Padrographs Contest Winnings!

Rod from Padrographs had a contest a little while ago which gave away quite a few things, including some Padrographs! There were 6 prizes, but for some reason only 4 people entered, so I already had a good chance. I finished second but ended up with my top prize pick - about 30 autographs of Padres past and present (appropriate timing for Dinged Corners post, don'tchathink?)!

My first thought was that there might be a Fred McGriff auto - and there wasn't. But let me tell you...this prize was way better than any one McGriff. I'm going to show my top 13, awesome to awesome-est, mostly because of time constraints. But just remember...as awesome as these 13 cards are, there are like (at least) 17 more than I didn't show.

And please do check out the bottom of this post, even if you just scan the pictures. The last few autos are insanely generous of Rod!

First this Juan Melo auto. This card just makes me so happy...what a great little smile there.

Now a little double picture - Scott Linebrink and Adam Hyzdu. Linebrink I like from his ChiSox days, and Hyzdu from his RedSox days. And I also like that Hyzdu signed in yellow - way to fight the blue/black establishment!

1969 Topps, signed by Larry Colton. This ties for my second oldest card, so I'm pretty happy anyways, but it's especially awesome signed!

1989 Upper Deck Dickie Thon. This card is awesome on so many levels - the name, the signature placement, the late 80's hair - all so good.

Oh yeah, Rod also threw in some non TTM stuff, aka the stuff you pull from packages. This Tristar Kyler (sp?) Burke...

this Leaf Eric Young (the speed king!)...

and this Donruss Studio Brian Lawrence, #'d to 250. All very cool, the Young is my fave of these three.

Okay, so those cards are rule. But here are my top 5:
5. Archi Cianfrocco - You guys know I love weird names. Does it get much better than this one (well, I think it does, but wait til further down this list).

4. D'Angelo Jiminez - A player I used to really like, I think because he left the Yankees, which is the same reason why I kind of like David Wells, and maybe why I like Fred McGriff too. If Derek Jeter became a Pittsburgh Pirate tomorrow would I become a fan - maybe...just maybe.

3. Okay, Yankee pondering aside...Jake Peavy!
My jaw dropped when I saw this card. It's a rookie, it's signed...I mean does it really get any better than this. I'm sad that Peavy had to leave the Padres, but I still think he's a great pitcher, and when he comes back from injury he will knock 'em down once again. Needless to say, I love this card.

2. Tony Gwynn - What a nice card, and a beautiful signature by Tony. If you had told me four months ago that I would have a card collecting blog and a Tony Gwynn autograph, I would have laughed. But hey, weird stuff happens, and this card RULES!

So how could it get any better than that right? Well...I do love a Great Name, as illustrated by Archi above. So you know I must've been pretty excited when I saw this card (excuse the glare)
That's right: Taggert Bozied. I've never heard of the guy before, and his real name is Robert, but his nickname is "Tagg," which is awesome. I'm actually shocked to see that he's spent every year since 2003 in AAA (with th Padres, Mets, Cardinals, Marlins, and now Pirates) but that he has yet to see any MLB service time. In the Marlins AAA in 2008 Tagg hit .306/.382/.589 with 26 homeruns and 80 rbi as a 1B/OF. Isn't that enough for a call up? A .281/.350/.494 career minor league line is not too shabby - someone please give the guy a shot!

So there you have it - just some of the amazing autos that I got from Rod's giveaway. Rod, thank you so very very very very much - these cards are awesome and you're wicked generous to have given them to me!