Featured autograph - Tim Raines

Tim Raines - I got this autograph in-person as he signed a couple of cards for me as a Chicago White Sox coach back in 2005.

I don't think he is getting into the Hall of Fame anytime within the next few years but he's getting more support from the numbers guys and for Raines - it means he is getting another opportunity for baseball pundits to evaluate his playing career in a positive light and expose the similarities between his contemporaries [already in the Hall of Fame] like Rickey Henderson and to a certain extent, Tony Gwynn.

Featured autograph - Edgar Martinez

Edgar Martinez - I got this autograph in the mail four or five years ago.

I have my issues with him being inducted in the Hall of Fame any time soon, but he probably became Seattle's Tony Gwynn - there were bigger superstars who may have overshadowed Martinez' playing career, but he was also the one All-Star who stayed with the Mariners from start to finish, building up a lot of goodwill in the community.

Featured autograph - Jeff Bagwell

Jeff Bagwell - I got the autograph card signed in-person at the Big League Home Run Challenge in Las Vegas back in 2002, where he was a commentator.

I wouldn't be surprised if he gets inducted into the Hall of Fame sooner than later - his stats probably make him one of the best players of his era, but maybe the people who claim to care about cheating and PED use should scrutinize Bagwell's career more instead of give him a Hall pass.

Bagwell played in the steroid era and just by looking at his cards, his body changed as much as Barry Bonds did over the course of their playing careers - at his peak, Bagwell put up some [figuratively, maybe literally] juiced up numbers and I just don't buy the fact that he is being persecuted as harshly as portrayed by the majority of 21st century baseball pundits believe.

Featured autograph - Dale Murphy

Dale Murphy - I got this autograph card and probably one more signed through the mail about nine years ago. I have to dig it out somewhere, but I think he also responded to my letter that I sent to him.

From what I've read about him and from the cards I've flipped through over the past 20 years - I do know Murphy was an early to mid 1980s 'superstar' whose Major League career started to careen off course in his 30s.

Maybe if he'd maintained some of the numbers he'd put up in his peak - he'd be a Jim Rice sort of Hall of Fame inductee without receiving the 'hate' from 21st century baseball pundits, since by all accounts Murphy was a 'nice guy' during his playing career.

2011 Topps USA box retail set recaps

Topps made retail versions of the USA box sets they've produced over the last couple of years - unlike the 'hobby' version, the retail only features the complete base set of collegiate, 18U and 16U national teams without any autograph or game-used 'hits.'

However for the 2011 sets, Topps did add a wrinkle and added an autograph hit in retail each box [still $9.99] - I bought two boxes at Target last weekend and pulled on-card autographs of Keegan Thompson from Cullman High School in Alabama and Deven Marrero from Arizona State University.

Happy new year - my 2012 autograph collecting goals

1.) Players to get on baseballs - Sandy Koufax, Carlos Gonzalez, Mark McGwire, Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Roy Halladay, Omar Vizquel, Adrian Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Felix Hernandez, Nolan Ryan, Miguel Cabrera, Andrew McCutchen, Prince Fielder [specialty baseball], Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Elvis Andrus, Tim Lincecum [specialty baseball] and Yu Darvish.

2.) Get about 15-20 in-person fu oh-yeahs! - these are basically 'achievements' depending on the subject [in most cases], the item signed, the quality of the autograph and the story behind getting the autograph.

3.) 2012 'autograph set' goals - get close to the number as possible.

2001 Fleer Tradition - 50 cards
2001 Upper Deck Minor League Centennial - 25 cards
2004 Bowman Draft - 25 cards
2004 Upper Deck USA 25th - 25 cards
2004 Topps Cracker Jack - 25 cards
2005 Bowman Draft - 25 cards
2005-2006 Topps Turkey Red - 30 cards
2006 Topps Allen and Ginter - 50 cards
2007 Topps Allen and Ginter - 50 cards
2008 Topps Allen and Ginter - 50 cards
2009 Topps Allen and Ginter - 50 cards
2010 Topps Allen and Ginter - 70 cards
2011 Topps Allen and Ginter - 70 cards

4.) Hammer out detailed checklists of my autograph cards sets - to find out what I have signed, what I still need to get signed, what may need an 'upgrade' and unsigned cards I maybe missing.

