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.

2007 Upper Deck Elements Johan Santana

Who is this? Johan Santana, a pitcher for the New York Mets

What is this? An autograph card from the 2007 Upper Deck Elements set

Where'd I get it? I bought it at yesterday's card show

How much did it cost? $25

Why is this so special? Johan Santana is my favorite currently active pitcher. He is a two-time Cy Young Award winner and a four-time All-Star. In ten seasons, he has a 122-60 record, 1733 strikeouts and a career 3.12 ERA.

Santana did his best to keep a fading Mets team in the race in September 2008. For the month, he was 4-0 and he didn't allow more than 2 earned runs in any start. On the second-to-last day of the season, Santana pitched a 3-hit shutout on three days' rest to keep the Mets dwindling hopes alive. After the season was over, we found out that he was pitching with a knee injury.

I've seen Santana pitch in person three times; he won two of the games and gave the Mets a chance to win the third.

I like Santana's autograph. He's one of the rare modern players who actually has a legible signature.