Best Hobby Ever

Barry Lyons

2009-03-01T19:08:00.000-08:00

Card: 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites. Topps reprinted some older cards. They listed them with the same stats and card backs but added a brief bio about their careers. A really cool set. Barry signed this right through the middle with a big Sharpie.

Personal: Barry Stephen Lyons, catcher

Bats: Right Throws: Right Ht: 6'1" Wt: 202

Born: 6/3/1960, Biloxi, MS Drafted: 1982, Mets, 15th Rnd.

Bio: Barry played back-up to Gary Carter for most of his career and he did it well. He played pro ball from 1982 to 1995 and was in the MLB from 1986 to 1991 and then again for a few games with the White Sox in 1995. After his playing career he managed in the minor leagues for a few years and he did some broadcasting for the Nashville Sounds as well. He's currently operating his Baseball Academy in Biloxi and trying to get a minor league team there.

Tom Underwood

2009-02-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

Card: 1983 Topps #642. Signed with blue Sharpie. Mailed to home 2/3/2009 received 2/10/2009.

Personal: Tom Underwood, Pitcher

Bats: Right Throws: Left Ht: 5'11" Wt: 170 Born: 12/22/1953, Kokomo, IN Drafted: 2nd Round of 1972 draft.

Bio: Throughout his career Tom started and played as a reliever. He had a total of 35 complete games and 1500+ innings pitched. In his 11 year career he played for the Phillies, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Yankees, A's & Orioles. 1979 was probably his best year when he threw 227 innings with Toronto. That season he only had 9 wins but had 12 complete games, 1 shutout and a 3.69 ERA.

Robin Ventura

2009-01-02T21:10:00.000-08:00

Card: 2000 Skybox eX. These cards were pretty flashy; thick stock, ultra glossy reflective surfaces & odd color patterns for the background. I mailed other cards to Ventura's home and didn't get them mailed back. This one was returned in a few months c/o his home address. He is pictured in his Mets uniform and he signed in blue ink from a thin tip marker.

Personal: Robin Mark Ventura, third base

Bats - Left Throws - Right

Ht - 6'1'' Wt - 198

Born - 7/14/1967

Drafted - White Sox, 1st round (10th), 1988

Bio: Ventura played 15 seasons of major league baseball. He played for the White Sox, Mets, Yankees & Dodgers. He racked up 294 home runs & 1182 RBI. He was selected to 2 All Star teams a won 6 Gold Gloves. Ventura was the first player to ever hit a home run in each game of a double-header. He was involved in a couple trades: in 2001 from the Mets to the Yankees for David Justice and in 2003 from the Yankees to the Dodgers for Scott Proctor & Bubba Crosby.

Nate McLouth

2009-01-02T19:59:00.000-08:00

Card: 2006 Topps '52. This is one of Nate's rookie cards. I mailed it to the Pirates and he signed and returned it very quickly.

Personal: Nathan Richard McLouth

Bats - Left Throws - Right

Ht - 5'11'' Wt -185

Born - 10/28/1981

Drafted - Selected by Pirates in the 25th round (749th) of 2000 amateur entry draft.

Bio: McLouth was successful throughout the minors and in a couple hundred games in Pittsburgh between 2006 & 2007. In the 2008 season he really made a name for himself by hitting 26 homers and 94 RBI in 597 at bats. In 2008 he received the Roberto Clemente award, was selected to the All-Star team and won a Gold Glove.

Chipper Jones

2008-12-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

Card: I mailed a card to Chipper c/o the Atlanta Braves during the regular season. He didn't sign the card and I didn't get it returned but a signed photo was mailed along with a letter thanking me for my interest. It's a big 5x7 card and he signed his number as well.

Personal: Larry Wayne Jones, 3B
Bats - Switch Throws - Right
Ht - 6'4'' Wt - 210
Born - 4/24/1972 DeLand, FL
Drafted - 1st overall, 1990 amateur draft

Bio: Chipper Jones is almost definately a sure-fire, first ballot Hall of Famer. Besides some injury trouble from 2004 through 2006 his numbers have been stellar and consistent. Through the 2008 season he has 2277 hits, 408 homers and career marks in BA & OBP of .310 & .408.

