Pedro Borbon

Who: Pitcher Pedro Borbon

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1973 Topps

Acquired: In Person, Redsfest 2009

Comments: Pedro Borbon was on the top of my list of former Reds players to meet and get an autograph from at Redsfest 2009. I did end up getting his autograph along with Clay Carrol's while in the same line towards the end of Saturday night in the waining hours of Redsfest. Mr. Borbon adds to a small list of players that signs baseball cards vertically.

From what I understand, Mr. Borbon is one of the tougher autographs to track down from the Big Red Machine era teams. For that reason, and the fact that he is going to be inducted in the Reds Hall of Fame in 2010, he was a priority for me at Redsfest.

This 1973 Topps set is another favorite of mine.

Buddy Bell

Who: Third Baseman Buddy Bell

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1987 Topps

Acquired: Via friend at 2009 SoxFest

Comments: I was a little worried about getting this autograph. Buddy left his position as the Royals manager in September 2006 due to medical problems that ended up being diagnosed as tonsil cancer. He announced that he would not be returning to manage the Royals in 2007 citing intentions to spend more time with his family. Since that time, I really didn't know what he had been up to other than chillin' with the fam and probably going through medical treatment.

So, I happened to run across an autograph list for 2009 Soxfest - which at one time I had contemplated going up to Chicago for - and noticed the Mr. Bell was signing! Now, my good friend from College, Rob, is a huge Sox fan and was heading to the annual convention, as he does every year. I ended up overnighting him the '87 Topps card that I needed signed for my set and Rob told me he would do his best.

As you can see, Rob came through big time and helped me get another '87 Topps Red checked off the list.

Back to Mr. Bell - what's his connection to the White Sox? Well, he's currently the Director of Minor League Instruction for the Sox. Great for him. I hope that he's doing well after the diagnosis and is still able to spend a good deal of time with his family.

Oh, and how about that autograph? Mr. Bell signed it Mario Soto style - up the side.

Chris Dickerson

Who: Outfielder Chris Dickerson

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 2008 Topps Heritage High Series

Acquired: In Person, Redsfest '08

Comments: I'm becoming quite a Chris Dickerson fan. He signed a card for me at Redsfest '07 and I've been following him since. He hit a MAMMOTH home run at the one spring training game I went to in 2008 and had a great call-up with the Reds at the end of the '08 season where he hit .304 over 31 games. I also did how he signs his cards along the edge - this one up the side, like Mario Soto. Nice touch.

This card was nice to get signed too... I had JUST pulled it out of a pack of Topps Heritage Updates & Highlights the week leading up to Redsfest. Good timing.

So, when I did get this card signed, it was at the VERY end of Redsfest on that Saturday night. I had gotten to Chris' line late and ended up in the auxiliary line. Once things got moving in Chris' line, a few of us from the auxiliary line ended up getting into the main line and getting his autograph. When I finally did get to him, he was exhausted. We chatted for a quick second and he said he was running on fumes at that point and was still on deck to play in the Reds poker tournament that night. He was a good trooper and singed a bunch of extra autographs for the line he had.

Mario Soto

Who: Pitcher Mario Soto

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1987 Topps (#517)

Acquired: In Person, Redsfest '08

Comments: The '87 Topps train keeps rollin on, folks. Mr. Soto was kind enough to put some ink on this badboy recently during Redsfest.

Mario Soto

Who: Pitcher Mario Soto

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1984 Topps

Acquired: Redsfest 2007

Comments: I was geeked to get this auto. Soto was the man for the Reds right when I started to get into baseball and baseball cards when I was a kid. He had a few really good years in the mid-80s. He's now a special assistant for the Reds helping out some of the young pitchers, most notably, Johnny Cueto. How about that signature up the side of the card? Nice variation.