The Davis Clan

One Cy Young award winner, a catcher trying to become a pitcher, a player named for a character in a book and a memory from my first ever baseball game. Mark Christopher Davis is also known as Ben Davis and also was known as a great hope for the Padres 7 years ago, he was the future of the Padres. He was drafted with the 2nd overall pick in the 1995 draft and made his major league debut in 1998. He played 258 games with the Padres before being traded to the Mariners. He didn't stick there either as he was traded to the White Sox in 2004, he has also played in the minors for the Yankees, Dodgers, and Baltimore. In November of 2008 he signed a minor league contract with the Reds. He is playing at A League Sarasota trying to come back at 32 as a pitcher. I got the card signed through the mail. Arthur Willard Davis was signed as a amateur free agent by the Indians in 1964 and made his debut in September of 1965. He played in parts of 3 seasons for the Indians and Padres. He played in 31 games for the Padres in 1969 before being traded to the Cardinals in May of 1969. I got the card on eBay. Robert John Eugene Davis was drafted in the 6th round of the 1970 draft and made his major league debut in 1973. He played 5 seasons in San Diego playing in 166 games, before Toronto selected him in the Rule 5 draft, and he also played for the California Angels. I got the card signed through the mail. Gerald Edward Davis was drafted by the Padres in the 1980 draft and made his major league debut in 1983, he played in 49 games in 1983 and 1985, and then that was it. I got the card signed through the mail.Mark William Davis was drafted by the Phillies in 1979 and made his major league debut in September of 1980. He played 3 seasons for the Phillies and 5 for the Giants before being traded to the Padres. He played in San Diego from 1987-1989 and from 1993-1994, during his first time there he was the closer and won the Cy Young Award in 1989. He was only the 4th closer to ever win the Cy Young, and another closer didn't win it until Gagne in 1993. He also played a season in Atlanta and Milwaukee. He is now the pitching coach for the Rookie League Surprise Royals. I got this card signed through the mail. George Earl Davis was called Storm after a character in a book that his Mother was reading when he was born. His parents were also the adoptive parents of Houston Astro Glenn Davis. He was drafted by the Orioles in 1979 and made his debut in 1982. He played one season going 2-7 in 21 games, before moving on. He also played for Oakland, Kansas City and Detroit. I got the card from eBay, after multiple attempts to get him to sign through the mail. William Henry Davis was signed as an amateur free agent in 1958 and made his major league debut in 1960. He played 14 years for Los Angeles, then Montreal, Texas, Saint Louis and a year in San Diego. He played full time for the Padres appearing in 141 games in the outfield hitting in .268. He played two years in Japan and then finished his career with the Angels in 1979. The first baseball games I ever went to were with a church group at Dodger Stadium. For some reason Willie Davis has always stuck with me as a memory of those games. I eventually got this through the mail.

Tom Davey

Tom Davey gets his own post because the next post will include many members of the Davis clan. Tom Davey was drafted by the Jays in 1994, before the 1997 season he was chosen by the O's in the Rule 5 draft, but returned during the season. In '99 he was traded to the Mariners and then in 2000 he was traded to the Padres. He played from 2000-2002 with the Padres and then was released. Between 2003-2008 he played in Japan, playing for the Carp and the Buffaloes. This year he is playing with the Camden Riversharks of the Atlantic League. I got this signed through the mail a couple of years ago.

The Swamp Fox and a few others

Lonnie Paul Dade was a first round pick of the Angels in 1970, when they were just the California Angels. He made his major league debut for the Angels in 1975 and played two season in Anaheim before being granted free agency and signing with the Indians. He played in Cleveland for three seasons before being traded to the Padres for the Human Rain Delay, Mike Hargrove (of whom I have a rather unusual autograph). He played in 144 games during the 1979 and 1980 seasons at all the outfield positions and 2B and 3B. He played one season in Japan after that. I got the card off of eBay.
Mike Darr was drafted by the Tigers in 1994 and traded to the Padres in 1997 for Jody Reed. He played for three seasons with the Padres from 1999-2001, he played in 1988 games with 105 in 2001. He was beginning to be a regular on the Padres, but during spring training of 2002 he was killed in an auto accident. He was not wearing his seat belt and was legally drunk at the time of the accident, a friend of his who was also not wearing his belt was also killed. Pitcher Ben Howard, who was wearing his seat belt suffered only minor injuries in the single card accident. The Padres wore a black with Darrs' number 26 on it for the 2002 season. I bought the card on eBay.
Alvin Ralph Dark played in 1,828 games in the majors and managed 1,950 games in the majors, winning a world series in 1974 with the A's. He managed the Padres for 113 games in 1977 leading the team to a fifth place finish. He was known as the Swamp Fox for some reason. I got this card from ABC Unlimited.
Frank Gerald DaVanon played in a whopping 24 games in 1969 for the Padres. He was orginially drafted in 1966 by the Cardinals, then the Padres drafted him in the expansion draft and then after 24 games the Cardinals traded a couple of guys to the Padres to get him back. He played over 8 seasons in the major leagues. I got the card off of ebay.
James Houston Davenport was drafted by the New York Giants in 1955 and played his entire career for the San Francisco Giants. He retired in 1970 and became a coach, this card is a 1975 SSPC card when he was a coach for the Padres. I this signed through the mail a few years ago.

