Similar to my annual "Gavins in pro ball" post, here's another exercise for me to keep track of the lesser-known active players I collect. Time to find out how professional athletes who went to my high school did in 2019.
Trenton had a solid 2019 in the Indians organization. After a couple months at A+ Lynchburg, he was promoted to AA Akron where he hit .274 with 9 homers and 22 doubles in 241 at-bats. The 24-year old mainly plays right field these days. I got a nice TTM return from him a couple years back.
Drafted by the Phillies in the 13th round of the 2016 draft out of Granite Hills High School, Andrew performed well to start his career, but had a rough 2019, putting up an ERA of 6.17 for A+ Clearwater. He had 20 starts, plus came on in relief 4 times. I tried requesting an autograph through-the-mail with the custom on the right a couple times in the past with no luck, but maybe I'll try one more time in 2020.
Sadly, looks like Jayson's brief career in pro ball has come to an end. An 8th round pick by the Brewers in 2017, Jayson struggled to stay healthy in 2018, was cut loose by Milwaukee in April of 2019, and didn't get picked up by another team. Bummer. All the best to Jayson in the next chapter of his life.
Travis is the only active Guy From Granite who's made the majors, getting into 26 games with the Mets in 2017. After spending 2018 with the Dodgers' AAA club, he returned to New York in 2019, spending the season at AAA Syracuse. His 24 dingers were one behind the team lead (Rene Rivera), and his 64 walks led the club. But his average was down (.229) and he struck out a lot (165). He's currently a free agent and will be 31 next season, so I'm not sure what 2020 has in store for him, but I wish him luck sticking around.
Jordan was drafted by Detroit in the 23rd round out of San Diego State University in 2018. He spent all of 2019 at A- Connecticut, playing 1B and DHing. He hit .246 with 12 doubles in 142 at-bats. I sent out a TTM autograph request with the above custom near the end of their season (my only TTM attempt to an active player in 2019), but haven't gotten a response yet. I should remember to try again early next season. I also just now bought his first real card. but I think I'll publish this post now rather than wait until it arrives.
This year broke a run from 2016-2018 of GHHS Eagles turning pro, as no alumni were drafted in the 2019 MLB June draft. But there are some talented kids coming up, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a new streak start up in 2020.
The 2019 season started on a positive note for Jimmie, as he won the 2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash in February, though that would be the highlight of the year for him. He would go on to score 4 top 10 finishes, but wound up finishing a career-worst 18th place in the final standings. The 44-year old recently announced that the 2020 Cup season will be his last as a full-time driver. A seven-time champion in the NASCAR Cup Series, he's had a hell of a career.
Joe plays long snapper for the Patriots (and is a U.S. Naval Reserve lieutenant in the offseason). Back in February, he brought home his 2nd Super Bowl ring as New England beat the Rams. He's played in all 12 games so far this season, with the Patriots looking to make yet another deep playoff run.
So there you have it, Granite Hills alumni doing our hometown of El Cajon proud.
My experiment into the effect of the word "cardboard" in a post title increasing views faces its toughest challenge with today's Guys From Granite post. Understandably, showing off cards of little-known players who went to my high school doesn't typically generate much traffic, but I still feel obligated to post about notable pickups for this minicollection of mine. I'll be interested if this post fares better than expected.
Putting "cardboard" in the title might be a stretch since technically this first one is metal...
Leading off the three cards featured here today is an autographed magenta printing plate of Travis Taijeron. My quest for the master rainbow of this card is now down to just 3 cards: two printing plates (black and cyan, the best ones) and a red refractor (#/5, non-wave).
Quick recap on Travis: His last name is pronounced "Tyrone". He was drafted by the Mets back in 2011. Finally got a cup of coffee in NYC in 2017. Spent 2018 with the Dodgers' Triple A squad. Not counting a 2017 Topps Now card, he finally got a true rookie card in the form of an auto in 2018 Topps Chrome Update (no base card, just the auto and all the parallels that come with it).
This year sees Travis back in the Mets organization, transitioning from the outfield to first base with Syracuse. He got off to a hot start and was named week-one Mets Minor League Hitter of the Week. He's cooled down a bit since, with his batting average around the Mendoza Line now, but his 8 dingers lead the club.
This next pickup is the first graded card for my Mike Reinbach PC. I think it's my first graded Japanese card, too. I already had a decent raw copy of this card, but it wasn't as nice as this one, and it was a solid deal, so I pulled the trigger on the upgrade. The warped penny sleeve PSA used detracts from the appearance, so I'm a little tempted to break it out, but I probably won't, at least not anytime soon. (I hear they charge $5 for a simple re-slabbing-- like if the case gets cracked or something, PSA will put the card in a new case for $5-- so maybe someday I'll pay to get re-slabbed.) I just kinda like the novelty of having a graded Reinbach. Haven't seen one before this popped up.
