RBI (167) AJ Pierzynski...

Every time AJ Pierzynski comes to town he is met with a constant stream of boos when he's announced in the line up or comes up to bat. Most Angel fans don't actually remember the controversy that led to the booing but just join in because their "supposed to" dislike him. It breaks down to a controversial 2Out 3rd strike in the 2005 ALCS that should have sent the game to extra innings and instead allowed a runner on base for the White Sox to win the game. The White Sox went on to win the series and win the World Series that year.

Taken by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1994 MLB draft, AJ's been a consistent contributor for the teams he's been the backstop for. Since debuting in 1998 he's caught for the Twins, Giants, White Sox and Rangers. AJ has been a 2-time All Star, Silver Slugger and was a key cog for the White Sox 2005 World Series Championship. He's knocked in more than 700 RBI's, crossed 150 Home Runs and 1700 hits. Impressively he's been on the receiving end of Mark Buerhle's no-hitter and caught Phillip Humber's Perfect Game.

I got this AJ Pierzynski autographed baseball when the Rangers came to Angel Stadium during the 2013 season.

RBI (166) The Tanner Scheppers Incident...

It's not often that I'm negative about someone on this blog but I have to say I wasn't too happy to learn about an incident that occurred during the 2013 season.

Texas Rangers pitcher Tanner Scheppers was involved in an incident while on a road trip in Cleveland that resulted in him coming to the stadium during the series with a black eye. When asked he reported he had been sucker punched while out on a food run from the team hotel. He is quoted as saying Cleveland P.D. told him "...it happens a lot actually..." and didn't expect the culprits to ever be found.

In actuality after further investigation by the police of local Cleveland media Scheppers was out at a bar with Joe Nathan and AJ Pierzynski and began verbally instigating a group of bar patrons. Around 2:30 am Scheppers exited the bar and quickly lost a bar fight that he reportedly had plenty of opportunities to avoid.

Amazing.

I've posted autographs of celebrities I've run into while out and about while in Anaheim or Los Angeles so it's not surprising that I've seen baseball players away from the stadium also at restaurants, bars and other events. More often than not they're just normal guys who happen to have higher credit card limits. Occasionally I've run into guys who aren't the most considerate fellow patrons, because they happen to have higher credit card limits and are used to getting their way. I don't normally post those stories because it just is what it is.

Scheppers went out and instigated a fight that he apparently lost and lost very quickly. He then slandered the citizens of a city and made comments to the media that he expected the Cleveland police department to be complicit with. No. No, no, no.

Just because you're a baseball player doesn't mean you always get what you want or should get what you want. Expecting the incident to disappear and comments that made the national news circuit that disparaged the good people of Cleveland to have no follow up investigation is just silly.

You Tanner Scheppers got a black eye literally and figuratively in the press. You may throw a fastball, but you couldn't pull a fast one.

Chump.

Scheppers signed this 2010 Topps Pro Debut card for Matt of MC's Autographs and he was nice enough to pass along the autographed card to me since he was able to get a duplicate signed. Much appreciated.

RBI (165) Joe Nathan...

It isn't everyday you're able to get one of the top closers in baseball to sign for you, but it is pretty common when that top closer is also one of the best signers in baseball. Closing pitcher Joe Nathan is one of the top in the game when it comes to closing out games and signing autographs.

Nathan spent years being an elite closer for the Minnesota Twins setting the franchise single season saves record at 47 and becoming the franchise all-time saves leader with 255 saves. Injury concerns ended his time with the Twins but he moved on to the Texas Rangers and regained his elite form. He's a 6-time All-Star, a member of the 300 Saves club and was the AL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year in 2009.

Nathan is definitely one of the Twins who listened to Harmon Killebrew when it comes to signing an autograph. Nathan has one of the nicest, cleanest signatures in the game much like fellow Twins product Michael Cuddyer. I'm very happy to have this Joe Nathan autographed 2013 All Star baseball in my collection, especially since he was the closing pitcher who got the Save for the game.

I'm curious to see when Joe hangs up his cleats since he's in the midst of one of his best seasons despite his age. He's moving rapidly up the all-time saves list and closing in on joining the top 10 list. A spot that wouldn't likely get challenged considering the volatility of modern day bullpens.

Here's a quick photo of Joe Nathan signing down the line after working out during batting practice. I got Joe Nathan's autograph at Angel Stadium when the Rangers came to town to play the Angels during the 2013 season.

Corey Miller

It's not often that I go out and purchase autographs but this is one that I decided fit the bill. This a print autographed by world famous tattoo artist Corey Miller who you may recognize from the tv show L.A. Ink. Miller's based out of Southern California and owns a tattoo shop that's local to me. I popped by the shop and picked up a copy to add to my print collection and was happy to see that it was already signed so I didn't have to try to track Corey down to sign it. I like when artists sign the print so having the Corey Miller autograph makes the piece even better to me.

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.