Autograph Recap Eddie Guardado and Michael Young Stars and Strikes Bowling Charity Event 1/26/14...

The 3rd annual Eddie Guardado and Michael Young Stars and Strikes Bowling Charity Event occurred   January 26, 2014 and I decided to attend this year. It's proven to be a solid event and a large group of Southern California autograph seekers attended to knock out the stars that were in attendance to support Eddie and Michaels fundraiser to benefit children with Autism.

The event was set up differently from what I heard from graphers who previously attended past years. I was able to start the day off by getting UFC welterweight fighter Jake Ellenberger's autograph on this 8x10 photograph.

After Ellenberger signed Eddie Guardado popped out to speak to some of the event handlers, and I got Guardado's autograph on this 8x10 photograph. It was nice to add the two-time All Star and recent member of the Twins' Hall of Fame to the collection.

It was a good start so far and then Ian Kinsler arrived. Kinsler autographed this 8x10 photograph really nicely signature wise, but he signed on a dark spot so it's a little tough to see. Needless to say I was a little disappointed even though I'm still glad I got it signed.

I was disappointed about the nice Kinsler signature being in a tough spot, eventually Adrian Beltre came out and I was able to get his autograph. Beltre's one of my favorite players so I'm really glad to add a nice clean Beltre autographed photograph to my collection of the Gold Glover at work.

After Beltre left the next autograph I was able to get was a big one for me. It was my first time getting Adrian Gonzalez's autograph and I was excited to put the Silver Slugger, Gold Glover All star's signature in my collection on this photo. Making the photo even nicer to me is a opted for a photo of him still playing with the Padres and swinging a nice Trinity Bat Co. piece of wood.

After Gonzalez left the next autograph I got was a surprising one but it was a good one I was very excited to have. 3-time Olympic gold medalist Misty May Treanor was in attendance with her husband MLB player Matt Treanor. I got Misty May autograph a baseball on the sweetspot and then had Matt Treanor sign the ball also and he got a kick that she had already signed the sweet spot before he could.

The last thing I was able to get was this Michael Young autographed 8x10 photograph even though like his former teammate he also signed it in a spot where it's tough to see. I'm glad I was finally able to put something from the 7x All Star in my collection since he's been a great consistent player to watch growing up.

The whole thing was a great event and there were even more signers there at the event that I either couldn't get or didn't have anything for them to sign. It was definitely a nice way to wrap up the off season and add some major names and nice items into my collection.

RBI (180) Adrian Beltre...

One of my favorite players growing up has been Adrian Beltre. He's a slick fielding, power hitting third baseman who I've always enjoyed watching play. His career has primarily been on the West coast besides a year out in Boston so I've always been able to keep track of him and watch his career.

Beltre was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He debuted for the Dodgers at age 19 and hasn't turned back since developing into one of the premier 3rd basemen of his era of play. He's a multiple time All-Star, Gold Glover and Silver Slugger winner. He's rapidly advancing his stats to impressive career plateaus with more than 2300 hits, 370 Home Runs and 1,200 RBI's. All of these statistics have been acquired while maintaing top level defense at third so it's going to be interesting to see when he decides to end his career since he still has years left he could play at first base or as a DH when his defense declines. He may make a very interesting run at the traditional Cooperstown marks in the next few years.

I was able to get Adrian Beltre's autograph on this baseball before a Rangers vs Angels game in Anaheim. The ball is actually my first baseball I've gotten from during a game with umpire Brian Knight being kind enough to toss me the ball at the end of the first inning of the Indians vs Angels game on the 19th of September, 2013. Since it was my first ball given to me actually during a baseball game I held onto it for someone special and one of my favorite players is definitely special enough for me to use on him.

RBI (170) Josh Hamilton SSP...

It's always nice when you're able to get a former AL MVP's autograph and it's awesome that Josh Hamilton is such a consistent signer for the fans at home. 

I know there will be some people irritated that I had Josh Hamilton autograph this card since it's a 2012 Topps Heritage short print with black and white image swap to make it a ssp that I technically ruined by having Josh sign it. Oh well. I think it looks cool signed.

RBI (168) Elvis, The King...

No not that Elvis. Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus.

Andrus was signed as an amateur free agent by the Atlanta Braves and was a key cog in the Mark Texiera trade that has paid huge dividends for the Rangers organization. Resulting in a franchise shortstop, two All Star pitchers (Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz), and a catcher who is finally catching on with the Red Sox (Saltalamacchia) it's been one of the greatest trades in the franchise as it resulted in consecutive American League Championships. The 2-time All-Star has signed a huge multi-year extension to stay with the Rangers. He's already stolen more than 150 career bases and knocked 700 hits despite only being 24. It'll be interesting to see where his career numbers end up finishing since he broke into the MLB at age 20 and has years to go.

