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.

2002 Upper Deck Jeremy Reed

Who is this? Jeremy Reed, an outfielder in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system

What is this? An autographed card from the 2002 Upper Deck set

Where'd I get it? From a blog reader

How much did it cost? Around $2

Why is this so special? Jeremy Reed was once a highly regarded prospect in the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners farm systems. He never quite lived up to those expectations, but he has been a productive reserve outfielder.

Reed spent last season with the Mets, but even with all their injuries Jerry Manuel never gave him a chance to start on a regular basis. He hit .278 as a pinch hitter for the Mets in 2009,

Reed has a very angular signature, but it requires some imagination to make out any letters.

2003 Topps Total Todd Jones

Who is this? Todd Jones, a retired relief pitcher

What is this? An autographed card from the 2003 Topps Total set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Jones around New Year's and asked him to sign it; I got it back in the mail today.

How much did it cost? Less than $1

Why is this so special? Even though Todd Jones was rarely thought of as one of the best closers in baseball, he managed to record over 300 saves during his 16-year career. He was an All-Star in 2000 for the Detroit Tigers, when he led the American League with 42 saves.

Jones also has the distinction of being the last player to throw a pitch at Tiger Stadium, according to his Wikipedia article. Since 2002, Jones has been a columnist for The Sporting News.

Todd Jones has a quick autograph, but if you use your imagination you can almost make out his initials.

1991 Classic Draft Picks Aaron Sele

Who is this? Aaron Sele, a retired major league pitcher

What is this? An autographed card from the 1991 Classic Draft Picks set

Where'd I get it? From a blog reader

How much did it cost? About $2

Why is this so special? Aaron Sele had a nice major league career, winning 148 games over 15 years. He made his big league debut with the Red Sox in 1993, winning 7 games an earning some consideration for the Rookie of the Year award despite appearing in only 18 games.

Sele was an All-Star for the Texas Rangers in 1998 and the Seattle Mariners in 2000. He finished his career as a long reliever for the New York Mets in 2007.

Sele's autograph is not very legible, but I suppose I can understand considering how many he's probably signed over the years.

2009 Topps Attax J.J. Hardy

Who is this? J.J. Hardy, former Milwaukee Brewers shortstop

What is this? An autographed card from the 2009 Topps Attax set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Hardy and asked him to sign it last April. I got it back today.

How much did it cost? Around a dollar for the card plus postage

Why is this so special? J.J. Hardy was an All-Star in 2007, hitting .277 with 26 home runs and 80 RBI. In 2008, he had another good year, hitting .283 with 24 home runs and 74 RBI.

Last year, Hardy had a terrible season and he was traded to Minnesota during the offseason. Hopefully he can turn things around and be a productive player for the Twins.

J.J. Hardy has something funky going on with his autograph. The "ardy" part is easy enough to read, but the first part almost looks like he's trying to use two "J"s to make one funky "H"

2009 Topps Attax Jorge Cantu

Who is this? Jorge Cantu, first baseman for the Florida Marlins

What is this? An autographed card from the 2009 Topps Attax set

Where'd I get it? I ended up with way too many Topps Attax cards last year, so I mailed some out to players for autographs. This one went out last April to Dolphin Stadium and came back today.

How much did it cost? About a dollar for the card and postage.

Why is this so special? Jorge Cantu is one of the Marlins' better hitters. He hit .289 with 16 home runs and 100 RBI last season.

Cantu was a nice story the year before. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Cincinnati Reds had both given up on him, but the Marlins gave Cantu a shot to be a full-time player. He hit .277 with 29 home runs and 95 RBI.

Cantu has an unusual signature. It seems to hint at "J Cantu," but the letter "C" is the only unambiguous one.

This autograph looks a bit different from ones signed for Topps used in 2007 and 2008 baseball sets, but I'm still hopeful that it's authentic. The 2007 and 2008 Topps autographs distinctly different from ones Cantu signed for the 2000 Bowman set, so it's not as if Cantu has had a single autograph style for his whole career.

Charisma Carpenter

Who is this? Charisma Carpenter, an actress and former San Diego Chargers cheerleader

What is this? An autographed 8x10 photo

Where'd I get it? Carpenter was a guest at the Dallas Comic Con this past weekend. Official Pix, the promoter for the show, offered the opportunity for people who couldn't attend the show to get autographs.

How much did it cost? About $36, including shipping

Why is this so special? Carpenter played Cordelia Chase for seven seasons, first on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," then on its spinoff, "Angel."

"Buffy" is one of my all-time favorite television shows, and I have a small collection of autographed photos of cast members and notable guest stars. I was happy to have the chance to get Carpenter's autograph -- it is the first new addition to the collection in a couple of years.

It looks like she only signed her first name, but I can't really decipher her handwriting well enough to be sure that it's not her last name.