Bob Shirley

Bob Shirley was responsible for Don Mattingly going on the disabled list in 1987.  Evidently they were roughhousing and Donny Ballgame got injured.  Bob played for the Padres from 1977-1980 before playing with several other teams. I got this card signed through the mail. 

Craig Shipley

Craig Shipley is no Dick Cheney or Joe Lieberman but he is a senior vice president.  He is the senior vice president of international scouting for the Red Sox.  Shipley came from down under to play our national pastime and did for eleven years.  The Dodgers signed him as an amateur free agent in 1984,in 1986 he was traded to the Mets and then in 1988 the Padres drafted him in the minor league draft.  He played for the Padres from 1991-1994 until he was traded to the Astros as part of a multi player deal.  He then came back to the Padres after one year in Houston, played two more years in San Diego and finshed his career with the Angels.  I got this signed through the mail. 

Andy Shibilo

Andy Shibilo played professional baseball up until 2009.  He seems to have obtained by the Cards in 1998, he played in their system in '98 & '99.  He played in an independent league in 2000, and in 2001 played at Lake Elsinore for the Padres, in 2002 he was traded to the Red Sox.  After that he played in the A's organization and also was a farmhand for the Cubs, Mariners and Braves.  He also played in Mexico and in various independent leagues.  I don't remember how I obtained this signature.

Norm Sherry

Norm Sherry never played for the Padres, he just coached them.  He had worked with Dick Williams in the Angels system and even took over the Angels for two years after Williams was fired.  He worked with Williams again for the Expos and then was the pitching coach for the Padres while Dick Williams managed them from 1982-1986.  I got Mr. Sherry to sign this through the mail.

Darrell Sherman

Darrell Sherman played in 37 games for the Padres in 1993, after being drafted in 1989.  He played all his games in April and May.  The Orioles took him in the 1992 rule V draft, but then returned him.  Then the Rockies took him in the 1993 expansion draft.  He played through 1995 in the minor leagues, disappeared until 2000, when he played in Mexico until 2003, he didn't seem to play in 2004 and played in Mexico again in 2005 and 2006.  I think I got Darrell to sign this during his time in the minor leagues. 

Gary Sheffield

Gary Sheffield wants to play in 2011 even though he hasn't played since 2009.  He has over 500 homeruns but I don't know if he will ever be seriously considered for the Hall of Fame, because of his relationship with the media and some of the things that he has said about the game.  He played for 4 years in Milwaukee before being traded to the Padres for 3 guys you have never heard of, after a season and a half in San Diego, during which he won a batting title, the only one of nine by a Padre that wasn't won by Tony Gwynn.  During the Padres 1993 he was traded to the Marlins for future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman.  He then went on to play for the Dodgers, Braves, Yankees, Tigers and Mets.  I got this cool looking signed Score Select card on eBay. 

Andy Sheets

Andy Sheets was drafted by the Mariners in 1992 and made his debut with them in 1996.  He played on the Mariners 1997 pennant winning team and then he was drafted by the Rays in the expansion draft.  The same day he was traded to the Padres, he played on the Padres 1998 pennant winning team.  During Spring Training of 1999 he was traded to the Angels (1999), he also played with Boston (2000) and Tampa Bay (2001-2002).  He played in Japan from 2003-2007 with Hiroshima and Hanshin. I got this signed through the mail. 

Al Severinsen

Al Severinsen was signed by the Cubs as an amateur free agent in 1963 then was chosen by the Orioles in 1965 in the minor league draft.  He pitched for the Orioles in 1969 and after the 1970 season he was traded to the Padres.  He pitched in 79 games going 2-6 saving 9 games for the Padres in 1971-1972.  He was traded after the 1972 season to the Mets.  I got this signed through the mail. 

Win this book!

Not Here, Here.  Anyone who will encourage reading especially about a subject as important as this will get help from me. 

Wascar Serrano

Wascar Serrano will always be a major league with a .500 record.  He pitched in 20 games for the Padres in 2001 and was 3-3 in those games.  He was then traded to the Mariners at the end of 2001 with Alex Arias and Ben Davis for Brett Tomko, Tom Lampkin and Ramon Vasquez.  He pitched for the Kansas City T-Bones in 2003 and then for a year or two in Mexico.  I got this off of eBay. 

