Mailday From Michael

My buddy Michael sent me this Brad Brach that he got signed for me at Orioles Fan Fest this past January.  Michael really liked the card, and was reluctant to give it up.  I know he liked it, but I had bought it from my friend, Anthony, and really wanted to get it signed.  I appreciated Michael sending it back to me, and he knows that I will make it up to him sometime soon.

The card is a 2016 Topps black parallel, and turned out really nice with the signature in blue Sharpie.  Thanks for sending the card back, Michael.  You'll get something in return, I assure you!

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.

Orioles Fan Fest 2018 - Autographed Cards

Another Orioles Fan Fest is complete, and this year, I went all out with getting baseball cards signed.  I had all five time slots covered this time around, and was able to get multiple cards signed at almost all of them.  I also had some help with my son, Chris, my friend, Ryan and also my friend, Michael.  Michael really hit a home run for me by getting this Brady Anderson signed.  I know I owe him big for this, as he really loved the card and wanted to keep it.  This is a 1998 Pacific Revolution.  It looks so awesome in person.

This 2000 Finest Larry Bigbie orange refractor drew a response from Bigbie, himself.  He remarked "Wow, that is an old card!"  He's right, but it sure is a nice one.  I am really happy with it, and only paid a few bucks for it on Ebay.

This Nestor Cortes is another pickup.  It is a die ccut card numbered 05/99.  I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get it signed, but right when Chris got to the front of the kids line, Cortes came and sat down.  It turned out really nice, even though I wuickly had run an eraser over it right before he signed.  Thankfully, my mom had given me a pack of the giant pink erasers a couple weeks ago.  I put them to good use this weekend.

Darren O'Day was the first person we got, and the above 2015 Topps black parallel was one I was really excited to get signed.  I had bought it for a few bucks from my friend, Anthony, and really wanted to get it done.  I had sent O'Day a gold parallel of that card to Spring Training last season, but never got it back.

I had Chris get me the 2017 Topps, mainly because I wanted to puff up some of my Topps set numbers.  I wanted to get parallels and refractors done mostly, but I was able to add a few Topps base here and there.

I bought this Anthony Santander orange shimmer from 2014 Bowman Chrome last week, once I knew who's vouchers I had.  I saw it on Ebay for something like $6.00, but was able to get it cheaper from sportlots, instead.

This 2011 Topps Chrome orange parallel of Adam Jones was featured on this blog a long time ago, in a care package from my friend, Pete.  I had narrowed all of my Jones cards down to four, with Chris taking two, and I taking two through the line.  The handler denied Chris's second card, so I quickly put my second away and went with this one.  I had a recurring theme the whole time with orange parallels, and I'm not complaining at all.  It sure turned out nice.

Tim Beckham denied me a second card, but he signed two for Chris.  They all turned out really well.  I especially like that Chris, himself, requested that Beckham sign the Heritage Minors in blue.  It really looks good.

Here is another orange parallel, this time from Kevin Gausman.  This one turned out so well.  I'm glad I raided my PC boxes for some nice parallels.

I got four cards signed by Trey Mancini.  The Panini National Exclusive was given to me by a little guy named Reid at this past year's National.  I've been trying to message him, but haven't gotten a response since then.  He was ahead of me in the line to get in that last day of the National, and ended up walking around with me for a while.  The middle Topps Gallery was a gift from my buddy, Cal, and I am really happy that I brought it along to get signed.  It is hard to tell, but that is an Artists Proof card.  Finally, I really wanted an Oriole on a 1987 Topps Chrome from this past year, just to keep up with my 1987 Topps theme in my albums.

I also got four cards signed by Hunter Harvey.  The 2014 Bowman Chrome gold parallel on the right is numbered out of 50, and turned out really nice.  I have a bunch of other Harvey cards.  If he goes to Frederick to start the season, I may be able to get him when they come through Kinston.

I put some dime box pickups from this past year's National to good use at Fan Fest.  All of these Mike Wright and Chris Lee cards were dime box finds that I held onto.  The Wright cards are misprints, of course, as he never was a National.

