This afternoon, I came home to find three of my SASEs back in my mailbox. Luckily, all three were successes of my favorite kind, players that I grew up watching in the late 2000s & early 2010s!
Casey Blake - 4/4 signed - Sent 6/8/20, Received 6/18/20
Blake, a utility man that primarily played third base for the Blue Jays, Twins, Orioles, Indians, & Dodgers, was kind enough to sign all four of the cards that I sent! In my memory, Blake stands out the most as the starting third baseman for Los Angeles in the 2008 & 2009 playoffs, but his best playoff series at the plate was actually the 2007 ALCS, where he hit .346/.370/.538 with one home run in his Indians' seven-game loss to the eventual champion Red Sox. He spent a total of parts of 13 years in the majors, and his career stats can be found here.
As for the cards sent, the 2000 Pacific rookie card and 2003 Fleer Tradition are my favorites, and the blue sharpie that Blake used stands out very well on them. 2010 Topps & Upper Deck aren't my favorite designs, but both played a large part in my formation as a young card collector, so I do have a soft spot for them. Casey's signature is interesting to me as well, with the best example, in my opinion, being on the 2010 Topps. Thank you Mr. Blake!
Josh Collmenter - 4/4 signed - Sent 6/10/20, Received 6/10/20
Collmenter was a right-handed pitcher that spent parts of seven season in Major League Baseball with the Arizona Diamondbacks & Atlanta Braves. He beautifully signed all four cards that I sent with a black sharpie. I remember "Tomahawk" mainly for his funky delivery and years as a solid swingman for the D-backs, and as one the last few regular starters whose fastball averaged under 90 MPH. His career stats can be found here.
Collmenter's clear signature is one of the my favorites that I have ever seen - it almost seems that, like his preferred deceptive style of pitching, Josh's autograph would fit in more with the baseball of the 1940s and 50s than the 2010s. The cards span Collmenter's entire time with the Diamondbacks organization, and represent a favorite quadfecta of mine - a First Bowman (2009 Gold Border), a rookie card (2011 Topps Update Cognac), a Topps flagship card (2015), and a Topps Heritage (2015). Thanks for signing, Mr. Collmenter!
Jason Frasor - 5/5 signed - Sent 6/8/20, Received 6/18/20
Jason Frasor was a right-handed relief pitcher who played for the Blue Jays, White Sox, Rangers, Royals, and Braves over 12 total seasons in MLB. He signed all five of my cards in blue sharpie over the course of 10 days. One of the more solid and tenured set-up relievers of the early 21st century, I personally know Frasor best for being a big part of what I considered at the time to be a surprisingly effective 2013 Texas Rangers bullpen alongside names like Neal Cotts, Tanner Scheppers, and Joe Nathan. Frasor is also the all-time appearance leader for the Toronto Blue Jays, not a small feat for a franchise that has been around since 1977. His career numbers can be found here.
2005 & 2006 Topps came just before I started collecting in 2008, but nevertheless, both rank among my favorite set designs, mostly due to nostalgia. I've already made my thoughts on 2010 known, and 2012 and 2014 are roughly in the same "meh" camp for me. All five cards capture Frasor in his windup and delivery, and the 2012 Topps features a pretty good photoshop job. Jason has a distinctive autograph that is very consistent over all of the cards, though his marker seems to be fading a bit (I've seen others get him back today in a different black marker, which supports this theory). Overall, though, I'm quite pleased with this return. Thank you, Mr. Frasor!
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