Dilferules's 1988-present Oakland A's autograph thread

[Dilferules]

Jeff Larish [2010] has exactly 1 certified MLB card and it's an auto: 2009 UD Signature Stars -IMP-JE - Impressions [AU - as a Detroit Tiger]
He appeared in 101 games over 3 seasons, mostly Tigers, 24 with the A's as you mentioned
[and it's an unadvertised short print, and a triple auto card with Pedroia /30]
he never appears in an MLB release of Topps, UD, Panini, Fleer etc otherwise, never in a flagship set, never got a Bowman card
He's got another 69 cards for Team USA [such as yours] and Just Minors, Tristar & Choice team issue, but no other MLB licensed
I have it, and didn't know what I had. Picked it up on impulse for $1 back around 2010.
I got a lot of unexpected interest, and did some research. Much to my surprise, as written above.
I don't know how many people there are in the hobby who are doing the project to have 1 licensed MLB major league card of every MLB player ever.
there certainly are a few,
my kid snagged it and sent it to COMC

Interesting, I didn't know that! I'll have to keep my eye out if I see one in a bargain bin. Definitely weird for a position-playing prospect to come up in the last 20 years without a Topps/Bowman card.

 

[Dilferules]

Okay these are going to slow down a little because we're getting into the era where I have a very high number each year plus I don't happen to have the cards already scanned.

2012

28 new A's in 2012.

Jeremy Accardo - Pitched one game for the A's, the final outing of his career.

Travis Blackley - The Aussie was well-liked by A's fans and had the best season of his career in 2012 with a 3.86 ERA in 102.2 innings.

Yoenis Cespedes - I have a big Cespedes collection, he was a very entertaining player for sure.

Jesse Chavez - Spent over 3 years with the A's as both a starter and reliever, and was pretty decent.

Bartolo Colon - No A's autos were made for Bartolo as far as I know.

Ryan Cook - Reliever had an excellent first few seasons before falling off.

Collin Cowgill - Played 38 games for the A's before being shipped to the Mets. Later played 3 seasons for the Angels but wasn't that good.

Sean Doolittle - DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Fan favorite for five and a half seasons with the A's before winning a ring with the Nationals. Currently not having a great season with the Reds.

Stephen Drew - Former top prospect was picked up for the stretch run in 2012 but was very so-so.

Jonny Gomes - Very good in 2012, they brought him back in 2014 and he wasn't so hot. In between he won a World Series with Boston.

Continued in next post.

 

[Dilferules]

2012 (continued)

AJ Griffin - Had a couple of decent seasons as a starter in Oakland, then got injured and wasn't the same in Texas.

Brandon Hicks - Filled in for 22 games and hit .172.

Luke Hughes - Went 1 for 13 in the final four games of his career.

Brandon Inge - Was not very good in 74 games as the A's third baseman.

Kila Ka'aihue - Finished his career with 39 games in Oakland and was not very effective.

George Kottaras - Backup catcher only got into 27 games but did hit 6 homers.

Jim Miller - Had a 2.59 ERA (but 4.74 FIP) in 48.2 relief innings but didn't get much MLB playing time afterwards.

Tommy Milone - An okay back end starter for two and a half seasons, I have an extensive collection.

Brandon Moss - Good hitter in 3 seasons with the A's.

Pat Neshek - Noted autograph collector had two good seasons in Oakland.

Continued in next post.

 

[Dilferules]

2012 (concluded)

Derek Norris - A's starting catcher for two and a half seasons, his tenure ended on a down note as the Royals ran at will on him in the terrible wild card game loss.

Jarrod Parker - Had two solid seasons as a starter and seemed on his way to a good career until he had Tommy John surgery for the second time and kept having recovery setbacks (including breaking his elbow twice) for years before he finally retired in 2018.

Josh Reddick - A's rightfielder for four and a half solid seasons. Kind of a character, he used Wham's Careless Whisper as his at-bat music and is a big pro wrestling fan.

Seth Smith - 4th outfielder for an okay couple of years.

Dan Straily - Not much of a prospect prior to 2012, he rocketed through the minors that year and was mediocre for parts of 3 seasons in Oakland. Currently pitching in Korea.

Rich Thompson - Pitched 1 game for the A's, the final one of his career.

