Roadie Time

UPDATED APRIL 8...

It's official. It's happening. And here's my schedule of games...

Friday July 22

AA Birmingham (CWS) @ Rocket City (LAA), 6:30 pm

Saturday July 23

AAA St. Paul (MIN) @ Indianapolis (PIT), 7 pm

Sunday July 24

AAA Columbus (CLE) @ Toledo (DET), 4 pm

Tuesday July 26
AA Harrisburg (WSH) at Akron (CLE), 12 pm

Wednesday July 27 through Sunday July 31

National Sports Collectors Convention, Atlantic City

Thursday July 28

DL Williamsport @ Trenton, 7 pm**

Friday July 29

Hi-A Jersey Shore (PHI) @ Wilmington (WSH), 6:30 pm

Saturday July 30

AtL Lancaster @ Staten Island, 6 pm**

Tuesday August 2

AA Erie (DET) @ Portland (BOS), 6 pm

Wednesday August 3

AAA Durham (TBR) @ Worcester (BOS), 12 pm

AA Richmond (SFG) @ New Hampshire (TOR), 7 pm

Thursday August 4

AAA Buffalo (TOR) @ Scranton-WB (NYY), 6:30 pm

Friday August 5

MLB Pittsburgh @ Baltimore, 7 pm

Saturday August 6

AA Bowie (BAL) @ Harrisburg (WSH), 6 pm

Sunday August 7

AAA Nashville (MIL) @ Norfolk (BAL), 4 pm

Tuesday August 9

AAA Jacksonville (MIA) @ Durham (TBR), 6:30 pm

Wednesday August 10

Hi-A Jersey Shore (PHI) @ Greensboro (PIT), 12 pm

Hi-A Bowling Green (TB) @ Winston-Salem (CWS), 7 pm

Thursday August 11

AA Montgomery (TBR) @ Chattanooga (CIN), 7:15 pm

Friday August 12

AA Northwest Arkansas (KCR) @ Arkansas (SEA), 7 pm

Saturday August 13

AA San Antonio (SDP) @ Frisco (TEX), 7 pm**

Anything with a double asterisk (**) is subject to change.

Draft League and Atlantic League may not be worth the time when I could spend it just relaxing in Atlantic City.

And I'll be seeing San Antonio in Frisco in May so I may not want to do it again when I can just spend Saturday arriving home and recovering.

There are three teams we'll see twice (Harrisburg, Jersey Shore, and Durham) and nine organizations where we won't see one of their teams at all. If you go across my whole life, after this trip I will have seen a minor league affiliate for every Major League team.

I don't know what all I will do on here related to it, but I do plan on doing video as much as possible at each stop.

17-20 games, 6000 miles on the road. I'm thinking 500 autographs is a pretty solid goal for it, not including what I purchase at the National-- just IP graphs. In 2018, I set a goal of 300 and got 343 across 12 games (and 574 including purchases). 500 is doable across this (that's 25 per game), especially if I do some custom 4x6 photos and grab team sets.

A Return?

 Nah, just an announcement. Maybe next summer though.

So in 2018 you may remember I went on a roadtrip to the National when it was in Cleveland. And I've been planning on going to the 2022 show as well. Even though it was moved from Cleveland when it appeared the IX Center was closing (spoiler alert: it's not anymore!) and moved to Atlantic City, I'm still planning on repeating the trip with Arron, but a week longer this time.

Yes, it's officially on.

The affiliated minor league schedules have dropped, and here's what we're looking at potentially doing...

FRIDAY JULY 22: Birmingham Barons at Rocket City Trash Pandas
SATURDAY JULY 23: St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds or St. Paul Saints at Indianapolis Indians
SUNDAY JULY 24: Columbus Clippers at Toledo Mud Hens or Erie Seawolves at Akron Rubber Ducks
MONDAY JULY 25: Off Day at Cedar Point
TUESDAY JULY 26: Reading Fightin' Phils at Erie Seawolves
WEDNESDAY JULY 27: National
THURSDAY JULY 28: National; indy league?
FRIDAY JULY 29: National; Jersey Shore Blue Claws at Wilmington Blue Rocks
SATURDAY JULY 30: National; indy league?
SUNDAY JULY 31: National; indy league?
MONDAY AUGUST 1: Off Day at Baseball Hall of Fame
TUESDAY AUGUST 2: Durham Bulls at Worcester Red Sox, Richmond Flying Squirrels at New Hampshire Fisher Cats, or Erie Seawolves at Portland Sea Dogs
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 3: Durham Bulls at Worcester Red Sox, Richmond Flying Squirrels at New Hampshire Fisher Cats, or Erie Seawolves at Portland Sea Dogs
THURSDAY AUGUST 4: totally depends on game times
FRIDAY AUGUST 5: Pittsburgh Pirates at Baltimore Orioles (IF Boog Powell is back in Baltimore)
SATURDAY AUGUST 6: totally depends on game times
SUNDAY AUGUST 7: totally depends on game times
MONDAY AUGUST 8: Off Day, hell if I know what we'll do!
TUESDAY AUGUST 9: totally depends on game times; likely Lynchburg Hillcats at Charleston River Dogs
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 10: totally depends on game times
THURSDAY AUGUST 11: totally depends on game times
FRIDAY AUGUST 12: Northwest Arkansas Naturals at Arkansas Travelers
SATURDAY AUGUST 13: San Antonio Missions at Frisco Roughriders

The days of the National could also see us hitting games in the independent Atlantic and/or Frontier Leagues, or the College Development League depending on what teams are at home. Teams nearby include Staten Island, Lancaster, Sussex County, New York Boulders, New Jersey Jackals, and Trenton.

We're trying to limit to only driving 300 miles a day at most. Five days in August are currently wide open with so many teams all lumped close together in the northeast and on down to the Carolinas. And even the Pirates-Orioles game is open to change. I have two cards I need Boog Powell to sign. If he's not going to be there, we'll check out something else. We may also be able to do a few two-a-days if afternoon games happen to pop up.

Lastly for anyone looking to follow along with what I've been getting signed lately, a few links...

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

Podcast

Website

So... Atlantic City it is.

 The National officially announced that the 2022 show will be, as I suspected, in Atlantic City.

And thus begins the planning. On an even more positive note, I have a friend who may be able to hook us up with some amazing lodging as well.

So this actually works out well. Arron and I can expand our travel a bit and add New England to the itinerary. It's not out of the realm of possibility that we might drive up to Portland, ME and/or Manchester, NH for games in those cities before looping back down to New Jersey. That would also knock out two states I have yet to visit, and I could make it three if we drive through part of Vermont on our way to another spot like Hartford, Worcester, Syracuse, Binghamton, or Scranton-Wilkes Barre. Yeah, it's not direct but everything is close enough up there that it's certainly doable.

Yes, I plan to taunt them about how much better Ohio's maple syrup is. Vermont makes the most; Ohio makes the best. Don't @ me on this.

On the way up I can also knock out South Carolina with relative ease. Even if we can't go to a Charleston, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Greenville, or Augusta game we likely will pass through it.

Midweek, we'll have Wilmington (1:40 drive time), Trenton (1:30), Jersey Shore BlueClaws (1:00), Philadelphia (1:00), Reading (2:00), and Lehigh Valley (2:00) as possibilities. Not quite as convenient as Cleveland's under-an-hour for the Indians, RubberDucks, and Captains, but still, we could handle this alright if a few of them play at home (preferably the first three).

Delmarva would be doable if they would just build something like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel instead of making us take a ferry. Monday after, maybe?

So my goal of All 50 Before 50 will be even closer-- just lacking Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the following twelve years if we can hit all four aforementioned ones. And if we come back via the Midwest, I could knock out Nebraska with a game in Omaha, then Montana when my wife and I go to Yellowstone for a combination birthday/anniversary trip.

Here are the VIP free autograph signers for the last Atlantic City show in 2016: Ron Blomberg, Dave Cash, Von Hayes, Jim Lonborg, Greg Luzinski, Gary Matthews, Bake McBride, Kevin Mitchell, Don Money, John Montefusco, Bobby Shantz, Nate Archibald, Maxie Baughan, Bill Bergey, Seth Joyner, and Pete Retzlaff. Unfortunately, I only have a major need for a few of them (Blomberg 72 Topps, McBride 04 ATFF, Mitchell 90 DK) but I may be able to dig out a few photos on guys. Retzlaff died this year so he won't be on the list, clearly.

2020 was supposed to have Mickey Morandini, Tommy Greene, Everson Walls, and Joe Klecko (04 ATFF) to start with before its cancellation. So that gives something of an idea as to who we might see in 2022. I'll be hoping for some hockey, personally.

