2005 Donruss Yadier Molina

Who is this? Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina.

What is this? A 2004 Studio autograph card inserted into 2005 Donruss. I'll explain later. Card number is 241 and it is serial numbered 083/100.

Where'd I get it? Not entirely sure.

How much did it cost? If I got it from a pack, three bucks. If not, who knows.

Why is this so special? In 2005, Donruss inserted 50 2004 Studio 'update' cards into their base brand packs. The cards had 2004 Studio stamped on them as well as a 2004 copyright date. The only way to distinguish these update cards from the regular '04 Studio cards is by the card number. [edit- I goofed] Numbers 1-200 are from 2004 Studio, 201-250 are the '05 inserts. There was a parallel autograph version called "Private Signings" and this is one of those parallels. They are sneaky, even the authentic signature impression on the sticker reads 2004. I got fooled the first time I posted one of these cards, thinking it was from 2004.

Everyone in St. Louis and half the people in New York know why Yadier is special. His home run in game 7 of the 2006 NLCS sent the Mets packing and put the Cardinals in the World Series. He's only hit 27 other homers in his 5 years with the Cards so he definitely has a good sense of timing. His brothers Bengie and Jose are also catchers in the majors and like Yadier have earned World Series championship rings. Yadier got absolutely hammered in a collision at the plate with Eric Bruntlett in a game on June 15th, but he's already back in the lineup for the Cards. Catchers are tough sonofaguns. This would be a dream card for any Cardinal fans, with the playoff hero posing with the Gateway Arch in the background. Like our buddy Miguel Montero (and Abe for that matter) Yadier has a pretty cryptic signature. m0_y0. It looks good though, I wish I had a funky signature like that.

2005 Studio Johnny Estrada

Who is this? Braves catcher Johnny Estrada.

What is this? An autograph card from 2005 Donruss Studio, card number 29. It is serial numbered 15/50.

Where'd I get it? In a trade with Chris Harris.

How much did it cost? Some 2001 Donruss cards.

Why is this so special? Johnny was only on the Braves for just over two years but he's one of my favorites. Johnny was a key piece in the Braves' 2003 offseason disaster that saw Tom Glavine bolt to the Mets in a huff, Greg Maddux accept arbitration out of nowhere and Kevin Millwood traded as a salary dump for magic beans. Estrada turned out to be those beans. In 2003, Millwood was pitching a no-hitter for the Phillies while Estrada was in Richmond, unable to knock Henry Blanco out of the backup catcher's job. The next year, Millwood was on the DL while Estrada took over for Javy Lopez after he signed with Baltimore for a zillion bucks. That year he went nuts offensively and ended up winning a Silver Slugger award. It looked like Estrada would be the Braves' backstop for a while, at least until the Angels' Darren Erstad decided to give him the Ray Fosse treatment in a play at the plate. Estrada got knocked into a parallel dimension and some kid named McCann had to be called up to take over. That pretty much ended his Braves career and he has bounced around between Arizona, Milwaukee, the Mets for about five minutes and now he's trying to win a spot on the Nationals' bench. I'll always remember him as the silver lining in that cloudy offseason.

The card itself is one of the more understated Studio designs. A black & white portrait on top of a tinted time-lapse photograph of the home city's skyline. This card shows the I75-I85 connector in downtown Atlanta heading south to Turner Field. One of those blurs might have been my car. This card was acquired in a Trade with Stale Gum's Chris Harris, in a blockbuster that will be discussed on my main blog later this week. There's two more cards coming up from Chris whenever I get around to it this week. This card was actually Chris' choice, I told him to pick between this one and some Bowman Chrome prospect I hadn't heard of before and he chose to keep the Chrome. Works out fine for both of us actually, he'll probably be able to trade that one off to a Chromie pretty easily if he wants to and I got a Brave with actual Major League service time. The autograph itself is pretty cool, Johnny opts for an "all in one stroke" approach to his signature. Too bad the shiny sticker doesn't fit the design of the card in the slightest. This card is also serial numbered to 50, which as Chris and myself have both discussed recently, means absolutely nothing anymore.

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.

2005 Donruss Abe Alvarez

Who is this? Red Sox Pitcher Abe Alvarez.

What is this? An autograph card from 2005 Donruss, card number 226.

Where'd I get it? A dealer at the local flea market.

How much did it cost? Three bucks.

Why is this so special? I got this card a couple of years ago when my favorite dealer at the flea market was having an end-of-year sale. This was in a three dollar box and I snagged it. Abe was a hot prospect at the time, but after getting hammered in limited opportunities with the Red Sox he will likely start the year in Pawtucket. Abe is a lefty though, so there will probably be an opportunity somewhere for him if not in Boston. Oddly enough, Abe is legally blind in his left eye. Even if he doesn't make it in the majors, he has a great signature. The best way to describe it is "Twin volcanoes erupting". More major leaguers should have pictograms for a signature.

Update - This card was actually inserted into 2005 Donruss packs as an update of 2004 Studio.