September 12, 2023, Graphing of the Bats at Bulls

Last week was Birthday Week, so I kicked off my days off starting on Tuesday by hitting Durham all day for some graphing.  I got there at noon to do arrival and did pretty well.  I was by myself until time to get in line to get in pregame.  The goal of the trip was pretty simple; get the above 2020 Bowman Chrome orange refractor of Niko Hulsizer signed.  I got it done on arrival, so the rest of the day was gravy.

Jalen Beeks forgot his code to get in the clubhouse door, so he was a bit of a captive audience.  He signed all 8 cards i had in my book.  I had two cards left over, so i asked him if he wanted those for his family, and he happily accepted.  I thought i had Nick Dini already, but it looks like i had forgotten his cards the last time I was in Durham.  So, I finally got his card signed.  I was able to get Javy Guerra inside during stretching. I had to wait for him to finish stretching and warming up, but he did come over, climb the steps and ask "ok, let's see what you have got there..."  I imagine he was expecting me to have cards of the other Javy Guerra, but no, I had his 2016 Bowman!  He was impressed and signed both of my cards.

I only had the one 2022 Topps Update Cole Sulser, but got it signed during stretching.  He was really nice.  Silvino Bracho was with Louisville and signed all of the cards I had.

I didn't have a whole lot for Louisville, but did well, nonetheless.  Matt Reynolds was the guy who put me on the board on this trip when he signed his 2016 Topps rookie card.  It was good that I went out there on a Tuesday, the first game of the series. The Louisville players were unsure of which door to go in, and would ask me for directions.  That let many of them let their guard down and they would sign for me.

I had to leave the game early due to rain.  I had to make sure I got home at a decent time so I could get up early Wednesday for the next day of Birthday Week.

In all, I got the following autographs: Jalen Beeks x 8, Steve Chase x 2, Cooper Criswell x 1, Nick Dini x 4, Javy Guerra x 2, Niko Hulsizer x 2, Tsutomu Kamiya x 2, Cole Sulser x 1, Silvino Bracho x 8, Alejo Lopez x 1, Alec Mills x 3, Matt Reynolds x 1 and Teddy Stankiewicz x 1 (36 total autographs).

April 15, 2023, Graphing of IronPigs at Bulls

A day of graphing in Durham can be a lot of work, but can also be a lot of fun.  I had planned to go to Durham this weekend to graph several weeks ago.  That allowed me a lot of time to find cards of guys that I needed, and also take a few from a couple friends to add to my inventory.

There were a couple names on the Lehigh Valley roster that I was interested in getting.  That was mostly because there are several guys on their roster who have been around for a while, and I just haven't had the chance to either meet or finish off their cards.

Jeff Hoffman was one of the players that I hadn't been able to get in person.  I saw Hoffman pitch at ECU, and mentioned ECU to him when he stopped and signed for me on arrival.  He is normally one per, but signed two cards for me then, including the above 2015 Panini Contenders showing Hoffman in his ECU gear,

Since I planned this for a while, I made a day of it.  I got to Durham around 11:30, having left a little early so I could have time to stop and get something to eat.  I know myself, and I would have hung out there waiting for guys to arrive and wouldn't have eaten all day, so I made sure to get that done.  That made me earlier than planned.  I usually like to get to Durham around noon to graph arrival.  Getting there a little early helped; I learned that the Bulls have flip flopped locker rooms and entrances, so I was at the wrong spot for about 30 minutes.  I saw two players going in, and I froze.  I'm pretty sure Kyle Manzardo was one of the guys I missed.

Finally getting to the right spot, I broke the ice with former Oriole, Luis Ortiz.  I recognized him, and he finished off the last few cards of him that I could find in my collection.  We talked for a few minutes.  He's a really nice guy, and it looks like he is doing a lot better after leaving Baltimore.

