RBI (164) Blue Jays Ace Pat Hentgen...

It's been some time since that was announced but in the 90's it was a common statement every time former pitcher Pat Hentgen took the mound. Currently Hentgen is back with the Blue Jays as bullpen coach for the team and I used that as my chance to meet him to get an autograph at Angel Stadium.

Hentgen was taken in the 5th round of the 1986, signing with the Toronto Blue Jays and debuted in 1991 for Toronto. He would pitch for the Cardinals and Orioles before returning to the Jays to retire after 14 seasons. He'd have a very strong career being part of the 1993 World Series team, being named to 3 All Star teams and winning the 1996 AL Cy Young award. He'd hang his hat on 131 Wins, 1,290 Strikeouts, and a remarkable 34 Complete Games out of his 306 games started.

I was able to get this Pat Hentgen autographed baseball during the Blue Jays at Angels series at Angel Stadium during the 2013 season. I made a rookie mistake tossing my ball to him asking for his autograph and if he could include his Cy Young award which he inscribed "96 CY" but didn't ask him to sweetspot the ball.

I should have taken the time to ask for his autograph, if he'd please sweetspot and then tried to get the inscription but I was trying to get the ball inscribed before random fans came over to start asking for autographs. My mistake but the inscription definitely makes it one of the better side panneled baseballs I have. The ball was a toss up I got from Alex Anthopoulos the Blue Jays bullpen catcher.

RBI (163) Jose Bautista aka Joey Bats...

Joey Bats aka Jose Bautista has been one of the top home run hitters in the game for the past few years. He's taken a long path to stardom but he's amongst the top of the game and would be a welcome addition to plenty of contenders if the Toronto Blue Jays weren't invested long term through the Miami Marlins fire sale in attempting to take the AL East.

Bautista was a 20th round pick in the 2000 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates but was selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He was traded and played for the Orioles, Devil Rays, Royals, and Pirates before finally reaching the Toronto Blue Jays. His career reached a turning point in 2010 when he took advantage of an increased role with the Blue Jays that let him evolve into one of the more dangerous hitters in the game. He's crossed the 200 Home Run plateau, been named a 4-time All Star, is a 2-time MLB Home Run champion and won 2 Silver Sluggers in his time since becoming a face of Toronto.

I was glad to get this Jose Bautista autographed baseball during the 2013 season when the Blue Jays played at Angel Stadium. It was awesome to get this baseball signed by Jose Bautista because he had previously eluded me the past two years. It was a great day for me because after I got RA Dickey's autograph on my Sports Illustrated Bautista came over when he finished hitting in his batting practice group he came over to the large crowd waiting and took a seat against the dugout. He told the fans he'd sign until 6:05 and for 7 minutes straight went down the line signing balls before switching to a sharpie and knocking out everything a sharpie would be appropriate for until the time he said he would go inside. Everyone was polite and got an autograph, I wish it could be like this for superstars more often.

You can find Jose Bautista @JoeyBats19 on Twitter and instagram.

RBI (162) Cy Young Winner and 1st Autographed Sports Illustrated

It may be surprising that after this many years hunting down autographs I've never gotten a Sports Illustrated autographed. I know lots of my fellow graphers who are able to knock them out but I'm a little more limited in my scope mainly focusing on teams that come to play in Anaheim so getting a SI signed means I not only have to get the autograph, but the player needs to be on a team that plays the Angels.

One issue that I sat on for a while was the R.A. Dickey and Kayla Harrison December 17, 2012 Sports Illustrated. My patience paid off as Dickey was traded from the Mets to the Blue Jays so I knew he'd come through the stadium eventually.

Dickey was the 2012 NL Cy Young winner after reviving his career with an All Star campaign to be the NL Strikeout champion. He's quite the story of finding success after true struggles so I'm very happy to have added him to my collection. His story is something special so adding this RA Dickey autographed Sports Illustrated as the first one I got signed makes the wait well worth it to me.

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.