I have very few card collections given my limited resources and space, but I did decide some time ago to begin collecting on-card Royals autographs. It’s been a blast so far trying to track these things down and this is the latest addition to my collection. To view the cards currently in the collection, take a look at the Gallery. If you have any on-card Royals autos, chances are I need them so don’t hesitate to drop me a line!
Believe it or not, Erik Cordier may yet make it to the majors. And, when he does…
CHA-CHING!!!$$$
This beauty is going to put me through college! I bought it for a buck and if he cracks the Braves’ rotation next year, I’ll sell it for a cool $10 and… apply to 1/25 of a college.
Okay, he’s not exactly prospect gold, but after I received this card (for which I paid a whopping $.99 plus shipping- a new unit of currency which I call “One eBay”), I was definitely surprised that he was still playing. Normally when you get a shiny card numbered to 200 for a buck, you figure you’ve got a stalled or failed prospect on your hands, but Erik finally broke through last year in the Braves’ farm system and moved up to AAA and started a couple games there. No idea if he’ll stick, but his numbers in AA were not too shabby and they haven’t booted him to the bullpen yet so there is hope. He’s still just 24 and was traded for Tony Pena, Jr. in 2007- a season in which he did not play while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Pena didn’t work out for the Royals- he was cut a couple years back and was just signed to a free agent contract by the Red Sox a month ago. Pena likely doesn’t have a spot on a big league club, but the pain of seeing Cordier pitch in the majors while they got nothing in return would be sharp- and one not unfamiliar to Royals fans.
I should admit there that it’s a long shot- Cordier has marginal stats at best and has much to prove at AAA before sticking in the big league club. Coincidentally, he and Juan Abreu (another former Royal) were added to the Braves’ MLB roster after the season ended last year. Looks like that was just a move to prevent some weird free agency rule from kicking in though, so I won’t get my hopes up for prospecting gold. But still… maybe I should chase Erik’s rainbow here and see where it leads…
Incidentally, there’s another Royal to chase in 2005 Topps Chrome. Unfortunately, his name is Billy Butler and even the base chrome auto sells for over $20, so there’s no rainbow to be had there.
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