Fred McGriff - Baseball

2008-02-12T07:34:00.000-08:00

Card: 1995 Topps Stadium Clear Cut #5. This was a very unconventional set of cards and didn't end up being all that popular. I probably have other cards of McGriff that would've looked better signed but I didn't really think he'd be able to sign since I'm sure he gets a ton of requests. It took over 6 months to get this card back and it's one of the best sigs I've ever got. I'll definately try him again with a better card.

Personal: Frederick Stanley McGriff, 1B
Ht- 6'3" Wt- 215
Born- 10/21/1963, Tampa, FL
Drafted- Yankees, 9th Round (233), 1981

Bio: Fred McGriff is awsome. He is an 8 time MVP and a 5 time All-Star. He had 8 seasons where he had over 100 RBI and has a career total of 497 homers. He played in the majors from '86 - '04, over that 18 year span he played for 6 different teams: Blue Jays, Padres, Braves, Devil Rays, Cubs & Dodgers.

Vance Law - Baseball

2008-02-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

Card: 1990 Topps #287. This is a great signature on a card from a pretty silly looking set. They all had these 'too colorful' borders that are pretty comical. This card was pulled from the first box of baseball cards I ever received when I was very young as a gift for being a ring bearer at a wedding. That box started a great hobby.

Personal: Vance Aaron Law, 3B
Ht-6'1" Wt- 190
Born- 10/1/56, Boise, ID
Drafted- Pittsburgh Pirates, 39th round (758th), 1978.

Bio: Vance Law played for the Cubs for two years, 1988 & '89. In 1988 he made the All-Star team and ended the season with a .293 BA. Law is possibly best known for holding the record for longest errorless game by a third baseman when he played the whole game of a 25 inning contest in 1984 (longest game in AL history). He is the son of Vern Law, Cy Young winner, and I think he is still the head baseball coach at Brigham Young. He also pitched a total of 8 innings at the major league level with 2 strikeouts.

C.C. Sabathia

2008-02-11T21:01:00.000-08:00

Card: 2002 Topps #214. These horizontal photos are great and C.C. signed his jersey number on this one. This is the second card I have received signed by C.C. and I highly recommend sending him a card to sign, he's very responsive.

Personal: Carsten Charles Sabathia
Ht.- 6'7" Wt.- 270
Born- 7/21/80, Vallejo, CA
Drafted- Cleveland, 1st round (20th), 1998

Bio: One of the hardest working starters in baseball last season, throwing 240 innings and averaging almost 7 innings a game. He has been an everyday starter for Cleveland since 2001 and this is the last year of his current contract. I hope Cleveland has the sense to tender him a new fat contract soon to keep him with the team for as long as possible.

Jack McDowell - Baseball

2008-02-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

Card: 1989 Score & 1993 Score. Most of us will always know Jack McDowell as a member of the White Sox so I got two Sox cards signed. These were mailed and returned separately of each other. Included with one card was a business card of a company I am presuming his wife or perhaps daughter runs: www.soapymouth.com .

Personal: Jack Burns McDowell
Ht- 6'5" Wt- 185
Born- Van Nuys, CA, 1/16/66
Drafted- Chicago White Sox, 1st Round (5th), 1987

Bio: BlackJack was an All Star in '91, '92 & '93 and through those three years he never pitched under 253 innings, had a minmum of 17 wins each season and compiled 38 complete games. In 1993 he won the AL Cy Young Award. He would have won the award in '92 as well but they gave it to Eckersley who had 51 saves and 91 strikeouts in 80 innings. He had a low 90's fastball with a big curve and a split-fingered fastball. He ended his career in 1999 with Anaheim and totaled 275 games for 1,889 innings.

Jeff Hornacek - Basketball

2008-02-09T08:02:00.000-08:00

Card: 1992 Skybox #190. This card was made the same year he was traded to the 76ers.

Personal: Jeffrey John Hornacek
Ht. '64'' Wt. 190lbs.
Born- 5/3/61, Elmhurst IL
Drafted- Phoenix Suns, 2nd round (22nd), 1986

Bio: After six years of success with Phoenix he was traded to Philadelphia (w/some others) for Charles Barkley. The 76ers traded him the very next year to Utah for Jeff Malone and a first round pick. He ended up being a big part of the Jazz's success until his retirement. He was part of the Jazz/Bulls Finals series. His career totals in field goal and three point percentage were .496 and .403 respectively. November 23rd 1993 he set a new NBA record for conescutive three pointers without a miss with 8.

