It's a shame that Topps has the monopoly of producing licensed baseball products. The design on this card is kind of basic, which is actually nice. No gold! No Sparkles! No diamonds! Just a nice picture of a father and his son with a signature next to their pictures. The dual auto isn't numbered, but according to the sell sheet for the set, only 49 were produced. The card cost me $8.50 per signature which isn't a bad price considering that Kyle Drabek autos are still greatly overpriced.
Doug Drabek was drafted by the White Sox in 1983. After a few seasons in the Sox minor leagues, he was traded to the Yankees. He played one season in the Bronx before being traded to the Pirates during the offseason in a package with 2 other players for Rick Rhoden and Pat Clements.
Drabek had the most success of his career with the Bucs and would go on to win the Cy Young in 1990. He was the losing pitcher in game 7 of the 1992 NLCS which was the last time the Pirates were in the playoffs and consequently ended the season above .500.
Following the 1992 season, the senior Drabek went on to Houston for a few years before playing with the White Sox and Orioles on 1 year deals. His career record is 155-134 with a 3.73 ERA and 1,594 punchouts.
Doug's son Kyle, was a 1st round draft pick out of the Woodlands Texas high school by the Phillies. He was the center piece of the deal that netted the Phillies Roy Halladay from the Blue Jays. Kyle's career has started off shaky in Toronto with a 4-8 record and a 5.83 ERA. His location seems to be the main issue for the younger Drabek as his WHIP is 1.73. If he dances around the strike zone he walks batters too frequently and if it's near the strike zone he gets hit. I believe that this could be a big year for Kyle as he may break camp with the Blue Jays and prove his value as a 5th starter.
Nice!
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