Bowman Russ Jacobson

Who is this? Phillies catcher Russ Jacobson.

What is this? An autograph card from 2001 Bowman, card number BA-RJ.

Where'd I get it? I think it was out of a pack.

How much did it cost? Three bucks maybe?

Why is this so special? Not much to say about this one... Russ was a third round pick out of Miami, but never really went anywhere. The last I can find of Russ in baseball is a couple of games in Triple-A back in 2004. Catchers are hard to draft. If a catcher is all field, no hit, they might stick as a backup if their defense is spectacular. If they don't have the skills behind the plate, they have to move him somewhere else where the defense won't kill the team. Even if the kid has it all together and can field his position, hit lights out and call a good game, one collision at the plate can derail a career. I'm not sure why Russ didn't make it, or why he was out of baseball in 2005. He doesn't look like he's having a whole lot of fun on this card though. Frustration is evident in the signature too, it starts off with a strong Russ then trails off in a squiggle. It shows how hard things are for these draft picks, 1500 players are selected in the draft every year, looking to earn a spot on their team's 40-man roster. Once they finally reach the point where they are valuable enough to the franchise to protect on the roster, then they have to fight to get on the active roster. Just making the team for a cup of coffee is the result of lots of work developing their skills, attracting the attention of management, getting in the position to be called up and continuing to produce in the minors until there's an injury or need on the major league roster. It's insanely tough to make the show and many times it just doesn't happen for a player no matter how good they look on draft day.

1992 Donruss Sam Militello

Who is this? Yankees pitcher Sam Militello.

What is this? An autographed card from 1992 Donruss "The Rookies", Card number BC-16.

Where'd I get it? Out of a large autograph lot won off of Yahoo! Auctions.

How much did it cost? Less than a buck.

Why is this so special? I don't have a whole lot of memories of Sam other than he completely tore up the minors, got called up to the Yankees, ended up on a bunch of rookie cards and then injuries ate him up. It's a shame, a guy with a name like Sam Militello should have had a long career with the Yankees. This is a really nice looking card of Sam but the gold foil is rendered invisible by the scanner. The signature is nice and clean though, a distinctive Smilitello with big swooping Ls. I wonder what those buildings are in the background. Sorry folks, the Yankees were completely off my radar in the early 90's and I just can't think of anything to write about today. There's probably a ton of Yankee fans with long tales of disappointment and woe out there, but I ain't one of 'em. I promise to have a more interesting post tomorrow.

2008 Topps Heritage Freddy Sanchez

Who is this? Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez.

What is this? An autograph card from 2008 Topps Heritage, card number ROA-FS.

Where'd I get it? It was a crummy redemption from Topps Heritage.

How much did it cost? 1/24th of a box of Heritage.

Why is this so special? I figured this was a good auto to post on the day I turned on Topps for being a bunch of set-ruining finks. Normally, any autograph from Topps Heritage would be a good one, but this left a bad taste in my mouth. It was a redemption card, it wasn't a vintage autograph, and it was of a player I didn't care much about. Freddy is a decent player and all, it's just that I think "Heritage Autograph" and visions of vintageness dance in my head. Freddy ain't vintage. The signature is pretty weak too, it looks more like someone scribbled Fuji Salz on the card. Blue sharpie on black jersey is also sub-optimal. Oh well, there's some dude in Pittsburgh who'd kick their dog for this card so I should really quit my bellyaching. Hey, random denizen of the Alleghenys, when you're done punting Fido, dig up some Braves cards and make me an offer.

2008 Bowman Tony DeMacio

Who is this? Braves scout Tony Demacio.

What is this? An autograph card from 2008 Bowman, card number SC-TD

Where'd I get it? EBay auction from Baseball Card City.

How much did it cost? Ninety nine cents and that included a 2008 Bowman Chipper Jones blue parallel numbered to 500.

Why is this so special? Ok, let's be perfectly frank about this, if Chipper Jones wasn't on this card I never would have bought it. The bonus card of Chipper helped too. Still it's no more strange than the umpire's autographs from Bowman Heritage and it's light years less ridiculous than the Rip Master auto from Finest. I just wish the checklist indicated what team the scout was associated with. I can't seem to find this info anywhere other than to plow through eBay listings for the few sellers who scanned the front and back of the card. I'd pick up any other Braves scouts out there for sure.

I agree with the sentiments with of card set at least, scouts have a huge impact on the success or failure of ball clubs and they really aren't given any respect at all. The Braves have relied on a steady stream of farmhands coming up to the show and performing well from Tom Glavine to Yunel Escobar. The penny pinching Twins have been successful by relying on young, inexpensive talent. The Tampa Bay Rays are leading their division out of nowhere because they hit on so many high draft picks. The Marlins have the lowest payroll by far and remain competitive due to their young players. Meanwhile the Yankees and Mets keep trading all their prospects for high priced vets and you see where they are right now.

