Couple Allen & Ginter autographs I picked up from a collector on SCN.
Travis Lee was the 2nd overall pick of the 1996 draft by the Twins, but due to a loophole in the system (the Twins did not offer him a contract within 15 days), he became a free agent and signed with the Diamondbacks.
There was a lot of prospect buzz around Lee, which should be expected for a Golden Spikes winner and second overall pick.
That buzz was best illustrated by the popularity of his 1997 Bowman rookie card, which was the grail of prospect collectors for most of 1997. I paid $20 for my copy that season…which was a ton of money for 15 year old me.
Lee made the majors in 1998 and came out swinging. He hit 20 HR, had an OPS+ of 103, and ended the season #3 in ROY voting. But he slumped pretty hard for the next couple seasons, and in 2000 was traded to the Phillies as part of the Curt Schilling deal.
He would have a couple more league average seasons, but nothing all that exciting. He would retire in 2007.
Over nine seasons in the majors he would have a career WAR of 7.2.
Standard Batting Year Age Tm Lg G AB HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Awards 1998 23 ARI NL 146 562 22 72 8 1 67 123 .269 .346 .429 .775 103 RoY-3 1999 24 ARI NL 120 375 9 50 17 3 58 50 .237 .337 .363 .700 77 2000 25 TOT NL 128 404 9 54 8 1 65 79 .235 .342 .366 .709 78 2000 25 ARI NL 72 224 8 40 5 1 25 46 .232 .308 .397 .705 74 2000 25 PHI NL 56 180 1 14 3 0 40 33 .239 .381 .328 .709 82 2001 26 PHI NL 157 555 20 90 3 4 71 109 .258 .341 .434 .775 102 2002 27 PHI NL 153 536 13 70 5 3 54 104 .265 .331 .394 .725 96 2003 28 TBD AL 145 542 19 70 6 2 64 97 .275 .348 .459 .807 116 2004 29 NYY AL 7 19 0 2 0 0 1 3 .105 .150 .158 .308 -19 2005 30 TBD AL 129 404 12 49 7 4 35 66 .272 .331 .426 .757 102 2006 31 TBD AL 114 343 11 31 5 2 42 73 .224 .312 .364 .676 76
9 Yr 9 Yr 9 Yr 9 Yr 1099 3740 115 488 59 20 457 704 .256 .337 .408 .745 95 162 162 162 162 162 551 17 72 9 3 67 104 .256 .337 .408 .745 95
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/26/2017.
 Khalil Greene. I lived in Omaha, and in 2002 I went to the College World Series pretty much just to get his autograph. I got it. I met his dad. It was a cool day.
He was…kind of a big deal. Playing at Clemson, in 2002 he would hit .480 with 26 HR, and was named winner of the Dick Howser Trophy, the Rotary Smith Award, and the Golden Spikes Award. Collegiate Baseball named him National Player of the Year.
He was the 13th overall pick of the 2002 draft.
Greene blew though the minors and became the first player from the 2002 draft to make the majors. He scuffed a little, but with his plus defense and huge potential the Padres were thrilled with him.
He has a solid 2004, hitting .273/.349/.446 with 15 HR and came in #2 in ROY voting. Those numbers were pretty consistent for the next couple seasons. Not amazing, but very solid–especially for a National League shortstop.
He was traded to the Cardinals for the 2009 season, and that is when things went downhill. He struggled, and would eventually get put on the DH due to severe social anxiety disorder. He would never really get over it. He would make the majors again later that year, and in 2010 with the Rangers, but the anxiety disorder would continue to be a crippling issue that would eventually end his career.
Seven year career, 8.4 WAR.
I have a real soft spot for the dude. I hope he is doing OK.
Standard Batting Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Awards 2003 23 SDP NL 20 70 65 2 6 0 1 4 19 .215 .271 .400 .671 80 2004 24 SDP NL 139 554 484 15 65 4 2 53 94 .273 .349 .446 .795 114 RoY-2 2005 25 SDP NL 121 476 436 15 70 5 0 25 93 .250 .296 .431 .727 96 2006 26 SDP NL 121 460 412 15 55 5 1 39 87 .245 .320 .427 .747 97 2007 27 SDP NL 153 659 611 27 97 4 0 32 128 .254 .291 .468 .759 101 2008 28 SDP NL 105 423 389 10 35 5 1 22 100 .213 .260 .339 .599 66 2009 29 STL NL 77 193 170 6 24 2 1 15 35 .200 .272 .347 .619 64
7 Yr 7 Yr 7 Yr 7 Yr 736 2835 2567 90 352 25 6 190 556 .245 .302 .422 .723 94 162 162 162 162 162 624 565 20 77 6 1 42 122 .245 .302 .422 .723 94
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/26/2017.
New Arrival: Travis Lee and Khalil Greene Couple Allen & Ginter autographs I picked up from a collector on SCN. Travis Lee was the 2nd overall pick of the 1996 draft by the Twins, but due to a loophole in the system (the Twins did not offer him a contract within 15 days), he became a free agent and signed with the Diamondbacks.
