RBI (232) Dirk Nowitzki...

I've posted about getting future NBA Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki's autograph before, but I recently added another piece to my collection. Dirk is a well known ttm signer, so I took a bit of a gamble and sent in a larger piece. I picked up a jersey online for a good price and dropped it off in the mail.

I've seen Dirk signed jerseys come back and was hopeful that I'd luck out to get a jersey signed with a good marker and signature. It turns out I was glad take the chance because now I have a Dirk Nowitzki autographed jersey that he hit with a very clean signature.

I'm really happy with what came back. I think it's a great that Dirk was willing to sign a jersey, and the jersey's Dirk autographed have all seemed to come back with a nice signature instead of a scribble. It took about a month and a half to come back.

The Dirk Nowitzki ttm address I've used is:

Dirk Nowitzki
American Airlines Center
2500 Victory Avenue
Dallas, TX 75219
USA

Blake Griffin Kia LA Autoshow Appearance 11/30/13

This is one of the graphs that makes me thankful that I live in Southern California due to all the great autograph opportunities. The Los Angeles Autoshow is one of the biggest and most important in the industry so vendors are sure to pull out the stops to try to draw large crowds. Kia for the past few years has leaned on drawing a crowd with its spokesman Clippers star Blake Griffin.

I went to the autoshow extremely early so I could make a full day of the event. I wondered the various booths and checked out the luxury cars before wandering over to the Kia booth. There was a line starting to form so I waited for Alex and Rob to come give me company. When they arrived we hung out and waited patiently for Blake to arrive for the signing scheduled from 4:30-6:30.

As we were waiting we saw the line grow. That's not unexpected to us. Apparently though it was unexpected to Kia as they had a small stack of small 5x7 photos that they were expecting to have Blake sign and hand out. However there were easily 400 people wrapped around the convention center going from the far left of the photo all the way around the Kia booth and wrapped back past the right side of the photo. And everyone was waiting for a chance to meet Blake for an autograph and photo op.

Since they were vastly under prepared for the crowd they made a surprising announcement that they'd allow you to get one item signed. One item that you could provide yourself. That's right. A free Blake Griffin autograph on an item of our choosing, not the standard provided Kia stock photo.

We couldn't believe ourselves and even when Blake showed up we still didn't believe it. Blake doesn't do signings besides the Kia appearance and the past 2 years he's only signed the Kia photo. Well it came down to it and Blake started signing autographs.

And what would you know it was true. The Kia booth was nice enough to have an employee who took a photo for you, and they were nice/smart enough to snap two to make sure it came out. I took my turn saying hello and then was able to my Blake Griffin autographed jersey.

Getting Blake Griffins autograph was awesome enough, but I was able to get him to sit down and knock out a jersey for me instead of a small stock photo. It was a great day running into everyone, checking out some cars and not only meeting Blake but getting him to autograph my jersey.

RBI (174) Justin Masterson Jersey...

I've posted about my Justin Masterson collection that I've slowly been building and I made a big addition. 2013 has been a huge breakout year for Masterson with him being amongst the top of the AL Strikeout leaders and a strong record. He was named an All Star for the first time so I went ahead and got a Masterson All Star Game bp jersey.

When the Indians came to town I was able to get this Justin Masterson autographed jersey on the numbers with a silver paint pen. He was kind enough to do a dual inscription "1st ASG" and then wrote the bible verse "John 16:33" I'm really happy with how it came out and it's one of my favorite autographs I've been able to get. Without a doubt Justin's one of the nicest and most accommodating signers in baseball whenever he gives out an autograph he really takes his time and knocks them out. He's always sure to give a consistent signature and almost always puts a verse when he signs. Seeing how he incorporated the All Star inscription into his normal signature was a really awesome touch. Justin Masterson's autograph is definitely one of my favorites.

RBI (155) Dustin Pedroia...

This is definitely going to be one of my all time favorite pieces. I haven't gotten many autographed jerseys but the ones that I do have are all of players who are personal favorites of mine. When I went to college Boston I picked up a few extra shifts at my job to work my way up to a nice jersey to wear when I went to Fenway park for a game. All my hard work paid off when I was able to afford a Dustin Pedroia jersey that has become a Dustin Pedroia autographed jersey.

I was able to get Dustin to autograph my jersey when he was in Anaheim with the Red Sox to play the Angels during the 2013 season. It's a great autograph to add to my collection and made even better when you compare it to some of his others you see that it's his tough to get full signature that isn't so scrunched up and includes the dots with his jersey number. Getting this jersey signed the same weekend I was able to get a David Ortiz autographed baseball on the sweetspot made this an awesome series for me this year.

