2008 Bowman, Brian Bannister/Luke Hochevar

#193 Brian Bannister

I know I said in yesterday's post that I was only going to be posting cards of players once. If I had more cards after that, they were going to get lumped into a group post like the one I did yesterday. I guess I lied, because I have posted multiple cards of Brian Bannister. In fact, I once quit blogging for about forty-five days because I did not want to do another Brian Bannister post. But, I thought that this card was pretty neat and I had to show it off in its own post. For the record, I did skip Billy Butler to get to this card.

Anyways, one year at Royals Fanfest, I was in line next to an older kid and he did not have a card of the player that was currently signing at that line. I had extras, so we made a trade. He gave me his stack to look through and I found this card, which I had not seen before. I instantly noticed it was an error because it says Brian Bannister and has his facsimile signature and stats on it, but it has a picture of Luke Hochevar. So, I traded for this card, but wasn't really sure what I was going to do with it.

About a week later, the Royals Caravan rolled through my town and Bannister was one of the guys on my leg of the tour. I took this card with me even though I was unsure if Brian would sign it for me. When I got up to him, I asked him if he would sign the card even though he isn't pictured on it. He was like "oh sure, I have a few error cards out there". Then, once I had Brian on the card, I knew I had to get Hochevar on it.

Fast-forward two years later and I am again at Royals Fanfest and I am in Hochevar's line. I get up to him and I show him the card and tell him that I was hoping he would be able to sign it for me. He just sat and stared at it a few seconds and was speechless. I take it that he had never seen the card, let alone signed one. He finally came to and signed it and was even curious when I had got Brian to sign it.

So, here it is- my only dual signed card with one player pictured on it. While it is not the coolest card in my collection, it is definitely unique.

2000 Fleer Tradition, Jeff Montgomery

#244 Jeff Montgomery

I cannot believe that it has been nearly four years since I have posted a card of Jeff Montgomery. When I posted that last card, the ninth signed card from Jeff, I complained that I had too many signed cards from him. While I don't mind a lot of different signed cards of the same person, it gets really hard to posts those cards with meaningful commentary on here after the third post. Luckily, I haven't had to worry about that the last four years.

I got this card signed at the last Royals Caravan that the team held in 2015. The team was fresh off their American League pennant run and they threw a less than spectacular Caravan together. The leg that came through Kansas consisted of Monty, Lane Adams, and Brandon Finnegan. It wasn't completely awful since I did not have an autograph from Adams or Finnegan. But, I had to find a card of Finnegan quick since he was drafted in 2014 and didn't have any mainstream cards yet. I ended up with a Panini Draft card and all was well.

The Royals went on to win it all in 2015 and they did a rather unusual Caravan in 2016. Rather than take players around, they took their World Series trophy. Knowing that the trophy was going to be displayed for eternity at Kauffman Stadium, I did not bother with that. In 2017 and 2018, the Royals did nothing and, as of right now, the Royals Caravan appears to be dead in the water. But, with how awful the team is right now, it might not be a bad idea to get something restarted next year. We will have to wait to see what happens.

2007 Multi Ad Sports, Omaha Royals

#4 Brian Bannister
#14 Shane Costa
#20 Mike Jirschele
#26 Neal Musser

At Royals Fanfest in 2009, the Omaha Royals had a booth set up. They had a bunch of freebies sitting on their table, including random cards from this 2007 team set. Neal Musser and Shane Costa were both at Fanfest that year and, since I only had one card of each, I made sure to grab their cards. I also grabbed the Bannister and the Jirschele. I am not really sure why I grabbed the Jirschele. It was probably because he was the AAA manager and he usually gets called up to the big leagues after the AAA season is over. Either way, I grabbed four cards and I was able to get all four signed in 2009. I got Costa and Musser at Fanfest, Bannister at the Royals Caravan, and Jirschele after an O-Royals game in Des Moines.

I really like this set. Though the photography needs some help to make it look less "foggy", the layout is really good. I love the way the bat is used for the name, position, and team. The fact that it is a black bat makes it even better. Multi Ad did a good job with adding the gold ring on the bat that matches the font color.

Out of all of these guys, Jirschele is the only one that is still in baseball. Musser and Bannister have not pitched since 2010 and Costa last played in 2012. Jirschele is currently the third base coach for the Royals.