Casey Craig topped out at AA, but thanks to being included in 2006 Bowman and Bowman Chrome, he's got plenty of parallels out there for me to hunt down. This orange refractor #'d 9/25 is the lowest-numbered card in the li'l PC now-- and also my first graded card of his, not that that means much to me. I have no delusions of going after a master rainbow for this one since I was so late to the game-- didn't start collecting him until 2014-- but I'll snag parallels I need if the price is right.
Chrome cards are really closer to plastic than cardboard, so other than the Reinbach (which is trapped in a plastic slab), this post was more like Hometown Metal and Plastic Additions, but close enough! I'll do a recap post later in the week taking a look to see if page hits have seen a rise thanks to "cardboard" post titles.
Today marks 10 years since I moved up to Portland. So it's been a full decade since I packed up my things and left behind my hometown of El Cajon in East County San Diego. Let's see.. in that time, I've had 3 different jobs, a couple awesome dogs, gotten married, and most importantly as far as this blog is concerned: returned to the hobby of card collecting.
One way I like to "remember my roots" is by collecting cards of pro athletes who went to my high school-- "Guys From Granite", as I call that part of my collection.
One sidequest I had since the beginning was to acquire an autograph of every Guy From Granite who made the major leagues (currently totalling 8 players), and I'm pleased to announce I've just recently met that goal, finally. To celebrate, let's run down the list chronologically.
#1 Mike Reinbach
MLB debut: 1974
The original Guy From Granite, Mike got a cup of coffee with the Orioles in '74, then had greater success playing in Japan. A few years after his playing days, he was tragically killed in a car wreck. Maybe someday I'll find an autographed card, but for now I've got to make due with a pair of signed index cards. See also: The Harrowing Tale of Mike Reinbach, Setting the Mike Reinbach story straight, and Mike Reinbach apocalypse.
#2 Chris Jones
MLB debut: 1985
Chris D. Jones briefly appeared with the Astros in '85 and the Giants in '86. He was the last guy I needed an autograph from. His common name makes it hard to search for his cards/autographs (there are a lot of people named Chris Jones in the world), but thanks to Padrographs Rod and an autograph dealer buddy of his, I was finally able to track down a signed minor league card. I've also got his mailing address now and I plan to try a TTM attempt with a custom or two soon. See also: Chris Jones, but not that Chris Jones
#3 Brian Giles
MLB debut: 1995
Brian Giles had the longest, most successful baseball career of the guys to come out of Granite Hills High, and so it's no surprise he easily had the most cards produced of the players on this list. He was still active after the next 4 guys on this list had come and gone. See also: Brian Giles was a narc at my school and My Brian Giles PC
#4 Tom Fordham
MLB debut: 1997
Tom is currently the only pitcher to ever make it to the bigs out of Granite Hills. He got into 36 games (6 of them starts) with the White Sox in '97 and '98. He got some cardboard love back in the day, mainly from Bowman and Best. See also: Tom Fordham went to my high school
#5 Shane Spencer
MLB debut: 1998
Brian Giles may have had the longest career of the guys on this list, but Shane had the good fortune of being a part of the turn-of-the-millenium Yankees dynasty and picked up 3 rings in his relatively short career, highlighted by some clutch home runs in the fall of 1998. See also: Yankee hero Shane Spencer went to my high school
#6 John Barnes
MLB debut: 2000
Now we're entering my time at Granite. John was a big man on campus when I was a freshman/sophomore while he was a junior/senior. He came up through the Red Sox organization before being traded to the Twins where he got a few dozen MLB at-bats in 2000-2001. Later attempted a comeback as a pitcher, though didn't make it past AAA. See also: I went to school with John Barnes and he played in the majors
#7 Marcus Giles
MLB debut: 2001
As I've mentioned several times in the past on this blog, I was in the same grade as Marcus, going to school with him from elementary school all the way up through community college. Sure was a thrill to watch him rise through the minors and become an NL All-Star in 2003. See also: My classmate the All-Star
#8 Travis Taijeron
MLB debut: 2017
After an extended dry spell, it was great to see another Guy From Granite finally crack the majors near the end of the 2017 season. It looks like Travis recently signed a minor league deal with the Mets, returning to his original organization after a year on the Dodgers' Triple A squad. Wishing him the best of luck in the upcoming 2019 season. See also: Better Call Up Taijeron! and Superfractor auto pickup!