Missing:
Pedro Figueroa - Have one incoming.
Evan Scribner - "Scribbles" spent part of 4 seasons in the Oakland bullpen and has no certified autos.

26/28 for 2012, woohoo! 332/498 1988-2012.

 

[Dilferules]

2013

16 new A's in 2013.

Alberto Callaspo - The hot dog enthusiast (if you have to ask, don't) played two seasons for the A's: pretty good in the first, terrible in the second.

Michael Choice - The tenth overall pick in the 2010 draft was good but not overwhelming in the minors and had a cup of coffee with the A's before being traded to Texas, where he hit .182. Has recently played in Korea and Mexico.

Sonny Gray - Loved him on the A's and have a big collection. He's been pretty good with the Reds the last three years after suffering through a couple of bumpy seasons.

Grant Green - Was a top 100 prospect but just couldn't hit at the major league level. Bounced around for a bit before finishing up in Mexico in 2018.

John Jaso - Backup catcher for a couple of seasons was a pretty good hitter. Had beautiful hair.

Jed Lowrie - Currently on his third stint (6th season) with the A's. A doubles machine. Seems to only stay healthy in Oakland.

Luke Montz - Spent 13 seasons in pro ball but his only MLB action was 10 games for the 2008 Nationals and 13 for the 2013 A's.

Hideki Okajima - Former Boston reliever with a weird delivery pitched his final 5 MLB games for the A's then returned to Japan for a couple more seasons.

Dan Otero - A's reliever for three seasons but his only A's card was in a 2015 Topps team set.

Andy Parrino - Journeyman utility player bounced up and down with the A's for 3 years but couldn't hit.

Continued in next post.

 

[Dilferules]

2013 (continued)

Shane Peterson - Obtained in the terrible Matt Holliday trade, he was a very good AAA hitter who could never translate that to the big league level.

Chris Resop - Pitched 18 games for the A's at the end of his MLB career.

Casper Wells - Went 0 for 5 in 3 games with the A's.

Chris Young - Had a couple of good years in Arizona but sucked in Oakland for one season.

Missing:
Nate Freiman - First baseman was 6 foot 8 but had little power at the major league level. Lasted parts of 2 seasons in the majors then played in independent leagues and Mexico. Married to a former LPGA golfer. Have an autograph incoming.
Stephen Vogt - Spent 4 and a half seasons with the A's and made 2 all-star teams but has no certified autos. Have an uncertified one incoming.

That's 14/16 for 2013, 346/514 overall 1988-2013.

 

[RNCoyote]

Missing:
Alan Embree - Spent two seasons of his long career with the A's. Have one incoming.
JJ Furmaniak - Have one incoming.
Jack Hannahan* - Played two and a hald seasons with the A's, I have an auto in my long-delayed COMC shipment.
Ryan Langerhans - 2 game A's career, have an auto incoming.
Colby Lewis* - Have a Just auto at COMC.
Don/Donnie Murphy - Remember his tenure but he got no cards out of it.
Kevin Thompson - Former Yankee played 9 games for the A's.

That's 22/29 for 2007 and 236/378 1988-2007.

If you want know Kevin Thompson does do TTM autos. I got one from him few months ago. I got Don Murphy at minor league game when he was a Royals prospect

 

[RNCoyote]

View attachment 135537Freddie Bynum - He hit the only foul ball I ever "caught" (it was still rolling around a little on the ground) at a pro game, in AA. Got him to sign the ball after the game.

Did you go to Rockhounds game in Midland that year? I go to those games frequently since I live in the area. I got many signed prospects on cards and pictures I taken

 

[Dilferules]

If you want know Kevin Thompson does do TTM autos. I got one from him few months ago. I got Don Murphy at minor league game when he was a Royals prospect

Thanks for the heads up, I'll probably try him TTM if I don't spot a cheap sig in the near future.

Did you go to Rockhounds game in Midland that year? I go to those games frequently since I live in the area. I got many signed prospects on cards and pictures I taken

I lived near El Paso in the early '00s so I would go to Diablos games when Midland visited. Well, before the Diablos left town. So I got a lot of the A's prospects from that period like Nick Swisher, Huston Street, etc.

-

The additions have really started to roll in, I got a dozen today so I'll have to spread them over two posts:

Andy Abad - Had abad game for Oakland in 2001, going 0 for 1. Couldn't resist.

