RBI (186) Rays Magic...

The past few seasons the Tampa Bay Rays have been regular contenders in October and a big part of it has been digging out talent from all parts of the draft. Pitcher Jake McGee is one of those arms they found to be a solid arm coming out of the pen.

McGee was drafted out of the 2004 MLB Draft in the 5th round and debuted in 2010 for the Rays. The lefty has provided solid results for Joe Maddon when he comes out in games appearing in 71 games and recording his first career save this season. He's one of the under the radar guys that has helped the Rays hold on to their magic to push into the post season.

Jake McGee autographed this 2011 Topps Lineage rookie card for me when the Rays were in town to play against the Angels in the 2013 season. I like McGee and especially since the season before he gave me a Orioles commemorative baseball that I saved and ended up getting Adam Jones' autograph on.

RBI (94) A Pair of Rehab Hits...

The past week there have been a few stars making a few rehab starts with the local minor league teams here in Southern California. Matt Kemp made one recently but I wasn't in town to go out and try to get him. I did however return from my vacation with the perfect timing to recharge my batteries and get ready to graph.

I eased myself back into graphing with a rehab start of my own by going to get Andre Ethier when he made his second rehab start out in Rancho.

Ethier was really nice and signed for the reasonably sized crowd that was waiting for him, even doing multiples and taking photos with people. I had Andre Ethier autograph this 2011 Topps Lineage and an 8x10 photo that I'm working on getting done.

It was a pretty short wait for Andre and I got to get him pretty quickly. It was a nice and easy at bat to get ready for graphing again.

I worked a full game though when I went to try and get Angels pitcher Dan Haren for his start at Inland Empire with the 66ers. I only had to wait about 45 minutes for Ethier. I had to wait 2 and a half hours for Haren, thankfully it was only in the mid 80's today.

Haren is a tough guy to get. He rarely signs at the stadium and I've heard stories of him being spotted out and about without a very happy ending for the fan who saw him. I wasn't really sure if he'd even sign especially with 7 of us waiting for him. Surprisingly though he parked his car and walked over to us waiting for him and started to sign. I was happy to finally add him to my 2011 team ball. It took him a while to find a spot to sign because it's almost complete and is that much closer with a Dan Haren autograph on my baseball.

All in all not a bad way to end my minor league assignment and get prepared for the Angels coming back home.

RBI (83) The 365 returns continue...

finally! It's been a while since I was able to get anything returned to me, and I'm happy to get this one. The Arizona Diamondbacks are a franchise on the rise, and this guy is one of the key supporting cast members. Second base man Aaron Hills is one of the players who call Arizona home and is helping push the franchise back into relevance.

The 13th pick of the 2003 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays, the California native made his bones in the AL in 2005 for the Jays. He was a reliable bat that exploded for power in his 2009 All Star campaign, winning a Silver Slugger award and AL Comeback Player of the Year. Eventually his average dropped despite the pop and he was traded to the Diamondbacks. While with the DBacks, he returned to form and helped push the Diamondbacks into the playoffs.

In 8 seasons he has proved to be a productive bat that shouldn't be ignored in the line up. His average has declined to .266 but slugs a solid .416 supported by 102 Home Runs and 205 Doubles. His OBP is a impressive .321 considering his low batting average. While he may not be too impressive between the base paths with a 70% success rate his two Fielding Bible awards prove his ability playing behind them.

Mr. Hill was nice enough to sign this 2011 Topps Lineage for me after 30 Days, sent c/o the Arizona Diamondbacks.

RPS (3) Dodgers-Angels Exhibition Freeway Series

It's that time folks, time for the 2012 season to start. How'd the Angels prepare for the coming season? Just a little freeway action against the rival Dodgers (Doyers) to start off the week. Game 1 was hosted by the Angels in Anaheim and the following 2 will be played at Dodger Stadium.

I couldn't wait for opening day, so I opted to go spend the day graphing the Dodgers and Angels as they arrived. I split time between the two sides, but missed most of the Angels while on the Dodger side and heard they weren't really in a signing mood. The Dodgers on the other hand were not so bad. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me before the game while outside the stadium but got some nice shots inside.

First up I was able to get from the Angel side back to the Dodgers fast enough to catch pitching coach Rick Honeycutt right as he was finishing up signing and Honeycutt autographed this 1987 Topps for me.

Don Mattingly came into the stadium after Honeycutt, and was nice enough to stay for a long time signing and taking photos with the fans. I liked that he was calling fans out for trying to come back and get multiples when he still hadn't finished with half the crowd. Mattingly signed this 2012 Topps Heritage for me.

A few Dodgers came after and I wasn't able to get all of them. Tony Gwyn Jr. signed for a while, Juan Rivera made a really nice dent in the crowd, James Loney tried to get a good amount done, but someone knocked his Gucci sunglass case and contacts off the ledge and that kind of killed his mood, Todd Coffey said he'd sign after the game, Tim Federowicz did like 3, Javy Guerra signed for most of the kids, Kenley Jansen did like two kids and a few more guys I didn't know came but didn't sign.

