2010 Allen & Ginter Tommy Manzella

Who is this? Houston Astros shortstop Tommy Manzella
What is this? An autographed 2010 Allen & Ginter card
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Manzella and asked him to sign it this spring
How much did it cost? The unsigned card cost 10 cents.


Why is this so special? Tommy Manzella seemed to show up in every other random pack of cards I bought last year. I was going to send him one of those cards to see if he'd sign it, but I saw his Allen & Ginter card in a dealer's dime box and decided that I liked it better. Ginter cards look great signed.

Manzella hit .225 in 258 at-bats last year and his OPS was .531. The much-maligned Mets second baseman Luis Castillo  hit .235 with a .604 OPS in a similar number of at-bats.

It's not really a surprise that Houston brought in Clint Barmes to play shortstop this year. Manzella is trying to win a job as a bench player.Since he's nice enough to sign autographs, I wish him good luck.

2010 Bowman Sterling Prospect Autographs #DD Delino DeShields

Who is this? Houston Astros prospect Delino Diaab DeShields
What is this? An autographed card from the 2010 Bowman Sterling set
Where'd I get it? A card show dealer
How much did it cost? $5

Why is this so special? Any time you can get an autographed card that you're interested in for a fraction of the cost of the pack that it came out of, it's a good deal.

DeShields is the son of 1990s Expos & Dodgers second baseman Delino Lamont DeShields. The younger DeShields was the 8th overall pick in the draft last year. He spent his first pro season in the Appalachian League with the Greenville Astros. In 16 games, he went 21-for-67 with a triple, six doubles and five stolen bases.

Last month, DeShields was arrested on a DUI charge. Hopefully he will exercise better judgment in the future.

It's interesting to see how different DeShields' autograph is from his father's.

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.

1997 Leaf Signature John Cangelosi

Who is this? former Houston Astros outfielder John Cangelosi
What is this? An autographed card from the 1997 Leaf Signature set
Where'd I get it? I bought it on CheckOutMyCards.com last year
How much did it cost? I don't remember, but it was probably between $1-$3


Why is this so special? Cangelosi, a Brooklyn native, is one of the shortest players I ever saw in major league baseball at 5'8" When 6'10" future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson made his debut in 1988 with the Montreal Expos, Cangelosi was the first batter he faced -- it must have been quite a sight.

Cangelosi played for 7 different teams during a 13-year major league career. He appeared in the most games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but I wanted his autograph because he was a New York Met in 1994. Centerfield Maz recaps a mound-charging moment that has to be the most memorable event from Cangelosi's brief time in New York. (Fortunately, my own memories of the 1994 season have grown hazy over time.)

Cangelosi included almost all of the letters of his last name in his autograph, but just went with his first initial. I would have been more tempted to sign "John C"

2003 Topps Fan Favorites Bob Watson

Who is this? Former Houston Astros outfielder Bob Watson
What is this? An autographed card from the 2003 Topps Fan Favorites set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Watson at the Major League Baseball office in New York in December and asked him to sign it; I got it back on Friday.
How much did it cost? The unsigned card cost a dime.


Why is this so special? I'm not positive, but I think this is the first Topps Fan Favorites card that I've ever gotten signed.

Last month, Bob Watson marked the end of a 45-year career in baseball when he retired as Major League Baseball's Vice President of Rules and On-Field Operations. He had also been the general manager of the New York Yankees, helping to assemble the 1996 World Series winning team. The Houston Astros made Watson the first African-American general manager in Major League Baseball in 1993.

As a player, Watson is most famous for scoring the one millionth run in baseball history. (However, later examinations of baseball's records indicate that Watson's run really wasn't the millionth and it's impossible to tell who did score the milestone run -- see this interesting article by Joe Posnanski about the One Millionth Run)

A two-time All-Star, Watson is the first player in Major League Baseball history to hit for the cycle in both leagues.

Watson had been a great through-the-mail autograph signer when he worked out of the Commissioner's Office. Hopefully he will continue to sign for collectors now that he's retired.

1994 Signature Rookies James Mouton

Who is this? former Houston Astros outfielder James Mouton
What is this? An autograph insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
Where'd I get it? I bought it from a dealer at the local baseball card show last year.
How much did it cost? $1


Why is this so special? While there had been some attempts at autographed insert cards before Signature Rookies came onto the scene in 1994, they took it to a new level. Every pack had an autograph of a prospect who you hoped would be the next Ken Griffey Jr.

James Mouton may not be a household name for most baseball fans, but he had a better career than many who signed cards for Signature Rookies. He spent parts of 8 seasons in the big leagues as a part-time outfielder, mostly for the Houston Astros. He stole 109 bases despite having only 386 hits during his major league career.

Mouton had a very legible autograph when he signed this card... though I wonder how it looked by the time he reached card #5,250.

