RBI (115) Meeting Alien Ant Farm...

Regular readers know I have a huge soft spot for adding the hometown successes to my autograph collection. Keeping up with my offseason off topic autographs I decided to post more of the local guys who made it big.

Rock band Alien Ant Farm is pretty well known as the band that did basically the best rock cover ever of a song, turning Michel Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" into a rock anthem for the past decade. They've also however released quite a few albums and have always stayed true to their roots. For their fourth album "Up In The Attic" they released the record with a celebratory concert and autograph signing in Riverside, CA in the parking lot of the local hangout spot by UCR.

I had seen AAF live before because they kept close ties with the local rock radio station and the summer before had preformed as the headliner for a local music concert festival. I had attended events and local concerts covered by the radio station really often so through mutual friends I met the station photographer. Long story short at the record release he saw me and took me backstage to meet the band before the show. It was awesome. I'll admit I was pretty nervous as a barely graduated teenager hanging out with rockstars and their girl friends talking about how I enjoyed their music and getting tips from their guitar player on how to play on something more expensive than my life.

After I got to meet them I went back to the front to watch the show and it was great. They're actually really good live performers and can make every track really enjoyable. After they preformed there was an autograph signing inside the record store if you bought the CD. I had band members Dryden Mitchell, Joe Hill, Tye Zamora, and Mike Cosgrove sign a flyer for the CD release and the back of the CD jacket. They also signed a large poster for me but I gave that to a friend who also really likes the band but couldn't make it to the show. I figured 2 Alien Ant Farm autographs and getting to meet the band was more than enough for me and he could have the nice poster.

RBI (114) Practice Makes Perfect...

Or at the very least it helps you kick around the NBA for a while. I went to the Clippers vs. Bulls game at Staples Center and was able to purchase Small Forward Matt Barnes' Los Angeles Clippers practice jersey.

Barnes was a 2nd round pick out of UCLA but was repeatedly cut and didn't make his NBA debut until 2004 with the Clippers. A bumpy start to his career finally leveled off and he has been able to find regular playing time since 2006. He has been a strong addition for teams playing at a high level signing with the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Clippers during their time as playoff contenders.

I was happy to pick up the jersey and now need to be on the lookout for a chance to get Barnes to sign it. Since I'm still not the greatest at NBA signings anyone who spots one of Barnes please let me know. On a side note it is kind of funny that I picked up the Barnes jersey since he was the best player available seeing as the past few seasons he's been a Laker who I've actually disliked. All's forgiven as long as he keeps playing tough for the Clippers.

UPDATE: I was able to get the Barnes jersey autographed at an in store appearance.

Balk (13) 2012 Awards

Well I think it's pretty interesting that the guy behind this season's "The Catch" didn't win a Gold Glove. Frankly I thought he was a lock for the Center Field Rawlings Gold Glove considering how many highlight reels he made this year. Personally I think it's good for the Angels he didn't win his first yet seeing as it makes it easier to put Peter Bourjos in center with less fuss seeing as Bourjos is an overall better center fielder. Yeah yeah Trout's more exciting, but Pete makes plays look boring because he gets better reads and is fast enough to be sitting waiting for the same balls Trout has to dive for. In right field Trouty will earn plenty of awards.

One thing Trouty did collect though was the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year award. I've gotten a few Trout's signed and I think I'll just post the link to the 8x10 he signed here. Okay I can't just do that to you guys, I'll have to repost this 2010 Bowman Platinum autograph of the ROY Flying Fish.

I'm sure that people are more surprised by Bryce Harper collecting the NL Rookie of the Year since Wade Miley put up such a strong finish. Sorry guys, but hype machines do end up working on occasion and Harper was red hot to help clinch the Nationals bid for the playoffs. I don't have a Harper autograph, so I settled for a graded 10 rookie card of him. I'd post a photo of it, but this post belongs to the fish. Sorry Bryce, but I'm going to be a clown bro.

Now on an unrelated note, I'd like to bring notice to this post at Baseball By The Letters regarding Virgil Trucks. Those of you familiar with TTM know he is an all star veteran signer. Or was. Health issues has unfortunately made it so Mr. Trucks is no longer able to correspond via mail. Mr. Trucks has been an amazing ambassador for baseball, and I as a fan owe him much for his kindness.

Per his request I am going to not only write a letter to Bud Selig, but also will be writing a letter and email to the Detroit Tigers trying to gain more support for at least a nice letter to Mr. Trucks offering their best wishes. We collectors owe him that much, or at least I do.

Balk (12) Off Season Goals

Well now that baseball is over it's time for some off season goals for myself.

Now that work has lightened up I'm hoping to power my way through a closer attempt at my 365. That's goal number one, first and foremost.

Secondly I'd like to pick up my other sport graphing by finding at least 2 events that can increase my collection of NBA and NFL autographed photos.

Third I'd like to track down some more memorabilia to have as goals to get signed during next season. It was satisfying finally being successful in getting my Erick Aybar to sign his Spring Training jersey, so I need to find some more things along those lines to work on.

Fourth I want to continue my poster project and design more ahead of time for specific visiting players so I'm not in a rush to design and print them. I'd like to have at least 10 posters designed for incoming players.

Well see how that goes. It's a process.

RBI (113) An Odd Giant...

If you haven't noticed I'm starting to get a bit more free time so I'm trying to stay current with baseball as the World Series begins. Pitching tonight in a historic Game 1 where Pablo Sandoval hit at least 3 Home Runs and is 4-4 so far in the night is a giant amongst Giants, but they still call him "Tiny" Tim "The Franchise" Lincecum.

Timmy was taken multiple times in the MLB draft but only signed after he was taken 10th overall by the San Francisco Giants in 2006. He made his debut for the Giants in 2007 as a 24 game starter. From 2008 to 2011 Tim was beyond dominant for the Giants being named a 4-time All Star, winning back to back Cy Young Awards and helping the Giants franchise win their first world series in San Francisco. 2012 hasn't been kind to Timmy as evident by him pitching in Game 1 of the the 2012 World Series out of the bullpen opposed to starting the game like in 2010. His ERA, inning pitched, and strikeout number are well below his career norms, likely due to a decline in velocity to his fastball.

While some are wondering if the franchise can ever be the same, I wonder if he even has to be. Veteran pitcher Tim Hudson had some advice that I believe to be quite true and reflects the idea Steve McCatty recently talked about while discussing his Washington Nationals pitching staff. Strikeouts are attractive, make highlight reels, and fill stat books. They also raise pitch counts and don't necessarily win games. Outs do.

Lincecum has outstanding off speed stuff that can crush opposing batters so long as he throws his slower fastball with control instead of trying to blow through guys and still missing the strike zone or giving up hits. Establishing the strike zone with more control so he can pull the string for weak groundouts with his deceptive off speed stuff will make Timmy's career rebound. Tiny Tim's coming up for a Giant rebound I think and just by the floor of this year and the massively high ceiling he has if he starts to control his fastball more can set him up for a steal of a Comeback Player of the Year award.

Lincecum signed this for me during interleague play during the 2012 season at Angel Stadium. I was really excited to get his autograph and when he saw the Gypsy Queen he was shocked at how nice it looked and he thought it was one of his best. I was surprised he didn't know what it looked like and asked if he didn't see his cards. I guess Topps doesn't show the players what they're going to look like because he responded "No man I never see my cards." I asked if he wanted to see his All Star card from 2011 and he said yeah after I sign for the rest of the crowd. Tim signed down the line and then signed back up to me and took the card to check it out. He thought it was a funny photo of him and signed it for me. It was a quick encounter but definitely awesome.

Congrats to Tim Lincecum for throwing his no hitter and it makes these Tim Lincecum autographed baseball cards even more awesome to have in my collection.

RBI (112) A Post Season Regular...

It struck me as unusual that this October Johnny Damon was no where to be found. Damon has easily been one of the more popular players in the MLB as he bounced around team to team throughout his remarkable 18 year career.

Taken in the 1st round of the 1992 draft by the Kansas City Royals, Damon debuted quickly in 1995. After 6 years in Kansas he was sent to Oakland where he had a strong year that netted him a large contract with the Boston Red Sox. He left the Sox after 4 seasons infamously to cut his trademark locks for the New York Yankees for 4 seasons before being a gunslinger for Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland. He is a 2-time All Star and won 2 World Series Championships, one of the most memorable in sports history with the 2004 Red Sox and then one with the Yankees.

He sits at 2769 hits, 235 Home Runs, 1668 Runs scored, 1139 RBI's driven in and 408 Steals. His career .284 average goes along with a robust .352 OBP. While his home run numbers aren't overly impressive for having a 18 season career his 522 doubles and 109 Triples means 631 of his 2534 non-home run hits were for extra bases. For someone who batted leadoff or in the upper end of the order for most of his career Damon was hitting for extra bases at a clip of 1:4 hits or basically almost one a night. Not too shabby and it could be one reason that helped his teams appear in October for almost half his career.

Interestingly I wasn't the one to get this autograph. I was out in the outfield hunting for baseballs and had forgotten this team card and sharpie with my parents. Seeing him hanging out around the fans my mom actually went down the line and got Damon to sign this 2011 Topps team card for me. I was definitely excited when I found out she got it for me seeing as his importance to the '04 Sox.

RBI (111) Johnny Cupcakes...

Continuing on with my little bit of off mainstream sports hit I decided to post another autograph I got from the world of clothing. Johnny Cupcakes is a Boston based designer who has done collaborations with top notch companies like Nickelodeon, Hello Kitty, and always manages to add a whimsical component to every piece.

The signature logo of the company is a cupcake with crossbones underneath. It's playful and gives plenty of different spin off ideas to have a pretty fun line of t-shirts. They've opened stores in Boston, Los Angeles, and London all the while maintaing a sense of exclusivity by limiting the number of shirts produced and hand numbering various products. A regional theme is kept with the shirts at each store as playoff seasons typically result in local teams colors being produced for sports fans.

The owner Johnny is a pretty amusing prankster who likes to leave presents for his customers so an in store purchase may result in opening your box to reveal a classic 90's TV show trading card or free stickers and buttons. His fun personality is probably why bands such as Gym Class Heroes and Four Year Strong are supporters of the brand, showing up randomly to visit the stores, events, or appearing in internet commercials/promotional photos.

I had Johnny Cupcakes autograph this postcard advertising the grand opening of his store in Los Angeles when I ran into him while at the Boston store for the release of a new limited shirt. It's a little tough to see since he carried a silver sharpie and signed across part of the grey background but he also drew the cupcakes logo under his name. It's random but I do enjoy little postcard prints like this or the KIC Spacey print since they're fun to frame and quickly interchangeable.