August 30-31, 2024, Graphing of the Bisons at Bulls

A couple weeks ago, Jesse and I went to Durham to finish off some Buffalo guys that Chris and I may have missed when we went to Buffalo in July.

Josh Kasevich wasnt with Buffalo when we originally saw them, but I was able to find his cards pretty quickly.  I got most of what i brought of Kasevich signed. 

Jonatan Clase stopped for me be the dugout pregame, signing my 2022 Heritage Minors.  Jesse couldnt get his book out fast enough and Clase ran off.  We tried to get him again outside post-game but he wouldn't stop for us. 

I got all but two of my Eric Pardinho cards signed, finally.  He was really nice.  I also helped Max out by grtting his 2014 Topps Donnie Murphy signed.

Hagen Danner was cool.  Usually when someone's card has the wrong picture, they won't sign it.  Danner signs his 2024 Topps Heritage with a "This ain't me" inscription.

Danner signed everything we had, which got quite a few cards out of the boxes.

Cole Wilcox was finally with Durham and I got a couple Panini Stars and Stripes cards signed.  These have been in my box for a long time, and are finally signed.

Speaking of finally getting cards signed, I finally got my 2020 Bowman Ian Seymour, and these two Heriberto Hernandez cards signed.  

We also finally got cards signed by Morgan Ensberg.  You have to walk with him when he signs, as he will not stop.  Look up the reason why. It's crazy.

I picked up a Bulls team set, and knocked out a bunch of them.  There aren't many left that haven't been signed.

Over the two games, Jesse and I did pretty well. Buffalo was a pretty good team to get, and we didn't have to worry about trying to do arrival.

In all, we got the following autographs: Kenny Hook x 2, CJ Hinojosa x 1, Cole Wilcox x 4, Wool E Bull x 1, Jonatan Clase x 1, Mason Fluharty x 1, Josh Kasevich x 6, Eric Pardinho x 4, Rob Brantly x 1, Brett Ebers x 1, Morgan Ensberg x 10, Heriberto Hernandez x 2, Tyler Ladendorf x 1, Jake Mangum x 1, Enmanuel Mejia x 1, Mason Montgomery x 1, Tristan Peters x 1, Joe Record x 1, Joe Rock x 1, Reynaldo Ruiz x 1, Ian Seymour x 2, Riley Welch x 1, Nathan Wiles x 1, Hagen Danner x 11, Braydon Fisher x 2 and Donnie Murphy x 2 (61 total autographs). 

May 14-19, 2024 Graphing of the Mudcats at Wood Ducks

Last week, the Wood Ducks returned to Kinston after two weeks away to face the Mudcats.  The Mudcats have very few guys with cards, but I was able to rack anyway, since the Woodies had their team set come out on Saturday and my boxes of 2024 Bowman came in on Wednesday. 

I planned ahead and picked up a couple Josh Knoth 2023 Leaf Vivid cards.  Another was supposed to come in, but didn't get here in time. The card at the top of the page is a 1/+, which is cool.  Both of the Knoth cards scanned great.

I also got my first 2024 Bowman cards signed by Cooper Pratt.

Yhoswar Garcia was tough; he refused to sign for us a couple time.  When he did stop (finally), he his everything we had.  He probably got tired of seeing me.  Oh well, his stuff is completely done, so I won't have to bother him anymore. 

Finally, the Wood Ducks team set came out earlier than ever.  It was given out as a promotional giveaway this season.  Since the team is leaving after this season, they didn't want to get stuck with a bunch in a closet somewhere. 

The set looks nice.  It rained on Saturday, but I was able to get in and get our sets prior to the game being called.  It set up a double header for Sunday, and they were giving sets out again.  All told, I ended up with 6 of them.

The 6 sets are pretty much spoken for: one for me to get signed, one for me to keep unsigned and load into the Wood Ducks album, one for Chris, one for Gerard, one for Charlie and one for any of my group that may have missed the giveaway.

The double header on Sunday gave me 4 chances to knock cards off of the list.  I almost got everyone, save for a couple pitchers.  There are a few who have already moved up to Hickory, a couple injured guys and a couple who were bumped down to Arizona.

I also got this Bowman Heritage of Marcu Smith signed for Gerard, but he let me keep it.

The Woodies won the series 4-2, which was great, since the Mudcats always play them tough.

