TTM autographs received: Mark Grudzielanek

The former big league infielder signed my cards in about a month back in April - I don't really think Grudzielanek was a player I paid attention to regularly, where he was more rank-and-file than a star outright, but his seemingly unique last name kept him relatively familiar.

Grudzielanek could hit for average and collected over 2040 base hits in his big league career - looking at his Baseball Reference page, maybe his numbers come off as more modest [.289 batting / .332 on-base / .393 slugging / 90 OPS+].

However, it might be a fun thing for me to break things down and see where Grudzielanek had a run of good, serviceable big league seasons - especially when he seemed more like a grinder from day one, rather than a guy who came into big leagues with any sort of pedigree as a top prospect.

2001 Topps Stadium Club Mike Sweeney #126

Sweeney's face is obscured and he is contorted in sort of an odd way that the action happening is facing away [for a lack of a better way to describe what is going on] - but I kind of like the card because it captures a relatively large man leaping nimbly to snare a line drive hit towards his direction.

I assume Sweeney was a little more athletic and flexible in he hit his prime - where he was putting up numbers and establishing his MLB career as slugger.

It is what it is, but it's hard to believe that it's a 13 year old card I rescued from a quarter box - it's a relatively modern looking card, with generally sharp photography and a slick, glossy surface.