Ricky Bottalico

Who is this? Phillies pitcher Ricky Bottalico.

What is this? An autographed 1995 Pinnacle card, number 143.

Where'd I get it? A card shop outside Nashville, Tennessee in about '97 or so.

How much did it cost? Two bucks

Why is this so special? There was a really good card shop up in Nashville back when I lived up there. I have no clue if it's still around and I don't feel like driving the four hours to find out. It was a great store though. It was a huge brightly lit store with lots of singles, tons of wax, and some memorabilia. They had a couple of boxes of autographed cards on sale for two bucks each. They got them from a guy who was a big baseball and hockey fan. He'd go to spring training and a bunch of hockey games and get autographs, and sold a bunch to the store. Most of the stuff they had for baseball was picked over, but I have a few sheets of hockey autos I got from them. One of the few baseball autos I bought there was this Ricky Bottalico card. It's a little smudgy, but the signature is strong and readable. Markers didn't play well with those newfangled glossy cards back in those days. Ricky was the Phillies' closer when I got it, and was an All-Star the year before. That was pretty much the height of his career. He had arm surgery in '98, was traded to the Cardinals in '99 and bounced around the league as a reliever until retiring in 2005 after a season in the Brewers' bullpen. He was a broadcaster for the Phillies in 2007 and is currently the analyst for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs minor league team. Who knows, with a lot of hard work maybe one day he'll be as good a broadcaster as Harry Kalas. He'll never be able to say his name like Harry though... Bowtahllleecooo. Man, if I didn't have Pete and Skip to listen to, I'd be really jealous of Phillie fans who got to hear Harry all those years.

Bowman Russ Jacobson

Who is this? Phillies catcher Russ Jacobson.

What is this? An autograph card from 2001 Bowman, card number BA-RJ.

Where'd I get it? I think it was out of a pack.

How much did it cost? Three bucks maybe?

Why is this so special? Not much to say about this one... Russ was a third round pick out of Miami, but never really went anywhere. The last I can find of Russ in baseball is a couple of games in Triple-A back in 2004. Catchers are hard to draft. If a catcher is all field, no hit, they might stick as a backup if their defense is spectacular. If they don't have the skills behind the plate, they have to move him somewhere else where the defense won't kill the team. Even if the kid has it all together and can field his position, hit lights out and call a good game, one collision at the plate can derail a career. I'm not sure why Russ didn't make it, or why he was out of baseball in 2005. He doesn't look like he's having a whole lot of fun on this card though. Frustration is evident in the signature too, it starts off with a strong Russ then trails off in a squiggle. It shows how hard things are for these draft picks, 1500 players are selected in the draft every year, looking to earn a spot on their team's 40-man roster. Once they finally reach the point where they are valuable enough to the franchise to protect on the roster, then they have to fight to get on the active roster. Just making the team for a cup of coffee is the result of lots of work developing their skills, attracting the attention of management, getting in the position to be called up and continuing to produce in the minors until there's an injury or need on the major league roster. It's insanely tough to make the show and many times it just doesn't happen for a player no matter how good they look on draft day.

2000 Topps Traded Brett Myers

Who is this? Phillies pitcher Brett Myers.

What is this? An autograph card from 2000 Topps Traded, card number TTA25.

Where'd I get it? The same dealer in Pennsylvania as the Rico Washington card.

How much did it cost? Whatever the opening bid on the auction was. I want to say a buck, but it was 8 years ago and I don't really remember.

Why is this so special? This is that bum pitcher I only bought because no one else had bid on him and it was worth it for a cheap set and autograph. Hey, if I was any judge of talent, I'd be a scout. For a "last pickle in the barrel" type of purchase it was a good one. Back when Brett first broke with the Phillies, this card was booking for $50 and I think may have even been on Beckett's Hot List for a month or two. It's certainly cooled off since then, between legal trouble and the Phils bouncing him back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen like he's John Smoltz or something. Plus the only autographs anyone wants anymore are of prospects. Dude's like 27 years old! That's ancient for a prospect. Nevermind he's been pitching since 2002 and is the best pitcher on the Phillies' staff, he's not a prospect anymore so you can probably find this card for a buck somewhere if you look hard enough. I know it was worth 50 smackers at one point though and I bought it before it got hot. That means it's worth a big ol' bucket of pride to me. Like the Rico card, this is pretty sweet looking. I especially like how you can see Brett's grip on the ball right before he delivers to the plate. The signature is more like initials than an actual autograph, but it's distinctive and you can make out the B~ M clearly at least. There's even a little smear on the M to add authenticity. Also - no stickers! How the heck did Topps manage to do on card autos for all these cards back in 2000? It's a mystery.........

2005 Flair Steve Carlton

Who is this? Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton.

What is this? An autograph card from 2005 Flair, number SS-SC. It is serial numbered 53/59.

Where'd I get it? Half-off bin from the local dealer.

How much did it cost? $15.

Why is this so special? Carlton has been a favorite of mine since the early 80's. I liked the Phillies and Mike Schmidt and I followed Carlton's chase for the home run record closely. I was really bummed when Lefty's career fizzled out with the Twins and Ryan blew past him. The resulting bitterness is probably why I never got all that into the Nolanmania of the early nineties. This card was in the half-off display case with a $30 sticker on it and I couldn't pass it up. The card itself is pretty blah, but it works well enough for an autograph card. Lots of nice, blank space for the autograph sticker. The autograph is pretty slick and it has a low, meaningless serial number. Who buys autograph cards for the serial number anyway?