2001 Fleer Tradition - done
2001 Upper Deck Minor League Centennial - done
2004 Bowman Draft
2004 Topps Cracker Jack
2004 Upper Deck USA 25th Anniversary
2005 Bowman Draft
2005/2006 Topps Turkey Red
2006 Topps Allen and Ginter
2007 Topps Allen and Ginter
2008 Topps Allen and Ginter
2009 Topps Allen and Ginter
2010 Topps Allen and Ginter
2011 Topps Allen and Ginter

5.) Be able to cross off three or four subjects from my so-called list of top players - I want to get...Albert Pujols, Robinson Cano, Mariano Rivera, Miguel Cabrera and Yu Darvish.

6.) Angels autograph collection - make it a point to count out at least 100 different autographs and be able to add at least 15-20 new autographs.

7.) Get at least 200 autograph subjects [mainly baseball] for the first-time split between the Major Leagues, the minors and everything in-between; from the beginning of the year to the end - jot down the names down as achievements.

A.) I don't count subjects who I may have gotten in the mail first - I do count getting subjects for the first time, if the only autographs I've gotten were purchased [either certified or not].
B.) Notable non-players working around Major League Baseball count - media, broadcasters, umpires, journalists, bloggers, public address announcers, personalities, etc.
C.) Amateur players count - players in high school / college.
D.) Any subjects unrelated to baseball now count - such as athletes from other pro sports, celebrities, etc.

8.) See at least six baseball teams I didn't see in 2011 - Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs in addition to other teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers I might normally want to see.

With the Angels having Albert Pujols presumably in the lineup for most of their home schedule - it maybe a better choice to watch the Angels in-person instead of go to San Diego for autographs, if their games are played at the same day/time.

9.) Go find and be at 10-15 events, such as a organized public appearances/paid autograph signings/book signings/et al - hopefully there are three or four opportunities I can mark down as far as non-baseball events.

A non-baseball [other sport athlete/non-sport] subject would probably be a bigger score - depending on who it is than a star baseball player I've gotten multiple times.

10.) Take at least 20 photo ops with various players - see if I can print out the images and get them signed.

11.) Be able to pick up around 60 different images between Photofile images/Future Star photos and other images - to get them inked up.

12.) Send at least 100 requests through the mail and re-establish a way to get something in the mailbox on a somewhat regular basis - send requests to five or six players who sign through the mail, but charge a small fee otherwise like Phil Niekro, Dave Parker, et al.

13.) Be able to account for all autograph outings and total number of autographs collected - jot down exact time an autograph was signed by somebody [I maybe sort of kidding or I may not], types of cards signed and be able to total up autographs for the day, month and the year

14.) Take photographic evidence of all the signed baseballs I have - list the baseballs in a database as best as I can.

15.) Create an archive of autographs received over the last three or four years from spring training, regular season and the Arizona Fall League - it isn't rocket science to create 'scrapbooks,' to show what I got, minus the set cards I separate and maybe some of the 'better' autographs I've gotten on cards. I should have an idea of when I got a set of autographs and no cards should be missing otherwise.

Happy new year - my 2012 baseball card collecting goals

My interests is split between collecting cards and chasing after autographs - between the two, I may have 10-15 related interests and maybe sometimes I have to 'reset' things to get things back in order...

I'm committed to collecting but sometimes I feel like I'm thinking about too many things - maybe I need to focus and reel things in a little bit.


1.) Doing something with my favorite players collection - basically count up and listing all the cards I have for particular players in a database and for this year picking up five to 15 'interesting' cards for my Top 10 favorites as well as 10 other players I'm interested in on a 'rotating' basis.

