RBI (227) Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez, Arod, A-roid. Plenty of names have been put on Rodriguez since he was caught, disciplined and suspended for his infractions. At the end of the day he's still an autograph that is desirable, collectible and for my 2014 Topps heritage set, incredible necessary. Thankfully I was able to come in possession of one during the Arod "Forgiveness" tour as he's been playing this season and knocking out untold numbers of autographs at stadiums around the country.

I was very happy to get this Alex Rodriguez autograph in my collection and now no longer have to worry about one of the most difficult cards I thought I'd have to obtain. I'm highly doubtful he ever makes it in the hall of fame despite his numbers, but he's always going to be a name brought up for his era of baseball.

As always if you have any signed 2014 Topps heritage, let me know what you have and we can work something out.

RBI (222) First TTM of 2015....

My first TTM reply came for 2015 and it was a pleasant return to start off my year with. Continuing with my 2014 Topps Heritage set building endeavor I picked up a few of the 2014 Topps high numbers cards. I don't plan on getting all 600 cards done, but I wanted to add a few of the high numbers to my collection.

Eric Young Jr. is an outfielder who is known to be a great player to interact with responded back to my TTM request. EYJ always responds to his fans and he even has a special stamp and personalized label he attaches to his returns now.

I was glad to add the 2013 Stolen base champ on a 2014 Topps heritage. He responded in about two weeks but I lost the exact date I sent to him in December.

Autograph Recap, Garrett Richards Eco Challenge Day 7/26/14

Gerrett Richards made an appearance at Angel Stadium for Orange County Eco Challenge Day. Participants brought in household waste, clothing and electronic waste to be recycled and were given a wristband for an autograph and the first 200 donators received either tickets to that nights Angel game or the Discovery center.

Richards is a difficult autograph to get at the stadium, he doesn't often sign so I had to take advantage of the opportunity to get his autograph. I arrived at the stadium and while I thought I had come early I was sorely mistaken and there was an impressive line of cars waiting ahead of us.

Eventually we were let inside to form another line next to the famous hats at the home plate gate to wait for Garrett to show up for the signing. 

Garrett arrived a few minutes early and promptly started signing autographs for those waiting in line. He was polite and was giving out nice signatures on everyone's items. The handler was more lax at the start so some were able to get two items signed but by the time I arrived to the front it was more strictly held to one per.

I was glad to get my Garrett Richards 2014 Topps Heritage card autographed to add to my set.

He's got a great signature and getting it done at a sit down setting made it look great. It was a quick signing that supported a good eco-driven cause.

RBI (214) Paul Goldschmidt...

I went down to San Diego to see the Padres play against the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a reasonably successful trip with me getting a handful of autographs for my 2014 Topps Heritage set and the highlight of the trip was America's first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

He was an unassuming pick taking by the Diamondbacks in the 8th round of the 2009 MLB draft. The under the radar star had a massive breakout 2013 campaign and is productively repeating the success. He's already been an All Star, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner and lead the National League in RBI's in 2013 while being tied for the Home Run lead.

Paul Goldschmidt autographed my 2014 Topps Heritage card for the complete set I'm slowly trying to assemble. It's a big one to cross of the list as I think he'll stay productive and popular for years.

Autograph Recap, Howie Kendrick Pechanga Appearance 5/22/14

I've posted previously about All Star Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick and he's off to another tear to start off this season. Kendrick had an autograph appearance scheduled at the Pechanga Casino so I decided to make my way there after work. Previously I had a great time at the Jered Weaver autograph appearance at Pechanga so I was hoping for a repeat.

When I got to the casino the line was in the grand ballroom and was extremely small. Even though I only got there about an hour ahead of time I was about 60 people back from the front. Howie started signing for the Pechanga VIP club members at 6 and quickly was through the VIPs. He started signing for the general public line by 6:30 and started knocking autographs out.

Howie was strictly one item per when I handed him my card and put my photo on the table. He asked which one I wanted done but had already started to sign the card. I got him to sign my 2014 Topps Heritage to cross one more off the list while I work to get the complete set signed.

After Howie signed my card I went to the casino and played a few quick hands of blackjack. I pocketed some quick winnings and decided to leave while I was ahead. I was walking out and saw the line for Howie had shrunk even more to less than 20 people so I got back in line.

Howie autographed my 8x10 photograph I had taken from a few years before and he gave it a nice signature. While he was writing I asked him if he could inscribe All Star and he responded "No sorry but I can sign it for you." Obviously.

I'm glad to have finished getting Howie on things that I need done. He's a bad signer at the stadium and even though his signature is nice it's good to be done with the not most pleasant person.

RBI (210) Brian Roberts...

Brian Roberts. Multiple time All Star second baseman who was quick on the base paths for steals and doubles. This guy has never signed for me before and has been notoriously difficult to get.

Apparently it's easy to get him when he rolls up to the stadium 10 minutes before the gates are supposed to open for fans to come into the game. Roberts signed a few autographs on his way in and I was finally able to cross him off the list.

