Baseball card stories from Tom Mendonca

The Most Outstanding Player of the 2008 College World Series, 3B Tom Mendonca played five seasons of professional baseball, mostly in the Rangers organization. In 436 games he hit .260 with 57 HR and 233 RBI. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"I really don’t have stories of my cards but when I first got a deal to sign cards it was all new to me. With Topps they would sit down and watch you sign them, give you a set number to sign in a day then stop. I thought it would be easy to sign my name that many times in a row. Boy was I wrong. You get in a groove then all of a sudden you can’t remember how to sign your name. It was the craziest thing to me. For other players cards I used to buy a lot of 2009 Tristar Prospect Plus hot boxes and open tons of them because I was in it. Let’s just say I am lucky because there are a lot of great players in valuable cards in that set. I pulled a very very low numbered Mike Trout RC. My favorite card of myself is the USA cards and sports illustrated for kids card. Oh yes I collect baseball cards. Me, my Dad (Ray), my Uncle (Rob) and my brother (Tim) all collect. Collecting baseball cards is my favorite hobby I have. There is a certain rush you get when opening a box or pack of cards and hoping to find that one card. My dad, uncle, and brother every Christmas Eve will open boxes of baseball cards together after opening presents up. It’s a tradition that has been around ever since I can remember. On Christmas Day me, my brother and my dad open more cards. It’s a blast.

I don’t have a favorite card but my favorite baseball card set is 1963 topps."

Thanks!