Frank Seminara

Frank Seminara was drafted by the Yankees in 1988 and then was drafted by the Padres in the Rule 5 draft in 1990.  He pitched for the Padres in 1992-1993 and then was traded to the Mets where he pitched in 1994.  He then pitched for the Mets in the minors in 1995.  What do you when you when your first career is over at age 28.  I wonder what he has been doing for the last 15 years.  At age 28 I was newly married and working at Waldenbooks, since then much has changed, it has been a fun ride.  I think I picked this up on eBay. 

Dick Selma

Dick Selma pitched a total of 4 games for the Padres, going 2-2.  He was drafted by the Mets in 1963, and pitched for them from 1965-1968.  Then he was drafted by the Padres in the expansion draft, pitched those four games and was traded in April to the Cubs for Frankie Libran, Joe Niekro and Gary Ross.  He then pitched for the Phillies, Angels, Cardinals and Brewers.  I got this 1969 Topps card signed through the mail. 

Now for something completely different

This is not about a Padre but about two of my favorite things baseball and watching other people dance.   I found this great websiteKickstarter.com. and was looking for projects that I might help fund.  I settled on a book that I will tell you a little bit more about in a moment, first let the people at Kickstarter tell you a little bit about the website.  

Kickstarter is a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors.

We believe that:

• A good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide.

• A large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.

Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands.

“Plie Ball! Baseball and Dance in America” is an expansion of a lengthy paper that was presented in June 2009 at the 21st Annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, which took place at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. The book is contracted by McFarland & Co., the great publisher of books about baseball and dance. It will be a book that covers just about every point of connection between these two magnificent disciplines (and, believe me, there are many!).

In the spirit of full disclosure I am a backer of Plie Ball, I have chosen to contribute and help get this book funded.  Two of my favorite things are baseball and watching other people dance (cause I have absolutely no ability in that arena).  I think that this will be a very interesting book and there are some perks to being a backer.  Click on the title of the book to find out what those perks are.

Rudy Seanez

This card is from the second year of Topps Total, the easy way to tell is, it is a two player card. The first year all the cards were single players.  I remember that there were many complaints among autograph collector about two player cards.  Rudy Seanez pitched for the Padres 4 different times.  He pitched for the Padres in 1993, 2001, 2005 and 2006.  He was 8-5 over those 4 years and 94 games, which means he probably pitched in middle relief most of the time. 

Tim Scott

In 1992 I was working at the local card store and learning that peoples' perception was often their reality.  People would ask us, for example, who wore 7 for the Yankees.  We would tell them it was Mickey Mantle and they would insist that it was someone else.  I would encounter this over and over in the seven years that I worked at card shops. 
Tim Scott was one of the harder autographs I got.  I chased him through multiple addresses using Smalling and Harveys' address list.  He was drafted by the Dodgers in 1984 and made his major league debut in 1991 with the Padres.  He pitched for the Padres from 1991 to 1993 before being traded to the Expos.  He then played for the Giants and Reds before returning to the Padres in 1997.  He also spent part of 1997 with the Rockies. 

John Henry Scott

The two SSPC sets are a couple of my favorite sets of all time.  I really like the look of them and they (like Topps Total and UD 40Man) have some players in them you don't usually find cards of.  John Henry Scott was drafted by the Padres in 1970 and made his major league debut in 1974.  He played in 39 games for the Padres in 1974 and 1975.  He played in the minors in 1976 and then was part of the inaugrual Toronto Blue Jays in 1977.  He then played a couple more seasons in the minors.  I got this SSPC card signed through the mail a couple of years ago.

Mike Scioscia

Mike Scioscia was one of the harder Padres cards to get signed.  He went to spring training with the Padres in 1993 but suffered a rotator cuff injury and didn't play at all that season.  In 1994 he signed with the Rangers in an attempt to play again put couldn't recover from the injury.  Mike will always be thought of by me as a member of the Dodgers, no matter how long he manages the Angels.  If the Angels ever let him go, the Dodgers need to name him manager as soon as possible.  Mike played for twelve years behind the plate for the Dodgers from 1980-1992.  He caught two no hitters, one from Fernando and one from Kevin Gross.  He went and learned Spanish so that he could more effectively communicate with Fernando.  I sent this card to Mike multiple times, never receiving it back, I finally found this one on eBay.

Nick Schmidt

Just to play Andy Rooney for a moment.  You ever notice how one Bowman card looks like another, it's like if Mary Kate and Ashley looked the same every year.
Nick Schmidt was drafted by the Padres in 2007 and had reconstructive elbow surgery in 2008 missing the entire season.  He split 2009 between Ft. Wayne and Lake Elsinore and spent last year at Lake Elsinore.  Hopefully he will be at San Antonio this year.  I got this Bowman card on eBay.

