitcher but he's rubbed me the wrong way from his time with the Braves. He always seemed to underachieve with the team and it didn't help that he got into Bobby and Leo's doghouse frequently. Then he gets traded to the Cardinals in the JD Drew deal and immediately wins 15 games. Meh. Now he's pitching for the Cubs. Double meh. But, like I said before, it's pretty, low numbered and a Brave. Interesting choice by Jason on the signature location. He squished it up next to the facsimile signature and it looks a bit like an unkempt squiggle.

Bowman Russ Jacobson

Who is this? Phillies catcher Russ Jacobson.

What is this? An autograph card from 2001 Bowman, card number BA-RJ.

Where'd I get it? I think it was out of a pack.

How much did it cost? Three bucks maybe?

Why is this so special? Not much to say about this one... Russ was a third round pick out of Miami, but never really went anywhere. The last I can find of Russ in baseball is a couple of games in Triple-A back in 2004. Catchers are hard to draft. If a catcher is all field, no hit, they might stick as a backup if their defense is spectacular. If they don't have the skills behind the plate, they have to move him somewhere else where the defense won't kill the team. Even if the kid has it all together and can field his position, hit lights out and call a good game, one collision at the plate can derail a career. I'm not sure why Russ didn't make it, or why he was out of baseball in 2005. He doesn't look like he's having a whole lot of fun on this card though. Frustration is evident in the signature too, it starts off with a strong Russ then trails off in a squiggle. It shows how hard things are for these draft picks, 1500 players are selected in the draft every year, looking to earn a spot on their team's 40-man roster. Once they finally reach the point where they are valuable enough to the franchise to protect on the roster, then they have to fight to get on the active roster. Just making the team for a cup of coffee is the result of lots of work developing their skills, attracting the attention of management, getting in the position to be called up and continuing to produce in the minors until there's an injury or need on the major league roster. It's insanely tough to make the show and many times it just doesn't happen for a player no matter how good they look on draft day.