Dugan Has His Own Card

Dugan is one of my favorite people. I've told that to many people (including him). So when he told me that he was in the Florence Y'alls team set, I was excited.  He sent me a signed version of the card, which was awesome.  Dugan is the guy on the right (obviously).

Thank you so much for the signed card, Dugan!

Some Signed Cards From Dugan

My good friend, Dugan, hooked me up with a few signed cards recently.  I had gotten Grant Koch before, but needed to get some cards out of my box.  This 2018 Bowman turned out well.

Dugan sent me this nice 2003 Midwest League All Star signed by Juan Senreiso, which will look cool in my album.

Finally, Dugan let me have this 2016 Charleston Riverdogs card of Nestor Cortes, a former Oriole.  I remember Cortes when he was a Rule V pick by the Orioles, but didn't really pan out.  He has now found some success with the Yankees.

Thanks so much for the cards, Dugan.  Also, I just realized that my post from last night was my 5,000th post.  That's pretty amazing.  I started this blog in November 2008 and sometimes struggle to keep it going, but I push myself to continue with it.  It has been my "diary" for the last 13 years, and I appreciate everyone who reads and also those who comment.  Thanks again!

Some Autos From Dugan

To say that I'm behind on posting would be an understatement.  I've got a stack of 50/50s and trades from this past season that I need to get scanned and while I am close to being caught up on TTM posts, I am still not quite there.  So, I am trying to get some cards scanned and posted to reduce my stacks and move stuff into my albums.

My good friend, Dugan, took some cards from me this season after I missed a few guys while graphing.  He was able to get the above 2021 National exclusive card of Blaze Jordan signed for me IP, which was nice of him.  Jordan signs TTM, and I intend to send to him, but I was glad Dugan got this card done for me without an inscription.

I had put aside a small stack of Indians Bowman cards and missed them when I saw Lynchburg this summer.  I found them and got them to Dugan before the season was out, and he helped me finish off the ones I could finish.  It was just nice to get them out of my box.

I had missed Lolo Sanchez a couple times, so it was nice to get one of my cards signed, and I was able to finish off the last Braxton Ashcraft card that I had.

I had missed this Mosaic Deivy Grullon while we were in Durham, so Dugan took it for me and got it done.  Thankfully, it was right before Grullon left the Bulls.

Finally, Dugan sent me this nice custom he made of himself that he had signed.  It will go in my autograph album with the rest of my cards.

Thanks so much for getting these done for me, buddy!

August 10-15, 2021 Mudcats at Wood Ducks

After being away from the Wood Ducks for almost a month, I finally was able to get back to Grainger Stadium this week and do some graphing.  I was following up the National by getting some of my purchases signed, and they all turned out great (like the above 2020 Bowman Draft sapphire parallel of Thomas Saggese).

The series started on Tuesday with the much-anticipated return of pitcher, Owen White.  He has been out all year with a broken leg, and I was finally able to get some cards signed by him.

Some more National pickups; I had to pick up every Mason Englert that I could find.  I got them done, and they turned out awesome.

Here are a couple more Saggeses.  The purple Chrome parallel was way off-center, but the card is cool.  I had actually found two purple refractors (the one of the left isn't one, it is a purple paper parallel), so Chris got the better of the two.

I had received some customs from Rangersautos on Instagram (the Valentin) and my good friend, Dugan, made a few others.  So, I had some extra stuff to get done toward the end of the series.

I finally was able to get a 2015 Stars & Stripes of Noah Campbell signed for myself, as well as a bunch of cards of the returning Antione Kelly and Micah Bello.

Sal Frelick made his debut, after being drafted in the first round of the 2021 July Amateur Draft.  He was really nice, and signed one of Dugan's customs.  Frelick was impressed with the card that Dugan made, and Dugan actually gave him one ot the end of Sunday's game.

I probably should have scanned this Antione Kelly with the others, and the Frelick right here.  Oh well, this 2020 Topps Pro Debut turned out really well.  I was glad to get it out of my graphing box, because I was afraid the season would end before I could get it signed.

The big highlight of this series was that I was finally able to get my hands on some team sets.  I have been waiting all season for them, and they arrived while I was at the National.  There are several players in the set who have moved on to Hickory and several more on the DL.  I'm hoping some of those players come back, so I can get closer to finishing the set.

We got all of the coaches and also DEWD, who finally came out of hibernation.  I didn't miss any of the active players, and I am hoping a few come off of the DL by next series (like, Cody Freeman).

The team sets are really nice, but nothing will beat the 2019 Mudcats team set.  That one might be my favorite design so far that I have seen, even though I do like the Wood Ducks sets from 2017.

Finally, we realized that Rangers roving instructor, Geno Petralli, was in town (he even got ejected from Friday's game; the umpires were that bad).  I got every Petralli card that I could find signed, so I am now out of his stuff (I think).

I had a good time getting back to Grainger Stadium and spending some time with Dugan and Billy, as well as some of the other graphers.  The season is winding down, and I know I'm going to miss this when the off-season hits.

