300 Post Milestone Special
300? Holy cow! When the Showdown Bot was released I never thought I'd be able to hold attention for this long on such a project, but baseball has such a wealth of history that I have yet to run short on inspiration. Thus far, I've gotten a bit carried away, seeking to make dozens of team sets, reviewing entire careers, seeking to highlight every Hall of Famer and other such topics all while going from the occasional update to at least once a week. I've learned quite a bit of baseball history in the process and gotten to flex some trivia I'm aware of as well. Now this ambitious project of mine has reached 300 posts, as I take a break from other themes to crack open my autograph book again to show off the players I've had the honor of meeting face to face.
Most of the players I've received an autograph from usually come with an uneventful story. Not so with Alfonso Soriano. Back during the Yankees dynasty, Darryl Strawberry was rehabbing with the AAA team as they rolled into Syracuse, NY for a MiLB game. My dad loaded up a bunch of baseballs and cards and took my brother and myself out to the ballpark in hopes that we could get one of the most notable names in recent memory. The park was sold out, with kids packing everywhere field level where Strawberry might venture out to sign autographs. I actually managed to fight my way to the front of one of those packed groups (along the way losing my brother, but this was no time to care for the weak) just as Strawberry walked over and started signing baseballs. I thrusted my arm out and had the ball in hand *right there* in front of Darryl's line of sight...as he proceeded to grab the ball right next to mine, sign it, then jog off to warm up for the game.
Many kids stayed put in hopes that Strawberry would return after stretching and jogging and whatever else players do, but I knew better. Dejected, and my brother still missing, I returned to my seat where my dad waited and told him the bad news. My dad then motioned to where a few Columbus Clippers (Yankees AAA team) players were standing around, completely ignored by everyone since they weren't Strawberry and suggested I get their autographs so I don't go home completely emptyhanded. I grabbed my program and went over to them. They seemed humored that someone took notice of them and gladly signed the back of the program. Back in my seat (by then my brother even returned) I looked up the 3 guys real quick to see who they even were; nobodies it seemed, including the Shortstop. And with a guy like Derek Jeter still in the opening years of his Hall of Fame career, it seemed that Shortstop was a dead end for players coming up in the Yankees farm system.
Well, the Yankees seemed to think that that Shortstop had a future, and by 2001 they moved him over to 2nd Base and he quickly emerged as one of the best in the game. By then I had realized that I did indeed leave the ballpark that day with the prize autograph, just not the guy I thought I needed to seek out.
Many kids stayed put in hopes that Strawberry would return after stretching and jogging and whatever else players do, but I knew better. Dejected, and my brother still missing, I returned to my seat where my dad waited and told him the bad news. My dad then motioned to where a few Columbus Clippers (Yankees AAA team) players were standing around, completely ignored by everyone since they weren't Strawberry and suggested I get their autographs so I don't go home completely emptyhanded. I grabbed my program and went over to them. They seemed humored that someone took notice of them and gladly signed the back of the program. Back in my seat (by then my brother even returned) I looked up the 3 guys real quick to see who they even were; nobodies it seemed, including the Shortstop. And with a guy like Derek Jeter still in the opening years of his Hall of Fame career, it seemed that Shortstop was a dead end for players coming up in the Yankees farm system.
Well, the Yankees seemed to think that that Shortstop had a future, and by 2001 they moved him over to 2nd Base and he quickly emerged as one of the best in the game. By then I had realized that I did indeed leave the ballpark that day with the prize autograph, just not the guy I thought I needed to seek out.
Lyon came up as a Starter, quickly moved to the bullpen and few times even found a spot on teams as their Closer. Results may vary in the 9th.
Williams was one of those guys that bounced around from organization to organization, looking for a chance to break out. Eventually he earned a brief callup from the Twins in 2005, a decade after his professional career started.
Winchester debuted with the Reds in the 90s, but didn't net results to warrant him sticking around. He spent several seasons looking for work in the minors before giving up.
Tom Filer had a bit of a career for himself, then hung out as a pitching coach in the Blue Jays system. Just a reminder that it's not just the players on a minor league roster that should be on your radar when you hit up the ballpark.
Unlike Soriano, I didn't quite remember very quickly about Mike Vento's autograph, but he did indeed make it in the show.
John Rodriguez would only go on to play in 2 MLB seasons, but he could call himself a World Series champion for one of them, which is a pretty good deal if you ask me.
Howie Clark didn't only make the big leagues, but he also has representation in the official Showdown sets, so I had to go a bit deeper into his career to generate him a card here.
Colangelo here is another example of a player who played a decent amount during the Showdown years but never got a card. So let's rectify that oversight.
We end with another autograph event find. This was another case where I had a vague idea at the time of who I was meeting while my dad was absolutely stoked about it.
