RBI (230) Albert Pujols...

I've posted my interactions with Albert Pujols before and they've never been all that pleasant. However is still a future no doubt hall of famer and one who is crushing all-time records so when there's the chance to get his autograph I take it. This time I went through the guaranteed route by attending an Albert Pujols autograph signing at the practice of Dr. Alex Corbin Liu.

I opted to get a baseball signed after I had a mishap with a photo order I made. I'm still pleased with the choice as Pujols autographed this 2015 all star game baseball very nicely. It's definitely a good looking piece that is nice to put into my collection.

RBI (229) Curt Schilling...

One of the biggest autographs I was able to add to my collection recently was Curt Schilling. While I did have a Schilling autograph in my collection previously, it was a gift so I had never successfully graphed Schilling myself. I also had a huge need to add him to my Fenway Park setback that I've been getting signed over the years.

What he accomplished during his time with the Red Sox was historically huge and the bloody sock is legendary even amongst a story filled game.

Schilling was making an appearance at Angel Stadium as a broadcaster so after an unsuccessful attempt to graph him earlier in the year I was determined to get him the second time around. Schilling  was kind enough to sign an autograph for each of us waiting for him and signed my setback with a large autograph that is very clear to see when I look at the piece. I'm very glad to have him added to the seat and it definitely muscles up my project significantly.

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 (213) Aubrey Huff...

For the 4th of July I went to San Diego with my buddy David to get some holiday graphing in. The Padres were playing the San Francisco Giants so were hoping to get some of the their stud pitchers and position players. Unfortunately we didn't have the best of luck with the Giants but we made the best out of it. We were watching the game and ran into former Aubrey Huff in the stands.

Aubrey Huff played from 2000-2012 as a reasonably successful player as a first baseman, third baseman, and outfielder. While with the Orioles he served as their regular DH and won the 2008 Silver Slugger. He moved on to the Giants where he was instrumental in helping them to win the 2010 World Series Championship and played a smaller role on the 2012 World Series Championship team. He retired with a .278 career average, 242 Home Runs and 904 RBI's driven in.

I got this Aubrey Huff autographed baseball inscribed "2x Champ" and it was the best pick up I got on the day. An unexpected pick up but it came out really clean and I like the inscription on the unexpected World Series winner.

RBI (212) Tony La Russa...

As you're all aware Albert Pujols is currently in the midst of a milestone season where he has crossed the 500 home run plateau. In recognition of this Tony La Russa his longtime manager was brought to Angel Stadium to partake in the celebration where Pujols was given a gift from the Angels' franchise. I've never gotten La Russa's autograph and in August it will become officially more difficult as he is inducted into the Hall of Fame.

La Russa needs no real explanation for his induction or why I was so anxious to graph him at the stadium. He's a 4-time Manager of the Year, won the award in both the American and National Leagues. To go with his 2,728 career wins he's a 3-time World Series champion. He's one of extremely select few that has ever won both Manager of the Year and World Series championships in both leagues. To say he deserved his election into the Hall of Fame with Joe Torre and Bobby Cox would be an understatement.

I'm glad to have gotten this Tony La Russa autographed baseball as an unexpected bonus to going to the Angels vs White Sox game.

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.

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.

Dodgers Fanfest 2014 Summary

Well I don't often make it to Dodger Stadium to get autographs so it was nice to have Dodgers Fanfest 2014 happen this week for the opportunity to get some Dodger autographs.

That was one of the few nice things besides hanging out with my friends. Basically I misplayed most of fanfest and then didn't get some help from the most important part of a grapher. My pen.

The day started out well because instead of going to an early autograph session I actually graphed. I staked out a spot and started my day getting Nomar Garciaparra's autograph. Only I didn't notice until I got home that the pen also streaked. Which I don't understand, but it was the theme of my day. Great.

After Nomar I was able to get Orel Hershiser's autograph on this baseball. Using the same pen, but the autograph looks infinitely better. Great.

After Orel signed autographs Jerry Hairston Jr. came over and autographed a card Rob hooked me up with.

After getting Jerry Hairston's autograph I proceeded to start the rest of my day. My first autograph was Yasiel Puig on this 11x14. Only Puig was too busy flirting with the handler and leaning back bored while signing to actually have any sort of interest in the autographs he was giving. Oh and the perfectly fine and prepped pen I had fell on the table somehow and streaked. Great.

After Puig I didn't understand what was happening and Jaime Jarrin autographed this 8x10 photo inscribing "HOF 98" with the same streaky pen. Great.

Not to be deterred I switched pens with Rob for the next autograph session which was for Carl Crawford's autograph. Apparently it didn't matter what pen I used because that one didn't work either as soon as Crawford took it from me despite it being prepped and working fine on the prep paper. Great.

So that's my Dodgers Fanfest summary. Great. At least the Orel came through and looks good or it would have been a total waste.

