Best Time Ever

As you know, I went to the M's game Friday night, and got a few graphs after, but that was pretty much it. Well, it may not have been my best night getting autographs, but it may have been the most fun I've had for a while. When my dad told me we had to go(around 11:30), I was so sad! First off, the people there were really friendly and knowledgeable. Second, I didn't do terribly getting players to sign(4). But lastly and most importantly, the people who stopped didn't just stop and sign, they chatted. Garrett Olsen and Jack Z. mostly. When Olsen stopped, the dialogue was so funny:

Garrett Olsen: "You guys waiting for players?"
Other Grapher: "Yeah"
GO: "Want an autograph?"
OG: "Yeah"
GO: "Well I'm a player"
OG: "Which one?"
GO: "Olsen..."
Me: "Oh hey, I have a card for you!"

haha, it cracked me up, because he was so calm throughout all of it. He said he was just happy we stayed so late and that we were such loyal fans(The whole 5 of us). I, for one, am embarrassed because I'm usually pretty good at I.D.ing players. And then we actually talked for a good 5 minutes with the GM, which was cool, since I love talking trades. Not to mention he was really open with us. So, definately one of the funnest nights, graphing-wise, in a while.

P.S. Got an RTS in the mail from Joe Morgan c/o ESPN on Saturday.

First post in a while...

Since I last posted, I got 6 returns in the mail, have bought 6 things off ebay, and have been to 1 Mariner game. First lets see what I got in the mail:
Bob Feller w/$5 c/o Home
Andy Sonnanstine c/o Rays
Jeremy Papelbon c.o Home
Alex Liddi c/o High Desert
Duke Snider c/o Home
Michael Saunders c/o Tacoma

And for the eBay portion of this post:
3 boxes of 2006 Just Minors Mem Edition(Only got 1 back so far, and I got Adrian Gonzalez!)
Evan Longoria Jersey Shirt
Nick Hagadone GU Jersey Card
Lot of 100 cards or so that came with a John Franco auto

Finally, a recap of last night's game:
Ryan Rowland-Smith pitched a good game, for it being his 2nd start of the year, 7 ip 4 er. It kept us in the ball game, but the offense was just as invisible as usual. We got shutout by Aaron Laffey and the bullpen :(. Then Batista comes in and really helps his trade value by giving up 3 homeruns and 5 runs in 2/3 of an inning. Autograph-wise, I had a pretty average night. First off, the Indians have to be the LEAST fan friendly team in the majors. The only two players who signed were Sizemore(when I was already at my seat) and Asdrubal Cabrera, both of whom had local ties. Not to mention the only way we were getting a ball in BP was on a homerun, and btw, Chris Perez in the biggest douchebag ever!!!! But, after the game, I got Don Wakamatsu on a helmet, Ryan Rowland-Smith on a helmet, John Wetteland on a card, and Garrett Olsen on a card.

Sent Out On 7/9

Mike Mussina c/o home
Steve Nash c/o sports agency
Billy Wagner c/o Mets
Joe Morgan c/o ESPN
And there is one more that I am blanking on right now...But...I have to go. My next post will come Sunday.

In The Mail Yesterday

I didn't have time to post yesterday, but a quick post now will do before I am gone for the weekend. On Thursday, right before we left for the game, I checked the mail and Chone Figgins had sent my card back! He took it out of its sleeve, and didn't even close the envelope. I very surprised I got this one back the way I did.

M's vs Texas

Josh Hamilton 1/1 SS Ball at the hotel
Andruw Jones 1/1 card at the hotel
David Murphy 1/1 card at the game
Josh Hamilton 1/1 card at the game
John Wetteland 1/1 ball after game

Overall, it was a good night for the Rangers, as I could have almost gotten a whole freakin team ball done in one night for them, but the only Mariner I saw signing at the game was Chris Woodward, and then the only player who stopped after the game was, bullpen coach, John Wetteland. But we had great seats and it was an awesome game. Felix pitched another gem, and my new favorite player, Franklin Gutierrez, hit the game-winning 3-run homerun!

In The Mail Today

I had a nice surprise in my mailbox when I got home from baseball. I got Max Scherzer rookie Bowman card signed and personalized "To Evan". I am pretty happy to get this one back, as he is an up-and-coming star pitcher for the DBacks. I recently sent out another for him to sign. I'm hoping to get Jered Weaver and Duke Snider back soon.