Four Pitchers and a Draft Pick

Andrew Cumberland was a supplemental draft pick in the first round of the 2007 draft for the loss of free agent Dave Roberts. He has played at Eugene and Fort Wayne. He plays SS and 2B, so he is probably going to be playing at Petco Park this year. I bought the card on Ebay. John Duffield Curtis played from 1970 to 1984 playing for Boston, Saint Louis, San Francisco, California and the Padres. He played for the Padres from 1980-1982 going 20-20 with a 3.99 ERA. I am pretty sure I got this from ABC Unlimited. William Joseph Cunnane was signed by the Marlins as an amateur free agent in 1992, before the 1996 season he was drafted by the Padres in the Rule V draft. He played for the Padres from 1997-2000 before being traded to the Brewers, he has also played for the Cubs and Braves and spent some time in the Cardinals organization before playing in the Atlantic League, he seems to have retired after the 2006 season. I think I got this signed through the mail.Eric Cyr doesn't want to give up the dream of playing major league baseball, as he has played all over the place since being drafted in the 30th round of the 1998 draft. He is not the most upstanding of citizens as evidenced by a court case he was involved in. He pitched in 5 games in 2002 for the Padres. I think I got this card from eBay.John Francis "The Count of" D'Acquisto was a first round draft pick of the Giants in the 1970 draft. He played 10 seasons from1973-1982 for the Giants, Padres, Expos, Angels and A's with 4 seasons in San Diego. He appeared in 152 games for the Padres from 1977-1980. I got the card and auto from eBay.

Padrographs five at a time

I have decided that unless I have a really good story about the card or the player deserves an individual post I will be posting 5 cards at a time. Nathanial Martin Culp was drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 draft and has worked his way up to AA San Antonio this year. That said I would expect to see him in San Diego sometime this year. I got the card signed through the mail. Jose Luis Cruz was the third pick in the 1995 draft by the Mariners since then he has played for several teams. He played 91 games for the Padres in 2007, hitting .234 before going to the Astros, where his father is a coach. He played for 12 seasons earning a Gold Glove in 2003 while playing for the Giants. I got this card back in the mail just a day after I bought one on eBay.

Luis Alfonso (Bojorquez) Cruz was signed as a amateur free agent by the Red Sox in 2000. The BoSox traded him to the Padres for Cesar Crespo in 2002. He was granted free agency after 5 years in the Padres organization and signed at the end of the 2007 seasons and signed a free agent contract with the Pirates. A September call up in 2008 he has been playing SS and 2B for the Pirates since.
Deivi (Garcia) Cruz was signed as an amateur free agent by the Giants in 1993. He made his major league debut in 1997 with the Tigers. After 5 years with the Tigers he signed with the Padres before the 2002 season. He played in all but 11 games in 2002 with the Padres at SS, 1B and pinch hitting. He played three more seasons in the majors. I believe I got the card signed through the mail. Cesar Antonio Crespo has a World Series ring, having only played three seasons in the major leagues. He was drafted by the Mets in the 1997 draft, and then traded to the Marlins in 1998, then in 2001 the Marlins traded him to the Padres with Mark Kotsay. After playing parts of the '01 and '02 seasons with the Padres he was traded to the Red Sox for Luis Cruz (see above). While with the Padres he played in 80 games playing every outfield position, 2B, SS and 3B. He won a World Series ring with the Red Sox in 2004 playing in 52 games and not getting on the field at all during the Series. He played in the minors through 2007. I don't remember how I got the card signed.

More Padrographs for your enjoyment

I have been off my feet since Monday and went to the doctors today and he took 120 cc of fluid off my knee. Feel a little better. Hard to sit at the computer. Thanks to Night Owl and the others who sent packages this week, someone cleaned up around me and threw away the package wrappers, and I don't remember who the package was from. Now here are 5 more Padrographs for your enjoyment. Michael Patrick Corkins was originally signed by the Giants, and then chosen by the Padres in the expansion draft. He played in 158 games going 19-28 in his six seasons in the majors all with the Padres. He may best be remembered for giving up Willie Mays 600th Home Run on September 22, 1969. Roger Lee Craig played 12 seasons in the major leagues, mostly for Brooklyn and Los Angeles. I remember him best as the manager of the Giants, but he managed the Padres for 323 games going 152-171 during the 1978 and 1979 seasons. The card is from a 1977 schedule set issued by the Padres, when he was a coach. John Reilly Costello has a 1.000% won loss percentage during his year with the Padres, his record was 1-0, although as a relief pitcher he appeared in 27 games. I got this signed through the mail about a year ago, I guess some players signatures are just too big for the card. Patrick Corrales played in 1972 and 1973 for the Padres and 1974 and 1975 in the minors for the Padres, so this would be a final tribute card to someone who has managed several teams and is now the bench coach for the Nationals since Manny Acta was fired. Callix Sadeaq Crabbe has 21 major league games to his credit, he was a rule 5 draftee from the Brewers whom the Padres returned. He became a minor league free agent after the 2008 seasons and signed with the Mariners and is playing at AAA Tacoma this year.

