Darrin Fletcher Autographed Card

I don't know if it's the fact that they wore more equipment than their teammates, of they were crouched, or that they were the last line of defense against the opponents scoring, but I was always had a fascination for goalies in hockey, and catchers in baseball. Maybe the ones in town just had the most personality (Patrick Roy, Gary Carter).

When Carter was traded by the Montréal Expos, my attention was often on the catcher, except for my favourite player (Tim Raines, who had two stints with the team). One of these catchers was Darrin Fletcher, who played for the Expos from 1992 to 1997; it was in Montréal that he became a starter, and 1994 was a particularly good season for him (and the team), as he led the National League in sacrifice flies and played in the All-Star Game (alongside Expos teammates Ken Hill, Marquis Grissom, Moises Alou and Wilfredo Cordero).

In 1995, in addition to being the regular catcher, he also kept a .364 batting average as a pinch-hitter. He could usually be counted on to bat .260 and provide 50-60 RBIs.

But he had to leave a traitor, signing as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998. Urgh, Toronto. Gross. At least I got him to sign this 1996 Upper Deck Series 1 card by Upper Deck (#391 in the set) in 1996:

It shows him wearing the Expos' grey (away) uniform most fans under the age of 30 associate them with. The back has the blue alternate/training camp jersey to go with the grey pants, also a nice look:

I really like these border-less cards.