TTM Success - Delmon Young

Finally.  I have waited 7 years for a private signing with Delmon Young to come up so I could get a 2015 Topps signed.  Young was the catalyst for my greatest in person baseball memory.  He launched a 3-run double in game 2 of the 2014 ALDS to allow the Orioles to come from behind and beat the Tigers and go up 2 games to none in the best of 5 series.  That was the loudest I had ever heard Camden Yards.  It was an amazing feeling, and it still gives me chills today when I watch it.  I sill can't believe I was there.  I was so excited to open 2015 Topps and see that the moment was captured on a Topps flagship card.

Young (b. 1985) played in the majors from 2006 to 2015 for the Rays, Twins, Tigers, Phillies and Orioles.  He had 1,162 hits, 109 home runs and a .283 batting average.  He finished 2nd in the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year voting and was 10th in the 2010 AL MVP voting.  He was the 2012 ALCS MVP.  

I mailed to the signing on November 6 and got the card back on December 11, for a 35-day TAT. I paid a fee of $25.00.

2018 Fan Fest Pickup - Delmon Young Signed Baseball

My first stop at Orioles Fan Fest wasn't an autograph line.  It was the Orioles merchandise room.  I wanted to see what jerseys were available, and maybe pick up something else that caught my eye.  Well, I found a signed baseball for only $10.00, and it was one I have wanted since October 3, 2014.

Delmon Young might have a ton of off-the-field issues, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he owns probably the biggest Orioles hit that I have ever seen.  The fact that I was there to see it in person makes it even better.

I was in attendance, along with my son, Chris and my friend, Ryan, and got to feel the electrifying moment when Young's 3-run double gave the Orioles the lead in Game 2 of the 2014 ALDS against the Tigers.  Every time I watch it and hear the crowd erupt, I get goosebumps.  It really was something to experience.

Young (b. 1985) played in the majors from 2006 to 2015 for the Rays, Twins, Tigers, Phillies and Orioles.  He had 1,162 hits, 109 home runs and a .283 batting average.  He was the 2012 ALCS MVP and always seemed to come up clutch in big playoff situations.

Here is that moment from the 2014 ALDS Game 2 that I was referencing.

Christmas Gift From Judson

I got an awesome Christmas care package a few weeks ago from fellow blogger Judson (My Cardboard Habit).  In the package was a bunch of really cool Orioles cards that I needed.  The above Cal Ripken coin card is really cool, and one that I hadn't seen before.  It is a nice (and heavy) card that I can add to the Cal PC.

Judson included two Christian Walker chrome autos, one of which is the above refractor numbered 92/499.  This card itself is really nice in person.  I'm not sure what will happen with Walker, but I still like him.

This pink parallel of Delmon Young is a really cool addition.  Take away the fact that Young has perennial anger issues and has made terrible life choices, his double in the 2014 playoffs will go down as one of the most memorable games I have ever attended.  It appears that the double is depicted on this card, and I think that is really awesome.  That make three cards that I know of that show photos from games I was at (the Mark Reynolds SP from a few years ago [2013 Topps, I think] and a Brian Roberts from 2006 Upper Deck).  This card is numbered 19/50.

Thanks for the package, Judson!

Christmas Package From James

My "to be blogged" pile is pretty huge at the moment.  So much so, it is mid-January, and I still haven't shown off all of my Christmas gifts yet.  I'm getting there, but I don't want to dump them all into one post; I want to try to give each person/package their own post and truly do the gifts justice. It is never the quantity or "value" of the gifts you receive that is important, but the thought itself that should hold meaning.

That being said, the best part of this gift might not have been the awesome cards that I scanned, but the letter that was included along with them.  You see, my good friend, James, and I have been trading for a year now.  He was the second person I made a successful deal with on Instagram, and we have been good friends ever since.  Of all of the people on Instagram that I consider friends, James writes me the best notes and includes them in each package.  Sometimes, the notes are my favorite part of the deal.