I added three cards to the 1987 set while I was at Fan Fest.  Michael got Larry Sheets for me, and Ryan hooked me up with John Russell.

Here are some horizontal cards that I was able to get done.  The 2010 Upper Deck was from Ryan, and had Jaycob Brugman's signature on it.  The 1994 Score is Wane Kirby.  I had to bring the generic Orioles cards, in case I saw someone I didn't have cards of.  I was glad to use my 1994 Score.  The Upper Deck was one Ryan brought.  I kind of wish I had gotten a voucher of Chance Sisco, since I found my Bowman Pipeline card that I had Cody Sedlock sign this summer.  Chris got it signed by Chris Lee in the kid's line.  Lee said Sisco was on his way, but we were late for our 2:00 signing, anyway.  Maybe next year.

Here is a batch of other cards I was able to get done.  We had a session with Joe Orsulak, and he also was in the kid's line.  The Orsulak in the middle is a Bowman Tiffany, which turned out really nice.

Chris laid down three Alan Mills cards in the kid's line, and Mills signed them all.  I was glad for that, as I couldn't decide if I liked the 1995 Fleer over the 1993 Topps.  Ryan contributed the 1993 Ultra, and let Chris keep it.

Finally, Austin Hays signed two cards for me in the first session we were in.  Chris got an 8x10 signed.  I had my autograph book with me for that session, and Hays said he would do two of the four I had on my page.  I was fine with that, as it meant I could get one of the Carolina League Prospect cards signed and his Aberdeen team set card done.  I abandoned the book after that session and just tried two-per for each station, and it worked pretty well.

Ryan got the David Hess signed for me while I was in line for the last session.  He had my card box with him while I was in line and remembered that my box was alphabetized (and he remembered me saying I had one Hess card in there).  Michael got me the Miguel Castro.

In all, I left Fan Fest with 56 autographs on baseball cards.  Not a bad way to start the year.

I have a few other things from Fan Fest that I will show later on between TTM successes and a couple more Christmas gifts that came in, so stay tuned!

2014 Orioles Fan Fest - Our Last Autograph Station

I had vouchers for one more autograph signing, the 4:40 session with Kelvin De La Cruz (above), Henry Urrutia, Larry Bigbie and Matt Wieters.

Urrutia looks like he has packed on a little bit of weight this offseason.  He will be one of the Orioles' keys to success this year.  Especially if they don't sign anyone else, and the way it is looking, they won't.

Larry Bigbie was a former first round pick of the Orioles (1999) who was named in the Mitchell report in 2005.  Before that mess happened, I saw Bigbie play for the O's (in 05) over two games against the Yankees.  He hit a homerun in each game.  He has a connection through Ball State University with a good friend of mine.  I mentioned my friend to him, and Bigbie said that he recalled him, which was cool.

After Bigbie was named in the Mitchell report, he kind of fell off of the baseball landscape.  He played briefly in Japan then quietly ended his career.  It was kind of good to see him back.  I liked him when he was an Oriole and I don't hold a grudge against him for being named in the Mitchell report.

Finally, I was able to speak to Matt Wieters again.  I told him about how we met when he was playing with Frederick back in 2008.  Brandon Snyder brought him up to us and had him sign.  That was my first experience trying to get autographs of prospects at minor league games and it was a success.  Wieters was really nice to us this time around as well.  He kind of laughed off my asking him to go ahead and sign that extension, but it was all good.

So, I got 4 guys signatures.  Each on baseballs.  I gave the De La Cruz ball to Michael since he needed it for his collection and the Wieters post card to Scott since he was so gracious to let Chris and I stay at his place.  We had a really good time and I seriously can't wait for the season to start.

Fan Fest Pickup - Joe Mahoney Spring Training Jersey

I'm skipping around a bit now, but I really didn't want to post a whole bunch tonight, especially since the last autograph station we went to had 4 guys signing.  I hope to do that one tomorrow, depending on my mood.