Oh and that Jerry Hairston is nice to. Great.

Update. I have to admit that I was pretty upset about the Puig encounter. I wasn't happy with how some of my other autographs came out, but that's just how the day went for me. Some days that's just how the hobby goes. What I wasn't okay with was being treated dismissively and ignored at a fan fest after I had paid for an autograph ticket. So I contacted the Dodgers. Here's where most of you are thinking oh well the Dodgers are going to send him something to make up for it. They're not.

That's not the point of this update either. The point is both fan relations people I've spoken to said they'd work with their baseball operations people to help the players (Puig) understand the importance of not ignoring the fans, and that he's young so please bear with him. Considering his reckless driving case was just dismissed apparently that's the feeling everyone has for him. That's crap. I'm over him already, and people need to stop making excuses for him.

The Dodgers people were great, they were respectful and heard out all my thoughts and concerns. I'm generally pleased with how they interacted with me, but I'm still annoyed that Puig gets off again with other people covering for him.

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.

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 (179) Troy Percival...

I've written in the past before about getting Angels pitcher Troy Percival's autograph in person on a baseball and through the mail. The Angels held a fiesta celebration at the stadium and had current players as well as alumni come to sign autographs for the fans and Percival was among the alumni who came back.

I had Troy Percival autograph this baseball and he was nice enough to inscribe "02 CHAMPS" on the ball under the World Series logo. The autograph and inscription came out nicely so I don't think I'll turn this into a 2002 team ball and will leave it as a Percival solo signed ball. The ball was actually a nice surprise my parents found when going through some old boxes that they picked up back when the team actually won the World Series so it was awesome to find a 11 year old baseball and get it signed by one of my favorite former Angels.

RBI (178) Josh Beckett....

I was able to continue with my project to assemble the Red Sox 2007 World Series Championship rotation through a trade with my friend Al. He's working on building the 2012 Topps Heritage set so I traded him a giant stack of short prints and a few I had gotten signed myself for this Josh Beckett autographed baseball that he got one of the days I wasn't able to graph the Dodgers.

Beckett is a multi-time All Star, won 2003 and 2007 World Series Championships, crossed the 1700 Strikeout plateau, and has more than 130 Wins. He's a welcome addition to my collection and now is alongside my Jon Lester and Curt Schilling autographed baseballs so now I only need one more to finish the collection that won in 2007.

RBI (175) Terry Francona...

I was very happy to get a Terry Francona autographed baseball to add to my collection. It took a few attempts with him as an analyst, Red Sox manager and as manager of the Indians but I was glad to get a ball signed by Francona in my shelf.

Francona is one of the top autographs for me in Red Sox history since he is the manager that was able to break the curse and bring a World Series championship to Boston. He not only broke the curse but also won the 2007 World Series making himself a key part of the Red Sox dynasty. The infamous breakup of the clubhouse cost him his position in Boston and after some time away from managing he has helped turn the Indians around. He's crossed the 1,000 Win plateau and earned two rings, he's definitely one of the top managers in the game.

I got Terry Francona's autograph on this baseball when the Indians came to play the Angels at Angel Stadium during the 2013 season. I had sent a card to Tito during the 365 challenge that I wasn't able to get back so it really means a lot to put this in my collection. I think I'll be trying to get a copy of Francona's book autographed next season and work on getting Francona's signature on my Fenway Park seat.

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.

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 (161) TTM Response after 1 Year...

The past few months I've given up on any TTM activity. I've gotten no responses or even return to senders so I could at least reuse my smaller return envelopes. Literally I felt like I was just throwing money out the window. I did finally receive a response recently and I will use it as some motivation to throw a few more letters out there into the world.

Former pitcher Carl Pavano responded to my TTM request and recharged my batteries to send some more requests out. Taken by the Red Sox in the 14th round of the 1994 draft Pavano was featured in the trade that sent Pedro Martinez to the Sox and him to the Expos, debuting in 1998. He had a strange history with the Yankees, but his career was highlighted by winning the 2003 World Series with the Marlins, and being a 2004 All Star. He retired with a wining record of 108-107 supported by 1091 Strikeouts. 

Pavano responded to my TTM request I sent to him care of the Twins after 1 year 5 months. I'm glad to add this Carl Pavano autographed 2011 Allen and Ginter card for me. It's the 28th response I got back from my 365 challenge.

RBI (155) Dustin Pedroia...

This is definitely going to be one of my all time favorite pieces. I haven't gotten many autographed jerseys but the ones that I do have are all of players who are personal favorites of mine. When I went to college Boston I picked up a few extra shifts at my job to work my way up to a nice jersey to wear when I went to Fenway park for a game. All my hard work paid off when I was able to afford a Dustin Pedroia jersey that has become a Dustin Pedroia autographed jersey.