2.) Personal collection cards - I'd like to be able to count out a Top 30 list, tally up another 25-30 'alternative' PC cards and create a binder of PC cards for more sentimental purposes.

3.) Regional focus - establishing a Top 30 personal collection of cards, building an 'A-Z' singles collection [interesting cards of various players] and maintaining an Angels 'shoebox collection' under team boxes [featuring more rank-and-file cards / inserts].

4.) A-Z singles stored in top loaders - I want to store various singles in top loaders in a box, list in a database and file away by player in 'ABC' order and maybe by card type i.e. basic rookie cards, parallels and certified autograph cards.

5.) Collecting topics cards - add about 500 different ones with 250 either old-school [pre-1980] and/or vintage [pre-1973] cards.

6.) Pick up 15-20 first-year autograph cards and 10-15 first-year Angel autograph cards.

7.) Pick up a 'PC' rookie card or two - something like a PSA graded 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson RC or a PSA graded 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn RC and so forth.

9.) Bust about three to five 'full' boxes every three months - I want to bust boxes on a somewhat regular basis, but the cards I will need are probably base cards, more common parallels. I'll try to see if I can bust mostly current-year product with a mix of some 'oddball' stuff that maybe fun if now relatively worthless.

10.) Finish my Topps team runs [except for any expansion teams that may apply, a 1978-current year card for each of the 30 MLB teams] and my Topps sampler runs [a card from 1978-current year] - I'd like to get these out of the way sooner than never as sort of 'side projects' I work on when I stumble upon appropriate year Topps cards.

11.) Pick up 10-15 blasters and/or various retail offerings and maybe 20-25 assorted retail / hobby packs - I don't really pull anything of significance but the hunger to bust something never ceases.

12.) Do 10-15 impulsive card related things - point being is to have some fun.

Autograph request through the mail received: Jose Cardenal

Jose Cardenal c/o home - signed my three cards [1975 Topps, 1977 Topps and 1978 Topps] in blue Sharpie in about three weeks; I remember him mainly for being a coach with the New York Yankees through the late 1990s, but played 18 seasons in the Major Leagues as well.

Looking at Cardenal's stats, he had his most productive seasons in the mid 1970s with the Chicago Cubs - he also played for the Angels from 1965-1967.

Autograph request through the mail received: Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer c/o Detroit Tigers [spring training] - personalized [To: Lauren] and signed my card in blue ink.

This was mailed on February 24 and arrived in my mailbox on December 27 - this request took a while to get back to me but it is always nice to get a somewhat unexpected TTM autograph success.

Featured autograph - Chris Iannetta

Got this card of the Angels catcher signed - when he was a visiting Colorado Rockies player back in 2010.

Autograph request through the mail received: Bob Locker

Bob Locker c/o home - the former Major League relief pitcher from the 1960s through early 1970s signed my card in blue Sharpie in about two weeks.

Collector's Cache Box recap

I was browsing the card section at Target when I saw this plastic card 'container' of baseball cards with various stuff for $14.99 - this thing was heavy and it 'clanked around' because of the coins I saw inside.

This isn't the latest or the greatest offering from an actual trading card company like Topps and it's probably designed for much younger collectors - however I decided to pick one up Sunday night since I maybe able to use the durable looking plastic card container after I picked up a similar one at Walmart in the mid 1990s for about $6.

I'm not sure if these are repackaged and sold through retail stores by Fairfield or by a new player in the trading card repack game - maybe Collector's Cache?

Inside the plastic trading card container - was a various number of things that I rummaged through.

10 top loaders - thrown into the box, I'm not sure if I use these to hold my valuable cards...
2 Ultra Pro one-touch card holders - one was with a sticker priced $1.99 and I figure these were probably closeouts from a retail store.
1 Ultra Pro screw down

A set of 1990 Topps coins [60 coins] and one dupe - I don't particularly care about odd sized or oddball baseball items like these, though this set is somewhat attractive and features 'stars of the day' including Nolan Ryan, Ken Griffey Jr., Cal Ripken, etc.