I was able to get this Elvis Andrus autographed baseball at Angel Stadium when the Rangers came to play during the 2013 season. I was excited to see Elvis nod when I asked if he'd sign especially when I saw him nod when I asked him to sweetspot the ball. I was less excited when I got the ball back and saw he gave me a super short version of his signature. If he didn't include his jersey number I'm not sure anyone would have any sort of idea who signed the ball.

RBI (167) AJ Pierzynski...

Every time AJ Pierzynski comes to town he is met with a constant stream of boos when he's announced in the line up or comes up to bat. Most Angel fans don't actually remember the controversy that led to the booing but just join in because their "supposed to" dislike him. It breaks down to a controversial 2Out 3rd strike in the 2005 ALCS that should have sent the game to extra innings and instead allowed a runner on base for the White Sox to win the game. The White Sox went on to win the series and win the World Series that year.

Taken by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1994 MLB draft, AJ's been a consistent contributor for the teams he's been the backstop for. Since debuting in 1998 he's caught for the Twins, Giants, White Sox and Rangers. AJ has been a 2-time All Star, Silver Slugger and was a key cog for the White Sox 2005 World Series Championship. He's knocked in more than 700 RBI's, crossed 150 Home Runs and 1700 hits. Impressively he's been on the receiving end of Mark Buerhle's no-hitter and caught Phillip Humber's Perfect Game.

I got this AJ Pierzynski autographed baseball when the Rangers came to Angel Stadium during the 2013 season.

RBI (166) The Tanner Scheppers Incident...

It's not often that I'm negative about someone on this blog but I have to say I wasn't too happy to learn about an incident that occurred during the 2013 season.

Texas Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers was involved in an incident while on a road trip in Cleveland that resulted in him coming to the stadium during the series with a black eye. When asked he reported he had been sucker punched while out on a food run from the team hotel. He is quoted as saying Cleveland P.D. told him "...it happens a lot actually..." and didn't expect the culprits to ever be found.

In actuality after further investigation by the police of local Cleveland media Scheppers was out at a bar with Joe Nathan and AJ Pierzynski and began verbally instigating a group of bar patrons. Around 2:30 am Scheppers exited the bar and quickly lost a bar fight that he reportedly had plenty of opportunities to avoid.

Amazing.

I've posted autographs of celebrities I've run into while out and about while in Anaheim or Los Angeles so it's not surprising that I've seen baseball players away from the stadium also at restaurants, bars and other events. More often than not they're just normal guys who happen to have higher credit card limits. Occasionally I've run into guys who aren't the most considerate fellow patrons, because they happen to have higher credit card limits and are used to getting their way. I don't normally post those stories because it just is what it is.

Scheppers went out and instigated a fight that he apparently lost and lost very quickly. He then slandered the citizens of a city and made comments to the media that he expected the Cleveland police department to be complicit with. No. No, no, no.

Just because you're a baseball player doesn't mean you always get what you want or should get what you want. Expecting the incident to disappear and comments that made the national news circuit that disparaged the good people of Cleveland to have no follow up investigation is just silly.

You Tanner Scheppers got a black eye literally and figuratively in the press. You may throw a fastball, but you couldn't pull a fast one.

Chump.

Scheppers signed this 2010 Topps Pro Debut card for Matt of MC's Autographs and he was nice enough to pass along the autographed card to me since he was able to get a duplicate signed. Much appreciated.

RBI (165) Joe Nathan...

It isn't everyday you're able to get one of the top closers in baseball to sign for you, but it is pretty common when that top closer is also one of the best signers in baseball. Closing pitcher Joe Nathan is one of the top in the game when it comes to closing out games and signing autographs.

Nathan spent years being an elite closer for the Minnesota Twins setting the franchise single season saves record at 47 and becoming the franchise all-time saves leader with 255 saves. Injury concerns ended his time with the Twins but he moved on to the Texas Rangers and regained his elite form. He's a 6-time All-Star, a member of the 300 Saves club and was the AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year in 2009.

Nathan is definitely one of the Twins who listened to Harmon Killebrew when it comes to signing an autograph. Nathan has one of the nicest, cleanest signatures in the game much like fellow Twins product Michael Cuddyer. I'm very happy to have this Joe Nathan autographed 2013 All Star baseball in my collection, especially since he was the closing pitcher who got the Save for the game.

I'm curious to see when Joe hangs up his cleats since he's in the midst of one of his best seasons despite his age. He's moving rapidly up the all-time saves list and closing in on joining the top 10 list. A spot that wouldn't likely get challenged considering the volatility of modern day bullpens.

Here's a quick photo of Joe Nathan signing down the line after working out during batting practice. I got Joe Nathan's autograph at Angel Stadium when the Rangers came to town to play the Angels during the 2013 season.

RBI (98) Jon Daniels

Once again a post with no fancy title for a guy who really needs none. Texas General Manager Jon Daniels is in all honesty a GM that I admire a lot and find inspiring. Hired by Texas as the youngest GM in MLB history at the age of 28 in 2005, Mr. Daniels has turned the ragtag Rangers into a contender.

