Kershaw Rehab at Rancho Photo Series

Clayton Kershaw was side lined earlier this season with an injury and ended up making a rehab appearance with the Dodgers minor league affiliate the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The appearance happened to coincide with the Quakes giving out a Brian Wilson bobble head. I went out to try getting Kershaw and didn't have any luck.

The crowd was huge with at least 4 people deep from the railings and people who didn't have tickets lined outside the gates as well.

The crowd was backed up along the stairwell and of course the shot I took got photo bombed after they noticed my camera out for a few shots.

Finally the man of the hour came out to sign some autographs. And I emphasize some. Kershaw walked out and immediately skipped the section of fans who had been waiting the longest for him. Kershaw would sign three or four autographs and then walk another 10 feet before he'd knock a few more until he got to the car. And that was it. Not the best trip but at least I got a few photos of the Dodger stud and his fans during Clayton Kershaw's minor league rehab.

Autograph Recap 4/21/14 Lancaster Jethawks at Inland Empire

I was able to make it out to Inland Empire recently to do a bit of minor league graphing, though I doubt the guys will be in the minor leagues for very long. Houston Astros affiliate the Lancaster Jethawks are stacked with talent waiting in the pipeline to make it up to the majors. The whole roster is filled with prized and well regarded prospects so getting anyone I knew would end up making the day worth the trip.

The first guy I was able to get was 2013 1st overall pick Mark Appel's autograph on a baseball. Considering how highly ranked this guy is and the expectations I knew I'd have to get him while he stilled signed as a prospect. I'm glad I was able to get him virtually one on one as a minor leaguer before he debuts and becomes a victim of the dreaded "contracto" and impossible to get as nice an autograph as this.

After Appel 2012 1st overall pick Carlos Correa autographed a baseball for me. He's just as prized and I can tell he'll be extremely difficult to get when he gets his call up into the majors.

It was funny for me to see Appel's teammates rib him a bit when I came up to ask him to sign and make comments that "there's always one" waiting around to meet him. It was goodnatured and he didn't respond to it, but I'm glad to have gotten the two to sign.

Cal League appearance...

With the Angels out of town I went to see the Angels' Inland Empire 66'ers play against the Dodgers' Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. The 66'ers caught a pretty serious beat down from the Quakes' hitters but it was nice to go catch some local ball and enjoy the game for the game.

Darnell Sweeney hit for the cycle for the Quakes and 66'ers outfielder Zach Borenstein finished a triple short of his own cycle. It was a fun night and I got thrown my first minor league baseball a Rawlings Cal League ball from Zach after the game.

The ball's pretty beaten up but I think it's some nice character for it. I didn't have Borenstein autograph the ball but I'm thinking the next time I go to catch an Angels' big leaguer out rehabbing at Inland Empire I'll bring the ball along for him to sign. Great night with a nice pick up, I wish Angel games were like this too.

RPS (5) Cory Hahn and Trinity Bat Company 2nd Annual Homerun Challenge

Many of you have probably seen the fine posts posted by David and Matt about the event but I thought I would chip in my thoughts on the benefit. First off if you don't know who Cory Hahn is you should read a brief summary of his story which is truly inspirational.

Cory remains a fine symbol of inspiration and hard work and his steadfast resolve to recover is part of why the Trinity event is so popular. I'd like to thank the Trinity Bat Company and Mater Dei High School for their support of Cory and helping to create such a great event. Supporting Cory so he can continue to inspire those facing hardships through demonstrating his own determination.

The event breaks down into a Home Run derby with different categories of hitters, highlighted by the pro division with real MLB players and minor leaguers taking swings. It's fast becoming a favorite event amongst autograph seekers considering the friendly atmosphere and timing during the off season. I know I definitely enjoyed last years event and this year was even better.

Players arrived to the event to a fairly large crowd of autograph seekers. Some were more friendly to the wave of cards, bats, and photos waiting for them while others wanted to get to the cages to warm up first before they signed. Trayvon Robinson of the Orioles was kind enough to sign for us walking in and you can see the crowd waiting for him.

Kyle from Addictive Artwork was there with some of his quality paintings. You can see his work on his Twitter and see some very nice pieces that many pros have commissioned for themselves from Josh Reddick, Mike Trout, Hank Conger and Mike Adams.

If you notice in the background there is a guy in bright green shoes, that'd be Daric Barton hanging out in the background waiting for some food from a food truck. I didn't get any food from that food truck but I did get a burger and root beer from the Burger Monster Food Truck. It was pretty delicious especially in the middle of a busy day. If you're in Orange County looking for a new tasty spot to try look up their truck on Twitter.

The event organizers set up a few tables to display Trinity bats, silent auction items, and for the players to have a designated signing area. Since I couldn't move in line and was busy handling my items when I got close enough you may be able to get a peek of Mark Trumbo getting ready to sit down to sign.

I thought I had come pretty well prepared for the event, but I was completely mistaken and overwhelmed by the amount of minor leaguers who were there to support the event. I had almost no supplies for them and wasn't sure who was who so I minimized my prospect graphing and stuck to what I knew. I think I came away from the event pretty well in the end.