This is the last card of Shane Costa that I have to post on here. You can see his first one here and the second one here. There will be one more Neal Musser, a couple more Mike Jirscheles, and quite a few more Bannisters.

1994 Topps, Willie Wilson

#698 Willie Wilson

Here is the final card that I got Willie to sign for me at the Royals Caravan stop last year. He signed my '81 Donruss card and a random A's card for me, as well.

Willie played for the Cubs for a little more than a season. He ended up there in 1993 and hit .258 with a home run and 11 RBI. He was back with them in '94, but he was hitting just .238 when the Cubs released him in May.

For his career, Willie played in the Majors for parts of 19 seasons. He was a .285 hitter with 41 home runs, 585 RBI, and 668 stolen bases. He was a two-time All Star and won one World Series. He won one batting title, lead the American League in singles four times, triples five times, and stolen bases, hits, and runs once. He is still the Royals all time leader in stolen bases and is listed by Baseball Reference as the fourth best Royal ever, based on WAR.

Speaking of Royals, did anyone notice that they are going to the playoffs for the first time since 1985? I am pretty excited. Hopefully they make it into the Division Series as I have tickets to game three.

Let's go Royals!!!

1993 Select, Willie Wilson

#395 Willie Wilson

It has been over a year since I posted a card of Willie Wilson. The last one I posted was his '81 Donruss card and that one can be seen here. You can check out a few other Wilson cards from the blog's early days here, here, and here.

This card, like the '81 Donruss, was signed at a Royals Caravan stop in early 2013. After a three year exile from my home town, the Royals Caravan returned that year with Willie, Aaron Crow, Everett Teaford, and Eric Hosmer. It was a pretty good selection and I thoroughly enjoyed the event. However, it was a short-lived reprieve as the Caravan bypassed Salina again this year. Why this happens is unknown to me. I know that turn-out wasn't super-awesome, but what do they expect when they announce it three days prior and schedule it mid-day on a Thursday?

Before getting some cards signed by Willie at the Caravan stop, I had gotten three cards signed by him in 2008 after I had jumped back into autograph collecting. I picked out cards then based on the first ones I found. Nowadays, I try to be more choosy if I have the time to be. So, when I got cards signed by Willie last year, I took my '81 Donruss and two non-Royals cards since all of my other signed cards were him as a Royal. That is how I came to have a signed A's card of him.

Willie joined the A's for the 1992 season after fifteen seasons in Kansas City. He had a rough year his first year in Oakland and hit just .238. That was the lowest average he had posted since his first full season in the Majors in 1978. But, he bounced back the next season and had an average of .270.

Willie seemed a little surprised to see an A's card of himself. I handed it to him and and he just stopped and looked at it for a few seconds. He then showed it off to Everett Teaford and started telling him about the place he had in the Bay Area.

1981 Donruss, Willie Wilson

#223 Willie Wilson

This is a card that I had been trying to get signed for several years without any luck. I originally took it to a Royals old-timers game to get signed and did not succeed. I then took it to a Kansas City T Bones game when Willie was the starting centerfielder, but was unable to get it signed before the game. There was a post game autograph session, but I did not feel like spending the ten bucks to get the card signed.

I finally got it signed this past winter when the Royals Caravan made an appearance at Wal-Mart in my hometown. My town had been dropped of the Caravan route for the previous three years, so it was nice see them stop there again. It was even nicer that they had a decent line-up of guys signing at the event. Willie was obviously there, along with Everett Teaford, Aaron Crow, and Eric Hosmer. The signing was held during the day on a Thursday, so there wasn't a huge crowd. That was great as I was able to go through the line twice.

North Carolina State was knocked out of the College World Series last night, so we are down to four teams left. Oregon State and Mississippi State play each other and North Carolina and UCLA play. UCLA and Mississippi State are undefeated, so they have to lose twice to be sent home. We will know our final two teams by tomorrow night.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 124/100

2006 Topps, David DeJesus

#565 David DeJesus

Here is the second David DeJesus card that I have posted on here. I posted the first one back in May and, despite both cards being signed at the same event, the first one had a slightly better signature on it. I can't complain though as you never know which DeJesus signature you are going to get. I've seen some hideous ballpark signatures from him, but his sigs at signings are generally a bit nicer.