Mariners vs. Rangers 7/8/09 Preview

Well, for my birthday, my dad and I got tickets to a Mariner game. They are nice seats, right down the 3rd base line and 3rd Row! Supposedly these are right next to the ball girl, so lets hope I can get a ball. But right now I am focusing on who signs the most on the Rangers. So far I have heard that Josh Hamilton will sign, so I am trying to convince my dad to go downtown around 2 to catch him at the hotel. That would be a huge autograph! Morrow is almost a lock after the game, and I have a great pic for him to sign. My goal for the Rangers is Hamilon, Kinsler, Andrus, Millwood, Blalock, and Jones. For the M's, I hope to get Felix, Morrow, Guttierez, Wetteland, Aardsma, Branyan, and Batista. So pretty high expectations. But I'll report back Thursday night or Friday morning.

Waiting On...

Michael Saunders-c/o Rainiers Sent 7/3/09 (Got back on 7/16)
Casey Weathers-c/o Home Sent 6/19/09 and 7/3/09
Duke Snider-c/o home Sent 7/3/09 (Got back on 7/15)
Eric Hosmer-c/o Burlington Bees Sent 7/3/09
Max Scherzer-c/o AZ DBacks Sent 6/19/09(Got back on 7/6) and 7/3/09
Pete Rose-c/o FOD Sent 7/3/09
Alex Liddi-c/o High Desert Mavericks Sent 7/3/09 (Got back on 7/24)
Jeremy Papelbon-c/o Home Sent 7/3/09 (Got back on 7/23)
Josh Vitters-c/o Peoria Chiefs Sent 7/3/09
Sandy Koufax-c/o Dodgers Sent 7/3/09
Andy Sonnanstine-c/o Rays Sent 6/25/09 (Got back 7/23)
Adrian Gonzalez-c/o Padres Sent 6/19/09
Chone Figgins-c/o Angels Sent 6/19/09(Got back on 7/9)
Chris Tillman-c/o Norfolk Tides Sent 6/19/09
Jered Weaver-c/o Angels Sent 6/22/09
Rick Ankiel-c/o Cardinals Sent 6/22/09
Matt Cain-c/o Giants Sent 6/19/09
Tim Lincecum-c/o Giants Sent 6/24/09
Blacke DeWitt, Chin-Lung Hu, Jason Repko, J.D. Closser- c/o Albuquerque Isotopes
Bob Feller(w/$5)-c/o Home Sent 7/7/09 (Got back on 7/20)
Clayton Kershaw-c/o Dodgers Sent 7/7/09

TTM Successes

Grady Sizemore-Sometime in '06 or '07 c/o Indians
Pat Neshek-Sometime in '06 or '07 c/o Twins ST
Michael Saunders-Sent 6/19/09 Recieved 6/27/09 c/o Tacoma Rainiers
Jon Garland-Sent 6/19/09 Recieved 6/30/09 c/o AZ DBacks

TTM Autographs

First off, you need to know what TTM stands for; Through the Mail. This is when you send out, usually a card, sometimes a ball or photo, to a player for them to sign and return to you. In the envelope you send them there are usually 3-5 items. These include: A card, ball, or photo, a letter, a SASE(Self Addressed Stamped Envelope), a pen, and money. The last two are optional, as not many current players charge money, but some famous retired ones do. I recently started doing this consistently, sending to players with records of signing TTM. I will make a list of my IP(in person) and TTM successes later.

Summary Of What I have

I have over 8,000 baseball cards, about 200 of them are autographed, and I have around 75 signed baseballs. Right now, my best autographed baseballs are my Ichiro ss ball and my Jake Peavy ss ball. I also have a cool ball, that Hideki Okajima signed in both English and Japanese. I also have 2 Ichiro autographed cards, 2 Grady Sizmore signed cards, a Trevor Hoffman autographed card, and a bunch of Felix Hernandez and Brandon Morrow autographed cards. Off eBay, I have bought a Don Baylor, Paul Molitor, and Goose Gossage auto cards. My non-baseball autos include a Jon Brockman/Ryan Appleby signed SI, and a Shaun Alexander signed Super Bowl XL media guide.