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

[Dilferules]

Nine more easy upgrades:

Mike Aldrete - Had a certified Yankees card from 1996 Leaf Signature so by my definition this isn't technically an "upgrade" but it's a nice addition.

Joe Boever - Upgrades a Braves card from my 1988 Topps set.

Jeremy Fikac - Upgrades a 2002 Topps Total Padres card.

Jason Grabowski - Upgrades a 2000 Bowman Rangers card.

Mike Kingery - Upgrades a Mariners card from my 1988 Topps set.

Ken Phelps - Upgrades a Mariners card from my 1988 Topps set.

Jamie Quirk - Upgrades a Royals card from my 1988 Topps set.

Scott Sanderson - Upgrades a Cubs card from my 1988 Topps set.

Matt Young - Upgrades a Dodgers card from my 1988 Topps set.

 

[OakAth]

Picked up this 1/1 at a card show this past weekend.

 

[Dilferules]

Picked up this 1/1 at a card show this past weekend.

View attachment 345433

Neat I didn't know he was in one of the recent Archives buyback sets. He didn't have very many certified A's autos from his time on the team.

 

[Dilferules]

Six more upgrades:

Andy Abad - He played a single game for the A's so he never got an A's card...this card from the A's AAA team at the time so this is as good as it gets. Upgrades a 1999 Bowman Chrome Red Sox card.

Domingo Acevedo - This upgrades a 2016 Bowman Chrome Yankees card.

Goose Gossage - This upgrades a Padres card from my 1988 Topps set. He does have a tough Upper Deck A's auto card from 2006 and several logoless Panini Oakland autos so I could upgrade this to certified some day.

Steve Karsay - This upgrades a 1991 Score Blue Jays card.

Jeff Parrett - This upgrades an Expos card from my 1988 Topps set.

Joe Slusarski - This upgrades a 1988 Topps Traded Team USA card.

 

[Dilferules]

One last upgrade for now:

Doug Johns - This upgrades an A's minor league card.

 

[Dilferules]

One new one plus an upgrade, both from 2023 Topps Series 1:

David MacKinnon - Made it into 6 games late in the season for the A's, apparently too late to be pictured as an Athletic on this card (though he's pictured on the A's on his base card). He signed with a Japanese team after the season so unless Topps got some stickers signed they're dying to use it doesn't seem like he'll get an A's autograph.

Ken Waldichuk - This is an upgrade from a Bowman Yankees card.

That drops my needs to 5, 728/733.

 

[Dilferules]

A couple more upgrades:

Jonah Bride - I was happy to see him get a certified autograph, especially in a set I really like. This upgrades a signed A's team card that didn't even picture him on it.

Ray Durham - I have two or three certified White Sox autos but didn't have anything picturing him with the A's. Went to a card show today and one seller had some sigs he got in person from the early '00s...lots of A's that I already had tons of, but this was one I could definitely use.

 

[RNCoyote]

Bright Lights Bride!

 

[Dilferules]

One upgrade today, double posting from the March pickups thread:

Shea Langeliers - This upgrades a 2019 Contenders college auto.

 

[Dilferules]

Opening day is today so I will post a current needs list. I'll update this post as the season rolls on.

Larry Arndt, 1989
Angel Felipe, 2023
Shintaro Fujinami, 2023
Rico Garcia, 2023
Marcus Jones, 2000
Jared Koenig, 2022
Richard Lovelady, 2023
Easton Lucas, 2023
Spencer Patton, 2023
Steve Phoenix, 1994
Brent Rooker, 2023
Chad Smith, 2023
Kirby Snead, 2022
Devin Sweet, 2023
Tyler Wade, 2023

765/771 as of 9/27/2023.

 

[Dilferules]

A whopping EIGHT new A's debuted on opening day. I already have autographs for 7 of them...it was a surprise to me that Brent Rooker made the team but I do have one for him incoming.

Jesus Aguilar - Seems primed to get the most at-bats at first base.

Aledmys Diaz - Should get a lot of playing time at short and around the infield. Seems like they should be giving more playing time to Nick Allen to see if he can improve his hitting, instead. It's not like the A's are competing for the playoffs.

Trevor May - Picked up the win in relief last night.

Kyle Muller - Made the opening day start and gave up 1 run in 5 innings. Picked up in the Sean Murphy trade.

Ryan Noda - Made his MLB debut as a pinch runner. Has some power and speed so who knows maybe he can be something, but it was also his 27th birthday on opening day so not exactly a top prospect. He doesn't have any cards aside from minor league team sets.

Jace Peterson - Seems like he will be the primary third baseman. I'm sure he'll be competent but I would have rather seen the spot go to a younger player that might blossom into something better.

Esteury Ruiz - Fast exciting player, scored the A's first run of the year. Like Muller, picked up in the Sean Murphy trade. Clearly the replacement for Cristian Pache, who bombed last year and is now gone for peanuts.

That brings my totals to 735/741.

 

[Dilferules]

The remaining 2 new players on the active roster debuted Saturday. I already had one and the other is Shintaro Fujinami. His Japanese autographs seem to go for over $100 so I'm going to wait it out and hope he makes it into an MLB auto set this year. If I'm going to pay that much I'd rather pay for something in an A's uniform.

