Guest Post - Mom's Autograph Session

William had vouchers for 1 more station. His wife, Mallory and I( his dear little old mommy) got to wait in line for this one. A little back story first. While Mallory, Christy and Christopher checked out the kids section of Fan Fest, William and I headed to the Memorabilia room. After digging through a gazillion jerseys both new and used, I dug up a game used David Lough jersey. I was getting ready to put it back when William mentions that Lough would be at the last station and I should buy it and have it signed. Sounded like a good idea to me so we headed for the checkout line. As we are threading our way to check out William(still searching the tables) spots a box of signed(by Buck Showalter) game line up cards and lo and behold the card at the very top is the line up card for my very first MLB game that William and family took me to over the summer. It also happened to be Gausman's first win as a starter game( what are the odds of that card being at the front of the stack!), of course I had to buy it not only for the above mentioned reasons but because Gausman would also be at the last station. Boo Yow!!!
  Being the last station(4:40 I think) we were all worn out and William and I hadn't had anything to eat since 8:30 am.
  Mallory and I waited patiently in line with me rehearsing just how I was going to ask Kevin Gausman to sign my line up card.
  Two people in line ahead of us I'm trying like mad to get my line up card out of the plastic sleeve it is in and the stupid thing will not budge! Panic!!! I don't want to tear it, maybe it's not supposed to come out, can he sign the plastic? These are the things running through my head as we inch forward. Just as we hit the steps I get the card out! Gausman is the first signer , I lay my card down and go into my rehearsed spiel. " This was my first MLB game and also your first MLB win as a starter. Will you sign it like that?" " He replies " Oh Yea. It is." and he does. Afterward my daughter-in-law said all the volunteers thought it was very cool that I had the card.
  Next up was Wayne Kirby. As I handed him William's ball to sign he asks me " Ok. What story do you have for me". I tell him my son wants the ball signed on the sweet spot but I don't know what that is. As he signs it he says " It's sweet because I signed it".
  Ok David Lough. Wow! In line Mallory kept commenting on his abs, blah, blah, blah.  Mrs. No Brain to Mouth filter hands him her jersey to sign and proceeds to tell him that my daughter-in-law wants him to take his shirt off! Wayne Kirby, listening in starts in on him!" Oooh take your shirt off."  Kirby is practically begging Lough to strip and Mallory is turning a lovely shade of red. I move off the stage and Mallory tells everyone it wouldn't be fair to the other ladies and he can just take it off later in private!
  A final swing through the memorabilia room yields no new goodies so we wait in the freebie line which has dwindled down to a few dozen die hards. The loot we came out with was worth it. Everyone got an Orange Crush action figure, Oriole bird pillow pet, stacks of rally towels , playoff score cards and Orioles magazines.
  It was a long walk back to the room lugging all of our treasures, where we regrouped and FINALLY went to eat.
  It was my first Fan Fest and was glad I was invited to go. Christy enjoyed getting away from home for the weekend. I'll probably go again. Next time I'm bringing a snack and some water!

2015 Orioles Fan Fest Autograph Station 4 - Clevenger, Hardy and Orsulak

I wrap up my autograph station posts with the final three baseballs I got signed in person.  The first guy at the station was Steve Clevenger, the Pride of Pigtown.  He is from an area of Baltimore called "Pigtown" and is now one of the Orioles backup catchers.  I'm not sure if he will stick with the team, but he is a heck of a nice guy, and you can't help but root for him.  I also got a couple post cards of him, but sent one to my nephew for his birthday.

The reason I got vouchers for this station was because I had never met JJ Hardy.  He was a really nice guy, and I got him on this Rawlings Gold Glove baseball.  It looks great, and he left me a really nice signature.  I'm really glad that the Orioles extended Hardy.  I hope he can stay healthy, and retire as an Oriole.  I really enjoy his glove work and the fact that he is the captain of their infield.

Finally, another guy I was glad to get at this station was former Oriole, Joe Orsulak.  He was on the first Oriole teams that I watched at a kid on HTS.  I'm glad that he has come out to these functions.  I made sure to tell him when he was signing my baseball, to which he said "thanks."

None of these guys really said a whole lot, but, again, we were run through there pretty quickly.  I didn't mind it, though, because by the time we finished this session, I was wiped.  We would reset for a second, then we headed back up to the memorabilia room one more time.  I didn't buy anything at the end, but we did go through the freebie line as well.  That's where I got my 164 rally towels.  I'm down to something like 135 now, with all of the ones I have sold and given out to friends.

In all, we had a great time at Fan Fest, and I hope Mom and Christy did as well.  I can't wait for next year.

2015 Orioles Fan Fest Autograph Station 3 - Gamboa, Bordick and Davis

Our third autograph session was at 3:20 and this time, I went through the line with Chris, since he wanted to meet Chris Davis.  The first player at the table was Orioles minor leaguer, Eddie Gamboa. He has been in the Orioles system for some time now, but just recently signed a major league deal with the club.  Recently trained by Hall of Famer, Phil Niekro, on the art of the knuckleball, Gamboa should be an interesting name to watch this coming season.

I got a baseball signed by Gamboa for my buddy, Michael, and I also picked up the above post card.  Michael was glad to get another name off of his want list, and I was happy to help him out.

I have met Mike Bordick several times, and this time was no different.  Bordick didn't say a whole lot, but I didn't really know what to say, as well.  He gave me two post cards in addition to the baseball that he signed for me.

The ball I had signed by Bordick was a 2000 All Star Game baseball.  It has Braves colors for the seams, since that game was played at Turner Field.  Funny how the Braves are already vacating that stadium in favor of a new one.  The ball turned out great.  I have another (faded) Bordick baseball, but this one will make a great upgrade and will allow me to trade the other one.