So, as plans come together in the next 21 months I'll keep posting on them here. Hopefully it'll be about this time next year that we start hammering down on teams' schedules-- and even their existences-- and start planning around where we can and can't go.

Other stuff: if you're on the Twitter, give me a follow @DFWGrapher. I'm shutting down my current account when it hits 10,000 tweets (hopefully that last one will come on November 4) and starting this new one up, dedicated solely to autograph content and things that don't make me want to dropkick things across a parking lot. I made the mistake of following a bunch of political shit on my regular account which can be great at times (like the three tweets I've made with over 100 likes, including one with 2000) but I'd like to just eliminate most of the infuriating stuff-- which I think will be easiest to do just by starting over again.

Lastly, bad news: the Texas Air Hogs are no more, announcing today that they are terminating operations immediately. A shame, because it was close by, had cheap tickets, and had opportunities for autographs from some former MLB players and prospects, some of whom have even returned to the majors (Tyler Matzek and Brett Eibner, anyone?). It's a nice ballpark, and I'm hoping someone will move in there. The American Association said they anticipate further 2021 Texas expansion; if so, I wonder if someone will buy the franchise's entry and bring back a team in the near future.

Then again, I've hoped for the same with the Fort Worth Cats and LaGrave Field, and that's clearly not happening.

OH SHIT NO!!!!!!!!!!!

 Well. About that 2022 Cleveland roadtrip?

The notice...

...and my reaction.

So. There's that.

What's going to happen?

Atlantic City?

Baltimore?

The new Huntington Cleveland Convention Center downtown?

A roadtrip will be happening in some way as long as there is baseball-- bank on that. We just don't yet know where it will be going. Or when exactly.

Smart money right now is either the Huntington Center in Cleveland to keep from having to make a huge change or Atlantic City to make up for the loss of this year's show. I'd set Baltimore third, and almost guarantee there's no other location. The last time the National was in a place other than Chicago, Cleveland, Atlantic City, or Baltimore was 2006 in Anaheim. Last one before that: 2000, also in Anaheim. And before that: the lowest-attended National of all-time, the 1999 Atlanta show.

To make the most of this on a baseball 'graphing perspective, I need it to stay east of the Mississippi, and honestly the further east the better. In Cleveland, that's potential access to the Indians, Pirates, Lake County, Akron, Toledo, Columbus, and Erie all within about two hours; plus Mahoning Valley if we want to try a short-season (we don't, and frankly they may not exist by 2022). Atlantic City gives us the Phillies, Mets, Yankees, Trenton, Lakewood, Lehigh Valley, and Wilmington, plus Staten Island and Brooklyn (meh; I hear Brooklyn's ballpark is nice at least). Baltimore gives us the Orioles, Nationals, Phillies, Trenton, Wilmington, Bowie, Frederick, Fredericksburg, Hagerstown, Delmarva, Harrisburg, and Reading, plus Aberdeen (short-season, blech). Anaheim would give us the Angels, Dodgers, Lancaster, Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, and Lake Elsinore; but the teams in between here and there are FAR more limited than they would be going back east.

The National also has its hands a bit tied in terms of venues though. From speaking someone familiar with their selection procedures, they need 250K+ contiguous square feet of space, limited union restrictions on setup and takedown, willingness to book two-plus years ahead and not bump it off for something more lucrative, solid presence of hotels and/or public transportation nearby, and a major airport within a short distance. So for everyone asking "DOOD Y U NO PUT IN [insert city here]," that's probably why: they don't meet at least one part of these criteria.

So hopefully Huntington's 225K feet of space is enough and that they have an opening. If not, then it looks like our travel is going to shift to another city.

Well, damn.

I'll have an update on the TTMing soon. Been posting video of them all, but lazy about doing it here.

2022 NSCC Roadtrip? Yes!

Is it too early to start talking about the 2022 National?

We don’t know where anything is going with COVID-19. The 2020 National has already been postponed once. Many are wondering if it will be outright canceled (apparently the Philly Non-Sports Card Show rescheduled for October has already been given the axe).  If it’s still on for December, I’m exploring the possibility of flying up for a couple days of it.  The plans right now are to hold it December 12-16 in Atlantic City-- that’s a Saturday through a Wednesday. If it’s still on, and if people actually do the right thing and mask up and distance themselves from now until then (haha yeah ok), and if we have a new president-elect who actually takes this seriously and has a plan to figure it out, then I may fly up late Friday to Newark, drive down to a hotel near AC, go to the show Saturday and Sunday, maybe part of Monday, and fly out late Monday night.

If it gets canceled outright, do we see some movement with Atlantic City getting the 2021 or 2022 show, thus delaying the trip to 2023 or 2024?

(MID AUGUST EDIT: It got canceled. As of right now, no, they aren't pushing everything back a year. 2021 is still Chicago, so I'm hoping/assuming 2022 is still Cleveland).

Right now, the trip is still on for 2022. Arron and I have talked about extending the 2022 trip by a week if we can.

Another problem: field netting and minor league contraction. We’re still planning on getting crazy with the minor league ‘graphing if we can. But how are teams going to handle the ever-growing scourge of pole-to-plate-to-pole netting? Will they have a few open spots for ‘graphers? Will they do like the Rangers did at the old Ballpark with the over-the-dugout netting and have it at least partially raised until the National Anthem?

And what teams will be there in 2022? Will contraction even take place by then? I’ll be honest with an unpopular opinion: I LOVE the idea of minor league contraction. Baseball does not need three different levels of A-ball and a AAA level that is largely a storage spot for has-beens and won’t-bes. More and more players are making the jump from AA to the MLB level. Contracting the minor leagues will hopefully help to keep teams from wasting time, space, and money on the Zach Cones, Cody Buckels, and Royce Bolingers of the world and perhaps use the AAA level as something more than just a storage spot for veteran replacements for injured players.

Knock out 30 to 60 teams-- have each team get affiliated AAA, AA, High-A (now to be known as just plain A), and Rookie teams (formerly Low-A), with short-season development done via the GCL and AZL teams at Spring Training complexes. Low-A and Rookie ball are redundant when you have High-A and short-season A. Five levels are plenty. Right now we just don’t know who’s in and who’s out-- and don’t give me this crap, it’s not even remotely official and still changing. The contraction will likely be across all levels, which means some cities will need to change levels. There’s talk of demoting some AAA teams and adding others in from Sugar Land, St. Paul, and New Orleans, maybe moving Brooklyn and Bowling Green from A to AA, and more. It sucks for fans of the teams that are cut, but if the contracted teams are truly viable, independent leagues will take them in. Maybe you’ll even see an expansion of indy ball-- speaking of the Cones, Buckels, and Bolingers. Farm systems and affiliation killed the independent minor leagues that thrived from the dawn of baseball through WWII. Maybe this will help bring something of a renaissance for it.

Even if we go by that not-even-remotely-official list linked above, Binghamton, Erie, Lancaster, Frederick, Hagerstown, and all the short-season squads would fit fine into the Atlantic League. Perhaps the New York-Penn league continues its existence as an indy. Beloit, Burlington, and Clinton would fit into the American Association. Daytona and Florida could go to the Empire League to help out the Georgia and Puerto Rico teams to not be so isolated. Lexington, West Virginia, Jackson and Chattanooga could go to the Frontier League. The western Rookie teams could go to the Pacific or Pecos League, and the eastern ones could go to the Frontier, Empire, Atlantic, or the aforementioned newly independent New-York Penn League.

So maybe it’s a little early to start talking about a huge ‘graphing trip, but at the same time I’m seeing stuff from the 2014 National and 2018 National Road Trip coming up on my Facebook Memories and it’s making me antsy. So, let’s imagine that COVID-19 is under control by late 2021, the 2022 National remains in Cleveland,  and teams still make it possible to ‘graph pre- and postgame inside the ballpark. Let’s take a look at some plans…

For the 2018 trip, we left Texas the Saturday before the National started. For 2022, we’re looking at going a week earlier than that. The show is likely to run Wednesday, August 3rd through Sunday the 7th. So I’m thinking we’ll leave Friday, July 22. That way, we can leave maybe at like 6 or 7 pm, drive 3-5 hours, and just get a jump on everything so we don’t have a 10-hour first day the way we did in 2018. We likely will try to limit ourselves to 300 miles of driving per day; so 3-5 hours from here in DFW puts us in Shreveport or Monroe.

