Ones That Speak to Me: Victor Martinez

When I first discovered Victor Martinez's AUTO, needless to say, I was impressed. It had all of my favorite qualities...Repetition, legibility, and the most powerful in this instance; Controlled Chaos. I had to have one to look at often.

I was literally hunting the right rendition of his auto since 2005. In 06 I got a co-signers of Victor and Ryan Garko for a song, but I got sick of the shiny stickers and Garko's lackluster development, and sold it.

I promised myself the "Right" one at a later date. It would be on-card, clear and LARGE. I wanted to be able to see every letter. With this one I got the bonus of it being on what I would call a great card design with a great photo of one hell of a good hitting catcher. All of these things contribute to one of the most favored cards in my collection. Victor rarely leaves anything on the diamond (to borrow a football analogy) and puts the same care into every signature of his that I have ever seen.