Featured autographs - Jesse Barfield

On a forum I belong to, I saw a post where someone was going to helping out with a signing with the former outfielder from the 1980s through early 1990s - the idea of looking for and sending out cards to an organized, paid signing ends up feeling like too much work, but the person helping out had extra unsigned cards in-hand and I picked out a 1984 Donruss and a 1990 Leaf.

I sent out a SASE and $15 per card about a month before the signing and waited around - where I got my cards back several days after the signing was completed.

Featured autographs - Tony Armas

Through a Facebook post, I picked up a pair of extras [$12.50 each] from a signing featuring the Venezuelan slugger who peaked in the 1980s as sort of Dave Kingman / Rob Deer lite - I had to get a 1984 Donruss, where I'm trying to chase down signed cards from the set and a 1990 Score, which goes into my Angels all-time autograph collection.

Featured autographs - purchases

Off a couple of Facebook posts from the same collector [presumably a Milwaukee Brewers fan, so that's a theme here] - I saw some IP/TTM signed cards offered f/s and decided to take a couple off his hands.

I thought I was good with the pair of purchases [Jacob Barnes and Jim Ganter], but the next time I'm scrolling through my feed - but I saw another f/s post, which was more certified autographs from some 'prominent' Brewers stars of the early 2000s i.e. Ben Sheets, Richie Sexson, etc.

Barnes was an Angel in 2020 so I needed his autograph for my all-time collection - the 5-year big leaguer had a bloated ERA but struck out 24 batters and walked only 4 in a decidedly small sample size of 18 innings through pandemic 2020.

Ganter doesn’t register as a guy whose autograph I had to get, but his playing career went through the junk wax era, so at least I'm familiar with the name - the oddball Milwaukee Brewers police set issue from 1992 caught my eye and while I don't really consider it vintage [despite all the years that have passed], the yellowed top loader certainly is.

A second baseman for most of his career, Gantner spent 17 years with the Milwaukee Brewers - he wasn't the type who put up big offensive numbers like teammates Robin Yount or Paul Molitor, but was solid for the era he played in.

Maybe the scavenger in me is looking to salvage things once in a while, so while I probably didn't a Jenkins autograph in the here and now - it's a 20 year old pack pulled issue from a debut year of a set that has some tradition and history associated with it.

Jenkins was a hard hitting outfielder who had starred for the Brewers for most of his career before ending up with the Philadelphia Phillies for the their World Series championship run in 2008 - I remember where he had a little cult favorite following in Milwaukee because he resembled NFL star Brett Favre.

Angels all-time autograph collection adds

I dug around COMC at various points last winter and picked up these miscellaneous certified autographs for my Angels all-time autograph collection - an on-card autograph of Dylan Bundy was probably the most prominent.

After he was traded to the Angels last off-season, I wanted to see if I could snag one at some point - I still remember Bundy coming into the pro ranks as a hyped up prospect and still have some a couple of loose, empty boxes of 2012 Bowman Draft with his picture on them.

Maybe I could have picked up a certified autograph from one of the Bowman releases from the time Bundy was a stud prospect, just to have something with him pictured in a big league uniform - but something more 'generic' and almost without a team affiliation listed, might have been the more ideal card since he was going to be Angel anyway.

One of the things I like is being able to rummage around and see if I can find some of the most random cards to add to my Angels all-time autograph collection - maybe I have to double check if each of the players such as Matt Ramsey, Thomas Field and Tony Campana actually played for the Angels, but I can nerd out a little finding out they did and can squirrel away their 'junk certified autos.'

As the case maybe these cards often picture players from a hodgepodge of teams, from the minors to the major leagues - I'd really like to put a premium on cards that picture players as an Angel, but I'll take what I can get.