Brian Roberts autographed my 2014 Topps Heritage card for me to add to my set. I'll be doing a massive update about the progress of my set but it's looking very nice right now.

RBI (205) Curtis Granderson...

Recently Curtis Granderson has been in the news since an incident where a fan touched Grandy during a game. Surprising to most people Curtis didn't press charges against the fan, but I don't find that very surprising at all. Since his days in Detroit and even as a Yankee and still as a Met Granderson has proven himself to be one of the classiest ball players out there.

I had the chance to get the former 3rd round pick of the 2002 MLB draft finally for my collection. He's a Silver Slugger winner, multiple time All-Star and received the Marvin Miller Man of the Year award. He does a little bit of everything with reasonable numbers in every category and has proven to be the nicest guy in my run in with him.

Grandy was very polite while signing for a few fans responding to questions and asking about our day while he autographed our items. I told him I was sorry he had that bad encounter with a fan here in Southern California and he was very polite about the whole thing. I'm really glad to add this Curtis Granderson autographed 2014 Topps Heritage inscribed "Go Mets!" to my collection and cross his short print off the list.

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.

Autograph Recap Josh Beckett Rancho Cucamonga Rehab 4/4/14

Dodgers starting pitcher Josh Beckett was slated for a surprise rehab start in Rancho Cucamonga. With the Dodgers home opener the same day I figured the graphers would be light in attendance and I'd be able to knock out a big autograph for myself without having to go to LA.

The day started off well with much hyped prospect Corey Seager signing a 2013 Bowman prospect card for me. I've seen Corey be a good signer the past few times I've gone to Rancho, but I've never had anything for him so I made sure to bring along a card this time. He was really nice and I'm glad to have finally gotten a Corey Seager autographed Bowman card in the collection.

After Seager came in a steady stream of minor leaguers made their way in before Beckett finally came. Josh autographed my Fenway seat back, and it was a big addition for me to put the 2007 World Series Champion on it.

After Beckett signed I returned home and waited to head back to Rancho for the game. I went inside and ran into fellow graphers Matt and David and it began the second part of the day.

Finally Beckett left his rehab start and signed a for a few fans, he ran with a black sharpie and I was able to get my 2014 Topps Heritage card done for my set.

To cap the day uber prospect Julio Urias also signed after the game. I remember watching Puig walk past me in Rancho and regret never taking a shot at him considering how things turned out. I wasn't going to let this happen again so I got this Julio Urias autographed baseball and had him sign his Quakes debut ticket.

It was a very long but satisfying day to knock off a card for my set, pair of top prospects and my Fenway seat back.

Autograph Recap Angels vs Mariners Opening Series...

Baseball. It's back. The first team to come into town was Seattle Mariners and I did pretty well knocking out the first part of my complete 2014 Topps Heritage set.

Game 1: I wasn't able to get anything pre-game so I gave up and went to grab a nice lunch with Rob and Benson to celebrate baseball coming back. It was a good change of pace from the normal value menu binge we make later on in the season. When we went inside it was great to be officially back. I started off with Logan Morrison signing a pair of his Topps Heritage. Lomo autographed one normally and on the other wrote his twitter handle "@cupoflomo" for me.

Next up I was able to get the new man of the hour Robinson Cano's autograph. To be honest I was a little unprepared for Cano to come out and point at me to sign so I went with the first thing I had in front of me and tossed my card instead of a ball. It's official I'll have to be committed to this set now that I've got Robinson Cano's 2014 Topps heritage short print autographed.

After Cano signed I got Abraham Almonte to sign his half of his rookie stars card. He's an interesting prospect making good use of his chance so it'll be interesting what he does.

I already posted about getting Brad Miller's autograph on a baseball, and I got Miller's heritage card signed after game one.

Game 2: I started the day off pretty well getting outfielder Dustin Ackley's autograph. He was nice and knocked a few out for those who asked.

It was a good feeling getting Michael Saunder's autograph finally after being unsuccessful over the past few years to get him to sign something. It's very satisfying to have him sign his heritage early.

After Saunders signed for me slugger and 2-time All Star Corey Hart came over and autographed his heritage.

Game 3: For the third game I picked up where I left off getting a guy who has been historically tough for me. Even though Justin Smoak has played his whole career in the AL West I've never been able to get him to sign for me. I got his heritage autographed and it's nice to get him off the list.

After Smoak I got third baseman Kyle Seager to sign for me before the game started. Seager's part of the new wave of prospects establishing themselves early into true big league players so it's good to have him done before he gets tougher.

I didn't stay for post game action and headed home satisfied to have knocked off most of my Mariners heritage cards and glad baseball is back.

Autograph Recap 2014 Exhibition Angels Vs Dodgers series...

As I posted previously when I put up the Kenley Jansen autograph I got I went to Dodger Stadium to graph the Angels. The following day was the Angels pitiful excuse of a "fiesta" fan fest, Mike Trout extension press conference and Dodger game. This year I'll be beginning the long and arduous task of collecting the Topps Heritage 2014 set and getting it autographed. I've bought a complete low number set and am working on assembling the short prints.

