2007 Upper Deck Elements Joaquin Arias

Who is this? Kansas City Royals minor league second baseman Joaquin Arias
What is this? An autographed insert card from the 2007 Upper Deck Elements set
Where'd I get it? eBay
How much did it cost? 99 cents plus shipping.

Why is this so special? This really shows how many cards scans are piled up, waiting to be shared on Auto-Matic for the People. I bought this card shortly after the Mets acquired Arias from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Jeff Francoeur. Before I got around to posting it, both players involved in that trade are now part of the Kansas City Royals organization.

Arias was once a highly-regarded Yankee prospect. When New York sent Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later to Texas for Alex Rodriguez in 2004, the Rangers had their choice of several Yankee prospects top complete the deal. They picked Arias over future All-Star Robinson Cano.

Arias made his major league debut with the Rangers in 2006, but his big league career has been fairly undistinguished. He played sparingly for the Mets during the final month of 2010, and was claimed on waivers by the Kansas City Royals at the end of the season. The Royals assigned him outright to Omaha to clear a roster spot for one of the prospects acquired in the Zack Greinke trade.

I'm not sure what's going on with Arias' autograph - it looks more like a symbol than any part of his name.

1991 Leaf Bobby Witt

Who is this? former Texas Rangers pitcher Bobby Witt
What is this? An autographed card from the 1991 Leaf set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Witt last month and asked him to sign it; I got it back yesterday.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? Unless the mailman has something for me today, Bobby Witt's autograph will be the last one I add to my collection in 2010. I didn't keep a detailed count of the ones I got in person, through trades or purchases. However, my stats on SportsCollectors.Net tell me that I sent out 98 letters this year and got 62 responses, good for a 63% response rate. I'll probably see a few more trickle in after New Years, if history is any indication.

Witt has my vote as the most frustrating pitcher of all time. He had great stuff - especially early in his career. In his first five seasons, Witt struck out between 148 and 221 batters per season. The problem: he led the American League in walks in three of those five seasons and had the most wild pitches in two of them. Needless to say, he didn't pitch many fast games... but it was still fun to watch him rack up the strikeouts.

Though Witt spent the majority of his career with the Texas Rangers, he also pitched for six other teams during his 16 years in the big leagues. He won a World Series ring with the Diamondbacks in 2001, his final year in baseball. Witt retired with a 142-157 lifetime record, as well as 1955 strikeouts and 1375 walks.

His autograph is legible, which is more than I can say for many players today. Here's an Oakland card that he signed for me as well:

Happy New Year everyone! May you add lots of signatures to your collections in 2011.

1996 Leaf Signature Damon Buford

Who is this? former Texas Rangers outfielder Damon Buford
What is this? An autographed card from the 1996 Leaf Signature set
Where'd I get it? Purchased from CheckOutMyCards.com
How much did it cost? 99 cents

Why is this so special? Damon Buford is the son of 1960s White Sox & Orioles outfielder Don Buford.

Damon was a journeyman outfielder who played for the Orioles, Mets, Rangers, Red Sox and Cubs during a 9 season career. He was a full-time starter in only two of those seasons - 1997 with Texas and 2000 with the Cubs.

Buford was one of two players the Mets received in 1995 when they traded away Bobby Bonilla, though I always forget that he was involved in the deal. I usually just remember Alex Ochoa.

Buford's autograph is fairly reminiscent of his father's, even though Damon left out some letters when he was signing for Leaf.

2007 Bowman Heritage Jim Fasano

Who is this? Kansas City T-Bones outfielder Jim Fasano
What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Bowman Heritage set
Where'd I get it? This is another one of the cards Zach sent me earlier this summer. I imagine that he got it signed at a Northern League game.

Why is this so special? I wasn't familiar with Fasano until I looked him up on the internet. I was a little disappointed to learn that he is not related to former major league backup catcher Sal Fasano. On the plus side, Jim Fasano is a New Jersey native, though he now resides in Pennsylvania during the off-season.

Fasano was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 9th round of the 2004 draft. He spent four seasons in their farm system, reaching AA in his final season of affiliated baseball.

In 2008, Fasano joined the Kansas City T-Bones in the Northern League. He was named the Most Outstanding Player in the playoffs that year. He has played there for the past three seasons. He hit .319 with 20 home runs and 78 RBI this year.