John Hicks helped get some older cards out of my boxes.  I was glad to add a couple 2011 Bowmans to the autograph book  and get them signed.  Adding these to the book is getting rarer and rarer, so it was a nice treat to get a couple of them done.

Speaking of getting cards out of boxes, I have a box of cards of guys who should have or did come through the Carolina League, and I missed.  Hans Crouse never got to Kinston, having skipped over the team and missing time due to injuries and the COVID season.  He was finally traded away from the Rangers, so I had a bunch of his stuff that I had stockpiled and never got signed.

Crouse saw me standing there and walked right up to me with his wife and son.  He signed for me and talked to me for a bit as the other two watched on.  His wife thought it was cool to point out to his son that his dada had cards (his son looks to be a little over 1 or so).  The little guy is adorable.  Crouse was super nice and signed all of the cards I brought with me.  That made a huge dent in the stockpile I had created.

Jeff Hoffman was really nice, as well.  He was glad to finally be playing back in NC.  I got him on arrival, inside, and post game.

There were a bunch of people there to see Scott Kingery, and I was glad to get him on these two cards.  He signed for me inside pre-game.  Outside post-game, he saw me and asked if he had signed for me before, and I said yes and yielded to everyone else.  He signed a second time for Pete (if you have ever graphed in Durham, you know who he is), so I got one of the other graphers there to take my Archives card (the pink one) and she got it done for me.  I thanked her several times, even though I think she had no idea why I had asked her for her help.  She had Phillies gear on, so of course he signed for her twice.  My Wichita Turbo Tubs jersey was a bit too flashy, I guess.

Francisco Morales was good for one per, which after Arrival and pre-game, left me with one last unsigned card of him.  I missed him post-game, so that card will go in the box of shame.  

I was really happy to take Aramis Garcia out of the box of shame and get some of his cards signed, finally.  I had pulled him years ago for Richmond graphing and never got him, so those cards have sat around for a long time.  That was pre-box of shame stuff.

Ben Bowden hit every card I had in one shot, which was nice.  I liked getting the gold foil 2021 Topps Update taken care of.

Simon Muzziotti was good for 3-per each time I saw him (pre-game and post-game).  Heath Hembree was the only guy I was able to get during BP, but that was probably a good thing.  Once I got him, I went down the street and got something to eat and drink, since I had been out there a good 4 hours by then.

I was glad to add a 2023 Topps to the book and get it signed by Jonathan Aranda.  That's the first IP auto on a 2023 Topps for me, which was cool.  I was able to get a couple Oslevis Basabe cards back signed from my friends Carson and Gerard from Spring Training, so these two were the last ones I had.

My good friend, Max hooked me up with several Ran Buchter and Heath Hembree cards, so I didn't have to hit my older Topps boxes too hard to find stuff.  I did find my own Buchter, so that one got done, as well.

I had Cesar Ramos pulled to try him TTM a while back, and I had never sent them.  I knew exactly where they were (rare) and they are all done now.

Max also provided some 2015 Topps Update Ranos cards,  I got all but 3 of those done.  We missed him outside post-game.

TJ Zeuch was another of the guys that I really wanted to get.  He signed only one card, but this 2020 Panini Select is finally signed.  I had sent it to someone for 50/50s in 2021, they missed him, and the cards of his have been in the box of same since then.  Max sent some Zeuch cards as well, but with him only doing one outside post-game, the Select was the one that got signed.

Finally, I got Kam Misner on a few cards.  I had some help with a fellow grapher outside post-game, so he got me a few extra Misner, Garcia and Nico Hulziser.  All it took was an extra Jeff Hoffman ECU card.

The 2002 Topps Total Brian Reith card is just a random card from a random set that I had seen in my boxes during a recent pass through them to find other stuff.  When I remembered that I had it, and that he was a coach with Durham, I went through 4 boxes to finally find it.  I'm glad I did, but going through 4 boxes to find one card kind of sucks.  Had I not gotten it signed, I probably would have been irritated.  Thankfully, it is done and it looks good.