So Saturday July 23 would be our first game. If we hold tight to the 300-miles-per-day maximum, we’re pretty well limited from Shreveport-- the Mississippi Braves and the Memphis Redbirds are our only hopes.  From Monroe we would have those two, plus the Jackson Generals as options, and if we violate the 300-mile rule just a little bit, we could do Birmingham or Montgomery, perhaps the Rocket City Trash Pandas if we want to really push it.  I liked Birmingham, but it would also be nice to see another city.  My vote would be either Rocket City, Montgomery, or Mississippi.

Let’s say we push it to Rocket City for a Saturday game (450 miles... oof). Stay there for a night and on Sunday we have a lot of options. That’s why I like having the extra week-- we won’t have to hurry to Ohio and can stay south and east where teams are a lot closer together. Maybe we’ll even get lucky with some two-a-days with a 1 pm game in one city then a 7 pm in another one close by.  Probably not Sunday though: twelve teams all fall in that 300-mile zone but unless it’s some combo of Rome, Chattanooga, and Gwinnett, it’s not happening. But sometime during the weeks, it’s happening. I mean, we did it once in 2018 and had planned to do it twice.

Several teams are 120 miles or less apart from each other. I was going to list them all here, but it’s too many. Arron and I were able to do Cedar Rapids (noon AND ‘graphed postgame) and the Iowa Cubs (7 pm start time) both in one day and they’re 128 miles apart, so I figure that’s a good maximum target distance for any potential two-a-days.

Let’s see how many teams will be in our potential range. I’m skipping Short-Season A and Rookie ball since it’ll be tough to get cards of those guys; granted, some teams may get moved up following any contraction that may or may not happen, but we’ll tackle those once those decisions are made. I’d like to stay north of I-20, west of I-95, south of I-90 and east of I-35 for everything-- both the trip up and the return. I could go a little outside those (Michigan, looking at you with this one) but I wouldn’t want to stray too far. Realistically, we could hit some combination of these teams on the way up and during the show:

MLB: Atlanta, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, NY Mets, NY Yankees, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

AAA: Memphis, Nashville, Gwinnett, Charlotte, Durham, Lehigh Valley, Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Toledo, Columbus.

AA: Mississippi, Montgomery, Birmingham, Rocket City, Jackson, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Richmond, Bowie, Trenton, Reading, Harrisburg, Altoona, Binghamton, Erie, Akron

High-A: Fayetteville, Carolina, Winston-Salem, Lynchburg, Salem, Fredericksburg, Frederick, Wilmington

Low-A: Rome, Augusta, Columbia, Greenville, Asheville, Hickory, Kannapolis, Greensboro, Bowling Green, Lexington, West Virginia, Delmarva, Hagerstown, Lake County

On the return, possibilities include:

MLB: Detroit, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis, Kansas City

AAA: Columbus, Toledo, Indianapolis, Louisville, Iowa, Omaha, Wichita, Oklahoma City

AA: Springfield, Northwest Arkansas, Tulsa

High-A: None

Low-A: Dayton, Lansing, Fort Wayne, South Bend, Kane County, Clinton, Peoria, Quad Cities, Burlington, Cedar Rapids

I’d like to try to avoid the non-Ohio ballparks we’ve already seen, but I’m not dead-set on that either. But still, if we can pass up on Birmingham, Lexington, West Virginia, Fort Wayne, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa, I’d like that. I know Arron wants to hit up Quad Cities if possible, and I’m definitely down for that: Chuck Grassley has apparently been told that Iowa, Cedar Rapids, and Quad Cities are all safe (Clinton and Burlington, not so much) after QC was on the original leaked list of possible cuts. Now, that list implied either Quad Cities or Beloit would be on the list, but with QC being declared safe and Beloit getting approval for a new stadium that should save them, who knows what’s going to happen.

Clearly a lot more will go into it than just plotting crap on a map depending on what teams are still around. Who’s at home on what days and at what time; who can we see on the road (gotta maximize the sheer number of teams we get to see-- there’s no sense in going to Bowie if we’ll see them in Akron, for example); what teams will have the most cards for my set needs (don’t forget, the 2021 Heritage sets will be in the 1972 design; I’d like to knock out as much as I can on those); what teams have players we’ll be likely to see in the near figure in Frisco (since we’ll see their AA squads we could eliminate the A-level affiliates of Texas, LA, Seattle, Kansas City, Oakland, San Diego, St. Louis, and Houston… or we could get them and use that as a time to grab team sets on them for future Frisco use); what ballpark giveaways will be going on. We’d also like to plan some rest days and some activities that don’t involve ‘graphing: maybe a day in Cooperstown, maybe a day out at Cedar Point, laundry time so we can lighten the clothing load, etc.

We learned  a lot about trying to construct the perfect baseball road trip in 2018; 2022 will be a good test for these things. Rest is good and sleep is important. We don’t need a cooler or even many snacks in the car because gas stations are a thing: only buy or bring what you will eat that day. I’m not going to practice the guitar and probably won’t need to do any busking so it can stay home (maybe the mandolin… maybe). Pack fewer clothes, get a roll of quarters, and spend a couple hours doing laundry each week. Stay in a hotel closer to the IX Center, even if it has to be in Parma: it’s not worth it to save $20 a night vs. trimming significant time off driving to and from five days of the show. Have small bills to buy VIP autograph tickets and carry extra cards to get signed; someone is always looking to dump a ticket or two and plenty of people need autographs of guys like Steve DeBerg and Andy Van Slyke to where you’ll have some great trade bait. 

Plenty of things we did worked out well. The small folding stool and water bottle are worth their weight in gold. Pay the extra money for the All-Access upgrade. My big folding map of the show was unnecessary but a notebook to jot down booth numbers is crucial. Buy important stuff early and frivolities late. Grab a minor league box the first day because you’ll undoubtedly pull cards of guys you need at games during the week and the way back. Ride the ferris wheel.

I’m mostly just thinking out loud here. Or on paper. Or really into electrons. So much is still up in the air for the 2022 National, but it’s never too early to start at least considering some ideas and options. But again, going back to my original question…

Is it too early to start talking about the 2022 National?

Yes. Yes it is. My apologies for this Shaggy Dog Story of a post.

The National: Final

Whew. We had a busy few days after my return (had a good friend stay with us one night, band practice Saturday), I finally had a moment today to photograph almost everything. Not pictured: Set cards, items I got signed for others, and the 100+ hockey sig lot I picked up for Lee Alexander.

FINAL TOTALS

Miles driven: 3,358
States visited: Fourteen
Games attended: Twelve
Autographs obtained, whether in-person, trade, purchased, or pulled from a pack: 574

A gigantic rundown-- and this doesn't include signed photos or the unsigned items I snagged...

Preview: A Q&A on what's to come

Days One and Two: Birmingham and Lexington

Days Three and Four: Charleston and Columbus

Days Five and Six: Lake County and The National

Days Seven through Ten: NSCC, Akron, Lake Cty., Cleveland, and Ft. Wayne

Day Eleven: Cedar Rapids and Des Moines

Days Twelve and Thirteen: Des Moines and Kansas City

The National Trip: Days 12 and 13

I'm back in Arlington, having survived the week. Got about half the car unloaded.  I'll probably have a full recap next week.

DAY 12

START TIME: 9:30 am Central
STARTING CITY: Des Moines, IA
STOPPING POINT: Kansas City, MO and Wichita, KS
STATES VISITED: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 400
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 2,932

Fortunately this game was much more calm than the previous. Not much to talk about, so we'll roll through it fast.

Arron and I got in a little before 11 and caught the 51s doing a bullpen session. Ian Krol signed 2/2, PJ Conlon 1/6, and Buddy Baumann 4/4.

At the other side, we got hitting coach Joel Chimelis coming in, signing 2/2, and Peter Alonso who signed the lone card I had left on him.

For Iowa, Chris Valaika signed 3/4, starting pitcher Jen-Ho Tseng signed 1/1, and Trevor Clifton signed 3/3.  I only missed Taylor Davis on the trio of Rookie Stars from the 2018 Topps Heritage set-- I might be able to get him in Iowa at some point. Ironically, I had heard he was the easiest to get of the three!  Also got to meet up with Josh Middleton of some of the Facebook autograph groups.

Food was excellent as well-- we went to Zombie Burger in downtown Des Moines, and hit Gates BBQ in Independence, where I was able to finish off a trade I made with Brian Reser for some soccer and baseball autos, plus some old IHL and CHL media guides.

