Immaculate Grid

I was filling out an Immaculate Grid game and it was killing me I couldn't think up a player who played both for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers - it was the last spot I needed filled and I was really having an existential crisis about knowing my obscure MLB players, before a 'Matt Kata' finally popped from my memory banks.

I used to be into this game a couple of years ago, where I was compelled to have a go at thinking up players that matched a 3 by 3 grid - it made me think just how little I know, where my knowledge of most MLB players start through the junk wax era and then up through the last 10-15 years.

I feel like I'm not filling out the grid with vintage / old school players before the junk era and/or filling the grid with players from recent years - especially for rank-and-file guys who came up past the pandemic.

I think I got bored filling out grids with the guys I'm familiar with and it got to be where I tried to always take screenshots and save my results - as is, when I see results posted somewhere, I'm tempted to fill out a grid, though I try not to use names I've just seen.

TTM autographs received: Frank Tanana

The former big league lefty signed my cards and added a personal tract card in about a couple of weeks - I might remember Tanana at the tail end of his career as a junk wax era guy, whose cards were strictly common fodder.

However, the Tanana that pitched through the 1980s and early 1990s was way different from the one that paired up with Nolan Ryan in the 1970s as California Angels' aces - it might be fascinating to look back at how great Tanana was for a time, before injuries sidelined his career and he had to reinvent himself as both a person and a player.

TTM autographs received: Charlie Hough

The former big league knuckleballer signed my cards in just about a week - I've gotten him in-person before, where he has dutifully signed my cards, but wanted to send a couple of cards [1984 Donruss and 1990 Leaf] I don't think I ever got him to sign.

TTM autographs received: Mike Napoli

The former Angels catcher signed my two cards in about a couple of weeks c/o The Chicago Cubs were he is employed as a coach - I don't remember seeing him in the past 10 years, where I could have gotten him to sign, but I apparently got him to sign a card in-person during a spring training trip in 2017.

I think his Angels narrative was he was a power hitting late bloomer who made good, mashing his way to the big leagues - after establishing himself for several seasons, then manager Mike Scioscia 'gave up' on him because Scioscia preferred the catching skills of Jeff Mathis, who ended up never hitting at all despite eventually lasting through 2021.

Napoli would move on, help the Texas Rangers get to the World Series in 2011 and then help the Boston Red Sox win a championship in 2013 - he would be seen as this fan favorite, man of the people type who was always about the good vibes.

TTM autographs received: Rusty Greer

The former Texas Rangers outfielder signed my cards in about a month and was glad to tally a success because Greer was really a great player during his short peak - when it came to prominent opposing players in the American League West through the late 1990s, I definitely paid more attention to guys like Juan Gonzalez, Ivan Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro.

However, before chronic injuries derailed the back end of his playing career Greer checked all the boxes as far as athlete cliches - despite the implicit media bias of tagging certain types of pro athletes as being gritty, being a gamer, being a lunch pail guy, etc, Greer lived up to the ideal.

TTM autographs received: Rafael Palmeiro

The former big leaguer signed my two 500 home run 8x10 photos in exactly a week - I mailed my request off to Palmeiro on a Monday and by Friday, I checked the tracking status on my self-addressed photo mailer and it was already out of Palmeiro's hands.

I was anticipating my results and hoping there were not any complications - because it’s a couple of 8x10s I sent and not just loose cards for his current TTM fee of $20.

The afternoon my photo mailer was to arrive, I hoped to meet the mail man as he drove by to deliver the mail [these COVID-19 pandemic adventures are getting too crazy] - but maybe it was too hot and I was thinking of something else in the small window of time when the mail man had stopped by.

I waited around and when I checked my mail, I found my photo mailer was crammed in the mail box - I had to fish my mailer out out delicately and while the thick cardboard envelope a little bent out of shape, my 8x10 photos survived enclosed a photo sleeve / backing board.

TTM autograph received: Jeff Russell

I got Russell to finish off my 1990 Fleer Superstar Specials subset card already signed by Mark Gubicza - a few months ago, I saw a success posted with Russell on a forum I belong to and by coincidence, I found the Fleer card in a small loose stack of cards I’d set aside featuring partially completed multiplayer cards.

On those rare occasions when it does happen - it feels good to get a iP / TTM autograph card signed by the two or more players pictured.

I must have gotten Gubicza 20 years ago while he was still writing out ‘Mark’ compared to recent years - when he really shortened up his autograph to basically initials.

I decided to send my card to Russell with $5 since it might have been implied he actually charges a fee - I crossed my fingers I would get an eventual success and about three weeks later, a SASE was returned with my card signed.