June 27, 2021 Graphing of Drive at Grasshoppers

Last Sunday, I took my son, Chris, and my little cousin, Ale, to Greensboro to see the Greensboro Grasshoppers take on the Greenville Drive.  I also was going in hopes to finish what I started on Greenville while Ale and I were in Winston-Salem before he and I were shut down.

We did really well graphing inside and outside the stadium, EXCEPT I missed Jay Groome again.  He didn't sign outside, and I was left with my ton of Groome cards, still.  Thakfully, I had given the two best cards to my friend, Dugan, and he got those done.  The above 2017 Bowman Chrome blue shimmer was one of them.  It turned out great.

The other card was the 2017 Bowman Tek (top left).  I had been holding on to those cards since 2017, so I was happy to get them signed.  We were able to get everyone else that we set out to get, which was nice.

I was really glad to finish off most of my Greenville stuff.  I had it pulled, and had I not finished most of it, there would have been a bunch of stuff going back into my boxes.  

The Elih Marrero 2015 Stars and Stripes was found in a box after the trip to Winston, though.  Thankfully, I pulled it when I saw it and put it in my Greenville pile.  I need t do a better job of pulling stuff when I see it, instead of telling myself "Oh, I'll grab that out of the box the next time around.

On the Greensboro side of things, I had pulled some stuff with the thought that I would hit that team at some point this season, so getting stuff together for this series was a lot easier than it normally would have been.  Plus, Dugan was going by there, as well, so I had a couple guys pulled for him as well.

Nick Gonzales hit a homer while we were watching the game.  He signed one per, and only signed after the game.  When he did sign, however, he was really nice.

Dugan had gotten me a Liover Peguero autograph when he got my Groomes signed for me, so I included it here, as well.  I got my own Peguero (the 2020 Heritage Minors), as well.

All of the Greensboro guys were nice.  I see now that I included Drive pitching coach, Bob Kipper, among the Greensboro guys.  I guess that was because he was in a Pirates uniform on this 1989 Score (bottom left).

We all had a really good time at the Greensboro game.  Ale did a great job getting autographs, even though he hadn't done it prior to our trip to the Dash game weeks before.  He even told me he enjoyed graphing, which was nice to hear.  Hopefully, he keeps up with the cards I gave him when the trip was over.

Some Signed Jack McDowells From Dugan

I met up with my buddy, Dugan, while on my way to Winston last week and picked up some cards that he had gotten signed for me by Burlington Sock Puppets manager, Jack McDowell. Yes, the former Burlington Royals are now the Sock Puppets.

Burlington is part of the new collegiate wood bat league set up by MLB when they changed the minors around.  Dugan has been to a couple Buington games now and seems to have enjoyed himself.  I do want a Sock Puppets hat...

Dugan got me a bunch of McDowell cards signed.  I had gotten him TTM and also as a free signer at the National.  I think I'm pretty much out of McDowell cards now. 

Thanks so much for getting these signed for me, Dugan!

Great Time Graphing The Tides At Bulls

With the Wood Ducks out of town this week and the countdown to Wander Day fast approaching (we all know Wander Franco will be called up soon), I decided to make a trip to Durham and try to graph the Bulls this weekend.  I also used it as an opportunity to break my friend, Tyler, in to IP graphing.  He had never done it before, but has shown interest, so I helped him pick out an autograph book and got him started on his way.  What better way to get him started, than to try to pursue the #1 prospect in baseball, Wander Franco.

Tyler, Chris and I were met in Durham by my awesome friends, Jackson and Dugan.  Dugan had this Franco Midwest League all star card that he got signed for me last week, so I figured, even if we didn't get Franco, I could leave there with a Franco auto.

Obviously, we ended up getting Franco.  I was able to get him inside the stadium as he was about to warm up; he had bypassed us outside upon arrival saying he had a meeting.  Jackson convinced me to get my card signed with the copper Sharpie that I brought, and it really looks great on the gold card.  It is numbered to 50, so that was pretty cool, too.

Chris had the above triple card in his book, and got Kevin Padlo and Vidal Brujan on arrival.  We were afraid we would leave without Wander on that card, but a guy we had helped outside (he was new to graphing and didn't even have a pen with him to get his ball signed; so I let him borrow mine) was from the Dominican and took my card (and book) and ran Wander down to get his signed after Wander bypassed Chris again.  The guy saw me with the card and asked why Wander didn't sign, I said "I got him inside, it's cool." and he said no, took my book and ran after him talking to him in Spanish.  Turns out, they had talked about being from the Dominican, and Wander stopped and chatted with the guy again.  He turned out to be a super nice guy, and told us stories about baseball in his country as we waited for other players to come out.  I ended up letting him keep my pen.  It was the least I could do.

We got Vidal Brujan on quite a few cards.  I think he is going to be a really good player as well.  He's super fast and probably won't take long to get called up.

We didn't miss too many of the Durham players, which was great.  I was up til 2AM Saturday searching and prepping cards and graphing books.  I was able to get a bunch of cards out and prepped, so I was really glad with the results.

