2008 Goudey Marlon Byrd

Who is this? Rangers outfielder Marlon Byrd.

What is this? An autograph card from 2008 Goudey, cards number GG-MB.

Where'd I get it? Pulled from a pack bought from flea market dude.

How much did it cost? $4.75 for the pack.

Why is this so special? Ok, so I haven't posted in a while. I got stuff to do. You'll get nothing and like it! Anyway, the flea market guy was here today and I had a pocket full of cash. My main hauls: about ten Chipper Jones cards I didn't have already, a pile of Heritage Chrome and short prints and I wiped out a box of Topps cards from the late 70's that was selling for a nickel a pop. I had some money left over so I got a bunch of packs. I snagged a nice healthy stack from the quarter bin, three packs of Allen & Ginter and two of Goudey. The Junk wax was just that - junk. I ripped a few and saved the rest to send to trade partners. Allen & Ginter was a nice hit, I beat the odds and got two Baseball Legend minis of Honus Wagner and Jackie Robinson. I ripped the Goudey and found two run of the mill mini cards (Raul Ibanez and someone I forgot already) and no short prints. I repremanded myself for buying them when a blaster is far more cost effective than Hobby packs. I got home, sorted them to put in my Goudey binder and noticed the back.


I did one of those motorboat doubletake noises and eyeballed the front looking for the autograph. It ain't easy to see, that's for sure. Not a spectacular signature either, it looks to me like "Nyl" in script. It's an autograph though... I bought the hobby packs solely to try to get lucky and pull that 'graph and I done it. Now I can quit buying hobby packs of this stuff because I've already got my hit. I'm not sure what to think about pulling Marlon Byrd though. I'm still convinced he's going to make a breakthrough with the Phillies any day now. He's hitting pretty well for the Rangers as a fourth ourfielder though so I can't complain.

2007 TriStar Prospects Plus Michael Main

Who is this? Rangers first round draft pick Michael Main.

What is this? An autograph card from 2007 TriStar Prospects Plus, card number FF-MM.

Where'd I get it? Pulled from a blaster, it was in the top pack.

How much did it cost? One seventh the cost of the blaster, about three bucks.

Why is this so special? I thought this would be a nice easy post, good way to start off June, maybe even keep up with an autograph card a day, and then whammo. No information on this dude whatsoever. Ok, so I know he was the Rangers' first round pick last year. I know he was a high school pitcher from DeLand Florida, same place as Chipper Jones. I know he has a decent fastball and slider and he's a good enough batter that the Rangers could convert him to the field if they wanted. What I didn't know is why he hasn't pitched an inning all year long. Took me a while, but it turnss out he has a stress fracture in his rib and should be pitching soon. It seriously too me about a half hour to find that. My Google-fu is lacking.

The card itself is nice looking. The silver foil on black looks great although doesn't scan worth a crap. There's a nice big white space for the signature/sticker, a portrait of the kid and a team logo. Good stuff, and blasters of Tri-Star are still around with one or two autos a pop in them. Of course they're draft pick autographs so no one will really know who's good and who isn't for five years. Main looks like as good a prospect as any though and at least cares enough to put a little thought into the signature instead of doing the typical "3000 autographs to go" squiggle. Knowing the Rangers though, they'll probably trade him for a slugger before too long.

2002 Studio Gabe Kapler

Who is this? Rangers outfielder Gabe Kapler.

What is this? An autograph card from 2002 Donruss Studio, card number 112. It is serial numbered 95/100.

Where'd I get it? I don't really know. Might have been a pack.

How much did it cost? No clue.

Why is this so special? It's not really surprising that Donruss went with the American Flag motif in 2002, it was pretty popular that year for some reason. It's a good looking set though, and Donruss did a few parallel sets (Donruss do parallel sets? No way!) that were autographed. This is one of those parallel sets, noted by the red foil logo, the serial numbering, the autograph sticker and notary public stamp on top of the sticker. Kapler is a decent fourth outfielder who is infamous for his many his shirtless photos on the interwebs. He had his best years with the Rangers before bouncing around to Colorado and Boston. After winning a championship with The Sox in '04, he signed to play in Japan, but got cut and was back in Boston late in the year. Kapler retired in 2006 and managed in the minors last year, but is attempting a comeback with the Brewers in '08. If he makes the team, the Brew crew will have two "Hebrew Hammers" patrolling the outfield with Kapler and Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun. Kapler is known as a tough player and good guy. This is a nice looking auto of a cool player, but it looks like Gabe forgot to finish out his last name.

2002 Bowman Heritage Hank Blalock

Who is this? Rangers third basemen Hank Blalock.

What is this? An autograph card from 2002 Bowman Heritage, card BHA-HB

Where'd I get it? Out of a pack.

How much did it cost? Three bucks for the pack.

Why is this so special? This is the first auto I pulled from a Heritage product. It's a nice feeling to open a pack and see that blue ink. Blalock was still a prospect when this card came out. The following year he hit the game winning home run off Eric Gagne in the All Star game. Costing Andruw Jones the MVP and John Smoltz a save opportunity. Grrrr. Blalock has had a couple of rough years recently, but could have a comeback season after an injury-filled 2007. The auto is nice, but doesn't look much like Hank Blalock. The H looks like the astronomical symbol for Jupiter and the last name is clearly Bee. Jupiter Bee sounds like a bad 60's cartoon. I don't know where I'm going with this.