This was only the second time I have tried a day in Durham by myself.  I have to start getting used to that, since Chris is working now, and all of my graphing friends have gotten jobs that make Saturday (or any, for that matter) graphing impossible.  Still, I had a good time, and enjoyed the beautiful weather at a ballpark that I have come to really love.

In all, I got the following autographs: Ben Bowden x 4, Ryan Buchter x 5, Hans Crouse x 16, Aramis Garcia x 9, John Hicks x 8, Jeff Hoffman x 4, Scott Kingery x 2, Francisco Morales x 2, Simon Muzziotti x 6, Luis Ortoz x 4, Esteban Quiroz x 1, Cesar Ramos x 7, TJ Zeuch x 1, Jonathan Aranda x 2, Oslevis Basabe x 2, Cooper Criswell x 1, Heath Hembree x 6, Niko Hulsizer x 4, Curtis Mead x 1, Kam Misner x 5, Luis Patino x 1 and Brian Reith x 1 (92 total autographs).

Some 50-50s and Spring Training Autos From Gerard

Stacks of signed cards from sources other than TTMs continue to pile up on my desk.  I need to scan and post a bit more frequently to catch up, or I will remain behind on scanning and cropping for a long time.  I wanted to go ahead and get these cards from Gerard onto the blog, since I still had a team bag full of these cards he got done for me last season.  I combined these Red Sox cards from last year with the Rays cards he got signed for me recently at Spring Training, and hae a lot of stuff to add to the autograph album.

Gerard helped me finish off some Carolina League Top Prospects cards from a couple seasons ago with the above Jarren Duran and Bran Mats.  I was also glad to get a 2021 Heritage Minors Hudson Potts signed, and the Bryan Mata 2018 Bowman Chrome refractor.  I also enjoyed that he got me the 2019 Bowman Heritage Mata at the top of the post.  I really like that set, and was glad to add another of those to the album.

I may have seen Durbin Feltman with Salem or Greenville, but I don't remember, so it was nice to add these three to the album.  I know I saw Cameron Cannon, but I'm still glad to get a few extras of him, as well.

Getting cards from 2018 Bowman is starting to get tougher, as a lot of those guys have moved up and on from the teams I see, or they are now out of baseball.  It's funny how quickly a card set can get, maybe not obsolete, but out of the forefront of what you're seeing in a current season's autograph book.

When Gerard told me he could take some Rays for Spring Training, I was excited to get this 2022 Bowman Chrome green shimmer refractor of Curtis Mead signed.  The card is awesome, and I almost couldn't find it before I sent the package off.  Thankfully, I found it in the last place I looked and got it into the package.

I had hoped that this was a 2021 Topps Charlie Culberson, and not a Topps Update, because I have only 9 2021 Topps in my autograph album.  I don't count updated toward my Topps statistics, but this one is, in fact, an Update.  Oh well.  I still like the card, it just won't run my numbers for 2021 Topps into double digits.  I did send a bunch of 2021s to Spring Training for TTMs, but results from those have been super slow.

Gerard helped me get some generic team cards into the album by getting these 2010 Topps Tampa Bay Rays cards signed.  From left, Jordan Qsar, Kevin Kelly and Colton Brewer.

He also helped me get a few cards out of my box for older prospects cards like the 2014 Topps Heritage Minors Daniel Robertson, a 2018 Bowman Michael Mercado and a 2019 Bowman Logan Driscoll.

Finally, a couple more older cards with a 2016 Bowman Nick Burdi and a 2019 Midwest League All Star Niko Hulsizer.  He also helped me get a 2022 Topps Update Chrome purple Rene Pinto and a 2022 Topps Update Rene Pinto signed.

Thanks for getting all of these cards signed for me, Gerard.  This was a good start to this season's 50/50s for the two of us, and I look forward to what else we can get ink on this season.