Darren Oliver delivers.

This signed 1997 Fleer card of Darren Oliver came in today. I had sent it another card to Darren on April 20, 2010. He signed just this card and sent both back.

It would have been nice to get both cards signed but I understand players limiting the number of items they sign at a time. Oliver's been around a long time and was pretty popular with the Angels so he most likely gets a lot of requests. Can't say I blame him for trying to cut down the time it takes to respond. I do appreciate him taking the time to sign this card and to send back both of the cards I sent him.

***Just a quick reminder that I will be posting the results from week six of the Strat-O-Matic contest tomorrow. Make sure you get your entry in before then.***

Wantlist - 1994 Upper Deck.

Upper Deck made its name originally with great photography. This shot of Chris James on card number 398 in the 1994 set is not one of those pictures. It appears that James has just struck out. On the back of the card he is taking off his batting gloves and putting them in his batting helmet. Not the best sequence of photos.

Having finished with the Donruss wantlists I am now moving on to Upper Deck. Upper Deck burst onto the collecting scene with its 1989 set. I have that complete team set and all the ones up through 1994 so we'll skip to that year. Here is what I need to complete my 1994 Upper Deck Rangers team set:

1994 Upper Deck
307 Darren Oliver
516 Rick Helling

Let me know if you have either of these cards or both and are willing to trade them. I'll try to leave you feeling better than Chris James was on his '94 card.

1973 Topps - Dave Nelson.

Dave Nelson appears on card number 111 of the 1973 Topps set along with two Oakland A's and part of an umpire. For some reason I really like this card in spite of the poor photograph composure. I mean, if it weren't for Nelson's name on the card it might be hard to determine who was the focus of the shot.

In 1973 Dave made the jump from third base to second. He had started at third in 1972 but would play only at second in 1973. He showed up in 142 games during the season and spent 1175 innings as the second sacker. During that time he handled 702 chances and made 11 errors. That gave him a fielding percentage of .984. That was four points above the league average.

On offense Dave batted .286 in 624 plate appearances. Those were career highs in both categories. His on base percentage was .325. He hammered in 48 RBI while scoring 71 times himself - both also career highs. His seven home runs and 24 doubles were career highs as well. In keeping with the photo it is fitting to note that Nelson swiped 43 bases and was caught 16 times.

1973 was a good year for Dave Nelson. He was able to adapt well to his new position and build on his previous two years' successes. He posted career high numbers in several categories and even received some MVP consideration. To top it all off, he was named to the All-Star team. Quite the year and he was only 29. Things were looking good for Dave.

Minor League Monday - Javier Ortiz, 1987 ProCards.

Javier Ortiz, pictured here on card number 147 of the 1987 ProCards set, was a first round draft pick. The Rangers took him fourth overall in the 1983 draft. It would take him seven years to see Major League service and then it wouldn't be with Texas.

By 1987 Javier had worked his way up through the levels of the Rangers' organization to Triple A. He would appear in 119 games that season for the Eighty-Niners.

Records are a bit sketchy but it is clear that Javier posted a .276 batting average and a .369 on base percentage with OKC. He hit 15 home runs and had 69 RBI. He also struck out 99 times. His fielding percentage was .974.

Two days before Christmas in 1987 the Rangers traded Javier to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Scott May. He would spend a year and a half there before being sent to Houston and finally making the Bigs in 1990.

Senators Saturday - Ted Williams, 1971.

Senators manager Ted Williams seems to be having a good time here on card number 380 of the 1971 Topps set. Good thing he got a laugh in early, he wouldn't have much to smile about during the season.

In Williams' third season at the helm the Senators lost seven more games than the season before. Their 63-96 record put them fifth in the American League East. They ended up 38.5 games behind the Division Champion Orioles and only 4.5 games ahead of the last place Indians.

In addition to the official standings, Washington was at the bottom of the A.L. in several key offensive categories: batting average, hits, and slugging percentage. They were second to last in home runs. Things weren't much better on the mound. The team ranked next to last in complete games, strikeouts, balks, and WHIP. The team also committed the second most errors in the American League.

Tough season for Teddy Ballgame. Just like the fans he was getting increasingly frustrated with owner Bob Short and the Senators inability to climb in the standings. Unlike the fans this was only his third year dealing with the situation. Also unlike the fans, he would have another year before calling it quits.

Contest - week six.

Shocker week in the contest. There were several surprises this week in the two games the Rangers played in San Diego against the Padres. The result is a little bit of tightening in the points standings.

The first surprise was the shutout that the 2009 Rangers suffered in the Strat-O-Matic game. The first time the Rangers offense has been entirely shut down in the contest. Texas pitching managed to match the Friars' staff for eight innings but it was the two runs that Kevin Millwood coughed up in the first that sealed the deal. Padres win 2-0. One point if you predicted the Rangers to lose the Strat-O-Matic game.

The next couple of surprises came in the MLB Showdown game. Texas started Ismael Valdes. You can see how he appeared in the game on card number 297 of the 2003 MLB Showdown set. Valdes turned in a very uncharacteristically dominating performance. He allowed just one run in eight innings while striking out eight and walking just one. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and a run scored. Amazing for one of the weak links in the starting rotation. The offense was not stingy in backing Valdes as they plated seven runs for him. Brian Shouse came in to mop things up in the ninth and the day got ugly. I pulled Shouse after he allowed three runs and had two men on. In came Jeff Zimmerman. The first batter to face him was Ricky Henderson. He took Zim's first offering over the wall for a game tying home run. Jeff then got the last out of the inning. Bottom of the tenth, game tied. Ugueth Urbina in for Texas. Leadoff batter Ryan Klesko hammers a walk-off long ball. I was stunned. Padres win 8-7. One point if you predicted a Texas loss in the MLB Showdown game.

Due to the shutout in Strat and the slugfest in Showdown the MLB Showdown Rangers won the scoring contest 7-0. One point if you predicted the MLB Showdown Rangers to score the most runs.

Ok, on to the next match-up. This week the Mets come into Arlington to face off for a second time with the Rangers. Time is running out in the contest so make sure you get your predictions in as to how the Rangers will fare in each game and which Rangers team will score the most runs.

For details on how this contest works please see this post.

Autographs on TV.

So the Rangers won last night against the Angels thanks to Vladimir Guerrero's homer binge. Unfortunately I don't have any Vlad in a Rangers' uniform autos.

That means you'll have to settle for my latest through the mail autograph success. At least Joaquin Arias is on the team with Vlad. I sent Joaquin this 2004 Bowman Heritage card on April 20, 2010 care of the Rangers. I got it back signed on June 28, 2010. Joaquin was nice enough to sign and return the card and even added his uniform number under his signature. It would probably be easier to read if it wasn't blue sharpie on blue background. No big deal though and I still appreciate Mr. Arias taking the time to sign and return my card.