Carlos Perez - Journeyman catcher was signed to a minor league deal for depth, then the A's backup catcher got injured.

Pickup up Perez and missing Fujinami puts me at 736/743.

Oh and a surprise upgrade!

Sam Selman - Reliever got into 16 games with the A's last year with a 4.91 ERA. His MLB debut was back in 2019 so he's not exactly a likely candidate for a card. Panini must have had some stickers lying around they wanted to use before they lost their MLBPA license. Works for me! This upgrades a 2013 Bowman Chrome auto showing him on the Royals.

 

[Dilferules]

One in today:

Brent Rooker - 0 for 7 so far, still not sure exactly why he made the roster. One of those guys with big minor league numbers that has never been able to put it together at the major league level.

Now at 737/743.

 

[Dilferules]

Three debuts since my last post, I already had one and have Tyler Wade and Chad Smith on the way.

Hogan Harris - Called up yesterday, made it into the game in relief, got a single out while allowing 1 hit, 1 hit by pitch, FIVE WALKS, and six runs, sent back to the minors today. Hopefully he makes it back to the majors, you don't want to be the guy with a career 162.00 ERA.

One hit and two misses puts me at 738/746.

 

[RNCoyote]

Three debuts since my last post, I already had one and have Tyler Wade and Chad Smith on the way.

View attachment 347041Hogan Harris - Called up yesterday, made it into the game in relief, got a single out while allowing 1 hit, 1 hit by pitch, FIVE WALKS, and six runs, sent back to the minors today. Hopefully he makes it back to the majors, you don't want to be the guy with a career 162.00 ERA.

One hit and two misses puts me at 738/746.

In a one year span he blazed from A ball to the majors. Awesome guy. Got a personal picture I took of him signed last year.

 

[Dilferules]

One more debut that I have on the way (Richard Lovelady). But I also got one in plus a surprise upgrade.

Chad Smith - There have been two Chad Smiths in MLB history, both righthanded relievers, and both have played for the A's. This Chad has a tougher autograph, the Albuquerque team set card was the only one I could find.

Upgrade:

Dermis Garcia - Former Yankees prospect played 39 games for the A's last year, not particularly well. I was surprised to see he got an "Oakland" autograph. I usually don't bother with Onyx, but when they're the only option I'll pick one up.

Up a Chad and down a Lovelady puts me at 739/747 with a couple more incoming.

 

[Therion]

I don't mind Onyx. I wish they had logos, but such is life. They are pretty decent quality.

 

[Dilferules]

Yeah nothing is really wrong with Onyx, it's just there's so much out there and I've got to draw the line somewhere if I don't want to go into debt.

One debut today plus a new pickup.

Mason Miller - Legit prospect pitched fewer than 30 innings in the minors before making his major league debut. That's what happens when you throw 102 with good control. I also have the Refractor and Blue Refractor versions of this card sitting around somewhere, luckily I picked them up before the hype train rolled in. The Blue might be a $100+ card now.

Richard Lovelady - Another in the long line of journeyman relievers over the last couple of years.

Now at 741/748 with one incoming.

 

[Dilferules]

Well it looks like they won't be the "Oakland" A's much longer. As long as they keep the Athletics name I will remain a fan...it hurts not having them near where I grew up anymore, but I haven't even lived in California since 2000 so it's not like much really changes if they are in a different town. I've actually never been to Vegas so it would give me an excuse to go. If they change their name to the Las Vegas Aces or something like that then I doubt I will remain a fan, that's no longer my team. I would just buy some complete sets and collect some insert sets for current products and concentrate on filling in gaps in my Philadephia/Kansas City/Oakland collection.

One new autograph:

Tyler Wade - That catches me up with all of the 2023 debuts except for Shintaro Fujinami, who I will wait for a possible actual A's autograph of rather than spending for a Japanese league auto.

Now at 742/748.

 

[OakAth]

Well it looks like they won't be the "Oakland" A's much longer. As long as they keep the Athletics name I will remain a fan...it hurts not having them near where I grew up anymore, but I haven't even lived in California since 2000 so it's not like much really changes if they are in a different town. I've actually never been to Vegas so it would give me an excuse to go. If they change their name to the Las Vegas Aces or something like that then I doubt I will remain a fan, that's no longer my team. I would just buy some complete sets and collect some insert sets for current products and concentrate on filling in gaps in my Philadephia/Kansas City/Oakland collection.

One new autograph:

View attachment 347191Tyler Wade - That catches me up with all of the 2023 debuts except for Shintaro Fujinami, who I will wait for a possible actual A's autograph of rather than spending for a Japanese league auto.

Now at 742/748.

They have already stated they are keeping the "A's" name/brand.....it has a rich history. I was born and raised in the Bay Area (die hard A's, Raiders, Warriors fan) but live in Vegas now. All of my teams are coming to me....lol. I am torn about this, but they have been trying for twenty years to get a stadium and the city has been blocking them every step of the way and let's face it, even if they got a new stadium wherever you put it in Oakland it is lipstick on a pig. Oakland has lost three franchises in the last five years you would think they would have fought harder for the A's. It will be interesting to see if current A's ownership (which is probably the worst I have ever seen) will try to build a contender once they move.