RBI (146) Ervin Santana...

Recently I was able to get starting pitcher Ervin Santana's autograph. It was nice to get Ervin's autograph since it was only the second time he had signed for me despite him being on the Angels for so many years. Either through bad timing or positioning I seemed to miss out on Ervin when he was an Angel, so it was nice to get him to sign as a member of the Royals.

Ervin was signed as an amateur free agent in 2000 by the then Anaheim Angels. He debuted for the Angels in 2005 as a starter and never turned back holding onto a spot in the rotation for 8 seasons with the team. He ran into struggles though and the Angels traded Santana to the Kansas City Royals after he led the league in Home Runs allowed. So far the move has been good for Ervin as he has revamped his pitching and is having a successful first half. Ervin is one win from crossing the 100 mark, has 1200 Strikeouts, has been an All Star, and most notably threw a no-hitter during the 2011 season against the Indians.

I was able to get Ervin to autograph this 8x10 photo of him celebrating his no-hitter when the Royals played the Angels during the 2013 season.

RBI (145) Kendrys Morales Game Used Baseball Bat...

Recently I mentioned being able to pick up a Kendrys Morales Game Used Baseball bat through a sale the Angels Foundation had. I was pretty excited to make the purchase and pick up a bat from a player I liked who was a decent slugger. I was nervous though about being able to get it autographed as throughout the years I had never been able to get Kendrys to sign for me. He was a notoriously tough autograph to get and if he did by chance sign I was always somewhere else and missed the chance. The Mariners came into town for a quick series and I knew I had a limited window to get the bat signed since baseball bats are not allowed inside of the stadium, so I had to get it signed pre or post game.

After the first game of the series I was able to track down Kendrys and called out to him that I had his game used baseball bat. He got into his car without saying anything though, and I thought I missed my chance. I was extremely excited and surprised then when his driver started to pull away before stopping a few feet away from me. Kendrys lowered his window, pointed at me and waved for me to come over. I pretty nervously walked over to the car and handed him the bat and marker. He autographed the bat for me while I said thank you and he just nodded before handing the bat back to me.

Though I have my RBI Collecting custom bat, this is my first player used baseball bat and I was pretty hesitant about getting such a tough signer for my first bat, but I think Kendys is a good player so I took the chance. I'm extremely happy that I did and I'm really grateful that he took the time to stop and autograph the bat.

I've had a few people questioning me on the bat because the normal photos you'd see of him batting is with a different brand. So I went to Getty Images and started doing some research. During the 2012 season Kendrys switched to using Trinity baseball bats for a while more than likely because of the success Mark Trumbo was having using Trinity. I'm not 100% which bat it is that I picked up but he does use at least 4 different Trinity bats when I combed through the archives. The markings, scuffs, and position of the MLB dot test look to match one used batting when they played the A's.  It's just one more great example of the quality work done by the Trinity Bat Company, and I'm more than pleased to have this Kendrys Morales autographed baseball bat in my collection.

RBI (144) Moose...

Moustakas. Mike Moustakas. A name that definitely lends itself to being a ball player, let alone a popular fan friendly one. I have written about getting Moustaskas' autograph before in a general sense since I included an autographed 8x10 I took during the Opening Series for the 2012 season. I've left out some pretty sweet items that I finally was able to complete this past series.

Moustakas debuted during the 2011 season at Angel Stadium. It was nice for his debut to come in Anaheim since Mike was a graduate of Chatsworth High School and owned several California high school baseball records. Since he's a local boy he had plenty of family on hand to watch him debut in the MLB. His debut game was on and I was actually about to get a ball Moose hit during his BP. Not only was I able to snag a ball from his BP but I was able to get Moustakas to autograph the ball before the game on the sweetspot.

I posted previously about how nice and down to earth Moose is when he signed this 8x10 of him from 2012 Opening Day. He's a consistent signer when he's in Anaheim and I was able to get this Mike Moustakas autograph on my ticket from his MLB debut game.

Hopefully Moose will develop a more consistent bat, 2012 looked to be a breakthrough year for him and he even was nominated for a Gold Glove award, but he's had a bit of a regression year in the first half of 2013. Seeing as he was the 2nd pick of the 2007 draft I'm sure the Royals hope he can put it all together and will give him everything he needs to reach his fully potential. I think he's got the strength and tools to develop into a solid career 3rd baseman.

RBI (143) Jeff Francoeur...