I'm sure most of you want to know about the big 3. Kershaw, Kemp and Ethier. Matt Kemp and Dee Gordon shared a car ride to the stadium. The fans stayed back at first and most of us went to form a line at the barrier but some less patient "fans" rushed the car as soon as Dee Gordon got out. He signed for a few people before realizing he was surrounded in a mob and security helped save him. While Gordon was walking through Kemp got out of the car and was also mobbed so he signed the first three literally shoved in his face quickly before darting to safety behind the barriers. Kershaw came as they were being bum rushed and he cut his way through saying he would sign inside the stadium (I didn't see him sign but did see him imitate Kemp making a jump in center field trying to rob a homer).

The last hope was Ethier. It's a good thing he was awesome. He came and started to work his way down the barrier signing for all the fans sweet spotting when asked and making light banter with the fans. I'm not sure if you guys know this, but Andre Ethier is awesome. One guy in a Pujols shirt asked for his autograph and got a ton of flack from the other fans and Ethier himself. It was pretty funny.

Andre Ethier autographed Gold Glove Award ball under the logo, and after he signed it I just had to take the chance and ask him if he would sign a card too so I could find a display case for them together. He nodded and instead of working his way farther down the line stopped to sign around me while I fished out my sharpie and he signed this 2011 Topps Lineage. Anyone who says he isn't good to the fans obviously hasn't met the man.

Now for the other good stuff, the photos.

Pujols taking his first pre-game jog at Angel Stadium as an Angel.

Dan Haren took the mound for the Angels.

Pujols taking his first at-bat in a game at Angel Stadium as an Angel.

Matt Kemp most likely made ESPN tonight doing a crazy double stealing dive and catch while in beast mode. I was too busy freaking out to get a shot of the catch, but you can tell he's pleased with himself.

Oh did I mention Kendrys Morales is back too? Yup he's pleased with himself. Look closely at the bat he's using in the game.

Angels won 12-3. I don't make it out to Dodger Stadium often so it was nice to get some Dodger autographs while at Angel Stadium.

RBI (72) Another Cooperstown hit....

Well today I decided to prepare for the coming season with a quick trip to my local collectibles' show to stock up on a few supplies. I didn't do anything too crazy, just a few specialty balls that I've got specific players in mind for and some card protectors. But while I was wandering around browsing for a few singles, I unexpectedly saw one of my friends at one of the card dealers. While we chatted I couldn't resist breaking open a box of 2011 Topps Lineage that was just calling my name as the lone box not neatly stacked with the others.

What was in it? Well there was a redemption for a Ian Kinsler autograph, which is pretty cool seeing as I'm never able to get him to sign at the stadium and he's not a reliable TTM'er. What else was in it? Oh just 2011 World Series Champion closer Jason Motte, which I'll probably do a separate post for later.

Those of you who have cracked open a box of Lineage know there are 2 autographs and 1 relic inside. The relic was a Game Used Jersey swatch from Cooperstown resident Hank Aaron. Yup, that's right. Hank Aaron.

The card is currently residing next to my Jason Heyward pull, which will hopefully help him bounce back from last season and fulfill his potential this season. I'm not really sure if I need to do a full player bio for one of the greatest baseball players of all time, so here are a few highlights. He is a 25-time All Star with 755 Home Runs and 3,771 hits. He won a World Series in 1957 with the Braves and was inducted into Cooperstown in 1982 with 97% of the vote.

Awesome. Best impulse box buy ever.

RBI (42) A true champion's TTM response...

There's no need for a cheesy introduction for this signer. The man needs no introduction, but has had such an epic career it's necessary you honor him with one. He's a 10 time All Star, Cy Young winner, 6 time World Series Champion, member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and had his number retired by the New York Yankees. Yup folks, a Whitey Ford autographed baseball card.

The accomplishments and titles speak for themselves, but he's got the statistics to go along with them. A 2.75 ERA over a 16 season career gave Whitey 236 Wins with only 106 Losses. In 438 starts he had 156 Complete games with 45 Shutouts, making him an almost guaranteed off day for the bullpen. 9 times he was in the top 30 for the MVP award, an award that even in his Cy Young year eluded him.

Throughout all the annals of Yankee lore, you hear about Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Joe DiMaggio but the Babe, Mantle, Iron Horse, and Joltin Joe were never Chairman of the Board. For all the mystique of the Yankees the glory always falls onto the power of the long ball and elite hitters. It's not unexpected as home run swings make better photos than strikeouts, but as seen in today's game without an Ace it doesn't matter how many home run kings you have in your line up.

Mr. Ford was kind enough to take a break from his busy duties as member of the Baseball Assistance Team advisory board to autograph this 2011 Topps Lineage cloth sticker card. That's right readers, the sticker card. I really hope you take the time to look at the close up of the card. The cloth material gives it a nice weathered vintage look that I couldn't resist. I'm extremely grateful the Chairman took the time to sign the card, and this is one that I really will cherish. I have to say there aren't many times someone has their nickname enter the way we speak as a culture and Whitey Ford became part of more than just baseball Whitey Ford autographed this card after 9 days.