TTM autographs received: Dave Schmidt

Schmidt was an effective big league reliever, doing some double duty in the starting rotation for several seasons, starting 49 games for the Baltimore Orioles from 1987-1989 - he signed my cards in blue Sharpie in about three weeks, including a 1984 Fleer card I actually sought out and picked up earlier in the year.

A monster box rummage - yields a pair of 1990s inserts

1995 Select Gold Team Will Clark #9 of 12 - to juice up my notable player binders by decade, it should be a no brainer to pick up loose inserts, particularly if they were the UV coated inserts from the mid through late 1990s.

1997 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle John Smoltz / Andy Pettitte #9 of 10 - I tend to think dual sided cards are a little odd, a little irregular, but it's a shiny insert with a Dufex finish [at least the 'front' with Smoltz pictured].

A six pack Alex Rodriguez card lot buy

I don't know if anyone is actively looking for any A-Rod cards these days, but maybe for a moment, I can look back with fondness at his wunderkind years when he was considered the best young talent in the game - I still really think about all the seedy, shady stuff he's been involved in over the course of his professional baseball career, but can kind of marvel at his post-playing redemption as an affable baseball analyst / media personality.

2000 Pacific Baseball Ornaments #20 - a unique, Christmas themed die-cut insert.

1997 Metal Universe Titanium #9 - some die-cut action.

2000 Topps Gallery of Heroes #GH1 - some stained glass die-cut action.

2003 Diamond Kings DK Evolution #DK8 - some 3D action.

2004 Fleer Genuine Insider Article Jersey #AR - I don't know if the 'pull out' tab with the swatch of memorabilia really worked, but not a bad looking card.

1997 Donruss Dominators #5 - the snoozer out of this group.

When more borderline HOF guys get their call

As a baseball fan, I'd probably be more of a big hall kind of guy - but I thought it was a joke when I found out through scrolling through a social media post that apparently Smith and Baines were elected to the Hall of Fame through the 2019 Today's Game Era Ballot.

Baines' election to the Hall of Fame will probably cause just about every numbers oriented analysts' heads to explode - I won't begrudge or bemoan his induction to the Hall since there are too many writers messing around with someone's actual accomplishments in the guise of being objective.

Personally, I consider Baines in the middle of the pack as far as a Hall of Very Good guy, but in a roundabout way - Baines probably got some extra consideration for the 134 hits he didn't get towards that 3,000th hit club he missed out on.

The last card I touched featuring Baines was his 1991 Upper Deck [#562] - it went in my awesome action collection as a game face card; I like the image of him on the on-deck circle, about to swing while doing his high leg kick.

As far as Smith, though he once held the all-time saves record, I've always thought of him as mostly a junk wax era journeyman reliever - however, with Trevor Hoffman getting into the Hall of Fame recently and with Mariano Rivera on the way, someone had to fit Smith in-between the two in order to have a little run of modern era closers.

Maybe an obvious non-Rivera candidate in the next several years will likely be Billy Wagner - depending on who is on the ballot.

My favorite Smith card was his 1996 Upper Deck card [#266] because while it obviously shows him with the Angels - it was also a seemingly more elaborate image setup compared to a typical baseball card picture.

1997 Bowman’s Best Adrian Beltre RC #117

I wanted a Beltre rookie card and grabbed this as an impulsive purchase to squirrel away - the 1997 Bowman Chrome RC #182 is the one to have, but maybe I’ll wait a little bit before seeking that one out.

This maybe a condition sensitive card as chrome cards from the 1990s tend to ‘hulk’ when exposed to the weather conditions - the copy of the card I picked up doesn’t appear to be discolored, though I have to account for when it happens.

Admittedly for the longest time, up through when the retiring Beltre was gunning for his 3,000th hit - I didn’t think much of him as having the numbers to merit any sort of serious consideration for the Hall of Fame.

I’ve always thought he was a minor star at best who lucked into a flukish season in 2004 - after collecting his 3,000 hits in 2017 and passing Rod Carew in 2018 as the all-time Latin American hits leader, Beltre's baseball playing accomplishments have the substance as he looks to become a first ballot Hall of Famer in five years.

Accounting for his all-world defense, the hitting numbers and the quirkiness he’s occasionally exhibited, Beltre has become a fan favorite to be goofed on in good fun - he didn't he like his head touched by his teammates and he had one of the most exaggerated follow throughs on his swing.

He and Texas Rangers teammate Elvis Andrus never get tired of messing around with each other - Andrus seems to be Beltre’s best friend on the field, but also his main antangonist.

