E-A

What does E-A stand for? Erick Almonte of course. Best known for his brief stint at short for the Yankees after Derek Jeter's shoulder injury on opening day in 2003. I was wondering what ever happened to him. I thought he did a good job filling in for Jeter myself although I was just 12 and always liked the new guy. So I looked at his stats he hit .260 so he obviously was not horrible. The next season with the Rockies organization he hit .318 eith 17 HR in AAA. Really makes me wonder why he never got another shot in the show.

However I was recently browsing through my book where I keep my Autographed baseball cards. Then I realized he didn't really like to take the time to sign for fans. His autograph was simply e-a just his initials with a dash. I really don't get why some players cant sign a good autograph. Almonte was far from a great player who had the right to sign his initials. At that point in your career you should take the time and give the fans a good signature. The reason it ticks me off is because Mariano Rivera undoubtedly the greatest closer of all time takes his time and gives the best signature I have ever received. I just think if you don't want to give a good autograph don't even bother signing and ruining some kids ball. After seeing how lazy he was with his autograph it almost makes me glad he never got a second chance with the Yankees, Rockies or any other MLB organization.