The first card I got signed for my set was my David Freese short print during Spring Training so it was time to finally get to work on the set. While at Dodger stadium I was able to get Kole Calhoun to sign his heritage and inscribe "Red Baron" on it.

I started off the next day Saturday at Angel Stadium getting this Matt Shoemaker autograph on his Rookie stars card with my buddy David.

After Shoemaker we went to the press conference and the fiesta where the only coaches to sign were Steve Soliz, Gary DiSarcina, and Don Baylor, and no active player did an autograph session or signed at the press conference. Bust.

We went inside the stadium and I was able to get a long time favorite Matt Kemp's autograph on his heritage card when he finished his batting practice session.

After Kemp signed I waited for the rest of batting practice to finish up, but it was slow so I tried my luck with the players when they stretched. I got my Carl Crawford autographed card, even though it wasn't the best signature.

Post game was a bust as I got shot down by the players as they left for San Diego to start the regular season.

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 (182) A Utility All Star...

The past few seasons I've had mixed luck when the Rays come into town. I've gotten David Price before and it's one of my favorite pieces in my autograph collection but the position players have been tough for me. I was finally able to get Ben Zobrist's autograph this past season.

Zobrist was drafted in the 6th round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros but was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. He's played every position but pitcher and catcher and that versatility has helped Joe Maddon turn the Rays into a contender. He's been an All-Star two times already with his defensive abilities being valued by the AL All Star managers while having a decent average with pop and speed knocking in over 100 career Home Runs and having 90 career stolen bases.

Ben Zobrist autographed this 2013 Topps Heritage card and was nice enough to inscribe "All-Star" when he signed it for me. I got Zobrist to sign when he came into town with the Rays to play the Angels during the 2013 season.

RBI (181) New York State of Mind...

I've got to give it up to outfielder/first baseman Nick Swisher. Even when he was a New York Yankee he was a reliable autograph signer and he's kept that trend up since crossing over to the Cleveland Indians.

Swisher was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the first round of the 2002 MLB draft as part of Billy Beane's Moneyball movement. He played for the A's before moving on to the White Sox, Yankees and Indians. While in New York he was a member of the 2009 World Series Championship team and was voted an All Star in 2010. He's crossed the 1000 hits and 200 Home Run marks being a reliable RBI machine despite his fairly pedestrian career batting average.

I had Nick Swisher autograph this 2012 Topps Heritage card for me when the Indians came to Anaheim to play the Angels during the 2013 season. You can find Nick Swisher's twitter @NickSwisher here.

RBI (177) Jason Kipnis...

The American League is stacked with some quality second basemen from Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia and now Jason Kipnis. Kipnis is a huge part of the Indians revival as a cornerstone of the franchise.

Kipnis was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 MLB draft and debuted in 2011 for the Indians. He's been a reliable solution for the tribe at second base with a combination of solid defense, home run power and speed on the base paths. In two full seasons he's already developed into a consistent 15/25 player. His solid numbers have resulted in an All Star nod already with more recognition likely in store for him down the road though hardware will be tough to come by considering Pedroia and Cano's residence in the AL.

I was lucky enough to get this Jason Kipnis autographed 2012 Topps Heritage card during the Indians vs Angels series at Angel Stadium during the 2013 season. I did well getting Cleveland Indians autographs this season so I'm looking forward to them coming back around so I can work on getting a few more signatures.

RBI (176) A Comeback All Star...

Recently I was able to get the autograph of former All Star pitcher Scott Kazmir.

Kazmir was drafted 15th overall in the 2002 Draft by the New York Mets despite verbally committing to the Longhorns. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004 and became a staff leader until he was traded to the Angels. After the trade his career fell apart and he dropped out of baseball until he worked his way back through independent ball and the minors to come back up with the Indians. He's been a 2-time All Star and was the 2007 AL Strikeout leader.

Scott Kazmir autographed this 2011 Topps Heritage card for me and was nice enough to inscribe "All Star" on it when I asked him to. To be honest I wasn't a huge Kazmir fan but seeing how he fought his way back into baseball to be part of the Indians resurgence makes me respect him a lot.

RBI (172) Jim Leyland TTM...

I was pleasantly surprised to see one of my 365 TTM's come back after a long delay. There was no postmark on it so I wasn't sure who had finally responded. When I opened the envelope I was happy to see Jim Leyland signed my card.

Leyland is notorious for chain smoking during games inside the dugout but not many people complain considering the results he's been able to get as a manager. He's won more than 1750 Games, was 2-time NL Manager of the year, AL Manager of the Year and won the 1997 World Series to give the Florida Marlins their first franchise World Series championship. As Detroit's manager he's had another World Series appearance and been one of the more humorous managers in the game. He's quoted as commenting on Orioles stud Manny Machado that he's the league leader of doubles and Leyland is second in doubles, double vodka's and double scotches. 

Jim Leyland autographed this 2011 Topps Heritage card for me that I sent TTM c/o the Tigers at Comercia Park after 1 year and 4 months.

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.