Orioles Fan Fest - More Nolan Reimold Memorabilia

After we finished up at Autograph Station 1, Ryan, Chris and I headed upstairs in the convention center to check out the memorabilia room.  Before we could get too far, I realized that I had a message on my phone.  I checked and it was a message from Nolan Reimold's wife, Jenny.  I had let her know that we would be at Fan Fest and wanted to be able to say hello if she and Nolan were able.  She was kind enough to let me know where she was at, so we made a beeline to that area.

Unfortunately, when we got there, Nolan was busy, but it was really awesome to meet Mrs. Reimold in person.  We also met Ryan Adams' girlfriend.  They both remarked about my replica 1938 Orioles jersey and Jenny handed me a nice surprise...

 More batting gloves!!  It was really cool, since we were meeting her next to the forum stage.  On the big screen there, they were showing the ground rule double that Nolan hit to tie the final game of the season against the Red Sox.  Ryan said "Hey, look, your batting gloves are on TV!"  That was really cool, then to be able to get more of them was even better.  According to Mrs. Reimold, these gloves were also worn in that game.  I guess Nolan uses more than one pair of gloves in a game, which makes sense.  These are signed with a thinner sharpie than the other pair.  I have these put away in my safe while the other pair is on display in my man cave (attached to my awesomely made glove stands).  We parted ways with Mrs. Reimold and worked our way back upstairs to the memorabilia room.  Mrs. Reimold reads this blog, so I would like to thank her again for her generosity.  It can't believe how lucky I am due to this blog.  It definitely is luck and I hope she and Nolan know how much I appreciate this!

In the memorabilia room, you can buy game used merchandise at some ridiculously cheap prices.  I wish I had more cash on me because there was a bunch of stuff that I would have liked to have taken home like a game used jersey, a lineup card or a cracked bat.

I did pick up this game used baseball.  This ball was a foul ball from the June 30, 2011 game between the Orioles and Cardinals.  The ball was hit foul by Nolan Reimold off of Cardinals' pitcher Jaime Garcia.  Reimold hit a home run in that game, by the way...  I got the ball for $20; had I waited til the end of the show, I would have gotten one for $10 but there was no guarantee that this one from Nolan would still be available.  I do know that if I go next year, I will be bringing enough money to buy a lineup card.  I know one will look good on the wall in the man cave...


Next up for my Fan Fest recap will be our second autograph station and meeting a Hall of Famer in person...  Stay tuned!

Orioles Fan Fest - First Autograph Station

Our first autograph voucher was for the 11:20 signing that featured Brian Matusz, Alfredo Simon, Ryan Adams and Jason Berken.  Brian Roberts was supposed to be in this group, but he bowed out due to the lingering effects of the concussion he suffered in 2010 and re-aggravated last season.  It definitely is a shame he couldn't make it, but as someone whose family member suffered a sports related concussion, they are difficult to overcome and very easy to re-aggravate.  My brother suffered one in college in 2003 from Shawne Merriman (yes, THAT Shawne Merriman), and he still hasn't slept right since.  Anyway, on to our autographs:

I got another ball signed by Brian Matusz.  He was really nice, speaking to both Chris and I.  He let Chris come behind the table and take a picture with him.  I really appreciated it.  I really hope Matusz's time with Brady Anderson this offseason has helped him come into spring training in much better shape than last year and he makes it very hard for Buck and Co. to send him to AAA Norfolk to start the year...

 Is it just me, or does this Topps Heritage Rookie Card look great signed?  Alfredo Simon didn't say a whole lot to us as he signed our card, but it was still great to meet him and say hello.  I think he is vastly underrated and has done everything asked of him by the Orioles.  He has started, closed, pitched in relief, etc.  I hope last offseason's difficulties have been put behind him for good.

 Jason Berken was very nice to Chris and I also, and he also let Chris take a picture with him.  He was solid out of the bullpen in the 2010 season but took a couple steps back in 2011.  He ended up with a strained arm that limited his time late in the season.  He is a candidate to pitch out of the bullpen in the 2012 season.

Ryan Adams worked his way up to the majors last season after having a solid campaign in the minors.  He is a candidate to start at second base if Roberts isn't ready to go when the season starts.  If Roberts is healthy, look for Adams to be a reserve player on the bench.

We had a good time getting autographs from these guys and had two stations to go for the rest of the day, but the next session was about 3 hours from when we got out of line, so my next post will discuss my meeting with a friend of the blog during the break... Stay tuned!!!

Orioles Fan Fest Thoughts and Photos

Over the course of the next few blog posts, I will be showing off all of the stuff my son and I picked up at the Orioles Fan Fest on January 21, 2012.

Before I do that, I would definitely like to thank Ryan from "O No Another Orioles Blog" for letting my son Chris and I tag along with him to Fan Fest.  I wouldn't have gone had he not offered to accompany us and it really made the experience that much more enjoyable.  If you haven't checked out and followed Ryan's blog yet, you really should!

My son Christopher and I at the end of Fan Fest.  Take note that Chris is wearing my younger brother Adam's little league Orioles Jersey from around 20 years ago...

Here are Chris and Orioles pitcher Jason Berken.  Berken signed a 'before they were stars' card for Chris and also gave him a signed post card.

Chris with Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz.  Matusz asked Chris who is favorite Orioles were and Chris' answer was: "Brian Roberts and Tim Lincecum."  When I told Chris that Lincecum wasn't an Oriole, Matusz told him "That's ok, he is still pretty good."

Chris is getting a baseball signed by former Negro Leaguer Jimmy Bland.  He was really nice.  He asked Chris if he could keep the ball and of course Chris told him no.

