*2012 Topps Series 2 Box Break Information will be posted at 6PM EST.
Come back to claim your team!*
Very rarely will I stray from the Cubs here on the blog but I wanted to post a congratulations to Johan Santana and Mets fans everywhere as they get a giant monkey off their backs. My general rule of thumb is that I root for the Cubs first, a good game second, and any team playing against the NL Central third. So while the Cubs weren't involved, this game met the next two criteria.
Much has been said about players who have gone on to throw no-hitters after leaving the Mets or players who threw one before going there but Santana became the first active roster Mets player to throw one. In keeping with the Signature Saturday theme, I present a 2002 Fleer Tradition Update Card:
In the early 2000's I had re-entered the hobby for the first time as an adult. It was short-lived though as I had two young children at the time. The amount of time and money needed for the hobby was not in my favor although I did mail out quite a bit of cards to players to be autographed. One of my favorite sets for this was Fleer Tradition because they weren't glossy and therefore held the autograph better without much prep work.
According to my records, I mailed this card to Santana in care of the Twins during Spring Training of 2003 and it took just under 3 weeks to be returned with his signature. I can't claim to be clairvoyant to the type of pitcher he'd become though as I sent out at least half of this set.
When I re-entered the hobby a 2nd time in the last year or two, I traded away a bunch of my mail autographs for some Cubs cards and autographs. But for some reason, I hung on to this one. Guess it isn't easy to part with a 2-time Cy Young award winner, regardless of his team.
*2012 Topps Series 2 Box Break Information will be posted at 6PM EST. Come back to claim your team!*
That's a great autograph to have in anyone's collection. Johan has always been a favorite of mine.
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