Card of the Day - 1997 Donruss : Paul Konerko Autograph

Before there was Puig 66 there was Konerko 66. You don't see many players sporting that number and I know Konerko didn't at the big league level but this card has him in that uniform number which I assume was during spring training.

Paul barely played for the Dodgers as acting GM Tommy Lasorda shipped him out in 1998 in an ill conceived trade. Paul like Adrian Beltre is another what could have been for the Dodgers. Not saying they would have produced as they have after they left the Dodgers but Paul might hit 500 home runs with 2500 hits and that will probably earn him a place in the hall. Until we acquired Adrian Gonzalez last year the Dodgers have basically been floundering at first base and could have used Paul during the 2000 decade. It is what it is.

Wanted to get Paul's autograph on card but there are not many cards showing Paul in Dodger blue. Finally found one that didn't have a high by it now and actually was a traditional auction. After all was said and done I won the card for a little less than $7. Nice pickup of a former Dodger and probable hall of famer.

Signed Ball of the Day : Paul Konerko ( ROMLB Sweet Spot )

As we continue to look back on the three trades that have been regrettable during my time as a fan of the Dodgers we come to the second one and the least painful of the three, Paul Konerko. Paul came up through the Dodger minor league system and once he made it to the big show he was here for a few months and then gone in a trade to the Reds for star reliever Jeff Shaw. He showed promise but was not here long enough to make an impact for most fans to despise the trade at the time. In the long run til last year when we acquired Adrian Gonzalez it has been a black hole at first base. That is what makes this trade regrettable as we could have had a Hall of Famer maning first base for all this time instead of seeing a swinging door of has been's and never will be's from the late 90's til now. Now, it was never guaranteed that Paul would have put up the same numbers in the NL as he has in the AL but considering what we have seen from him and what we have seen on a day to day basis on our team I would like to believe that Paul would have been better than any other option that we suffered through. We received a good reliever in return for an unproven prospect but relievers are a dime a dozen while a good hitter is not. In hindsight this is a terrible trade but at the time of the original transaction it could be debated that it was an acceptable one. Since he wasn't on our team long the sting is not as bad but seeing him excel to this day irks me that we missed out on his prime years when we could have had him and used our resources for other needs.

Even though he wore the blue for only a little while I still wanted his signature as he was a Dodger. The bonus is that it looks like he will be entering the 500 home run club without being linked to any type of PED. I have conflicting thoughts on the effects that PED's have on players and I will do a blog entry at some time about that.

As the Dodgers share Camelback Ranch out in Arizona with the White Sox I have tried to acquire his signature there for the past two years and have had no luck. I have also been to Angel games when the Sox have visited and again no such luck. This signature is one that I think someday I will be able to acquire in Arizona but being addicted to eBay I wanted the autograph in my collection til that day comes. Off to the bay I went to look for another autograph and I noticed that most authenticated versions were selling for at least $50 and most of the time were over $60. I did not want to spend that much so again I had to bide my time for the right auction. Someone finally was selling one at a reasonable price and I was able to pick it up at $37 with free shipping and it was PSA authenticated. A steal in my eyes. Great looking autograph on a nice clean white ball.