2000 Fleer Autographics Joe Crede

Who is this? White Sox third baseman Joe Crede.

What is this? An autograph card from 2000 Fleer something or other. I can't find it in my price guide.

Where'd I get it? Could be from anywhere, really.

How much did it cost? I have no earthly idea. I might have shoplifted the thing for all I know.

Why is this so special? This is one of those 'mystery' cards where I have no idea where it came from. I've had it forever though. Might have been out of a pack, might have been from a shop, might have been an auction. It's a pretty kick ass card though wherever it came from. Autograph cards from the late 90's and early '00s just seem to have been designed better than a lot of them today. This card is a perfect example. There's a good action shot of Joe, a little color in the background to keep it from getting boring, and a nice large clear space for a signature where the name and logo don't get in the way. Joe's signature, by the way is fantastic. A nice big J and C with flair, and even better every letter is completely legible. You can paste that sig to the bottom of the Declaration of Independence it looks so nice. Joe is having a pretty fantastic year himself, having hit 14 homers already. It looks like prospect Josh Fields pushing for Crede's job has gotten Joe back on track after an injury riddled '07 season.

1983 Topps Traded Ron Kittle

Who is this? White Sox outfielder Ron Kittle.

What is this? An autographed 1893 Topps card, number 55T.

Where'd I get it? I have no idea.

How much did it cost? Not much.

Why is this so special? 1983 was the first year I really paid close attention to what was going on in baseball, and since he was a home run hitter who wore big clunky glasses like me Ron was one of my favorites. Ron won the AL Rookie of the Year award that year and the high-power, low-average slugger was popular with Sox fans. He had a few good years with Chicago before the injury bug hit. He was traded to the Yankees in 1986 and bounced around the American League for the rest of his career. Ron is now a motivational speaker, and I sincerely hope he's not living in a van down by the river. He has gotten Lasik or something though, and no longer wears the glasses. That makes me very sad. I have no earthly idea where I got this card, it was probably in a cheap auto box at a show or in a large lot of autographs I bought a while back. The autograph is nice but the ballpoint doesn't show up very well on the card. This auto on his superior 1983 Fleer card is much better.