That wraps it up. Here's to another 10 great years up here in the Pacific Northwest, though I'll always keep my hometown in my heart and in my collection.
I was almost reluctant to trade for this pair because they'd be somewhat out of place in my low-grade 1957 Topps setbuild. But I couldn't say no, and they got worked into the deal. They are now the highest graded cards among my '57s, ahead of a PSA 5 Ernie Banks and a PSA 8(OC) Campanella. The Billy Pierce is an upgrade and the Wally Post is a need.. which happened to bump me over the 70% complete mark. So that's pretty cool.
Been wanting a green Mike Trout Big League box card, and Chris hooked me up with a flattened box.
I took the liberty of trimming it down to a more easily-stored card.
The Kris Bryant 1st Bowman purple parallel is a beauty.
George Brett with a chunk of a bat!
Robin Yount and another man.
A couple young sluggers slugging away.
Musial and Marquis, rocking the bat on the shoulder pose. I'm long overdue for an update post on my Marquis Mania project, but I actually started drafting one the other day, so maybe I'll finally figure out how many copies I have of this card soon.
Love this die-cut Gwynn! The diamond effect looks great in-hand.
The last piece of the trade is this lovely triple relic with Corey Seager, Clayton Kershaw, and Julio Urias. Sweet card.
Thanks for the trade, Chris!
- - - ---o
Next up is-- going by weight-- possibly the biggest trade package I've ever received. It comes courtesy of Matt Prigge and contained zero cards.
Hundreds upon hundreds of penny sleeves! Looks like Matt is becoming a binder guy and had a bunch of abandoned like-new sleeves looking for a good home. I can always use more of these little buggers, so I spoke up and sent him back some Brewers to make it worth his time/postage.
(Funny enough, last time I traded with a guy for a bunch of sleeve like this, it was Tony L, another prominent Brewers collector, back in 2015.)
Thanks, Matt!
- - - - ----o
I just realized today that January 20th is the birthday of two (of the eight) Guys From Granite to make the major leagues.
Yep, both Brian Giles and Travis Taijeron are celebrating a birthday today. Happy Birthday, fellas!
It just so happens that I recently picked up printing plates from each of these guys, so here they are. The Taijeron was especially nice to see pop up at a reasonable price, as that's the card I ponied up for the superfractor of a couple months back, so I'm glad to add another 1/1 to that rainbow.
It was a privilege having this UD Masterpieces card as my Wallet Card for 2018. Heck, the wear might make it look even better! It could almost pass for pre-war! LOL. It was a well-traveled card, too, achieving my dream of dipping a wallet card in both Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Wallet Card achievement unlocked! My wallet Gwynn has now traversed the continental US during a calendar year. I've hoped for a chance to tweet this since I started doing the #walletcard thing a few years ago. Glad I finally made it happen! Vacation recap: https://t.co/E4dFRGrh5Ppic.twitter.com/na3tWDpNgN
Other than that, I didn't take many wallet card photos in 2018. I'll have to try to whip it out a bit more often this year.
I wasn't alone, as I don't think anybody else has been posting wallet card photos much these days besides Bo keeping the fire.
Honestly I had nearly forgotten to swap out wallet cards until seeing a post on January 1st on Completely Arbitrary that reminded me. I scrambled and decided on keeping the Gwynn streak going, this year his 1991 Topps card. Perhaps one of these years I'll go with a different player, but 2019 is not that year.
Welcome to my wallet, '91 Topps Tony. Let's hope it's a good year for us!
- - --o
I guess my personal "favorite card of the year" for 2018 (for P-town Tom's contest) has to be the Travis Taijeron 2018 Topps Chrome Update superfractor auto I landed a couple months ago. Really took my minicollection of guys who went to my high school to the next level.
Feels like a cop-out picking "my most expensive 2018 card" as my favorite.. like, I should have picked a Stadium Club card with cool photo or something, but I didn't have one that really jumped out at me this year (though some of the other favs I've seen on the blogs are pretty neat.)
I also recently picked up the /25 orange parallel of the Taijeron (not 12/25, sadly). My rainbow is now only missing the base auto (patiently waiting to grab one for $5 shipped or less), the /5 red parallel, the /5 red wave parallel, and all printing plates (haven't seen any of the four anywhere yet, though they're supposedly out there).
Looks like Taijeron is currently a free agent. I hope somebody signs him and gives him another shot in the bigs this upcoming season.
Collecting cards of guys who went to my high school is among the favorite avenues of my collection. It's time again to check in on the active pro ballplayers who graduated from Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, California.