Quick catch up

Joey Manuel Cora Amaro played in 140 games over three seasons with the Padres between 1987-1989. He is currently the bench coach for the White Sox and many people think he will eventually be a major league manager. I got the card signed when Las Vegas played in Portland.

Aaron James Coonrod was drafted by the Padres in 2002, played in their minor league through 2004, never getting higher than advanced A. He finished his career in 2005 with the Burlington Expos. I got this off of eBay, because I must have sent it out 4 or 5 times and never got it back.

Craig Michael Cooper was drafted in 2006 and has worked his way up to playing 1st base for the San Antonio Missions at AA. I got this through the mail cause Craig signed with the green Sharpie that I sent him.
Daniel Bernard Combs was 11-20 over two years with the Padres after being with the .45s' and Astros for 7 years. 1971 was his last year in the majors. I got this card off of eBay.

Scott Robert Coolbaugh was part of the Padres organization for two years but only played in 60 games at the major league level for the Padres. I don't remember how I got this card signed.

Keith Martin Comstock

Keith Comstock was in the Padres organization for just a couple of years in the late 80's pitching in just 44 games, finishing none and having an ERA over 5 before he was released. I got this signed when he was here with the Las Vegas Stars. I remember that he would not sign his 1988 Topps white letter variation card, because he said we were trying to make the card more valuable, sorry Keith it is still a nickel card. One of Keiths' more memorable cards was a minor league card showing him getting hit in the groin with a ball. He said they taped the ball there and then he made the reaction. He is currently the pitching rehab coordinator for the Texas Rangers.

Dinged Corners, Cards on Cards and books to read

Earlier this week, before I went down with another bout of gout, I got a great mail day. There were gems from the crew at Dinged Corners and from Kerry at Cards on Cards.

I choose a few cards from each shipment to highlight. The ladies at Dinged Corners sent several great bundles of Padres. Marcus Giles looks excited to be playing alongside his brother, too long that didn't last too long. Evereth Cabrera had a great night last night almost single handily defeating the Doggers. One of my friends got his autograph for me while he was here on a rehab assignment. Chip Ambres are you one of those guys who waits for the off season to answer your mail. I sent you this card in spring training and you still have it. Andy Ashby fishing, one of my favorite cards and one that should end up on Baseball Cards come to Life. Greg Maddux on a Future Stars card? By the time he was with the Padres he was a lock for the hall of fame. What was UD thinking? Joey Cora was one of the nicest people I met, I remember giving him and some other players a ride to their hotel. Jake you forgot to sign one of your cards. I have a picture of my oldest son in almost that same uniform at about the same age. Patricia and the girls sent me their books recommendations as did Kerry. I have never read any of the books the Dinged Corner crew recommended. I will be putting the books on hold at the library as soon as I can. I read Kerrys' recommendation a couple of years ago, not a big fan of the book.

Kerry also sent some great Padres cards. Tony Gwynn sporting the airbrushed logo less uniform. Reminds me of the Pro Track meet I once worked at, each event was sponsored by a corporation. Jim Ryun and Kip Keino ran in the Post Cereal 1500 meter run, each sporting a post cereal logo on their singlet. Any time Tony smiled made for a great card. Mickey Lolichs' parents used to come in each time he was coming back to Portland to buy a dozen official balls for him to sign while he was there. One time they brought him in with them and we got some stuff signed (they let us know they were bringing him) and this was one of the things I got signed.

Thanks for the great cards and the book recommendations.

Baseball in Fort Wayne

Baseball in Fort Wayne by Chad Gramling; 2007; 127 pages; Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC; 0-7385-4129-X; 6/27/09-6/28/09

This is one of a series called Images of Baseball, I reviewed a while back, Baseball in Portland. Chad Gramling who also writes the Baseball in Fort Wayne blog does an awesome job of chronicling baseball in Fort Wayne, IN in all it's different forms. The Kekiongas were the first team, so named for the Natives Americans that used to live in the area. He effectively uses pictures taken over time to work with the text to chronicle the changes in baseball in Fort Wayne. There seems to have always been baseball in some form in Fort Wayne since prior to the Civil War. One of the most well known teams in Fort Wayne were the Daisies of the All American Girls Baseball League, which was immortalized in the movie A League of their Own. I started following baseball in Fort Wayne when the Wizards became a farm club of the Padres, they have since changed their name to the Tincaps, but are still a Padres farm club, so it is a good place to find information on the Padres up and comers. RRR