Thursday, September 6, 2018

2018 National Free Signer - Benito Santiago

I was really looking forward to meeting Benny Santiago at the National this year, ever since my friend, P. A. reminded me that this 1991 Topps existed.  This is another example of the great photography in this set, and I now have this card in my album.

Santiago was really cool when Nate and I met him.  Nate had the 1997 Fleer of Santiago that we found in a dime box.  That card has a yellow Ferrari or Lamborghini on it and we asked Benny if he still had the car.  He said "I almost died in that car, man."  I asked him how fast he had it up to, and he said "180 man".  It was a pretty awesome exchange, to be honest.

Santiago (b. 1965) played in the majors from 1986 to 2005 for the Padres, Marlins, Reds, Phillies, Blue Jays, Cubs, Giants, Royals and Pirates.  He had 1,830 hits, 217 home runs and a .263 batting average.  He was the 1987 NL Rookie of the Year, a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, five-time All Star and a three-time Gold Glove Award winner.  His best MVP finish was 20th in 2002.

I was really glad to get this card signed, and it helped that my buddy, Gerard had an extra one for me, because I couldn't find any in my collection, without breaking my 1991 Topps set.

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