David had an off year this past season with Oakland. He posted a career low in average (.240) and all of his offensive numbers were down. Yet, he somehow parlayed a bad season (by his standards) into a two-year deal, with an option for a third, with the Cubs. By all accounts, it appears that David is going to be the Cubs starting right fielder this season.

When David was with the Royals, he played all three outfield positions. I thought that he was best in left field because, while he had a good arm, it wasn't a dominant right field arm. But, that is just my opinion and I hope that David has a good tenure with the Cubbies. I look forward to seeing him play a few times on WGN this summer.

2005 Topps Total, Joey Gathright

#347 Joey Gathright

Here is card of the former Ray, Royal, Cub, and Red Sock, Joey Gathright. I got this card signed at a 2008 Royals Caravan stop here in town and Joey was accompanied by Brian Bannister, Billy Butler, and I think Dennis Leonard. Overall, it was a nice selection of players. Too bad the Caravan doesn't make it to these parts any longer.

Joey was drafted by the Devil Rays in the 32nd round of the 2001 draft. Despite being the 949th player taken that year, Joey made his Major League debut in 2004. Joey had one skill that coouldn't be taught and that was speed. Speed got him to the big leagues and speed defined his game. The only problem was that Joey couldn't hit.

That may have been a bit harsh. Joey could hit the ball. He just couldn't hit the ball hard. For a guy that was as fast as Joey, you would think that he would be a doubles and triples machine. However, that was not the case. In 1175 Major League at-bats, Joey recorded only 30 doubles and 8 triples (and 1 home run). He had 309 hits in the Majors, so 270 of his hits were for singles. I don't know how one could check it out, but I would guess that maybe as many as a third of those hits were infield hits, too.

Unfortunately for Joey, speed wasn't enough to prolong his career. He got released by the Orioles AAA team last season and finished the year in the Atlantic League. I cannot find anything about him for this season, so I am assuming he has yet to find a team.

Joey's signature is basically just his initials. That is kind of boring.

If Joey can't find a team this season, maybe he could join the circus and become a car jumper or something.

2005 Topps, David DeJesus

#474 David DeJesus

Here is a card that I was able to get signed at a Royals Caravan appearance in 2008. The Caravan had a good selection of players as David, Joey Gathright, Billy Butler, John Mayberry, and Frank White all made the trip here. The event was held at Wal-Mart of all places, but it worked out great and I had a good time. Unfortunately, the last two Caravans have scrapped my town from the schedule, so there is no telling if will ever attend another one.

This is the first DeJesus signature that I have posted on here and this is one of the better looking DeJesus autographs that I have. I've seen about four different versions of David's signature and they don't come much better than this, especially on a card.

DeJesus, who was traded to the A's this past offseason, was a fan favorite while in Kansas City. Most fans referred to him as DDJ and I am sure most of them were sad to see him get traded. They are probably even more sad with the fact that the main player we got for him has a 4.66 ERA in four AAA starts. But, we just have to trust "the process", or so we are told.

So far this season, David is off to a slow start. He is hitting just .227 through 26 games and he only has three extra-base hits. He had a start similar to that in 2009 and he finished the season hitting .281. I wouldn't expect anything less than that out of him this season, as well.

2004 Topps Total, John Buck

#109 John Buck

Here is a card that was signed by the Marlins newest backstop almost six years ago. My dad got this card signed for me at a Royals Caravan signing while I was deployed to Iraq. This was the same Caravan stop that Jeremy Affeldt appeared at and it was sprinkling when my dad left. Luckily, the Jeremy Affeldt card was on the top of the stack when my dad left and this card came out unharmed. [Edit: Actually, if you click on the card, you can see that it did get hit with rain. C'mon Dad!]

John Buck had a breakout season this past year for the Blue Jays. He hit .281 for them and that was the first time that he had ever hit over .250 in his career. He also hit the 20 home run mark for the first time and he made his first All Star team, thanks to an injury to Victor Martinez. Because of those numbers, the Marlins were willing to give him a three year/$18 million contract. Whether John will be able to repeat his 2010 numbers over the next three years is another question. But, I have enough signed cards of him that I will take a look at in whenever I post one.

