RBI (150) El Presidente...

One of the nice things about interleague play is the opportunity to graph teams you don't often get the chance to see your local team play. With year round interleague play that opportunity has expanded from the usual summer series. With the Houston Astros moving from the National League to the American League that opportunity is now a regular occurrence for residents of the AL West.

One benefit for the Astros switching leagues is that I had the opportunity to collect the autograph of an ace of my childhook "El Presidente" Dennis Martinez, the first Nicaraguan player to make it into the MLB player and one of the most successful Latin American pitchers to play in the MLB. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1973 and debuted in 1976. His career would stretch until the end of the 1998 season when he would finally retire after playing for the Orioles, Expos, Indians, Mariners, and Braves.

His career line wasn't enough to put Dennis Martinez in the Hall of Fame, falling off the Cooperstown ballot in his first year of eligibility but he is definitely worthy of the Hall of Great. He retired with a 3.70 ERA and 2149 Strikeouts supporting 245 Wins. He was a 4-time All Star, won the 1983 World Series with the Orioles, and of course threw the 13th Perfect Game in MLB history against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 28, 1991 for the Montreal Expos.

Mr. Martinez was kind enough to autograph and sweetspot this baseball for me before an Angels vs Astros game during the 2013 season. I think he's got a great looking signature and it's definitely one I was very happy to add to my collection. If Jack Morris gets into Cooperstown with such a similar career by way of BBWAA voting I'd be very surprised. Maybe you give him more credit for helping to win more World Series and of course the legendary Game 7, but still I'd be a bit surprised considering how many sure thing players are currently on the ballot.

RBI (62) More 365 TTM inbox goodness...

Yup that's right folks another reply for the challenge, and it's an especially cool one. With spring training just beginning one of the big 2012 story lines has been a fairly regular one, who's healthy. This is especially true for the San Francisco Giants who hope Buster Posey will hold up through the season and Brian Wilson will as well. Did either reply to me TTM? Nope, but the photos of Brian Wilson dominating the blogosphere made me "fear the beard" 1989 style a la the original beard, Jeff "Terminator" Reardon.

Reardon was a amateur free agent signed by the Mets in 1977, and eventually broke into the bigs with them in 1979. He was very consistent for the Mets and they ended up trading him to the Montreal Expos where he would make a name for himself as a dominating closer. For 11 consecutive years of his career Reardon would Save at least 20 games and twice hit the 40 Save mark. For the next 16 seasons he would be a linchpin closer for several clubs such as the Twins, Red Sox, before slowing down in the end of his career with the Braves, Reds, and Yankees.

When he finally walked away from the game Reardon was at the time the All Time Saves leader with 342 career Saves before his record was broken and eventually shattered by others along with Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. He was a 4-time All-Star, World Series Champion with the Twins, and was the NL Rolaid's Relief Man of the Year. His career line in 880 appearances would be 73-77 with 877 Strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA.

Jeff Reardon autographed this 1989 Topps card sent to his home address and return it to me quickly after only 10 Days.

RBI (39) Another local boy done good...

It seems to be a general theme with the Angels especially that they like to acquire Southern California natives. This proved to be true with Long Beach native former catcher Mike Fitzgerald even though it was only for a lone season.

Fitzgerald was drafted by the New York Mets in the 6th round of the 1978 draft after attending Lakewood High school. It wasn't until 1983 that Fitzgerald made his debut for the Mets, appearing in only 8 games. Fitz' had the distinction of being one of the few Major Leaguers to hit a Home Run in his first Major League at-bat. Following the '83 season Fitz' became a regular player for the Mets appearing in 112 games before being traded to the Montreal Expos.

Fitzgerald played the majority of his career for the Expos and in seven seasons from 1985-1991 acted as a primary catcher for the team appearing in 633 games. He displayed solid glove work and when needed moved from behind the plate to play in every position except for pitcher and shortstop. Offensively Fitz' made modest contributions, but his defense, versatility, and ability to get on base were positive enough for the California Angels to take a stab at the Long Beach native in 1992.

After his lone year with the Angels, Fitzgerald hung up his cleats and retired from professional baseball. He ended his career with a .235 average to go with 48 Home Runs and 293 RBI. Most impressive though, was the catcher's ability to draw a walk throughout his career despite his low power numbers. Fitz retired with a .321 OBP and an astoundingly few number of double plays grounded into for his 10 years in the bigs, a mere 65. In today's metric analyzed game I'm confident in saying his talents would most definitely be appreciated by GM's.

Mike was an amazingly kind veteran to have the opportunity to meet. I was able to get his autograph through the Angel's 50th Anniversary promotion, but when I first got into line I was planning on having Fitz autograph a ball since I couldn't find a card for him. When a few friends got their autograph they came back and showed Mike had actually brought his own very large stack of cards from throughout his career and was signing the item and offering an autographed card to go with it. I couldn't believe it and really do appreciate Mr. Fitzgerald being so kind to offer that. I know all the fans walked away happy and grateful that the local boy treated everyone so well. 

Also I think the signature is one of the more unique and almost artsy signatures that I've seen. This 1988 Score card from Fitzgerald's Expos days is definitely a keeper.