Well, today was not exactly a happy day, but we must move on, not dwell on what happened, and remain vigilant as to our rights. But I think we all knew that, so onto the autographs.
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-2004 Leaf Certified Materials Mirror White Trot Nixon autograph. The first round pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 1993 draft, Christopher Trotman "Trot" Nixon was taken 7th overall that year. He signed as a draft and follow, beginning his pro career in 1994. Trot soon became well-known for good power and excellent plate discipline, as well as his scrappy, hard-nosed style of play. Called up in September, 1996, Trot debuted with the Red Sox by going 2-for-4 in 2 games. In 1998, he was called up again, this time for 27 games. He hit poorly, but when asked to focus on his plate discipline, he hit himself into the starting lineup as Boston's regular right fielder. In 124 games in 1999, he batted .270 with an excellent .357 on-base percentage, 15 homeruns, 52 RBI's, and 67 runs scored. In 2000, he just got better. Trot batted .276 with a .368 on-base percentage, 12 homeruns, 60 RBI's, and 66 runs scored. But in 2001, he put it all together. Trot batted .280 with a .376 on-base percentage, 27 homeruns, 88 RBI's, and 100 runs scored. In 2002, he continued his tear by batting .256 with a .338 on-base percentage, 24 homeruns, 94 RBI's, and 81 runs scored. In 2003, Trot has his best year ever. He batted .306 with a .396 on-base percentage, 28 homeruns, 87 RBI's, and 81 runs scored. He was well on his way to a good 2004 campaign, but had serious quadriceps problems. He only played 48 games that year, batting .315 with a .377 on-base percentage, 6 homeruns, 23 RBI's, and 24 runs scored. He rebounded despite a strained oblique in 2005 and managed to play 124 games, batting .275 with a .357 on-base percentage, 13 homeruns, 67 RBI's, and 64 runs scored. In 2006, his last season with Boston, Trot battled bicep problems and only played in 114 games. He batted .268 with a .373 on-base percentage, 8 homeruns, 52 RBI's, and 59 runs scored. However, looking for a more durable outfielder, the Red Sox let the fan favorite Trot Nixon elect free agency in the 2006 off-season. Signing with the Cleveland Indians, he was somewhat miscast as a utility outfielder. In 99 games, he batted .251 with a .342 on-base percentage, 3 homeruns, 31 RBI's, and 30 runs scored. However, he continued to grapple with injuries over the 2007 season and could only get a Minor League contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks for 2008. Though he played well in AAA ball, he never appeared in the Majors. After an injury to Moises Alou, the Mets acquired Trot for cash. In 11 games, he hit only .171 with a .293 on-base percentage, 1 homerun, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored. He soon hurt himself diving for a ball and when he recovered, he found himself in AAA ball. In my opinion, he's completely done as a Major League regular. In 42 postseason games, Trot batted .283 with a .348 on-base percentage, 6 homeruns, 25 RBI's, and 18 runs scored. With that said, he teaches an interesting lesson. We always admire the players that hustle, play the game gritty, and get their uniforms dirty. But when a player does it at the risk of his own health, as Trot Nixon often did, and actually stunts their career diving for balls they couldn't possibly get or plowing into a catcher on a play they couldn't possibly beat, is it really worth it? Hustling is one thing. Playing at the risk of life and limb is another.
