Phillies Prospect Michael Taylor Talks Cards, Collecting, and Autos with Susan Lulgjuraj
The Cardboard Connection’s own Susan Lulgjuraj caught up with talented Phillies Outfielder to talk Cards, Autographs, and Collecting.
Michael Taylor is one of Philadelphia’s top prospects. The 23-year-old outfielder plays for Double-A Reading and was recently named to the 2009 Eastern League All-Star game.
He was a fifth-round draft pick in 2007 and has been moving up through system. Through the first 74 games this season, he is hitting .350 with 15 homers and 58 RBI. He also has 14 stolen bases. Taylor is a five-tool player, who should make it to the Majors one day.
The Cardboard Connection's own Susan Lulgjuraj caught up with talented Phillies Outfielder to talk Baseball Cards, Autographs, and Collecting:
Q. Did you collect baseball cards when you were younger?
A. I did. I collected until I was about 12.
Q. What were your favorite cards?
A. I have a bunch of Ken Griffey Jr., cards. I was a big Ken Griffey Jr., fan. I remember getting a metal die-cast card. I was pumped about that. I have about 10,000 cards. I collected basketball cards too.
Q. How often do people send you letters at the stadium for autographs?
A. I probably get about 20 to 30 different letters a month. I got anything from pictures to cards, mini bats and helmets.
Q. Do you send them back?
A. I probably get to about 75 percent of them. I am more apt to sign something that is personalized.
Q. What are some of the best letters you have gotten?
A. The two best letters I got were from parents. One was for a kid on the road. We were talking about diabetes and his mother wrote to thank me for talking to him. The other was I signed for these little girls. They caught me in the middle of a game and I told them I would sign for them after. I signed for about 45 minutes and they were the last ones. The parents wrote to me to thank me for that.
Q. How do you feel about signing autographs?
A. I try to sign for everyone. It’s though. I’d rather sign for kids than a 50-year-old guy.
Q. Is there anything about it that you don’t like?
A. I don’t like getting letters from adults pretending to be kids. You can tell from reading the letters that they are trying to fake the handwriting, but they are using words you know an eight-year-old isn’t going to use. Sometimes I put a mark on the picture and then look on eBay to see if it ended up there.
Q. Do they?
A. Sure. I saw things on eBay that I just signed the other day.
Q. How are your things selling on eBay?
A. They’re doing all right. I haven’t caught up to (Kyle) Drabek yet.
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Jeremy Porter | Jul 8, 2009 | Reply
Nice snag with Michael Taylor, Suz!
He’s a personal favorite prospect of mine and seems to be a well grounded individual.
Susan Lulgjuraj | Jul 19, 2009 | Reply
He was awesome to talk to. He just got promoted too and got his first AAA hit and stole base on Saturday.
I only talked to him once, but he seemed like a good guy. I wish nothing but the best for him.