I even got a Wool E Bull card signed while at the game, which was pretty cool.  Apparently, folks go wild over some of these mascot cards, but this one will stay in my album.  I got a couple Drew Strotman cards from Jackson, which helped me out.  I wasn't able to find any of him for some reason.  Brent Honeywell was one per, but the cards he signed turned out great.  Jackson and Dugan hadn't been able to get Luis Patino all week, but luckily, we got him on Saturday; he has an awesome signature.

The Joe Odom card came from Dugan, which was nice.  I wouldn't have had anything of him.  Ryan Boldt was one of the tougher guys for me to get (aside from Wander) because no one could recognize him.  We got my one card done, though.

I got David Hess inside after the game, and spoke to him a bit.  He was super nice, and the cards turned out great.  Deivy Grullon was the first guy to stop for us outside, and I was so happy to get the 2020 Panini Score Select signed, since I had to search boxes while watching Cobra Kai Friday night.  Those cards turned out great.

We were able to get a few Norfolk guys on arrival after we got the Bulls that we needed.  Several of the Tides players signed for us, even after a trainer came out of the clubhouse and told us the players couldn't sign due to COVID.  Thomas Eschelman was the only player who refused us due to these restrictions.

I was really excited to get Yusniel Diaz at the game, because I hadn't seen him before.  I recognized him, which was a surprise, and he signed one card for each of us.

Jackson and Dugan had dipped into my stash of extras when we learned that it was, in fact, Diaz, and they helped me out with the extras.

On a whim, I added this 2019 Allen & Ginter gold of Vincent Stio to my snap case and brought it with me.  I knew he lived in NC and went to a lot of games in the area, but was primarily as fixture at Mudcats games.  He's an aspiring umpire, and will dress as one and attend minor league games across the state.  He mimics the umpires movements and has been brought onto the field several times.  I found this card in one of my card shop boxes and knew I'd run into him somewhere.  This was an awesome example of being super prepared.  Chris and I were getting into the line for the all you can eat buffet, and Chris noticed Vincent.  So, I was able to graph a kid younger than my son as a minor league game.  At least he and his dad were cool about it.

My good eye also spotted Ryan Ripken as he was entering the Tides clubhouse, and I had a short conversation with him.  It was regarding a card that I had brought with me that has become a small project of mine.  I plan to finish the card off with a couple of Ryan's relatives, but he signed it for me and enjoyed seeing it.  He is such a great guy, and I was glad to see him again.

So, we had an awesome time at the game and enjoyed the company of my son and friends.  In all we got 65 autographs:

Wander Franco x 2, Vidal Brujan x 13, Kevin Padlo x 3, Ryan Boldt x 1, Adam Conley x 3, Chris Ellis x 5, Deivy Grullon x 6, David Hess x 4, Joseph Odom x 1, Wool E Bull x 1, Josh Lowe x 3, Brent Honeywell x 3, Wyatt Mathisen x 2, Luis Patino x 4, Drew Strotman x 2, Vincent Stio x 1, Brett Cumberland x 1, Yusniel DIaz x 5, Zac Lowher x 2, Ryan Ripken x 1 and Willy Yahn x 2.

TTM SUccess - Nick Anderson

I really enjoyed 2019 Topps Holiday.  I bought a couple blaster boxes and have gotten a few of the cards signed.  They look cool in my album, and I hope to get a few more signed soon.  This TTM success from Nick Anderson is the latest card from this set that I was able to get done.

I have been more conscious of getting Marlins signed, since my buddy Dugan is a huge fan of theirs.  For some reason their cards already stand out to me, and now that he is working on Marlins autos, I've kept my eye out for some, as well.

Anderson (b. 1990) has played in the majors since 2019 for the Marlins and Rays.  He has a career record of 6-5 with 135 strike outs and a 2.81 ERA.

I mailed to Anderson on June 10 and got the cards back on July 2, for a 22-day TAT.

Some Cards From Dugan

It took him a while, but my good friend, Dugan, sent me back cards that he had tried to get signed for me last season, and added a couple nice cards in the process.

I love the deckle edge Ryan Mountcastle card from 2018 Heritage.

The above Richie Martin patch auto from Leaf Trinity was really nice.  I didn't know this card existed.

Finally, Dugan was able to get two of the cards I sent to him signed.  Rain cut his trip short, or he would have been able to get a couple Columbia Fireflies done for me.  Oh well, I appreciate the effort.

Thanks so much for the cards, Dugan.

50/50s From Dugan

My good friend, Dugan, took the trip to the Sally League All Star Game back in June, and came up with some autos for me.  I had sent him a few guys that I missed when I was in Hickory, and also a few Julio Rodriguez cards.

He was able to bring me back three cards that I can now put into my album.

I believe Dugan has some more stuff that he will get done for me during the remainder of the season, but I'm not quite sure what I have given him.

I saw him last night at the Mudcats game, and even though it was only for a couple of minutes, it was still really nice seeing him.  Now, I just need to get him back down to a Wood Ducks game!