-2003 Leaf Clubhouse Signatures Brian Lawrence autograph. A 17th round draft pick out of Northwestern State University of Louisiana, right-handed sidearm pitcher Brian Lawrence seemed an unlikely candidate for the Major Leagues. Though he throws a fastball, changeup, slider, and curve, his fastball tops off at 84-85 mph. Brian's changeup tops off at about 76 mph. His slider is a bit slower than his fastball and his curve is about the same as his changeup. However, he has terrific pitch command and can thread a needle with any one of his pitches. Brian came to the Major Leagues in 2001 with San Diego, acting as a swingman. He pitched in 27 games, starting 15 of them. He went 5-5 with a 3.45 ERA and, in 2002, earned a fulltime shot at the rotation. 2002 would turn out to be Brian's best year. He went 12-12 in 35 games, including 31 starts, posting a 3.69 ERA. after that, he started having a few problems against left-handed hitters. In 2003, Brian went 10-15 with a 4.19 ERA in 33 games, all starts. In 2004, he went 15-14 in 34 starts, improving slightly to a 4.12 ERA. But in 2005, he started having problems with his ulnar collateral ligament, which is the one they replace when a pitcher has Tommy John Surgery. He dropped to 7-15 in 33 games, all starts, with a 4.83 ERA. The Padres traded him to the Washington Nationals after that season for washed up slugger Vinny Castilla. But he never pitched for Washington, missing all of 2006 with Tommy John Surgery. The Colorado Rockies signed him to a Minor League contract in 2007, but after posting an ERA over 8.00, he was released. The immediately identifiable problem with Lawrence was that he was now throwing EVERYTHING except his curveball about 85 mph. His changeup quite literally sped up. The New York Mets picked him up after Colorado released him and worked on a two-seam fastball with him to help generate groundballs. After doing well in the Minors with AAA New Orleans, he received a promotion to the Major Leagues. Although his two-seamer carried him through AAA, Major Leaguers could hit it. Lawrence generally had little problem the first time through the batting order. But after that, he was toast. In 6 games, all starts, he went 1-2 for the Mets. He gave up 43 hits in 29 innings and was pounded to the tune of a 6.83 ERA. Granted free agency after the 2007 season, he latched on with the Atlanta Braves. After having a dreadful season for them in AAA in '08, his career seems in doubt. The lesson here is that generally, a guy who throws really softly who needs Tommy John Surgery rarely gets his stuff back. It also hurts his movement and pitch command, something it would hurt a power pitcher much less with.
-2007 Bowman Sterling Prospects Matt Dominguez autograph. Third baseman Matt Dominguez was drafted in the first round of the 2007 draft by the Florida Marlins. A five-tool player, Matt is the younger brother of Houston Astros prospect pitcher Jason Dominguez as well as the nephew of former sports agent Gus Dominguez. So baseball is indeed in Matt's blood. Playing on the same Chatsworth, CA high school team as fellow first round draft pick Mike Moustakas (of the Kansas City Royals), Matt is especially noted for his fielding abilities and strong arm. I can see him winning a Gold Glove one day. But it's his hitting that will carry him to the Majors. Like most high school players, Matt struggled his first year in pro ball. In 15 games between the rookie league Gulf Coast League Marlins and Class A short Season Jamestown Jammers, Matt batted .158 with a .183 on-base percentage, 1 homerun, 6 RBI's, and 3 runs scored. But he adjusted quickly after a promotion to the Class A Greensboro Grashoppers in 2008. There, he batted .296 with a .354 on-base percentage, 18 homeruns, 70 RBI's, and 59 runs scored in only 88 games. Right now he's looking a lot like the next David Wright. Definitely a guy to keep an eye on.
-1994 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Future Foundations Raul Casanova, signed. Raul Casanova is the perfect example of a guy who can be shuffled around several organizations, experience very little success, and still be called a top prospect. Raul broke into professional baseball after being drafted in the 8th round of the 1990 draft by the New York Mets. After all, switch-hitting catchers with power from both sides are hard to come by. But he quickly gained a reputation as a hacker; just a guy who swings at everything. At the end of the 1992, even the Mets saw the writing on the wall and traded him to the San Diego Padres as part of the trade that brought Tony Fernandez to the Mets (where Tony dogged it on purpose so he could be traded...jerk). After finally exhibiting plate discipline, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers in 1996, not having played one game with San Diego. The Tigers were pretty quick to hype up Raul as the next big catcher. Basically, the next Rick Cerone. He was anything but. Raul split the 1996 season between the Majors and Minors. In the Majors, in 25 games, he batted a dismal .188 with a .242 on-base percentage, 4 homeruns, 9 RBI's, and 6 runs scored. Because this was the era of the longball, the Tigers chose to look at Raul's homerun numbers and make him the veryday catcher in 1997. That turned out to be pretty brutal. He batted .243 with a .308 on-base percentage, only hit 5 homeruns, had 24 RBI's, and 27 runs scored. In 1998, he played only 16 games with Detroit before being banished to the Minors. He signed with the Colorado Rockies, but was released before he could play in the Majors with them. The next team to take a chance on Raul was the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brew Crew used Raul as a utility catcher with some success from 2000-2002. In 2001, despite playing only 71 games, he hit 11 homeruns. But the Brewers released Raul in September, 2002. He got into a few games with Baltimore, who claimed him off waivers, but was released after the season. He drifted between the Baltimore, Boston, and Kansas City organizations in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, the Chicago White Sox briefly brought him to the Majors as a third-string catcher. But he played in only six games. He played in the Oakland A's organization in 2006, but never made the team. It took until 2007, when he made the last team ever to be called the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, to get a Major League job. He batted .253 with a .315 on-base percentage, 6 homeruns, 11 RBI's, and 12 runs scored in only 29 games played. But the Devil Rays also released Raul at the end of the 2007 season. So, in 2008, it seemingly ended where it began, with the New York Mets. Raul batted .273 with a .355 on-base percentage, 1 homerun, 6 RBI's, and 5 runs scored as the Mets third string catcher while both Ramon Castro and Robinson Cancel were injured. Now 36 years old, one wonders just how long Raul can stay in pro baseball. His Major League statistics aren't too impressive. He batted .236 with a .304 on-base percentage, 35 homeruns, 130 RBI's, and 98 runs scored in 387 career games in parts of 9 different seasons. His Minor League stats, however, are quite impressive. Over 18 professional seasons, Raul has batted .286 with a .346 on-base percentage, 118 homeruns, 536 RBI's, 403 runs scored, and 859 hits in total. He's the quintesenntial "Quad-A" catcher. Who knows; he may give it another go-round.
