#MyCardMonday

I am not a huge fan favorite type of person with baseball cards.  Hustle and grit usually do not make me want someone's cards, unless that hustle and grit are also accompanied by some level of talent.  There are a few exceptions to that rule.  What 80s Cardinals fan did not love Jose Oquendo?  In the 90s we had Rex Hudler.  Later on during the LaRussa years I really liked So Taguchi who is the subject of this week's #MyCardMonday

The Cardinals signed Taguchi in 2002 right after the Mariners brought over Ichiro.  He spent parts of his first two seasons in splitting time in between the Cardinals bench and Triple A.  Taguchi eventually stayed on the Cardinals roster full time in 2004 and actually stared frequently in 2005.  So was a very good defensive outfielder and a spray hitter.  Taguchi also interacted well with fans and had loads of personality.  He frequently gave cool interviews or good sound bites, like this one where he warned people about the mosquitoes in the Cardinals outfield.

Besides being a good defender and good personality on the team, Taguchi also had one of those hits you never quite forget.  As a Cardinals fan I remember Ozzie and Jack Clark hitting home runs off of the Dodgers in the 1985 NLCS, Pendleton's season saving blast against the Mets in 1987, Oquendo and Lawless's post season home runs that same season, Pujols off of Lidge in 2004, and this one Taguchi hit off of Billy Wager in the 2006 NLCS.  It's a long video, but the Taguchi home run happens at the 2:55 mark.  

Of course I collect Taguchi cards.  He has a couple of relic cards and a couple of autographs too.  Several of his autographs are Playoff products (Playoff Absolute, Donruss Signature), but he has a couple of on card autographs too.  In my opinion this 2002 Topps T206 card is the nicest of the group.  Best of all, most of Taguchi's autographs can be had for less than $10 with a little bit of patience.