August 2019 Graphing of the Mudcats At Wood Ducks

The first series in Kinston after I got back from the National was between the Mudcats and Wood Ducks.  I took a bunch of the cards that I found at the National, and got them signed.

This Tristen Lutz was in a box at the National for $2.00.  It turned out really well, and I was happy to get it signed.

I continued to work on my Mudcats set when I got these cards signed by Christian Taugnet and Pat McInerney. 

These Mario Feliciano cards turned out great.  I thought I had gotten him earlier in the season, but I guess I didn't.

I was able to get Brice Turang on a 2019 Pro Debut.  He signed a lot better for us during this series than the past one, so I was able to get some 50/50s done, as well.

I got these two Lutz cards from the National as well.  The left one is the glossy version of his 2018 Heritage Minors, and the right one is a 2017 Bowman Chrome refractor.

I liked this Stars and Stripes relic that I found cheap in a relic/auto box at the show.  I got Devin Hairston to sign it, and I hope to add some of the other guys to it.

My friend, Ben, gave me this Brewers autograph card.  I got it signed by Payton Henry, and it turned out well.

I found more Phil Bickford cards than anything at the National.  I was able to get them all signed, and of course, they all look great.

They're all parallels, and will look awesome in my album.

I was disappointed that there weren't more places that had Bowman parallels at the National, but I was able to find some good stuff.

I finished up my Yanio cards when I got this last custom card signed.  I got it from a Rangers fan that I 50/50 with, and got all of his stuff done.

I found some nice Eric Jenkins cards while at the show.  The above card is a mini 2017 Bowman.  I found some of these of Leody Taveras and Anderson Tejeda that I will put away.

Both of these parallels of EJ turned out well.

I was really happy when I found this 2016 Bowman Chrome Orange Shimmer refractor in a quarter box at the show.  I ran into a bunch of them and hoped there would be someone in there who I could get to sign.  When I saw this Jairo Beras, I was stoked.  I also found this Rize card at a booth that had a bunch of there, and some Perfect Game cards.

These two Michael Matuella cards turned out well.  I like the black refractor from 2015 Bowman Chrome (left).

I had seen someone at a Wood Ducks game with the Bubba Thompson on the left.  I was glad to find one at the National.  I also found the blue parallel from 2017 Bowman.  The blue parallels look great when signed.

Speaking of blue parallels, these two Noah Bremers really look great.  I don't know why I didn't have any of these before, but I was glad to add them now.

May 2019 Graphing of the Pelicans at Wood Ducks

The Wood Ducks returned from a long road trip for a brief three-game series at home this past week against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.  This was the last time that the Pelicans would come to Kinston this season, so I was eager to finish off what I had of them.  I had recently gotten my boxes of Bowman in, and pulled the above atomic refractor of Miguel Amaya.  The card is numbered 65/150, and looks really great signed.

I got all of the Aramis Ademan and Miguel Amaya that I had signed.  Ademan has such a nice signature, and it looks great on some 2019 Bowman.

I was glad to finally find some Steve Lerud cards.  I found them the day after the Pelicans left the last time, and got them into my book.  I also saw that Jake Stinnett was on the Pelicans roster for a rehab assignment, but realized that I had sent all of my Stinnett cards on to Max in Chicago.  Luckily, I had missed one, so I was able to get this 2014 Prizm signed.

There was a huge Rangers contingent on-hand during this series, so I was able to get a few rover cards signed.  I missed Dwayne Murphy last season because I had forgotten to put him in my book.  This year, I had him in there from Day One, and was able to get this 1979 Topps done, and also the A's Leaders card form 1986 Topps, below.

In addition to Murphy, Kenny Holmberg and Rick Strickland were on hand.  They had been here late last month, so I was able to Fins Holmberg's 2008 Bowman in my box, and I had found the above 1988 Cape Cod League card of Strickland on Ebay.  He was impressed that I had found the card and remarked that the card was "several pounds ago".  He also joked about how tight his pants were in the photo on the card.

I got a chrome 2019 Bowman done of JP Martinez, and this custom card of Bubba Thompson that my friend, John, sent me.

The Wood Ducks are on the road again, and will return home next weekend.

April 2019 Graphing Recap of Pelicans at Wood Ducks

I have been super busy with this current homestand of the Wood Ducks.  I've already used a bunch of my season tickets, which is helping me justify what I spent on them.  The Woodies just wrapped up the current homestand and are hitting the road, which will give me some time to reset and relax for a bit.

I didn't have too many cards of the Pelicans, but what I did have, I got signed.  I have nothing leftover for them, which is nice.  I was able to get a few cards removed from my box and also was able to take care of a few 50/50s.

Aramis Ademan is still the toughest signature for the Pelicans, and also probably the best looking.  The above 2018 Bowman Peaks of Potential really turned out nicely.

I also got Ademan on these 4 cards.  He was pretty nice, but doesn't say a whole lot.  He takes his time to sign a nice signature, which probably plays into why he only signed one-per.