Daniels began his baseball career as an intern for the Rockies in 2001 and at the end of the that season was hired by the Rangers as Assistant Director of Baseball Operations.  By 2004 he was promoted to Assistant General Manager and when the current GM John Hart stepped down became GM.

Daniels' style is aggressive and he is known for making plenty of headlines with big and unexpected trades and acquisitions. He has made landmark trades moving stars such as Alfonso Soriano, Mark Teixeira, and Adrian Gonzalez while landing Josh Hamilton, Cliff Lee, and Mike Napoli. He has been managing a farm system that has developed or produced Neftali Feliz, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Elvis Andrus, and Ian Kinsler. His moves have paid off after years of setting the stage to be a team that has had consecutive World Series appearances and is one of the most dangerous line ups in baseball.

Mr. Daniels was in Anaheim to watch a recent Angels-Rangers series and I was able to get him to sign this ball tossed to me during BP by Tanner Scheppers when I saw him during the game. The sweet spot was a little rough and I thought it was a cool idea to have Daniels sign under the MLB logo since he is a GM and not a player.

This is one of my favorite autographs since I really do think it's amazing what he has accomplished at such a young age and now works alongside Nolan Ryan to churn out consistently strong teams.

RBI (95) Josh Hamilton

Most of the time my titles are in someway related to the player, but a few have no gimmicky introduction, Nomar (kinda), Derek Jeter, and now Josh Hamilton.  Sometimes the player is all you need to say and Hamilton is the kind of player that speaks for himself.

The North Carolina native was taken 1st overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1999 MLB Draft. He was a surefire star in the making until his well publicized issues with drugs and alcohol derailed his fast rise through the Minors. It wouldn't be until after a rehab stint to get sober that he would eventually be taken by the Chicago Cubs in the Rule 5 draft and traded immediately to the Cincinnati Reds.

With the Reds Hamilton finally made his long awaited MLB debut in 2007. He had a solid rookie year with the Reds but would be traded to the Texas Rangers in what now looks to be a very lopsided deal, being sent for only Edison Volquez and Danny Herrera. The rest is history as Hamilton's Rangers have been one of the dominant offenses in the MLB.

His strong offensive numbers in '08 gave way to injury in '09, but then he broke through with an electric AL MVP and Batting Title 2010 season. He has been a 5-time All-Star, won 2 Silver Sluggers, and taken the Rangers to consecutive World Series appearances. Despite being taken in 1999 Hamilton only has 6 years of playing time in the MLB and those years have been plagued by injury due to the abuses in his youth. His numbers are still astounding at 146 Home Runs, 505 RBI, and a career average of .307. Despite his injury history, Hamilton has put these elite numbers while playing in the outfield, if he eventually becomes a full-time DH later in his career I have the feeling Josh will be slugging for years to come if he chooses to remain in baseball.

I got this Josh Hamilton autographed 2011 World Series baseball in person at Angel stadium. I know the Rangers didn't win 2011, but I really like the ball and taking the Rangers to back to back World Series' was really cool to me so I opted to go with this commemorative ball instead of a blank. Luckily though I was able to eventually get another Josh Hamilton autographed baseball.

When Josh was signing my friend asked if he had a charity to which Josh responded he had one already and was working on another. I asked what the new would be, and he laughed and said "I don't know, that's what we're working on." I'm don't doubt there are already some causes being decided between, and whatever cause Josh throws his support behind I'm sure will be much better helped because of it.

RBI (55) 3rd return of the 365

Well amidst the RTS that I've been seeing there was a positive that came in the mail. The 3rd return of the challenge is a nice big name, Texas Rangers outfielder Rusty Greer.

A Georgia native, Greer was taken in the 10th round of the 1990 draft by the Rangers. He wouldn't debut in the majors until 1994 playing in 80 games his rookie year. Once he made it into the bigs he refused to leave despite a rash of injuries hindering him throughout his career due to his hard nosed playing style. His put it all out there approach was highlighted when he made a diving catch to preserve Kenny Rogers' perfect game in 1994. Combining his strong offensive skills with high energy defensive play made him a long time fan favorite.

Through 9 seasons playing only for the Rangers he put up impressively consistent numbers despite the severity of his injuries requiring surgery. When he finally ended his comeback attempts his career average stood at .305 with an impressive OBP of .387. Not only did Greer consistently find a way onto the base paths he slugged his way through them with 119 Home Runs in his 1166 hits. For his tireless service he was inducted into the Rangers Hall of Fame in 2007.

Rusty Greer signed this 2001 Topps card for me in only 16 days from his home address. I'm pretty disappointed in myself for the bad autograph. The card was the first of that year that I had and I didn't have a test card to play with. It's pretty obvious by looking at the signature that the gloss was stronger than I hoped. It seems like Greer started to give a nice one but scrawled the end as the sharpie had begun to streak and bubble. Considering I think of Rusty Greer as the Ranger counterpart to Tim Salmon during their playing days I'm pretty frustrated with myself with the autograph not being great.