2000 Skybox Autographics Aaron McNeal

Who is this? former minor league first baseman Aaron McNeal
What is this? An autographed card from 2000 Skybox Autographics
Where'd I get it? I traded dayf a handful of shiny 2011 Topps cards and he sent me some obscure minor league autographs
How much did it cost? I'm not sure how to evaluate that, but if you want your own copy several dealers in the Beckett Marketplace are selling them between $5-$10. (I can only imagine what shiny Topps cards will list for once they start going into the Marketplace shops.)

Why is this so special? McNeal was the 753rd pick in the 1995 amateur draft and had a few unexciting seasons in the low minors. In 1999, McNeal made everybody take notice when he hit 38 home runs and drove in 131 with a .946 OPS for the Michigan Battle Cats in the Class A Midwest League.

That season is probably what landed him on the SkyBox checklist. Unfortunately, he never achieved that level of success again. I don't know anything about the Midwest League, but I'm wondering if the Battle Cats played in an extremely hitter-friendly ballpark.

McNeal later spent parts of two seasons in the Mets' farm system, making this a keeper card for me even though I don't think I ever saw him play. It appears that he retired from baseball after the 2005 season.

McNeal's not going to win any points for penmanship, but I've seen worse autographs. I can read his first name as "Aaron" with a little imagination, but I can't make out anything but the "l" at the end of his last name.

2007 Sweet Spot Travis Buck

Who is this? A's outfielder Travis Buck.

What is this? An autograph card from 2007 Sweet Spot, card #139. 

Where'd I get it? In a trade with The Nennth Inning.

How much did it cost? Got it in a trade.

Why is this so special? I like Travis Buck. Mainly because in almost every photo I've seen of him he has this great big goofy smile on his face and his hair is flying all over the place out of his cap. His 2007 Bowman Heritage card is an excellent example of this. He missed a lot of last season due to injuries, but he's having a good spring training so maybe he'll have a bounce back year for the Athletics. I want to see Travis have many more cards featuring unkempt hair and goofy grins so I'll be rooting for him. I got this card from Bailey at The Nennth Inning in exchange for some Tim Lincecum cards he needed. I think I sent him about 8or 9 Lincys for two Sweet Spot autos and two jersey cards. You can get good deals from player collectors blowing out excess inventory. 

These Sweet Spot prospect autos are pretty neat looking. I think they were modeled after the rookie helmet autos in Sweet Spot's football product, but the concept didn't transfer over very well. The most obvious difference is that the signature is on the card and not on the helmet. This might be because fothe weird way the helmet is in the card. The card itself is really thick, but about 2/3rd of the card is hollow. The helmet itself is a square piece of plastic molded to make the helmet part be raised in 3D. The plastic would still look like a square with a bump in it, so the plastic is placed inside the hollowed out area and the front of the card is die cut in the shape of the helmet. You can see the indentation on the back for the hollowed out part and the die cut on the front is just hanging above the helmet so you can see inside the card at the rest of the square. This gives ample opportunity for damage and the point next to the thing that is supposed to look like an earflap is pretty trashed on this one. It still looks good enough though, and I don't really care if autographed cards are beat up. The design on these cards are pretty nice as long as you don't mind the recessed plastic bump helmet motif. The entire card is very glossy except for the dark wood area at the bottom right corner for the signature. It's not the biggest area for the signature, but it's bigger than the helmet and has a matte finish for good signing. Travis' auto looks great, with his T~ Bk sig fitting perfectly inside the signature space. I like the card weirdness and all, and I'll have to keep an eye on Travis so see if he can produce in the outfield for the A's.

2001 Topps Rafael Furcal

Who is this? DODGERS shortstop Rafael Furcal.

What is this? An autograph card from 2001 Topps, card number GAA-RF.

Where'd I get it? Probably an auction.

How much did it cost? Too much.

Why is this not so special? RAFAEL FURCAL IS A FINK.

Take yer stupid hurt back and yer stupid agents and your stupid DUIs and go back to LA ya bum! Kelly Johnson's a better second baseman anyway! Yunel Escobar's a WAY better shortstop! You better hope you're back on the DL on July 31st when you come back to Turner Field or you'll hear a chorus of drunk rednecks booing lustily! BOOOOOOOOOO! You're dead to me Fookie! No, wait. I have sympathy for the dead. I have respect. I HAVE NONE OF THAT FOR YOU. you, you, turncoat... backstabber... dasher of hopes and dreams... you.... you...