This is the only signed card I have of John where he isn't wearing a Royals uniform. In case you didn't know, John never played for the Astros. He was on their AAA team when the Royals acquired him in the Carlos Beltran trade.

2004 Topps, Zack Grienke/Jimmy Gobble

#330 Jimmy Gobble/Zack Grienke

This is the first card that I got two signatures on and it only took me about five years to get them both. The first signature I got was Jimmy Gobble's and I got it at a Royals Caravan appearance at the local Buick dealership in 2004. This was the only card that I had of Jimmy, so it was better than getting just a Royals issued postcard signed. The funny part is that, at the time, I didn't have a clue who the Grienke kid on the top part of the card was.

Fast forward to 2009 and everyone found out who Zack Grienke was. That is the year that I got Zack to sign the card, but I got the card signed before the season began at Royals Fanfest. I usually take my autograph book with me to Fanfest in an attempt to get more than one card signed (I know, I'm a bad person). When I got to Grienke, I made sure to point to this card so I could get it completed. He signed this one and one other card for me that day. I tried to get more than one from him this past Fanfest, but he only signed one card for me. I guess you never really know what you are going to get from Zack (unless he's on the mound).

This will probably be the last time that I post a Zack Grienke card while he is still a member of the Royals. That kid sounds really anxious to get the hell out of KC.

As for the "Future Star" billing on this card, Zack became a star. Jimmy Gobble? Not so much.

2004 Fleer Platinum, Joe Randa

#34 Joe Randa

Here is a card that I got signed at the weird Royals Caravan appearance last winter at the Kansas State basketball game. I call it weird since there wasn't a autograph signing and that is usually the whole point of the Caravan. Instead, the three players attended a private party and then watched the first half of the basketball game before leaving. Luckily, I was on top of my game that night and I came home with three hard-earned autographs (two from Joe and one from George Brett).

When I first started this blog, I did not have a single card signed by Joe. I had a few balls signed by him and an 8x10 and maybe a team issued postcard, but no baseball cards. Now, after a card package from Padrographs, the Royals caravan, and Royals Fanfest, I think I am up to at least six cards signed by Joe. He is starting to be one of the more frequent caravan/fanfest attendees and the cards are starting to stack up. Lucky for me that I have a ton of unsigned Randa cards laying around. I'm even trying to trade for his 1998 Topps card on Topps Million Card giveaway right now, just so I can have a signed Tigers card of him.

To date, I have posted four Joe Randa cards. You can see the first one here, the second one here, and the third (AKA Freddy Kruger sweater card) here. The next card I have to post of him is a 2006 card, so it may be a while before that gets posted. There is probably a better chance of me posting a card from Fanfest before I get to the '06 card.

2004 Donruss, Jeremy Affeldt

#128 Jeremy Affeldt

Here is a couple of cards of World Series champion, Jeremy Affeldt.

I got these two cards signed at different points in 2005. My dad got the one on the left signed for me at a local Royals Caravan stop. I was either deployed to Iraq at the time or I was in Georgia getting ready to deploy. That's why my dad was in charge of it. Apparently it was sprinkling when my dad left the signing and that is why there is some spots in the signature. Why he didn't cover them up, I do not know. I guess that is just what happens when you leave other people in charge of getting autographs for you. At least the other cards he got signed came out alright.

The card on the right was the result of a TTM attempt later that year. I was deployed in Iraq at the time and this is one of three TTM returns I had that summer. The nice thing about TTMing from Iraq is that you didn't have to pay for postage to mail something to the States. You just needed to include return postage, so it cost half as much as it usually does.

Jeremy always seemed like a nice guy while he was in Kansas City. These are the only cards I have signed by him, but I have a few autographs on team balls. One time in 2003, Jeremy and Mike MacDougal climbed into the stands on a cold and rainy April day to sign autographs. I wasn't at the game that day (it was postponed), but I did see a picture of it on the Royals website. That is the only time that I have seen a player in the stands to sign autographs (though I heard that Barry Bonds did the same thing later that year).

2003 Topps Total, Kyle Snyder

#308 Kyle Snyder

Here is the second and final autograph that I got from Kyle Snyder at a 2004 Royals Caravan event here in town. When I posted the first card earlier in the year, I thought I only got one card signed. But, it turns out that that was not the case. Maybe I only felt like I got one card signed since you can hardly see the signature on this one.

