1994 Signature Rookies Hiram Bocachica

Who is this? Former Montreal Expos prospect Hiram Bocachica
What is this? An autographed Signature Rookies insert card
Where'd I get it? I purchased it from a dealer at the local card show this month
How much did it cost? 50 cents

Why is this so special? This is the second Hiram Bochachica card I've posted this year. The first one, from the 2003 Topps Total set, is one that I got signed in person last season. His autograph has changed a lot since 1994.

Bocachica has been playing professional baseball since 1994. He spent parts of 8 seasons in the major leagues and two more in Japan. In 2008, Bocachica hit 20 home runs for the Saitama Seibu Lions and helped them to win the Japan Series.

Last year, he split the season between Bridgeport in the Atlantic League and the Broncos de Reynosa in Mexico. For the Bluefish, he batted .282 with 8 home runs and 32 RBI in 69 games.

1994 Signature Rookies Paul Spoljaric

Who is this? Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Paul Spoljaric
What is this? An autographed insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
Where'd I get it? Purchased from a dealer at the local card show
How much did it cost? 50 cents.

Why is this so special? I admit I purchased Spoljaric's card mostly because we share the same first name.

If I was paying more attention to baseball in the late 1990s, I might remember Spoljaric - he was a middle reliever for the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners, and made a few appearances for the Kansas City Royals and Philadelphia Phillies. In total, he appeared in 195 major league games between 1994 and 2000.

Spoljaric represented Canada in the 2004 Olympics.

I think it's interesting that "Paul" is written so clearly, but Spoljaric's last name sort of devolves into a condensed scribble. Again, I cannot imagine signing 8000+ cards.

1994 Signature Rookies Brook Fordyce

Who is this? former major league catcher Brook Fordyce
What is this? An autographed insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
Where'd I get it? Purchased from a dealer at this month's local card show
How much did it cost? 50 cents

Why is this so special? Brook Fordyce was a Mets prospect in the early 1990s, and at one point I hope that he would be the successor to Gary Carter. Fordyce did play in 4 games for the 1995 Mets, but he didn't stick. Fordyce did have a nice career as a major league backup catcher, retiring after the 2004 season.

I have a few other Brook Fordyce autographs obtained later in his career - in those instances, he signed his full name. On every Signature Rookies card I've seen, he signed "Brook 4-Dyce." I guess if I had to sign 8000+ cards, I would have been looking for ways to make the process faster or more interesting, too. :-)

1995 Signature Rookies Old Judge Jimmy Hurst

Who is this? Former Detroit Tigers outfielder Jimmy Hurst
What is this? An autographed insert card from the 1995 Signature Rookies Old Judge set
Where'd I get it? The discount box of a card dealer at the local card show
How much did it cost? 50 cents

Why is this so special? Jimmy Hurst spent 17 seasons as a pro baseball player. A 12th round draft choice in 1990, Hurst eventually made it to the major leagues for 13 games with the Detroit Tigers in 1997. He got three hits, including a home run off New York Yankees All-Star David Wells.

Hurst played home games in at least four countries during his career - the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan. He was a star in the Atlantic League in the later stages of his playing career. He suited up for the Newark Bears, Nashua Pride and Atlantic City Surf. For the 2002 Atlantic League Champion Bears, he hit .341 with 35 home runs and 100 RBI.

Hurst's autograph is a little sloppy, but that could be forgiven considering the relatively small size of the card and the number he had to sign.

1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks Ramon Castro

Who is this? Chicago White Sox catcher Ramon Castro
What is this? An autographed insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks set
Where'd I get it? card show purchase
How much did it cost? 50 cents

Why is this so special? Ramon Castro, who is two days younger than me, was drafted out of high school by the Houston Astros in 1994. He was the 17th overall pick in the nation.

I almost passed up the card because I didn't realize that the guy who played for the Marlins and Mets began his career in the Astros' organization that long ago. Castro spent five years in the Houston system, but he didn't really distinguish himself and only rose to the AA level in 1998. That year, he was traded to the Florida Marlins. In 1999, Castro made his major league debut.

Castro developed into a solid backup catcher who provides a bit of power. He never became the star that the Astros were hoping for when they drafted him, but Castro has played in 544 more major league games than most people - and he'll still be adding to that total in 2011.

Castro's autograph was neater and more complete in 1994 than it is now - you can see a card I got signed through the mail in 2008 at RandomBaseballStuff.com.

1995 Signature Rookies Old Judge All-Stars Signatures #AS5 Chris Stynes

Who is this? Former major leaguer Chris Stynes
What is this? An autographed card from 1995 Signature Rookies
Where'd I get it? A dealer at a local card show
How much did it cost? This is one of 7 autographed cards I got for $5.


Why is this so special? I wrote about Stynes in December. It's interesting to see how little his signature changed during the 15 years between signing this card and the ones I got back before Christmas.

I like the idea of the rectangle of color on an otherwise black & white card, but the results seem a bit awkward.