2007 Topps 52 Hunter Pence

Who is this? Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence
What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Topps 52 set
Where'd I get it? I purchased it from Anthony of Mike Pelfrey Collectibles when he decided to sell his collection last year.


Why is this so special? In 2008, I decided that I would try to collect a signed baseball card set. I chose the 2007 Topps 52 set because it had a classic design, was relatively small and only included players who were entering their second year of major league service. Even that proved to be too difficult... I haven't worked on the project actively since 2008, but I still pick up cards from it when I get the chance.

Pence made his major league debut in 2007 and finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting to Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki. He's been a regular in the Astros lineup ever since and was named to the All-Star team in 2009.

Pence has a surprisingly legible autograph for a modern player.

1977 Topps Alan Ashby

Who is this? Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Alan Ashby
What is this? An autographed card from from the 1977 Topps set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Ashby earlier this month and asked him to sign it; I got it back Monday.
How much did it cost? Not much; postage, basically.

Why is this so special? I mainly remember Ashby as an aging catcher who lost his playing time to a young Craig Biggio, but he had a pretty good career.

• He caught three no-hitters, tying an NL record
• He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
• He was named the catcher on the Houston Astros All-Time Team
• He was an original Toronto Blue Jay

Ashby's autograph went downhill since he signed whatever document was used as the template for the facsimile signature on his 1977 Topps card. He didn't change too much between his 1977 card and his 1988 one.

2003 Upper Deck Vintage Daryle Ward

Who is this? Former Houston Astros outfielder Daryle Ward
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 2003 Upper Deck Vintage set (I'm still trying to figure out how Topps' lawyers let this set go, but flipped over last year's O-Pee-Chee set)
 
Where'd I get it? Ward signed it for me before Sunday's game between the Newark Bears and York Revolution
 
How much did it cost? I got the card out of a pack back in 2003
 
Why is this so special? Ward spent parts of 11 season in the majors and currently has 90 big league home runs. From 1998-2002, he played for the Houston Astros. His best season with Houston was 2000, when he hit 20 home runs in a part-time role.

After the 2002 season, Houston traded Ward to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Ruddy Lugo. He would also play for Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Washington and the Chicago Cubs.

Through 16 games, Ward is hitting .323 with six home runs and 24 RBI for the Newark Bears. (That's one less home run and two more RBI than David Wright has in twice as many games, though Wright does not have the advantage of hitting against Atlantic League pitching.)

Ward has one of the nicest-looking signatures I've gotten since baseball season started this year.

1987 Donruss John Mizerock

Who is this? John Mizerock, a former catcher for the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves, and a former coach for the Kansas City Royals

What is this? An autograph card from the 1987 Donruss set

Where'd I get it? Zach of Autographed Cards sent it to me

How much did it cost? You'd have to ask him

Why is this so special? The Houston Astros made John Mizerock the eighth overall pick in the 1979 amateur draft. He was chosen ahead of Tim Wallach, Steve Buechele, Scott Garrelts and Atlee Hammaker -- all of whom had nice Major League careers.

Mizerock played in 103 games over four seasons, finished with a .186 career average, two home runs and 24 RBI.

After his playing career, Mizerock became a minor league coach and manager. He has also been a member of the Kansas City Royals coaching staff and briefly managed the team in 2002.

Mizerock may have the most legible signature of the ones I've posted this week.

1991 Fleer Danny Darwin

Who is this? Danny Darwin, a former Major League pitcher who played for a bunch of teams from 1978-1998.

What is this? An autographed card from the ever-popular (and very yellow) 1991 Fleer set

Where'd I get it? I got this card signed through the mail earlier this year.

How much did it cost? Less than a dollar, counting the value of the postage stamps used for the autograph request.

Why is this so special? Danny Darwin may not have been the best pitcher in baseball, but he spent 21 years in the big leagues and has 171 more Major League wins than me (and most of the people reading this blog.)  He led the National League with a 2.21 ERA in 1990, and he's got a pretty nice autograph. :)

2008 Upper Deck J.R. Towles

Who is this? Houston Astros catcher J.R. Towles

What is this? A signed 2008 Upper Deck season highlights cards

Where'd I get it? One of my trading partners got it signed at a Round Rock Express game this summer.

How much did it cost? I forget what I traded for it.

Why is this so special? J.R. Towles went all the way from A-ball to the majors in 2007. In September, Towles set a new Astros team record by driving in 8 runs in an 18-1 win against the St. Louis Cardinals. It looked like he would be a future star.

Well, he still might -- Towles doesn't turn 25 until June. But he didn't help his cause in 2008.  Towles was expected to be Houston's primary catcher this year, but he struggled at the plate. He batted just .137 with 4 home runs and 16 RBIs in 54 games over three different stints in the big leagues this year.

Towles doesn't have the best signature... it's really not much more than some squiggles.