1 of 1

Recently Steve from The Easy Life gave me a couple 1 of 1 autographs. For absolutely nothing. I couldn't believe it. I'm going to do a post on each of these. Thanks again Steve. You're the man.


We'll start with the first one he gave me. This is Montell Jordan. This guy has had one remarkable life. He grew up in the tough streets of Detroit, Michigan. He was raised by his mother after his father was killed in a freak lawn dart accident. Following his fathers death Montell fell in with a bad crowd called the E Street Band. This however did not last long. One day while Montell was out selling crack, Bruce Springsteen showed up and took the whole crew on the road with him. That is except for Montell.

By now Montell became very depressed. He had severe abandonment issues. At this point he decided that he would concentrate on his schooling and hoped to one day become a TV talk show host. He later got his wish and worked daily with the constant drama of baby daddies and transvestites. At first he was happy, however as time went on he felt this emptiness inside him. He finally snapped one day when Oprah Winfrey guest starred on his show and asked Montell to play a game of lawn darts. Montell picked up a baseball bat and beat Winfrey within an inch of her life.

Since his show aired live this was seen throughout the world, including Philadelphia. And it was in Philadelphia that some Phillies executives marveled at the way he could swing the bat. After his trial, which ended with the jury somehow finding him not guilty, he was invited to Phillies Spring Training in 1991. At first it looked like his career would be over before it really got started. He was batting .074 midway through spring training when manager Jim Fregosi told him to envision the baseball as Oprah's head.

And just like that he was a changed man. His batting average shot to over .300, his play in the field however was to say the least unique. Since he was picturing the ball as Oprah's head he would actually kick the baseball instead of throw it. When asked by reporters why he did this he replied in what would become his and the teams motto "This is how I do it"

Unfortunately he was not able to "do it" very long. He played just the one season in the Majors before he failed a psych evaluation. He was sent and still resides at the Keystone Center Psychiatric Hospital in Chester, PA.

Steve I have to thank you again for this as well as the other cards you gave me. I will be posting them as time goes by and sharing these players unique stories with everyone.

**The events and characters depicted in this post are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental**

TTM - Charlie Hough

Yes Steve this will be the 2nd autograph I am sending you. I'm just gonna start by saying that because I'm a lazy bastard and I still haven't mailed out my packages that I have set to go. And with Horrorfest going on right now I'm not sure when I will be able to get them out but I promise, everyone who has cards set aside by me, they will be mailed.

Now on to Mr. Hough. Charlie Hough was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1966 amateur draft out of Hialeah High School. He pitched in the low minor leagues of the Dodgers organization from 1967 -1969 with minimal success. During spring training in 1970 however he learned how to throw a knuckleball and his career immediately took a turn for the better. He led the Spokane Indians and the whole Pacific Coast League in saves and posted a 1.95 ERA.

He made his Major League debut on August 12, 1970 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching 1/3 an inning with a walk and a strikeout to earn his first save. He didn't join the Dodgers bullpen on a full-time basis until 1973. He became a top reliever for the Dodgers until he was sold to the Texas Rangers in 1980. While with the Dodgers he has the distinction of being one of the pitchers to give up a home run to Reggie Jackson in game 6 of the 1977 World Series where Reggie hit three home runs in one game.

In Texas he was converted to a starting pitcher. He pitched for the Rangers from 1980 to 1990, making his first and only All-Star appearance in 1986. He left Texas as the leader in wins, strikeouts, complete games and losses. He was well known for throwing complete games and in 1984 finished the season with 17 complete games.

At the age of 43, in 1991, Charlie joined the Chicago White Sox where he pitched for two years. In 1993 he joined the expansion Florida Marlins and was the first starting pitcher for the team. He retired at the age of 46 after the 1994 season. He finished his playing career with a record of 216-216 with 2362 strikeouts, and a 3.75 ERA over 3801 and a third innings.

TTM - Xavier Hernandez

"The X Man" Xavier Hernandez is the latest acquisition to my autograph collection. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 4th round of the 1986 amateur draft. He made his Major League debut on June 4, 1989 as a starter. He pitch 6 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 8 hits, 3 walks, with 2 strike outs. Xavier has pitched for many teams throughout his career. He has pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers before his career came to an end in 1998. He was a reliever for most of his career who finished with a record of 40-35 with 35 saves and a 3.90 ERA. He is currently the pitching coach for the Durham Bulls. They are the Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Gary Gaetti is their hitting coach.

