Senators send-back.

So, the through the mail returns have been coming in recently. I had three waiting when I returned from FanFest last week. One of those was from former Senators hurler Matry Kutyna.

I sent Mr. Kutyna a single 1961 Topps card on January 13th and asked him to sign and return it. My first clue that something was not normal was the fact that my card arrived back home on the 23rd in a large manila envelope, not the small self addressed envelope I included with the request.

Not only did Marty sign and return my 1961 Topps card, he added a trove of goodies to the package and paid the return postage himself. Included in the envelope was this 8x10 summary of Kutyna's career, personalized and signed by Mr. Kutyna himself. Part of the account tells the story of how Marty caught a ball thrown out on opening day by President Kennedy in 1962. JFK signed the ball after Kutyna recovered it. An 8x10 photo of Kennedy signing the ball was included. Mr. Kutyna personalized and signed that photo as well. Next came a photo-copy of a 1961 newspaper article about Marty's efforts with the Senators that year, a print out of the Wikkipedia entry about Kutyna, a print out of his career stats, and an account of his first face-off with Ted Williams.

Three autographs and a great package of information and photos. Can't beat that. It was way more than I expected. Players will occasionally include a custom card or a small note. This was far beyond that. Thanks a lot Mr. Kutyna!

FanFest, 2016 Recap.

Well, I've had time to recover from the Rangers FanFest last Saturday. Time to offer a recap and review.

Spiff Jr and I got to the ballpark just about 0800 to get in line for the 0900 gate opening. It was a bit nippy standing in line but at least this year there was no wind. Surprisingly, the gates opened about twenty minutes prior to the start of the FanFest. That allowed most folks to get in before things got started.

Unfortunately programs and schedules were not handed out until after entrance. That robbed us of our normal planning time and made the beginning of the day feel a bit rushed as we tried to absorb and process the information we needed to plan our attack. Checking out the autograph schedule gave me the first let down of the day. Jose Guzman, Pete O'Brien, and Eric Nadel were on the schedule. None had been in the list of names released by the Rangers and so I had nothing other than generic Rangers stickers and hologram cards for them to sign. Pete O'Brien was a real kick since he won't sign through the mail and I would like to have him for a couple of team sets I am working on.

This year the autograph sessions did not start until 1100. Initially I was not impressed with this but, the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. With a couple of hours before guys started signing, we had time to get in a few things without feeling like we were missing out on autograph chances.

Headed up to the Rangers Foundation sale. Missed it last year but in 2014 they had some great deals. This year they were crammed into the Jack Daniels Club along with the Rangers Futures signings. Made for a very cramped space but folks were good about it all. Picked up a Prince Fielder bobblehead, 2015 Media Guide, a Rangers cereal bowl, and a couple of other small items for $20. Not too bad. If I didn't already have more than enough jerseys I would have grabbed one or two of the $25 ones they had for sale.

After the sale we met up with some friends, checked out the Rangers Hall of Fame museum, and headed down to the visiting clubhouse for the autographs. Got in line for Toby Harrah, Bobby Jones, and Kevin Mench about twenty minutes before they started signing. Good thing too. Unlike previous years, the staff was very prompt to cut the lines at 250 people this year. We ended up making every session except the 1400 one featuring Rusty Greer, Tom Grieve, and Dean Palmer. That line was already full and cut when we finished getting signatures from Jeff Russell and Mike Adams. We went ahead and got in line for the final session, to feature only Darren Oliver. Much to my surprise, not only was Oliver signing but Eric Nadel had been moved down from the previous session and John Wetteland was making an unannounced appearance. I had no card for Wetteland and ended up asking him to sign the Upper Deck Rangers hologram card featured above.

Made a couple more quick stops once the final autograph session ended then stopped by Duane's Sportscards after leaving the park. I needed to replace the 1972 and 1973 Topps Toby Harrah cards I pulled out of team sets for him to sign.

The delayed start of the autograph sessions worked out better than I expected, we got autographs from 13 former players and current coaches, and spent some quality father-son time visiting while waiting in lines. The biggest area to improve next year would be a more complete listing of players who might sign. I would rather have a list, pull cards, and have a player cancel than end up without something for a player to sign. All in all, it was a great day and I am looking forward to going back next year.

1980 Topps - Mike Jorgensen.

Mike Jorgensen appears here on card 213 of the 1980 Topps set. One of the victims of the early 1980's Rangers roster upheaval, he would not appear in a Rangers uniform in 1980.

Following Pat Putnam's beating Jorgensen for the first base job in 1979, the Rangers traded for Willie Montanez from the New York Mets on August 12, 1979. The Mets were to receive the ever popular players to be named later.

That left Texas with three first basemen: Putnam, Jorgensen, and Montanez. It was not a situation that could long continue but it would last through the end of the season.

On September 18th the Rangers sent Ed Lynch to New York to partially complete the trade for Montanez. On October 23rd Mike Jorgensen got his ticket to the Big Apple as the second player the Mets received for Montanez. The trade that took three and a half months to complete was finished.

