Ever since Fan Fest in January, I have been corresponding with Michael, a fellow Orioles fan and autograph hound. Michael's a really nice guy who has an amazing collection of Orioles memorabilia. He also has very high standards for his stuff, so he goes out of his way to get all of his signed baseballs on OMLB balls, on the Sweet Spot. He doesn't mess around. He is also a very shrewd negitiator when it comes to trading, which, in turn, can be a lot of fun. You kind of feel like a GM when he presents an offer for something you really don't want to trade away. He always has compelling offers, so I generally listen when he comes calling. It also helps that he is genuinely an all around nice guy.
So, when Michael found out I was going to be in Baltimore this past Monday, he presented me with a trade proposal for the above 2012 OMLB Camden Yards Anniversary game used baseball. This go-round, he was looking for cash considerations and we went back and forth until we agreed on an amount and he offered to throw in a signed baseball that you will see below.
The Camden ball is MLB authenticated and after referring to their database, I can tell you that the ball was from June 10, 2012. The Orioles faced the Phillies and the ball was a foul tip by Shane Victorino off of Jason Hammel. Cool, right?
The other part of the deal was the above Matt Wieters signed baseball. My Wieters ball from 2008 has faded quite a bit. I didn't know, then, about proper care for signed baseballs, so replacing it became a must. This one looks really nice, and it, too, is an OMLB baseball (when my other Wieters ball was not).
Michael ddn't yet have Al Bumbry on a baseball, so when we got him at the autograph signing, I got one signed for him. He threw in the above Tommy John signed ball for the Bumbry. It isn't an OMLB ball, but it works fine for me.
In one of the nicest gestures I've seen, Michael threw in three additional OMLB balls, signed by him! I thought it was a really awesome gesture. The middle baseball is, according to Michael, game used from one of his games. He hit a single that won the game.
Michael is a really nice guy and I was really happy to complete this trade with him. I'm sure we will meet up again and swap more O's related stuff very soon.
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