Luckily, the Royals black uniform days are over and they didn't last too long. When they were first unveiled in 2002, I liked them. I liked the black and blue hat and the sleeveless road uniforms. But, the novelty quickly wore off and I'm pretty sure that the team stopped wearing black early in the 2006 season.

I pretty much hate any card that is a close-up of the player in a dark jersey. Unfortunately, in 2004, I only had two Kyle Snyder cards in my collection. So, it was either get this card signed and have two cards signed by him, or don't get it signed and just have the one. I would make the same choice every single time, though I would have it signed in blue just to add a little contrast.

I'm surprised how well this card turned out in the scan. When you look at it in person, you can't see any of the signature that is over the black parts of the jersey.

I mentioned in the last Snyder post that Kyle pitched for the Mets AAA team last season. Unless he is recovering from an injury, it would appear that Kyle's career is done. He hasn't pitched at all this season.

2000 Topps Chrome, Kyle Snyder

#211 Kyle Snyder

Here is the first chrome card that I ever got signed. I got this signature in 2004 when the Royals Caravan came to town. The caravan came to a local Buick dealership in the middle of a work day. Luckily, I wasn't working at the time (I had less than a month before I shipped off to basic training) and was able to go over there to get some cards signed. Kyle was paired up with Jimmy Gobble and Frank White. Unfortunately, I could only find one card each of Snyder and Gobble. I was able to go back through the line a second time and get some Royals postcards signed by the two and another Frank White card signed. The local card shop owner was there too, and had me rub the card with some pantyhose to take some of the gloss off of it. It seems to have worked out well.

Kyle was the Royals first round pick in 1999 (two Royals first rounders in a row). He only pitched in 29 games for the Royals before being picked up on waivers by the Red Sox. He had a little bit better success with Boston and posted a career best ERA of 3.81 in 2007. Last year, Kyle spent the entire season pitching for the Buffalo Bisons, the Mets AAA team.

Kyle signs his name very similar to Mike Stodolka in the fact that he doesn't lift his pen to sign his last name. Plus, they use the same style of "S", too.

1992 Bowman, Joe Randa

#560 Joe Randa

I got this card last August in a package from Ryan, of the Great Orioles Autograph Project. As soon as I saw the card, I knew I had to have it signed. Luckily, Joe Randa was part of the Royals Caravan that went to the Kansas State basketball game.

After I got George Brett's autograph, I turned around to look for Jamie Quirk and Joe Randa. Somehow, Quirk sneaked past me. But, a few seconds later, I saw Joe crossing the concourse. It looked like he was in a hurry since he didn't know where to go; he was just following the other guys. I stopped him and asked him to sign and he said "oh, sure" and signed both of the cards for me. I was wanting to ask him about this card and what he thought about his first Major League card featuring him in a Freddy Kruger sweater. But, I could tell that he was in a hurry and didn't want to get seperated from the rest of the guys, so I thanked him and he took off.

While not the most memorable autograph interaction of all time, at least he stopped walking to sign and said a couple of words to me.

1981 Donruss, George Brett

#491 George Brett

Trust me, this is a different card than the last George Brett I posted on here. It uses the same picture, but this one commemorates George's 1980 American League MVP award.

I got this card signed at a Kansas State basketball game. The Royals Caravan rolled through there a few weeks ago, so I bought myself a $25 ticket and went to the game. Unfortunately, the Caravan crew (Brett, Jamie Quirk, and Joe Randa) were only attending a booster party and then watching the first half of the game. There was no autograph session.

Feeling down, but not out, I camped out by the room where the "party" was. There was two doors to the room, so I stayed at the midway point between the two while mainly watching the back door. About ten minutes before tip-off, I saw George coming out the back door and heading for the seating bowl. I intercepted him on the concourse and asked him for an autograph. He grabbed my book and signed one card while walking. He didn't say anything to me or even look at me, but I got my card signed. So, I was happy that the trip wasn't a complete waste.

I'm not sure where this picture is taken, but I know that it is not Comiskey Park. My guess is Exhibition Stadium in Toronto.

This is the last '81 Donruss for now. I'll have another card up later tonight.