RUNNING TOTAL: 343 autographs

* * * * * * * * * *

DAY 13

START TIME: 10 am Central
STARTING CITY: Wichita, KS
STOPPING POINT: Wichita Falls and Arlington, TX
STATES VISITED: Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 426
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 3,358

We drove. That's all I got.

I'll have more next week, like I said. Give me a day or five to relax and get everything sorted and organized.

The National Trip: Day 11

DAY 11

START TIME: 10 am Central
STARTING CITY: Cedar Rapids, IA
STOPPING POINT: Des Moines, IA
STATES VISITED: Iowa
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 128
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 2,532

Sometimes I seriously hate people. Especially those with a New York Inferiority Complex™. But we'll get to that in a moment.

The day started out just fine. Or at least comparatively well compared to later. I was hoping to see the first house I ever lived in, but it was about a 30 minute drive to get there, then probably another 20 back to the ballpark, so we skipped that. We got to the stadium in Cedar Rapids, met up with Larry from the Facebook groups... and it starts raining. Just soft enough that it wouldn't cancel the game, just hard enough to make it hell on us graphing. Down next to the Beloit dugout, I was at least able to get Nick Allen and Webster Garrison each on 1/1.  After his pitcher warmed up, Don Schulze came over and signed 8/8.  Up on the concourse, the Kernels had a couple of players signing, so I got Randy Dobnak and Andrew Bechtold each on a card, along with Tyler Watson who was charting.

Funny thing about Watson, we went and asked him to sign just before the national anthem, and he said he'd sign after. I thought he meant after the game, so we sat back down. Turns out he just meant after the anthem, and actually walked over to our section and signed. I've never seen that before.

By the end of the game, the rain had cleared off so we went out to the bus out back and hoped for the best.  The tough part about 'graphing outside is you have no jersey numbers to help you out. So you have to figure out heights, weights, and distinguishing features to have any hope. We did alright though: Cibney Bello, Toby Gardenhire, and Trey Cabbage each signed 1/1 and Bailey Ober 2/2 from Cedar Rapids. For Beloit, Austin Beck signed 1/2, and Lazaro Armenteros signed 3/5.

We didn't see Akil Baddoo, and missed Blayne Enlow, but Larry offered to help us out with Baddoo.

From there, it was a two-hour drive to Des Moines, and we arrived only 15 minutes after gates opened. Las Vegas was finishing up batting practice, but we weren't able to get anyone just yet.  Having zero luck early on the Iowa side, we went over to try the Vegas side and at least got Patrick Kivlehan on 4/4 and Bryce Brentz on 3/3-- putting me past my stated goal of 300 for the trip.

And this is when my trouble began.

Arron and I are down doing our thing, minding our own business, chatting with a couple other 'graphers when over comes this guy in an Iowa Hawkeyes shirt, 51s hat, and beard and glasses that make him look like some hipster candyass.

"SO, WHICH OF YOU ARE VEGAS FANS? METS FANS? THEN YOU NEED TO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW."

Clearly I don't take well to that, so I just look and scoff at his arrogant douchebaggery. So he doubles down...

"YOU A METS FAN? I DON'T SEE IT ON YOUR HAT. YOU'RE SOME BANDWAGON CUBS FAN AREN'T YOU?"

Oh. Hell. No. I don't bandwagon anything, much less the Cubs. So I told him to go sit back down. Repeatedly

"SO, WHAT, YOU'RE HERE TO GET THESE AND SELL THEM, AREN'T YOU?"

I told him yeah, exactly, I'm that desperate for a dollar. Sarcasm clearly doesn't go over well with him. Meanwhile Jeremy Accardo came over and signed 2/2, followed by Dominic Smith on 1/2. So Mets Fan Cockwagon goes and sits back down for a bit, telling everyone around that I'm a dealer. On my way back out of the section, I called him out for the fact that it's amazing that this "bandwagon Cubs fan" knew all of his team's players better than he did.

By the way, this dude was getting a computer-printed team logo sheet signed... and didn't even fit it onto a single page.

So he strikes back at me-- of course-- this time loudly dropping F-Bombs that are echoing throughout a couple of sections, with a kid right next to him. When I pointed that out he expressed the fact that he "didn't give a fuck" who was around. Meanwhile one of the other decent 'graphers notified security, who... did absolutely nothing except check his ticket and tell him to tone it back. I was hoping he'd be escorted out and I probably would try to needle him into punching me on the way by.

Even two Mets fans at the top of the section were on my wide in the whole thing seeing it all go down. Most Mets fans I know are decent people. No idea why this guy was looking for a fight or why he went after me for it, but as the former penalty minute leader of a few floorball leagues, I think most people I know are well aware I don't back down from an altercation if I'm in the right. And every witness agreed that I was.

Postgame went better. One of the 'graphers who saw it all go down said "Geez, you're really getting it tonight, aren't you?" He said he had never seen that guy before, so he wasn't remotely representative of the Des Moines 'graphers. Over at the bullpen, I got Casey Coleman on 2/2 and as the teams left the field it was Peter Alonso on 2/3 and Glenn Abbott on 3/3 as he was heading off the field.  Closer to the dugout I added Ryan Court on 1/1.

Outside it was too dark to see at the Vegas doors, so we went for the Cubs side. I got Chesny Young on 1/1, Dillon Maples on 1/2, Cory Mazzoni on 2/2, Kyle Ryan on 2/2, James Norwood on 1/2, and Rob Zastryzny on 1/4. The coaches came out last, as Marty Pevey signed 1/1 and Desi Wilson 3/3.  Or at least we thought they were last:  Stephen Bruno was close behind, signing 2/2.

So, despite the near-throwdown with some total asshat, it was good. Day 12 will consist of hopefully more of the same, but with different names and hopefully no throwing of hands.

RUNNING TOTAL: 326 autographs

The National Trip: Days 7, 8, 9, and 10

Time has just been incredibly limited, sleep is at a premium, and my brain is melting.   So please forgive my lateness. Caffeine is my friend.

DAY 7

START TIME: 8 am Eastern
STARTING CITY: Macedonia, OH
STOPPING POINT: Westlake, Cleveland, Akron, and Macedonia, OH
STATES VISITED: Ohio
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 164
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 1,812

The first full day of the National saw Arron handling the 'graphing while I went searching the tables.  Signers were Isaac Curtis, Ross Browner, Len Barker, and Tom Cousineau.  At the tables, I mistly spent my time at a $1 autographs booth, where I managed to pull over 100-- mostly for Lee, with a few for me. I also grabbed a few 1972 Topps set needs, and a few random cards to TTM.  I also got to spend the show with my dad.

Meanwhile in the evening, it was down to Akron for the RubberDucks game against the Bowie Baysox.  We went for Akron inside, and they were excellent. We never say Triston McKenzie, but signers for us included Rob Kaminsky on 2/4, Mitch Brown on 4/4, James Karinchak on 1/1 (finishing my Lake County No-Hitter card), Kieran Lovegrove on 1/1, Matt Whitehouse on 2/2, Logan Ice on 2/2, Sam Haggerty on 1/1, Mark Mathias on 4/4, Joe Sever on 2/2, Tyler Krieger on 2/2, and Ka'ai Tom on 2/3. Inside postgame we got Dillon Tate, who was charting. He signed 2/2.

Postgame we went to the Bowie bus. Before a group of overzealous, rude, and demanding kids ruined it, we got Brian Gonzalez on 2/2, Ryan Mountcastle on 1/4, Yusniel Diaz on 1/1 (he's now one-per), and D'Arby Myers on 2/2.

Side note, apparently a dealer had his inventory confiscated and was taken into custody by the Cleveland Police's Financial Crimes unit over selling alleged forgeries. Apparently his forgeries have been known to the hobby for AT LEAST five years too (check the latter link and you'll see a poster at Net54 calling Posada's company My Favorite Forgeries). Keep on busting the big fish-- it helps to keep the petty scammers like like Andrew Miller from getting too comfortable.

RUNNING TOTAL: 197 autographs

* * * * * * * * * *

DAY 8

START TIME: 9 am Eastern
STARTING CITY: Macedonia, OH
STOPPING POINT: Cleveland, Eastlake, and Macedonia, OH
STATES VISITED: Ohio
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 88
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 1,736

Friday put me back into the autograph lines for Charles White, Steve DeBerg, Livan Hernandez, and Rico Petrocelli. Petrocelli was a non-ticketed signing (yay!) limited to one item per person (boo...). So given the option of my 11x14 photo, 1972 Topps set card, or 1965 rookie card that I procured for a dime the day before, I went with the photo. He signs by mail for $5, I could knock out the other two next week if I really want to (and I do).  White got started late, talked a lot, and people randomly jumped into his line so it took forever.  I was able to get through DeBerg's line while I was waiting and not lose much time (two for me, two for Arron, and one for another friend we were helping out).  Finally I got through and got a total of ten items signed by the former Heisman winner-- six for me, four for Arron.  Hernandez's start time got moved up which I didn't notice, but I was able to get to him quickly even though he started while I was still in White's line. Knocked out six items there-- two for me, two for Arron, two for another friend. Hernandez was on his phone the whole time, but did respond at least when I thanked him.