I'm glad I don't have to play "Spot the Signature" with this one - I see a "G," an "l," and an "f" -- none which would help me identify it.

2004 Donruss Timelines Recollection Collection Julio Franco

Who is this? Former Texas Rangers second baseman Julio Franco

What is this? An autographed buyback card from the 2004 Donruss Timelines set

Where'd I get it? Found it at the local card shop

How much did it cost? $10

Why is this so special? I went to the card shop today hoping to find a card of Richmond Flying Squirrels pitching coach Ross Grimsley. I struck out, but I found something better - this autographed buyback card of Julio Franco.

To me, it seemed like Franco played forever. He "only" played in the majors for 23 seasons, though. During that time, he accumulated 2,586 hits and was a three-time All-Star. He finally retired from the game in 2008, months short of his 50th birthday.

Franco spent parts of two seasons as a pinch hitter for the New York Mets, which added to my interest in acquiring the card. He now manages the Mets Gulf Coast League team.

The Sharpie that Franco used to sign the cards was starting to dry out, but it still looks great signed.

1997 Bowman R.A. Dickey

Who is this? Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 1997 Bowman set
 
Where'd I get it? A trade with Pete27  

How much did it cost? I gave up a Brian Reith autograph to get it.  

Why is this so special? R.A. Dickey will make his Mets debut in less than an hour, taking over Oliver Perez's roster spot. Dickey will be the first starting pitcher in Mets history who goes by initials, and he'll be one of a very few knuckleballers to take the hill for the Metrolpolitans.

Aside from a spring training appearance or two, I've only watched R.A. Dickey pitch once. That one game was a gem. After giving up a leadoff single, Dickey set a Buffalo Bisons record by setting down the next 27 batters in order. SNY really picked a great game to broadcast!

The Mets will be Dickey's fourth major league team. He made his debut with the Rangers in 2001. He also pitched for Seattle and Minnesota. He's got a 22-28 lifetime major league record with a 5.43 ERA.

I can't really make out any letters in the signature, but that's not exactly unusual with modern players.

1987 Fleer Pete Incaviglia

Who is this? Former Texas Rangers slugger Pete Incaviglia
 
What is this? An autographed card from the 1987 Fleer set
 
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Incaviglia in late March and asked him to sign it. I got it back last month.
 
How much did it cost? The card came out of one of the many 1987 Fleer rack packs I bought trying to get "hot" rookie cards, like Barry Bonds & Kevin Seitzer, back in 1988. I think they cost around $1.50 or $2 apiece back then. Now, you can buy unopened rack pack boxes on eBay for around $40.

Why is this so special? Pete Incaviglia was a fun player to watch, because he swung for the fences every time he came up to bat. He usually struck out - he led the American League with 185 in his rookie season. But he did finish his career with over 200 home runs.

Incaviglia was the 15th player to make his professional debut in the major leagues since the amateur draft was implemented. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1985, but Incaviglia forced them to trade him by demanding to go directly to the majors. Following this incident, Major League Baseball implemented a rule requiring drafted players to be under contract for a full year before they can be traded.

After his retirement from baseball, Incaviglia served as the hitting coach for the AA Erie Seawolves and managed the Grand Prairie AirHogs in the American Association.

Incaviglia's autograph is completely illegible.

2006 Topps Jason Botts

 
Who is this? Former Texas Rangers outfielder/first baseman Jason Botts 


What is this? An autographed card from the 2006 Topps set


Where'd I get it? I got it signed before Thursday night's game between the Newark Bears and the Camden Riversharks

How much did it cost? I'm pretty sure the card came out of a pack.

Why is this so special? Although Jason Botts wasn't selected until the 46th round of the 1999 amateur draft, he developed into one of the Texas Rangers' top prospects.

Botts made his major league debut on Sept. 14, 2005. He went 0-for-3 with a walk as the DH in a Texas victory over Baltimore. Botts appeared in 9 more games that September, and had short stints in the big leagues in each of the next three years.

While he never really lived up to expectations, Botts appeared in 93 major league games and has a lifetime .230 batting average, a .669 OPS, 5 home runs and 28 RBI.

