2005 Bazooka Wily Mo Pena

Who is this? Arizona Diamondbacks non-roster invitee Wily Mo Pena
What is this? An autographed 2005 Topps Bazooka card
Where'd I get it? Pena signed it last year during a Newark Bears game.
How much did it cost? The unsigned card came out of a pack.

Why is this so special? Wily Mo Pena was once a highly-regarded prospect. He played in two All Star Futures Games, and represented the Dominican Republic in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He has playing in over 500 major league games.

Last season, Pena spent part of the season with the Bridgeport Bluefish in the Atlantic League. If I recall correctly, he wasn't in the lineup on the day that I went. He was one of the last players out of the clubhouse, coming out after the national anthem, so I didn't think he would sign autographs. He surprised me, though; he kept signing even after the game started. Of course, his autograph isn't very pretty (I do think he signed the card longways.)

Here's my other one, a 2003 Fleer Tradition card.

2003 Fleer Platinum Elmer Dessens

Who is this? former New York Mets relief pitcher Elmer Dessens
What is this? An autographed 2003 Fleer Platinum card
Where'd I get it? I purchased it from Dave Berman
How much did it cost? $4

Why is this so special? Dessens has pitched in 441 major league games during a 14-year career that saw him play for 9 different teams. He has 52 major league wins to his credit, and a post-season appearance with the 2004 Los Angeles Dodgers.

Dessens had some good seasons as a starter with the Cincinnati Reds at the beginning of the last decade. In 2000, he went 11-5 with a 4.28 ERA. In 2002, he was 7-8 with a 3.03 ERA and a 143 enhanced ERA+.

For the past two seasons, Dessens worked out of the Mets' bullpen. He was 4-2 with a 2.30 ERA in 2010. Dessens had agreed to terms on a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants for 2011, but it fell through at the last minute. It's not clear if the 40-year-old right-hander will pitch this season.

Dessens' autograph isn't pretty, but it is fairly clear and readable.

2000 Fleer Tradition Chris Stynes

Who is this? Former major leaguer Chris Stynes
What is this? An autographed card from the 2000 Fleer Tradition set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Stynes and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? postage, basically

Why is this so special? Chris Stynes may not be a household name, but he did have a good major league career. In ten seasons from 1995-2004, he played for the Royals, Reds, Red Sox, Cubs, Rockies and Pirates. He retired with a .275 career average, 51 home runs and 265 RBI.

Stynes also has one neat record - in 1996, he stole second, third and home in the same inning during a game between the Royals and Mariners.

Stynes has a clear, easy-to-read autograph. Here are a few other cards:

1985 Topps Brad Lesley

Who is this? Former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brad Lesley
What is this? An autographed card from the 1985 Topps set
Where'd I get it? Nick from Baseball Happenings got it signed for me last month.

Why is this so special? Brad Lesley's career statistics don't really stand out - in four seasons, he appeared in 54 major league games with a 1-3 record, 6 saves and a 3.86 ERA. He finished his baseball career in Japan with the Hankyu Braves, where he had a 7-5 record with 24 saves in 60 games over 2 years.

Yet his stats don't really tell the story. Lesley was one of baseball's characters, earning the nickname "The Animal" (later "Animal-san" in Japan.) There are multiple stories explaining the origin of the nickname - the most plausible credits Johnny Bench, who supposedly said that Lesley "looked like a crazed animal" when he ran over to cover first base on a play.

In Japan, Lesley's unique style stood out even more... and the Hankyu Braves played it up. They had had Animal yelling contests, Lesley look-alike competitions, and other events to capitalize on their closer's cult status for marketing purposes.

Lesley had a role on the 1980s Japanese game show, Takeshi's Castle, which was eventually shown in the U.S. on Spike TV as MXC. He also appeared in several films, including Little Big League, Mr. Baseball and Space Jam.

Lesley's autograph is an ornate, if illegible, scribble.

2010 Topps National Chicle Drew Stubbs

Who is this? Cincinnati Reds outfielder Drew Stubbs

What is this? An autographed card insert card from the 2010 Topps National Chicle set

Where'd I get it? At the local card show

How much did it cost? $5.

Why is this so special? Drew Stubbs was the 8th overall selection in the 2006 draft. He advanced quickly through the minor leagues, earning various All-Star honors along the way. Last year, he made his major league debut and hit game-winning homer in only his second big league game.

This season, Stubbs has gotten the majority of the playing time in center field for the Cincinnati Reds. Offensively, his year has been feast or famine - he's hitting .235 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI and 113 strikeouts in 357 at-bats.

On July 5, I went to CitiField to see the Reds play the Mets. I'd been doing some odds and ends in the city before heading over to the ballpark, and I got there a bit early. I spotted a couple of late-arriving ballplayers getting stopped for autographs outside the park, and it turned out to be Stubbs and Paul Janish. I didn't bring anything to get signed, and I didn't really recognize either player until I asked one of the collectors who they had gotten.

(Though I suppose I should have been able to pick out Stubbs, since he'd been on the sports highlights for hitting three homers in a game against the Cubs on July 4.) Still, I thought it was cool that they'd stop to sign autographs when they were probably fairly close to being late for batting practice.