TTM autographs received: Bartolo Colon

The longtime MLB pitcher and fan favorite signed my trading cards I sent back in August c/o the Texas Rangers - even as he has labored through the past two seasons, it's still a thing to see the 45-year pitch for a big league team.

Who knows who is going to pay him to be on their team in 2019 - but it would be nice to see him have one more good run before he finally calls it quits.

Rafael Palmeiro - 1987 Donruss #43

If Palmeiro can continue to suit up to play independent baseball for at least the next few years - it can show he's still plugging away with his timeless swing and isn't completely removed from professional baseball, even though a failed steroid test derailed his induction into the Hall of Fame.

Right now, he gets to be a teammate of his son Patrick and while his stint with a team called the Cleburn Railroaders probably doesn't lead anywhere - maybe the occasional highlight helps him get back in the news where the 53-year old gets a second look, even if it's for cheap thrills, a novelty.

Featured autograph - Ian Kinsler

It's hard for a big league team to carry a veteran player past their prime because sometimes it's just the end - I do like the Angels' trade for the 35-year old second baseman, because he seems like a player you can plug and play for next year.

Presumably he can still hit for some power, defend, run a little bit and all things considered, otherwise be Dustin Pedroia lite - if Kinsler stinks it up, there is no team commitment past 2018.

TTM autographs received: Bobby Witt

The former Major League pitcher signed my cards in a couple of weeks and returned a lone card unsigned - as a collector of random scribbles, I like my cards autographed in the standard blue Sharpie.

However, unless I send someone I'm writing a request to a spare Sharpie - I can't control what pen a person has in his possession.

Unfortunately, the pen used to sign these cards seemed a little irregular - where the autographs came out really light as opposed to bold and legible.

TTM response received: Adrian Beltre

After seeing autograph successes posted with the future Hall of Fame third baseman through the middle of the MLB season - I tried to send a request with a couple of cards.

Unfortunately the well ran dry and my cards were returned with stamped autographs - the 'autograph' on one card was smeared beyond recognition and it looks funny to see a 'shadow' of the facsimile autograph on one of the penny sleeves returned with my cards.

Featured autograph - Cody Ege

When he popped up on the Angels' active roster, Ege sounded like the most random guy ever - a 15th round draft pick by the Texas Rangers in 2013, the 25-year old lefty was traded to the Miami Marlins a couple years ago and then picked up on waivers by the Angels

Ege fits a profile of guy who may put in a couple of years playing at the big league level before fading out - I wondered how I was going to add his autograph to my Angels collection, but I picked up signed minor league card through the SCN message boards.

Featured autograph - Prince Fielder

Longevity seemed like it was always going to be an issue with Prince's body type and while an iron man of sorts for the bulk of his career, he'd already been in decline - his slugging percentage had dropped from 2011-2013 while he was limited to 42 games in 2014.

Prince had sort of a bounce back bounceback year in 2015 and while I hoped he would continue slugging his way back into prominence - he labored for much of this year and a neck injury cuts his big league career short at 32.

While there should is a little mourning over the apparent end, Prince maxed out his talents - ever since he tagged along with his big league father and hit home runs at old Tiger Stadium as a chubby 12-year old, Prince was expected to be like his dad.

Unlike his father, Prince swung the bat from the left side and while the body type was similar, Prince was a bit shorter than Fielder the elder - while father and son each hit 319 home runs for their careers, Prince seemed to be a better all-around hitter, with four seasons of 150 OPS+, compared to one for 'Big Daddy.'

Farewell Mark Teixeira - a pro all the way

Though Teixeira has had a fine career, it looks like his body is beat up and is apparently retiring at the end of the 2016 season - his year-to-year numbers have generally been in decline for the past five years.

A one-time Angel in 2008, Teixeira hit .358 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI in 193 at-bats in a 54-game stint after being acquired from the Atlanta Braves near the trade deadline - he provided such a boost with a bat, that it was disappointing [even if any sort of long-term deal wasn't really meant to be] not to see him back with the Angels.

Losing Teixeira through free agency meant the Angels were compensated with a 2009 first-round draft pick - the team used the pick to select Mike Trout, who at 25, continues to build on a monumental career.

The circumstances that gifted the Angels with Trout was something that happened because Teixeira bolted for New York - so there maybe indifference but no real ill will towards 'Tex' after the fact.

After leaving the Angels, I probably hoped Teixeira would be more of an albatross as the years passed by - but in his first season with the Yankees, Teixeira got what he came for when he had another big season and helped the team win a World Series championship in 2009.

Teixeira was a polished college player when the Texas Rangers drafted him in 2001 and was a ready made big leaguer when he made his big league debut in 2003 - he really had some big seasons with the Texas Rangers and I thought he was going to be a superstar for years to come.