And I've just picked up a new "best card" in this minicollection!:
Boom! I've got a few superfractors in my collection already (three of Gavin LaValley and one of Brian Humphries, another guy from Granite), but this is my first superfractor auto, which are a bit more prestigious. Feels good to have a legit claim to being the top Travis Taijeron collector out there! I know he's not likely to become the next Mike Trout or anything, but as I say, I like collecting dudes from my high school and am stoked with this pickup.
Travis Taijeron made his major league debut in 2017 with a handful of games with the Mets at age 28. He then signed as a free agent with the Dodgers for 2018. He didn't get a chance to play with the NL Champs, unfortunately, as they kept him down in Triple A all season. But he had another solid year: .271 average, 11 HR, 44 RBI in 87 games for the Oklahoma City Dodgers. And he was on fire in the playoffs (.600, 6-10, 2 HR, 3 RBI). Seems to me that LA could have used a clutch guy like that off the bench in the World Series!
Back to baseball cards, I was getting worried that his 2017 Topps Now "call up" card would be the lone remnant from his time in the bigs. He didn't get a card in either 3 of the Topps flagship products in 2018. No Heritage or High Number either. And he got no love from Panini at all. Just when I had pretty much accepted that he wouldn't have any true rookie cards, he popped up in one of my eBay searches with an auto RC in 2018 Topps Chrome Update. He doesn't even have a base card in the set, just the "Rookie Autograph" card (and all the parallels* that come with it). Hey, I'll take it!
*PARALLEL CARDS: Blue Wave Refractor #/150 (1:1,950), Blue Refractor #/150 (1:2,065), Green Refractor #/99 (1:3,157), Gold Wave Refractor #/50 (1:5,963), Gold Refractor #/50 (1:5,994), Orange Refractor #/25 (1:13,416), Red Refractor #/5 (1:59,940), Red Wave Refractor #/5 (1:59,940), SuperFractor 1/1 (1:385,084), Printing Plates 1/1 x 4 (1:53,662).
In addition to the superfractor, I've picked up these so far-- blue wave (/150), blue (also /150), and green (/99)-- and have been keeping an eye out for more at the right price. It'd be nice to go after this master rainbow, but since printing plates are included, the chances are very slim of it ever being completed (I haven't seen any of the 4 plates for sale yet.) Some of his cards have been selling surprisingly well for a guy pushing 30 who didn't even play in the bigs this year. But I'm just happy Travis got a real major league rookie card and that I've been able to pick up new certified autos of another Guy From Granite.
And I get a kick out of the card being numbered RA-TT.
And now for the other active Guys From Granite in the minors...
Trenton had a fine 2018, slapping a .281 batting average with 5 boom-booms and 28 two-baggers in 107 games in A+. He's a good kid and I'm rooting for him to make it up to Cleveland eventually.
There are a ton of "Andrew Browns" in the world today (makes it hard to search for his cards), but this guy, b. 10-24-97, had a nice 2018 season: 72.2 inning pitched with 60 strikeouts and just 17 walks with a 2.11 ERA in the Phillies chain. I'd wager he'll make it up to AA in 2019, and if he keeps this up, he's likely to be the 9th guy from Granite to make the majors before long.
Jayson only pitched 3 innings total in 2018 (no runs allowed, for what it's worth).. Not sure what happened, but I gotta assume he got injured..? Let's hope the Brewers' 2017 8th round pick bounces back strong in 2019.
Jordan was a 23rd round pick of the Tigers in 2018. He got off to a great start in Rookie League (.381 average, 1.130 OPS), but struggled after getting promoted to A ball. But he's still just 21 and will have some time to show what he's got.
Ok, Sean Ross isn't a pro, but I'm including him in this post because he has cards (2016 Leaf Perfect Game). He was a late draft pick by the Jays out of high school in 2017 but chose to attend San Diego State instead. He played in 12 games as a freshman this year, picking up 6 hits in 18 at-bats, good for a .333 batting average. He also pitched in relief once, but it didn't go well. He also played with the St. Cloud Rox, a wood-bat college summer league team, and got 28 hits in 100 at-bats (which my math skills confirm is a .280 average.) He also pitched once with them, with 1.2 scoreless innings. I think I cemented myself as the world's #1 Sean Ross collector earlier this year when I picked up his 1/1 purple parallel auto.