As some of you know I've been working on getting autographs on my authentic Fenway Park seat, unfortunately the powers that be at Angel Stadium decided that my seat was no longer something I could take into the park. This is only going to make working on the piece even harder and I'm concerned I won't be able to get any worthy signature on it this season. Thankfully I already got Pedroia's autograph on it so now I have two great pieces signed by him as well as a autographed Topps card I picked up at the 2010 All Star Game Fan Fest as a souvenir.

RBI (121) Matt Barnes Sprint In Store Appearance 2/22/13

Earlier I posted that I had bought a used Los Angeles ClippersMatt Barnes practice jersey from the Clipper Foundation this season. I was pretty excited to make the pick up at a reasonable cost and to have a player used jersey even if it was a practice one. I'm sure many of you are aware that basketball can be a tough sport to graph if you're not willing to figure out what hotel the team is staying at, so I was very excited to see an opportunity to get Barnes to sign the jersey.

Barnes had a free autograph signing at a Sprint store in Bell Gardens and even though I had plans for that afternoon I decided to put on my hardcore grapher shoes and give it a try driving out to Los Angeles. I got to the signing and ran into my friend Kyle. We caught up and when we went inside I snapped a photo of Barnes signing a painting that Kyle was working on of him.

I had a bit of a conundrum where to have Barnes sign the jersey. Since it's a practice jersey the logos and numbers are heat pressed screens not cloth that's stitched on, so I assumed over time they'll probably start to peel and I'd hate to lose the autograph that way. The name logo on the bottom is the only thing stitched but with the different levels of stretching and colors I didn't think it'd be a very good spot to get signed on. I had Matt sign the jersey itself next to the logos and number since I figured it was probably one of the few decent spots.

It came out well enough and honestly this is a jersey I'd like to keep wearing around to Clipper games. It's not an official game used jersey and I like how it's different than everyone else walking around in a Chris Paul or Blake Griffin jersey so I'll risk the eventual fade to the autograph because just knowing Barnes signed it is good enough for me. I mean how many people are able to say they're rocking a Matt Barnes autographed jersey around Los Angeles?

Now I'll just have to work on eventually knocking off the Randy Foye practice jersey I was able to pick up.

RPS (6) 2013 Padres Fanfest

Well readers I decided to make the trek to San Diego to join in on the Padres Fanfest held at Petco Park. I had heard that it was a fun event from my fellow graphers and even though there aren't really the name brand stars you'd associate with most other teams I thought it would be a good time.

I made the drive down to San Diego and was immediately greeted with some familiar faces running into Alex, David, Josh, Keith and other regular graphers in line waiting for entry. When I got into the stadium I immediately got an autograph pass for an upcoming autograph session and then went on to the Yard Sale. One nice thing I noticed on my walk over to the Yard Sale was the awesome fact that the Padres were letting fans onto the field for different activities.

At the Yard Sale I was able to pick up a few things at a nice discount. I picked up a Jeremy Hermida Batting Practice Jersey, Game Used Joe Thatcher Padres cap, a Stand Up to Cancer patch, and a pair of team issue socks. I almost bought a John Baker Game Used batting helmet but I opted out at the register since I didn't have a ticket to his autograph session that day.

After I made my purchases I went to the first autograph signing session of the day that I had a pass for. I had Carlos Quentin autograph this 2012 Topps Heritage card for me.

Quentin's signing partner was Casey Kelly. I had just pulled two of his Topps 2013 rookie cards and wasn't sure if I wanted the parallel signed or the base card. I put them both in front of Casey and asked if he could sign the one he liked the most. He responded "Well why don't I just sign them both." I was really excited since I had been big on him since he was signed by the Red Sox. After Casey Kelly autographed them he asked why one of them was blue and I explained the difference between the two. He asked why Topps did that and the first thing that came to mind popped out of my mouth, "to make us spend more money" he laughed at that and said thanks for coming out.

After getting the Quentin and Kelly autographs I went around the stadium taking a tour of the stadium. Here's the view from center field toward home plate, and if you notice in the above photo there was a temporary fence up where the Padres are pulling the fences in too. I can't imagine being even farther back and hoping to make a home run.

After my tour of the stadium I popped by the player interview session hoping to score Chase Headley on his way away from the stage. When he was walking on the stairs I asked Chase if he could sign please and he turned back holding up the line of security and other players and very sincerely apologized saying he'd love to but he wouldn't be able to sign right then. I said it was no problem and wished him well. I was struck with how genuine Chase appeared to be to me and all his fans, he seems like a great guy and I hope he continues to be the dangerous hitter he has become.