-2005 Upper Deck Origins Old Judge Autographs Dave Kingman autograph. If ever there was a player known for being one-dimensional, it was Dave Kingman. Though he did have a good arm, he couldn't hit for average, his batting eye was only good enough to keep him from being unacceptably bad with regards to his on-base percentage, he wasn't a particularly good fielder, and while he had good speed on the bases, he rarely used it. But there was one dimension of the game that Dave Kingman excelled at to a degree that few players have achieved without the aid of steroids or HGH: hitting homeruns. When Dave Kingman made contact with the baseball, he may as well have launched it into Outer Space. He was huge for a first baseman, standing 6'6" and weighing 210 lbs. A first baseman/outfielder at the University of Southern California, he set collegiate records for homeruns that would stand until Mark McGwire came along. In 1970, he was drafted with the first pick of the secondary phase of the draft, something that only existed from 1966-1986. That pick belonged to the San Francisco Giants, who bizarrely drafted Kingman as a right-handed pitcher. He was soon converted into a first baseman and outfielder, however (he did pitch two dismal innings in 1973, but that was it). Just one year after he was drafted, Kingman made the Major Leagues. In 41 games with San Francisco, he batted .278 with a .328 on-base percentage, 6 homeruns, 24 RBI's, and 17 runs scored. That was good enough for the Giants to keep him in the Majors. In 1972, Dave played as an everyday player. He batted just .225, but posted a fair .303 on-base percentage, slugged 29 homeruns, drove in 83 runs, scored 65 runs, and even stole 16 bases. 1973 saw him bat .203 with a .300 on-base percentage, 24 homeruns, 55 RBI's, and 54 runs scored. However, the Giants were souring on Kingman's surliness and bad attitude. In 1974, Kingman's power numbers went down somewhat due to an injury sustained in Spring Training (he batted .223 with a .302 on-base percentage, 18 homeruns, 55 RBI's, and 41 runs scored) and the Giants used this as an excuse to trade him to the New York Mets for cash after the 1974 season. "Kong" was well-liked in New York, at least at first. The Mets had never really had a power hitter of Kingman's caliber. In 1975, he batted .231 with an abysmal .284 on-base percentage, but he also pounded 36 homeruns, knocked in 88 runs, and scored 65. In 1976, he batted .238 with a .286 on-base percentage, yet somehow hit 37 homeruns, drove in 86 runs, scored 70, and even made his first NL All-Star Team. 1977 was an interesting year for Kingman. He split his time among four different teams: the New York Mets, the San Diego Padres, the California Angels, and the New York Yankees. At no time before or since has a player played with every division in both leagues during one single season. He also became the only man to hit a homerun with the Mets and Yankees in the same season. In that season, Kingman batted .221 with a .276 on-base percentage, 26 homeruns, 78 RBI's, and 47 runs scored. In 1978, the Yankees chose not to retain Kingman (who had only played 8 games with them) and allowed him to sign as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs (with whom he is portrayed on this card). He upped his batting average to .266 with a .336 on-base percentage, 28 homeruns, 79 RBI's, and 65 runs scored, all while recovering from an injury. In 1979, Kingman had his best season. He batted .288 with a .343 on-base percentage, 48 homeruns, 115 RBI's, and 97 runs scored. He was also named to the NL All-Star Team that year. In 1980, Dave Kingman was named to his third and final NL All-Star Team. After missing a good amount of the season with more injuries, he batted .278 with a .329 on-base percentage, 18 homeruns, 57 RBI's, and 31 runs scored. In early 1981, the New York Mets once again traded for Dave Kingman, this time giving up fan favorite outfielder Steve Henderson for him. This time, however, Kingman was most