After that station was done, Chris and I met back up with Scott and we made our way to the memorabilia room one more time.  Since they were about to close, I figured they would have marked a few things down. I was right.  They had marked the team issued jerseys down to $80 and the spring training jerseys to $20.  I missed out on the Dontrelle Willis jersey, but did manage to pick up the above Joe Mahoney jersey.

I got to see Mahoney play in Bowie a couple years ago and during that game, he hit two home runs.  After the second home run, he threw his batting gloves on top of the dugout right by where we were sitting.  I was too late as a kid grabbed them up and ran away.  Not to be beaten again, I snatched this jersey up and it is now here in my home.  I plan on wearing it to a game, even though Mahoney isn't with the team anymore. For $20, I know I got a deal!

Fan Fest Memorabilia Room Pickups - Game Used Baseballs

After our autograph signing at 11:20AM, Scott, Chris and I worked our way around the Baltimore Convention Center to check out the sights and sounds of 2014 Orioles Fan Fest.  We finally made our way to the memorabilia room, my favorite destination at Fan Fest, and found some cool stuff.

On the Spring Training jersey (for $50), I could have picked up a Dontrelle Willis jersey.  I held off, figuring I could land a jersey later on as the prices dropped.

I went in there hoping I could score a lineup card, but I was too late.  They were already gone.  So, I checked out the game used baseballs, instead. This year was the first year I was at Fan Fest with my smart phone, so I was able to check the game information on the baseballs.  I was able to pick up baseballs of some of my favorite players, while other folks standing there looked at me like I was crazy.  One of the three baseballs I got was for Chris as well.

In the lot shown above from our first visit to the memorabilia room, I got two Nate McLouth game used balls and a Nolan Reimold ball.  I could have sworn I picked up a Brian ROberts ball as well, but maybe I sat that one down by mistake.  Oh well, what I got was still cool.  Here is a little bit of info, as told by MLB Authenticators:

Ball 1. Cle @ Bal, June 26, 2013.  Batter - Nate McLouth; Pitcher Scott Kazmir.  Bottom of the 5th, Pitch in the dirt.

Ball 2: Cle @ Bal, June 27, 2013.  Batter - Nate McLouth; Pitcher Corey Kluber.  Bottom of the 2nd, foul ball.

And the third ball, which was a bit of a surprise:

Ball 3: Bos @ Bal, September 27, 2011.  Batter - Nolan Reimold; Pitcher - Erik Bedard, Bottom of the 3rd, pitch in the dirt.  According to baseball-reference.com, Nolan would go on to strike out looking in this at bat.  The Orioles would lose the game 8-7 and would fall to 68-93 on the season.

Of course, we all know that the next day, history would be made.  The most epic final day of a regular season was upon us, and Nolan Reimold would have a key role in that game.  Yeah, this ball came from the day before, but how much do you want to bet that he was wearing the batting gloves he gave me during the above at bat?  Pretty good chances, right?

I didn't even think about the date when I verified this ball.  I just thought it was cool that it was a pitch to Nolan and it had come from a former Oriole.  Funny thing was, though, Chris had found this ball on the floor, just under the table.  Kind of like we were meant to have it.  Pretty awesome, I think.

Fan Fest Autograph Station 1 - Lough/Webb/Bundy

Before I kick off my showcase of autographs, I do want to say that I got a dozen OMLB "Cal Ripken's Final Game" baseballs to take with me to Fan Fest to get signed.  The box of 12 was $50 cheaper than a normal box of OMLB baseballs.  You can see the logo on the above baseball signed by one of the newest Orioles, David Lough.  As far as I know, his last name is pronounced to rhyme with dough.  He seemed like a really nice guy.  My son, Chris, welcomed him to the team and told him the he would like him because he is taking over for Nate McLouth and McLouth was one of Chris's favorite players.  Lough smiled and signed Chris's baseball and was equally as nice to me when I told him "Welcome to Baltimore."

