Card show finds - pack pulled autographs

I was on a self-imposed hiatus through the summer to go to any card show or even visit a card shop - but I missed the in-person the card show rummage grind and wanted to see if I could still do what I do at a card show date.

I really didn't think I’d find anything I'd need out of the '2 for $5' bins at one table - but was setting aside the odd non-Angels cards of Angels all-time autograph subjects among others as potential keepers.

There might be something about thumbing through junk autos I would not have cared for before, but end up being a quick fixes when I see them out in the wild - if the players shown played for the Angels at one time and I did not have their autograph.

Another consideration is for the one-time Angels players I've gotten to sign something at some point, but may have to think up - where I actually squirreled away their IP/TTM autographs.

I might have had a 20-25 stack, but I had to whittle things down to keep things relatively reasonable - maybe it was still a little looney where I ended up with 14 cards of questionable quality and was charged exactly $35.

Another great Angels bullpen signing from last off-season - hope Stephenson bounces back some time in 2025 to earn his pay.

Owens didn't have the lasting power, but he was a fan favorite in San Diego for a couple of years, because he was a scrappy, hard nosed type - I don't think he made the same gritty impact when he played for the Angels, where he spent his last MLB season as a player in 2003.

I was excited to pick up pack pulled autographs of Chris Young, Roansy Contreras and Brock Burke - I never got Young at all when he was playing, while Contreras and Burke are 2024 Angels who were acquired during the past year.

Even if it only was worth what I paid, I picked up a Mark Teixeira autograph because it seemed too good to pass up out a value box set-up - though I have had gotten his autograph in-person or TTM multiple times early in his MLB career, this card is the one that ends up in my Angels all-time autograph collection.

I fished out some other autographs where I tried to make most of my time pulling out what I could - who knows if I needed these, but they made sense to add to my pile.

Maybe the worst looking autograph here is Mark Vientos - but it's also a rookie year auto of a young third baseman having a breakout season for the New York Mets.

The best looking autograph is of a Cincinnati Reds pitcher name Tony Santillan - who is pictured hitting on his 2022 Topps Stadium Club auto card.

I found a Corbin Burnes autograph - maybe not such a big deal, but it's win if I can find a star pitcher auto out of a value box set-up.

I found a 1983 Fleer Ron Kittle autograph - I was looking for card by itself for one my Top 100 projects planned, but I'll take a chance on a signed IP/TTM auto.

Card show pickups - miscellaneous finds

I stumbled upon a table with random $2 bins I started digging through, but wasn't counting on pulling potential keepers - where the bins were a mixed bag of different sports.

I found a 2001 Leaf Rookies & Stars Dress For Success Darin Erstad bat / jersey #DFS-23 to hang onto - so maybe it was on as far as finding other odds and ends to build on.

The Vlad is a numbered Angels card, so while $2 might have been too much - it was another no-brainer keeper for me as well.

I could have been content to pick out three others cards and spend $10 where the quality wasn't particularly unique, but I relented to splurge - trying to make a game out of scrutinizing my probable keepers and cards I can put back.

Some 'junk autos' I flagged for fun and games - a rookie year Adam Eaton pack pulled auto doesn't mean much in 2023, but I guess he was a solid MLB player.

Even though it's an Arizona Diamondbacks card, it gives me an autograph to add to my Angels all-time autograph collection - without have to try and dig up cards I might have gotten signed in-person.

Jose DeLeon and Christian Arroyo might have been promising prospects at some point - but I never got an opportunity for either player to sign for me when they were coming up the minor leagues.

DeLeon came up with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but maybe injuries derailed his big league career - where he has bounced around the pro ranks as a journeyman pitcher.

Arroyo might have been a future star for the San Francisco Giants, until he wasn't in their long-term plans - he bounced around for a little bit, but has stuck in the major leagues as a rank-and-file utility guy of sorts.

I thought Richie Shaffer would be a player who would reasonably have a longer MLB career, but he lasted for only parts of two big league seasons - I picked up his card, because it's after hitting his first MLB home run, where he is playfully ignored by his teammates.

This last quartet ends up giving my stack some breadth as far as legendary players go - the Tom Seaver game card was 'scratched' but I like the fold out inserts and adds some vintage kitch to my pile.