I did find an an an autograph of Jose Suarez, who might have been the team's top pitching prospect entering the 2019 season, thought that may be the equivalent of the No. 15 [or lower] ranked prospect in a deeper MLB organization - I don't know if he's gotten a real extensive look the past two seasons but he's still either young and inexperienced or just doesn't know how to get big league hitters out to stick for good.

I grabbed an autograph of Mike Mayers, pictured as a one-time St. Louis Cardinals prospect years ago - he was an an under the radar find that actually had a great year out of the Angels bullpen in 2020.

I grabbed an autograph of Julio Teheran, just so I don't have to worry about digging up the random in-person autograph card I got when he was still a top prospect at the 2010 Futures Game - he was a longtime starter with the Atlanta Braves with mostly positive results, though maybe the writing was on the wall with his peripherals in recent years and the gamble the Angels took on him failed.

Finally I grabbed an autograph of Tommy La Stella, a previously useful if unheralded platoon player with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs - who had a chance to play on an every day basis with the Angels a couple of years ago and continued to play well for the Angels this past year before being traded to the Oakland Athletics.

La Stella found some pop in his bat and was named to the All-Star team in 2019 - before a broken leg derailed his season.

I might have gotten a couple of La Stella in-person autographs, once in the Arizona Fall League and once in spring training - I think since he signed only one, the cards I'd gotten inked up were for sets I was chasing, so I wanted one outright.

I hope nothing 'funny' was going on when the certified autograph card from 2014 was signed - but it looks more of a complete, 'fancier' autograph, than any other versions of La Stella's I've seen.

Featured autographs - Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon

This space was for a featured autograph of Cole that was going to my Angels all-time autograph collection - how the Angels had brought home the local kid as the centerpiece for an Angels rotation that had fallen on hard times, yadda, yadda, yadda.

As is, after choosing to pick their spots over the past 5-6 years, maybe the New York Yankees decided to keep things real and get their man - there have been supposedly guys that have wilted under the New York spotlight, but if I’m a Type-A personality getting paid the biggest money, I want the challenge of playing for the Yankees.

The Angels can’t really compete in selling itself like the Yankees can and even with baseball's top player, they are a sleepier team - though not everything is glitters with gold, the Yankees now have the legitimate ace to lead them into a deep postseason run.

Despite the need for pitching, the Angels instead got the best position player on the free agent market - while lineup protection maybe a myth, having another all-world hitter like Rendon adds considerable pop to a lineup featuring Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton, etc.

Signing Rendon doesn't solve the sore need for pitching and the Angels might as well have blown it with Cole signing elsewhere - but they made their big splash move to improve the team and that's a big deal.

The Angels are that much better now with Rendon on the team - mission accomplished, thought it's stupid to assume the Angels front office is done trying to look for a serviceable No. 2 or No. 3 arm [preferably a couple of them] to sign or trade for.

Featured autographs - a pair of one-time Halos

I haven't done any in-person graphing at a MLB ballpark in years, so I miss out on the miscellaneous rank-and-file guys I'd probably need for my Angels all-time autograph collection - as is, other options to get any number of player autographs are just an eBay search away.

Picking up certified autographs doesn't really give me the same sense of satisfaction as getting my own card(s) inked up in-person - but when IP is simply impractical, at least I have the means to keep up with what I'm trying to do as far as getting as many different players autographs who played on 'my team.'

I bought a couple of Angels certified autograph cards and I can imagine Topps probably contracted these two players to sign a 'bunch' of cards each - no offense to anyone in particular, but as far as players listed on a checklist, these maybe the worst guys to pull off any particular pack or box break from a 2018 Topps product.

2018 Topps Gypsy Queen Parker Bridwell Rookie Black & White auto serial #'d to 50 GQA-PB [$2.10 plus $2.66 s/h] - as first-year MLB pitchers occasionally do, Bridwell had a decent rookie season in 2017, but then he didn't really fit into the Angels' plans entering the 2018 season.

He was sent to AAA to start the year - but arm problems derailed Bridwell's chances of making good on his rookie year.