Cardona is the only active NFL Guy From Granite (2nd ever behind Tommy Vardell). He signed a four-year contract extension with the Patriots this past June. Good for him! Cardona, also an officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve, was the snapper for the 2016-17 Patriots in their Super Bowl LI win over the Falcons. Looks like he's played in all of New England's games since 2015, though he's been hampered by a shoulder injury lately and could possibly miss time if it keeps bugging him.
Sure, let's bring up this NASCAR bigshot while we're at it. Heck, he's probably the most successful GHHS grad ever. In 2016, Johnson won his seventh championship, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most Cup Series championships of all time. Pretty impressive! He hasn't had much success since then, unfortunately, and at 43, his prime years might be behind him now, but he's still quite the competitor. The 2019 racing season will be a major transition year for my old classmate, as he's parting ways with both his longtime sponsor (Lowe's) and crew chief (Chad Knaus). I'm hoping Jimmie can get that elusive 8th championship sometime, but even if he doesn't, he's still an all-time great in racing history.
And so there you have the former Granite Hills Eagles who are active in pro sports today. All the best to them as they fly like an Eagle in 2019 and beyond!
I'm a bit overdue for this, but let's take a look at how pro ballplayers who went to my high school did in 2017.
Travis Taijeron
Taijeron (pronounced Tyrone) was the big news here, as he became the first Granite Hills High School grad since Brian Giles to play Major League Baseball when the Mets called him up in late August. While his overall performance could have been better (.173 in 59 plate appearances), he had a couple nice highlights including his first home run, and a game-winning base-knock that to my delight earned him a Topps Now card, his first mainstream card since 2012. Taijeron's Topps Now card had a print run of 348, one of which was yoinked by me off eBay.
As a collector, I'm very curious to see if he gets included in 2018 checklists. Would love to see some "RC" rookie cards of his to add to my collection. After the season, he signed with the Dodgers as a free agent, hoping to earn a bench spot. So if he does get a card in any early 2018 products, he'll likely be 'shopped into a Dodgers uniform.
Congrats again, Travis, and best of luck to you in LA!
Trenton Brooks
Brooks, an outfielder since going pro, played for a couple of A ball teams in the Indians organization in 2017, batting a combined .202 with 1 tater. Also worth noting is that he pitched one scoreless inning and picked up a save in a lone pitching appearance. I wonder if they'll look at him more on the mound in 2018, or if that game was a one-time thing.
Andrew Brown
Brown pitched at A-Williamsport in the Phillies chain in 2017 and performed well. In 13 games (10 starts), he went 4-4 with a 3.11 ERA, striking out 47 and walking 19. The 20-year-old should quickly make his way up the chain if he keeps that up.
Jayson Rose
Drafted by the Brewers in the 8th round of the 2017 draft, Jayson pitched in 10 rookie league games (6 starts), with 37 strikeouts and 9 walks in 31.2 innings. But he did give up 34 hits and 21 earned runs. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does in 2018. Would love to see him get new cards on the market soon, since looks like all he's got now are from 2013 Leaf Perfect Game back in his high school days.
No-longer-active Guys From Granite
Now for the melancholy farewells to those guys who played in the minors recently, but weren't able to make it into that very small sliver of the population that cracks the big leagues. I tip my cap and wish them best of luck in whatever new direction life takes them.
Brian Carroll
Brian Carroll played one season of pro ball (2015), and although he hit .306, he battled injuries, specifically a problem knee, and was cut loose by the Rockies in early 2016. Doesn't look like he got picked up by any team in 2017, ending his pro career. Sorry to see he didn't make it, but I'm glad I was able to get his autograph when I did. That was a fun day at the ballpark.
Brian Humphries
Humphries made it up to AA with the Rockies in 2014 before being released in 2015 spring training. He then had a couple impressive seasons with independent teams, but despite that, couldn't latch on with another affiliated team. He didn't play in 2017, so I gotta assume he hung them up. I really appreciate how he was generous with my TTM requests. Great guy.
Johnny Omahen
John made it up to AAA in 2016, but was released by the Diamondbacks at the end of spring training in 2017. Doesn't look like he caught on with another club. Bummer.
In Memorial
On December 11th, Granite Hills student Will Burton was killed in a car accident. He was an incredible athlete who excelled on the school football and baseball teams. By all accounts, he was a terrific kid, full of positivity. Such a tragic loss.
December 2017 was quite a sad time for the Granite Hills Baseball community. Former coach Gordy Thompson died on December 31 at the age of 76. He managed the school team for many years, including helping shape brothers Brian and Marcus Giles into the major league all-stars they became. He led the Eagles to 8 Grossmont Conference titles, and CIF titles in '77, '94, '98. There's a nice article at the San Diego Union-Tribune.
