Astros A to Z Autograph Project Milestone

[Therion]

It has been a good month for the Astros A to Z Autograph Project. I officially passed the 500 unique autographs mark! I am currently at 506/794 which puts me at 63.7% complete.

Included in this month's acquisitions are two major and tough autographs.

Jim Umbricht - the second toughest deceased Astros player. He died in 1964, two years after the Astros became a team.



Johnny Weekly - the fourth toughest deceased Astros player. He died in 1974.



So I now have 8 out of the 10 toughest deceased autographs.

I have also added a lot of tougher living guys like Manuel Barrios and Ramon De Los Santos!

If you would like to check out the whole collection, feel free to visit www.astrosatoz.com. Hopefully I'll have some more nice additions soon.

 

[ASTROBURN]

I wish I could contribute, but you already have all the autographs that I have. Great work though.

 

[rookieaddict]

Very cool accomplishment! I'll be starting after Cardinals that don't have certs after the new year, will be a long road

 

[deaconblues63]

I am assuming Jay Dahl is the toughest of the deceased. Who are the rest of the top 10 and which other one do you need?

 

[predatorkj]

Great job man! Keep plugging away!!!

 

[Therion]

Yup. Jay Dahl is the toughest. Next is Ron Willis.

 

[rsmath]

only 794 players in astros history? seems way too few considering how long the Astros have been around. The Isotopes minor league club has hundreds (I counted 103 just through the D's!) and they've only been around 10 seasons.

 

[predatorkj]

only 794 players in astros history? seems way too few considering how long the Astros have been around. The Isotopes minor league club has hundreds (I counted 103 just through the D's!) and they've only been around 10 seasons.

I'm not sure how many have played for the astros but a minor league team is way different. Guys getting sent up or down all the time. Plus, I'm not sure what he's counting. Maybe some criteria. Example would be :has to have played at least one full season or something along those lines.

 

[rsmath]

minor league team is way different. Guys getting sent up or down all the time. Plus, I'm not sure what he's counting. Maybe some criteria. Example would be :has to have played at least one full season or something along those lines.

re: minor league team - still counts as one no matter how many times they get sent up and down. "AAAA" players at MLB level also get sent up and down often yet still count as one. Maybe the big difference is a lot of AAA players are under 1 year contracts so they usually aren't coming back or returning for second stints so you have a lot of turnover whereas MLB clubs usually have players under longer term contracts so there isn't as much turnover from season to season for 15 or so of the 25 man roster.

re: astros webpage - it says he counts players who have appeared in one official astros game (and presumably regular season ones), not those who have been around a season or a better part of the season.

 

[rsmath]

tried to send an email through his webpage and got an error message - what is his criteria for autos? only autos wanted of players pictured in astros threads? I know several on his "need" list have certified autos but with other clubs depicted (gustavo chacin is an auto I could part with but he's in a jays uniform and that might not fit his criteria).

 

[Therion]

I'll check into the e-mail issue. You can always message me here.

I have the following criteria for my collection:

In an Astros uniform, in a minor league uniform without obvious team affiliation, or on an item without team identification.

As for the total number of players, it is how many people have appeared in an Astros game for at least one play. I am confident in my all-time list but would love to be proven wrong. Remember, the Astros have only existed since 1962 (as the Colt .45s) which is 51 years. That is 15.5 new players per year.

 

[rookieaddict]

794 is actually more than the Astro's website acknowledges. Their list only includes 780

 

[Therion]

I include managers on my list. That may account for the difference.

 

[Therion]

I just did a quick check and their list does not include Harry Craft or Leo Durocher, so the difference is a lack of managers on their list.

 

[trauty]

I collect Royals autographs and they've had 757 different players play in at least 1 game since 1969. (they also have 6 guys that were on the active roster but did not appear in a game).

 

[Therion]

Trauty, do you have Curtis Wilkerson in a Royals uniform? If not, send me your address.