With the All-Access Super VIP package, we got five free authentications, so I used one each on White and Hernandez.  We never ended up using the other three at all. Mostly since I didn't think to do it.

It was a lighter day at the tables for me-- a small amount spent at a random 12 for $10 autograph table, but not much else.  I wanted to be able to have a total bonanza the final day.

That night, it was off to Lake County.  We got the Captains again pregame on a few cards that we had left over from the team set-- coach Kyle Hudson on 3/3, Felix Tati, Ulysses Cantu, Todd Isaacs, and Juan Acevedo each signed 1/1, and Will Benson did 1/2.  I also got Bowling Green coach Manny Castillo to sign 5/5 and shortstop Taylor Walls on 1/1.  Postgame I got Mikey York on 2/2, and Will Benson on my last card.

RUNNING TOTAL: 225 autographs

* * * * * * * * * *

DAY 9

START TIME: 10 am Eastern
STARTING CITY: Macedonia, OH
STOPPING POINT: Cleveland and Macedonia, OH
STATES VISITED: Ohio
RAPID TRANSIT LINES USED: Red from Brookpark to Tower City and back
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 60
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 1,796

Arron handled the lines the final day as I hit the tables.  I went back to the 12 for $10 autographs and bought a bunch from that box as well as a $5 box that had several set needs for 1972.  I also grabbed a ton of Dave Stieb in the first box-- I'll gladly grab everything for $1 from a guy who charges $10 to sign!  I also snagged a bunch of non-personalized Doug Drabek and Cecil Cooper sigs.  Gotta love having trade bait on the cheap.

Over in the autograph lines, Arron got Randy Jones, Gregg Jefferies, Jose Rijo, and Marty Cordova.  Marty's pen slipped a bit on my photo, but it still looks alright.  So from this, I added three from Jones, one Jefferies, one Rijo, and three Cordova.

We kept the graphing light since we were close to dead at this point.  Pregame, the Indian had Jim Poole and Eric Plunk signing in the center field plaza, and each did a card for me.  I wish I had known they would be there: I have tons on them at home, and had to quickly scan through some cards my dad found at his place (found a 1992 Topps on each for Arron) and open up the 1991 Score factory set I got for $2 on Thursday (found both for myself).  Corey Kluber looked like his Cy Young self, pitching a complete game shutout. Exactly four years to the day was my last game at The Jake, where I saw Kluber go seven, allowing one run in a 7-1 win over Cincinnati.

RUNNING TOTAL: 235 autographs

* * * * * * * * * *

DAY 10

START TIME: 9 am Eastern
STARTING CITY: Macedonia, OH
STOPPING POINT: Fort Wayne, IN and Cedar Rapids, IA
STATES VISITED: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 608
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 2,404

Sometimes you just get on a roll and want to knock out an entire drive.  So we went all the way to Cedar Rapids after the Fort Wayne game.

My friend Shawn texted me updates as he helped us out getting the last day's signers-- Tommy Helms, Benito Santiago, Tom Browning, Joe Charbonneau, and Billy Sims.  From those, he got ten for me (three from Helms, two each from Sims, Santiago, and Charbonneau, and one from Browning) and several for Arron.

Meanwhile in Fort Wayne, I got the two Lansing players I had items for before the game-- five from former outfielder (now coach) Matt Young, and two from former shortstop (now pitcher) Emerson Jimenez.  The Tincaps were in no mood to sign before the game since they had an on-field signing session postgame.  So at that, we immediately went for MacKenzie Gore who signed 1/2.  The only ones signing multiples were Austin Smith on 2/2 and Mason Thompson on 3/3.  Granted, I only had one card on most of these guys-- each signing 1/1 were Caleb Boushley, Tom Cosgrove, Osvaldo Hernandez, Aaron Leasher, Evan Miller, Luis Patino, Ben Sheckler, Jalen Washington, Juan Fernandez, Esteury Ruiz, Tirso Ornelas, Jeisson Rosario, and Jack Suwinski. I had two of Luis Almanzar, but he only signed one.

RUNNING TOTAL: 272 autographs

So, my goal of 300 is in reach if this rain holds off. We got into Cedar Rapids at about 1 am after our second longest day of driving to this point. It rained overnight and looks pretty cloudy this morning.  At the very least, I need to buy a hat. I was born in Cedar Rapids but we left when I was about a year and a half old to move to Ohio. I went back for a week in 1990, but haven't been here since.  Back when my family lived here, they were still the Cedar Rapids Reds.  My parents saw the likes of Eric Davis, Paul O'Neill, Rob Murphy, Ron Robinson, Terry Lee, Kal Daniels, Chris Sabo, Kurt Stillwell, Lenny Harris, and Joe Oliver come through before they made it in Cincinnati.  Now the Kernels, I need to get a hat to go with the ones I bought for the Indians, RubberDucks, and Captains on the trip.

We'll be heading onward to Des Moines later as well for the Iowa Cubs vs. Las Vegas 51s. Thinking we likely will skip the Royals-Cubs game, and may pull double duty on the Cubs-51s since they play at noon tomorrow as well, and we'll be right there in Des Moines already.

The National Trip, Days 5 and 6

DAY 5

START TIME: 9 am Eastern
STARTING CITY: Macedonia, OH
STOPPING POINT: Eastlake, OH, and Macedonia, OH
STATES VISITED: Ohio
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 53
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 1,648

Usually I like rain. And then it affects graphing.

We took off under cloudy skies to head up to the Great Lakes vs. Lake County game.  We stayed dry early-- inside the ballpark I got Juan Hillman on six cards, pitching coach Joe Torres on four, Oscar Gonzalez, Jose Vicente, and Tyler Friis each on one, three from Jonathan Laureano, and two from Francisco Perez.

And then the rains came.  The game did finish just fine, but it was just enough to make us not want to go for anyone postgame. And since the weather looked questionable for the afternoon and evening, we figured it was a good day to cancel the trip out to Toledo.

So, our first double will be delayed until we hit Iowa next week.  On the positive side, the rest was much-needed.

RUNNING TOTAL: 155 autographs


DAY 6

START TIME: 12 noon Eastern
STARTING CITY: Macedonia, OH
STOPPING POINT: Brookpark, OH, and Macedonia, OH
STATES VISITED: Ohio
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 58
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 1,706

Despite having to scramble a bit when I realized that my computer clock is still in Central time, we got to the National on time and got all the signers.  We went for Luis Tiant first since his line was a mile long. Mike Hargrove came second, Calvin Murphy third.  Then the regularly scheduled signers of Eric Metcalf and Ickey Woods did their thing, and all was good.

Pretty simple really. Short entries for short days. But be prepared: it all hits the fan with a full day of the National and a return to 'graphing in Akron.

RUNNING TOTAL: 160 autographs

The National Trip, Day 3

START TIME: 9 am Eastern
STARTING CITY: Lexington, KY
STOPPING POINT: Charleston, WV
STATES VISITED: Kentucky, West Virginia
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 174
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 1,237

Aside from a nice sunburn, Charleston was a fun outing.

We got into town pretty early for the 2 pm game-- gave us enough tome to make a quick Walmart run and get inside as gates opened. Team sets were only $8 for the 2018 set and $5 for the 2015 set, so I grabbed both. The 2017 set didn't have anything too useful aside from cards of Wyatt Toregas, Mitch Keller, and Ryan Long, but I'll take it. Future usages, perhaps.

Michael Egnor of the Ballpark Graphers group on Facebook helped me with some recon in advance and it made things easier for us. If you go down the right field line near the deck overhang, you can get both teams coming onto the field there. So before the game we were able to get Toregas on six cards, Joel Hanrahan on three, Cody Bolton on the game program, Rodolfo Castro, Kyle Watson, Lolo Sanchez, Ryan Peurifoy, Domingo Robles, Matt Seelinger, and Calvin Mitchell each on one. For Asheville, Norberto Martin signed four, and Tommy Doyle signed two.