Jim Dougherty - 9 games for Oakland in 1998 with an 8.25 ERA.

Chris Eddy - 6 appearances in 1995 were his only MLB action...coughed up 3 runs in 3.2 innings.

Jason Grabowski - Played 12 games for the A's 2002-03. Got an A's card in 2003 Topps Total but this one will do...great sig.

Brian Harper - When his productive years in Minnesota were through he played 2 games for the A's in 1995. Also earlier on played 11 games for the 1987 team...no A's cards, though.

Vince Horsman - Reliever pitched for the A's 1992-94 and was pretty good the first year but not the rest.

Robin Jennings - I have absolutely no memory of his 20 games with the 2001 team.

Henry Mercedes - Went 4 for 5 with a triple in 1992 but followed that up by hitting .213 in 20 games the next year. Played in AAA until 2000.

Jon Ratliff - His lone MLB appearance was one inning in 2000. He didn't allow a hit or walk but never made it back to the majors.

Todd Revenig - He pitched 2 innings in 1992 and didn't allow any runs, but did give up a couple of hits. Played pro ball until 2002, including three seasons in China!

 

[Dilferules]

Scott Sheldon - Played 13 games for the 1997 team then spent parts of 4 seasons with Texas.

Tom Wilson - Played ten seasons in the minors before finally getting 9 games of MLB action with Oakland in 2001. Got a lot of playing time the next two seasons with Toronto. Has an A's card in a team-issued set.

So with those dozen additions I'm now up to 358/514 1998-2013.

 

[Dilferules]

2014

22 new A's in 2014.

Bryan Anderson - Played five games over two seasons with the A's.

Kyle Blanks - Hit .333 with a .935 OPS in 21 games then the A's let him leave in the offseason. Then he hit .313 in 18 games with Texas the next year and that was it for him. Looks like injury issues did him in.

Billy Burns - After a cup of coffee in 2014 he had a nice full season in 2015 before falling off the next year and getting traded to KC midseason. 2019 was his last year in pro ball.

Adam Dunn - Finished his career with 25 games in Oakland and finally made it to the postseason...but was never put in the 12-inning game. Anticlimactic! Does have an A's card in 2015 Stadium Club.

Jeff Francis - Former top prospect made 9 relief appearances for the A's with a 6.08 ERA.

Sam Fuld - Spent parts of three seasons hitting right around the Mendoza line for the A's.

Luke Gregerson - Appears to have had a great season in relief for the A's (2.12 ERA) but I swear every time I saw him he was getting in trouble.

Jason Hammel - Acquired in the Addison Russell deal, by my memory he tanked his first couple of starts leading to the A's trading away Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester. Though that could have happened regardless and it's just my own personal narrative. Ended up with a 4.26 ERA in 13 A's appearances.

Jim Johnson - One of the less popular A's of all time, was paid $10 million for a 7.14 ERA in 38 games before mercifully being released in August.

Scott Kazmir - Had a good year and a half with Oakland before being swapped to Houston.

Continued in next post.

 

[Dilferules]

2014 (continued)

Jon Lester - Picked up for Yoenis Cespedes mid-season, had a 2.35 ERA in 11 starts before giving up 6 runs in the wild card game.

Josh Lindblom - Started one game for the A's before going to Korea.

Brad Mills - Started 4 games for the A's over 2 seasons.

Drew Pomeranz - Solid to good in two seasons of starting/relieving for the A's, though I remember him whining about relieving. Traded to the Padres after 2015.

Jeff Samardzija - Picked up in the Addison Russel trade, pitched well for a half season, then traded to the White Sox for several players including Marcus Semien and Chris Bassitt. An all-around success!

Joe Savery - 4 scoreless innings for the A's were his final MLB action.

Geovany Soto - Perhaps my least favorite Athletic of all time, was picked up for defense at catcher since starter Derek Norris sucked at throwing out baserunners. He started the wild card game against the speedy Royals but injured his thumb in the third inning, requiring Derek Norris to play catcher and the Royals ran at will, winning in 12 innings. The team was dismantled after the season for a rebuilding phase.

