TTM Blast from the Past: Sir Sidney Ponson

With so much money tied into a few players, the Yankees often have to head to the scrap heap to fill out their roster. Sometimes it works – in 2005 Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small went a combined 17-3 for the Yanks and helped propel them to the playoffs. This year, Bart Colon and Sweaty Freddy Garcia have exceeded all expectations.

There are other players who are exactly what you thought they were. Terrence Long. Matt Lawton. Aaron Guiel. Darrell May. Sir Sidney Ponson. In fact, Ponson was plucked off the scrap heap twice by the Yanks…once in 2006 and again in 2008. So much so that he was included in this Topps Turkey Red set. I sent the card to Sir Sid, and he signed it and sent it back. His signature is one of the nicest and most legible I’ve seen. It’s even sort of girlie. The card is a little dark and the auto doesn’t pop well – it actually would look great in silver. Maybe next time.