2018 Topps Allen & Ginter Troy Scribner Framed Mini auto #MA-TS [$0.99 plus $3.50 s/h] - from the bits and pieces I've read, Scribner really fought his way to make it to the majors, so there is a good back story to his professional career.

However, after making his MLB debut with the Angels in 2017, Scribner couldn't stick with the team past spring training - the Arizona Diamondbacks picked him up in April, released and then re-signed him in July.

Featured autographs - assorted certs

Sifting through the miscellaneous cards I've collected, maybe I want to start showcasing some of the 'hidden' gems over the years - I still think back to an old prehistoric Beckett Baseball Card Monthly story / contribution where a collector had these loose cards on his bookshelf [I specifically remember a 1992 Topps Stadium Club Will Clark as the picture used for the story] and how he cleaned up his bookshelf, through the cards he kept and cards he discarded.

The title of the 1990s article [something like Bookshelf of Doom] - was a riff off the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom movie of the 1980s.

Getting back to the cards, these were certified autographs I've collected over the past 15 years - they may have had spots in my personal collection listings, but when I revamped my PC a few years ago, these cards may have been rendered irrelevant.

I dug them out recently, so they aren't loose - to file them away in my A-Z inserts collection:

Phil Hughes [top right] - he was pretty hyped up as a young New York Yankees pitcher and FWIW, he was also a one-time card collector who used to post on Beckett Message Boards [circa 2007].

I thought this 2004 Donruss Elite Extra Edition auto was a great get for $5 at a spring training card show 11 or 12 years ago - but Hughes' star potential never really materialized over parts of his 12 year MLB career.

Eric Chavez [top left, top center] x2 - Chavez was a rising star third baseman back with the Moneyball A's of the early 2000s and I wanted to put away a couple of nicer looking certified autographs issues from early in his professional baseball career.

I kind of have an obsession with early autographs of professional athletes, particularly when their autographs devolve over time - Chavez's autographs tended to look like chicken scratch and were never as good looking as the ones on these cards.

Kevin Youkilis [bottom center, bottom right] - these certified autographs were a couple of my first COMC purchases in 2012; Youkilis was a Boston Red Sox fan favorite but not surprisingly, age caught up with him as he entered his 30s as a big leaguer.

Corey Hart [bottom left] - this card was most likely a pack pull and may have been worth a little something, when it was likely his only prospect era certified autograph; Hart was a two-time All-Star and a fan favorite in Milwaukee when he was doing good through his prime years, though he was essentially done as a productive MLB player after 30.

Featured autographs - one time Angels

For my Angels all-time autograph collection I like the idea of picking up random autograph cards [pack pulled or not] of players who played for the team at some point in their careers - it gives me an opportunity to scrutinize bottom of the barrel certified autographs and consider grabbing them if they picture a current or former Angel, particularly someone otherwise unfamiliar and/or whose autograph I don't have.

Bat Blog Around - My All Autograph Team

I've leaned towards being more of an in-person / through the mail autograph collector than strictly collecting cards, so this newest Bat Blog Around was something I wanted to take part in - I may or may not have better autographs for each position, but I basically went through older blog post posts to see if I can build up a lineup.

1B Rod Carew

2B Ryne Sandberg - I always thought he was the best second baseman of all time, though he starred when I first started getting into collecting and I was oblivious about other greats like Joe Morgan or Rogers Hornsby.

3B Albert Pujols - had to squeeze the guy featured on the Blog Bat Around header somewhere.

SS Maury Wills - I went with a player who made an impact when he first burst into the scene, a vintage player with a unique looking, embossed retro card from the 1990s.

OF Albert Belle - he was a fun player to watch because he was simply nuts and despite his issues, I have to give him his due.

OF Mike Trout - as is, I ride or die with this guy, regardless of how big the spotlight is on him these days.

OF Bryce Harper - he's the most intimidating batter in all of MLB.