We missed Grant Fennell the first game.  He came by, but said he was running late, and couldn't sign.  We weren't able to get his attention after he came off of the field that game, as well.  The second game, however, he walked right over, smiled and said hello.  I think he remembered us from the day before.  We chatted for a while, starting with how old the 2013 Perfect Game card was, and then onto the differences between being in Eugene, Oregon and Myrtle Beach, SC.  Being from San Diego, originally, Grant and I joked about how he should be getting some frequent flyer miles, but the team takes care of all of that.  He seemed like a really good kid.

I finished off what little I had left of Alex Lange on the second day.  We missed the third game, since that one was Education Day, and an 11AM game.  There was some action that day, as Lange was tossed in the bottom of the second for having  foreign substance on his arm.  The manager was then tossed, and finally the third base coach was ejected later in the third inning.  I hate that we missed an exciting game.

I wasn't even aware that I had any Luis Lugo cards, until I received a batch of 50/50s from Gerard.  I spent a few minutes before we left for the second game looking through the 2015 Bowmans that I had, and found this one card.  It was nice to get it out of my box, since the opportunity to get 2015 Bowmans signed is getting smaller and smaller.

Leody is getting even tougher to graph, these days.  He has started pulling a Spike Owen and is going under the bleachers and onto the field.  I have strong feelings about that; I am thankful for all of the stuff he has signed for us, but skipping over interacting with all of the fans just isn't cool.  He can just come out onto the field like normal and tell us no, and still sign for kids.  I honestly believe he is doing this because he is upset that he is still here, instead of having been called up to AA Frisco.  It is only a matter of time before he is moved, so we shall see if his mood improves.

Bubba Thompson, still at one per, has been pretty cool.  He at least talks with us each time.  I still have maybe 7 cards left in my snap case, but I'm not sweating over getting any signed.  I have just left them out of the book, and have talked to him each time he comes by.  Currently, he is struggling with the bat, so instead of asking him to sign stuff, we just offer him encouragement, tell him to "go get em", and he has been seemingly cool.

We also got some more of our Spokane stuff done.  It is always tough getting pitchers done, especially this early in the season.  I'm still learning faces, and uniform numbers.

I've almost finished my Wood Ducks cards.  Aside from Bubba and Leody being one per, I have been able to get the pitchers that I have needed.

The Wood Ducks seem to be a pretty good team, so far.  The pay a lot differently under Corey Ragsdale, than they did under Spike.  I think I like this team more than the one that was here last year, but it is still early, so I am reserving judgment.  Still, I love the Wood Ducks altogether, and am so glad that I made the decision to buy the season tickets.

Graphing The Wood Ducks Exhibition Game

It took three seasons, but the Wood Ducks finally got an exhibition game completed against Mount Olive University.  The last two were rained out, but this one was played for 12 innings (even though the Woodies were well ahead of the Trojans after the top of the 9th was completed).  Apparently they wanted to stretch a few pitchers out.

There are a lot of new faces on the team, but there are also some familiar ones this season.  I have been stockpiling Rangers prospect cards and ended up with a bunch that I can take with me to games to get signed.  I am also taking 50/50s and consignments this season, but there are a couple players I won't be taking (Leody, Anderson).

I also picked up some Hickory and Spokane team sets so I can get some of the guys who aren't in commercial products yet.  It helped out yesterday.  There are some pretty cool players who I was already able to get to sign some stuff.

I also took care of some stuff I got at the most recent card show in Raleigh, like the two Eric Jenkins cards above.  He was really nice, once again.  I hope he has a big year this year.

I was also able to knock out a ton of Peter Fairbanks cards that I had picked up after the "meet the team" event back in 2017.  We saw him then, but had no cards.  He then got hurt and came back last season.  He was impossible to get to sign anything last year, so I was glad I was able to get him as he came off of the field last night.  Now, I won't have to bother him again.

It was nice seeing Michael Matuella again.  I had to ask him about his Duke Blue Devils, but I did wait until he was done signing.  Everyone's bracket is busted, so it's ok.

Buried in the middle of this group of cards is Tyreque Reed.  This dude is huge.  He looks like he should be playing football, but I'm glad he is a Wood Duck.  I'm looking forward to seeing him crush a few baseballs.

Aside from Leody and Anderson, Bubba Thompson is probably the biggest Rangers prospect on the team.  I was told ahead of time that he will sign anything you have.  That was not the case on Monday.  Maybe he will sign more later on, but yesterday, he was only two-per.  I got him twice, though, so I was able to get some cards out of the way.  I took several 50/50s on him, so I hope that he will help get them done.  We will see as the season progresses.

The biggest news of the day came when I finally broke down and purchased season tickets for my son and I.  It was only a matter of time, and I was happy to do it.  I imagine it will save me money in the long run, so that's a plus.

Now I sit and wait for the season to start on Thursday.