Missing:
Fernando Abad - Pitched 2 full years of relief for the A's but didn't get any A's cards.
Craig Gentry - Has several non-A's certified autos but I haven't happened to pick one up yet.
Eric O'Flaherty - Pitched 45 games over 2 seasons with the A's but didn't get any A's cards.
Nick Punto - Has very few certified autos, haven't found one of those or a signed 2014 Topps A's card for a good price.
Fernando Rodriguez - Pitched 97 games for the A's over 3 seasons, but never got an A's card. Was in 2007 Bowman/Chrome with the Angels.

So that's 17/22 for 2014 and 375/536 1988-2014.

 

[Dilferules]

2015

Thirty new A's in 2015! A rebuilding year.

RJ Alvarez - Relief prospect pitched 21 games with a 9.90 ERA after having done well in San Diego the prior season. Hasn't been back to the bigs since but is currently in AAA with the Brewers.

Carson Blair - Caught 11 games for the A's and hit .129 in his only big league action.

Aaron Brooks - Pitched for the A's in 3 different seasons but wasn't very good.

Billy Butler - Didn't hit near well enough for a DH in a season and a half with the A's.

Mark Canha - Current A's leadoff hitter, he was a rule 5 pick (via a trade with the Rockies) and has been with the A's for 7 years. Very good the last 3 seasons. He has a 2021 Finest auto I need to pick up.

Tyler Clippard - Spent a half season as the A's closer before being traded to the Mets for a prospect that never panned out.

Ike Davis - Former Mets star played a year in Oakland on the downside of his short career. Didn't do well.

Felix Doubront - Last MLB playing time was 11 games in Oakland.

Ryan Dull - Pitched parts of five seasons with the A's but only one of them was good.

Kendall Graveman - Multiple time opening day starter for the A's wasn't that great but was by far the best pickup from the Josh Donaldson trade.

Continued in next post.

 

[Dilferules]

2015 (continued)

Jesse Hahn - Sometimes good, sometimes bad, usually injured in three seasons with Oakland.

Brett Lawrie - One time super prospect had already shown to be a dud in 4 seasons in Toronto but was brought over in the Josh Donaldson trade with hopes a change in scenery might help. Nope, he was just as mediocre and was shipped off to the White Sox the next year for his final MLB season.

Edward Mujica - Pitched 38 relief games for the A's in one season.

Max Muncy - Ouch. Hit .195 with the A's in 96 games over two seasons and didn't seem like he would pan out so he was released in 2017. The Dodgers picked him up and he has been great for them. Currently the NL OBP leader.

Sean Nolin - Prospect picked up in the Donaldson trade pitched 6 games for the A's and was waived. Has pitched in Mexico and Japan.

Josgh Phegley - A's backup catcher for 5 years, memorably used "PTBNL" on the back of his Player's Weekend jersey. Last played in 2020.

Cody Ross - Ended his career with 9 games for the A's.

Marcus Semien - Was thought of as kind of a consolation prize when he was picked up the year after huge shortstop prospect Addison Russell was traded, but he ended up being way better. Third in AL MVP voting in 2019, he had an off year in 2020 and the A's declined to give him a qualifying offer. He went to Toronto, where he's having an excellent season.

Jake Smolinski - Spent parts of four seasons in Oakland as a backup outfielder.

Danny Valencia - The guy could hit but for some reason I didn't like him. Traded to the Mariners after a year and a half with the A's.

Continued in next post.

 

[Dilferules]

2015 (concluded)

Pat Venditte - The ambidextrous pitcher appeared in 26 so-so games for the A's.

Ben Zobrist - Was excellent in a half season with the A's then was flipped to the Royals for Sean Manaea.

Missing:
Chris Bassitt - Was top ten in Cy Young voting last year but has no certified autos.
Angel Castro - 5 games in Oakland were his only MLB action in a 13-year pro career. Lone MLB card is with the A's but it's a dual player RC.
Daniel Coulombe - Pitched 4 seasons for the A's. Has an A's card in 2018 Topps.
Tyler Ladendorf* - Most notable for sharing his RC with Max Muncy. I have an Elite auto in my delayed COMC shipment.
Arnold Leon - Only MLB card is shared with the aforementioned Castro.
Cody Martin - Pitched 4 games with the A's. Got no MLB cards but has a couple of Topps minor league issues.
Jason Pridie - Longtime AAAA type played his last 4 MLB games with the A's. Have one incoming.
Chad Smith - Pitched 2 games with the A's. Has no MLB cards but does have a 2013 Heritage minor league card.