I thought I found a nice Clemente insert from 15-20 years ago, that might be harder to find - but it's from a more recent Topps Pristine release.

I grabbed a parallel #'d to 99 of Roger Clemens and a #'d insert of Mark McGwire from the late 1990s - despite their sketchy PED histories, there is still is some lingering sentiment over their playing careers as a whole.

Card show pick ups - more randomness?

On a card show trip, maybe I was not really enthused about the vibe in the room where there were not as many sellers and things seemed slower - I stumbled upon a random seller with at least several monster boxes of assorted singles individually priced [at least $5 or more].

I tried to dig around and see what may catch my attention, maybe I wonder whether the material is passable or not - the seller said something about making offers to consider, so there was an opportunity to pick something up where this table might be it as far where I was going to spend most of what I had in-hand.

I found these three cards first and offered $10 for them - an old school rookie card of Keith Hernandez, a short print variation of Babe Ruth and a bat card of Tony Oliva.

After trying to go around the room, I came back to the seller's tables where maybe I'd find more cards - I found a little mix of cards I tried offering $20 for, though the seller expected more and I ended up paying $30.

Among the odds and ends included a second-year Gary Carter - I want to follow the mature collectors who have tried to make something about collecting old-school and/or vintage cards, even in bits and pieces.

A rookie year certified autograph of Michael Young - he was a second baseman who last played 10-15 years ago and was underrated as a longtime hitting star.

A certified autograph of Andrew Velasquez - even though the autograph on the sticker hologram looks sloppy, I picked it up for my all-time Angels collection.

While completion isn't realistic - it's cool knowing I have the most random players' autographs that played for my home team.

A Roberto Clemente insert that was too shiny to ignored - I'm not sure if this was numbered, but I like how it pops.

A Mike Trout / Shohei Ohtani insert I thought might have been worth something - but looked too neat to leave behind regardless.

A 1993 Donruss Dominator Greg Maddux - I guess it's not a pack pulled insert set, more like a 'box topper' bonus, but still a cool card.

Though it's a piece of plastic that I would have tossed a long time ago, I really like the branded top loader - which I assume was how the cards were originally shipped in.

Maybe the highlights were the 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson #482 rookie card and the 1982 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. #21 rookie card - on first glance, I had second thoughts about picking the cards up [maybe the sticker price $15 each] because they were more 'well loved' and 'off-condition,' rather than cleaner copies with better eye appeal.

On the other hand, I've never really had these cards in my collection and at the very least, end up as binder material centerpieces to the collection of cards I have for each player - with these rookies in my possession, I'd have some bragging rights if I took a time machine to the junk wax era of the early 1990s.

Cheap-o box card show etiquette?

I found myself digging through $2 boxes where I plugged along going through most of the baseball portion concentrated in one monster box - alongside another guy busy going through a single row of $2 cards in a separate monster box.

I'd pulled out some probable keepers to build on from what I assumed was the main $2 boxes - after the other guy basically finished up, plucking about six cards and making his purchase, I figure I'd pounce on what he was looking through. 

I thought I had the box to myself, however an older guy started going to the row and I thought he was just some casual - I wanted to stay out of his way, where I'd let him have first look through the cards where he started digging through, and then maybe I'd take my turn to go through the stacks of cards he was finished with.

Maybe he gets bored soon enough and moves on, but he was already asking the seller how much would it take to buy the entire row - he started to pore over the cards, maybe seeing what he really wanted and/or counting them out.

He asked if I was done and I kind of gestured 'yes' even though I would have liked the opportunity to go through the rest of the cards without being out scooped - knowing he wanted the row of cards for himself and just about to buy just all of it, was I the one who starts lacking manners if I insist on going through the rest of the cards? 

Whatever I had in-hand before this other guy tried to make an offer was fair game - but I wouldn't want someone else trying to cherry pick cards off a row I'm trying to buy as one lot.  

I still had loose cards I'd flagged from this last row but put back a couple that I wasn't really considering - with the cards I'd set aside in my original rummage, I think I ended up with 16 cards and was basically charged half off, which was good enough.  