I was able to get Dustin to autograph my jersey when he was in Anaheim with the Red Sox to play the Angels during the 2013 season. It's a great autograph to add to my collection and made even better when you compare it to some of his others you see that it's his tough to get full signature that isn't so scrunched up and includes the dots with his jersey number. Getting this jersey signed the same weekend I was able to get a David Ortiz autographed baseball on the sweetspot made this an awesome series for me this year.

As some of you know I've been working on getting autographs on my authentic Fenway Park seat, unfortunately the powers that be at Angel Stadium decided that my seat was no longer something I could take into the park. This is only going to make working on the piece even harder and I'm concerned I won't be able to get any worthy signature on it this season. Thankfully I already got Pedroia's autograph on it so now I have two great pieces signed by him as well as a autographed Topps card I picked up at the 2010 All Star Game Fan Fest as a souvenir.

RBI (154) David Ortiz

Big Papi. There's only one and he really doesn't need too much of an introduction. I was able to get a David Ortiz autographed baseball, and am thrilled about it. As a big Red Sox fan this is definitely going to be one of my all time favorites and something I always hold on to.

He's had countless All Star appearances, Silver Sluggers, the Hank Aaron award, the Edgar Martinez award, won the Home Run Derby in 2010 at Angel Stadium, and been a key part of the Red Sox 2 World Series championships in 2004 and 2007. I'm proud to say I was able to be there in person for Game 1 of the 2007 World Series and watched him win the 2010 Home Run Derby. Since leaving the Minnesota Twins for the Red Sox he's become a fan favorite and a dominant force in baseball as one of the most effective and feared Designated Hitters in the game.

With over 400 career Home Runs and closing in on 2000 career hits he's going to be an interesting case when it comes time for Cooperstown voters to make a decision on David Ortiz in the Hall of Fame. He's decidedly one of the top sluggers of the game, been a key to a decidedly historic ALCS and World Series run. He's popular with the media and fans so it'll be interesting how long he remains on the bubble to go in and what the final decision is.

I was able to get this David Ortiz autographed baseball when the Red Sox were in town to play the Angels during the 2013 season. Stay the same forever Papi.

RBI (151) Mariano Rivera...

I'm not sure I really need to say much more about getting an autograph from one of the arguably greatest MLB players of all time. A sure thing first ballot Hall of Famer who is an icon for not only his dominance on the mound but also for his humility and charity.

He has the MLB saves record surpassing 630 Saves, a number that at the end of this season will be etched in stone as one of the untouchables considering the factors that went in to his ability to set the mark. Longevity, consistency, team success and dominance for twenty years that will likely never be truly rivaled or witnessed again. He's an all-time great, one of the Yankees Core Four, the key cog in the Steinbrenner dynasty that brought a fist full of World Series rings to New York.

It's a true honor to be able to this Mariano Rivera autographed baseball and I'll treasure it forever. Without a doubt it is something that will always be special to me. It's another sign of his humility and generosity that Mariano not only signed for me but had knocked out a significant number of autographs for fans at Angel Stadium, working his way up and down the line for fans. He gave everyone a clean signature, truly gifting his autograph to the people that supported him throughout his career.

As a final note, it was great being able to get Mariano's autograph next to my good friend well known grapher David who got a great item signed. Last year we were able to get Derek Jeter's autograph together and this year Mariano, it'll be great to see who we can get together next year.

RBI (150) El Presidente...

One of the nice things about interleague play is the opportunity to graph teams you don't often get the chance to see your local team play. With year round interleague play that opportunity has expanded from the usual summer series. With the Houston Astros moving from the National League to the American League that opportunity is now a regular occurrence for residents of the AL West.

One benefit for the Astros switching leagues is that I had the opportunity to collect the autograph of an ace of my childhook "El Presidente" Dennis Martinez, the first Nicaraguan player to make it into the MLB player and one of the most successful Latin American pitchers to play in the MLB. He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1973 and debuted in 1976. His career would stretch until the end of the 1998 season when he would finally retire after playing for the Orioles, Expos, Indians, Mariners, and Braves.

His career line wasn't enough to put Dennis Martinez in the Hall of Fame, falling off the Cooperstown ballot in his first year of eligibility but he is definitely worthy of the Hall of Great. He retired with a 3.70 ERA and 2149 Strikeouts supporting 245 Wins. He was a 4-time All Star, won the 1983 World Series with the Orioles, and of course threw the 13th Perfect Game in MLB history against the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 28, 1991 for the Montreal Expos.

Mr. Martinez was kind enough to autograph and sweetspot this baseball for me before an Angels vs Astros game during the 2013 season. I think he's got a great looking signature and it's definitely one I was very happy to add to my collection. If Jack Morris gets into Cooperstown with such a similar career by way of BBWAA voting I'd be very surprised. Maybe you give him more credit for helping to win more World Series and of course the legendary Game 7, but still I'd be a bit surprised considering how many sure thing players are currently on the ballot.