2007 Columbus Clippers Jason Simontacchi

Who is this? Jason Simontacchi, a former major league pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals

What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Columbus Clippers team set

Where'd I get it? Jason Simontacchi signed it before a game between the Long Island Ducks and Somerset Patriots in 2008.

How much did it cost? I got the card in a trade.

Why is this so special? Jason Simontacchi was never supposed to make it to the major leagues. He was a late round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals in 1996, but they cut him loose after two lackluster minor league seasons.

In 1998, Simontacchi found himself pitching for the Springfield Capitals in the independent Frontier League. There, he went 10-2 with a 2.98 ERA for the league champion team. That was good enough to get him back into affiliated ball.

He struggled again in 1999, this time in the Pirates' organization. In 2000, Simontacchi played for the Italian National Team in the Olympics. He signed with the Twins organization in 2001 and finally made it to AAA. The next year, he made his major league debut for the Cardinals at the age of 28, winning the Rookie of the Month award in June.

Simontacchi had two good seasons as a starter for St. Louis, but his career was derailed by shoulder injuries. He finished with a 26-17 major league record and a 5.07 lifetime ERA. Simontacchi's final season was 2008, when he pitched in seven games for the Long Island Ducks.

Considering the number of autographs he must have signed over his career, I'm surprised that Jason Simontacchi never came up with a quick version that omitted most of the letters in his name.

2007 Columbus Clippers Coaches

Who is this? Boots Day, a former major league outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos

What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Columbus Clippers team set

Where'd I get it? I got the card signed before a game between the Lancaster Barnstormers and Newark Bears in 2008.

How much did it cost? I got the card in a trade.

Why is this so special? Boots Day has earned a living from baseball for longer than I've been alive. Day played for six seasons in the majors, finishing with a lifetime average of .256, eight home runs and 89 RBI.

He was the last player to touch a ball in play at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, and was the first batter at Veterans Stadium when it opened the next year. He also played center field during Bill Stoneman’s second no-hitter on Oct. 2, 1972, at Jarry Park in Montreal.

After he finished playing, Day became a coach. I met him when he was the hitting coach for the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2008; last year he filled the same role for the Golden Baseball League's Calgary Vipers.

For more about Boots Day, check out this article from the Utica, N.Y. Observer-Dispatch.

Day has a beautiful, easy-to-read autograph and always seemed happy to sign for fans.

2007 Columbus Clippers Kory Casto

Who is this? Kory Casto, an infielder & outfielder in the Washington Nationals organization

What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Columbus Clippers team set

Where'd I get it? I got a partial set including a few already-signed cards in a trade in 2008.

How much did it cost? I don't remember what I gave up

Why is this so special? Kory Casto was the third-round draft pick of the Montreal Expos in 2003, their second-to-last year of existence. He was rated as one of the Washington Nationals' top prospects from 2005-07, but hasn't really achieved much success at the major league level.

Casto made his major league debut in 2007, appearing in 16 games for the Nats. He got a longer shot in 2008, appearing in 66 games. So far, Casto has a lifetime major league average of .194 with two home runs and 19 RBI. Last year, he spent the entire season in Syracuse. There, he hit .271 with eight home runs and 58 RBI in 126 games.

Casto doesn't have a bad autograph, but I doubt you'd be able to puzzle it out if you didn't know what you were looking at.

2007 Columbus Clippers Mike Bacsik

Who is this? Mike Bacsik, a former major league pitcher with the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals

What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Columbus Clippers set

Where'd I get it? I got a partial team set with a few already-signed cards in a trade

How much did it cost? I don't remember what I gave up

Why is this so special? Bacsik is best known as the pitcher who gave up Barry Bonds' 756th home run.

He is the son of former major league pitcher Mike Bacsik, who pitched for the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins in the 1970s.

The younger Mike Bacsik earned his first major league win for the Mets in 2002.

Unless he played overseas last year, I believe Bacsik is now out of baseball. According to his Wikipedia page, Bacsik now works for a Dallas-area sports talk radio show.

Bacsik has an extremely legible autograph for a modern player.