COMC mail #1 - some notable ink

Through 2021, maybe I needed to do something about the cards I had in my COMC port because I'd just about forgotten about them - I don't do anything special on COMC [I don't sell, participate in challenges or wait for specials] but when the mood hits, add funds to my account so I can pick up random cards. 

I would have been content to let my cards sit indefinitely - but it looked like economy shipping [$4.99] was back to a more reasonable time frame [maybe a month] rather than taking 4-6 months.

On the other hand, when I'm down to my last $5 on COMC, it's always a game for me where I wonder if I use up my remaining funds or commit to have my cards shipped as intended - I had my cards shipped and they arrived in just about a month, which may not be like the good 'ole days before the pandemic, but reasonable enough with the way things still are.

To nudge things towards having my stash sent out - I picked up a couple of certified autographs.

I was browsing for a certified autograph of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt on the eBay app and saw one listed by COMC's account - I wondered if the same card [2021 Topps Finest Finest Moments Autographs] would be available on their Web site and made the decision to commit to pick up what I assumed was the same card.

While  Schmidt is still living and has signed his fair share of autographs for pay, who knows when the well will dry up - where seemingly more affordable pack pulled autographs that slip under the radar creeps up in value. 

I don't know if the Schmidt was something I had in mind as a PC addition  - but it has its place where I'll list it as such and squirrel it away. 

I've hung onto a 2004 Upper Sweet Spot autograph of Rolen for the longest time as a 'pride thing' where it's my only certified autograph, in addition to a couple of other IP autographs - but he's gained a lot of support for the Hall of Fame and Cooperstown might be calling in the next couple of year where the same basic autograph [1998 Donruss Signature Series Autographs Millennium Marks] might have asking prices of double or triple with a probable HOF bump.

A card show and tell conundrum

It is harder for me to do any in-depth recaps because purchases have added up and I can't conjure up these nice and neat stories about how certain cards were chosen over others - maybe what I really want to say is look at my hauls, pore over my finds, but maybe I'm just reading the room wrong or there is no real audience to cater to.

I'm a glutton for punishment however, where I need an outlet where there is a routine to get the word out once in a while - so here goes another bunch of purchases [at what has been the monthly show, though there might be 1 or 2 more dates added in a given month] to literally amuse myself with.

I found what maybe a complete 'stand alone' set of Bryce Harper minor league cards - I assume these are official issues, though a case where the cards were printed to capitalize on his hype as a prospect.

They seem more like customs than anything else - however, enough time has passed where the cards are 'old enough' to have some pre-rookie novelty.

In the pecking order of sporting GOATS over the past 20 years, Jeter might be the token baseball guy - still have to put aside some Jeters, where maybe I'm looking for some mainstream, if dated oddballs [Upper Deck Collectors Club, Upper Deck FanFest, Upper Deck National] just to have something different.

This Willie Mays caught my eye because it just stood out as a little larger, even though I like my cards standard size - it looks like it's a Topps branded card rather than some custom, so my best guess it was from a National VIP package, since I've seen them put out similar, vintage themed card sets as part of their National Convention promotions.

Miscellaneous baseball isn't where it's at at a 'here and now' card show, but I'm digging away to see what odds and ends I can pull - including an old Joe Mauer minor league card from his pro debut season, a 2018 Topps Archives Aaron Judge card I thought was some parallel [it's just a base] because of the cardboard stain design element [on the back] and a real old 1963 Fleer card of Bob Aspromonte.

I remember when I thought Xavier Nady was going to be the next hot prospect just over 20 years ago - I wanted his rookie cards so bad when they first came out and while it wasn't the one I had in mind, grabbed one of the serial #'d rookies that came out his pro debut season where he might have been guaranteed to get a big league call up in 2000.

While Nady was a very good player in spurts - he never did turn into that perennial all-star talent I assumed most guys with a little bit of prospect pedigree turned out to be back in the day.

I grabbed basic rookie cards of Ke'Bryan Hayes and Jo Adell just because maybe there is a desperation to think about future considerations - even if talking about putting away lowest end rookies of a couple of potential future stars.

I didn't think I'd end up with a pair of serial #'d Ryan Freel rookie cards but maybe there is some sentimentality there - where the cards go towards my beyond the glory collection.

