Jon Knott, 2007 Topps Chrome Xfractor #282

This is an Xfractor, which translates to "shiny cubes amounting to a whole lot of nothing". Imagine forking out your money for a pack of Topps Chrome, pulling one of these parallels (one per three packs), and realizing that it's a 28-year-old journeyman rookie. It seems like ancient history now, but I swear I can remember there being some buzz around Jon Knott in the spring of 2007. That tells you all that you need to know about those bad old days. Knott was a corner outfielder who signed with the Padres as an undrafted free agent in 2001 after hitting 51 home runs in four years at Mississippi State University. He had cups of coffee in San Diego in 2004 and 2006, and in the latter year led the AAA Pacific Coast League with 32 homers and 113 RBI for the Portland Beavers. It was his third go-around in the league, of course. The Padres let Jon walk as a free agent that offseason, so his stock wasn't exactly high. After signing with the Orioles, Knott batted .289/.341/.579 in 41 Grapefruit League plate appearances. He had three short stints in Baltimore throughout that season, and started with a bang, bashing a pinch-hit three-run homer in his O's debut on April 17, 2007. That earned him a start in left field the next day, and he had two singles and a walk in four trips to the plate, scoring twice. But then he was sent back to AAA Norfolk until late June. He played only five games spanning his next two callups, going 0-for-10 with three walks and a sac fly. That concluded his big league career, as Knott spent 2008 in AAA with the Twins and Phillies and bounced around three professional leagues in 2009 (Atlantic, Mexican, and Pacific Coast) before calling it a career. But hey, that is one shiny card.