On his way in I was able to get Trayvon Robinson to sign this 2012 Topps Heritage card. Trayvon is strictly 1 autograph per person especially since he takes the time to personalize his autograph. I know some collectors don't like it, especially since in Southern California there are plenty of dealers, but I enjoy that he wrote "To Ryan Best Wishes"

After Trayvon I was able to get Daric Barton to sign from the designated autograph table. He signed this sharp looking 2010 Allen and Ginter card for me and was surprised when I asked if he could inscribe his "Fielding Bible 2010" but was nice enough to write it for me.

While waiting in line for Mark Trumbo I was able to get top Rockies 3rd base prospect Nolan Arenado's autograph on his way in. I'm not normally a big fan of prospecting but I think a 2 time All-Star Futures Game participant with tons of offensive potential was more than worth a ROMLB and he was nice enough to sweet spot it. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in the bigs with the Rockies.

After I stayed in line for Trumbo I was able to get my moment with him at the front of the line when I handed him my custom bat to sign. I told him how I looked up a game used bat of his online and had my own Trinity pro model made to the same specs that he uses. He tried to check the nob but it was covered by a Trinity sticker so he actually put down the sharpie, took a half swing and nodded that the bat felt right. I was really happy to not only have gotten it made right but that the big leaguer I had it made to be like had swung it. Mark signed the bat and was nice enough to inscribe "All Star" for me.

Following Trumbo, Dodger great Steve Garvey sat down at the table and he autographed my bat also. He was kind enough to inscribe "'74 NL MVP" underneath his name. 

On his way out of the event I was able to get Ian Stewart autographed this 2011 Topps card. If you look up his past stats you'll see he put his Cubs number 2 instead of his Rockies number.

Also on his way out of the event I was able to get Steve Garvey again as he was walking with his son, prospect Ryan Garvey. Steve Garvey autographed this Gold Glove Baseball for me under the logo and I was happy to add another slick fielder to my collection of Gold Glovers on the special balls. 

I'd like to note that Garvey showed a real sign of class agreeing to come to the event and sign seeing as he was leaving the charity benefit to go sign at a paid signing. Not many players do free signings let alone on the same day they could be charging their fans. I really appreciated him making this appearance.

After Garvey I was able to get one of the prospects who made an unexpected appearance at the event. Padres No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft Max Fried come to show his support and he was nice enough to inscribe "#7 Pick" on a Trinity business card.

The last thing I got for the day was one from none other than Cory Hahn's autograph. 

It was a great event and I'm very happy with how everything went. I know most graphers tend to walk away from events like this with racks of balls and pages of cards signed, but I prefer the one or two approach with the nice inscriptions for my collection. 

The Trinity Bat Co. has definitely made a lasting mark with big leaguers from the high quality of their bats and events. I don't think anyone left with anything but the best experience. I'm glad to report that the whole event raised more than $10,000 for the Cory Hahn Fund and I'm proud to have partaken the past two years. 

RBI (107) A Hot Corner Prospect...

Recently I did a post about top Angels slugging prospect C.J. Cron, as highly rated as Cron is within the organization he is actually ranked as the 2nd best prospect. In front of Cron is his Inland Empire 66ers teammate 3rd baseman Kaleb Cowart.

The switch hitting prospect was taken 18th overall by the halos in the 1st round of the 2010 MLB draft.  The Georgia native has found more consistent power and a better feel for the strike zone and can eventually prove to be the 3rd base piece that has been consistently eluding recent Angel teams.

After the trade for Zack Greinke the Angel minor league organization has been called a bit bare, but Cowart is not only ranked as the best halo prospect, but has been ranked by mlb.com as the 49th best prospect overall in the minor leagues to date.

I had Kaleb Cowart sign this mini bat for me at the same time that C.J. signed his when the 66ers were brought to visit Angel Stadium. If he gets called up it'll be nice to have a Kaleb Coward autograph already crossed off the list.

RBI (106) A Prospect Slugger...

One thing that I'm a fan of MLB teams doing is trotting out their local minor league affiliates to the stadium to sign autographs, meet some of the big leaguers, and enjoy a night in the suites as a reminder of what they're pushing for. The Angels brought the Inland Empire 66'ers to the stadium to sign for the fans and I opted to rack up the minor leaguers while I could.

The 66'ers have top prospect C.J. Cron a 1st round pick in the 2011 draft, taken 17th overall. Originally a catcher due to an injury he moved to 1st though he isn't graded as much of a plus defensively. 2012 he has been on a tear driving in 123 RBI with a .293 average and 27 home runs. He's ranked as the Angel's 2nd best prospect and 2nd best 1st base prospect in the minors.

I didn't realize it was 66'ers day at the stadium or I probably would have gotten a team set of cards to get signed so I picked up a mini bat get the C.J. Cron autograph on. With Pujols signed for years and Trumbo mashing in Left/1st Cron is blocked for a bit but if he develops on pace when Pujols is ready to play DH more it would be about the same time the Angels are ready to see what Cron can do in the bigs.

It'll be interesting to see how things develop for C.J. but I'm glad to have gotten him at a sit down signing for a nice signature rather than a rushed one along the field. It was funny to see CJ get a bit of grief from his fellow teammates as he had a steady line of people with solo ball requests and cards of him while they signed team provided programs. Life in the minors is tough but hopefully when they were in the suites watching the game someone reminded the other guys that the future Hall of Famer in the on deck circle wearing #5 was taken in the 13th round of his draft and any one of them could still make it. It's possible he does now that CJ Cron was the Angels representative in the 2013 MLB Futures game.