It's only a checklist card, but the old school Catfish Hunter / Nolan Ryan card maybe a nice add to Ryan collection in my Angels binder - I may keep an eye out for old-school / vintage stragglers when available where there is a little novelty in something now over 45 years old.

More baseball odds and ends, including an Albert Belle inside printed on simulated wood material and a Chipper Jones insert printed on simulated base material- it has been said somewhere else but those types of cards are always fun to pick up.

I ended up with a couple of Reggie Jackson cards that may fall into the oddball territory - I've seen the card where he is promoting soccer on other blogs, so I had to make it a keeper [the only thing weirder than seeing Reggie promoting the World Cup back in 1993 is realizing that he is a special assistant to the owner of the Houston Astros] along with his 1982 O-Pee-Chee In Action subset card.

I don't know if Giancarlo Stanton is relevant as far as who I may collect but seeing a couple of cards from his minor league days [included a mini] - triggered me to pick them up where enough time has passed to make them a little 'old school' novelties rather than just finding another big league issued card of the 12-year veteran.

I don't think Nick Castellanos is any sort of baseball card superstar, but he has put up some numbers where is considered an actual baseball star - I make make his 2011 Topps Heritage Minor League blue tint card a keeper, even if it's worth only what I paid.

I didn't anticipate finding these prospect cards and while they are strictly base [and not even first year cards], maybe I haven't had much exposure to prospect products in recent years - so if I see cards of notable guys, maybe I should squirrel them away as far as guys who are likely going to be decade stars through the 2020s.

These are kind of my 'junk' GU / auto finds - I didn't really want to spend a dollar on a J.C. Romero card, but want to pick up certified autographs of one-time Angels outright and add them [to the non-Angels card portion] of my Angels all-time autograph collection without worrying about digging up an TTM/IP of the same player that I may or may not actually have.

Cesar Hernandez is nothing special at all, but he is an active big leaguer who I didn't have an autograph of - I think he is wearing a retro uniform, so maybe I can add his Topps Stadium Club autograph to that mini-collection.

The Fred McGriff bat card may have come out during a time where maybe memorabilia cards were still a novelty - maybe not the late 1990s, but in the early 2000s where game used cards were featured highlights in baseball card products rather just another insert type that would lose its collectibility.

I don't think I'll ever be collecting other sports but I'll add a few stragglers to the mix - where it's cards of some other sport GOATS [Michael Jordan, Tom Brady], an interesting, fun card [Jake The Snake Plummer posing with an actual snake] or a card featuring an individual [Colin Kaepernick] that has transcended past just being another pro athlete.

Maybe the party was somewhere else

My local card show is probably inconsistent when it comes to sellers, just because depending on what else is going on, guys may decide to be at another show - it may be a case where I've 'sold out' showing up at a particular show, but realize there are more empty spaces than anything else.

Maybe I find myself out of touch with modern 'here and now' collecting, so even in a packed house, I might not find a run 2, 3 or 4 tables that hit the spot where I can at least find stuff that appeals to me - obviously the pool of probable dance partners shrinks further when there maybe only 15-20 tables [at most] compared to at least 25-30 tables.

With the situation looking slow off the bat, I started off at a new [to me] seller set up at the back wall - he had a $0.50 [if unmarked] rookie box [sorted by player, in ABC order], a '3 for $5' junk autos box, various 'little' displays [including a couple of stacks of assorted cards in semi rigids] and then player boxes to the other side [maybe it would make more sense if all the boxes he had to dig through were on one side of his setup].

As far as the rookie box, I couldn't systemtically go through them all like a treasure hunt dig and I'm trying to come up with a short list of rookies I might find cards for - I guess I expect a 'mix mix' of cards where who knows who might find, but I'll know it when I see it.

Some of the younger guys navigating through his table weren't buying anything but complimented him on labeling his player boxes in ABC order where there were these dividers with players' names boldly written - to a certain extent, as long as sections are separated by sport, I like cards a bit jumbled up rather than making me force to really think about looking up cards for specific players.

