1994 Signature Rookies James Mouton

Who is this? former Houston Astros outfielder James Mouton
What is this? An autograph insert card from the 1994 Signature Rookies set
Where'd I get it? I bought it from a dealer at the local baseball card show last year.
How much did it cost? $1


Why is this so special? While there had been some attempts at autographed insert cards before Signature Rookies came onto the scene in 1994, they took it to a new level. Every pack had an autograph of a prospect who you hoped would be the next Ken Griffey Jr.

James Mouton may not be a household name for most baseball fans, but he had a better career than many who signed cards for Signature Rookies. He spent parts of 8 seasons in the big leagues as a part-time outfielder, mostly for the Houston Astros. He stole 109 bases despite having only 386 hits during his major league career.

Mouton had a very legible autograph when he signed this card... though I wonder how it looked by the time he reached card #5,250.

1992 Donruss Frank Seminara

Who is this? former San Diego Padres and New York Mets pitcher Frank Seminara
What is this? An autographed card from the 1992 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Seminara last month and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? A quarter for the card.

Why is this so special? This is my first autograph of 2011, arriving in my mailbox on Jan. 5th. Since Seminara only had one Mets "card" (a spring training program insert that I wasn't about to cut out or risk losing), this will be going into my all-time Mets roster autograph collection.

Seminara is a Brooklyn native and grew up as a Mets fan. He was drafted in the 12th round of the 1988 draft by the New York Yankees, but he never played for them. In 1990, the San Diego Padres selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule V draft.

Two years later, Seminara made his major league debut and finished 7th in the Rookie of the Year balloting after posting a 9-4 record in 18 starts for the Padres. Seminara didn't enjoy as much success in 1993, so he spent most of his time in the majors in the bullpen.

That December, the Mets swapped prospect Marc Kroon for Seminara in a deal that also included four other minor leaguers. (Kroon never had much success in the majors, but he became a star closer in Japan.)

Seminara appeared in 10 games for the 1994 Mets, losing his only 2 decisions. Except for one spot start, all of his appearances came out of the bullpen. He continued pitching in the minor leagues through 1995, but never again reached the majors.

For more about Seminara (and a look at an easier-to-see version of his signature, visit Lee Harmon's Amazing Shea Stadium Autograph Project.)

2007 Topps 52 Hunter Pence

Who is this? Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence
What is this? An autographed card from the 2007 Topps 52 set
Where'd I get it? I purchased it from Anthony of Mike Pelfrey Collectibles when he decided to sell his collection last year.


Why is this so special? In 2008, I decided that I would try to collect a signed baseball card set. I chose the 2007 Topps 52 set because it had a classic design, was relatively small and only included players who were entering their second year of major league service. Even that proved to be too difficult... I haven't worked on the project actively since 2008, but I still pick up cards from it when I get the chance.

Pence made his major league debut in 2007 and finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting to Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki. He's been a regular in the Astros lineup ever since and was named to the All-Star team in 2009.

Pence has a surprisingly legible autograph for a modern player.

2003 Topps Total Hiram Bocachica

Who is this? Bridgeport Bluefish utility player Hiram Bocachica
What is this? An autographed card from the 2003 Topps Total set
Where'd I get it? Bocachica signed it for me at a Newark Bears game last year.
How much did it cost? I got the card out of a pack in 2003


Why is this so special? This was one of the last baseball cards I got signed in person in 2010.

Bocachica has been playing professional baseball since 1994. He spent parts of 8 seasons in the major leagues and two more in Japan. In 2008, Bocachica hit 20 home runs for the Saitama Seibu Lions and helped them to win the Japan Series.

Last year, he split the season between Bridgeport in the Atlantic League and the Broncos de Reynosa in Mexico. For the Bluefish, he batted .282 with 8 home runs and 32 RBI in 69 games.

Bocachica appears to have just signed his last name on my card, though I can't read his writing well enough to be sure. In 2008, dayf posted a card that Bocachica signed during his first year as a pro... you can tell that his signature changed a lot since then.

2010 Topps T-206 Heath Bell

Who is this? San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell
What is this? An autograph insert card from the 2010 Topps T-206 set
Where'd I get it? I bought it from a dealer at a local card show last year
How much did it cost? $5

Why is this so special? For the past two seasons, Heath Bell has gone to the All-Star Game and won the National League Rolaids Relief Man Award. Before taking over as the Padres' closer, Bell served as Trevor Hoffman's setup man.

From 2004 to 2006, Bell was a member of the New York Mets organization. The team bounced him between AAA and the majors and never gave him much of a chance to establish a role in the bullpen. After the 2006 season, Omar Minaya traded him and Royce Ring for Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson - two players that had no impact in New York.

Bell's autograph has not changed much since his days with the Mets. It's easier to read than most current players'.

1988 Donruss Greg Gagne

Who is this? former Minnesota Twins shortstop Greg Gagne
What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? Last year, I wrote to Gagne and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? Greg Gagne was the shortstop for two World Championship Minnesota Twins teams. He spent 15 seasons in the big leagues - 10 with the Twins, 3 with the Kansas City Royals and 2 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During that time, he appeared in 1,798 games and had 1,440 hits.

Last year, he was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

It's a bit difficult to read Gagne's signature, but his initials seem recognizable enough. It looks like he may have included a Bible verse inscription, but I can't quite make it out.

Here is a 1994 Pinnacle card picturing him with the Royals that he signed for me last year as well:

1976 Topps Graig Nettles

Who is this? former New York Yankees 3rd baseman Graig Nettles
What is this? An autographed card from the 1976 Topps set
Where'd I get it? Nick from Baseball Happenings got it signed for me last year.


Why is this so special? Happy New Year! Graig Nettles' autograph is the first one that I'm posting in 2011.

Nettles was a six-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove winner, but I know him best as the father of Somerset Patriots third baseman Jeff Nettles. (What can I say -- I watched Jeff Nettles play in the Atlantic League for years... Graig Nettles was a role player at the end of his career by the time I started to follow baseball.)

Nettles occasionally attended Somerset Patriots games to watch his son play, but he was usually mobbed by autograph seekers if he didn't go up to one of the stadium's luxury boxes. It never really felt appropriate to me to bother a father trying to watch his son's game, so I never approached him to ask for an autograph. (plus I wanted to watch the game, too)

Graig Nettles has two World Series rings, 2,225 hits, 390 home runs and 1,314 hits for his career. He received 8.3 percent of the votes in the 1994 Hall of Fame election, his first year on the ballot. Each year, his support dropped until he was removed from the ballot after receiving just 4.7 percent of the vote in 1997.

Baseball Reference tracks a stat called Wins Above Replacement, which attempts to measure how much more valuable a player is than a hypothetical "average" player. Nettles was worth 61.6 WAR during his career, more than Hall of Famers Harmon Killebrew, Dave Winfield and Willie Stargell, among others.

Nettles' autograph looks like it was a little cramped because he signed it on card... perhaps on a larger item it would look a little neater.