decidedly not a fan favorite. He got along terribly with the New York media. In the strike-shortened 1981 season, he batted .221, though with a pretty good .326 on-base percentage, 22 homeruns, 59 RBI's, and 40 runs scored. In 1982, his plate patience disappeared as he batted .204 with a .285 on-base percentage, 37 homeruns, 99 RBI's, and 80 runs scored. In 1983, he completely fell apart, batting .198 with a .262 on-base percentage, 13 homeruns, 29 RBI's, and 25 runs scored. His clashes with the media and fans intensified during 1983, and he was released after Spring Training in 1984. He hooked on with the Oakland A's, where he batted .268 with a .321 on-base percentage, 35 homeruns, 118 RBI's, and 68 runs scored. He won the Comeback Player of the Year Award that season. In 1985, his batting average dropped to .238, though he maintained a solid .309 on-base percentage, hit 30 homeruns, drove in 91, and scored 66. However, his relations with the media continued to worsen. He mailed a dead rat in a box to a female reporter and that's when pressure started coming down for him to retire. He played out the 1986 season, batting .210 with a .255 on-base percentage, 35 homeruns, 94 RBI's, and 70 stolen bases, before taking that advice and retiring. Over his 16-year career, Kingman batted .236 with a .302 on-base percentage, 442 homeruns, 1,210 RBI's, 901 runs scored, and 1,575 total hits. In my humble opinion, Dave Kingman has the most homeruns of anyone not associated with steroids who will never get into the Hall of Fame.
-1997 Donruss Signature Series Millennium Marks Javier Valentin autograph. Switch-hitting catcher Javier Valentin, the younger brother of long-time star shortstop/second baseman Jose Valentin, was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1993 draft by the Minnesota Twins. Though he could hit for power, Javier struggled to hit for any kind of average from the right side of the plate. He debuted with the Twins in 1997, though only played four games. In 1998, he served as the Twins' primary backup catcher. He batted just .198 with a pitiful .247 on-base percentage, though hit 3 homeruns, drove in 18 runs, and scored 11 runs in only 55 games. He improved in 1999, batting .248 with a .313 on-base percentage, 5 homeruns, 28 RBI's, and 22 runs scored in 78 games. In 2000, he was sent to the Minors to make room for a more promising catcher in Matt LeCroy. He wouldn't play in the Majors again until 2002, when he played 4 games for the Twins. In the off-season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Gerry Oakes and Matt Yeatman, two prospects who never made the Majors. Though he seemed likely to get the utility catcher job out of Spring Training with the Brewers in 2003, they traded him to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for fellow journeyman Jason Conti, a utility outfielder. With Tampa Bay, Javier batted .222 with a .254 on-base percentage, 3 homeruns, 15 RBI's, and 13 runs scored in 49 games. He signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds in 2004 and it was there that he would finally come into his own. The Reds management realized what a poor right-handed hitter Javier was and started batting him against righties (so that he'd bat lefty) exclusively. Though he only hit .233 with an on-base percentage of .293, he'd been a bit unlucky with regards to balls he put into play. He also hit 6 homeruns, drove in 20 runs, and scored 18 runs. In 2005, he broke out. In 76 games, he batted .281 with a .362 on-base percentage, 14 homeruns, 50 RBI's, and 36 runs scored. He's hit well ever since. In 2006, he batted .269 with a .313 on-base percentage, 8 homeruns, 27 RBI's, and 24 runs scored. In 2007, he batted .276 with a .328 on-base percentage, 2 homeruns, 34 RBI's, and 19 runs scored. And in 2008, this past season, he batted .256 with a .326 on-base percentage, 4 homeruns, 18 RBI's, and 10 runs scored. A free agent this year, he's sure to attract a lot of attention as a solid utility catcher.