Todd Van Poppel - Baseball

2008-02-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

Card: 1994 Topps Finest. I purchased a box of these in hopes of collecting as many autographs on them as possible. At the time they were the most premium cards on the market. The gloss tends to take something from the image but ink sets on them surprisingly well.

Personal: Todd Matthew Van Poppel
Ht. 6'5'' Wt. 210
Born - 12/9/71, Hinsdale, IL
Drafted - Oakland Athletics, 1st round (14th), 1990

Bio: Todd was drafted out of high school and it's known that pretty much every team ahead of Oakland considered taking him. The Braves are known to have almost picked him with the first choice, but got Chipper Jones instead. When Oakland signed him they immediately gave him a major league contract so he was only allowed to play in a limited amount of minor league games. It's because of this that he struggled initially at the major league level. His fastball was live but didn't move much so using him as a starter was another mistake. In 2000 & 2001 he was used as a middle reliever and found great success. In his 14 year major league career he played for six different teams but was only involved in one trade: in '98 Texas traded him to Pittsburgh for Esteban Loaiza and another player. He was much more successful as a reliever than a starter and is currently the co-owner of the Denton Outlaws, a team in the Texas Collegiate Baseball League.

Calvin Williams - Football

2008-02-02T20:02:00.001-08:00

Card: 1996 Upper Deck Collectors Choice. This is one of the best autographs I've received. The names on this card set are printed vertically along the left side and he signed all along the right side, also signing his jersey number. The ink was faded slightly, presumably by the envelope during delivery. Mailed 11/21/07, received 1/4/2007.

Personal: Calvin John Williams Jr.
Wide Receiver
Ht. 5'11'' Wt. 190
Born - 3/3/67, Baltimore, MD
Drafted - Eagles, 5th Round, 1990

Bio: From 1990 to 1996 Calvin played for the Eagles, in '96 he also played in 7 games for Baltimore then retired. He received Philadelphia's first 2-point conversion and led the team with 63 receptions in 1995. In 1996 he was at least in the top 6 of 4 different offensive categories.

Adam Foote - Hockey

2008-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

Card: 1992 ProSet #268.

Personal: Defenseman
Ht. 6'2" Wt. 220
Born- 7/10/1971
Drafted- Quebec Nordiques, 2nd round (22nd)

Bio: Spent nine years with the Avalanche until the '05/'06 season when he signed a huge contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, with whom he plays today. He has 41 total points in 154 playoff games but hasn't made the playoffs yet with Columbus.

Bill Ranford - Hockey

2008-02-01T16:36:00.000-08:00

Card: 1990 Score #358. One of my favorite hockey card sets, light borders and bright photos. This card shows Ranford holding the Conn Smythe Trophy that he won for being the MVP of the '89-'90 playoffs. The card was mailed January 9th and I got it back January 29th.

Personal: Goalie
Ht. 5'11'' Wt. 185
Born- Brandon, MAN. 12/14/1966
Drafted- Boston Bruins, 3rd round (52nd), 1985

Bio: Played until the '99-'00 season for 6 different NHL teams. The bulk of his career, 9 years, was spent with the Edmonton Oilers, with whom he won that Smythe trophy. He set a then Edmonton record for going 154 minutes, 24 seconds without allowing a goal. In game 1 of the finals he stopped 50 shots in a triple-overtime game. He currently serves as the LA Kings goalie coach.

Wayne Presley - Hockey

2008-01-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

Card: 1991 Score

Personal: Wayne Presley
Ht. 5'11'' Wt. 180
Born- Dearborn, MI, March 23rd 1965
Drafted- Blackhawks 2nd round (39th), 1983

Bio: Had 9 goals & 6 assists in the 1990 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His best NHL season was probably '86-'87 when he played in 80 games and had 61 total points. Before he came to the NHL he once had 139 points in 70 games playing for Kitchener of the OHL. His last NHL season was '95-'96 with Toronto and he retired from pro hockey in '97-'98 after playing a few more years in the AHL & IHL.

Mike Sullivan - Football

2008-01-06T11:26:00.001-08:00

Card: 1991 Wild Card, series of college football players. I mailed this card to his office with the Browns. He signed his college jersey number and sent me a business card.
Personal: Michael Gerard Sullivan
Ht. 6'4" Wt. 272 lbs (1991)
Born: 12/22/67 Chicago, IL
Drafted: Dallas, 6th round, 1991
Bio: After not playing in any games with Dallas, Sullivan found himself with Tampa Bay in the 1992 season and he finished his career there, playing until 1995. Through 5 seasons in the NFL he played in 48 games and started 4 games. He is currently Assistant Offensive Line Coach for the Cleveland Browns.