After that I went back onto the field and got a scoop of dirt for my collection, ate a little lunch, and wandered the stadium a bit more before waiting in line for the next batch of autograph session tickets and in line for the next autograph session. The next session was for Brad Boxberger who I didn't have anything for so I had him sign one of the provided Padres autograph cards. I felt semi bad not having anything for him to sign, especially since most of the fans were skipping him and going to the next signer.

The next signer of course was the man of the day Chase Headley. I was pretty excited to get Chase Headley's autograph on a baseball and it was made even nicer when I asked him if he could please put an inscription on the ball. He was kind enough to inscribe "SS & GG 2012" on the sweetspot with his name and number on a ball I had gotten after a game from Joe West.

From there I went to the next signing and got Cameron Maybin's rushed autograph. Apparently he gave me his rushed short signature on this 2012 Allen and Ginter card. I saw his full signature on a few other pieces and he definitely has a very nice one compared to the short one I got here. I know I technically shouldn't complain since I heard he's a tough signer in San Diego and it was a free event, but having seen the other signature it's definitely different and sort of a let down to get the rushed one.

After Maybin signed I had his signing partner Adys Portillo autograph on another one of the Padres autograph cards.

When I finished at the Maybin signing I waited around for Bud Black to finish his interview session to add another card to my 1987 set, but I wasn't able to get his signature. After being shot down I scooted on over to the next autograph signing and was caught with another dilemma of which card to get signed again. I put down a Jedd Gyorko 1st Bowman Chrome card and a Bowman insert card and asked if he could sign the one he liked the most. He didn't say anything just thanks for coming and signed both of the cards. Definitely excited to have these Jedd Gyorko autographs in knocked out because I've got the feeling he's going to be good for a while.

Signing alongside Gyorko was Logan Forsythe who signed his 2013 Topps Series 1 card for me.

I meandered one more time through the Yard Sale where I almost bought a few blank batting helmets to use to get signed but opted out when I realized they wouldn't look the same without the right team logo on the front. I took the tour through the clubhouse and on the way in almost got knocked over by a guy running through the halls. I turned to see who it was and saw "Street" on the back of his shirt and realized Huston Street had popped through the tour running into the clubhouse. I called out to him and he turned to throw a quick smile and wave before heading deeper into the off limits part of the clubhouse.

All in all it was a great day spent in San Diego. I got a few cool pieces of baseball memorabilia, some nice autographs, took a tour of the stadium and club house, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I may not have racked quite as many autographs as some of the other graphers but I got some quality stuff and I'm glad I made the trip down to see the Padres and tip my hat to the whole organization for such a fun day.

Angels 2012 Fanfest

Well this is a bit of a weird post for me since I didn't take my camera in so it doesn't qualify as a photo series post, but I do want to give a recap of the Angels 2012 Fanfest at Anaheim Stadium.

It was a weird but good day overall for me. I was able to get a fair amount of autographs though Albert Pujols continuing to elude me despite my best attempts. The fanfest was organized into 5 different lines with a random pair of current Angel players at a table for each line. Last year I hear there was a section for season ticket holders, but this year they weren't given any perks. The whole experience was a luck of the draw sort of thing, as no one had any idea of which players they would get until the player actually sat down. If you didn't like who was going to sign at your line, you better have seen a friendly face who wanted to trade places in their line with you for their spot.

Speaking of friendly faces, I'll throw out a quick shout out to Josh aka. Dodger Bobble, Benson, and Dave who I spent much of the fanfest chatting graphing, baseball and the like with. If you like bobble heads and quality autographs, I recommend these guys' blogs. Anyways its always a good day when you get to graph with your friends.

Even though fanfest opened at 7:00 AM, the players didn't appear until 9:45 to sign. I'm not really sure what was the reasoning behind this. I know autographing wasn't the exclusive point of the event, but it was a really big draw and probably the most popular activity. Especially seeing as the Angels had several memorabilia dealer booths set up to sell Angel apparel and baseball collectibles next to the autograph lines for the casual fans to get geared up. I'm not saying they needed to cart Pujols down for 4 hours of signing (even though that'd be awesome) but maybe open at 8 instead of 7 since there's not really a big rush to eat some Famous Dave's at 7 AM or and I doubt anyone is there to buy Nitto tires. Maybe have the local Single-A affiliate 66'ers (who had a booth) send a few players to warm up the early crowd?