-1996 Leaf Signature Series Roberto Hernandez autograph. Roberto Hernandez, a right-handed relief pitcher drafted by the California Angels in the first round of the 1986 draft, is one of the most underated relievers to have ever pitched. Though he's usually cited as a "solid" or "good" set-up man or closer, when one looks at not only his stats but his sheer longevity, he's easily the equal of such dominant closers as Todd Jones, Rick Aguilera, Doug Jones, Jeff Reardon, and even Bruce Sutter. Well, Roberto didn't get his start as a reliever. The Angels developed him as a starter. Although he had good pitching mechanics, he quickly tired and didn't have good endurance. Further, the Angels ignored his 100 mph fastball (yes, he did hit 100 mph on a radar gun more than once) and told him to focus on developing a curveball and a changeup. In other words, they weren't developing him properly. But that didn't mean other teams weren't interested. In 1991, the Chicago White Sox offered college standout Mark Davis, who'd been a slugging first baseman at Stanford, for Roberto and another prospect (Mark Doran, though they didn't care and just wanted Roberto). The Angels took it instantly. Mark Davis played exactly three games in the Majors with the Angels. Roberto Hernandez would become synonymous with the term "White Sox closer." The White Sox brought Roberto to the Majors in 1991, using him as a swingman due to a somewhat weak rotation after ace "Black Jack" McDowell. Roberto struggled badly (a 7.80 ERA in 9 games, including 3 starts), but then the White Sox decided to overhaul his pitching repertoire. Used as a set-up man in 1992, Roberto now threw his 100 mph four-seamer as well as a slider. His curve was deleted. He was allowed to work on his changeup on his own time. Immediately, Roberto improved. He went 7-3 in 43 games, all in relief, posted a miniscule 1.37 ERA, and saved 12 games as he replaced the injured Bobby Thigpen as the team's closer late in the season. He pitched lights-out baseball as the White Sox closer (including being named to the AL All-Star Team in 1996) until the middle of the 1997 season. Traded to the San Francisco Giants as his contract was about to expire, Roberto was the set-up man to dominant and eccentric closer Rod Beck. In 1998, he became the first closer of the fledgling Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He led the team in saves and was second to set-up man Jim Mecir in games pitched. In 1999, Roberto pitched even better, this time being named to the AL All-Star Team. 2000 was Roberto's final year with Tampa Bay and, as usual, he did well. In January 2001, he was traded as part of a three-team trade to the woeful Kansas City Royals. With his fastball velocity beginning to go down, he developed his changeup fully and saw good success in 2001 and 2002. In 2003, he signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves. Pitching as a middle reliever for the first time since 1991, he didn't do well. He signed as a free agent the next year with the Philadelphia Phillies. Again being used as a middle reliever, he couldn't seem to stay focused and posted an ERA just below league average. In 2005, the New York Mets signed him as a free agent to act as the set-up man to much-disliked closer Braden Looper. Here, his slider, which now had a tendency to flatten out (he was 40 years old, after all), was modified by Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson into a slurve. The slurve can be described as a curveball thrown with a slider grip. It breaks more than a curve and can be used to substitute a slider. Further, Peterson converted Roberto's straight changeup into a screwball-breaking circle changeup, so as to be more effective against left-handed hitters. "The New Bert" as some Mets fans called him, pitched extremely well and was one of the three bright spots in an otherwise very weak bullpen. In 2006, much to the dismay of Mets fans, he signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched well in half a season there, but the Mets reacquired him for the stretch run to act as a set-up man to closer Billy Wagner (set-up man Duaner Sanchez had been riding in a taxi that was slammed into by a drunk driver and had his arm destroyed, pretty much). In 2007 however, the Mets let Roberto walk yet again. Most Mets fans realized that getting rid of Roberto was a necessity; he'd be 42 years old and his fastball velocity was dropping like a stone. Sure enough, Roberto's 2007 season proved to be his worst. As middle reliever with both Cleveland and Los Angeles, Roberto posted a 6.41 ERA over 50 games. After that, he simply decided to call it quits. But his career stats are very impressive indeed: 67-71 in 1,010 career games, a 3.45 ERA during baseball's steroid era, 326 career saves, 667 games finished, and just 1,002 hits in 1,071 1/3rd innings pitched. Hardly a candidate for the Hall of Fame, but definitely an unrecognized, stand-up guy who was "Old Reliable" in the pathetic 2005 New York Mets bullpen.
More a little later today!