The person at the table didn't seem like he paid much attention to me, which maybe both a good or bad thing - I'm trying to be on a little mission mission while wondering if this person is thinking I'm some kind of goof because of my 'one-track rummage.'

Someone came over and I overheard in passing that it was seller's only second show - the seller was talking about things were slow, maybe even accounting for the other show, but [at least] there was someone like [me] going through his cards.

There was a little uncertainty as I rounded up some cheap rookie stuff, a trio of certified autograph cards and a couple of miscellaneous cards - the person looked at my stash and came up with a total of $10, was a couple of bucks off my actual total.

Tyler O' Neill always had a lot of power potential as a prospect, but after 3 seasons in part time work and playing through the pandemic in 2020 - finally had the opportunity to play on a regular basis and delivered with 34 home runs.

I'm a low-key Brandon Lowe guy because I still remember making it a mission to getting him to sign a couple of cards in the Arizona Fall League back in 2017 - I grabbed a couple of his basic rookies here, but the third is actually a card of Nate [Nathaniel] Lowe, who plays for the Texas Rangers.

The rookie of Kyle Tucker might have started me on the rummage and while his Houston Astros team came up short in the World Series - he has established himself as another homegrown Astros star to build around.

I grabbed a couple of cards of Cincinnati Reds third baseman Jonathan India - who seemed to get better as he got more at-bats under his belt and maybe the 2021 National League Rookie of the Year.

I found a Xander Bogaerts rookie from 2014, which may not be much - but maybe some time has passed since the card was first released and he really has been this star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox.

Even though I have a mini-collection of mascots just because they are 'fun,' I would never buy a mascot card outright - however, the San Diego Chicken is a special breed and this shiny insert [?] has a little bit of pop I haven't seen before.

I don't see them often, but certain non-sport cards like this card of actress Kaley Cuoco from The Big Bang Theory TV show tend to be easier impulse buys in the wild - I thought this was a regular card at first, but looking closer, it actually has a perforated surface where the subject image is designed to be 'popped out.'

Finally I decided to grab a random trio of certified autographs - I do find myself not knowing what to do with pack pulled autographs, because while it's a quick fix as far as just having a signed card of a current big league closer like Alex Colome, my collecting roots was all about trying to get scribbles in-person or through the mail [TTM].

Brad Eldred was an Adam Dunn sized first baseman who played in the big leagues for parts of 4 seasons - while he might have been a 4A slugger otherwise, he got the opportunity to star in Japan through his 30s, so there might be some novelty here.

The nearly clear hologram autograph sticker was placed crooked on this Daniel Nava card, but almost blends in with how the card was designed - this one goes into the non-Angels card portion of my Angels all-time autograph collection.

A look back into a 2020 collecting goal

Like everyone else it seems, I have a yearly set of collecting goals, but maybe it gets too long winded to fully break down on a blog - I feel like a goof when I don't catch up to any of them and so maybe it is easier to keep them offline.

Looking at my generic goals I'd written for 2020, stuff that made sense at the beginning of the year - doesn't end up ringing quite as true, like trying to add some high-brow cards for my personal collections, notably old-school / vintage rookie cards of selected Hall of Famers for example.

The ongoing pandemic makes me skittish about throwing money into something that only sounds good on paper - when values have supposedly been artificially pumped up across the board, I find myself priced out in general.

Maybe I've shifted to lower-end interests in my collections, whether talking about strictly baseball cards or anything to do with autographs - one of the listed goals I had for 2020 to see if I can pick up 10-15 autographs of one-time Angels players.

I was able to ramp things up and 82 new autographs for my collection, though I have to officially list them - to make sure they are physically in my collection or otherwise accounted for.