Postgame we managed a few exiting-- Ryan Vilade signed two, and Argenis Diaz and and Ike Schlabach one.  We really wanted to try to get Oneil Cruz, so we went for the bus.  Luckily, the visiting bus and home bus pulled up together so we were able to get both teams-- Will Gaddis signed two and Robinson Cancel three for Asheville. For West Virginia, we got Joel Cesar, Sergio Cubilete, Nick Pressley, Travis MacGregor, Hunter Stratton, Ben Bengtson, and Chris Sharpe each signed one. Deon Stafford signed a card and the program, and eventually, finally, Cruz broke down and signed one.

After that, a quick dash northward put us into out home base for the next week, Macedonia, Ohio!

START TIME: 6 pm Eastern
STARTING CITY: Charleston, WV
STOPPING POINT: Macedonia, OH
STATES VISITED: West Virginia, Ohio
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 231
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 1,468

Day totals: 42 autographs
Running total: 101 autographs

Tonight: Columbus vs. Indianapolis!

The National Trip, Days 1 and 2

Due to bad internet at our hotel in Birmingham, I'm having to post both recaps tonight from Lexington...

DAY ONE, 7/27

START TIME: 6:00 am Central
STARTING CITY: Arlington, TX
STOPPING POINT: Birmingham, AL
STATES VISITED: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 655
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 655

Day one is in the books as Arron and I left my place at 6 am. Exactly 12 hours after leaving my apartment in Arlington, we arrived at Regions Field in Birmingham.  We set out a quick game plan: buy the Barons' team set, get them, and then go after Tennessee postgame if necessary.  Pretty simple, easy enough to execute.

Well, that's if teams do warmups the way we're used to-- trickle out onto the field a few at a time, some signing on their way to the dugout, some signing after dropping gear off before throwing and stretching, some signing after that.  With Birmingham, the entrance to the field is right next to the dugout, so that initial pass doesn't happen.

As of about 6:40, we had only gotten Rich Dotson, who signed 2/3 for me.  But not long after, pitchers made their way to the bullpen. Jake Johansen signed for everyone, doing two of mine.  He did personalize one and add "GO SOX!" to a Nationals card. Is this a Guthrie-esque jab at the Nats? His fellow alliterative pitcher, Dane Dunning, also was great, signing all six that I had.

The players didn't trickle out for warmups so much as flood out-- all emerged together, but fortunately their return was better staggered.  Tito Polo, Jameson Fisher, Luis Alexander Basabe, and strength and Conditioning coach Tim Rodmaker each signed the lone card I had for them. Alex Call signed 2/2, Keon Barnum 3/3.  Trey Michalczewski and Zack Collins each were one-per, but I was incredibly happy to get them.

Another grapher alerted us that Dylan Cease was charting, so we got him just before the national anthem, another two-per signer.

Gotta say, great stadium-- similar to Oklahoma City in a lot of ways and the food was excellent. If I lived nearby I definitely would go again. Barons won 5-2. Postgame, Alec Hansen signed for us, one-per at the dugout.

Afterward, we headed outside to try Tennessee's bus. We didn't have a whole lot for them-- mostly pitchers and a few coaches.  Terry Clark was the first out, as he signed the four I had of him. Jake Stinnett was a one-per signer, but he signed the one I would have picked had he asked.  Manager Mark Johnson was the last one, signing two for me. Looks like he's typically three per, no dupes.

Overall, a solid start with 31 sigs.  Next stop: Lexington, KY!

DAY TWO, 7/28

START TIME: 7:30 am Central
STARTING CITY: Birmingham, AL
STOPPING POINT: Lexington, KY
STATES VISITED: Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky
MILES DRIVEN TODAY: 408
MILES DRIVEN TOTAL: 1,063

Graphing sports for the better part of two decades has introduced me to a to of people-- many of them have been really nice. Drew Waters of the Rome Braves may be the best. If everyone could have the attitude that he has toward the fans, I would leave every ballgame happy and impressed. He has a fan for life right here.

Me, Drew Waters, and Arron; Major thanks to the
fellow 'grapher who snapped the photo for us.

It's amazing that the kid is only 19 and is currently the #9 prospect in the Atlanta org. A second round pick out of high school in 2017, he's hitting .289 in his minor league career, including .296/9/36 this year (and as the Rome leadoff hitter, an impressive slash line of .296/.346/.509). After the game, a 3-2 loss for the Braves, after getting done with a phone call, he came out and signed for the ten or so fans who were there, conversed, posed for photos... and signed EVERYTHING. He told all of us that if we had more, get them out, he'll sign them all. His comment even was "The more I sign, the more cards you guys buy, and the more I get paid, so I'll keep doing it."  How can you not like a guy who's hitting like that and signing like that?

After one game of South Atlantic League 'graphing, I wish I could do it more. Before the game, Arron and I concentrated on the Lexington side after snagging their team set at the shop. Fourteen from the set were already gone, but we were left with 22 still with the team-- 15 of them signed their card.

As soon as we walked in, the Legends had two players signing at a table near the main entrance, then switched them out for two others. So within minutes of entry, we got Sal Biasi and Carlos Hernandez.  Down at the field, pitching coach and former Brewer Mitch Stetter signed three cards, followed by starting pitcher Yefri Del Rosario signing one.

Side note, everyone signed everything I had on me. So if I got one, it's because it was all I had.  Back to the recap...

Seuly Matias signed two cards for me, later blasting his 30th home run of the season, a Legends team record-- and we still have a shade over a month to play!  Nick Pratto came by and signed the four I had of him. Collin Snider, Sebastian Rivero, Ricky Aracena, Janser Lara, Cristian Perez, and Marten Gasparini each signed one.

Earlier, Cal Jones and M.J. Melendez told us they would sign after the game. True to their word, they signed-- Jones on the lone card I had of him, Melendez on three (personalizing all of them), along with pitcher Holden Capps, a native of Lawton, OK, just an hour from Wichita Falls.

We almost decided to leave. Clearly, we're glad we stuck around extra-- in addition to Waters, Freddy Tarnok signed two cards, as did manager Ralph "Rocket" Wheeler as we waited by the bus.

Excellent second day: 28 sigs from Lexington and Rome. Running tally: 59 signed cards through two games.

The National, 2018: A Preview

(Written for SportsCardForum.com)

Five months out isn’t too early for a preview of the National Sports Collectors Convention, is it?

Let’s hit it Q&A style...

WHO? You, me, and every other sports collector
WHAT? The 39th National Sports Collectors Convention
WHERE? International Exposition Center (IX Center), Cleveland, Ohio, USA
WHEN? August 1-5, 2018, 10 am to 6 pm most days
HOW (MUCH)? TBA; likely $20 per day, or week-long VIP Packages from $99 to $299
WHY? Read on…

Q: Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up a sec. Why should we trust you when it comes to advice about the National when you hardly ever post here outside the Articles section? I’m gonna need to see some credentials...
A: Because despite my lack of involvement here, I’m quite familiar with the show, especially in Cleveland. I went to the entire week of the National in 2014, 2004, and 2001, as well as a single day in 1997. Aside from a kind of weak showing in 2004 (which may have been more because I had almost no spending money for it, rather than it actually being a weak showing), it has never failed to impress me on the sheer magnitude of the event: you won’t find more collectors in one place at one time ever. If I remember correctly, the 2014 show was the third most-attended National ever with somewhere around 45,000 collectors visiting the IX Center: well short of the record 100,000 at the 1991 Anaheim show, but much better than the 25,000 at the 1999 Atlanta show.

Just one corner of the show floor in 2014.

Photo Credit: Texas Graphing Chronicles

Q: Alright, fair enough, you got some chops. So, tell me then, as a first-timer, what should I expect at the show?
A: If you haven’t ever been to a National, nothing I say can really do it justice until you see it for yourself. One of SCF’s members-- Stuart, AKA BSEBALLCOMMISH75 who attends nearly every year-- says his favorite thing to do is to walk in about ten feet ahead of a first-timer, then turn back and see their expression upon entering. Take the biggest show you’ve been to and double it. Now double it again. Maybe one or two more times. It’s massive. The size of the hall hits you first, followed by the fact that not only is it huge, but it’s covered end to end in nothing but sports collectibles of all kinds. Cards, autographs, art, jerseys, hats, books, magazines, videos, unopened packs, unopened boxes, unopened cases, ticket stubs, stadium seats, game-used items, baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, auto racing, boxing, wrestling, non-sports, with release dates ranging from the 1800s to this past week, you’ll find it all there somewhere. Entering for the first time even still shocks me now despite having attended four of them already. The National has typically 22 aisles at the I-X Center. The Cleveland 2018 floor plan as has space for 515 booths at 10’x15’ each.