Minor League Monday - Brian Romero, 1991 Line Drive.

Coming off a great 1990 season, Brian Romero was trying to continue his climb up the Texas farm system ladder in 1991. Romero, shown here on card 594 of the 1991 Line Drive set, had been a pleasant surprise for a 50th round draft pick who missed his first season due to injury. He would start the 1991 season with the Double A Tulsa Drillers.

Primarily a starter, Romero saw significant relief action for the first time in his career in 1991. In the 23 games he appeared in for Tulsa, only 14 were starts. The season didn't take long to get rough. Over the 94 innings Brian pitched he posted a 4.98 ERA and a 1.532 WHIP. Both were extreme increases from 1990. The 52 walks Romero issued didn't help his cause but at least the 79 times he whiffed opposing batsmen outnumbered the free passes. Romero stayed with Tulsa for the entire season and ended the year with a 6.5 record and one save, the first (and only) of his pro career.

1991 was a rough season for Brian Romero. His impressive climb towards the Majors came to a screeching halt. At least the Rangers did not demote him. They really didn't have that kind of time for a 50th round pick, even a left-hander. Romero would make good, or he would not. Either way, he would do so at Double A. The Rangers left Brian assigned to Tulsa for the beginning of the 1992 season. Time to pull it back together.

Senators Saturday - Tom Grieve, 1971.

Tom Grieve, shown here on card 167 of the 1971 Topps set, missed the franchise's last season in Washington. After taking a look at Grieve in 1970, the club decided to leave their 1966 1st round pick in the minors for more seasoning in 1971. He would not make it back to the Majors until 1972.

Grieve appeared in 93 games for the Triple A Denver Bears in 1971 and made 364 trips to the plate. He put up a .272 batting average and a .365 on-base percentage. Perhaps most eye-catching to the power-starved Senators was the fact that he hit 14 doubles, five triples, and 19 home runs. That came with an 81 strikeout price tag but sluggers always strike out a lot. What remained to be seen was how much of that power was the result of the thin Denver air and how much would translate to the Majors. Tom worked 37 walks as well. He scored 64 runs and bumped in 61 RBI.

Grieve played in the outfield in 85 of the games he played in for Denver. In the course of the season he committed three errors to end up with a .984 fielding percentage.

While Tom Grieve hadn't blown the doors off at Triple A, he had put up a good season. Good enough to warrant a return to the Bigs in 1972, this time as a Texas Ranger. Starting then, he would have to be good enough to win a full-time job in the Rangers outfield.

Getting ready for the fest.

Well, here we are two days out from the Rangers 2016 FanFest. Spiff Jr is busy getting his cards pulled and a sharpie set aside to go autograph hunting. We did well last year, scoring autographs from 19 former Rangers. Bump Wills was one of the players signing that day and he inscribed this 1980 Topps card for me. I'm big on asking for autographs through the mail but getting them in person is much better.

So far I have only been to two FanFests but both have been great and I am looking forward to getting back again this year. Just wish the team would post the list of players attending a little earlier than they do.

Anyone else planning on attending the Rangers FanFest, or one for another team? Let me know if you've already been to one for another team and what you thought of it. As always, if you are planning on attending this year's Rangers FanFest and would like to meet up in person, just drop me an email (or a comment with your email address) and we can work out the details.

1980 Topps - John Henry Johnson.

John Henry Johnson, shown here on card 173 of the 1980 Topps set, came to Texas from Oakland on June 1979. The A's got utility infielder Dave Chalk, minor league catcher Mike Heath, and some cash in return for the young starter.

Befitting his name, Johnson was known for his fastball. He did not disappoint in his first two appearances for the Rangers. In his first start for Texas, John Henry struck out ten Angels over five innings before leaving the game with a sore ankle. He picked up the win there and in Oakland when he made his second start. The bottom fell out from there though and Johnson ended the season 2-6 for the Rangers with a 4.92 ERA. Apparently he needed some work. Texas decided to focus on helping him develop a curve ball and changeup.

John Henry was impressive in Spring Training in 1980, but his secondary pitches still needed work. Texas assigned him to Triple A Charleston to start the season. Johnson made 11 starts for the Charlies and seemed to be continuing his troubles from the previous season. He struggled to a 4.55 ERA and a 2-8 record before the higher-ups decided a change needed to be made. John Henry moved to the bullpen and found his niche. His ERA dropped to 2.25. The improvement was enough that the Rangers called him up in early July as their bullpen crumbled.

The young lefty made 33 appearances out of the bullpen for the Rangers in the remainder of the 1980 campaign. He posted a 2.33 ERA and an 1.086 WHIP over the 38.2 innings he pitched. The fastball was still live as he struck out 44 while walking just 15. John Henry ended the season with a 2-2 record.

1980 had been a season of progress for John Henry Johnson. He appeared to have found his role as a reliever. The Rangers would be looking to the fire-balling left-hander to help solidify the bullpen in 1981. If Johnson could continue his success from the latter half of 1980, he might be able to nail down a permanent job.