Stubbs' signature is surprisingly neat, considering how many he probably had to sign for Topps.

2005 Topps D'Angelo Jimenez

Who is this? Former Newark Bears middle infielder D'Angelo Jimenez.

What is this? An autograph card from the 2005 Topps set.

Where'd I get it? In person before a Bears game last season.

How much did it cost? The card cost around 50 cents.

Why is this so special? D'Angelo played 8 years in the major leagues, starting with the Yankees in 1999. Throughout his career, he played for 7 different big league teams; the Yankees, Padres, White Sox, Reds, Rangers, A's, and Nationals. He had a career batting average of .263, with 568 hits, 228 RBIs, and 36 home runs.

Last season was his first season in the Atlantic League. He played in 38 games for Newark, batting .326 while collecting 47 hits.

D'Angelo's signature used to be longer and more detailed, but it is understandable that he shortened it. He has probably signed thousands of autographs in his career. He has an interesting way of signing the D in his first name, but I like his signature because it's short and recognizable.

2009 TriStar Prospect Plus Michael Leake

Who is this? Cincinnati Red pitcher Michael Leake
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 2009 TriStar Prospects Plus set  

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Leake c/o the Reds during the first week of the season and asked him to sign it; I got it back a couple weeks later.
 
How much did it cost? Fifty cents for the card, plus postage

Why is this so special? For all the hype that Stephen Strasburg is getting, Leake is the first member of the 2009 draft class to reach the majors. Through four starts, he's 2-0 with a 3.25 ERA.

I'll get my first look at Leake in about an hour when he faces the New York Mets.

Leake has a surprisingly readable signature and was nice enough to personalize the card for me.

1968 Topps Bob "Rocky" Johnson

Who is this? Bob Johnson, a 1960s utility infielder for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, Washington Senators, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals.

What is this? An autographed card from the 1968 Topps set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Johnson and asked him to sign it; he returned it in a little over a week.

How much did it cost? Say $2 for the card & postage

Why is this so special? Bob "Rocky" Johnson spent 11 seasons in the big leagues, playing for seven different teams. He was an original 1961 Washington Senator, selected in the 1960 expansion draft.

Only once - in 1962 as a Washington Senator - did Johnson reach 500 plate appearances. For four seasons, he was a Baltimore Oriole -- he said that was his favorite team to play for. He finished his career with a lifetime .272 batting average, 44 home runs and 230 RBI.

Johnson spent most of the 1967 season with the Mets, but after the season he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Art Shamsky. I believe that the photo on Johnson's 1968 card was taken while he was a Met - you can spot blue pinstripes on his jersey.

I was not aware of Johnson's nickname, "Rocky" until I saw his autograph on this card.

2004 Topps Reggie Taylor

Who is this? Reggie Taylor, a former outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Devil Rays

What is this? An autograph card from the 2004 Topps set

Where'd I get it? I got the card signed at a Somerset Patriots game in 2006

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

Why is this so special? Reggie Taylor was the Philadelphia Phillies' first round draft pick in 1995. Baseball America ranked him as one of the Phillies top 10 prospects from 1996 through 2001. He made his major league debut with the Phillies in 2000, but he never really got a chance to play for them.

The Phillies traded Taylor to the Reds during spring training in 2002. The Reds used him as a part time outfielder in 2002 and 2003, but a low batting average and high strikeout rate didn't really help him to hold a big league job. Taylor played a few games with Tampa Bay in 2005, but after that his career took him to Mexico and the independent leagues.

I saw Taylor play with the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2006. He had a good year at the plate, hitting .302 with 23 home runs. But I remember him more because he went out of his way to be nice to kids at the ballpark.

One time, there was a small group of kids who were talking to him during warmups. They wanted autographs, but none of them had a pen. Taylor remembered me asking him for an autograph earlier in the day, after batting practice. He came over to where I was sitting and asked to borrow a pen. He signed for all the kids and returned it before heading to the dugout. How many players are going to do something like that?

Taylor has a few different versions of his autograph; this is the really quick and not very neat one.

2004 Topps Total Brian Reith

Who is this? Brian Reith, a former pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds

What is this? An autograph card from the 2004 Topps Total set

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

How much did it cost? The card came out of a pack and the autograph was free.

Why is this so special? Brian Reith was originally drafted by the New York Yankees, but he came to the Reds in the Denny Neagle trade in 2000. Reith reached the majors in 2001, starting 8 games for the Reds. He was 0-7. He returned to the big leagues in 2003 as a reliever for the Reds.


In 2007, Reith found himself in independent baseball, pitching for the Somerset Patriots. He pitched well in seven starts, earning the chance for a bigger paycheck in Taiwan. He came back in 2008, beginning the season in the rotation but moving to the bullpen to become the closer later in the year.

Reith did well enough to earn a minor league contract from the Brewers, but he apparently was cut during spring training. The only stats listed for 2009 are from six games with Quintana Roo in the Mexican League.

Reith has a nice autograph, very legible for a quick at-the-ballpark signature.