2010 Bowman Sterling Team USA Game-Used Tony Wolters

Who is this? Cleveland Indians Prospect Tony Wolters.
What is this? An autograph card from 2010 Bowman Sterling Team USA Game-Used.
Where'd I get it? I got this card and several others signed by Tony during batting practice at the 2011 New York-Penn League All-Star game in Lowell, MA last August.
How much did it cost? I paid $2 for this card at a card show last summer.

Why is this so special? Tony Wolters was a member of the Team USA 18 & Under squad in 2009 and 2010 before being drafted and signed by the Cleveland Indians in the third-round of the 2010 MLB Draft. In order to secure Wolters, the Indians had to offer him a $1.35 million signing bonus, over three-time MLB's recommendation for a third-round pick.

Wolters, who currently plays shortstop, but is expected to move to second base after the Indians drafted SS Francisco Lindor in the first-round of the 2011 MLB Draft, was recently ranked as the Indians #3 prospect by John Sickels and played well in his first season of professional baseball, hitting .292 with 10 doubles, 3 triples, and 19 steals in 69 games for Mahoning Valley in 2011.

Wolters has a loopy and kind of sloppy signature that seems to be made of a T and W with some loops. He was nice enough to sign six cards for me when the American League All-Star Team was taking batting practice. Although he was only playing in Short-Season A ball, he seemed to have the swagger of a Major Leaguer and looked good at the plate and in the field.

2009 Topps Allen & Ginter Justin Masterson

Who is this? Cleveland Indians starting Pitcher Justin Masterson.
What is this? An autograph card from 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter.
Where'd I get it? I got this card signed through the mail by Justin in August of 2009, right after he was traded from the Red Sox to the Indians.
How much did it cost? I paid 50 cents for the card, plus postage.

Why is this so special? This is the first card that I ever got signed through the mail and kicked-off my Justin Masterson super-collection. Justin is/was (I havn't sent him anything since Sping Training and he has had a monster year in 2011) a great signer through the mail and seems like a very decent and down-to-earth king of person.

The A&G cards look fantastic signed and this autograph helped start my hobby of getting cards signed through the mail.

2010 Topps Update Carlos Santana

Who is this? Cleveland Indians catcher Carlos Santana
What is this? An autographed 2010 Topps Update card
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Santana this spring and asked him to sign it. I got it back in yesterday's mail.
How much did it cost? Postage.


Why is this so special? I was pretty lucky to get my card back - it traveled from Arizona to New Jersey in an unsealed envelope.

Santana made his major league debut last season after being ranked as one of the Indians' top prospects for several years. In 46 games, he hit .260 with 6 home runs and 22 RBI. An injury brought Santana's season to an early conclusion, but he should be ready to play again in 2011.

Though his autograph is a bit sloppy, it's more legible than some current ballplayers.

1988 Donruss Cory Snyder

Who is this? former Cleveland Indians outfielder Cory Snyder
What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Snyder after Thanksgiving and asked him to sign it. I got it back in Friday's mail.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically.

Why is this so special? Cory Snyder played in over 1,000 major league games during a nine-season career. He had a powerful throwing arm - in 1987, he had 16 assists in right field and made 9 errors.

Snyder also struck out a lot. He led the National League in Ks in 1993, and would have led the American League in 1987 except for a couple of guys named Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia. But that made Snyder fun to watch - you never knew quite what was going to happen, but there was a decent chance that it would be exciting.

Before he turned pro, Snyder played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1984.

Here's the other card Snyder signed for me - it's a little easier to make out his autograph on this 1993 Leaf card.

1972 Topps Chris Chambliss

Who is this? former Cleveland Indians first baseman Chris Chambliss
What is this? An autographed card from the 1972 Topps set
Where'd I get it? Nick from Baseball Happenings got it signed for me last month


Why is this so special? Chris Chambliss played in the major leagues for 17 seasons and retired with over 2,100 hits. He was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1971, an All-Star in 1976 and a Gold Glove winner in 1978.

Yankee fans remember him best for hitting a walk-off home run in the 1976 ALCS to send the Yankees to their first World Series since 1964. He won World Series rings with the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

After he retired, Chambliss joined the coaching ranks. He has worked for the Tigers, Yankees, Mets and Mariners organizations as a minor league manager or major league hitting coach.

Chambliss has a unique autograph that would be difficult to decipher on a generic item. I don't think I've ever seen closed "C"'s like that before.

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.

2010 Bowman Chrome Michael Brantley

Who is this? Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley
What is this? An autograph card from the 2010 Bowman set
Where'd I get it? A friend gave me the redemption card since he didn't want to bother with it. Eight to 12 weeks later, TriStar sent me my signed card from Topps.


Why is this so special? I don't buy many packs, so redemptions are still somewhat novel to me. Plus you can't turn down a free card.

Michael Brantley is the son of former major league outfielder Mickey Brantley. The Cleveland Indians chose him out of high school in the 7th round of the 2005 draft. He put up solid numbers at every level in the minors, and has gotten a few chances to fill in at the major league level over the past two seasons.

Brantley is hitting .260 /.307 / .320 with 3 home runs, 32 RBI and 14 SB in 94 major league games. He does need to get on base more often, but there's still time for him to develop - he's only 23.

Brantley's autograph isn't pretty, but it does look like he signed his full name instead of initials or random scribbles.