1995 Signature Rookies Old Judge Hot Prospects Signatures #HP2 Brad Clontz

Who is this? former Atlanta Braves reliever Brad Clontz
What is this? An autograph card from a 1995 Signature Rookies set
Where'd I get it? a dealer at the local baseball card show
How much did it cost? This is another of my 7-for-$5 autographed cards

Why is this so special? Clontz appeared in 272 major league games over six seasons. He spent most of his career with the Braves, where he appeared in two World Series and won a ring in 1995. Clontz also pitched briefly for the Dodgers and Mets before moving on to Pittsburgh to finish his major league career.

Clontz retired from baseball after the 2006 season, when he played for Albuquerque in the Pacific Coast League (AAA). In 2005, he pitched for the Somerset Patriots, where he won an Atlantic League championship.

Clontz' autograph isn't too bad - I probably would have simplified it further if I had to sign 1,500 cards.

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.

1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks Doug Jennings

Who is this? former Oakland Athletics outfielder Doug Jennings

What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks set

Where'd I get it? A baseball card show dealer's dollar box

How much did it cost? $1

Why is this so special? I remember Doug Jennings best from the final days of his career, when he was a player/coach for the Long Island Ducks in 2005. He is actually one of the best players in the independent league team's history, probably not a mark that he ever wanted to achieve.

Jennings seems an odd choice for a draft pick set from 1994; he was a second round pick by the California Angels in the 1984 draft. By the time this card came out, Jennings had finished his entire 189-game major league career - though I'm sure he didn't realize it.

Before he hung up his spikes, Jennings played in over 1600 minor league and independent league games. He also spent three years in Japan playing for the Orix Blue Wave. It might not have been the career that Jennings dreamed of when he signed his first pro contract, but it wasn't a bad one.

Jennings had a fairly legible signature in 1994, though if I recall correctly it was looking a bit sloppier towards the end of his career.

1994 Signature Rookes Draft Picks Doug Million

Who is this? former minor league pitcher Doug Million


What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Signature Rookies Draft Picks set

Where'd I get it? The dollar box of a dealer at the local card show

How much did it cost? $1


Why is this so special? I had never heard of Doug Million before I saw this card, but I had to get it because of his name. The Colorado Rockies made Million the 7th overall selection in the 1994 draft. According to Wikipedia, he won the Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year Award in 1994.

Million played in the minor leagues for four seasons, advancing as far as AA New Haven. In 1997, he died after suffering an asthma attack. Now I'm depressed - nobody should die that young.

1994 D.J. Boston

Who is this? Former Toronto Blue Jays prospect D.J. Boston  

What is this? An autographed card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
 
Where'd I get it? Out of the dollar box at my local card shop
 
How much did it cost? $1
 
Why is this so special? I'm continuing the Signature Rookies theme that I started on my own blog today. Signature Rookies helped launch the trend of prospect autographs by producing a set of minor league players and including an autographed card in every (expensive) pack.

They came along right around the time I was finishing up high school, so fortunately I didn't have the money to really collect them. Now, it's fun to pick up cheap autographs of players I remember.

D.J. likely made it into the Signature Rookies set because he won the South Atlantic League MVP award in 1993. He never made it past AAA, unfortunately. I remember D.J. from the Atlantic League, where he was a star for the now-defunct Nashua Pride and the Bridgeport Bluefish.

After he retired in 2006, D.J. went into coaching. He got his start with the Atlantic League's Road Warriors in 2007, and move back into affiliated ball with the Greenville Astros in 2008. Last year, he was the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Astros.

D.J.'s 1994 signature is a little nicer than I remember the ones I got during his Atlantic League days.

1995 Signature Rookies Hector Trinidad

Who is this? Cubs pitching prospect Hector Trinidad.

What is this? An autograph card from 1995 Signature Rookies, card number 35.

Where'd I get it? Who knows?

How much did it cost? Not much.

Why is this so special? Man, I don't know nothing about Hector Trinidad. He never made it past Double-A. I kind of forgot I had this post scheduled for today. Since this post sucks, I'll do another one tonight that's actually good.

1994 Signature Rookies Hiram Bocachica

Who is this? Expos prospect Hiram Bocachica.

What is this? An autograph card from 1994 Signature Rookies, card #21.

Where'd I get it? In a pack bought from Atlanta Sports Cards.

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

Why is this so special? This is the first autograph card I pulled from a pack. It wasn't a surprise, as every pack of these cards had an auto inside. The shop I bought it from had some packs for two bucks each and I bought one. In retrospect I should have bought more at two bucks a pack but I was in college, didn't have a whole lot of cash and wasn't terribly impressed by my pull. I tried following Hiram for a couple of years but he didn't make the show and I lost interest. To my surprise, he finally debuted in 2000 with the Dodgers and he put together an 8 year career in the bigs. He was the fringiest of fringe players to be sure, but he made it and was able to hang around at least. Good for you, Hiram. He will be playing in Japan for the Seibu Lions in 2008.