Today's Autograph: 2014 Bowman Chrome Johnny Field
Why Do I Own The Card: I first saw Johnny Field play at USA Baseball while he was a college baseball player at the University of Arizona. I ran into him again a few years later after he was drafted by the Rays and ended up playing with the Durham Bulls. In fact, beyond owning a bunch of Johnny Field baseball cards, I also own a game-used Johnny Field baseball bat.
Why Do I Own This Card: I first saw Joc Pederson at the 2014 Triple A All-Star Game, which took place in Durham. The Bulls hosted. Joc Pederson is somewhere in this picture in the visitors lineup. Maybe third from home plate?
It was not the best night for many of the Pacific Coast League players, but Pederson stood out.
In particular, he hit a really long home run, which do not happen often in Durham. The ballpark is much more pitcher friendly. Here is a look at the blast.
Anyway, Pederson had a good night and I decided to purchase one of his autographs. Just in case.
It's not the morning, but the important thing is that I am writing on my blog today.
It's a Monday (while I am writing this).
So much to catch up on since I last posted here a few months back.
My school year ended.
I went on vacation to Michigan and hung out by a lake.
My school year started again last week.
Last weekend, I ate French food.......
and went to see Mama Mia with my wife in Durham.
A few other things happened in there, but the previous few sentences are a good summary of the past few months. That's a lot of non-baseball card stuff on a baseball card blog.
On to the card.
I cannot believe Topps Chrome is $44.99 or something like that at Target.
No, thank you, Fanatics. I am buying single cards off of Ebay from other people who spent at least $44.99 to open a few packs of Topps Chrome. Since the Cardinals stink at the moment, I am working on adding some former Durham Bulls players to the collection. Tristan Gray was on the Bulls for a few years and his autographs hover around $5. Seems like a good reason to add this to the box of Bulls signatures.
Back of the card.
Gray is now on the Marlins and has received a whopping 7 at bats this year with the Major League team. He has zero hits and three strikeouts.
I own a couple of thousand autograph cards, the majority have never appeared on my blog. Here is a random autograph that I never posted before:
Today: 1999 SP Signature Edition Doug Glanville
Why do I own this card?
I got this card out of a $10 pack of cards back in the day and I am sure I was angry that I landed Doug Glanville. Somehow, someway this card was never stuck on Ebay and just lingered in a box of cards for the past twenty plus years. However, it has gained some significance over the past two years.
My daughter loves music. For years, I drove her to daycare and the soundtrack to my mornings was music from Disney Princess movies and other kid-friendly albums such as the Trolls World Tour. She would frequently sing along and talk about the movies. The songs were not my cup of tea, but it made my daughter's drive into daycare more enjoyable.
Two years ago, she graduated preschool and began Kindergarten at the school where my wife teaches. We no longer commuted together, so I began driving my oldest to middle school every morning. In fact, I transferred my own teaching job to a school that was just a few minutes away from his middle school. My oldest does not mind music, but as a kid on the autism spectrum he enjoys things that are a little more low key on his morning commute.
Often, he reads books and talks me through what he is reading about and we listen to podcasts about baseball. One of our favorites is the Tuesday ESPN Baseball podcast, which features Doug Glanville and Jayson Stark. It's typically an hour plus show, so it lasts us a few commutes. We both really enjoy Glanville on the podcast whether he is interviewing someone, sharing his stories about his time in the game, voicing opinions, or trying to answer trivia questions. Always a good listen.
Over the past two years of listening to Glanville, my appreciation for his work has grown, and with it a better appreciation for his baseball cards. If you have never heard Doug speak, here is an excellent piece he did on Dusty Baker after he finally won a World Series with the Astros......
A Haiku About Doug Glanville
Sunday night baseball
Starkville podcast, Penn alumni
Phils, Cubs, Rangers too
Card back.
Back of the Card Bonus Trivia?
What player is the other DG card in the autograph checklist of the 1999 SP Signature Edition Set?
Clue- Think late 1990s hyped-up prospect who may have hit over .400 during a brief stint in the Majors thanks to some mile-high air.