YOU ARE J.D. DREW TO ME.

Whew! I feel better now.

2008 Timelines Nick Blackburn

Who is this? Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn.

What is this? An autograph card from 2008 Upper Deck Timelines, card number 201.

Where'd I get it? Retail pack from Wal-Mart.

How much did it cost? $1.99 for the pack.

Why is this so special? Last night I realized I hadn't bought the onions for Thanksgiving. I needed to bring a side to dinner and I was going to bring some creamed onions. I like onions, it's easy to make and it's something that no one else would make. Here's how to make it:

1lb pearl onions
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Get about a pound of pearl onions. I bought two packages of them at Wal-Mart which I think was a pound.
Boil some water. Put the onions in the water for about three minutes. A little longer will make them more tender, but harder to work with.
Take out the onions and rinse them in a cold water bath until they are cool.
Cut off the top and bottom of each onion and remove the peel.
Once the onions are all peeled, melt the butter in a pan on low heat.
When the butter is melted, slowly add the flour, stirring the whole time to make a roux. I didn't exactly measure the flour and butter, I just kind of eyeballed it. Don't cook too long because burned roux is not Good Eats. Stir it until it combines into a golden paste.
Sloooowly add the milk, stirring like mad the whole time. If you add the milk too fast you'll have lumpy gravy. Great album, lousy dinner. This I eyeballed as well, just add milk to the roux until it's the thickness you want. I like it thick.
Add salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste and stir in the parmesan.
Once the sauce is complete, add the onions and let it simmer for a few minutes.
Plate and eat!

So the plan was to make that, but I had no onions. I trucked out to Wally World late last night grumbling the whole way since I hadn't planned this out properly as usual. I got the onions, a couple of other things I was low on and swung by the card aisle, hoping to find some Stadium Club. No dice. This Wal-Mart always gets things two or three weeks after everyone else. They had some Timelines though, so I picked up three packs hoping to get a Timeless Teams short print to add to my Stadium collection. I got home and ripped. First pack, CC Sabathia with a Miller park back, sweet! Second pack, Jed Lowell, Fenway back. Dang, I've got Jacoby Ellsbury already. Third pack, rats. '94 All-Time Heroes Ryan Braun. No stadium back in that pack. Well, let's look at the other short print - whaaa? Autograph?

So that's how my Thanksgiving creamed onions dish got me an autographed card of Nick Blackburn, who looks like he could be a pretty decent major league pitcher for the Twins. It's a nice readable blue autograph on a shiny clear sticker that is placed in the dead center of a lightned space on the card reserved for the signature. Not bad, eh? There's one more reason to love onions.

Index Card Brad Komminsk

Who is this? Braves boondoggle Brad Komminsk.

What is this? An autographed index card.

Where'd I get it? BP Sports Card Show 11/16/08.

How much did it cost? A quarter.

Why is this so special? There were several Brad Komminsk autographs in the binder where I found this one, but I purposely picked the ugliest one as it represents Brad's career better. This card wasn't actually signed in lime green, it most likely was black ink that faded after being left out in the light. Brad is the epitome of AAAA player as he utterly ruined pitchers in Triple-A, but couldn't hit his weight in the majors. I'm not exaggerating about that, his lifetime batting average was .218. He was a first round draft pick though and he killed in the minors so he ended up being the future franchise for the Bravos back in the early 80's. Even Hank Aaron labeled him a "can't miss" player and... wait, what does that say?!

In 1983, the Braves reportedly turned down a trade offer that would have sent Komminsk to the Boston Red Sox for Jim Rice.

WHAT!?!?!?!! OH GOD! WE COULDA HAD JIM RICE? FOR BRAD KOMMINSK???? OH GOD OHGOD!!!!! MURPH AND RICE IN THE SAME OUTFIELD?? JIM GIVING DALE PROTECTION IN THE LINEUP WHEN HORNER'S KNEES WENT ALL WONKY??? OH GOD!!!

Ugh... I'm gonna be violently and copiously sick. I-I'm sorry folks, I can't write about Brad Komminsk anymore. I have to go cry for a few weeks.

Oh. God.

Sports World Ministries Herman Weaver

Who is this? Tennessee punter Herman Weaver.

