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

[MrMet2.0]

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2023 Topps Update - Orange and Black Foil Baseball Checklist | Trading Card Database

I don't have either of his cards in that set.

Exactly, send me your address if you don’t mind PWE


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[RNCoyote]

It was bobblehead night here yesterday.

 

[Dilferules]

It was bobblehead night here yesterday.
View attachment 358499

Is he sliding or doing the worm?

 

[WizardofOz1982]

Is he sliding or doing the worm?

Doing the Worm while sliding. Difficulty level 10/10

 

[Dilferules]

Added 2 from 2024 Topps Chrome...I'm sure the expanded auto checklist with lots of duds isn't great when you're buying a box, but it's good for me! However there's been 3 debuts so that sets me back: obscure reliever Gerardo Reyes (ugh), recently acquired reliever Will Klein (have one on the way), and top prospect Jacob Wilson (I was holding off on buying his stuff since it was priced a bit high, but he kept hitting so it's priced even higher now).

Osvaldo Bido - Fairly mediocre swingman for the A's this year. Terrible signature.

Angel Felipe - This was the last 2023 guy I needed. Released before the 2024 season started.

So with those two and the three I don't have, I'm now at 789/797 for 1988-present and 968/1104 overall.

 

[Dilferules]

Excellent progress, picked up a couple I needed plus there were two debuts I already had autos for:

Jacob Wilson - Let's start off with the biggest. Top prospect has a career 1.000 MLB batting average, because he was injured after his first at-bat. He's back in AAA now which means he should return to the majors soon.

Will Klein - Picked up in a recent trade, he gave up 5 runs in 3 relief appearances and was sent to the minors.

Grant Holman - Already had a signature for this 2021 draft pick. He used to be a starter but they recently put him in the bullpen and he made it to the majors that way.

JT Ginn - he was the big piece the A's got from the Mets in the 2022 Chris Bassitt trade. He's been a starter but the A's used him in relief in his first MLB appearance...no hits and 3 strikeouts in 2 innings, so not bad. Unfortunately his name is pronounced with a hard G, not like the liquor. Autograph courtesy of @RNCoyote , thanks!

That puts me at 793/799 for 1988-present and 972/1108 overall.

 

[Dilferules]

A couple of debuts that already had some certified autos out there, so they were easy pickups:

Tristan Gray - Picked up on waivers August 27, hit .143 in 8 games while striking out in over half of his plate appearances, sent to the minors September 10.

Janson Junk - Picked up on waivers August 31, pitched in a single game September 4 where he faced 8 batters, didn't get a single out and gave up 7 runs (plus threw a wild pitch!), DFAed the next day. He did stay in the organization, wow what a relief. Also, I just got you all to look at a picture of my Junk.

That puts me at 795/801 for 1988-present and 974/1110 overall.

 

[Dilferules]

On September 29 I was able to attend the "Oakland A's" final game, in Seattle. I grew up in Central California and even though I haven't lived there for 24 years, it was still an emotional time seeing Oakland on a jersey and a scoreboard for the last time. With the A's temporary move to Sacramento next year while their Vegas stadium is being built, they will simply be the "Athletics" with no city or state designation. It's a good stopping point for my complete A's autograph search - I'm not going after every Kansas City A's or Philadelphia A's auto so let's not try to get every Sacramento or Las Vegas A's auto. The Oakland years 1968-2024 will be the focus of this thread. I may show off a new Sacramento/Vegas pickup from time to time but I am officially relieving myself of the burden of buying autographs of every waiver wire middle reliever and backup infielder.

With all that said I do have some pickups!

First a couple of 2024 guys, the exact types I'm going to stop chasing in 2025 and beyond:

Austin Adams - Tough to find because there is another pitcher named Austin Adams that is a more frequent signer. This one made 56 relief appearances in 2024 and was so-so.

Tyler Ferguson - Not Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family, and sadly not Turd Ferguson (RIP). Pretty decent in 48 relief appearances so I'd say he has a good shot at making the team next year.

And I also searched around for some older guys:

Gary Alexander - Seemingly a good prospect when he was picked up from the Giants as part of a package for Vida Blue. Only spent half a season with the A's before they traded him to Cleveland. In that 1978 season split between the two teams, he did manage to hit 27 homers and lead the league in strikeouts.

Matt Alexander - Spent three seasons in Oakland, and in 214 games he had an astounding .354 OPS. To be fair he was Herb Washington's pinch running replacement and only had 88 at-bats in those 214 games while stealing 63 bases. He actually holds the MLB career record for pinch running appearances. He later won a ring with the '79 Pirates.

Jim Essian - A's starting/platoon/backup catcher over 4 nonconsecutive seasons. Didn't hit much but seems to have been good defensively. Was once traded straight up (with cash) for Dick Allen.

