Miscellaneous Angels frankenset finds

223 1995 Donruss Jim Edmonds - Press Proof parallel; not individually numbered but apparently among the '1st 2000 Printed.'

#244 2005 Donruss Zenith Rod Carew - Museum Collection parallel; even though it's not a refractor, I liked how this card shimmered, so I figured why not pick it up for a dollar and change.

310 1995 Score Platinum Team Set Garret Anderson - I grabbed the Anderson because I hadn't really seen the card before and I like how it pops.

347 2005 Donruss Champions Darin Erstad - Red Impressions parallel serial #'d to 250

386 2001 Topps Chrome Troy Percival - Retrofractor parallel; the front of the card has a refractor finish while the back of the card has a grayback finish.

433 2015 Topps Heritage Jered Weaver - short print

450 1992 Leaf Chuck Finley - Black Gold parallel; I've had my share of Finley cards from the junk wax era though I went ahead and grabbed this parallel.

460 2010 Topps Bobby Abreu - short print

Bobby Abreu

Supposedly the former Angel is looking to make a comeback after playing in the Venezuelan winter league recently - the fact that he's just about 40 years old makes it doubtful that he makes any sort of impact.

If an opportunity was given and he took full advantage to play in the Major Leagues in 2014, maybe he'd still be able to get on-base with his superior batting eye - but maybe the ability to hit the ball with authority on a consistent basis will not be there for a team that needs some pop off the bench or as a fourth outfielder/DH.

I used to like Abreu in the early to mid 2000's not because I saw him play or anything on a regular basis [until he landed in Anaheim perhaps] - but because he put up metronomic numbers, his cards were easy finds out many quarter or dime boxes and may have been worth hoarding as perhaps he'd be a potential Hall of Famer one day.

Angels resign Bobby Abreu

I thought Bobby Abreu was as good as gone if didn't get what he wanted, which was probably a little bump in salary and two or three guaranteed years - but the Angels front office came through and resigned him for two years [at around $19 million] along with an option for a third season.

If I was Angels Owner Arte Moreno / Angels General Manager Tony Reagins / Manager Mike Scioscia, I don't know if I wanted to pay Abreu for what he has done in 2009 – considering he is a player who has hit his mid 30s.

Still Abreu has been so consistent for a long time and his professional at-bats are something to appreciate - when regardless of the success, I had to sit through past years in this decade where former Angels star Garret Anderson would just give away random at-bats during the season.

It is hard to argue with the offensive numbers Abreu posted through the course of his 12 full seasons in the Major Leagues - the Angels may or may not be his last team to play for, but the man has nothing but been a Halo in his time in Anaheim.

Featured autograph - Bobby Abreu

Even with Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter out, the Los Angeles Angels' offense has been rolling because guys like - Chone Figgins, Mike Napoli, Kendry Morales, Juan Rivera, Erick Aybar and even Maicer Izturis have each put together pretty good offensive numbers.

It looks like the spring training offense when you can put up five or more runs on a consistent basis and come back - against opposing teams who have jumped ahead early in the games.

Bobby Abreu has been in the middle of the Angels' offensive attack and one wonders, where to begin with the praises for this savvy veteran - who signed with the Angels with about two weeks left to go in spring training.

Even though the $5 million Abreu is being paid is still a lot of money to the average folk - it was a bargain for the type of player he has been and the type of season he is having now.

Abreu has given the Angels a different type of pure hitter - with Abreu's ability to recognize pitches, adapt to situations and patience [61 walks/an on-base percentage over .400], he can either set the table, but also be a middle-of-the-order presence.

He hasn't reached double digit home runs yet, but he is closing in on another 100 RBI season - while the RBI stat maybe more of a function of the guys getting on-base infront of him, give Abreu some credit for being an RBI machine.

As a batter, he might guess here and there - but even at 35, it doesn't look like he really has lost any bat speed with a batting average currently over .300.

Abreu has been dogged for maybe not being adept defensively and also for not being the best baserunner - but it seems like there maybe an emphasis to be a little more conscientious with the Angels. As a baserunner, he has been opportunistic, stealing 21 bases and only being caught five times.

At this point, it looks like he is going to finish up with another strong season - hopefully Angels fans have enjoyed watching him perform, watch him finish strong and see how much he might want in order to come back next year [or the next couple of years].