In all, we got the following autographs: Alejandro Rosario x 3, Josh Knoth x 4, Cooper Pratt x 6, Yophery Rodriguez x 2, Paul Bonzagni x 3, Willian Bormie x 3, Julian Brock x 3, Jorge Cortes x 3, Kolton Curtis x 3, DEWD x 3, Arturo Disla x 3, Kohl Drake x 3, Buddy Fultz x 3, Jose Gonzalez x 3, Wes Hunt x 3, Gleider Figuereo x 4, Kyle Larsen x 3, Jesus Lopez x 5, Carlos Maldonaldo x 3, Case Matter x 3, Wady Mendez x 3, Brayan Memdoza x 3, Danny Mendoza x 3, Chandler Pollard x 3, Brian Pozos x 3, Thomas St. Clair x 3, Justin Sanchez x 3, Luke Savage x 3, Marcus Smith x 4, Tommy Specht x 3, Marcos Torres x 5, Ryan Straney x 3, Josh Trentadue x 3, Echedry Vargas x 5, Kai-Noa Wynyard x 3, Juan Baez x 2, Yhoswar Garcia x 32 and Bishop Letson x 2 (152 total autographs). 

A Couple IP Autos From Jordan

Finally, I was able to get this 2022 Topps Heritage Minors blue parallel of Erick Pena signed.  It got done when my good friend, Jordan, took it to the Mudcats to get signed when Columbia was in town.  I was so disappointed in myself that I put it in a tote instead of my normal minors card boxes.  I tried to get our mutual friend, Mike, to get it signed last season once I realized I had the card, but by then, Pena was in the IL.  Jordan told me he was going to see Columbia and after I told him about the card, he offered to get it done.

Jordan got a Yhoswar Garcia 2022 Topps Heritage Minors signed for me, but I put it with this week's graphs from the Mudcats series.  

Jordan also gave me this 2022 Topps Heritage Minors Miguel Bleis that he got signed.  Bleis was hurt most of last season, so I wasn't able to get him at all.

Thanks so much for getting these cards to me, Jordan.  I appreciate it!

50-50s From Aidan W

My buddy Aidan took a few cards for me of a couple Asheville guys, and also a couple guys with the Greenville Drive.  I wasn't able to get Tyler Whitaker last season because he was injured when he came through.  I had found this 2022 Bowman Heritage at the National, and was glad Aidan could help me get it signed.

He also helped me get my 2023 Bowman Draft Cam Fisher cards signed, along with two other Whitakers and two Greenville 2023 Topps Pro Debut cards (Cutter Crawford and Juan Chacon).

Thanks for getting these done for me, Aidan!

2023 National Paid Signer - Chipper Jones

My next paid signer was Chipper Jones.  I had pulled this nice insert out of 2022 Topps Heritage Minors showing Jones in a Durham Bulls uniform.  The card looks amazing. 

Jones liked the card. He thought it was older, but that's ok.

I had met him before, but I really wanted to get that card signed, so I added him to my list this year. I'm glad I did.

Spring Training 2023 50-50s From Dylan

My friend, Dylan, took a bunch of cards to Spring Training for me this year and racked.  He got me a lot of great signatures on some really nice cards, like the above 2022 Topps Heritage Minors insert of Khalil Watson.

Dylan his Brady House for me before i was able to get him for myself.  Im surprised Dylan was able to get me two House cards, but they're awesome.

He also knocked out a bunch of Watson cards for me.  I may see Marcelo Mayer later this summer, so I might take this one and try to get him on it.

Dylan saw the Marlins, Cardinals, Nationals and a couple other teams.  He racked it for me and I can move these into my album.

I hadn't gotten Elijah Green before, so these were a great add to the album. I got James Wood last season, but these were new to me, so they're great additions as well.

I'm always happy to add some Jordan Walker to the collection, and Dylan hooked it up.  I think Walker is going to be a good one.  Folks just need to be patient with him.

Finally, here are a couple other Cardinals that Dylan hit for me, a Treyjyn Fletcher and Alec Burleson.

Thanks for taking these 50/50s from me, Dylan!

TTM Success - Logan Warmoth

This 2023 Topps Heritage Minors card that I got signed TTM by Logan Warmoth turned out nicely.  I thought I had gotten him TTM before, but I guess I hadn't.  Still, it is a cool card, and I'm glad i got it done.

Warmoth (b. 1995) was a first round pick (22nd over all) by the Blue Jays in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of UNC.  He has played in the minors in the Blue Jays and Mariners systems, reaching AAA.  He has 394 hits, 24 home runs and a .244 batting average.  He has played in the minors from 2017 to 2023, missing the 2020 COVID season when the minors were shut down.

I mailed to Warmoth on January 25 and got the card back on February 15, for a 21-day TAT.