Featured autographs - Darin Erstad

I saw Nebraska was scheduled to visit Cal State Fullerton this year, so I was already thinking I could get Angels fan favorite and Nebraska baseball head coach Darin Erstad to sign at least a couple of cards - I got him to sign three cards in 2011, but was looking to get him to sign at least a couple of more cards from the 'bunch' I have in my A-Z archives.

As much as I don't want to admit it, I just can't ever say I'm done with a getting any particular player's autograph – it just depends on what I have at the moment and whether I can cobble up more items, especially for a guy who maybe worth getting.

Since I'm kind of hard up for any baseball in-person autographs opportunities that get me out of the house - I had to go sniff things out and was planning to make the most of my afternoon, after paying $10 to watch a Nebraska-CSUF doubleheader at Goodwin Field this past Saturday.

I made my way towards the visitor's side and kind of scoped things out and saw there were maybe five or six random people looking to get Erstad - I didn't see Erstad anywhere, though I was hoping he'd sign sooner than later, instead of making collectors wait until the end.

Erstad finally popped out of the visitor's dugout about 20 minutes before the game and walked by the railing - to sign for the people waiting for him.

Erstad 2/4 - I pointed out the 1997 Pinnacle Certified because it's my 'shiniest' card [there was a label I had to peel off] and if it wasn't going to be signed and put away, it was just going to get scratched up even more.

To be honest, the scan looks better than the actual signed card - the autographs is kind of obscured since the background was dark to begin with.

The other card I pointed out to Erstad was a 1998 Fleer Ultra - I like the action shot of Erstad sliding headfirst into a base.

Featured cards: Scott Pose 1993 Upper Deck Scott Pose #762 and 1998 Fleer Ultra Scott Rolen #70 -

Though Pose made it to the Major Leagues as the first batter in Florida Marlins' history, he seemed to be strictly expansion draft fodder. Still his 1993 Upper Deck leaps out at you because it frames the action succintly. You can see Pose has already dirtied his uniform up and you can see the tension in his face as he is trying leg out a triple. He doesn't know where he is going, but he knows the only way to get there is through 100 percent hustle.

Scott Rolen was the 1997 National League Rookie of the Year and while things haven't always been good for the third baseman, he's enjoyed an otherwise successful career as a Major League star. He's played hard and he's played hurt. He's won a World Series and depending on how he finishes his career, is probably in the borderline Hall of Fame class. The card is symbolic of his successful career, though it has been a while since he has starred for the Philadephia Phillies.

These two cards will never be someone's showcase cards in their collections, but these two have probably become my favorites because of how the photographers were able to capture compellings image of these two players to put into a little hand-held piece of collectible cardboard.