RBI (220) Alec Martinez...

I made another pretty random purchase recently. My family has never been the biggest fans of hockey but the past Stanley Cup caught some serious interest at my house. The Los Angeles Kings were Stanley Cup Champions with the final game winning goal scored by defenseman Alec Martinez.

I knew I was going to be in the area of a signing he was having and in case I had time I put it in my car. I ended up having just enough time to make my way there and I got my copy of the Alec Martinez Sports Illustrated autographed.

Martinez gave me a head nod when I said hello and offered my hand to shake. My interaction with him literally lasted less than 10 seconds from nod to signature to him moving onto the next person he was signing for. Glad I was doing this just because instead of being the biggest fan or I'd have been pretty disappointed in his personality.

I shelled out the extra few bucks to have my Alec Martinez Sports Illustrated authenticated by PSA, I figured he has a simple enough autograph that if I had the option and convinence for a few extra dollars I'd prefer to have it done.

RBI (219) Jason Grilli...

It took a while, but I got a late spring training return that I had written off and assumed to be gone. I mailed Jason Grilli his Sports Illustrated when he was still a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and after he got sent to the Angels I didn't think I'd get it back and it'd be lost in a box in the Pirates clubhouse. I was pleasantly surprised to open my mailbox and find my long lost return waiting for me.

Not only did he sign the magazine for me after Jason Grilli autographed his Sports Illustrated he inscribed "Grill Cheese" as well for me. When he was a member of the Halos it took a while for me to finally get Grilli's autograph but he was a nice guy and when he did sign he made sure to sign for literally as many fans as possible for half an hour at a time. Putting this Sports Illustrated of the former All Star closer in my collection is a nice pick up and I appreciate him following through on his mail requests 9 months latter.

RBI (217) Brett Hundley….

For those college football fans out there I made a foray in that world of sports at the end of the summer. It's always fun branching out from just getting baseball autographs and adding to my limited football collection of one of the top college quarterbacks in the game right now who has destroyed Pac-10 records is a nice addition for me.

UCLA star quarterback Brett Hundley made it onto the cover of two Sports Illustrated issues over the summer of 2014 and I was fortunate enough to make it out to the UCLA open practices to meet Hundley. He was very down to earth and despite the UCLA staff being very wary of anyone who wanted an autograph Brett himself was great.

I was able to get Hundley's first Sports Illustrated cover autographed and hopefully will see him lead the Bruins to a successful rest of the season and expect him to be drafted somewhere in the first round of the NFL draft at the end of this season.

RBI (215) George Springer...

Everyone's looking at the upswing the Astro's are on and a big part of it is from the big bat of George Springer. He's taking the game by storm with his power and helping the typically struggling Astro's stay loose and swing free. With top prospects looking like they're going to start paying off the Astro's are finally at the cusp of not being perennial sellers and may start being buyers in a few seasons.

I've already gotten him on a baseball so I made sure to join in the fray after it came out and got this George Springer autographed Sports Illustrated done. It's a nice cover shot in the vintage Astro's uniform and I was really happy to get it signed with a reasonable Springer autograph. With a ball and SI signed now I don't have anything else for Springer unless I decide to knock out a photograph so it'll be nice to refocus on getting my 2014 Heritage set done when the Astros are in town.

Autograph Recap Brian Wilson Rancho Cucamonga Rehab 4/5/14

Well the day after I went to Rancho for Josh Beckett's rehab start I was back in the car heading out to try and catch Brian Wilson doing his own rehab assignment.

I got there later than for Beckett since I didn't have a need for the minor leaguers and waited for Wilson. Apparently he caught very heavy traffic on the drive in so he didn't sign since he arrived barely before the gates opened.

Note the shoes. Only Brian Wilson could get away with that. I like how these are done in the team colors so he can have his personality and avoid another notice from MLB about his flair.

After warming up Wilson tossed one quick inning and then headed out to drive to Los Angeles.

When Wilson came out there was a large crowd but he started knocking out the autographs for those who waited. I got my Brian Wilson and Buster Posey Sports Illustrated autographed, which was nice since I've held onto it since 2010 when the Giants won the World Series.

After he signed my Sports Illustrated Wilson also autographed my 2014 Topps Heritage. One more off the list for the set, and now happily I can ignore him when I see the Dodgers and chase other players.