And that doesn’t include designated “pavilion” areas. The corporate pavilion contains gigantic areas for Panini, Topps, Upper Deck, Leaf, SGC, Blowout Cards, Heritage Auctions, Dave & Adam’s, Beckett, and more (14 spaces that are at least 40’x50’, 17 that are at least 20’x25’). The autograph pavilion is run by Tristar and has all the show’s autograph guests (though occasionally Panini, Topps, and Upper Deck may bring in their own). The case breakers pavilion has some of the country’s top case breakers doing live breaks. There’s even a VIP lounge with tables and chairs if you need a place to kick back and relax for a bit. Of course, there are also some tables and chairs and benches near the food court too, in case you don’t want to stray too far; but if you want to avoid the hoi polloi and bought a VIP pass, head for the lounge.

It’s what I imagine attending a World’s Fair would have been like back when they actually meant something.

Q: I’m sure every organizer post-Expo 67 needs some aloe vera after that burn!
A: Wow, in your face, HemisFair 68! Also, that wasn’t a question.

A shot of the corporate pavilion area in 2014.

Photo Credit: Texas Graphing Chronicles

Q: I’m surprised no one has ever made a documentary or something of the sort on this. Or have they?
A: While it’s not a true documentary, nearly every year Bill Simmons goes to the show, often taking video, photos, doing a big write-up… basically Bill Simmons does Bill Simmons things because he’s Bill Simmons.

2014: http://grantland.com/features/2014-national-sports-collectors-convention/
2011: http://grantland.com/features/memorabilia-madness/
2009: http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/gallery/1

Q: Are you required to mention him a number of times in an article?
A: My contract says five. So, Bill Simmons.

Oh yeah, as mentioned in the articles above and revisiting my earlier World’s Fair motif, there’s a giant indoor Ferris wheel. It was finished in 1992, 125 feet high, and used to be the world’s largest indoor Ferris wheel (as of 2012, the indoor record belongs to the Alem wheel in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan). It was so big they had to cut a hole in the roof (the ceiling is 77 feet) and enclose it with glass, so at the very top on a clear day, you can see all the way to Downtown Cleveland, which is ten miles away. It costs a couple bucks to ride. Totally worth it.

Giant Ferris Wheel. Not even kidding. It's there. The first two photos were shot from the platform.

Photo Credit: Flickr user lareina1045

Q: How did this building end up in as random a spot as Brook Park, Ohio? Or is it Cleveland now?
A: Cleveland did a land swap deal and now owns the land it’s on. The IX Center itself was originally a B-29 plant in World War Two, then made tanks during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. It also has served as a high school temporarily. Allegedly it has at least three basement levels including a giant pool for testing the watertightness of various tank designs and allegedly tunnels to the airport, the NASA Lewis Research Center, and maybe elsewhere. It’s unconfirmed as to whether these tunnels currently exist, or ever existed. Fun idea at least.

Q: Huh, underground alien base?
A: Who knows?

Seriously. It's huge.

Photo Credit: Ohio Gun Collectors' Association

Q: What other events will be going on besides the show?
A: The great thing about the National is that there’s not just a big memorabilia show. Some collectors may set up trading events in the conference rooms of local hotels. Browns’ Training Camp will be underway. The Indians play at home against the Angels. The Lake County Captains, Akron Rubber Ducks, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, and Lake Erie Crushers will all be playing at home. If you don’t mind a bit of a drive, the Toledo Mud Hens, Columbus Clippers, and Pittsburgh Pirates all will play at home and are within two hours of Cleveland. Got money to burn? Panini and Upper Deck offer VIP parties for their biggest spenders. Plus there’s all the greatness of the city itself.

Q: Wait, seriously? You mean this city-- whose main river caught fire five times, had a mayor’s wife refuse an invitation to the White House because it conflicted with her bowling night, had that mayor's hair catch fire in a way unrelated to the river, and finally went bankrupt under another mayor who later went onto claim he was once abducted by a UFO-- is a great one? HA!
A: Look, it was a bowling LEAGUE night for her, and a soon-to-be-scandal-ridden Nixon White House. And yes, it's great. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is downtown. One of the world’s greatest orchestras will be in the middle of their outdoor concert season. There’s a Polka Hall of Fame in Euclid, thus ending our musical awesomeness streak at two. The Pro Football Hall of Fame is a short drive away. The excellent Metroparks system (and that’s both the Cleveland Metroparks and the Lake Metroparks), including the zoo with its indoor rainforest. Cedar Point is an hour or so away for the roller coaster enthusiasts. For shopping, there are tons of malls in the area. You can see a great baseball museum that is housed in the remnants of League Park. And the food… Melt has everything imaginable on a grilled cheese sandwich. Iron Chef Michael Symon has his restaurants Lola, Mabel’s BBQ, B-Spot Burgers, and maybe Sherla’s Chicken and Oysters will even be open by then too. Hot Sauce Williams is the go-to spot for barbecue and especially a Polish Boy. Hit up Sokolowski’s for an Eastern European feast. Slyman’s Deli for incredible corned beef. Have your desserts at Malley’s Chocolates and East Coast Frozen Custard.

Q: Wow. You had me at grilled cheese.
A: Works every time...

And if you aren’t totally sportsed out, there are several card shops in the area. Cards and Games in Painesville in the former Puritan Bakery (it still smells like stale flour when you walk in), Sports N’ More in Mentor-on-the-Lake, C-Town Sports at the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, Over The Fence in Eastlake, Brooklyn Sportscards in Brooklyn (obviously), B&B Sports Cards out in Fairview Park, and All-Star Collectibles and Action Sports Cards in Parma.

Q: PAR-ma?!
A: Haha. Ghoulardi. Good one. Stay sick, turn blue!

Q: So how does one go about getting to this?
A: Cleveland Hopkins Airport (CLE) is right next to the IX Center. You’ll see the Center while taxiing in. Canton-Akron Regional (CAK) is less than an hour away. Other options within two hours include Detroit (DTW), Toledo (TOL), Columbus (CMH), and Pittsburgh (PIT).

Amtrak runs into downtown. It's the best way to travel anywhere if you don’t have to be at your destination on time, so plan accordingly. Greyhound runs into downtown as well. I love Greyhound personally, but only for trips of under 10 hours. You'll also need to get to a car rental spot from any of these too, so be prepared.

This year, I’m driving it which will be different, but provides a ton of autographing opportunities. In 1997 and 2001, I lived near Cleveland, while in 2004 and 2014 I flew in from Boston and Texas, respectively. My friend Arron is coming along (some of you may know him as elmesero5 on a few boards), and he and I are going to hit a ton of ballgames on the way up, while we’re there, and on the way back; if you’re reading this and graph any of these ballparks, please let me know! We’d love any intel we can get, and would love to hang out with other collectors when we’re there.

• FRIDAY, 7/27: AA Tennessee (Cubs) at Birmingham (White Sox)
• SATURDAY, 7/28: A Rome (Braves) at Lexington (Royals)
• SUNDAY, 7/29: A Asheville (Rockies) at West Virginia (Pirates)
• MONDAY, 7/30: AAA Indianapolis (Pirates) at Columbus (Indians)
• TUESDAY, 7/31: A Great Lakes (Dodgers) at Lake County (Indians), and AAA Louisville (Reds) at Toledo (Tigers)
• WEDNESDAY, 8/1: Off day
• THURSDAY, 8/2: AA Bowie (Baltimore) at Akron (Indians)
• FRIDAY, 8/3: A Bowling Green (Rays) at Lake County (Indians)
• SATURDAY, 8/4: MLB Angels at Indians
• SUNDAY, 8/5: A Lansing (Blue Jays) at Fort Wayne (San Diego)
• MONDAY, 8/6: A Beloit (A’s) at Cedar Rapids (Twins), AAA Las Vegas (Mets) at Iowa (Cubs)
• TUESDAY, 8/7: AAA Las Vegas (Mets) at Iowa (Cubs)
• WEDNESDAY, 8/8: Arrive back in Texas

All games are subject to change, void where prohibited, contents packed by weight not volume, ceci n’est pas une pipe.

If you're around, you can come do this with us (Arron in red, Drew in light blue)

Photo Credit: Texas Graphing Chronicles

Q: Are there hotel deals?
A: The National has sponsor hotels, though those will go quickly and tend to be a bit higher-end. I opted to get on Hotwire and find a good rate that way. So Arron and I are staying in Macedonia (as in the town in Summit County, NOT the country with Skopje as its capital). $460 for the week, which isn’t bad at all. If you fly in, rent a car for sure. Your hotel may offer transportation to the IX Center, but don’t count on it.