Justin Huber - Baseball

2007-12-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

Card: 2006 Topps '52, #51. Mailed to the Omaha Royals 4/30/07 and returned 5/14/07.

Personal: Justin Patrick Huber

Ht. 6'2" Wt. 195

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Born: 7/1/82, Melbourn, Australia

Drafted: Signed as an undrafted FA in 2000.

Position: First Base / Catcher

Bio: Huber has had some good minor league seasons and will stick around the AAA, MLB level until he proves himself. He hasn't done much with the MLB time he's had so far but he will still get invited to Royals Spring Training. Royals minor league player of the year in 2005.

Craig Breslow - Baseball

2007-12-06T21:18:00.000-08:00

Card: 2006 Topps '52 #214. Signed with red ink. This card was mailed to the Pawtucket Red Sox on April 30th, 2007 and returned May 10th.

Personal: Craig Andrew Breslow
Ht. 6'1" Wt. 180
Born: 8/8/1980, New Haven CT.
Bats: Left Throws: Left
Drafted: Brewers, 26th round (769th), 2002.

Bio: Craig is a bit of a genius, having graduate from Yale with a B.A. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. Rumor has it he is planning on staging an accident that will destroy his arms only so he can replace them with super powerful bionic arms that can throw baseball through humans. Will see how that works out. In the mean time he's been an effective lefty. Breslow has spent a little time in the majors, in '05 with San Diego and '06 with Pawtucket. He doesn't have minor league options anymore so the Sox must keep him on their 40-man roster or put him on waivers before he goes back down to AAA. He would surely be plucked by another team from those waivers if that happened. He pitched a full season in relief at AAA in '07 and threw 73 strikeouts in 68 innings.

Darren Daulton - Baseball

2007-12-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

Card: 1993 Topps #180.

Personal: Darren Aurthur Daulton

Ht. 6'2" Wt. 195

Bats: Left Throws: Right

Born: 1/3/62, Arkansas City, KS.

Drafted: Phillies, 25th round (629th), 1980.

Position: Catcher

Bio: Daulton played for the Phillies for all but 52 of his 1161 games. In the second half of '97 the Phillies traded him to Florida where he would have a chance to win the World Series. Because of knee injuries Daulton played OF, 1B and as a pinch hitter with Florida. After he got his ring there he retired. He had his best seasons in '92, '93 & '94 and is considered one of the top 25 catchers of all time.

Curtis Granderson - Baseball

2007-12-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

Card: 2006 Topps #444. This card was sent to the Tigers and sent back within a couple months during the 2007 season.

Personal: Curtis Granderson
Ht. 6'1" Wt. 185
Bats: Left Throws: Right
Born: 3/16/81, Blue Island, IL
Drafted: Tigers, 3rd round (80th), 2002.
Position: Outfield

Bio: In 2007 Granderson had an incredible season and established himself as a premier lead-off hitter. He hit an MLB high 23 triples which is close to the all-time record (Sam Crawford, 26). He is only the third player to ever reach the 20/20/20/20 mark in a season, that's 20 of each: doubles, triples, homers, stolen bases. Also a great outfield defender in 2007 he had a .989 fielding percentage with 10 outfield assists. His current contract has him signed on for one more year at about $410,000. Look for the Tigers to lock him up for longer to maintain their intimidating line-up.

Bill Dawley - Baseball

2007-12-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

Card: 1987 Topps #54. This year sports card enthusiasts discovered that wood paneling looks as bad on a baseball card as it does on a station wagon. First time since '72 the players position didn't appear on the card front.
The card was mailed to his home 11/29/07 and received 12/3/07.

Personal: William Chester Dawley
Ht. 6'4'' Wt. 240
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Born: 2/6/58, Norwich, CT.
Drafted: Reds, 7th round, 1976.

Bio: In his 7 year major league career Dawley never started a game. He was used exclusively as a reliever after starting over 100 games in his minor league career. His best year was in '84 with Houston when he threw 98 innings and had a 1.93 ERA. He didn't make the All-Star team in 1984 but did the year before. In 1983 he made the All-Star squad with season ending stats of 79 innings, 2.82 ERA & 14 saves.