One of Skip Carey's favorite things to rant about during Braves broadcasts is how dumb it is that scouts aren't even considered for the Hall of Fame. They're the ones who find all the Hall of Famers after all. I wouldn't have seen what Tony saw in Chipper, I know that for sure. I was too busy complaining because Van Poppel refused to sign with us even though we desperately needed good pitching to replace all those rookies that were getting hammered. You know, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery... the bums. Meanwhile Tony saw something in Chipper he didn't see in anyone else and convinced the organization to make Larry the #1 overall pick. Now that Chipper is one home run away from hitting his 400th, while batting .400 in freaking June, I sure am glad that Tony knew what to look for!

2000 Topps Traded Brett Myers

Who is this? Phillies pitcher Brett Myers.

What is this? An autograph card from 2000 Topps Traded, card number TTA25.

Where'd I get it? The same dealer in Pennsylvania as the Rico Washington card.

How much did it cost? Whatever the opening bid on the auction was. I want to say a buck, but it was 8 years ago and I don't really remember.

Why is this so special? This is that bum pitcher I only bought because no one else had bid on him and it was worth it for a cheap set and autograph. Hey, if I was any judge of talent, I'd be a scout. For a "last pickle in the barrel" type of purchase it was a good one. Back when Brett first broke with the Phillies, this card was booking for $50 and I think may have even been on Beckett's Hot List for a month or two. It's certainly cooled off since then, between legal trouble and the Phils bouncing him back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen like he's John Smoltz or something. Plus the only autographs anyone wants anymore are of prospects. Dude's like 27 years old! That's ancient for a prospect. Nevermind he's been pitching since 2002 and is the best pitcher on the Phillies' staff, he's not a prospect anymore so you can probably find this card for a buck somewhere if you look hard enough. I know it was worth 50 smackers at one point though and I bought it before it got hot. That means it's worth a big ol' bucket of pride to me. Like the Rico card, this is pretty sweet looking. I especially like how you can see Brett's grip on the ball right before he delivers to the plate. The signature is more like initials than an actual autograph, but it's distinctive and you can make out the B~ M clearly at least. There's even a little smear on the M to add authenticity. Also - no stickers! How the heck did Topps manage to do on card autos for all these cards back in 2000? It's a mystery.........

2000 Topps Traded Rico Washington

Who is this? Pirates second baseman Rico Washington.

What is this? An autograph card from 2000 Topps Traded, card number TTA47.

Where'd I get it? Some dealer in Pennsylvania off of Yahoo! Auctions.

How much did it cost? More in shipping than for the card.

Why is this so special? I specifically remember a dealer on Yahoo! auctions back before the auction site went belly up. They were located in Pennsylvania and you could get good deals if you were willing to get jacked on shipping charges. And I mean GOOD deals. I think I got this card and the entire Topps Traded set from that year for something like a 2 dollar bid. '00 Traded is the one with Zito, and I think it's retained its $2.00 value even opened without the one-per-box autograph. The seller had a ton of these sets all up for bit at the same time and each one had been opened to see what autograph was in the box. I'm not sure who was the huge pull at the time, but they certainly searched for it and dumped the rest of the sets on their auction site. I looked through all the possibilities and chose Rico. How could a guy named Rico Washington not hit the big time? Well he did hit the big time this year as he was on the Cardinals' opening day roster after 11 years in the minors. He was back in Triple-A before April was out, but he made it! His MLB "Rookie" card just hit in Topps Series 2. Thank goodness we can finally have a card of Rico to collect. I'm proud of Rico though, I knew he would make it some day. I also bought another set from the dealer at the same time as this one. I didn't really care for the autograph, it was some pitcher for the Phillies I didn't think would do anything at all. It cost only the minimum bid because no one else wanted it either so I got it anyway. I'll post that card tomorrow.

2007 TriStar Prospects Plus Michael Main

Who is this? Rangers first round draft pick Michael Main.

What is this? An autograph card from 2007 TriStar Prospects Plus, card number FF-MM.

Where'd I get it? Pulled from a blaster, it was in the top pack.

How much did it cost? One seventh the cost of the blaster, about three bucks.

Why is this so special? I thought this would be a nice easy post, good way to start off June, maybe even keep up with an autograph card a day, and then whammo. No information on this dude whatsoever. Ok, so I know he was the Rangers' first round pick last year. I know he was a high school pitcher from DeLand Florida, same place as Chipper Jones. I know he has a decent fastball and slider and he's a good enough batter that the Rangers could convert him to the field if they wanted. What I didn't know is why he hasn't pitched an inning all year long. Took me a while, but it turnss out he has a stress fracture in his rib and should be pitching soon. It seriously too me about a half hour to find that. My Google-fu is lacking.

The card itself is nice looking. The silver foil on black looks great although doesn't scan worth a crap. There's a nice big white space for the signature/sticker, a portrait of the kid and a team logo. Good stuff, and blasters of Tri-Star are still around with one or two autos a pop in them. Of course they're draft pick autographs so no one will really know who's good and who isn't for five years. Main looks like as good a prospect as any though and at least cares enough to put a little thought into the signature instead of doing the typical "3000 autographs to go" squiggle. Knowing the Rangers though, they'll probably trade him for a slugger before too long.