Mike Fitzgerald: 3 Autographed Cards

As I mentioned a couple of years ago, Mike Fitzgerald was the guy who I most identified as the/my Montréal Expos catcher, not because he was better than Hall Of Famer Gary Carter, but because he was at his best in Montréal, whereas one could argue Carter was nearly as good with the New York Mets as he was in powder blue.

I was lucky enough to stumble upon three other cards I had him sign while he was with the team (more specifically, probably between 1988 and 1991).

First, showing him in the catcher's position wearing the team's classic road uniform, is card #97 from Leaf's 1986 Donruss set:

Then, in what is likely a spring training picture because of the red t-shirt, is card #317 from Fleer's flagship 1987 Fleer collection:

And finally, grounding out or striking out at bat, once more in the classic road uniform, with eye black to reduce the glare from a daytime game, is card #511 from the 1989 Score set by Score, a set I collected while vacationing in Florida with my family at the time:

All three were signed in thick black sharpie, the only ones I could find as a child.

Happy Birthday Tim Wallach: Two Autographed Cards

Well, it's my birthday, and as is customary on my birthday, I will be featuring a pair of cards from Tim Wallach, who was also born on September 14th, albeit over 20 years before me:

Since the last time I featured him, he's been named a bench coach for the Miami Marlins, a team I'm surprised still exists, considering it's owned by Jeffrey Loria. This Loria, and this one as well.

His son Chad was a Marlins draftee - which perhaps helped convince him to continue his coaching career there - while his two other sons, Matt and Brett, were drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Matt and Chad are both products of California State University Fullerton, as was their father, the first from that school to hit a home run in his first Major League at-bat.

At 260 career home runs, Wallach is tied with Derek Jeter, Eric Chavez, and Javier Lopez for 195th all-time. He is right outside the top-100 for career doubles and was a force defensively (click on the picture for higher resolution:

Most cards, however, picture him at bat, usually post-swing, wearing the Expos' powdered blue (away) 1980s uniform, as is the case with these two, which he signed in blue sharpie; first, here is card #263 from Fleer's 1983 Fleer set, one that carries a similar design to those of Donruss at the time:

And there's card #198 from Fleer's 1988 Fleer set, with what I felt was a wildly original yet hard on the eyes design at the time, that I now am blasé about in terms of a "wow" factor and just feel looks ridiculous:

I'll never feel blasé about Wallach, however, who definitely makes the starting third baseman position on my All-Expos All-Time team.

Mitch Webster: 3 Autographed Cards

Here's me checking off #23 from my Expos Numbers Project with these three cards of outfielder Mitch Webster:

I don't know about you, but to me, despite being from cards two years apart, the pictures seem like they're from the same at-bat, or at the very least the same game, judging by the shapes and colours of the people behind him compared to where he's at in his swing...

Webster played in the majors for 13 seasons, and was specifically with the Montréal Expos from 1985 until 1988; he was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Dave Martinez when Hubie Brooks took over right field duties. Webster may have led the National League in triples (with 13) in 1986, but The Natural never batted for .300, and it was believed that Martinez might (and did twice with the Chicago White Sox a few years later) - and Martinez was more dependable defensively.

I keep forgetting Webster started out with the Toronto Blue Jays. That's icky. He's a scout for the Kansas City Royals nowadays - the Midwest Regional Scouting Supervisor, in fact.

But back to the cards. Here's card #523 from Leaf's 1986 Donruss set, of which I only bought singles (usually commons) in 1989-1991:

And here's card #257 from Leaf's 1988 Donruss collection, of which I bought tons of wax and cello packs while vacationing in Florida that summer:

As I said, the pictures are eerily similar, both showing him in the team's powder blue classic away uniform. He signed them in different blue sharpies, which dates them around 1995 to me - while he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers - and means he was using someone else's pens, probably during pre-game warmups.

Terry Francona Autographed Card

I was watching the Boston Bruins' video tribute to head coach Claude Julien last night, commemorating the fact that he became the team's all-time leader in wins, which is pretty impressive considering the Bs' 92-year history.

In case you missed it:

Boston icons salute Claude Julien on becoming #NHLBruins all-time coaching wins leader:https://t.co/7lkxtn3v6v

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 24, 2016

Sure, hockey personalities (Lindy Ruff, Mike Babcock, Ken Hitchcock - his partners on recent editions of Team Canada) offered their congratulations, but it was nice to also see his counterparts from other sports such as the New England Patriots' Bill Bellichik and the Boston Celtics' Brad Stevens, as well as former Boston Red Sox (and current Cleveland Indians) manager Terry Francona, who inspired me this little walk down memory lane...

You see, before turning to managing, Francona was a decent baseball player in his own right, finishing with a career batting average of .274 in ten seasons. He had originally been a Montréal Expos draft pick (first round, 22nd overall in 1980) and played with the team for five seasons, though I was a tad too young to remember him playing in powder blue. Which didn't stop me from acquiring some of his cards in the early 1990s... because he'd been an Expo. He was also a regular visitor at the infirmary, but he was a good player.

