RBI (223) Dirk Nowitzki...

I was happily able to add future NBA Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki to my collection. Dirk's a known great TTM signer so getting Nowitzki's autograph in the mail was a no brainer.

Dirk's been named so far to 12-All Star teams, won an NBA championship, was the 2011 NBA Finals MVP and was the 2007 NBA MVP. He's the all-time leading scorer in Dallas Mavericks history and whenever he does decide to finally retire from playing basketball he'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame soon after.

I had Dirk Nowitzki autograph his 1998 Topps Finest rookie card. He got it back to me in only a few weeks and it came out great. I was little worried since it's a chrome that it would bubble but it came out perfectly.

RBI (207) A TTM Letter Answered...

It's been a significant amount of time since I had a letter response from a TTM request so it was nice to start baseball season off with one. Pitcher Ross Ohlendorf was nice enough to take a few moments to sign and share some of his thoughts.

I sent Ohlendorf his 2014 Topps Heritage card to be signed for my set, but he swapped that out and sent back two different cards. We'll get to that after his letter:

What was the biggest difference for you between the Red Sox and Yankees organizations?
Yankees are more "old school" in regards to conditioning and work in the training room.

Did you realize you were throwing an immaculate inning?
Yes

Where is your favorite stadium to play as a visitor?
3 favorites are Padres, Giants, Pirates

Why do you wear #43?
They gave it to me

What do you remember about your 1st MLB win?
I nearly gave up a home run to lose it but stranded the runner at 3rd

Definitely a nice response and I'm surprised again to hear that Pittsburgh is one of his favorite spots. I've consistently heard that response back and now I'll need to putt Pittsburgh on my to visit list as soon as I can.

Ross Ohlendorf autographed a 2008 Upper Deck rookie card and personalized "Ryan best wishes!" on a 2013 Topps card for me. Definitely a nice response and I hope his season goes well.

Spring Training 2014, My 1 Day Trip

Well I got bit by the bug and decided to make my way out to Arizona for Spring Training. It was a very unexpected trip so I was light on supplies for the adventure so I decided to focus on the Angels only instead of hitting up multiple teams. Here's a summary of how I fared.

I arrived in Tempe at about 5 am after driving through the night to get there. Nice drive, going through the desert is always fun especially at that time. I posted up at the spot everyone had told me about and began the wait.

The first person to stop for me was Chris Iannetta, he signed a pair of cards for me, Topps 2011 and Topps Heritage 2012.

After Iannetta autographed those cards for me JB Shuck came over and signed his 2011 Bowman prospects rookie card and a 2012 Topps Heritage card for me.

After Shuck signed it was nice to get a new face to sign for me, I got this Tyler Skaggs autographed baseball. I think he's going to put it all together now that he's got veteran lefty CJ Wilson to learn from and will pan out to be a great pitcher.

From Skaggs on it was pretty terrible. I went inside to watch the Angels practice and got ignored by the rest of the team with Trout only signing one home made sign and Kole Calhoun doing like four people with the rest of the team waving us off and then going to leave for their game against the Royals. I jumped in my car and drove up to the Royals facility in Surprise to meet the team for their game.

Inside I was able to get Mike Scioscia to autograph this photo I took of him at the Pujols-Wilson press conference when they signed with the Angels. It's nice to cross this off the list of things I need to do and can finally take it out of my folder.

After Scioscia signed the photo it was time for baseball and it was great to watch the guys play ball. When the starters got pulled I booked it back to the car and made my way from Surprise back down to Tempe to wait. My driving and patience paid off and I was one on one with the man, and I was able to get this Albert Pujols autographed baseball. Of course it's the APS short sig under the reverse Rawlings but at least it's a big reasonably clean one.

After Albert took off I was able to begin my newest project, getting the 2014 Topps heritage set signed. I was able to get it started off very nicely getting David Freese's autograph on his short print card and he inscribed "2011 WS Champs" for me on the card. I'm looking forward to working on the set and hope to get as many of them inscribed as I can.

After Freese signed for me I called it a day and got back into my car to meet up with an old friend for dinner and a nap, then got back into my car and headed back to Southern California. It was a long drive and an even longer day, but was definitely was an adventure and fun day at Spring Training.

RBI (188) Mike Scioscia, Last 2013 Graph...