Ed Figueroa - Finished his career pitching 2 games for the 1981 A's.

Tito Francona - Played parts of 2 seasons with the A's towards the end of his career. Son Terry was the A's bench coach in 2003 leading up to his hiring by the Red Sox to end the curse the following year.

Denny McLain - Started and sucked in 5 games for the '72 A's then was traded to the Braves for Orlando Cepeda.

Manny Sanguillen - I saw in a @BucCollector post that Sanguillen had some A's autos in an Archives buybacks set, which I didn't know. I still needed a Sanguillen signature so I grabbed one on eBay.

So by my count it ends with 801 1988-2024 A's and 1,110 1968-2024 A's...but I also saw something out there saying 1,117 so I need to find a good list of them all and check it against my list to see if I missed some or if they are just counting a few guys that were on the roster but never made it into a game (which I don't count).

Currently at 797/801 for '88-'24 and 983/1110 for the complete Oakland years. The four I am missing from 1988 to present are:
Marcus Jones (2000)
Armando Alvarez (2024)
Vinny Nittoli (2024)
Gerardo Reyes (2024)

 

[BucCollector]

Matt Alexander also holds the MLB career records for most SB as a PR and most runs scored as a PR. The GOAT of pinch runners.

 

[Dilferules]

An upgrade and a new addition:

Tim Raines - This upgrades an Expos card from my '88 Topps set. He has an A's card in 2000 Topps and Topps Chrome so I presume he has one of those Archives buyback cards as an Athletic, I guess that would be the ultimate upgrade to this.

Willie Horton - Hit .314 in 32 games with the 1978 A's, then they traded him to the Jays for Rico Carty.

Currently at 797/801 for '88-'24 and 984/1110 for the complete Oakland years. Creeping up on 1,000 Oakland A's autos!

 

[Dilferules]

One addition and one upgrade.

Devin Sweet - This 2024 Topps Chrome Update auto upgrades an uncertified Mariners signed card.

Dock Ellis - Here's how 1977 went for Ellis: 1.83 ERA in 3 starts for the Yankees, traded to the A's with 2 guys that stunk for Mike Torrez, 9.69 ERA in 7 starts for the A's, sold to the Rangers, 2.90 ERA in 22 starts for the Rangers. I guess he really hated Oakland.

Currently at 797/801 for '88-'24 and 985/1110 for the complete Oakland years.

 

[Dilferules]

A few pickups to report. Trying to cut down on card spending so there won't be too many additions this year, but maybe some stuff here and there. I know there is one A's auto in 2025 Topps that would be an upgrade and not expensive so you'll see that here at some point.

Doc Medich - Was mediocre for most of one season with the A's.

Dan Meyer - There was another A's Dan Meyer in the '00s, picked up as the centerpiece of the Tim Hudson trade and he absolutely sucked. This Dan Meyer sucked, too! No more Dan Meyers.

Larry Murray - Hit a robust .180 for the A's in parts of 3 seasons.

I remain at 797/801 for '88-'24 but this bumps me up to 988/1110 for the complete Oakland years.

 

[mrmopar]

C'mon now, Dan had a decent season or two with the M's back when the entire team pretty much sucked! He hit 22 homers and drove in 90 runs for the 77 Mariners. Not too bad at all.

He was my favorite Mariner in the early days for a time and met him at a Little League clinic. I also liked his early Tiger cards too, so that helped me take a liking to him as well.

Looks like the Mariners milked him for most of his talent and then discarded him to the A's (as they did with another early M's favorite, Bruce Bochte too).

 

[Dilferules]

C'mon now, Dan had a decent season or two with the M's back when the entire team pretty much sucked! He hit 22 homers and drove in 90 runs for the 77 Mariners. Not too bad at all.

He was my favorite Mariner in the early days for a time and met him at a Little League clinic. I also liked his early Tiger cards too, so that helped me take a liking to him as well.

Looks like the Mariners milked him for most of his talent and then discarded him to the A's (as they did with another early M's favorite, Bruce Bochte too).
View attachment 361856

20 bombs in the late '70s wasn't too shabby, but certainly looking at his career through a modern lens does him no favors. 12 seasons with a career WAR of negative 6.5 is...not good. And aside from the 20 games in 1984, his 4 seasons with the A's stunk. I saw somewhere that he has the second-lowest career WAR for a player with at least 4,000 plate appearances, with first place going to Doug Flynn.

Of course saying all this, if I were a few years older and watched him play for the A's, I probably would have a soft spot for him.

 

[Dilferules]

One upgrade, out of 2025 Topps:

Brady Basso - This upgrades a TTM/IP minor league team set card.

Still at 797/801 for '88-'24 and 988/1110 for the complete Oakland years.