Calvin Schiraldi

By 1990 I had collecting cards obsessively for 5 years, had been married for 5 years and and had two sons.  I split the year workwise between being a planer operator at a lumber mill and beginning a five year run at one of the local card shops.  The LCS had already been around for 8 years and is still going strong today.                                                                                Calvin Schiraldi will always be a Red Sox to me, he was not much of a blip on the Padres radar.  He only got a card cause of his notoriety with the Mets and the Red Sox.  He only participated in 47 games over two seasons for the Padres.  I picked up this signed 1990 card on eBay, I think. 

Pat Scanlon

In 1978 I turned 21, was cruising through the Western Pacific courtesy of Uncle Sam and throughly enjoying crossing the equator this time. Having become a trusty, crusty shellback two years earlier, I had the distinct pleasure of shepherding the ships' captain, who was a slimy polliwog through the shellback iniation ceremony.  Those of you have been there know how much fun that could be, those of you who are still slimy polliwogs can only imagine the fun.
Pat Scanlon was drafted by the Expos in 1970 and played three seasons for them before being traded to the Cardinals after the 1976 season.  During spring training of 1977 the Cardinals traded Scanlon and John D'Acquisto to the Padres for Butch Metzger.  He played in 47 games for the Padres in 1977, after which he never made it back to the majors.  He split 1978 between AAA Hawaii for the Padres and AAA Denver for the Expos.  He played in AA for the ChiSox and Expos in 1979 and 1980.  I got this 1978 Topps card signed through the mail.

Rick Sawyer

By 1977 I was avidly following the Padres, I had been to my first Padres game (during boot camp) and was close to finishing my four stint as a member of the U.S. Navy.  I still wasn't buying cards, that obsession wouldn't start for another 8 years. 
Rick Sawyer was drafted by the Indians in 1968 and then traded to the Yankees in 1974 as part of a three team trade that also included the Tigers.  After two seasons with the Yankees he was traded to the Padres for artist Gene Locklear.  He played two years for the Padres.  I believe I got this signed 1977 Topps card on eBay. 

Al Santorini

In 1970 when this card came out I probably had no clue that there was a team called the Padres.  I was still following the Giants and A's because that is who the one relative I had that liked baseball liked.  My great uncle George of Berkeley, California was of all my relatives at the time was the only one I could talk baseball with.  He would go on to drive the A's in their Championship Parades in the early 70's in his original Model T Ford.  I was all of 13 at the time and living in either La Palma or Big Sur, since Dad got transfered part way through the year.

Al Santorini was drafted by the Braves in 1966 and pitched in one game for them in 1968 and then was drafted by the Padres in the expansion draft.  He pitched in 71 games for the Padres in 2.5 seasons before being traded to the Cardinals, where he played another 3 years.  He was then traded to the Royals but never appeared in a game for them.  I got this 1970 Topps card signed through the  mail.

Benito Santiago

Benito Santiago was a victim of his own success in San Diego, in my opinon.  I believe that he got big headed with his success with the Padres, I used to say that the reason the Padres let him go was that his head got too big to fit in Jack Murphy Stadium.  I may be completely wrong but with some of the statements that were in the press and the toys and such, it was my opinon.  It could have been sour grapes on my part also to see such another good player leave the Padres after they got good (there are about 1,000 other examples).  Benito had a 34 game hitting streak his rookie year, which still stands as a record for catchers.  He was the 1987 Rookie of the Year, 2002 NLCS MVP (Giants), he played in 5 All Star Games, won 3 Gold Gloves and 4 Silver Slugger awards.  He didn't do well on his first appearance on the HOF ballot this year only garnering .2% of the vote, which means he will not be on the ballot next year.  I got this card from one of the many, many little boxed sets of the late '80's signed through the mail.

My Newest Padres addition

My wife usually makes everyone in our family new sleep pants for Christmas.  The are made out of fleece, in the past I have had Coca-Cola ones, one son has TMNT ones, one son got Beatles.  This year Ruth Ann couldn't find any fabric for me.  The day after Christmas we went to Fabric Depot.  In 26 years of going to fabric stores with my wife I have never seen Padres fabric.  This year however we found Padres fleece and Ruth Ann wiped up a new pair of sleep pants for me in less than a day.  Now I can represent even while sleeping.