RBI (219) Jason Grilli...

It took a while, but I got a late spring training return that I had written off and assumed to be gone. I mailed Jason Grilli his Sports Illustrated when he was still a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and after he got sent to the Angels I didn't think I'd get it back and it'd be lost in a box in the Pirates clubhouse. I was pleasantly surprised to open my mailbox and find my long lost return waiting for me.

Not only did he sign the magazine for me after Jason Grilli autographed his Sports Illustrated he inscribed "Grill Cheese" as well for me. When he was a member of the Halos it took a while for me to finally get Grilli's autograph but he was a nice guy and when he did sign he made sure to sign for literally as many fans as possible for half an hour at a time. Putting this Sports Illustrated of the former All Star closer in my collection is a nice pick up and I appreciate him following through on his mail requests 9 months latter.

RBI (80) A Cy Young TTM...

It's been a bit since I posted a TTM reply, mainly because I haven't had any responses since baseball season started besides the adventure with Al Kaline. Needless to say I'm not overly pleased with my luck lately. One thing that I got very lucky with a few months ago though was a response from Cy Young winner Doug Drabek.

Drabek is a Texan taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 11th round of the 1983 draft. Despite pitching well through the minors for the White Sox he was included in a package to the New York Yankees.  He would eventually be called up with the Yankees in 1986 as a reliever who joined the rotation. He was then traded to the Pirates by the Yankees where he had his most successful years. He'd pitch for the Pirates primarily before a few years split between the Houston Astros, Orioles, and White Sox.

When he retired after 13 seasons in the MLB Drabek had finished an impressive career. He had a 155-134 career record supported by a 3.73 ERA and 1594 Strikeouts. In 387 Starts he threw 53 Complete games and an impressive 21 Shut Outs. He was an All-Star with the Astros, but won the Cy Young in 1990 with the Pirates when he was also named the NL TSN Pitcher of the Year.

His abilities were passed down to his son Kyle a well-known pitching prospect who was the key piece in the Phillies-Blue Jays Roy Halladay trade.

If you have noticed I'm pretty fond of getting 1990 Fleers signed. The backgrounds tend to be nice and the white border helps autographs pop. I'm an even bigger fan of getting cards from the year the player did something big, and if you notice the card is from the same year he won his Cy Young award.

Mr. Drabek was kind enough to personalize the card sent to his home and send it back to me after 8 months.

RBI (77) Gerrit Cole, The #1 overall pick...

In 2011 went to the Pittsburgh Pirates, which they used to select UCLA starting pitcher Gerrit Cole.

Cole is a native of Southern California having been born in Newport Beach, CA and attending a private high school down the freeway in Orange County. In 2008 he was selected by the New York Yankees in the 1st round of the draft, but declined to negotiate with them despite a believed offer prepared to the tune of $4 million.

Cole attended UCLA on a collegiate scholarship and helped the Bruins become one of their best teams in school history. In 2010 they achieved a 51-17 record, the best achieved in school history. The season continued to roll on with Cole helping the Bruins advance through the 2010 College World Series, eventually being defeated in the NCAA Championships Series.

After Cole was drafted by the Pirates first overall he and his representatives didn't sign with the organization until 15 minutes before the deadline. The deal was reported to be worth $8 million, which could prove to be a bargain seeing as his potential could help turn the Pirates into a force to be reckoned with in the model of the 2012 Washington Nationals. The deal was signed too late in August for Cole to take part in the minors and he has pitched in the Arizona Fall League recording solid numbers.

Cole made an unexpected appearance at the Cory Hahn Trinity Bat Benefit in Orange County and was kind enough to sign this ROMLB for me on the sweet spot. It was really nice of him to take the time to appear at the benefit and he could have avoided signing for the fans, but signed autographs for fans who recognized him. Which with the addition of some facial hair was actually a little bit of a task, but he was really down to earth and lowkey which made getting Gerrit Cole's autograph that much cooler.

He was really personable and polite to everyone and the whole event was a great day with Cole's autograph just the icing on the cake. Cole will be debuting for the Pirates during the 2013 season and is expected to help continue the turn around in Pittsburg to make the team relevant again.

Now that Cole has debuted in the MLB it's been great being able to see this Gerrit Cole autographed baseball on my shelf as a big leaguers ball, especially one who has been successful with him going 4-0 so far in his debut topping front line talents Jered Weaver, Tim Lincecum, and Zach Greinke.