I already posted about getting Albert Pujols' autograph on the last day of the regular season at Angel Stadium, well I neglected to post knocking out another long time goal longtime Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

Scioscia as a player won 2 World Series Championships with the Dodgers while being a 2-time All Star. He's managed the Angels to over 1,200 Wins, 2 AL Manager of the Year awards, a World Series Championship and somehow found time to make two appearances in the Simpsons.

I haven't had much luck getting this Mike Scioscia autograph so getting after he got to the stadium was a nice pull for me. I've been after him for my 1987 Topps project for two seasons now. It's not like I have any sort of realistic belief that I'll finish the set but the guys in the set seem to be decent signers, its a pleasant design and it's something to work on every once in a while.

Autograph Recap San Diego Padres and New York Mets 8/15/13

Ever wonder how to get an autograph at Petco Park? Want to get autographs in San Diego? Here's as close as I'll ever directly tell anyone how to get an autograph at a MLB stadium. Yup that's how irritated I am at my recent trip down to San Diego and the way the graphing community down there was acting.

 I started the day meeting up with Al and Benson to head down to San Diego with the goal of getting Matt Harvey's autograph. That was mistake number one. We went to the game when Zack Wheeler was pitching, and David Wright doesn't travel with the team right now so there was only one guy we were really trying to get the autograph of. Always a recipe for disaster.

We parked and walked around the stadium trying to figure out the best spot for us to hang out to get incoming players. We picked the right spot if you can't tell by all the other graphers that showed up waiting for players to show up to the stadium. If you want to ask them any questions when you get there, don't bother.

It didn't matter though if players came by because the guys down here have no clue who anyone is. They'd flip through their phone while people walked by trying to look at rosters to figure out who the guy 2 feet away was. Repeatedly they would walk to someone with their books of cards ready only for the person to be either A) the wrong player or even more frequently B) a regular person walking down the street. I saw them go up to joe citizen 3 times ready to graph them.

While we watched Kyle and Matt showed up to join us so there was a healthy number of real graphers there to go to work. I was able to get this John Buck autographed 2012 Topps Heritage card to start the day. Al and I were the only ones to get him since the SD graphers had no idea why we were walking to  him.

After Buck Benson and I spotted Andrew Brown showing up to the stadium with a friend but we had nothing for him. Unfortunately the regular SD graphers were busy not paying attention and didn't even notice him despite having cards for him. They also didn't notice Ronny Cedeno walking through the group to get inside until Benson said something, but once again we didn't have anything we wanted signed by him.

A player showed up and we went closer to figure out who he was. We tried to take a glance at someone's book who was getting a card sign and AFTER he got the autograph he noticed us trying to figure out who it was and flipped his book around with his arm over it so we couldn't see. Really? You already got the autograph. Us getting a signature would have no impact on you whatsoever and in the end we didn't even have a card for the player. Why? Because it was Carlos Torres. Someone who is barely hanging around the majors which is why 5 serious graphers weren't able to figure out who he was. Nice etiquette and great pick up San Diego graphers. That's why I'm making this post.

Eric Young Jr. autographed this 2012 Topps after he showed up to the stadium. Cheers to him becoming the 2013 NL Stolen base leader.

Matt Harvey shot us down later in the day after we ran into him by the stadium while we were out going to get some food thinking he had already come in earlier in the day.

We went inside the park hoping to get him. After getting good positions above the Mets dugout Matt convinced Terry Collins to sign and our group racked him before the SD graphers were able to get one. I didn't have anything for him that I wanted signed so I called out to him since I didn't get an autograph if I could have a ball. He laughed and asked if I wanted them all but I said one would be fine and tossed me this Mets commemorative logo ball, in a good nature way saying he was done with favors for all 40,000 fans.

Harvey came in early from BP with a trainer looking irritated and didn't say anything when we asked if he could sign and we're thinking he tweaked something while running. The Mets ended and we went over to Padres side to get some more autographs since we had made the drive down and they sign down the line.

Rising star for the Padres 2nd/3rd baseman Jedd Gyorko autographed my program.

After Gyorko signed Casey Kelly came over and was signing but I already got his autograph at Padres Fanfest. Chase Headley autographed this 2012 Topps Heritage base card.

Since I had it even though I'll never finish I also had Chase Headley autograph this 2013 Topps Heritage insert.

And Yonder Alonso autographed this 2012 Topps Heritage base card with his terrible autograph in a black sharpie.