By the end of that decade, he was the Philadelphia Phillies' manager, and he signed this card for me prior to a game:

It's card #374 from Topps' 1986 Topps set (the one with Don Mattingly's rookie card), which is signed in fading blue sharpie. Again, I didn't start collecting baseball cards seriously (as in at least a pack per week) until the following year, so this is a card I bought in a 10-cent commons bin in either 1990 or 1991, in the heyday of my passion for the hobby.

Francona won two World Series managing the Red Sox (2004 and 2007); the Montréal connection remained alive and well both times, as fellow former Expo Pedro Martinez was in the rotation the first time, and Montrealer Éric Gagné was in the bullpen in 2007.

Randy St. Claire Autographed Card

With the Montréal Canadiens in full turmoil and rumours swirling concerning Jonathan Drouin and other players, mixed with the fact that we're in the thick of winter, I decided to set my focus on baseball today, most notably my Expos Numbers Project, with this entry for #51, Randy St. Claire:

It's card #463 from Leaf's 1986 Donruss set, which he signed in blue sharpie around the end of the Montréal Expos' tenure in Canada's Sin City, when he was the team's pitching instructor. The son of major league catcher Ebba St. Claire, Randy was never drafted but signed as a free agent with the Expos in 1978, playing parts of five seasons with the club before moving on to the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays, for a season each, except for a two-year stint in Atlanta.

His win-loss record with the Expos was 10-6, and he finished 12-6 for his career; he was exclusively a relief pitcher, having never started an MLB game.

As a kid, I was a bit young to have purchased packs of this set, so I likely came across this card in 1990 or 1991, buying common singles at a card store at 5 cents apiece and looking for all Expos, "promising" prospects not named Todd Van Poppel, and players whose names I recognized from being regulars. As a player, I mostly remember him with the Braves.

Happy Birthday Tim Wallach: 3 Autographed Cards

Famous people born on September 14th include singer Amy Winehouse, rapper Nas, actors Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Tyler Perry (Gone Girl), Melissa Leo (The Fighter), and Callum Keith Rennie (Californication), wrestler Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon, and comedian Mike Ward.

Also, myself, and former baseball star third baseman Tim Wallach. When I was a kid, most years, there was a Montréal Expos game at the Olympic Stadium on that day, and I'd go, and they'd say it was his birthday, and I felt special because it was mine too. There was even one year where my name appeared on the scoreboard, and I got to meet him and have him sign cards for me.

I'm not sure if any of these cards are from that day, because as is the case with my favourite player (Tim Raines), I have a ton of Wallach-signed stuff. He, Raines and Gary Carter are my Holy Trinity of baseball players, though I never got to meet Carter.

Wallach was usually among the league leaders in Game-Winning RBIs, and twice led for doubles, with 42 each time. The Expos were always a run-first team, putting emphasis on doubles and stolen bases (of which Raines was the champion) instead of raw power, and #29 also holds the team record for inside-the-park home runs, both in a single season and over a career. He did have some power to his game, however, surpassing the 20-homer mark five times (with a high of 28 in 1982).

He was also a three-time Gold Glove winner, in the Mike Schmidt, Terry Pendleton and Matt Williams era, no less.

Here are the three cards I chose to feature today, all of them signed in blue sharpie, starting with card #685 from Topps' 1986 Topps set:

He's shown from the side of the field near the bench, in his regular batting stance (upright), sporting the team's classic powder-blue (away) uniform, as is the case in the following card, from Fleer's 1990 Fleer set (card #364), except there he's shown mid-swing:

There's also this one where he's wearing the team's 1990s grey (away) uniform, watching a ball he hit go deep into center field:

It's card #570 from Topps' 1993 Topps collection, one of the last baseball sets I tried to complete.

Two Tim Burke Autographed Cards

Before John Wetteland, the Montréal Expos' closer I was most accustomed to was Tim Burke, who held the job from 1987 until mid-way through 1991, when he was traded to the New York Mets, essentially for Ron Darling.

He led the majors in 1985 with 78 appearances on the mound (and tying a rookie record), and was an All-Star in 1989, giving up two hits (no runs) in two innings in a 5-3 loss.

I would guess I got these before a game in 1991, but I don't recall having owned a blue sharpie that early in my life. But since he retired at the end of the 1992 season and lived in Colorado afterwards, the only other opportunity I would have had to meet him (which I recall happening) would have been if the team had brought back alumni players prior to moving to Washington at the turn of the century.

Which brings me to the cards. This one is from Score's 1988 Score set (card #187), the first baseball card set I started collected in my life (along with the 1988 Topps one):

The next card is from Leaf/Donruss' 1986 Donruss set (card #421), one I was too young to collect when it was current, but I purchased singles from - including this one - in 1990 and 1991 at a local card shop:

Both cards show him wearing the Expos' classic powder-blue away uniform, one piching (1988), one watching from the bullpen (1986). He looks a bit like a 1980s actor, a cross between Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap) and Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver).