Alright, so, time for that update I said I was going to do and never did until now...
AUGUST 19
Mark Mettrick, 4/4, c/o home, 11 months
AUGUST 22
Mike Hough, 6/6, c/o home, about 2 months
Frisco vs. Tulsa IP
Ryan Garko - 7/7, 4/4
Lars Anderson - 1/3
Terrmel Sledge - 7/7
Andrew Sopko - 4/4
Willie Calhoun - 3/3
Joey Curletta - 1/1
Bill Simas - 6/6
Josh Sborz - 2/2
Alex Verdugo - 4/4
Chase DeJong - 2/2
Yaisel Sierra - 1/1
Daniel Corcino - 4/4
Jeff Malm - 3/3
Kyle Farmer - 1/1
Jason Hart - 9/9
Carson Blair - 2/2
Carlos Maldonado - 3/3
Joe Jackson - 4/4
Kellin Deglan - 4/4
Scott Carroll - 3/3
Luke Jackson - 4/4
Isaiah Kiner-Falefa - 4/4
Darin Mastroianni - 1/2
AUGUST 25
Jim Mason, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week
Bob Reynolds, c/o home, 4/3, 1 week-- kept my 1972 card (he might not sign it anymore since it features him with the now-deceased Darrell Porter) but enclosed two signed photos
AUGUST 26
Steve Christie, c/o home, 6/6, 1 month
Paul Schaal, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week
AUGUST 27
Ed Romero, c/o home, 6/6, 1 week
Bob Gebhard, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
AUGUST 29
Gary Neibauer, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks
Stan Williams, c/o home, 3/2, 1 week, personalized and wrote a short note back answering my question
Bill Greif, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week
Rangers-Indians IP
Terry Francona 1/2
Francisco Lindor 1/1
Cody Allen 1/2
Abraham Almonte 2/4
Tyler Naquin 1/2, 1/1
Danny Salazar 1/1
Mike Clevinger 1/1
Bryan Shaw 1/1
Tim Crabtree 8/8
Rick Manning 7/7
Trevor Bauer 1/1
Mike Napoli 1/4, 1/1
Jurickson Profar 1/1, 1/1
Jonathan Lucroy 1/1
Delino DeShields Jr. 4/4
Mitch Moreland 1/1
Doug Brocail 8/8
Brad Holman 2/2
Colby Lewis 2/2
AUGUST 30
Otis Sistrunk, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
SEPTEMBER 1
Fred Scherman, c/o home, 3/3, 1 week
Dave Duncan, c/o home, 4/4, 1 week
SEPTEMBER 3
Jon Matlack, c/o home, 5/5, 11 days
SEPTEMBER 6
Dick Bosman, c/o home, 3/3, 2 weeks
Fred Stanley, c/o home, 4/4, 2 weeks
SEPTEMBER 7
Bert Campaneris, c/o home, 1/1, 2 weeks
SEPTEMBER 9
Connor Cook, c/o Oakland Raiders, 2/2, 3 months
Rich Karlis, c/o home, 2/3, 6 weeks, kept one card
Chris Speier, c/o Washington Nationals, 4/4, 2 weeks
Reggie Cleveland, c/o home, 2/2 for $2, 2 weeks
SEPTEMBER 12
Craig Coxe, c/o work, 6/6, 3 weeks - hadn't seen a success from him in 15 years!
Dave Johnson (Twins pitcher), c/o home, 4/3, 1 week, wrote a short note back
SEPTEMBER 13
Bobby Smith, c/o Halifax Mooseheads, 5/6, 4 months
A.J. Lachowecki, c/o home, 2/2, 1 week
Tito Francona, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
SEPTEMBER 14
Chuck Essegian, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
SEPTEMBER 15
Ray Busse, c/o home, 1/1, 1 week
SEPTEMBER 16
Frank Howard, c/o home, 3/3, 10 days
Hal Naragon, c/o home, 3/1, 10 days - added another signed card and wrote a short note back
SEPTEMBER 17
Sam Militello, c/o work, 4/4, 11 days
Greg Gagne, c/o home, 6/6, 11 days
Leroy Stanton, c/o home, 2/2, 11 days
Kevin Crow, c/o work, 4/4, 11 days
I ended up skipping my potential Labor Day Frisco outing due to a sore foot. Not sure what happened, it was fine by the evening, but still, not being able to put much weight on it without major pain made me not want to chance it. I still have one more Rangers outing later this month. Hoping for a good Alumni signer at least.
I've started mailing out a lot more soccer and baseball over the last few weeks-- and I need to update the soccer blog as well.
Since returning from vacation in July, I've mailed a bunch. Still waiting on...
JULY 26: Pat Leahy
AUGUST 16: Andruw Jones, Adrian Beltre, Alex Rodriguez, Clayton Kershaw
AUGUST 22: Mo Vaughn
AUGUST 23: Gene Hiser
AUGUST 24: Lance Johnson
SEPTEMBER 6: Joe Nathan, David Nied, John Olerud, Rob Dibble, Jim Corsi, Terry Kennedy, Scott Leius, Darren Daulton, Steve Trout, Tim Teufel, Tom Ragland, Hal Haydel, Jeff Montgomery, Dick Groat, Don Leppert, Mason Raymond, George Fernandez, Victor Nogueira, Desmond Armstrong, Tino Lettieri, Waad Hirmez, Joe Papaleo, Gregg Willin, Gary Etherington, Dave Clements, Tom Kain, Terry Brown
SEPTEMBER 12: Steve Zungul, Daryl Doran, Wes Wade, Duncan MacEwan, Chico Borja
SEPTEMBER 19: Theo Kulsdom, Ted Krafft, Steve Eise, Thomas Strunk, John O'Hara, Sean Phillips, Mike Fox, Branko Segota, Chris Kenny, Leon Hooten, Turk Wendell, Buzz Capra
I also had a failed attempt on Mike Fox. It turns out the owner of M&M Paper is NOT the Mike Fox who played pro soccer. Attempt #2 (to Colorado instead of California) went in the mail this morning.
Blog is on indefinite hiatus as of November 2020.
Showing posts with label Indians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indians. Show all posts
Monday, September 19, 2016
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Hounding Report: May 15 and 17, Rangers-Indians
Just a couple quick pieces. George Bell TTM, 4/4 in about 3 months,
Prince Fielder 1/1 IP last night, a RTS from Oscar Roan, and a few
additions from Chris for getting him stuff at the Rangers Fan Fest and
last month in Frisco.
Friday night I almost decided to get out of the hobby. Today helped turn my thoughts around.
I've been growing pretty quickly disillusioned with the hobby as a whole, at least when going and doing it in-person. The Mets series to start the season made me not want to go to any games. This weekend my favorite team is in town and I completely skipped the first two games of the series aside from doing the postgame tunnel Friday night.
A little story about that postgame tunnel. I wasn't even planning on going except that Adrian Beltre hit his 400th career home run so Arron, Jake, and I figured we'd try the tunnel since a lot of guys will sign there after a big night. Beltre drove out the opposite side instead. We did at least get Prince Fielder, which was a nice score and a set hit for my 1972-style stuff (got his 2013 '72 mini signed).
A golf cart came out and Michael Brantley, a VERY tough signer and one of my favorites from the Tribe, was on it. We chased after it, and as I got to his car, stop the presses, he was signing. He signs for four of the six of us, gets to me and says "My ride's here, I gotta go," and gets in the car.
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?
The two of us not wearing Rangers attire (I was in my damn Larry Doby jersey and Browns hat; how much more Clevelander can I get?) were the only two he didn't sign for. I found out from one of the four who did get him that he was incredibly reluctant to sign so it's not like he was Mr. Nice Guy and then turned into a dick when he saw me. He wasn't even going to sign except that Nick Swisher, who he was riding with, was talking to the Rangers' clubhouse attendant.
I went to the tunnel Sunday morning. Not many signed; I got Kyle Blanks on a card (signing one of four), Mitch Moreland on a 11x14 photo, and Tom Grieve on two cards. Ryan Rua is going to turn into my new nemesis: two years ago I couldn't get Dave Magadan to save my life, this year I think it'll be Rua. Maybe it's just because he's on the DL.
David Murphy also drove in and signed, as always. Arron, Chris, and I were talking about how Murphy is exactly what a player should be. Fan friendly, loves signing, solid all-around ballplayer, has some power, usually hits for a decent average, is good for a few awesome catches, isn't ridiculously fast but has enough speed, and isn't afraid to get the uniform dirty. He had a great catch in left field to save a run later in the game.
Inside was surprisingly awesome. First out was Austin Adams, a recent callup who signed a team logo hologram. After doing some long-toss and running, Danny Salazar signed a card for me down the line, as did Trevor Bauer. Down by the dugout, Zach McAllister signed three, and Ryan Webb added his sig to the hologram, along with Scott Atchison.
Back down the line, Jason Bere signed three cards, while Cody Allen signed my lone card while chatting with some friends. As I was waiting on Allen, Arron tapped me and alerted me that Corey Kluber was signing. Needless to say, I jumped in and he signed for everyone, including me. I went back toward the dugout and apparently the Klubot's autograph switch got stuck in the ON position. Dude just kept on going and signed for everyone. As he came down I figured I'd get a picture with him. I set my book down and he walked right up and signed another card, and took a picture with me. Dude actually smiled too.
After that, we finished it off with a trip to the press box, where Rick Manning signed three cards for me. It's amazing the difference a day or so can make. After nearly deciding to get out of the hobby-- or at least change my approach-- I'm ready to get back into it hard.
TOTALS: 22 autographs from 14 players.
Friday night I almost decided to get out of the hobby. Today helped turn my thoughts around.
I've been growing pretty quickly disillusioned with the hobby as a whole, at least when going and doing it in-person. The Mets series to start the season made me not want to go to any games. This weekend my favorite team is in town and I completely skipped the first two games of the series aside from doing the postgame tunnel Friday night.
A little story about that postgame tunnel. I wasn't even planning on going except that Adrian Beltre hit his 400th career home run so Arron, Jake, and I figured we'd try the tunnel since a lot of guys will sign there after a big night. Beltre drove out the opposite side instead. We did at least get Prince Fielder, which was a nice score and a set hit for my 1972-style stuff (got his 2013 '72 mini signed).
A golf cart came out and Michael Brantley, a VERY tough signer and one of my favorites from the Tribe, was on it. We chased after it, and as I got to his car, stop the presses, he was signing. He signs for four of the six of us, gets to me and says "My ride's here, I gotta go," and gets in the car.
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?
The two of us not wearing Rangers attire (I was in my damn Larry Doby jersey and Browns hat; how much more Clevelander can I get?) were the only two he didn't sign for. I found out from one of the four who did get him that he was incredibly reluctant to sign so it's not like he was Mr. Nice Guy and then turned into a dick when he saw me. He wasn't even going to sign except that Nick Swisher, who he was riding with, was talking to the Rangers' clubhouse attendant.
 |
| One down, one to go! |
David Murphy also drove in and signed, as always. Arron, Chris, and I were talking about how Murphy is exactly what a player should be. Fan friendly, loves signing, solid all-around ballplayer, has some power, usually hits for a decent average, is good for a few awesome catches, isn't ridiculously fast but has enough speed, and isn't afraid to get the uniform dirty. He had a great catch in left field to save a run later in the game.
 |
| David Murphy signing for Arron outside (Photo Credit: Chris Winkles) |
Back down the line, Jason Bere signed three cards, while Cody Allen signed my lone card while chatting with some friends. As I was waiting on Allen, Arron tapped me and alerted me that Corey Kluber was signing. Needless to say, I jumped in and he signed for everyone, including me. I went back toward the dugout and apparently the Klubot's autograph switch got stuck in the ON position. Dude just kept on going and signed for everyone. As he came down I figured I'd get a picture with him. I set my book down and he walked right up and signed another card, and took a picture with me. Dude actually smiled too.
 |
| Rare photo of Corey Kluber cracking a smile |
TOTALS: 22 autographs from 14 players.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
National Sports Collectors Convention, Days 4 and 5, plus aftermath, Indians, and TTM
READ MORE: Preview, Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four
NOTE: more photos will be added this week including the 8x10 and 11x14 photos.
I'm back in Texas now after a 6:45 am flight to start my day. That's 5:45 Central. As one who has never been a morning person, having to deal with pain in my ears and a screaming baby and flight attendants who twice forgot my drink order and weather that is 20 degrees hotter than what I left in Ohio, I arrived home tired and hot.
Saturday: Dad, Bobby Hull, and Johnny Football
Fortunately it was an awesome weekend that had bonuses beyond just attending the National, starting on Saturday. My dad came down to the show in the morning, and we went down to check it out. The first place we went was the Panini booth so I could show him a few of the products I've been involved in. I even got a few boxes to show him, breaking some 13-14 Contenders, Titanium, and Crown Royale hockey. I had a few nice pulls, it was great seeing the stuff I worked on, and my dad seemed pretty impressed by the stuff going on in the card world.
I had set up something with one of our guys from acquisitions and we went over to try that. I dropped my Milt Plum photo and ticket off with Dan from the SCF board and we headed over to the Case Break Pavilion. Panini was on the stage breaking some Prime, with Bobby Hull joining them for an interview and to comment on the cards. It's great to hear from one of the greats and he was hilarious. Only a hockey player could use both the terms "amalgamated" and "shitkicked" in the same breath. I had talked to one of Panini's acquisitions guys about trying to meet Hull, who is my dad's all-time favorite player. It looked like we would have a chance, but unfortunately later in the day he was sick and left the show early.
However, we were able to hit up a bunch of tables and I got to talk to a few people who could help me with some of my sets. I also bought a bunch. Saturday is the first day you really start to see prices occasionally drop and I foune one that had done so. Originally they had a bunch of cards at $6 or 5 for $25. They dropped them to $4 and 7 for $25. And they had a bunch I needed. For $41, I knocked out 6 for my football set, 3 for baseball, and picked up 2 I just wanted. There were some tough signers included in there as well. At another, I picked up a bunch, mostly basketball, at 3 for $1, as well as some Avs for my wife.
I also got Hanford Dixon and Al Oliver on 11x14 photos with my VIP tickets. Oliver really liked the photo I had, and Dixon was his usual self, always fan friendly and taking time to sign a good 'graph. It's just an H, a big loop. and an X, but he always adds his #29, "Go Browns" and his "Top Dawg" nickname.
Saturday night was the big one: the Panini VIP Party. As an employee I asked if they needed any help for it and was told to show up a little before 7 and I could certainly assist them. What an event! Julius Erving, Kyrie Irving, Trey Burke, Joe Namath, Tom Glavine, Jose Canseco, Dominique Wilkins, and of course Johnny Manziel. Plus a live set from DJ Kool of "Let Me Clear My Throat" fame. I got to chat briefly with Erving and Irving, and ended up near Canseco several times throughout the night. The dude is still huge. After I got done working, I got to go and rub elbows with the big spenders-- anyone wanting admission had to buy $7500 worth of Panini products at the show. And here I was, a guy barely able to afford to spend 1/20th of that getting to hang out with them. I love my job.
So while everything was going on, I went over and asked the aforementioned acquisitions guy if there was any chance I could get a photo with Manziel. As the only Browns fan at Panini (as far as I know), I figured I'd have a decent shot. About 15 minutes later, he told me to follow him to the back. After doing a quick interview and a couple photos, Manziel walked over, I got introduced, quickly told him I'm a huge Browns fan working at Panini and would love a photo with him. Manziel could not have been more accommodating. It would be easy for someone in his position to roll his eyes a bit and say "Alright, whatever, let's get this over." But he didn't: he seemed genuinely happy to meet a fan of the team, shook my hand, and posed for a picture, which I posted Saturday night/Sunday morning. I seriously spent the next 30 minutes wondering if that really just happened.
Sunday: The end of a week-long collectibles bender
I was pretty wiped out Sunday morning, but I still had autographs to get and money to burn. I got Jeff Burroughs on my 11x14 photo (soon to be signed by Tom Grieve as well) and Gary Bell on an 8x10 photo. He added "Smoke em inside" to it as well per my request, quoting his line to Jim Bouton in Ball Four when Bouton asked him how to pitch to guys in a team's lineup. That was Bell's answer for every single one. In the afternoon, I added Mike Hargrove on a 11x14 photo that he had never seen before, and Len Barker on several items-- my Tom Browning ball (completing a dual-signed by the only two pitchers to toss a perfect game in an Ohio MLB game since World War One), two cards (one for Chris), and a 11x14, celebrating the final out of the perfecto.
I also hit up a few more tables, finding one with a ton of hockey autos 3 for $1. I was able to find several more set needs, knowing my 2004 Choice AHL Top Prospects down to only three unsigned, picking up Yann Danis for the 05-06 UD Rookie Class set, and adding a notorious toughie to my Topps Total set in Fedor Fedorov. So overall, I added about 20-25 cards to my sets, plus picking up some trade bait and adding some higher-end items via the various signings. I also decided I'm going to start getting the 1972 Topps set signed as much as I can. I'll never complete it, but it would be a fun project to work on. At the very least, I'll get everything signed that I can and at least get the rest of the set unsigned but all together.
Monday: A bit of IP graphing
On Monday I headed down to The Jake to try my hand at the players' parking lot. I had pretty decent success-- at least a whole lot better than Arlington. Ryan Raburn signed 2 cards just after I arrived, followed by 3 from Bryan Shaw, 3 from Marc Rzepczynski, 3 from Mike Aviles, 3 from John Axford, and 1 from David Murphy. I wish the Rangers had easier access to players like this. The players' lot in Cleveland is fenced in and outdoors so it's easy to see them come and go and to call out to them as they walk to the door. I stuck around and checked out the game as well with a guy from the show that I met on the hotel shuttle. Good game, Tribe took it to the Reds 7-1 as Corey Kluber once again had a great game. I also surpassed the 50% mark on my goal of 1500 sigs for the year.
Tuesday: I went back to Ohio and my city was gone
Tuesday I mostly spent driving around Lake County. I tried to get in at my old high school but the driveway was under construction so I couldn't get in. I did go to my old elementary/middle school at least, which is now owned by a college nearby. I also drove around a few areas mentioned in an article I read on Dustin Spaller, a local athlete who was murdered in his early 20's. I never knew Dustin: he was a few years older than me but we attended the same school briefly. Our moms worked together at the local hospital. Of the places mentioned in the article, Just Teazin' was down the street from my house, I played Little League ball in Rec Park, we used to fill up at the BP station a lot, but Tony's is in what I had always heard was a pretty sketchy neighborhood. I drove around it a bit and it wasn't any worse than some areas I've been through, like Boston's Combat Zone, anything on the MBTA Orange Line, or a few areas of Wichita Falls. From the outside in the daytime it looks like just another bar or Italian restaurant. Granted, after something like this the area may have been cleaned up a bit-- signs are posted that the place is under 24-hour surveillance. I drove by my old house for a bit and it's almost unrecognizable. New siding, new windows, if I didn't know the location and the shape of it like the back of my hand, I never would have known I had lived there for nearly 20 years. Show me a photo with zero context and I wouldn't know.
Fortunately a lot of things are still around. Most of the businesses I know are there or have expanded and moved. Mr. P's Pizza is gone, as is the Donut Stop, but taking their place are a barbecue joint and a cupcake shop. Downtown, Puritan Bakery closed up, but the old Cards & Games from the Painesville Shopping Center moved in. I stopped in and picked up a box of 1988 Score baseball just for the hell of it. At the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, it seems like every store space is filled. There are only a couple openings and the mall appears to be doing very well. I hit East Coast Frozen Custard for the first time in ten years, later finding they had opened a new branch at the Mentor-Painesville line. Dick's Sporting Goods moved to the mall, and a card shop is also open near it. I stopped in and talked to one of the proprietors for a while and left him my card.
The business card worked well all week. I found a few people who may be able to help me out and I them. I already found one auto for a guy who is collecting all the Fleer sets signed. I also may have a guy for signed hockey stuff.
To finish things out, I went to my dad's place on Tuesday and he told me he was giving me all his old cards. He didn't have many: most of his collection had been sold to a friend years ago. At one point he said he had nearly every card from the late 50's and early 60's. All he had left are the 1962 and 1963 Topps cards we found in Grandma's attic before she moved into an assisted living home in 1992. And now 22 years later, he was passing them down to me. Here are a few photos...
To finally top it all off, I had six TTMs waiting for me when I got home. Each taking less than 3 weeks were Ken Schrom (5/5), Jamie Easterly (4/4), Gerald McNeil (3/3, all personalized), Danny Wuerffel (3/3, plus a donation request), Stevon Moore (3/3), and Matt Stover (4/3, enclosing a signed religious card).
I got to hit Melt and Friendly's, picked up chocolates from Malley's, and got another supply of Stadium Mustard. It had been ten years since I had Pierre's and East Coast Frozen Custard. I love going back to Cleveland. I just wish I could do it more often.
Anyways, it was an amazing week and I can't wait to do it again, whether it's in the next three years for Chicago and Atlantic City or in 2018 in Cleveland again. At the very least, now the planning starts for hockey season along with the end of baseball. I'm sure I'll be cutting back on baseball a bit but we'll see. At the very least, I've been told I should consider hitting Frisco this weekend.
I may also write a full-week recap of this on SCF or elsewhere. We'll see.
NOTE: more photos will be added this week including the 8x10 and 11x14 photos.
 |
| A view of the show floor. |
Saturday: Dad, Bobby Hull, and Johnny Football
Fortunately it was an awesome weekend that had bonuses beyond just attending the National, starting on Saturday. My dad came down to the show in the morning, and we went down to check it out. The first place we went was the Panini booth so I could show him a few of the products I've been involved in. I even got a few boxes to show him, breaking some 13-14 Contenders, Titanium, and Crown Royale hockey. I had a few nice pulls, it was great seeing the stuff I worked on, and my dad seemed pretty impressed by the stuff going on in the card world.
 |
| Panini booth |
However, we were able to hit up a bunch of tables and I got to talk to a few people who could help me with some of my sets. I also bought a bunch. Saturday is the first day you really start to see prices occasionally drop and I foune one that had done so. Originally they had a bunch of cards at $6 or 5 for $25. They dropped them to $4 and 7 for $25. And they had a bunch I needed. For $41, I knocked out 6 for my football set, 3 for baseball, and picked up 2 I just wanted. There were some tough signers included in there as well. At another, I picked up a bunch, mostly basketball, at 3 for $1, as well as some Avs for my wife.
 |
| A few set hits |
 |
| A typical autograph line. Or a piece of it. |
So while everything was going on, I went over and asked the aforementioned acquisitions guy if there was any chance I could get a photo with Manziel. As the only Browns fan at Panini (as far as I know), I figured I'd have a decent shot. About 15 minutes later, he told me to follow him to the back. After doing a quick interview and a couple photos, Manziel walked over, I got introduced, quickly told him I'm a huge Browns fan working at Panini and would love a photo with him. Manziel could not have been more accommodating. It would be easy for someone in his position to roll his eyes a bit and say "Alright, whatever, let's get this over." But he didn't: he seemed genuinely happy to meet a fan of the team, shook my hand, and posed for a picture, which I posted Saturday night/Sunday morning. I seriously spent the next 30 minutes wondering if that really just happened.
Sunday: The end of a week-long collectibles bender
I was pretty wiped out Sunday morning, but I still had autographs to get and money to burn. I got Jeff Burroughs on my 11x14 photo (soon to be signed by Tom Grieve as well) and Gary Bell on an 8x10 photo. He added "Smoke em inside" to it as well per my request, quoting his line to Jim Bouton in Ball Four when Bouton asked him how to pitch to guys in a team's lineup. That was Bell's answer for every single one. In the afternoon, I added Mike Hargrove on a 11x14 photo that he had never seen before, and Len Barker on several items-- my Tom Browning ball (completing a dual-signed by the only two pitchers to toss a perfect game in an Ohio MLB game since World War One), two cards (one for Chris), and a 11x14, celebrating the final out of the perfecto.
 |
| Grabbed two of Fedor. That's trade bait! |
 |
| Everyone gets a photo with the Stanley Cup. Cool people do it with the Hart Trophy. |
On Monday I headed down to The Jake to try my hand at the players' parking lot. I had pretty decent success-- at least a whole lot better than Arlington. Ryan Raburn signed 2 cards just after I arrived, followed by 3 from Bryan Shaw, 3 from Marc Rzepczynski, 3 from Mike Aviles, 3 from John Axford, and 1 from David Murphy. I wish the Rangers had easier access to players like this. The players' lot in Cleveland is fenced in and outdoors so it's easy to see them come and go and to call out to them as they walk to the door. I stuck around and checked out the game as well with a guy from the show that I met on the hotel shuttle. Good game, Tribe took it to the Reds 7-1 as Corey Kluber once again had a great game. I also surpassed the 50% mark on my goal of 1500 sigs for the year.
 |
| The haul from the parking lot. Could have had Reds too if I was any good at ID'ing them. |
Tuesday I mostly spent driving around Lake County. I tried to get in at my old high school but the driveway was under construction so I couldn't get in. I did go to my old elementary/middle school at least, which is now owned by a college nearby. I also drove around a few areas mentioned in an article I read on Dustin Spaller, a local athlete who was murdered in his early 20's. I never knew Dustin: he was a few years older than me but we attended the same school briefly. Our moms worked together at the local hospital. Of the places mentioned in the article, Just Teazin' was down the street from my house, I played Little League ball in Rec Park, we used to fill up at the BP station a lot, but Tony's is in what I had always heard was a pretty sketchy neighborhood. I drove around it a bit and it wasn't any worse than some areas I've been through, like Boston's Combat Zone, anything on the MBTA Orange Line, or a few areas of Wichita Falls. From the outside in the daytime it looks like just another bar or Italian restaurant. Granted, after something like this the area may have been cleaned up a bit-- signs are posted that the place is under 24-hour surveillance. I drove by my old house for a bit and it's almost unrecognizable. New siding, new windows, if I didn't know the location and the shape of it like the back of my hand, I never would have known I had lived there for nearly 20 years. Show me a photo with zero context and I wouldn't know.
Fortunately a lot of things are still around. Most of the businesses I know are there or have expanded and moved. Mr. P's Pizza is gone, as is the Donut Stop, but taking their place are a barbecue joint and a cupcake shop. Downtown, Puritan Bakery closed up, but the old Cards & Games from the Painesville Shopping Center moved in. I stopped in and picked up a box of 1988 Score baseball just for the hell of it. At the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, it seems like every store space is filled. There are only a couple openings and the mall appears to be doing very well. I hit East Coast Frozen Custard for the first time in ten years, later finding they had opened a new branch at the Mentor-Painesville line. Dick's Sporting Goods moved to the mall, and a card shop is also open near it. I stopped in and talked to one of the proprietors for a while and left him my card.
The business card worked well all week. I found a few people who may be able to help me out and I them. I already found one auto for a guy who is collecting all the Fleer sets signed. I also may have a guy for signed hockey stuff.
To finish things out, I went to my dad's place on Tuesday and he told me he was giving me all his old cards. He didn't have many: most of his collection had been sold to a friend years ago. At one point he said he had nearly every card from the late 50's and early 60's. All he had left are the 1962 and 1963 Topps cards we found in Grandma's attic before she moved into an assisted living home in 1992. And now 22 years later, he was passing them down to me. Here are a few photos...
 |
| Click to enlarge; Brunet lived next door to my dad in the 60's. |
 |
| The mailbox was busy while I was away. |
Anyways, it was an amazing week and I can't wait to do it again, whether it's in the next three years for Chicago and Atlantic City or in 2018 in Cleveland again. At the very least, now the planning starts for hockey season along with the end of baseball. I'm sure I'll be cutting back on baseball a bit but we'll see. At the very least, I've been told I should consider hitting Frisco this weekend.
I may also write a full-week recap of this on SCF or elsewhere. We'll see.
 |
| Until next time, Cleveland. |
Saturday, August 2, 2014
National Sports Collectors Convention, Day 3
First I'd like to say hello and welcome to anyone I've chatted with this week at the National or the Indians game, or anywhere else around Cleveland. Thanks for taking the time to check out my slice of the interwebs, and I hope you'll become regular readers and commenters.
Today was significantly lighter on the 'graphing front. There were five signers, but only three I needed anything from, as I couldn't find anything for Jim Stillwagon and didn't feel like paying $5 for a photo, so I gave away my ticket for him.
Apparently Sonny Siebert fell ill, so he was a no-show; fortunately TriStar allowed us to use our Siebert tickets on any other VIP signer that day, so I got an idea. Okay, I ripped off the idea from someone else. But only because it was a good one. I'll get to that in a moment.
Al "Bubba" Baker had his timeslot moved up to 11:30 to accommodate the lack of Siebert. He signed an 8x10 photo for me, even adding an inscription of his winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1978. Some may recognize him from the TV show Shark Tank, where he developed and patented a method for deboning ribs. He owns Bubba's Q, a barbecue restaurant in Avon, Ohio.
With some time before the two late signers, I finished walking the show aisles and checked out the cheap autograph tables. Sadly, there was nothing I could use for cheap. There were a few I need that were a bit pricier, but I'll wait until the last day before I make any big decisions. On the plus side though, I picked up a couple Hall of Famers' RCs for cheap. I spent $8 total to get a Jari Kurri and Carlton Fisk. I have one more table to check out, we'll see what develops there.
I did get my business card out to a number of people this week, so hopefully I'll have a few more regular readers of this blog, and maybe a few who can help me out with the holes in my collection. I was told to talk to a guy with Heritage Auctions as well; he's done a number of signed sets and has some excellent contacts.
I also helped out an SCF member with some signed items as contest prizes. Dan left his tickets and 8x10 photos of Joe Charbonneau and Tom Browning with me to get signed, which I did. Charbonneau also signed my 11x14 photo and shook my hand three times-- perhaps opening a beer bottle with one's eye too many times leads to short-term memory loss? He did add 1980 AL ROY to all his sigs which was a nice touch.
Browning was who I used my Siebert ticket on. I picked up a ROMLB from a dealer ($19, which is more than I like to spend, but I think this will be worth it) along with Dan's photo and my 11x14 photo. He added P.G. 9/16/88 to them all. As you may notice in the picture, I had him sign off on the side panel. I'm going to get Len Barker on the other side panel, thus having the only two Ohio pitchers to toss perfect games post-World War One on the same ball. Addie Joss is the only one I'd be missing if you include all of MLB history, and good luck getting him to sign it.
Tomorrow I'll be taking my dad to the show, and hopefully will have a surprise in store on here. I can't say much more than that right now. I also have a few unsigned items to buy, and hopefully autographs from Hanford Dixon, Milt Plum, and Al Oliver.
Today was significantly lighter on the 'graphing front. There were five signers, but only three I needed anything from, as I couldn't find anything for Jim Stillwagon and didn't feel like paying $5 for a photo, so I gave away my ticket for him.
Apparently Sonny Siebert fell ill, so he was a no-show; fortunately TriStar allowed us to use our Siebert tickets on any other VIP signer that day, so I got an idea. Okay, I ripped off the idea from someone else. But only because it was a good one. I'll get to that in a moment.
Al "Bubba" Baker had his timeslot moved up to 11:30 to accommodate the lack of Siebert. He signed an 8x10 photo for me, even adding an inscription of his winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1978. Some may recognize him from the TV show Shark Tank, where he developed and patented a method for deboning ribs. He owns Bubba's Q, a barbecue restaurant in Avon, Ohio.
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| Bubba said he smokes his briskets for 18 hours. I may have to sample it. |
I did get my business card out to a number of people this week, so hopefully I'll have a few more regular readers of this blog, and maybe a few who can help me out with the holes in my collection. I was told to talk to a guy with Heritage Auctions as well; he's done a number of signed sets and has some excellent contacts.
I also helped out an SCF member with some signed items as contest prizes. Dan left his tickets and 8x10 photos of Joe Charbonneau and Tom Browning with me to get signed, which I did. Charbonneau also signed my 11x14 photo and shook my hand three times-- perhaps opening a beer bottle with one's eye too many times leads to short-term memory loss? He did add 1980 AL ROY to all his sigs which was a nice touch.
Browning was who I used my Siebert ticket on. I picked up a ROMLB from a dealer ($19, which is more than I like to spend, but I think this will be worth it) along with Dan's photo and my 11x14 photo. He added P.G. 9/16/88 to them all. As you may notice in the picture, I had him sign off on the side panel. I'm going to get Len Barker on the other side panel, thus having the only two Ohio pitchers to toss perfect games post-World War One on the same ball. Addie Joss is the only one I'd be missing if you include all of MLB history, and good luck getting him to sign it.
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| I'll get a better picture of the ball later. |
Friday, August 1, 2014
National Sports Collectors Convention, Day 2
We're only two days in and it's already a whirlwind of a week. I would love to do this again next year, but I guarantee it's not happening (unless I can convince my wife to come with me to visit her cousin, who lives in Chicago, home of the 2015 show).
I spent most of the day walking the floor and doing a cursory examination of what tables to visit more in-depth, waiting in autograph lines, and then finally going to an Indians game for the first time in two years. I also made my first purchases as well-- I found a couple tables with some autographed cards for cheap that I couldn't pass up. The first one had for $3 each a signed 1988 Topps Jose Uribe (died in 2006) and a 1970 Topps Denny Doyle/Larry Bowa RC signed by Doyle. I'll send to Bowa for the dual soon. The Uribe might make some good trade bait if anyone out there is trying to collect the 1988 Topps set.
The next table I checked had a "bargain box" that had a ton I would have loved if I had the money ($100 for a signed Carl Yastrzemski RC?! Excuse me while I grab my guitar and busk on a street corner!). In the box was a signed 1990 Upper Deck Bo Jackson for only $5. I didn't want to spend too crazily on any signed cards, and $5 is about my upper limit for a non-set card. But I couldn't pass up a nice Bo sig.
The last batch of sigs came from a table with a ton at $2 each. I picked out 9, mostly vintage: 1968 Topps Randy Hundley; 1972 Topps Mel Stottlemyre, Roy White, Rick Monday, and Lee May; 1975 Topps Oscar Gamble; 1976 Topps Paul Blair (deceased in 2013); 1999 Topps Roy Halladay; and a 2000 Bowman Carlos Pena.
I also got the VIP ticket autograph signers on set cards: two each with a handshake from Howard Johnson, two each with a fist-bump from Andy Van Slyke, and one from Joe Delamielleure, who even at 63 looks like he could play on an offensive line. Joe added HOF 04 to his sig.
Some of you may know Cory Snyder is my all-time favorite baseball
player. He patrolled mostly right field but also some first base, left
field, third base, and shortstop over the years for the Indians, White
Sox, Blue Jays, Giants, and Dodgers from 1986-1994. He was also on the
1984 US Olympic team. 33 HR in 1987, had one of the top 5 outfield
arms of the 1980s, some could even argue of all-time. Chatting with a
dealer at the National on Wednesday night, he told me he had a Snyder
game-used bat that he was selling and would mark it down from $90 to
$50 for me if I wanted it. So, this is coming home with me...
I also ventured down to The Jake for the Indians-Mariners game, hoping to score some Mariners autos. Unfortunately, Cleveland has the WORST system ever. The center field gates open at 4:30 pm, but everything else is blocked off. You can only sit or stand and watch batting practice. No one can access anything near the field until 6 pm. This rendered graphing pointless. I was planning on doing tomorrow's Rangers-Indians game, but I'm removing it from the schedule. I still plan to do Monday's game with the Reds, but I'll mostly be doing the players' parking lot for it. Say what you want about the Rangers and the Ballpark in Arlington (and as avid readers know, I do), but at least they don't do that crap.
The Indians lost, but I got to spend some time with friends from high school, a couple of whom I hadn't seen in a good twelve years. One even caught a foul liner from Lonnie Chisenhall-- the fourth close encounter I've had with a ball (but it's still only one that I've managed to catch).
On the docket tomorrow: get cash out and start doing some signed card buying. I found a few tables with $1-2 autos, so I plan to try to fill some set needs there if I can. I also have to get photos signed by Sonny Siebert, Al "Bubba" Baker, Joe Charbonneau, and Tom Browning. I'm going to try to sell off my Jim Stillwagon ticket. I got $3 for my Rick Waits one today. I bet I can get that for Stillwagon instead of ponying up the $5 for a photo of him.
I spent most of the day walking the floor and doing a cursory examination of what tables to visit more in-depth, waiting in autograph lines, and then finally going to an Indians game for the first time in two years. I also made my first purchases as well-- I found a couple tables with some autographed cards for cheap that I couldn't pass up. The first one had for $3 each a signed 1988 Topps Jose Uribe (died in 2006) and a 1970 Topps Denny Doyle/Larry Bowa RC signed by Doyle. I'll send to Bowa for the dual soon. The Uribe might make some good trade bait if anyone out there is trying to collect the 1988 Topps set.
The next table I checked had a "bargain box" that had a ton I would have loved if I had the money ($100 for a signed Carl Yastrzemski RC?! Excuse me while I grab my guitar and busk on a street corner!). In the box was a signed 1990 Upper Deck Bo Jackson for only $5. I didn't want to spend too crazily on any signed cards, and $5 is about my upper limit for a non-set card. But I couldn't pass up a nice Bo sig.
The last batch of sigs came from a table with a ton at $2 each. I picked out 9, mostly vintage: 1968 Topps Randy Hundley; 1972 Topps Mel Stottlemyre, Roy White, Rick Monday, and Lee May; 1975 Topps Oscar Gamble; 1976 Topps Paul Blair (deceased in 2013); 1999 Topps Roy Halladay; and a 2000 Bowman Carlos Pena.
I also got the VIP ticket autograph signers on set cards: two each with a handshake from Howard Johnson, two each with a fist-bump from Andy Van Slyke, and one from Joe Delamielleure, who even at 63 looks like he could play on an offensive line. Joe added HOF 04 to his sig.
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| The haul of sigs from Day 2. |
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| My second ever game-used piece (first was a Ryan Vandenbussche stick) |
The Indians lost, but I got to spend some time with friends from high school, a couple of whom I hadn't seen in a good twelve years. One even caught a foul liner from Lonnie Chisenhall-- the fourth close encounter I've had with a ball (but it's still only one that I've managed to catch).
On the docket tomorrow: get cash out and start doing some signed card buying. I found a few tables with $1-2 autos, so I plan to try to fill some set needs there if I can. I also have to get photos signed by Sonny Siebert, Al "Bubba" Baker, Joe Charbonneau, and Tom Browning. I'm going to try to sell off my Jim Stillwagon ticket. I got $3 for my Rick Waits one today. I bet I can get that for Stillwagon instead of ponying up the $5 for a photo of him.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Hounding Report: Fort Worth vs. San Angelo, August 11; plus some hockey hounding recon
On Thursday, I got a text from Chris (whom I know I've mentioned on here a few times) asking if I wanted to go over to Fort Worth for a quick, impromptu hounding session on the Fort Worth Cats on Sunday. It was the final home series for the team and so if I wanted to get my Jim Essian cards signed, I should consider going. Additionally, former Indians manager Doc Edwards is the San Angelo manager so I could likely get him too.
Sadly, I only had 1 card of Essian and two of Edwards. On the plus side, it gave me a good excuse to run down to Duane's. I was able to find a 1965 Edwards card, as well as another 8 Essian cards, so I was all set. Cost me $3. Of course, I bought other items too to push my total up to about $20, but whatever. It's a card store, I'm bound to find other things I can't possibly live without, like two boxes of 7th Inning Sketch QMJHL cards from 1990-91 at $5 each.
Anyways, we got to the ballpark in Fort Worth early enough that we were able to find Essian in the stands watching warmups. He was cool about signing and chatting with us, and signed all nine cards I had on me. As a former catcher back in my Little League days, I always like adding catchers to my collection-- especially former Indians' catchers.
After Essian, we went to the visitors side and after waiting a while and chatting with a few other collectors (including one who writes for The Hardball Times), out came Edwards. Doc Edwards has been in baseball for 57 years now, at least ten of which were spent with the Indians organization. Five members of his 1988 Indians are now big-league managers (hitting coach Charlie Manuel, pitcher Bud Black, first baseman Terry Francona, pitcher John Farrell, and shortstop Ron Washington).
Slowly, about 15 minutes before the start of the game, Edwards made his way out, stopping to chat with us and sign our cards. I mentioned to him that I was an Indians fan from back when he was managing there, that I was a huge Cory Snyder fan. He said Snyder is a great guy and that his daughter, Amberley, was involved in a serious car accident a few years ago-- I wasn't aware of it. She was a champion horse rider and was on her way to Colorado when her horse trailer flipped in Wyoming and sent her off the road. She survived, but is unfortunately a paraplegic following the accident. He said they are doing well though, and a quick Google search showed that Amberley is back to riding once again. Cory is currently the hitting coach for the Jackson Generals, AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
After walking around a bit, we saw former Rangers' pitcher DeWayne Vaughan, in town to watch his son play ball before heading back to Colorado where he currently works in the oil business. I was out of cards of him, but fortunately Chris had an extra one for me. He signed for us and spent a good chunk of a half inning chatting with us.
So not a bad day at all. Added 13 autographs to the collection, and if any of the Cats or Colts had cards, I'm sure I could have gotten plenty more. Plus Chris hooked me up with a bunch (11, to be exact, aside from the Vaughan card) for doing the driving.
Continuing on to the second half of this entry, I got to do a little recon on potential hotel hounding of hockey and basketball teams this season. I'm not going to mention the names of the places, but they're not too hard to find or figure out. The reports I've heard are pretty accurate though: these places do not appear grapher-friendly at all. That doesn't mean I won't try them out though. It's $5 to get downtown and at the worst, I go, I get no autographs, I spend a chunk of the day in the middle of Dallas, grab a bite to eat, maybe finally get around to going to the Sixth Floor Museum, or the art museum, or whatever sounds good, then I head home.
Walked four miles total yesterday in 100-degree heat while hauling a computer and external hard drive while scoping it all out. I also spent some time at the library for a large research project that I'm hoping could turn into a full-fledged book. We'll see what happens, but I'm at least off to an excellent start with it.
Sadly, I only had 1 card of Essian and two of Edwards. On the plus side, it gave me a good excuse to run down to Duane's. I was able to find a 1965 Edwards card, as well as another 8 Essian cards, so I was all set. Cost me $3. Of course, I bought other items too to push my total up to about $20, but whatever. It's a card store, I'm bound to find other things I can't possibly live without, like two boxes of 7th Inning Sketch QMJHL cards from 1990-91 at $5 each.
Anyways, we got to the ballpark in Fort Worth early enough that we were able to find Essian in the stands watching warmups. He was cool about signing and chatting with us, and signed all nine cards I had on me. As a former catcher back in my Little League days, I always like adding catchers to my collection-- especially former Indians' catchers.
After Essian, we went to the visitors side and after waiting a while and chatting with a few other collectors (including one who writes for The Hardball Times), out came Edwards. Doc Edwards has been in baseball for 57 years now, at least ten of which were spent with the Indians organization. Five members of his 1988 Indians are now big-league managers (hitting coach Charlie Manuel, pitcher Bud Black, first baseman Terry Francona, pitcher John Farrell, and shortstop Ron Washington).
Slowly, about 15 minutes before the start of the game, Edwards made his way out, stopping to chat with us and sign our cards. I mentioned to him that I was an Indians fan from back when he was managing there, that I was a huge Cory Snyder fan. He said Snyder is a great guy and that his daughter, Amberley, was involved in a serious car accident a few years ago-- I wasn't aware of it. She was a champion horse rider and was on her way to Colorado when her horse trailer flipped in Wyoming and sent her off the road. She survived, but is unfortunately a paraplegic following the accident. He said they are doing well though, and a quick Google search showed that Amberley is back to riding once again. Cory is currently the hitting coach for the Jackson Generals, AA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
After walking around a bit, we saw former Rangers' pitcher DeWayne Vaughan, in town to watch his son play ball before heading back to Colorado where he currently works in the oil business. I was out of cards of him, but fortunately Chris had an extra one for me. He signed for us and spent a good chunk of a half inning chatting with us.
So not a bad day at all. Added 13 autographs to the collection, and if any of the Cats or Colts had cards, I'm sure I could have gotten plenty more. Plus Chris hooked me up with a bunch (11, to be exact, aside from the Vaughan card) for doing the driving.
Continuing on to the second half of this entry, I got to do a little recon on potential hotel hounding of hockey and basketball teams this season. I'm not going to mention the names of the places, but they're not too hard to find or figure out. The reports I've heard are pretty accurate though: these places do not appear grapher-friendly at all. That doesn't mean I won't try them out though. It's $5 to get downtown and at the worst, I go, I get no autographs, I spend a chunk of the day in the middle of Dallas, grab a bite to eat, maybe finally get around to going to the Sixth Floor Museum, or the art museum, or whatever sounds good, then I head home.
Walked four miles total yesterday in 100-degree heat while hauling a computer and external hard drive while scoping it all out. I also spent some time at the library for a large research project that I'm hoping could turn into a full-fledged book. We'll see what happens, but I'm at least off to an excellent start with it.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Hounding Report: Celebrity Baseball, Rangers, and Reds, June 29-30
Most of my hounding reports so far have been about baseball. Actually all of them have except for the Paul Gillis success back in March. This past weekend, I finally got to vary it up a bit with the Reebok Heroes Dirk Nowitzki Celebrity Baseball Game over in Frisco.
Arron and his mom came to town Friday night for the Reds-Rangers game. He said it was ridiculous, that there were a good 200 people there hounding. For the Reds. They're not THAT good. Why in the hell are there that many people going for a team that hasn't meant anything since 1990? On the plus side, he said he got Phillips and Votto, so it was a decent showing for the insanity.
Saturday, it was off to Plano first to hit up Triple Cards. It was the first time Arron had been out there and he agreed with my high recommendation of it. After a quick lunch at In-N-Out (sidebar: I've been here 3 months and hadn't had In-N-Out since moving here), it was over to the ballpark in Frisco to see what we could get.
The Frisco game attracts every collector and their cousin. Unfortunately, that means it also attracts every dealer, their friends, their family members, and anyone they can convince to come with them to load up. I both love and hate this event every year. Last year was largely a bust until the late parts when I got Mike Modano and Terrell Owens to go with the Charles Barkley from earlier in the day.
This year, there was no Modano or Barkley. The lineup seemed a little lighter in star power, but what it lacked in that department, it made up for in willing signers. We tried the first base line to start, but had no luck as all the players headed to the other side for the pregame press conference. After a quick dash to the first-base side, I was able to get Drew Pearson on one of my two cards. Going up there to the press conference is usually a giant Charlie Foxtrot (to quote a Facebook post from Paul Buxton, I believe), but at least I was able to get former Cleveland Indian David Justice on my Topps All-Time Fan Favorites card, so that's another one to knock off the list. Aside from him, everyone was nearly impossible to get, so I went back down by the field. I tried to get Justice again since I had another 8 cards with me, but he skipped me three times before I gave up. I also got skipped five times by Goose Gossage. So things weren't looking good on the baseball front.
On the plus side, I did well on basketball. After Justice and before Gossage, Eduardo Najera signed four cards, even pointing out that on one of them, it depicts a game-winning shot to put the Nuggets into the playoffs. After getting skipped by Gossage a few times, I was able to get Chandler Parsons on the two cards I had of him. J.J. Barea came by as well, signing all three cards I had for him. Unfortunately it was in black Sharpie instead of my blue, as he just grabbed a pen and went straight down the line. It looks alright though.
Devin Harris came by a little before the game started, signing one of the four I had. Fortunately he signed the really awesome 2012-13 Donruss Elite card I had on me, and it looks great with his sig added. A dash across to the third base side again netted me a Vince Carter, as he also signed one of the two cards I had. I was hoping to get Michael Finley and Brian Cardinal, but Dirk was right there as well, and he was getting mobbed by crowds that were a good 10-12 people deep. I gave up and went over to my seats to watch the game.
Remembering that the players often leave the field in left field, Arrons and I headed for that side in the ninth inning. It's a good thing we did too: a lot of other people had the same idea. We grabbed seats right on the aisle and as soon as the last out was made, every person sitting there all jumped up and headed for the front. I got in the second row of people standing at least, and as Dirk came that way, here came the shoves. I had a guy leaning over my back the whole time. I boxed him out a bit though for being such an ass and gave him a couple elbows to the solar plexus. Best of all, Dirk signed one of my cards and didn't go near his hat. Dirk did a Barea and just grabbed one pen and went down the line, and unfortunately it was a streaky black Sharpie, but whatever. I finally got him.
We gave up after that. Arron got him too, the crowd was getting (or had gotten) ridiculous, and the fireworks show wasn't all that great. From there, we went outside to the players' exit, and there were already 30 people there, then becoming 100 or more including people across the street. I figured there was no way I'd get anyone. Most of the players I had already gotten didn't stop at all, and once everyone was told Dirk had gone out a different way, it was down to maybe 10 of us, and I got right up to the front. Former Cleveland Indian Mike Bacsik came out and Arron and I were the only ones to recognize him. I called out and he came over and signed. As he was signing an Akron Aeros card, I mentioned I used to go to Akron a lot, living only about 70 miles north. He said it was one of his favorite cities to have played in.
Justice came out and didn't sign, just gave a wave. Gossage followed and I figured it was my last chance. I called out, and FINALLY, the 2008 HOF inductee came over and signed one of my cards. He signed a couple others, stopped for a picture, and took off. Last was Ben Grieve, who plays in the game every year. I had a ton of cards of him, so I threw 8 in my notebook. He signed the first four, looked around, then signed the rest saying "I figured I'd see how many others were here before signing the rest of them." Fortunately they were all different cards at least, and even if he had stopped at 4, I would have been more than fine with it.
So overall, I ended up with 27 sigs from 11 players. Definitely my best year yet in terms of quantity.
Sunday, it was off to the Ballpark for the Reds and Rangers. Due to being dead tired, we got off to a late start and apparently missed out on Ron Washington-- that's fine, he's probably tired of seeing me anyway. It ended up a typical Sunday at the tunnel, without many stopping. We did get Dave Magadan, who signed three for me. One will be going to Corey Mansfield for his Mets collection. Neal Cotts stopped again as well, signing the two cards I had-- one for Andrew in New Jersey. David Murphy stopped as well-- a little odd, as he stopped on Saturday too, according to TAC. He did his usual one-per, this one being another for Andrew, so I've gotten two of his three so far.
Once in a while at the tunnel you get lucky and opposing players come in. Former UT pitcher Sam LeCure was one of them, signing the lone card I had of him. Additionally Dusty Baker drove in and signed for us. He didn't seem too happy about it though: when the first one went over there, he said "Oh come on man, I'm on my way to work." As maybe three or four of us came over, he said "See? Now everyone wants one." But he did it at least. I just put out one for him instead of the book of three. Dusty, like a lot of retired players, has a great sig. Also, he signs by mail so if you have cards of him, send them. You won't regret it.
Inside we went for the Reds' side but it was a bust: the crowd was STILL big and only a few pitchers were out there tossing, and none were ones I had cards for. We decided it wasn't worth it, but thought about hitting up the press box. It's semi-accessible from the 200-level and the Reds have four former players who now call games: Chris Welsh, Jeff Brantley, Kent Mercker, and Sean Casey. Brantley was the big one for me: I needed him for the Topps ATFF set. So Arron, Chris, and I ventured up there and waited and hoped. Steve Busby, former Royals pitcher and current Ranger broadcaster was up there, and he signed the three cards I had of him.
Note on Busby: he is not the player shown on his 1975 Topps card. He will sign it, but he also writes "NOTE: This is not Steve Busby" on it. I want to get one now.
Eventually, we saw Welsh. He was getting his notes together and Chris got his attention, pointing to a 1986 Topps card of him with a thumbs-up. Welsh laughed and got an assistant to open the window for him so we could pass our items up for him to sign and chat a bit. He's a former Ranger along with pitching for the Reds. After waiting a bit, we asked him where Brantley would be and he said two booths down. Eventually he showed up but we couldn't get his attention. Welsh even went to point us out to him, but no luck. We tried postgame as well, but he was on the air all the way until they gave us the boot from the section. Oh well, at least now I know how to get a few more guys if I want to give up on the field and just try them out. I know Steve Sparks will be in with the Astros very soon.
Totals: 12 from 7 players; one for Corey, two for Andrew.
Next up: Tuesday with Seattle. They were great their previous trip. Here's to hoping for similar results this week. Got Houston over the weekend. Don't think I'm going to do the Mariners on July 4th. It's bound to be packed and my brother in law invited me over for brisket and maybe a movie. A day off like that sounds great to me.
Arron and his mom came to town Friday night for the Reds-Rangers game. He said it was ridiculous, that there were a good 200 people there hounding. For the Reds. They're not THAT good. Why in the hell are there that many people going for a team that hasn't meant anything since 1990? On the plus side, he said he got Phillips and Votto, so it was a decent showing for the insanity.
Saturday, it was off to Plano first to hit up Triple Cards. It was the first time Arron had been out there and he agreed with my high recommendation of it. After a quick lunch at In-N-Out (sidebar: I've been here 3 months and hadn't had In-N-Out since moving here), it was over to the ballpark in Frisco to see what we could get.
The Frisco game attracts every collector and their cousin. Unfortunately, that means it also attracts every dealer, their friends, their family members, and anyone they can convince to come with them to load up. I both love and hate this event every year. Last year was largely a bust until the late parts when I got Mike Modano and Terrell Owens to go with the Charles Barkley from earlier in the day.
This year, there was no Modano or Barkley. The lineup seemed a little lighter in star power, but what it lacked in that department, it made up for in willing signers. We tried the first base line to start, but had no luck as all the players headed to the other side for the pregame press conference. After a quick dash to the first-base side, I was able to get Drew Pearson on one of my two cards. Going up there to the press conference is usually a giant Charlie Foxtrot (to quote a Facebook post from Paul Buxton, I believe), but at least I was able to get former Cleveland Indian David Justice on my Topps All-Time Fan Favorites card, so that's another one to knock off the list. Aside from him, everyone was nearly impossible to get, so I went back down by the field. I tried to get Justice again since I had another 8 cards with me, but he skipped me three times before I gave up. I also got skipped five times by Goose Gossage. So things weren't looking good on the baseball front.
On the plus side, I did well on basketball. After Justice and before Gossage, Eduardo Najera signed four cards, even pointing out that on one of them, it depicts a game-winning shot to put the Nuggets into the playoffs. After getting skipped by Gossage a few times, I was able to get Chandler Parsons on the two cards I had of him. J.J. Barea came by as well, signing all three cards I had for him. Unfortunately it was in black Sharpie instead of my blue, as he just grabbed a pen and went straight down the line. It looks alright though.
Devin Harris came by a little before the game started, signing one of the four I had. Fortunately he signed the really awesome 2012-13 Donruss Elite card I had on me, and it looks great with his sig added. A dash across to the third base side again netted me a Vince Carter, as he also signed one of the two cards I had. I was hoping to get Michael Finley and Brian Cardinal, but Dirk was right there as well, and he was getting mobbed by crowds that were a good 10-12 people deep. I gave up and went over to my seats to watch the game.
Remembering that the players often leave the field in left field, Arrons and I headed for that side in the ninth inning. It's a good thing we did too: a lot of other people had the same idea. We grabbed seats right on the aisle and as soon as the last out was made, every person sitting there all jumped up and headed for the front. I got in the second row of people standing at least, and as Dirk came that way, here came the shoves. I had a guy leaning over my back the whole time. I boxed him out a bit though for being such an ass and gave him a couple elbows to the solar plexus. Best of all, Dirk signed one of my cards and didn't go near his hat. Dirk did a Barea and just grabbed one pen and went down the line, and unfortunately it was a streaky black Sharpie, but whatever. I finally got him.
We gave up after that. Arron got him too, the crowd was getting (or had gotten) ridiculous, and the fireworks show wasn't all that great. From there, we went outside to the players' exit, and there were already 30 people there, then becoming 100 or more including people across the street. I figured there was no way I'd get anyone. Most of the players I had already gotten didn't stop at all, and once everyone was told Dirk had gone out a different way, it was down to maybe 10 of us, and I got right up to the front. Former Cleveland Indian Mike Bacsik came out and Arron and I were the only ones to recognize him. I called out and he came over and signed. As he was signing an Akron Aeros card, I mentioned I used to go to Akron a lot, living only about 70 miles north. He said it was one of his favorite cities to have played in.
Justice came out and didn't sign, just gave a wave. Gossage followed and I figured it was my last chance. I called out, and FINALLY, the 2008 HOF inductee came over and signed one of my cards. He signed a couple others, stopped for a picture, and took off. Last was Ben Grieve, who plays in the game every year. I had a ton of cards of him, so I threw 8 in my notebook. He signed the first four, looked around, then signed the rest saying "I figured I'd see how many others were here before signing the rest of them." Fortunately they were all different cards at least, and even if he had stopped at 4, I would have been more than fine with it.
So overall, I ended up with 27 sigs from 11 players. Definitely my best year yet in terms of quantity.
Sunday, it was off to the Ballpark for the Reds and Rangers. Due to being dead tired, we got off to a late start and apparently missed out on Ron Washington-- that's fine, he's probably tired of seeing me anyway. It ended up a typical Sunday at the tunnel, without many stopping. We did get Dave Magadan, who signed three for me. One will be going to Corey Mansfield for his Mets collection. Neal Cotts stopped again as well, signing the two cards I had-- one for Andrew in New Jersey. David Murphy stopped as well-- a little odd, as he stopped on Saturday too, according to TAC. He did his usual one-per, this one being another for Andrew, so I've gotten two of his three so far.
Once in a while at the tunnel you get lucky and opposing players come in. Former UT pitcher Sam LeCure was one of them, signing the lone card I had of him. Additionally Dusty Baker drove in and signed for us. He didn't seem too happy about it though: when the first one went over there, he said "Oh come on man, I'm on my way to work." As maybe three or four of us came over, he said "See? Now everyone wants one." But he did it at least. I just put out one for him instead of the book of three. Dusty, like a lot of retired players, has a great sig. Also, he signs by mail so if you have cards of him, send them. You won't regret it.
Inside we went for the Reds' side but it was a bust: the crowd was STILL big and only a few pitchers were out there tossing, and none were ones I had cards for. We decided it wasn't worth it, but thought about hitting up the press box. It's semi-accessible from the 200-level and the Reds have four former players who now call games: Chris Welsh, Jeff Brantley, Kent Mercker, and Sean Casey. Brantley was the big one for me: I needed him for the Topps ATFF set. So Arron, Chris, and I ventured up there and waited and hoped. Steve Busby, former Royals pitcher and current Ranger broadcaster was up there, and he signed the three cards I had of him.
Note on Busby: he is not the player shown on his 1975 Topps card. He will sign it, but he also writes "NOTE: This is not Steve Busby" on it. I want to get one now.
Eventually, we saw Welsh. He was getting his notes together and Chris got his attention, pointing to a 1986 Topps card of him with a thumbs-up. Welsh laughed and got an assistant to open the window for him so we could pass our items up for him to sign and chat a bit. He's a former Ranger along with pitching for the Reds. After waiting a bit, we asked him where Brantley would be and he said two booths down. Eventually he showed up but we couldn't get his attention. Welsh even went to point us out to him, but no luck. We tried postgame as well, but he was on the air all the way until they gave us the boot from the section. Oh well, at least now I know how to get a few more guys if I want to give up on the field and just try them out. I know Steve Sparks will be in with the Astros very soon.
Totals: 12 from 7 players; one for Corey, two for Andrew.
Next up: Tuesday with Seattle. They were great their previous trip. Here's to hoping for similar results this week. Got Houston over the weekend. Don't think I'm going to do the Mariners on July 4th. It's bound to be packed and my brother in law invited me over for brisket and maybe a movie. A day off like that sounds great to me.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Hounding Report: Indians, June 10-12
I have had possibly the greatest sports fan week ever.
On Monday at work, I got to spend some time chatting with Daryl "Razor" Reaugh, former NHL goalie and currently a broadcaster for the Dallas Stars with Ralph Strangis. Great guy. He told me next time Ralph gets laryngitis, he knows where to look for a stand-in.
Tuesday, I received a message on Twitter (follow me @drewpelto) that I had won the Lake County Captains' 4000th Twitter follower contest, whose prize is throwing out the first pitch at a game. Awesome! Unfortunately, the Captains are 1200 miles away from me in Eastlake, OH, near my hometown of Painesville. Here's to hoping I can trade prizes.
And last but not least, the weather was pretty good for 'graphing. My Indians came in for three games and I was able to work a full day and get inside the Ballpark without missing too many players each of the three days.
On Monday, it was my fellow Drew leading off the signing as Drew Stubbs signed one-each for everyone. Mike Aviles came over and signed as well, doing two-per, as did Michael Bourn. BIG warning on Bourn though-- he's left-handed, and of my three cards, he signed the middle one first, then the one to the right, causing the first one to get smeared pretty nicely. So be forewarned: either only get one item signed, or space your two out a bit.
Justin Masterson is one of the best signers in baseball today. The Tribe's best pitcher, he signed all three cards I had with me. Similar to Turner Ward a few weeks back, he added a Bible verse, tagging each with John 16:33.
After Masterson came manager Terry Francona. Tito was a one-per signer, but fellow hound Phil helped me out, getting my second and third cards signed for me. I'm usually not one to double dip, but if someone insists on doing it for me, I won't complain. Third base coach Brad Mills signed the lone card I had of him as well.
Tuesday I got in a bit late due to a nifty little ticket snafu. Arron traded in a ticket for me on Sunday so I could come to this one as well. It was printed for me, and all looked good. Unfortunately he couldn't come down for the games, so he called and left his normal season tickets at Will Call for a friend. Unfortunately when that friend picked up the tickets, they reprinted mine with them, and she used it to get in. Fortunately the box office was able to reprint the one she didn't use, and I was on my merry way after a 25-minute delay.
Due to a plumbing issue, there was no batting practice and a giant sinkhole behind the pitcher's mound. I missed out on a few bullpen arms signing, and with no BP, there were no position players out there either. I ended up doing alright though. Scott Kazmir signed, another one-per guy. Nick Hagadone, despite (or perhaps because of) his rough outing Monday night, signed all four cards I had with me, followed by Vinnie Pestano signing the only card I had of him. I mentioned I follow him on Twitter and he laughed and said thanks. Ubaldo Jimenez signed as well, doing two-per for everyone down the line. His sig is pretty much a big U with a J looped around it. Short, but at least he does it. Reliever Joe Smith came over and signed after taking a few warmup tosses, followed by bullpen coach Kevin Cash. A little later, I also got pitching coach Mickey Callaway to sign a card.