I was in the spot trader category, as I was able to trade Benson my Latroy Hawkins and Bobby Abreu spot for Erick Aybar and Macier Izturis. Bobby is always a high profile autograph and I've actually yet to get him on an individual item, but I was in need of Aybar and Izzy much more. Thankfully Benson was super nice enough to switch with me and let me get the pair of infielders.

I added Izzy to the 2011 Angels team ball that I've been working on and I'm currently only missing from my official need list Scoscia, Haren, Callaspo, Takahashi, and Aybar from the regular players with a few guys called up for only a few games missing like Michael Kohn, Francisco Rodriguez, and Garret Richards.

Erick Aybar signed this Spring Training-used Jersey I bought at the Angels Yard Sale last year. I've been trying to get this autographed by him for a while so it was nice to finally get him on it. I actually ran into him earlier in the week and while he signed a card told him about the jersey sitting at home. He laughed and said "Well today was your day man." When I walked up to him at fanfest the first thing I said when he looked up and recognized me was, "I guess today's my day." He smiled and said "See I told you man" before putting this nice signature across the number. Always nice to add a Gold Glover to the collection with an Erick Aybar autographed jersey.

After getting Aybar I moved over to see what the other graphers had been able to get signed. I thought about going after a few of the other current players, but have been pretty successful with everyone but Kendrys and by the time I got to his line I was too far back to score him. I found out after the current players left, that there would be Angel Alumni signing for the fans. I scouted out the main stage where they were being introduced and saw Jim Abbott, Clyde Wright, Mike Witt, Chuck Finley, and Garrett Anderson. Needless to say I was excited at the possibilities when I reported the news back to my fellow graphers in line.

I scored tough signer Mike Witt in my line and was pretty far toward the front of the line. He was really nice and it was easy getting Mike Witt's autograph on the sweet spot a baseball for me after I asked him politely.

I moved onto the next line and got Garrett Anderson's autograph on my souvenir from 2012 opening weekend, a certified game-used ball (Ervin Santana to Chris Getz foul ball) on the sweet spot. Can't complain about getting the full signature of GA so I'm happy to hang on to this Garrett Anderson autographed baseball.

The Jim Abbott line by the time I finished GA had no friendly faces and I just didn't think I'd have a chance to get him.  I probably could have gotten in the shorter Clyde Wright or Chuck Finley lines after getting GA, but seeing as I got plenty of Clyde through the season, and Finley a month prior I didn't want to take someone else's chance to get them and went into the stadium for the game.

All in all it was nice to see the Angels really rolled out the red carpet and got some great alumni to come sign for the fans; and they really were all pleasant and churning out plenty of quality autographs. The current player autographs were not really who people were hoping for though Bobby Abreu and Kendrys Morales are pretty quality autographs in my opinion. I'd have to give the 2012 Angels fanfest a solid B due to the great alumni signers and the free generously sized samples of BBQ pulled pork that got rolled out by Famous Dave's around 11.

RBI (49) Memorabilia from a career 1st...

Though it most certainly will not be the last. I'm not quite sure if it's shown but I am a big fan of Angel center fielder Peter Bourjos. Not only was Pete my first TTM success (visible on the link) but he's an Angel product through and through. In person he's a great signer and I really do enjoy getting to interact with Pete at the stadium and he's been nice enough to sign a few things for me.

I'd have to say the greatest thing that I've been able to get Pete to sign is a pretty significant piece of memorabilia from his career. I was able to purchase his Game Used Jersey from his first career MLB Jackie Robinson Day. Certified by MLB and covered in dirt from US Cellular Field. Pete went 1 for 3 with a Walk in the Angels win.

I was really excited to be able to get Bourjos' jersey because in 2010 I could tell that this would be a breakout season for him. While I do think he was robbed of the 2011 Gold Glove in center field, I'm sure he's going to get plenty of hardware throughout his career.

Here you can see that Pete was nice enough to take the time and put his full signature and number on the front of the jersey number. It's awesome to have this one of a kind Peter Bourjos autographed jersey in my collection and is a piece I'll always treasure.

You can see the back of the jersey with the Angel patches for the 2011 season, the traditional "A" altered so the halo would be gold for the 50th Anniversary instead of silver.

Again you can see the anniversary gold Halo, club house Sharpied number on the inside, and the sweet dirt Pete picked up during the game.

Definitely one of the best highlight pieces I'll ever be able to have in my collection. Here's to a promising career of Peter roaming center field and tearing up the base paths Jackie Robinson Day after Jackie Robinson Day.