In 2008 and 2009, Botts played in Japan. This year, he went to spring training with the Chicago White Sox but was cut. He is currently the starting first baseman for the Camden Riversharks in the Atlantic League.

Botts has an interesting signature, but please don't ask me to read it.

2008 UDX Signatures Frank Catalanotto

Who is this? Frank Catalanotto, a former Texas Rangers' utility player who is trying to win a job with the New York Mets this spring

What is this? An autographed card from the 2008 UDX Signatures insert set

Where'd I get it? Purchased at a local card show

How much did it cost? $5 (yes, I know I probably could have found a Frank Catalanotto autograph on eBay for 99 cents, but by the time I paid for shipping I wouldn't have saved that much.)

Why is this so special? Frank Catalanotto is a scrappy utility player who managed to make a nice career for himself in Major League Baseball. In 13 seasons, he has a career .292 batting average, 84 home runs an 456 RBI.

Catalanotto once went 6-for-6 in a game for the Toronto Blue Jays, setting a team record, and he's played for Italy in both World Baseball Classic tournaments.

For a guy with a long name, Catalanotto has a nice autograph. It might even look a little better if he wasn't trying to squeeze it on to Upper Deck's sticker.

1997 Bowman Sam Marsonek

Who is this? Sam Marsonek, a former pitcher for the New York Yankees

What is this? An autograph card from the 1997 Bowman set

Where'd I get it? I got the card signed at a Somerset Patriots game in 2007

How much did it cost? The card was probably a quarter or so; the autograph was free

Why is this so special? Sam Marsonek was the Texas Rangers' first round draft pick in 1996. He was traded to the Yankees in exchange for Chad Curtis in 1999.

Marsonek's major league career began on a Sunday afternoon in July 2004. He came in to finish a blowout victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Four outs later, Marsonek's major league career was over.

In 2007, Marsonek pitched for the Somerset Patriots in a final bid to get back to the majors. He got a contract from the Washington Nationals organization for the 2008 season, but he was apparently cut during spring training.

I'm not sure how I'd handle it if I spent all those years trying to get to the majors and my chance was over after facing just six batters. On the one hand, he can say that he got to pitch off the mound at Yankee Stadium -- not many people can. On the other hand, it would be awfully hard not to think about what might have been.

Marsonek's autograph is a simplified S_M_k, which he could sign quite quickly.

2008 Upper Deck First Edition Josh Hamilton

Who is this? Josh Hamilton, a Texas Rangers outfielder

What is this? An autograph card from the 2008 Upper Deck First Edition set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Hamilton at the Texas Rangers' spring training facility in February and asked him to sign my card. I got it back in the mail yesterday.

How much did it cost? The card came out of a pack, and postage was 84 cents.

Why is this so special? Josh Hamilton was the feel-good story of 2008.

Hamilton was the number one overall pick in the 1999 amateur draft, but his minor league career was derailed by drug and alcohol problems. He was out of baseball for nearly three seasons.

Hamilton found God and cleaned up his act, and he finally made his big league debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2007. He hit 19 home runs in part-time duty, but was traded to the Texas Rangers for pitcher Edinson Volquez that off-season.

With the Rangers, Hamilton had an All-Star season in 2008. In the All-Star Game's Home Run Derby, Hamilton hit 35 total home runs. He finished the season with a .304 batting average, 32 home runs and an American League-leading 130 RBI.

Josh Hamilton's autograph is distinctive, but not very legible. Though to be honest, with the number of autograph requests he must get I'm grateful that he signs at all.

2000 Upper Deck Ruben Mateo

Who is this? Ruben Mateo, an outfielder who played for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals from 1999-2004

What is this? A 2000 Upper Deck card that has been signed by Ruben Mateo

Where'd I get it? I got this card signed during the pre-game autograph session before the last Newark Bears game of the season this year.

How much did it cost? I think the card cost a dime. The autograph was free.

Why is this so special? Ruben Mateo didn't have a particularly impressive big league career. On the other hand, the independent Atlantic League where the Bears play isn't exactly the majors. Mateo hit 16 home runs in 50 games this year, and always seemed willing to interact with the fans and sign autographs.

The autograph is really more of a stylized mark than a true signature. I can interpret that first part as an "R" if I stretch my imagination a little, but the only part that's truly legible is the number 19.