Wednesday lacked in quantity, but the quality was aces. Nick Swisher was a one-per signer, but did it for everyone, making sure to get to the kids first, then everyone else. Very chatty while signing too. New re-acquisition John McDonald came and signed as well. I only had one card of him, but once again, he did it. Tito came by again, another one-per, followed lastly by Justin Masterson again. I only had one left of him, but he signed it while hanging out with some family members who came out to the game. While a player was doing an interview on TV next to us, he spent the time tossing sunflower seeds at him. It's always fun getting to see the players interact like that-- you never see those things on TV. Or you do, but you don't know where or from whom it's coming.
I could have had more on several of these guys, but the cards I bought on SportLots didn't get here in time. I got two more cards of Cash, Callaway, and Pestano, plus one extra each on Smith and Masterson. Tuesday I missed out on Matt Albers, Bryan Shaw and Rich Hill-- Hill was the only one I had cards of at the time-- now I have three of each. At least I'm prepped for next year, or in case any of them get traded to a team that comes later in the season. I guess the moral of the story is to make sure you buy your cards so that they'll arrive at least a week in advance. I thought I had done it with enough time, but obviously I did not.
Overall, a pretty awesome week. 28 autographs, two Tribe wins, 7.5 miles biked, a Yu Darvish bobblehead, a chat with a former NHL'er, a Twitter contest won, plus 47 hours of actual paid work.
And zero sleep.
On Monday at work, I got to spend some time chatting with Daryl "Razor" Reaugh, former NHL goalie and currently a broadcaster for the Dallas Stars with Ralph Strangis. Great guy. He told me next time Ralph gets laryngitis, he knows where to look for a stand-in.
Tuesday, I received a message on Twitter (follow me @drewpelto) that I had won the Lake County Captains' 4000th Twitter follower contest, whose prize is throwing out the first pitch at a game. Awesome! Unfortunately, the Captains are 1200 miles away from me in Eastlake, OH, near my hometown of Painesville. Here's to hoping I can trade prizes.
And last but not least, the weather was pretty good for 'graphing. My Indians came in for three games and I was able to work a full day and get inside the Ballpark without missing too many players each of the three days.
On Monday, it was my fellow Drew leading off the signing as Drew Stubbs signed one-each for everyone. Mike Aviles came over and signed as well, doing two-per, as did Michael Bourn. BIG warning on Bourn though-- he's left-handed, and of my three cards, he signed the middle one first, then the one to the right, causing the first one to get smeared pretty nicely. So be forewarned: either only get one item signed, or space your two out a bit.
Justin Masterson is one of the best signers in baseball today. The Tribe's best pitcher, he signed all three cards I had with me. Similar to Turner Ward a few weeks back, he added a Bible verse, tagging each with John 16:33.
 |
| Justin Masterson, signing for everyone on Monday |
Tuesday I got in a bit late due to a nifty little ticket snafu. Arron traded in a ticket for me on Sunday so I could come to this one as well. It was printed for me, and all looked good. Unfortunately he couldn't come down for the games, so he called and left his normal season tickets at Will Call for a friend. Unfortunately when that friend picked up the tickets, they reprinted mine with them, and she used it to get in. Fortunately the box office was able to reprint the one she didn't use, and I was on my merry way after a 25-minute delay.
Due to a plumbing issue, there was no batting practice and a giant sinkhole behind the pitcher's mound. I missed out on a few bullpen arms signing, and with no BP, there were no position players out there either. I ended up doing alright though. Scott Kazmir signed, another one-per guy. Nick Hagadone, despite (or perhaps because of) his rough outing Monday night, signed all four cards I had with me, followed by Vinnie Pestano signing the only card I had of him. I mentioned I follow him on Twitter and he laughed and said thanks. Ubaldo Jimenez signed as well, doing two-per for everyone down the line. His sig is pretty much a big U with a J looped around it. Short, but at least he does it. Reliever Joe Smith came over and signed after taking a few warmup tosses, followed by bullpen coach Kevin Cash. A little later, I also got pitching coach Mickey Callaway to sign a card.
Wednesday lacked in quantity, but the quality was aces. Nick Swisher was a one-per signer, but did it for everyone, making sure to get to the kids first, then everyone else. Very chatty while signing too. New re-acquisition John McDonald came and signed as well. I only had one card of him, but once again, he did it. Tito came by again, another one-per, followed lastly by Justin Masterson again. I only had one left of him, but he signed it while hanging out with some family members who came out to the game. While a player was doing an interview on TV next to us, he spent the time tossing sunflower seeds at him. It's always fun getting to see the players interact like that-- you never see those things on TV. Or you do, but you don't know where or from whom it's coming.
I could have had more on several of these guys, but the cards I bought on SportLots didn't get here in time. I got two more cards of Cash, Callaway, and Pestano, plus one extra each on Smith and Masterson. Tuesday I missed out on Matt Albers, Bryan Shaw and Rich Hill-- Hill was the only one I had cards of at the time-- now I have three of each. At least I'm prepped for next year, or in case any of them get traded to a team that comes later in the season. I guess the moral of the story is to make sure you buy your cards so that they'll arrive at least a week in advance. I thought I had done it with enough time, but obviously I did not.
Overall, a pretty awesome week. 28 autographs, two Tribe wins, 7.5 miles biked, a Yu Darvish bobblehead, a chat with a former NHL'er, a Twitter contest won, plus 47 hours of actual paid work.
And zero sleep.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Free cards? Yes please!
If you were to ask my wife, I'm sure she'd say the last thing I need would be any more damn cards. With somewhere around 125,000 in boxes and all sorted (except for the 14,000 cards of baseball players with last names Aardsma through Eyre) there are probably better places for me to put my money. And for the most part I agree. I still buy the occasional pack, or stock up on guys I'm likely to be hounding in the following weeks.
But if there's no money involved, is there a problem? My vote would be no.
And so when my friend Arron (remember that name, I'm sure you'll be hearing it a lot here as we'll be hounding a ton in Arlington) texted me yesterday to alert me that Matt at DocHoloday.com was giving away team lots and my beloved Indians were still available, you can guarantee I jumped on that chance. I'll let you all know what I get. It may take a few weeks since they're being shipped to Wichita Falls instead of Arlington (unless I email Matt real quick-like and ask him to hold them for a few days and send to the new place), but once I get them, I'll be as happy as a little girl.
And this appears to be no junk either. In what I saw from others who picked up cards from him, Matt is sending out some nice inserts and such. Stuff I might not get autographed but that will go into the Tribe box for future keeping. That box is minimal at present, but this should make for a very nice start.
I got so excited I told Corey about it as well. His Mets were gone already, but he knows a Marlins collector he thinks he can swing a few trades with to pick up some Mets; so he got the Marlins. Arron picked up the A's since the Rangers were gone.
Matt still has the Giants, Pirates, White Sox, and Brewers available. So if any fans of those teams are reading this, go check him out. And not just for the free cards either-- the blog as a whole is great. There's a lot in there on baseball, cards, and other random stuff on his mind and life in general. I added to the blog links on the right side here.
Maybe I'll do something similar eventually with clearing some of my cards out. I was planning on selling some on eBay (because really now, why do I need 120 cards of Matt Williams?). I figured with some of the stuff I have, I can help out some IP/TTM collectors sometime. So we'll see what happens. I don't have the awesomeness that Matt has been slinging around to everyone, but I figure I can help someone out somewhere.
But if there's no money involved, is there a problem? My vote would be no.
And so when my friend Arron (remember that name, I'm sure you'll be hearing it a lot here as we'll be hounding a ton in Arlington) texted me yesterday to alert me that Matt at DocHoloday.com was giving away team lots and my beloved Indians were still available, you can guarantee I jumped on that chance. I'll let you all know what I get. It may take a few weeks since they're being shipped to Wichita Falls instead of Arlington (unless I email Matt real quick-like and ask him to hold them for a few days and send to the new place), but once I get them, I'll be as happy as a little girl.
 |
| Me in a few weeks when the cards arrive. |
I got so excited I told Corey about it as well. His Mets were gone already, but he knows a Marlins collector he thinks he can swing a few trades with to pick up some Mets; so he got the Marlins. Arron picked up the A's since the Rangers were gone.
Matt still has the Giants, Pirates, White Sox, and Brewers available. So if any fans of those teams are reading this, go check him out. And not just for the free cards either-- the blog as a whole is great. There's a lot in there on baseball, cards, and other random stuff on his mind and life in general. I added to the blog links on the right side here.
Maybe I'll do something similar eventually with clearing some of my cards out. I was planning on selling some on eBay (because really now, why do I need 120 cards of Matt Williams?). I figured with some of the stuff I have, I can help out some IP/TTM collectors sometime. So we'll see what happens. I don't have the awesomeness that Matt has been slinging around to everyone, but I figure I can help someone out somewhere.
Friday, March 22, 2013
In Memoriam
20 years ago today was the death of Indians' pitchers Steve Olin and Tim Crews.
I was going to post the article I wrote for SCF on it, but Anthony Castrovince's article on it is around a billion times better. So read his.
I was going to post the article I wrote for SCF on it, but Anthony Castrovince's article on it is around a billion times better. So read his.
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