RBI (73) A graded slugger's hit...

This week I've gotten 0 replies in the mail and to be honest with the start of the season coming around it's kind of bummed me out. Lucky for me I needed to pick up a few things and strolled through the card aisle of a chain store that will remain secret seeing as all my awesome retail hits are from there and I'm going to protect my spot like a fisherman hiding his favorite fishing hole.

I picked up a blaster of Gems of the Game and cracked it open when I got home. What could be inside this box filled with repackaged packs? Well just an interesting little gem that goes along with the Hank Aaron relic I opened up the day before. This Barry Bonds 1988 Score and Game Used Jersey graded 10.

Oh Barry. I'm not sure how I feel about you. As a Southern California native and him quite literally being a home town guy I suppose I support him being one of the top sluggers of the game. But there's the asterisk. Once again, literally the asterisk that goes along with his name in the record books, in Cooperstown...and the court documents.

I'm not sure how the Baseball Writers Association of America will respond to his first year of eligibility in the 2013 vote. On one hand he is a 14-time All-Star with 7 NL MVP's earned by 756 home runs. On the other...yeah. There are relics from his career in Cooperstown, but I'm not really sure if this has a permanent place in my collection. Offers will be listened to if anyone is interested.

RPS (2) Trinity Bat Home Run Challenge and Cory Hahn Benefit

This past Saturday January 21st, Trinity Bat Company took part in hosting a charity Home Run Challenge to help former Southern California prospect Cory Hahn's family after a tragic injury during his second collegiate game. Trinity Bat Co. combined with sponsors such as The Inland Empire 66'ers, the Rex Hudler Wonder Dog Show, Chick-fil-A, and to help raise awareness of Cory's unfortunate situation and of the great lengths he is going to stay positive and an inspiration to those in tragedy. Trinity has gone so far to offer a Hahn model bat with proceeds going to assist Cory's family with the rising costs of the tragedy.

The Home Run Challenge had categories for people of all ages, but the main show was the professional players who came out to support. The showing was actually pretty impressive with a large sized crowd coming to support the Hahn family. A ticket into the event actually got you a fair amount. You got 2 tickets for a raffle featuring items such as autographed bats, jerseys, balls, and even custom framed autographs. Chick-fil-A gave away coupons for free food, free sandwiches and sweet tea, and players were very friendly about signing autographs for those who asked.

Even though it was a little overcast in the morning, the sun came out and beside a light breeze it was a nice day out there to hit. Prospect Matt Hobgood of the Orioles took the first at bats for the pro's.

Matt was followed up by prospect Nick Ramirez.

Even though the show had been impressive to that point, it was time to "pop the chain" and YouTube sensation Domingo Ayala went up to the plate. It was pretty funny to watch him bat in person and watch him actually crank one out.

After Domingo warmed up the home crowd, Angels catcher Hank Conger took to the plate to showcase some of the muscle we'll hopefully see this coming season.

Trace Thompson of the White Sox system was next up.

Aaron Northcraft a prospect from the Braves also took up a bat.

Padres prospect Austin Hedges was the final participant before they cycled through to hit again. 

The show was so entertaining that former Angel player/broadcaster Rex Hudler couldn't resist popping on the announcement system for a  few high energy words. 

He was so energetic that the 66'ers mascot couldn't stop himself from going out into the outfield to try and shag a few flyballs too.

Part of the draw was from Conger announcing he was going to be hitting bombs and the 2011 Angel contender for Rookie of the Year Mark Trumbo announcing he would also be in attendance to sign autographs though he couldn't hit due to injury. Mark sat down to sign an item for each fan that stood in line, taking his time to give an actually very nice signature.

There was also a surprise guest who appeared to watch the festivities and show his support.  The Pittsburgh Pirates choice with 1st pick of the 2011 MLB draft, Gerrit Cole.

 It was a very nice event, and I'm glad there was such a strong showing for the Hahn's. Definitely worth making the trip out there and see the prospects, and more importantly the community of regular autograph collectors from Angel stadium. A great day that made me anxious for the coming season. To read about the 2nd Annual Trinity Bat Company Home Run Derby and Cory Hahn benefit you can read it here.

If you're a social networker and want to follow some more baseball players twitters, you can find:

Mark Trumbo's  twitter @mtrumbo44 

Hank Conger's twitter is @hankconger16

Nick Ramirez's twitter is @nickramirez3314

Matt Hobgood's twitter is @matt_hobgood48