1. 2014 Panini Donruss The Rookies Signatures Series autograph Tommy La Stella #68 [$1.75] - COMC; listed as a ‘Atlanta’ [Braves] card

2. 2012 Topps Allen & Ginter Framed Mini Autographs Julio Teheran #AGA-JT.1 [$3.99] - COMC; listed as a Atlanta Braves card

3. 2014 Bowman Prospect Autographs Chrome Mike Mayers #BCAP-MM.1 [$1.25] - COMC; listed as a St. Louis Cardinals card

4. 2019 Bowman - Chrome Prospect Autographs Jose Suarez #CPA-JS [$3.85] - COMC

5. John Verhoeven - TTM card

6. Al Spangler - TTM card

7. Chris Knapp - TTM card

8. Dave Sells - TTM card

9. 1989 Fleer Update Claudell Washington CAS Certified Sealed auto #U-17 [$5.45] - COMC

10. 2014 Topps Pro Debut Autographs Matt Ramsey #PDA-MR [$1.99] - COMC

11. 2013 Panini Pinnacle Autographs Tony Campana #TC [$1.08] - COMC

12. 2011 Topps Pro Debut Solo Signature Autographs Thomas Field #SSA-TF [$1.14] - COMC

13. Dustin Garneau - IP card

14. Dick Lange - TTM card

15. Steve Kealey - TTM card

16. Don Kirkwood - TTM card

17. Jack Hiatt - TTM card

18. Tom Donohue - TTM card

19. Lloyd Allen - TTM card

20. Tom Egan - TTM card

21. Larry Harlow - TTM card

22. Dave Parker - TTM card / $10

23. Merv Rettenmund - TTM card

24. Roger Repoz - TTM card

25. Jason Castro - IP card from 2012 era

26. Trevor Cahill - IP card from the 2012 era

27. Steve Renko - TTM card

28. Jason Gurka - TTM card

29. Ken Oberkfell - TTM card

30. Rudy Meoli - TTM card

31. Terry Humphrey - TTM card

32. Ed Ott - TTM card

33. Tom Bradley - TTM card

34. Billy Cowan - TTM card

35. Eddie Fisher - TTM card

36. Jim Barr - TTM card

37. Don Robinson - TTM card

38. Jack Lazorko - TTM card

39. Paul Hartzell - TTM card

40. Mike Bielecki - TTM card

41. Jim Hibbs - TTM card

42. Bob Botz - TTM card

43. Ike Hampton - TTM card

44. Balor Moore - TTM card

45. Tom Griffin - TTM card

46. Doug Rau - TTM card

47. Richie Scheinblum - TTM card

48. Frank LaCorte - TTM card

49. Bob Sprout - TTM card

50. Jim Walewander - TTM card

51. Bill Grabarkewitz - TTM card

52. Dave Goltz - TTM card

53. Gary Lucas - TTM card

54. Ron Tingley - TTM card

55. George Hendrick - purchased card (s)

56. Bill Melton - TTM card

57. Steve Lubratich - TTM card

58. Syd O’Brien - TTM card

59. Jarrett Grube - TTM card

60. Ken Berry - TTM card

61. Bill Voss - TTM card

62. Dyar Miller - TTM card

63. Ed Halicki - TTM card

64. Billy Moran - TTM card

65. Rick Burleson - purchased card (s)

66. Bart Miadich - purchased card (s)

67. Rich Rodriguez - purchased card (s)

68. Skip Lockwood - TTM card

69. Leo Burke - TTM card

70. Bob Duliba - TTM card

71. Sherman Corbett - TTM card

72. Tom Murphy - TTM card (s)

73. Vic Davalillo autographed custom card [$4 plus $1 PWE plus $0.99 = $5.99]

74. Jose Lind - purchased card (s)

75. Pete Coachman - purchased card (s)

76. Craig Gerber - purchased card (s)

77. Tim Fortugno - purchased card (s)

78. Lee Thomas - TTM card

79. Ken Tatum - TTM card

80. Dave Lemanczyk - TTM card

81. Chuck Dobson - TTM card

82. Dick Drago - TTM card

Maybe it’s ‘easier’ to have a looser goal where I can cobble things together where I’m not restricted by specifics or standards - being able to add a number of random autograph cards featuring rank-and-file guys that played for a random big league team may make me more like a hoarder, but it’s fun nonetheless to see what I can nerd out on as far whose random autographs I can find and add.

Trading cards are the easiest to store in any sort of quantity so for most of the ‘rank and file’ names, that what the autographs are on - for 2021, the goal to add more one-time Angels player autographs sticks though I need to dig deeper to see if I can add old-school / vintage player content, get the 'here and now' players, while adding different players as I can through TTM requests and purchases.

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.