Chris is now telling Chris Davis that they have the same name.  My son is 6 and still doesn't mind 'mining for gold' in public, so he turns around with his finger in his nose and I quietly whisper to him "Chris, quit picking your nose..." to which Davis responds "Oh, I didn't think anyone saw that... oh you meant your son, sorry."  Was pretty funny, for sure.

We got to meet Jim Palmer in person, which was one of the big highlights of the event.  I would love to say that I had a conversation with him, but I was too nervous to get a coherent sentence out and Tommy Hunter (seated beside Palmer) was busy telling Palmer about the virtues of his new Twitter account (follow him @TommyGoesBoom).

Chris had met Robert Andino back when we visited Durham Bulls Athletic Park for a game between the Durham Bulls and the Norfolk Tides.  He is seen here telling Andino "What's up!" which is a message Andino gave me to tell Chris when I talked to him in Norfolk a few months after our initial meeting.  Andino might be the most misunderstood Orioles player right now, but he has quickly become one of my favorites.  I think, given increased playing time, he will have a pretty solid career.

Another player that I was really excited to meet was Nick Markakis.  He was probably the most prominent current Orioles who I hadn't had a signed baseball of.  I got that taken care of at Fan Fest!

Speaking of Orioles autographs that I have been looking for, I finally got the chance to meet one of my childhood heroes, Brady Anderson.  I have been wanting an Anderson signed baseball for a long time and finally got it.

 Here is most of the stuff Chris brought home from Fan Fest.  I'll have to work with him on taking care of all of it.  Some of the stuff he had signed, he gave to me (without me asking him for it by the way).  One of the signed post cards we got went to Ryan for letting us stay with him and to help him with his Orioles autograph project.

Here is what I consider my haul from Fan Fest.  A few of the post cards and one of the balls were given to me by Chris.  He will probably get some of them back over time once he can show that he knows how to take care of all of them.  If you study the picture closely, you'll see two items that look familiar, but are different from what you might be thinking...

That being said, piece by piece (sort of), I will be posting all of the balls, etc, that I brought home.  I have enough stuff to keep me busy on this humble blog for some time to come, haha.  Also, having said that, I have a trade post with Kirk from Eutaw Street Cardboard that I will squeeze in somewhere along the way as well as any TTMs that come in...

So, you guys (hopefully) have a lot to look forward to on here.  I hope you all enjoy.

Completing the Trade With Dodgerbobble

I did get some cards from Dodgerbobble in the trade for my Sutter ball.  One was this 1997 Upper Deck Amazing Greats.  This card is, well, amazing.  I like that it looks like it is made out of wood.  The diamond photo of Cal is a clear acetate which was picked up beautifully on my scan.

 Here is the back of the card which is super glossy.  It looks really nice, as well.

 I also got this 2010 Topps Chrome X Fractor of Brian Roberts.  I can never tell the difference between Superfractor and X Fractor.  I'm pretty certain this is the X Fractor.  If I'm wrong, someone please help me out.  I didn't have this though, so it was a nice addition to my Roberts PC.

I commend Dodgerbobble on having 2 cards for my player collections that I didn't already have.  This is becoming a rare thing since I have so many Roberts and Ripken cards now.  Very refreshing to see some new ones being added, for sure!

Trade With Dodgerbobble - Cal Ripken Bobblehead

I forgot to post a link to Dodgerbobble yesterday when I did my Adam Jones post, so head on over and check his page out.  Especially if you like the Dodgers!

I remember when these Cal Ripken bobbleheads came out because I really wanted one, but never picked one up.  This bobblehead commemorates Cal's series clinching catch in the 1983 World Series.

The bobblehead looks great.  It is highly detailed and looks awesome in my other china cabinet.

I might have to look for a few of the other Orioles bobbleheads now that I added this and the Jones to my collection.  Might have to keep my eyes out for another Reimold one too!

Trade With Dodgerbobble - Adam Jones Bobblehead

I completed a trade with Josh from Dodgerbobble when I sent him my extra Bruce Sutter signed baseball in exchange for a couple cards and two bobbleheads.

The first bobblehead is this Adam Jones.  He is blowing a bubble with his gum while catching a ball.  That is kind of Jones' trademark.  He won a Gold Glove in 2009 (which, I think, is the year this bobblehead was issued).

I really hope that the Orioles lock Jones up long-term, because, if not, he definitely will be gone once he hits free agency.

Thoughts on 1986 Donruss Highlights

I didn't get any mail today, so I thought I would put down some thoughts on an old box of cards I found in my collection.

I have had this box of 1986 Donruss Highlights for around 20 years.  I remember when I got it, it was worth quite a bit due to the Jose Canseco and Roger Clemens cards included.   Heh.  Little did we know...

Yes, when I bought it, I paid $14.00.  Probably worth around $5.00 now.  Oh well. 

 The first thing you see when you open the box is this Hank Aaron puzzle.  It is really cool, I think.

 Something really cool in this set is that they showed the players who were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.  I think this is something that should be featured each year.  Above is one of the best TTM signers around, Bobby Doerr.

Here is another '86 inductee, Ernie Lombardi.  I wrote a post last year on Lombardi.  You can check it out here.

The last Hall of Famer featured is Willie McCovey.  I need to get more McCovey stuff.

Bo Knows

 

So, I really like the design of the cards.  There are a bunch of good players in the set.  The set is 55 cards featuring highlights of the 1986 season.  From record setting performances to individual milestones to players of the month for AL and NL for each month of the 1986 season.  Not too bad.