'81 Donruss Tracker: 47/100

1999 Topps, Jeff Montgomery

#179 Jeff Montgomery

Here is one last card of Jeff Montgomery, the Royals all-time saves leader with 304. Jeff has 66 more saves than the second place Dan Quisenberry and 215 more saves than the third place Joakim Soria.

At this point, I have no idea how many cards I have signed by Monty. I am going to guess that it is at least four and probably five. If he was going to be at Fanfest this year, he definitely would have been on the list of cards to get signed for other bloggers. But, for some reason he is not.

I have so many cards signed by Jeff that I do not recall where I got this card signed. It was most likely at some Royals Caravan stop, but that is as close as I can get. I do know that this was the first card that I had signed from '99 Topps. So, at least I know something.

Speaking of the Caravan, today is the day that it rolls through my town. In the past, the Caravan has always done a public signing here at the mall, a car dealership, or Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, that is not the case this year.

For some reason, the Royals have drastically shortened the caravan this year. Many towns that used to be on it are now left out. They are still coming to my town, but they are only doing a private appearance at a local elementary school. Normally, I wouldn't mind too much since I have autographs from most of the players and alumni that go on the trips. But this year is different. This year, George Brett is coming to town.

So now I have to drive to Manhattan and buy a $28 Kansas State basketball ticket to get George's autograph. And that is what I am going to do. I'm hoping that I can go through the line at least twice to make it worth it.

I'm used to being disappointed by the Royals on the field. But being disappointed in their Caravan is something new to me.

1996 Signature Rookies Autobilia, Johnny Damon

#B4 Johnny Damon

First off, I don't know too much about this card. It is a preview card for a set that never came out. I can't even remember which set I got it out of. It might have been from the Autobilia football cards that Signature Rookies defaulted on. I can't even find this card on Beckett.com. There were a few more preview cards, but the only other one I remember is A-Rod. But, I think that it is a good looking card. If nothing else, it is original.

I got this card signed at a Royals Caravan appearance at the mall when I was in high school. Johnny was there with Micheal Tucker. That was probably the best caravan I attended until 2008. They usually had some rookies signing prior to that, but it was more like Kevin Koslofski than anyone that would be around for awhile.

I wish that I would have had him sign another card for me. But, this was the only card I took. I bought a pennent there and had him and Tucker sign that. I still have that. I may have a signed Royals-issued photo, too. I'm not sure if I grabbed one of those or not.

I first became a Royals fan in college when I realized I only had to drive an hour and forty-five minutes to get to the ballpark. That was in 2000 and the Royals had the best offense in team history. Unfortunately, their pitching was horrible. The outfield consisted of Damon, Carlos Beltran, and Jermaine Dye while Joe Randa and Mike Sweeney were the main guys in the infield. That was a fun ballclub. You could pretty much expect a 9-7 game every night.

Here is a picture of Johnny from photo day that year.

1993 Score, Michael Tucker

#498 Michael Tucker

I got this card signed at a Royals Caravan signing at the mall around 1995 or '96. I was probably a sophomore at the time. That was the last caravan that I went to until 2001.

As for Michael Tucker, he never lived up to the expectations. He played two years in Kansas City before being shipped off to the Braves for Jermain Dye (who was at the 2001 Caravan). That was a great trade for the Royals and would have been even better if they could have held on to Dye. But, they were unable to and the Royals ended up bringing Tucker back to KC for two more seasons in 2003.

While Tucker was not a bad player by any means, he just did not put up the numbers to be a starting corner outfielder. The most home runs that he ever had in a season was 15 and the most RBI he ever drove in was 62. Plus, he was a .256 career hitter. He would have been a great fourth outfielder to have on a team, but not necessarily a starter.

Tucker was, however, a pretty good hitter in games that I attended. I saw him play in 35 games (once with the Cubs and the rest with the Royals) and he hit .331 in 124 at-bats, with 19 runs, 18 RBI, 14 extra base hits, and five steals. What can I say? I guess that I bring out the best in some people (Chris Singleton was 11 for 15 in games I saw him play).

Also, Michael has an interesting signature. It is impossible to make out and I have a hard time believing that the signature starts out with an "M". It is also funny to see that he was drafted as a shortstop. That may explain his light hitting.