TTM - Rick Luecken

Today we have two autographed cards I received through the mail from Rick Luecken. Mr. Luecken was nice enough to personalize these cards for me as you can see. Though his career in the Majors only lasted two years you have to show respect to someone who made it all the way to the big show. Rick was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 27th round of the 1983 amateur draft. He made his Major League debut for the Kansas City Royals as a relief pitcher at the age of 28 against the team that drafted him, Seattle, on June 6 1989. He pitched 2 innings giving up no runs on 2 hits with 1 strike out and 1 walk. In his brief career he also pitched for the Atlanta Braves and the Toronto Blue Jays. He finished his career pitching only 77 2/3 innings with a 5.10 ERA and a record of 3-5 in 56 games.

TTM - Bill Long

I still cannot believe these former players do not own sharpee's. Then again this guy played for the White Sox so what do you expect? Just kidding Steve, don't worry. Just so you know I do have one of these on its way to you. Merry belated Christmas! You'll also be receiving another autograph card which I will be highlighting next week. And now on to Mr. Bill Long.

Bill Long was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft. Before the 1985 season he was traded to the Chicago White Sox with Ozzie Guillen, Luis Salazar and Tim Lollar for former Cy Young pitcher Lamarr Hoyt. Bill would make his Major League debut with the White Sox later that year on July 21, 1985. In his debut he pitched 5 innings giving up 3 ER on 7 hits and 1 BB with 5 K's. Long was traded to the cross-town Cubs in 1990. The following year in 1991 he signed with the Montreal Expos pitching just 1 2/3 innings before calling it a career. Bill Long finished his 6 year career with a record of 27-27 with a 4.37 ERA and 9 saves in 159 games, 52 as a starter.

TTM - Mark Leiter

Mark was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round of the 1983 draft from Ramapo College of New Jersey. He made his major league debut for the New York Yankees on July 24th 1990 pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up 1 hit and 1 walk with no k's or allowing any runs. Mark was the definition of a journeyman who played for many teams throughout his professional career. He has played for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, California Angels, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers. Definitely not as strong a pitcher as his brother Al, he did however, enjoy an 11 year career in the big leagues, finishing his career with a 65-73 record and a 4.57 ERA. Mark had the dubious honor of leading the National League in losses in 1997 with 17.

TTM - Mark Knudson

This is another of the recent autographs I have received through the mail. And Mr Knudson actually owns a sharpie so theres a plus right off the bat. Mark is a former major league pitcher. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1982 from Colorado State University. He made his Major League debut on July 8, 1985 with a horrible performance where he went 7 innings, giving up 14 hits and 7 runs with 1 walk and only 1 strike out. On August 15th 1986 (My sixth birthday by the way) Knudson along with Don August were traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Danny Darwin. Both of which I also have TTM autographs for. He pitched sporadically for Milwaukee over the next two seasons, and in 1989 compiled an 8-5 record with a 3.35 ERA. At the beginning of the 1991 season he came down with a virus that severely affected his performance for the rest of his career. He only pitched 35 innings that year and did not pitch at all in 1992. In 1993 he tried to become a broadcaster for the then expansion Colorado Rockies. He would actually wind up pitching for them. After just 4 games and posting a horrible 22.24 ERA he retired from the sport. He finished his career with a 24-29 record and a 4.72 ERA

TTM - Scott Livingstone

Got some more autographs through the mail recently. We'll start first with Scott Livingstone. First let me start by saying damn you Scott and damn the invention of the ballpoint pen. Ahh, now that thats out of the way. Scott was a third baseman drafted out of Texas A&M in 1988 by the Detroit Tigers. He made his Major League debut on July 19, 1991 going 3 for 5 with an rbi. During his career he played for the Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and the Montreal Expos. He played his final game on September 26, 1998. Never a power bat but he did finish his 8 seasons in the bigs with a respectable .281 batting average and struck out only 189 times in 1533 career at bats. Word of advise Scott, invest in a damn sharpie!!!!

TTM - Frank Castillo

My latest acquisition through the mail is Frank Castillo. Frank made his MLB debut in 1991 for the Chicago Cubs. He has also played for the Rockies, Tigers, Blue Jays, Red Sox and the Marlins. After getting these back I was shocked to learn that he is still pitching. He pitched last year for the York Revolution of the Atlantic League. Live the dream

buddy.