With brutish strength to hit the ball 500 feet - he always looks like someone ran over his dog or something.

C Buster Posey

SP Justin Verlander

DH/PH Shohei Ohtani - the expectations are so big for him, but he's 23 and he'll have his share of growing pains.

CL Mariano Rivera

RP Sparky Lyle - I didn't know much about Lyle, except I needed him for my award winners collection, but he was a do it all reliever who collected 238 saves in his playing career.

RP Goose Gossage - I can just imagine Gossage and Rivera co-existing in the same bullpen, with Gossage mostly talking Rivera's head off about how he was the more valuable late inning reliever.

Featured autographs - Cal State Fullerton alumni baseball game

2017 Bowman J.D. Davis #BP 81

2017 Topps Heritage High Numbers Chris Devenski #608

2015 Panini Contenders Thomas Eshelman #90

2017 Bowman Draft Chrome Scott Hurst #BDC-126 - refractor

2012 Topps Allen and Ginter Brett Pill #192

2017 Bowman Draft Chrome Connor Seabold #BDC-77 - refractor

Featured autographs - Daniel Robertson event

At a fan fest of sorts organized by Tampa Bay Rays player Daniel Robertson's family foundation - I got some random professional/MLB players to sign their cards, including a couple of Powell cards given to me by my friend.

Powell kind of checks off a couple of things in my book as a mini-collection guy, so I was glad I got a couple of actual cards - there is the 'Boog' nickname he shares with the longtime Baltimore Orioles first baseman of the 1960s through 1970s, so that sort of makes him unique [cult baseball player / cult feat], even if it's kind of random.

This current day Powell also is a local Orange County California guy - attending Mission Viejo High and then Orange Coast College before being drafted by the Oakland A's in the 20th round back in 2012.

2016 Topps Heritage Minors Daniel Robertson #77

2017 Topps Update Chrome Ryon Healy #US241

2017 Topps Heritage Minors Josh Staumont #161

2017 Topps Update Chase De Jong #US135

2015 Bowman Draft Bubba Derby #141

2013 Bowman Jeff Gelalich #BP15

2015 Panini Elite Extra Edition Cody Ponce #56

2015 Topps Heritage Minors Rio Ruiz #81

Featured autographs - Manny Margot and Hunter Renfroe

I wanted to see how a dual player 2017 Topps Heritage Rookie Stars subset card would look autographed - it's not really a thing where I always seek multiplayer cards out to be inked up because I worry about completion, but I got Margot first [sacrificing my chance to get a set card signed, since he signs one per person], then managed to finish the card up by getting Renfroe.

Featured autographs - Hines Ward

I primarily collect baseball, so my collection of signed IP/TTM cards from other sports just doesn't run as deep - though I may have something loose to dig for like these cards I thought might look good once authenticated and slabbed.

I must have written Ward 10-15 years ago and I got my two cards signed - I'm not sure if he was a dominant player at his position on a year-to-year basis, but Ward was a longtime star and part of two Super Bowl championships with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Featured autographs - Dodgers prospects

Pitchers Grant Holmes, Josh Sborz and Andrew Sopko maybe just the trade bait needed to land an ace like Chris Sale - who seems an obvious fit for the Dodgers now that Clayton Kershaw could be out for the season.

The trio of Holmes, Sborz and Sopko have each shown they can pitch in the hitter friendly California League - but regardless of their performance or ceiling, the Dodgers maybe less reluctant to deal either one or all three as opposed to Julio Urias, Jose De Leon or Yadier Alvarez.

Sborz and Sopko were drafted out of college, so as long as they are healthy and effective, they may get to the big leagues by some point next year - while a team like the Chicago White Sox can wait for Holmes to make the progression a level at a time.

I really don't ask for inscriptions [particularly on cards], but it's cool to get something a bit more than an autograph [especially when the player has more of a scribble] - if a player is willing to add the inscription and it looks clean.