So after showing up to San Diego for the first time to graph I knocked out 6 autographs and a baseball. That's the closest I'll come to saying how to get an autograph at Petco park from visitors or from the Padres themselves. I If you want to get an autograph in San Diego didn't do all the work for you, but there's enough that you should be able to figure it out. In the words of Ron Burgundy, Stay classy San Diego.

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 (124) Billy The Kid

Today I was pleasantly surprised to find a TTM return waiting for me in the mail. I was even more surprised to see the return was from retired pitcher Billy Wagner.

Wagner was taken by the Houston Astro's in the 1st round of the 1993 draft before flying up to the Majors in September of 1995 to face one batter that season. He would spent 9 seasons with the Astros before playing for Philadelphia, Boston, the New York Mets, and finally Atlanta. He was a 7x All Star, pitched a combined no-hitter, and was the 1999 NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year.

When he finally retired after 16 seasons he was one of the top relievers of not just during his playing time but of MLB history. His career numbers are a 2.52 ERA across 853 games striking out 1,193 and retired with 422 Saves, putting him 5th All-Time on the career saves list. Wagner is someone I feel really proud to add to my collection, and to be honest I'm really surprised a player of his caliber answered my TTM request. I'm not sure if he has the name brand appeal to make it into the Hall of Fame considering he was pitching out of Houston at the same time as Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, but the lefty closer is definitely someone that will be remembered as a great from his era.

Mr. Wagner signed this 2011 Topps card for me after 79 days from his home address. When it comes to players like Mr. Wagner I like having either a rookie card or what I call their career card, the final card produced with all of their career statistics on the back. Not only am I very happy to have his autograph added to my collection but also to have this specific signature added to my collection. Researching his autograph I've seen that Billy has two signatures a short signature that is mainly "By Wagnr" and a full clean signature of Harmon Killebrew crispness that you see on my card. I'm very happy that Mr. Wagner gifted me his autograph and signed with his full crisp signature.

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.

Ted Williams 1955 Topps

Recently a family member approached me with a request. They were clearing through their older possessions and collectibles and were getting ready to sell off part of their collection so others could enjoy them now. One thing they had decided to part with was part of their collection of vintage baseball cards. I'm not sure what the whole collection looks like yet, but it was an instant "yes of course" just for the chance to be in contact with some vintage cardboard.

Knowing how much of a Red Sox fan I am however, they decided to gift me this very special Ted Williams 1955 Topps card rather than sell it. I am very touched by this gesture especially seeing as I know I'd never be able to to buy this card for myself with even low end PSA 2 versions of this classic sought after card running $100. I appreciate being given this cardboard treasure and hope one day to pass it on down as a family heirloom going from one baseball lover to another. 

Mickey, Ted, and Stan are now all gone. Baseballs, bats, and photos are all fantastic  mementos to remember their greatness and memory, however I think their legacy is best immortalized in these vintage pieces of cardboard that survive the test of time. The vibrant colors and eye catching images are a snapshot from their prime as their legend grew with each passing season to become the immortals we know them as now.

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 (119) More 1987 TTM Goodness...

I've got to make one thing clear, I very much enjoy working on my 1987 Topps set. I'll obviously never finish it considering there are a substantial number of non-signers, expensive Hall of Famers, and players/managers who have passed on but I enjoy the long arduous task. Maybe one day I'll be close and have hit the lotto so I can buy the missing cards but for now it's all in good fun.

One of the latest 1987 Topps cards I was able to get signed TTM was by pitcher Dan Schatzeder. Dan was taken by the Montreal Expos in the 3rd round of the 1976 draft. He debuted in 1977 for the Expos at the age of 22 and continued playing for 15 seasons retiring finally after the 1991 season. He played for the Expos, Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Phillies, Twins, Indians, Astros, Mets, and the Royals. He was  traded from the Phillies to the Twins during the 1987 season and went on to win game 6 of the '87 World Series for the eventual champion Twins. When he retired Schatzeder was 69-68 in 121 Starts and 383 relief appearances. He had 10 Saves and 18 Complete Games tossed in amongst all of his appearances, supported by a career 3.74 ERA and 748 Strikeouts.

Mr. Schatzeder was kind enough to sign this 1987 Topps for me from his home address after a 41 day turn around. Pretty quick considering I sent it to him during the holiday season, and is the 25th return of the 365 challenge.

One further note I really enjoy the '87 Topps considering how well they sign as cards and the plethora of great mustaches you see players rocking in their cards.