Merv Rettenmund - Baseball

2007-12-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

Card: 1978 Topps #566. Signed with blue marker pen. This was the first autographed card I ever received through the mail.

Personal: Merv Weldon Rettenmund

Ht. 5'10'' Wt. 195

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Born: 6/6/43, Flint MI.

Drafted: Signed by Orioles as undrafted FA, 1964.

Bio: Merv played in the majors for 12 years, from 1968 to 1980. He has 2555 at bats in 1023 games with a career BA of .271 and a career OBP of .381. He played in 4 different World Series: with Baltimore in '69, '70 & '71 and with Cincinnati in 1975 (winning in '70 & '75). He's played in 25 total postseason games, getting 60 at bats and 2 home runs.

Just recently, in July of 2007, he was replaced as hitting coach of the San Diego Padres by Wally Joyner.

Kevin Mench - Baseball

2007-12-02T12:48:00.000-08:00

Card: 2003 Upper Deck MVP #205.
Signature personalized.

Personal: Kevin Ford Mench
Ht. 6'0'' Wt. 215
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Born: 1/7/78, Wilmington, DE
Drafted: Rangers, 4th round (118th), 1999

Bio: In the late '90's Kevin was one of the best NCAA players in the US. In his rookie year with Texas he hit .260 with 15 HR's. He currently holds the record for most consecutive games with a home run by a right-handed batter with 7. In 2005 he hit 3 HR's in a game versus the Angels. In 2006 he weas traded by Texas along with Laynce Nix, Francisco Cordero & Julian Cordero for Carlos Lee & Nelson Cruz.
He spent all of 2007 with the Brewers and had a poor season by his standards, hitting .267 with 8 home runs in 288 at bats. Analysts and baseball heads are still expecting him to come around and be a breakout player. Given his age it could still happen and he could be in line to put together some productive consecutive seasons.

Frank Castillo - Baseball

2007-12-02T10:03:00.001-08:00

Card: 1992 Topps #196

This card set was unique in that each card back had a panoramic photo of that players home field. Non-glossy front.

Personal: Frank Anthony Castillo

Ht. 6'1'' Wt. 180

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Born: 4/1/69, El Paso, TX

Drafted: By Chicago Cubs, 6th round (140th), 1987 amateur draft.

Bio: Frank played for 6 major league teams in his career: Cubs, Rockies, Red Sox, Tigers, Blue Jays, Marlins, his last major league season being in 2005. He totaled over 1,500 IP at the major league level and 1,100+ in the minors. In spite of the amount of teams he played with, Frank was only involved in one trade, in '97 the Cubs traded him to the Rockies for Matt Pool. He was a ten game winner three different years in the majors: '92, '95 & '00. He received a World Series ring with the 2004 Red Sox.

Frank Castillo currently plays for the York Revolution in the Atlantic League of Pro Baseball, not affiliated with any major league clubs. He is one of the most used pitchers on the team. http://www.yorkrevolution.com/

Steve Trout - Baseball

2007-12-02T09:02:00.001-08:00

Card: 1989 Score #522. Signed with black ink pen. Card mailed to home address.

This was a very large base set. Cards had non-glossy finish which takes a signature well. The card backs were filled with statistics and a wealth of personal and professional info.

Personal: Steven Russell Trout

Ht. 6'4'' Wt. 195

Throws: Left Bats: Left

Born: 7/30/57, Detroit, MI

Drafted: Selected by Chicago White Sox in the first round, 8th overall of the 1976 amateur draft.

Bio: Trout pitched over 1500 innings in his pro career, mostly in the majors. The Sox kept him until 1982 when he was traded to the Cubs with Warren Brusstar for 4 players. He spent 5 years with the Cubs and had some good seasons. In 1984 he had 6 complete games, 13 wins and a 3.41 ERA. In 1987 the Cubs traded him to the Yankees for three other players, one of which was Bob Tewksbury. He wasn't happy in NY and didn't win a game there. Before the year was over he was traded to Seattle and was released by them after the 1989 season. Many believe he could've found success after his last season but he chose to retire. His father, Paul 'Dizzy' Trout, currently holds the ML record along with Hal Newhouser for having the most wins by two pitchers in the same year on the same team. Dizzy had 27 and Hal had 29.

Steve now does charity work, is a public speaker and runs baseball camps. On his website http://www.stevetrout.com/ you can purchase some of his products, one of which is a personal video of the 1984 Chicago Cubs locker room celebration after the championship game at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.