Anyway, along with another great letter, James also included some really cool cards that I wasn't expecting.  The above Delmon Young card is a fine example.  Young forever endeared himself to O's fans on October 3 when he hit the three-run double to put the O's ahead of the Tigers in ALDS Game 2.  The fact that I was there makes it all that much more special.  So, James giving me this card and adding the facts about Young, I will slab this card in a mag and will never let it go from my collection.

Another card James sent was this on-card auto of Herm Starrette from 2014 Heritage.  It was really funny that he sent me this card, because I think it was offered to me by three different guys in trades, and I never took the bait.  I wanted the card, I just never felt like I had enough to offer for it.  Thankfully, my patience (and James's generosity) paid off, and I now own the card.

Thanks so much for the Christmas package, James.  I was really happy to open it, and I'm sorry it took me so long to post it.  I hope the post has done the gift justice, because I appreciate everything you do!

We Won't Stop - Recap of My First Playoff Game

I can knock something off of my bucjet list, I went to my first ever MLB playoff game today.  Chris and I went, along with Ryan from O No Another Orioles Blog and some friends of his.  We skipped over a great deal of DC traffic this morning thanks to the HOV lanes and that we had so many people in the car.  I was worried because the start time for the game was 12:00, noon, and our plan was to leave Ryan's house at 6:30, but that would put us in DC at the Friday morning rush hour.  Thankfully, we sot through there easily and got to Baltimore right at 10:00AM with only two stops along the way.

I was really glad that I made the decision to bring Chris along so he could experience this.  He had joked that he didn't really want to go because he was missing school, but I could tell that he was really excited.  They handed us these awesome rally towels as we entered the ballpark, and Chris actually got an extra one, so my wife will get a souvenir.  I really appreciate the photo bomb by the random dude in the background, by the way.

Another thing I wanted to do while I was there was to finally try some of Boog's BBQ and who was there while we were in line?  Why, Boog himself.  He signed a ball for Chris and posed for a picture.  I told him I was happy to see him again, and he shook my hand and said he was happy to see me as well.  Boog is such an underrated historical player.  I know that the 1970 AL MVP is loved in Baltimore.  He's one of our guys and I like our guys.

This summer, when we were at the Tiger game, I was disappointed that I didn't get to see Verlander pitch and Miguel Cabrera was on the bench.  Well, I got to see both today, and Cabrera was a terror on the Orioles, but he also helped them out with some questionable baserunning when he was cut down at the plate trying to score late in the game.  That run would come back to haunt the Tigers.

Check out the sea of Orange.  I thought the Brooks Robinson statue dedication in 2012 was wild, but this crowd was raucous, energetic, pumped, whatever you want to call it.  They were a bit deflated in the middle innings when the Tigers jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but the crowd would explode in the 8th inning when Delmon Young hit his 3-run double off of the wobbly Tigers bullpen to give the O's a 7-6 lead.  Ryan and I were going crazy, and even Chris was jumping up and down, although he couldn't see over everyone who was on their feet at that moment.

There were chants of "Hey Hey, Goodbye" when Brad Ausmus lifted Justin Verlander for Anibal Sanchez; chants for "Joba, Joba, Joba" for Joba Chamberlain when he was throwing gas on the fire; chants of "We Won't Stop" when Delmon Young his the double; and one of the most gratifying chants was the role call for Nick Markakis after his home run early in the game.  Nick has been up with the O's since the 2006 season and missed out on the 2012 post season with a broken thumb.  It was really cool to see him finally play in a playoff game, and he has shone so far.

I shot a video with my phone of the final out of the game.  Sorry for the shaky camera work, but I think this captured the mood at the stadium perfectly.  Baltimore is itching for a winner, after all of those years of futility, and I believe that there isn't a fan base that wants to win right now more than the Orioles fan base.  Of course, I'm sure folks from Kansas City would like to weigh in on that.

So, I hope you all enjoyed the look into my day.  I am still elated over the outcome of the game.  I told Ryan that I had felt in the 7th inning that the perfect game would be a close one where the Orioles came from behind and won, and I got my wish.