From everything I hear, Lough is going to be a solid addition to the team.  I really hope that's the case, because I really liked McLouth.  I believe that Lough is going to be a similar type player, except with him you add batting average and subtract stolen bases.  I'm ok with that.  The Os got Lough in a trade with the Royals for Danny Valencia.

The next baseball (above) is signed by another newcomer to Baltimore, Ryan Webb.  Webb came to the Orioles as a free agent (and he passed his physical, gasp!) from the Marlins.  He's a really effective ground ball pitcher who should fit into the bullpen nicely.  He didn't really replace Jim Johnson, but he has similar makeup and is several years younger (and much cheaper).

Webb was very outspoken on the Twitter by criticizing Alex Rodriguez when A-Roid announced he was suing the Player's Association.  When it was my turn to get an autograph from Webb, I asked him to please put one in A-Roids ribs when he comes back.  Webb just smiled and said "He isn't coming back."  Well put, sir.  I think I'm really going to like him in the late innings.

Finally, I got another signed (my third) baseball of Dylan Bundy.  Bundy is on the mend at the moment from obligatory Tommy John surgery.  He looks to come back after the All Star break, if not sooner.  I wouldn't rush him at all.  I'm really scared that he is going to end up like Mark Prior, but I hope he doesn't because it has been forever since the Orioles drafted and developed a solid MLB pitcher.  We'll see what the future holds.

The first autograph session was at 11:20AM and my next one wasn't until 4:40, so I had a ton of time to kill. Check back to see when Scott and I picked up in the memorabilia store while we waited.

Fan Fest Pickup - Mike Flanagan-Boog Powell Signed Baseball

One of my favorite pickups from this past weekend's Orioles Fan Fest is a bit bittersweet as well.  I have wanted a Mike Flanagan signed baseball for quite some time and that want/need was compounded a couple years ago when Flanny took his own life following years of battling depression.  The former Cy Young Award winner's death cast a pall on the life and career of one of the Oriole greats.  His death really affected me because I was one of those Oriole fans who heavily criticized his moves as GM, but in reality, a lot of his moves (and even some non-moves) turned out to be good ones.

With the recent passing of one of my favorite actors, Philip Seymour Hoffman (who has a key role in my second favorite movie ever, The Big Lebowski), I realize that life is really short and we need to enjoy it as much as we can.

So, that being said, I was really glad to be able to find this Flanagan ball at Fan Fest from one of the vendor tables.  The vendor area was full of some really cool Orioles stuff, a lot of it was stuff I would have been interested in taking home, but I didn't want to spend a whole lot.  I saw the ball (it is a 1993 All Star Game commemorative ball) and its price of $20.00 and was thinking I should probably get it, then Scott walked up and said I should ask the guy if he would do $15. The guy agreed and I was able to get the ball.

I really didn't think I would leave Fan Fest with a Flanagan ball, let alone one with Boog's signature on it as well.  I was really happy.  Of all the stuff I got at Fan Fest, this might be my favorite.

Going back to what I said before, it might not make sense in the context of me talking about buying a baseball, but I spent this past weekend with my son and a good friend.  We had a great time, enjoyed each other's company, and then had an amazing dinner together after Fan Fest.  I'm glad I was able to do it, and am happy that I am doing my part to make positive memories for Chris.  I hope he can look back at stuff like this when he is much older and think to himself, 'Wow, my dad took me to some really cool places...' Because, really, that's what it is all about, making good memories.

I'm Going to Fan Fest!

With a special thanks to Ryan from O No Another Oriole Blog, I will be attending Orioles Fan Fest in Baltimore in two weeks!

I will be taking my son as well.  I bought autograph vouchers to meet: Brian Roberts, Jason Berken and Ryan Adams at the 11:20 signing, Oliver Drake, Dana Eveland, Tommy Hunter and JIM PALMER at the 3:20 signing and Brady Anderson, Robert Andino and NICK MARKAKIS at the 4:40 signing.

I'm so excited to meet Anderson, Palmer and Markakis.  I really can't wait.  I appreciate Ryan wanting to hang out with me again, I guess I didn't annoy him too bad by talking too much at the card show!