Some Recent Upgrades

Thanks to Chris Potter's recent signings, I was able to upgrade a few of my autographs to my preferred personalized versions. I always enjoy my autographs more when they are personalized, because I then know they were signed just for me. That makes sense, right?

Both Frank Baker, and especially Drungo Hazewood, have been tough autographs to track down in the past, and it's great that Potter was able to work out signing deals with both of them.

I can now replace the signed version of this card that I purchased a few years back that made me (rather irrationally) mad. This one has a much clearer signature than the other card, which is now available for trade, so in addition to the personalization, this is an all-around upgrade. 

This autograph replaces my much-hyped Hazewood autograph that I obtained at the 2010 National Card Show here in Baltimore. While Drungo's signature is marginally better on the other card,  the "To Ryan" aspect of this autograph trumps the quality of the signature. Autographs of Drungo once bordered on near-impossble but Chris Potter has made his signature available to the masses. Which is great as I was able to get this upgrade, but not so great now that my other card has lost some trade value, at least in the short-term.

Thanks for tracking down some tough former O's, Chris!

Being Swept Has Me Down

Even though we swept my second least favorite team over the weekend, being swept by my least favorite team always makes me mad.

So here's a card that also makes me mad and ties everything together. At least somewhat.

This is not the famous HOF inductee Frank "Home Run" Baker. This Frank Baker doesn't have a nickname as far as I can tell but staying with the nickname theme of the other Frank, I will call him Frank "No Hit" Baker.

This Frank played in a grand total of 146 games over four seasons, two each with the O's & Yankees. He hit .191 with 1 HR over those games and played mostly shortstop. See why I gave him his nickname?

And if you are still following along, do you want to know why this card makes me mad?

OK, well I got this card on eBay and had been outbid multiple times on this card before. Not this exact card, but similar ones. It wasn't that much money but it was too much for a guy that played in only 146 games and is still alive. I know he was a Yankee, but c'mon man. I had to pay about 10 cents for every game he played. That's crap. And why this card makes me mad. At least it's in my collection, but it will never be one of my favorites. And I can pretty much blame that on the Yankees.