What is this? Um...

Where'd I get it? BP Sports Card Show 11/16/08.

How much did it cost? Ten cents.

Why is this so special? So what is this thing? Answer: I DON'T KNOW. I picked this card up last Sunday at the card show in a dime box if you can believe it. I don't really know how to explain this thing, so I'll describe the card first.

This is not a licensed card obviously, as evidenced by the total lack of logos. It's a simple enough design to look fairly legit though. If the number 18 in the top right corner and the 92 on the jersey is confusing, the 18 was Herman's Pro number. The back is simple white text and a crude drawing of Herm. The back notes that Herman was "one of the top 20 Punters of all time" as chosen by the Sporting news in 1988. The personal info talks about how he used to booze it up in high school due to peer pressure but then he found God and asked the Lord to come into his life. We now know that this is not a Beckett promotional card 'cause Beckett's the DEVIL. Ha ha! I made a blasphemous joke! The testimony is explained by the "Sports World Ministries Inc. Box 500 Tazewell TN 37825" line on the side. Sports World is a ministry that uses former NFL players as motivational speakers that speak to students and Herman is on the list. As for the "Preferred Risk Group / West Desmoines Iowa / America's nondrinkers insurance company" I guess they sponsored the cards? Anyway, it's a really oddball card, that's for sure.

Herman is easier to write about. He was a punter for Tennessee and went on to kick for the Lions and Seahawks in the NFL. He has a great nickname: THUNDERFOOT. He lasted 11 years in the league, and even holds an NFL record! Unfortunately it's for most blocked punts in a career. Sounds more like Blunderfoot. Hey, he played for the Lions... gotta expect bad things to happen in Detroit. I'm pretty sure I've got one of his legit cards somewhere, I just didn't know I had a card of THUNDERFOOT before now. Like I said, Herm is now a motivational speaker, you can see a somewhat jaded look at his work here. At least he doesn't live in a van down by the river. It's a pretty pedestrian signature, both names start off strong, but devolve into squiggles. Still, an NFL autograph for a dime, can't beat that.

1978 Topps Rowland Office

Who is this? Braves legend Rowland Office.

What is this? An autographed 1978 Topps card.

Where'd I get it? EBay or something.

How much did it cost? Probably not a whole lot.

Why is this so special? When I was a kid Rowland Office was the Expo who looked like the photographer surprised him on his 1981 Topps card. Today, Roland Office is the patron saint of my favorite Braves blog. Rowland was actually a mainstay of the Braves' outfield in thew '70s, although I didn't know that until much later. Rowland made is debut in 1972 as a nineteen year old, then returned to the Braves in 1974. He manned the outfield for 6 years before he was granted free agency and signed with Montreal. Rowland also played two games with the Yankees and was signed by the Phillies but never got called up to to club.

Rowland never put up great numbers with the Braves, but then again, no Brave did in the late '70s. He's better known today for his odd name and, um, unique looks. That whole late 70's team has always somewhat alien to me. I didn't really get pathologically obsessed with the Braves until about 1980 or '81, And I wasn't really interested in older Braves other than the Biggies like Aaron, Mathews and Spahn. Then when I started to appreciate more the older teams I dove into the really old ones like the 1914, 1935 and 1948 clubs. Then the '91 Braves hit like a tornado and I had a new set of players to obsess over. As a result, now I'm in my 30's and the Braves of the last '70s are still as foreign to me as they were when I was a kid looking at that '81 Topps card. I've had the cards for years, Rowland, Buzz Capra, Mickey Mahler, Marty Perez, Cito Gaston, Adrian Devine... but they never really connected with me (other than Knucksie, but his career crosses though several Braves eras) like the teams of the '80s.

A few years ago I came across a lot of 1978 Topps Braves cards, all autographed, on one of the auction sites. I knew a deal when I saw one and snatched it up. Now I have about a third of that that team set signed (including this guy, no relation) including Rowland. Now, the 1978 club will never be burned into my mind as indelably as the '82 squad, but this card of one of the icons from that era helps to provide a connection for me. By the way, you can barely see it against the dark warmup jacket, but the signature is gorgeous. Thick, bold and confident. You can see the signature better here, but it's not as nice looking as mine. Cood looking card, good looking sig. Office even manages to draw a walk on the back of his card. That's the way to get on base, Rowland!