22/30 for 2015, 397/566 overall 1988-2015.

 

[RNCoyote]

Got him when he was at AAA Nashville at the time. I also got Tyler "Leapin'" Ladendorf when he was playing AA Midland

 

[Dilferules]

View attachment 135849
Got him when he was at AAA Nashville at the time. I also got Tyler "Leapin'" Ladendorf when he was playing AA Midland

Ooh is that available? Also I had no ide Ladendorf's nickname was "Leapin", that makes him more endearing.

 

[RNCoyote]

Ooh is that available? Also I had no ide Ladendorf's nickname was "Leapin", that makes him more endearing.

I called him Leapin' Ladendorf because he played SS. It's one of many nicknames I called players while in the minors. I still refer Bobby Crosby as Bullet Bobby. Wish I got another card so I can part with.

 

[Dilferules]

Got a boatload of additions in the mail yesterday, 20 overall! Picking up some low-hanging fruit.

Kurt Abbott - Bookended his run in Florida with two stints in Oakland in 1993 and 1998.

Dana Allison - 11 relief appearances in '91 was his whole career. Has two women's first names. Great signature.

Mike Brumley - No recollection of his 11 A's games in 1994.

Kevin Campbell - Pitched 1991-93 with the A's then went to the Twins for two seasons.

Bobby Chouinard - Picked up from the Orioles in a trade for Harold Baines, had a 6.10 ERA in 13 games for the 1996 team and was let go. Pled guilty to a 1999 incident where he held a loaded gun to his wife's head and made her plead for her life, then pitched for the Rockies 2000-01. Yeah that probably would not play out the same today.

Ryan Christenson - One time prospect played 351 games for the A's 1998-2001 as a 4th outfielder but wasn't very good. Current A's bench coach, he got in some hot water last year when he jokingly briefly made a **** salute when a player indicated he probably wasn't holding out his arm in the best way for a high-five.

Alan Embree - Pitched two of his 16 seasons in the majors with the A's, 2007-08. Not very effective on the downside of his career but did pick up 17 saves for the '07 team. Did appear with the A's in 2007 Upper Deck so a future upgrade is possible.

Mike Fetters - Not my most beloved player as the A's traded one of my favorites, Steve Karsay, for him then swapped him to the Angels for nothing after most of a mediocre 1998 season.

Jeremy Fikac - 14 games for the 2003 A's. Did get A's cards in that year's Topps Traded and UD 40-Man sets.

Paul Fletcher - Finished his MLB career by giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and a walk in 1.1 innings in a 1996 A's game. That'll do it all right.

New additions continued in next post.

 

[Dilferules]

Ryan Glynn - Pitched the final 5 games of his career for the 2005 A's, to the tune of a 6.88 ERA.

Jose Herrera - Prospect played 141 games for the 1995-96 A's but didn't provide much offense and that was it for him.

Mark Holzemer - Apparently pitched 13 games for the 1998 team. Solid 7.69 ERA in 94 lifetime MLB appearances.

Eric Ludwick - Picked up as part of the Mark McGwire trade (!) and started 5 terrible games for the A's in 1997 before being shipped to Florida for the aforementioned Kurt Abbott. Mark Holzemer-ish 8.35 ERA in 74 career MLB innings.

Jim Mecir - A's bullpen mainstay 2000-04 was most remembered for overcoming two club feet to pitch in the majors.

Troy Neel - Provided some mild power for the A's 1992-94 then had success in Japan 1995-2000.

Omar Olivares - Provided a season and a half of poor starting pitching to Oakland beginning in 1999.

Pitched 2 games for the 1989 A's after earning this Mariners card with 15 1985 appearances. That was his whole MLB career.

Randy Velarde - Played well 1999-2000 with the A's but not in his return during 2002. A's run was most remembered for his unassisted triple play, shown on this Fleer card.

Tim Worrell - Appeared in 78 games for the 1998-99 teams but his only A's card was in a 1999 team-issued set.

So with those 20 additions I'm up to 417/566 1988-2015. Looks like when I finish cataloging everything up to the present I'll have over 500 autos, not a bad start.