Q: I hear there’s a VIP Bag. What’s in the VIP bag?
A: Lots of freebies from card companies and other sponsors. You’ll get small promo sets from Topps, Upper Deck, Panini, and Leaf, plus maybe some coupons, magazines, and of course your program and autograph tickets. Get the VIP pass and you’ll get all of that. Get the SuperVIP pass, and you’ll get TWO of everything.

Q: What’s the best day to buy?
A: Buy anything you have to have as soon as you see it. But wait until Saturday or Sunday to do some bargain hunting. Personally, I plan to quickly visit tables Wednesday and early Thursday and mark down some to check more extensively later. I’ll spend time searching the ones I wrote down on Thursday and Friday, and probably do most of my buying late Friday and Saturday.

Q: If you want autographs, is the All-Access upgrade worth it?
A: From what I can tell, YES. I stood hours in autograph lines in 2014. I saw people with it who could have looped the line 10 times if they wanted to (fortunately even if you have 50 items to get signed, as long as you have 50 tickets you can do them all at once and not have to take one item and one ticket at one trip). It’s worth an extra $100 to have significantly less of a wait.

Q: What percentage of collectibles are modern and what percentage are vintage?
A: I feel like there’s more vintage, but not immensely so. I’d guess about 60/40. It’s all about demand and vintage will ALWAYS be in demand. If you’re only needing modern stuff, you’ll find plenty of tables with it. Singles, boxes, cases, high-end, low-end, old, new, graded, raw, someone will have something you need. In most cases, several will have it.

Q: What should I bring with me?
A: That all depends on what you’re looking to do…

• Are you mostly getting autographs? Have something to get signed and you’re all set. TriStar supplies all the pens that you might need-- I saw blue and black Sharpies, silver and gold paint pens, blue and black ballpoints, and even blue Staedtler. If you’re super-specific about what you want it signed with, then bring that, but for the most part it’s covered just fine.
• Are you looking to fill needs for a set or a player collection? Simply bring a want list, a box to put your cards in after you pay for them, and a bag for easy carrying. Maybe some sleeves and toploaders. A foldable stool might be a good idea as well. I’ll also have a 1600-count box in the car to put everything in at the end of the day.
• Are you looking to sell? Don’t bring too much: dealers usually don’t do much buying the first few days, and even when they do it’s likely to be higher-end stuff. So don’t come in with a couple gigantic boxes of commons.
• No matter what, comfortable shoes, a bag (messenger or backpack), some small snacks, and money. You can have a good experience on any amount, but the more the better. Think of what you’d want to get, look for approximate prices to expect. Then double it because you’ll find things you want that you didn’t even think of. But know your limits and only bring what you are comfortable with leaving at a table. Snacks like a sandwich, some almonds or carrot sticks, and a bottle of water are good to have in your bag since food can be a bit expensive inside, and there are no restaurants near the grounds. Hand sanitizer and breath mints are a good idea too.

OTHER ADVICE FROM EXPERIENCED NATIONAL VISITORS

• Have the floor plan handy. There will be a map of it in the program, also on the National website so you can print a copy or two ahead of time. Mark on it what booths you want to visit again.
• Visit the manufacturer booths, even just to see what they are all about for the next year's offerings. You never know what freebies they may have stashed behind the table. Some even have their own autograph guests during the week.
• If you are going for the autograph guests, be sure to keep an eye on the time. Lines can get long and if you wait too long to jump in, you may miss who you are interested in.
• Plan on at least two days if you can: it’s hard to see everything in one day. If you’re limited to a single day, I would recommend Saturday: get there as soon as the doors open, leave at the last possible moment.
• Talk to anyone and everyone-- even on your hotel shuttle! You never know who might be able to help you with your collection. Be friendly to the dealers, the staff, and to everyone really. It can go a long way. Keep an eye on SCF and other sites in the time leading up to the show. Don’s annual National thread is a good way to find people who are going and connect with them beforehand. They may be able to help you if they come across something you need-- or if you come across something they need. Networking is important at a huge event like this.

Tristar announced the first few autograph guests yesterday. For the VIP signers (free with VIP pass), it's Gregg Jefferies, Marty Cordova, Benito Santiago, and Charles White. Nice start: I probably will do a Mets photo for Jefferies, an Indians photo for Cordova if I can get one, a 1988 Diamond King of Santiago (maybe a photo too), and I have my Heisman Index Card for White (though I probably will get a Browns photo for him as well). I know Cordova, Santiago, and Jefferies are in some of the Fleer Metal sets that Arron is doing, so we may need to scrounge up some extra tickets. I checked in with Arron and he is unbelievably pumped about Santiago.

So, I hope that helps you out. And of course, I look forward to seeing all the members of SCF, SCN, The Bench, and various Facebook groups who come in for the show.

We'll see you there!

Photo Credit: William Reiter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Drew Pelto is clearly bat-guano insane, as displayed via interviewing himself for this column, his love for Cleveland, and for his probably-unsustainable schedule of ‘graphing on the trip. He lives in Texas with his wife, two cats, and several thousand autographs.

Book 'em, Drew-o!

Got the hotel for the National booked. Yep, this is actually happening.

I got damn close to the rate I was wanting (Arron and I are each paying $230 for it; my original goal was $222) and only having to stay a little further out. My aim was for the La Quinta in Independence, instead we're at the one in Macedonia. Whatever. Ten minutes more of driving isn't the end of the world.  It also gives us a slightly shorter return trip late at night from Akron, Columbus, and coming in initially from West Virginia. Eastlake should be about the same, Toledo will be slightly longer.

Ehh, whatever. It's not enough to make a huge difference really; the price and quality hooked me.

Next up: buying tickets, coming in March. Supposedly, autograph guests are supposed to be announced starting this month. Hope we see a lot from the VIP list early.  There are a few I can guess will be there-- Len Barker, Joe Charbonneau, Kevin Mack... I hope they get Sonny Siebert again, I still have my 2014 photo of him and I need him for the 1972 Topps set.

I know, I failed to post an autograph update for January. It was a slow TTM month and I've been busy with the National and trying to keep my band afloat. Our guitarist just up and quit on us a week ago, which also left me without a drum set for a week. We have the latter squared away at least so far.

I'll have a full update on these two months coming at the end of February.  At around the same time, I also will be writing a piece for SCF as a National Preview, which I will cross-post here. I'm going to be trying to write an update for them on each day of the trip, as well as posting it here.

I actually wrote a couple pieces for them on the NFL kneeling issue, as well as the removal of Chief Wahoo. The former got a LOT of talk going-- mostly against my position. The latter, not so much, as it seemed more people than I expected were in agreement with me. It seems I've become the SCF Writing Staff version of WFAA's Dale Hansen: clearly I'm not afraid to take on some controversial topics. On the old format, I also did editorial-style pieces in favor of fighting in hockey and applauding Sean Avery's work with the "New Yorkers for Marriage Quality" campaign.

Feel Free to Take a Knee

Chief Wahoo: A No-Win Situation

I also will be re-writing my March 22, 2013 article on Steve Olin and Tim Crews for this year's 25th anniversary of their accident and deaths. It'll be a busy few months, but I'm in the mood to write again. Let's hope it stays for a while.

Back on the topic of National stuff, ballpark promotion schedules are trickling out. So far, nothing big for our games. Birmingham, West Virginia, Columbus, Lake County, Akron, Fort Wayne, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa don't have theirs out yet.  Lexington has a vomitous Faith and Family Night, plus fireworks-- no giveaways. Toledo has the first day of a Youth Skills Camp-- also no giveaways. Indians have the Rock N Blast fireworks display, along with dollar hot dogs and a pregame block party (hmmm, alumni autographs maybe?)-- no giveaways there either. I've heard Fort Wayne typically has a postgame autograph session on Sundays.

(EDIT: Fort Wayne released their promotion sched on 2/14 and they do have a postgame autograph session; it's also Bark at the Park and a beer tasting... no giveaways)

Lake County confirmed their schedule times for me, as did West Virginia. We changed the Indians to Friday with our potential Lake County reprise moving to Saturday-- SCF is trying for a group outing to the Friday Tribe game.  So far I know of two members likely to be there besides me (scottkoz20 and doniceage). I'd bet there will be more: I remember in 2014 I met up with BSEBALLCOMMISH75, loQtus, mlbfan85, michigandan, palantri, Postman, jeeptrader, and several others.  I'm also hoping to meet up with autograph collectors in other cities.