Previously I wrote about how I was able to get a Jeff Francoeur autographed baseball, and how "Frenchy" is one of the nicest MLB players I've ever been able to meet. The outfielder is a definite fan favorite where ever he's playing and it's easy to understand why once you have the opportunity to see him interact with fans around the park.

Francoeur was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 2002 MLB draft with the 23rd pick in the first round. He debuted 3 years later in 2005 and has carved out a solid career with his bat and especially his arm. He's crossed the 1,100 Hit and 125 Home Run plateaus while earning a Gold Glove in 2007 for his work in the outfield. He is ranked 3rd for outfield assists among all active players for gunning down opposing runners.

I took this photograph of him during the Opening Series when the Royals and Angels played against each other in Anaheim. Frenchy was nice enough to autograph this 8x10 photo and inscribe "GG 07" on it for me. Even though he consistently is amongst the league leaders for outfield assists I'm not sure if he'll be earning many more Gold Gloves, but if he does I'm sure he'll be kind enough to inscribe any other award he wins.

Jeff Francoeur autographed this 8x10 for me when the Royals played the Angels during the 2013 season in Anaheim.

RBI (142) Some Country Breakfast...

Or I guess I should say a country feast was recently had by Kansas City Royals star Billy Butler when he was playing in Anaheim.

Billy Butler was drafted by the Royals with the 14th pick of the 1st round in the 2004 MLB draft. He debuted in 2007 against the Angels and has proven to be a capable slugger for the Royals. He's crossed the 100 Home Run mark while cruising to more than 200 doubles so far in his career with a batting average hovering around the .300 mark.

Butler was in a pretty good mood after going 5-5 while playing against the Angels in Anaheim. He saw my 8x10 photo and asked when I took the shot. I told him I had taken it on the Opening Day the Royals spent in Anaheim and he said he thought it was last year and signed it for me. After he signed it I asked if he'd inscribe All Star for me since he was named to the team that year and he said yes. He signed for a few other people then took the photo again to inscribe "2012 All Star" under his autograph.

He was still signing after I put the photo away so I asked if he'd sign a ball also. He said no problem so I was able to get this Billy Butler autographed baseball.

He also knocked out this 2012 Topps Heritage card for me a on separate occasion during the series.

I was able to get these autographed during the 2013 Royals at Angels series at Angel Stadium, and I'm pretty happy with how they all came out and very appreciative Billy signed all three items for me.

RBI (141) Jon Lester...

I thought about coming up with a snazzy title that would be tied into the 1-hitter Lester just tossed, but I figured it wouldn't do Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester justice if I did that.

Lester was taken by the Red Sox in the 2nd round of the 2002 MLB draft, being given a million dollar signing bonus, the highest for any second rounder signed that year. He proved to be worth every penny, flying through the minors and debuting for the Sox in June of 2006. He is tough as nails both on and off the mound being able to mount a comeback against non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. He returned to the Sox and was able to show his return to form when he threw a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals in 2008. His recent 1-hitter was only his 3rd complete game so when Lester decides to go the distance he does it in style.

He's tossed a no-hitter, been named a 2-time All-Star, and was a key part of the rotation that swept the Rockies for the 2007 World Series Champion Red Sox. The lefty has already crossed the 1,100 strikeout threshold and is approaching 100 career Wins with a career era below 4.00. He's got a chance to be something special longterm for the Red Sox so I'll be interested to see the back end of his career play out.

This is one of the few autographs I've actually gone and purchased of a baseball player. I had the opportunity to pick it up off a fellow grapher from Angel Stadium as he received it was part of a lot purchase and knew I was a big Red Sox fan so he offered it to me. I gladly picked it up for a reasonable price and it's now a project for me to obtain a ball of Josh Beckett and Dice-K to go along with my Lester, and Curt Schilling balls so I have a ball from each member of the 2007 World Series rotation.

RBI (140) More Shay Maria...

I wasn't able to resist purchasing another one of Shay Maria's autographed prints. Like I said before in my previous post Shay's a street wear model known for her modeling of The Hundreds, Benny Gold, Primitive and CBNC. For those unfamiliar with those brands a more mainstream name you may know is the look book she shot for CBNC's last line was featured on British GQ's website.

I added this small print of her to my collection because I like the overall look. Yeah Shay Maria's hot but I think the entire aesthetic of the shot is nice. It all comes together really well and looks pretty nice framed next to my other print of her. I may look for another piece of hers from another photographer, maybe a Shay Maria Danny Steezy photo or one of the Shay Maria Kaloopy photos and prints that are available.