300 assorted cards - including a lot of 192 cards 'on their own' and various 'junk wax' packs; with no expectations, I went through card after card like the card hoarder I am.

A 1989 Topps half a jumbo pak with 51 cards - the company repacking these things couldn't have included the 23-year old stick of gum or the glossy insert card?
A 1990 Upper Deck pack with 15 cards
A 2007 Upper Deck Series 1 and 2 combo pack with 32 cards
A 2008 Upper Deck Documentary pack with 10 cards

Autograph request through the mail received: Bill Sampen

Bill Sampen c/o home - signed my cards in blue Sharpie in little over a week.

Looking back at his Major League career, Sampen managed to find success as a relief pitcher for two or three years in the early 1990s - by the time he spent his last MLB season with the California Angels in 1994, it looked like his arm was toast.

Japanese baseball imports - the cards

I've ended up with various Japanese cards over the years and found cards of the imports looking to come over to play Major League Baseball in 2012 - after a stellar pitching career in Japan, Yu Darvish is the most coveted player coming over and there is a lot of hot stove buzz as to which team he'll end up with.

Pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada signed a two-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles and looks to be a candidate for a spot in the starting rotation in 2012 - supposedly as a Dallas Braden clone of sorts.

Norichika Aoki is supposedly as gifted a hitter as Ichiro was - though let's be real here and hope that if he plays in the Major Leagues next year, is at least a bit better than the Ichiro that showed up for the Seattle Mariners in 2011.

Munenori Kawasaki is looking to sign with the Seattle Mariners - I don't know too much about him, though I vaguely recall referring to him as the 'fake Ichiro' when I attended a World Baseball Classic workout several years ago and saw him signing autographs.

Autograph requests through the mail received: Willie Aikens and Josh Hamilton

Willie Aikens c/o home - signed my three cards in blue Sharpie in about a week. He also returned my letter with a note saying his book is coming out next year and it will answer the questions I had for him in my letter.

Josh Hamilton c/o Texas Rangers [spring training] - signed one card in black Sharpie; I thought I was glad to get this one back but I chose a card with too dark of a background and only the streaky part of the autograph is sort of visible.

Random prospect mailday - Travis Harrison

I am vaguely aware of Travis Harrison as a local county kid [Tustin High School, Orange County California] who has good power potential - though it will probably take another four or five years before he progresses through the minor leagues and if things work out as planned, reaches the Major Leagues for the first time.

I was pretty eager to pick up this 2011 Bowman Draft Chrome first-year autograph card up - particularly without having to pull it in a pack or a box.

Autograph request through the mail received: Floyd Bannister

Floyd Bannister c/o home - signed my three cards in blue Sharpie in about a week.

Bannister's 'bread and butter' years were before the time I started seriously watching baseball and his stint with the California Angels in 1991 seemed forgettable at best - however, despite a 134-143 overall W-L record in the Major Leagues, he was a solid starting pitcher through the mid 1980s and pitched in 200 or more innings in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1987.

Featured autograph - Mark Trumbo

I was able to get this 2011 Topps Allen and Ginter signed in-person by Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo recently - it maybe the best looking autograph I've gotten from him, though it is still sort of rushed, since he had to sign for a scrum of people.

Autograph request through the mail received: Carl Warwick

Carl Warwick c/o home - the 1964 World Series hero personalized and signed my card in blue ink in about a week.

Featured autographs - Mark Gubicza

The affable Angels TV broadcaster Mark Gubicza signed these two cards for me in-person several days ago - I haven't gotten him in a couple of years and while my memory maybe a little fuzzy, it looks like 'Gubi' may have shortened his autograph.

The 1989 Topps is OK, but I like the 1990 Fleer card in particular - they look sort of similar with pretty straightforward designs with white borders, but the Fleer looks better in-hand and features an action shot.