Finally, I was able to meet Chris Davis for a second time.  I met him a couple Fan Fests ago (back in 2013) and had him inscribe a ball with his pitching record from the 18-inning affair against the Red Sox.  That ball has a special place in my collection.

This baseball was a 2013 All Star baseball with Mets orange and blue seams.  I really liked these, and was happy to pick one up.  Davis even inscribed it the way I wanted, with an Orange Crush inscription.  I love the Orange Crush nickname and was glad to finally get it on one of my baseballs.  He usually will inscribe "Crush", but I asked for Orange Crush and he obliged.

Davis was sporting a really nice-looking beard, to which I asked if he would be keeping it for the season.  He said no, he would be shaving it soon.  I asked him if Buck was making him shave it and he laughed and said probably so.

Davis seemed a bit wore out, so I didn't press him too much.  One might have mistaken his being tired as being in a bad mood, but I understood.  I was wore out by then, too.  I imagine a bunch of folks had probably made mention of his suspension, but I hope people were respectful enough to realize, again, that he wasn't doing steroids.

Anyway, I was really happy with these autographs, especially the ones on the specialty baseballs.  I think they turned out great!

2015 Orioles Fan Fest Autograph Station 2 - Matusz, Joesph and Palmer

While my wife, son and sister checked out the kids games and Fan Fest in general, my mom and I headed to the 2:00 signing for Brian Matusz, Caleb Joseph and Jim Palmer.  On the way to the line, we met up with my buddy, Michael.  Michael and I worked out our deal for the Reimold jersey and decided to go through this station together since he also had vouchers for it.

The first player at the station was Brian Matusz, whom I had met quite a few times in the past.  So, when we got up to him, I said "Hey, Brian, how has your offseason been going?"  He looked genuinely surprised that I had asked, so he responded "It has gone very well, actually, thank you for asking..."

Matusz has always been nice, whenever we have met him, so I felt really bad about the cussing I did when he gave up that homer in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Royals.  Sorry, Brian, I'll try to not yell at you through the TV as much this season.  He really is a nice guy.

I had met Caleb Joseph a long time ago when he came through this area as a part of the Frederick Keys.  I have his signature on a China ball, put up in a cabinet in my card room.  Michael had multiple items that he wanted signed, so he worked out a plan with my mom, and she got one of Joseph's game used bats signed.

I upgraded my ball with this sweet spot signed OMLB ball.  The old China ball is side panel signed, and has faded a little bit.  This one is much nicer.

The main reason for this session was so that my mom could meet Jim Palmer.  She remembers him from some sort of advertising campaign from the 70s.  I'm surprised she decided to talk to him about her son torturing her by making her stand in line for autographs and skip lunch, instead of remarking about his underwear ads.

Palmer was really nice to her, and looked at me and said "Where IS the food, anyway!" So, we all got a good laugh.  I'd buy him dinner, but I'm sure he has expensive taste.

This session was provided by my mom, she being the one who purchased the two vouchers.  I was happy to go through the line with her, and it was nice to spend some time with Michael as well.  Mom got to see us in our element, and the amount of work some collectors put in to add pieces to their collection.  This was evident with the huge amount of bats that Michael was lugging around.

2015 Orioles Fan Fest Autograph Station 1 - De Aza, Walker, Showalter

I'm really excited right now.  As I was scanning stuff for this blog post, I found out that Nolan Reimold is back in the Orioles system, as he has signed a minor league deal, with an invitation to Spring Training.  I seriously am ready for the 2015 season to start.  Before we think too far ahead, I wanted to recap the autograph stations which I had vouchers for this past Saturday.

We got in the door just before 11:00 AM, and as we made our way inside, I passed out about 15 team bags of baseball cards to kids who were also making their way into the venue.  I wonder if any of them have checked out the blog, since I included my business card in the bags.

Once that was done, we (Mom, Christy, Mal, Chris and I) all made our way to our first signing of the day.  I had 2 vouchers each for four stations and Mom had 2 vouchers each for 2 stations with us doubling up (4 vouchers) for the first session (Buck Showalter, Alejandro De Aza and Christian Walker).  With 5 of us in our group, one of us wouldn't be able to get anything signed, so my wife took my camera and stood nearby to take pictures.

My mail goal for this year's Fan Fest was to meet Buck.  He is far and away my favorite Orioles manager (since I was too young when Earl was manager).  I always enjoy his post-game interviews, and learn a lot about life (and a lot of other things) by paying attention to them.  I got Buck's signature on my 2014 Playoffs OMLB that I picked up at Game 2 of the ALDS.

I wasn't able to exchange much more than basic pleasantries, since we were being pushed through the lines quickly.  While I wish I had more time to interact with him, I appreciated the swiftness that we were moved through the lines later on in the day.  Mom, however, was able to get Buck talking.  I'm not going to repeat what she said to him (something about how hot it had gotten in there while we were waiting in line), but she was able to get Buck talking about the weather and his morning, so it was kind of cool that she was able to chat with him for a bit.  I know Mom was really nervous before we got up to the signing table, and I think her interaction with Buck helped calm that down for the rest of the day.

De Aza was actually the first player at the station, and to conserve OMLB balls, I got his autograph on his Upper Deck rookie card.  He actually commented on the card, showing it to Christian Walker and telling him that he wasn't even 21 in the photo.

My sister, Christy, got this 2012 Topps signed for me, since she was along for the ride and wasn't too interested in taking any autographs home.  I kept telling her that she should take some home for her boyfriend, but apparently, he isn't interested in sports.  Something I might have to work on.

Each autograph subject had Orioles post cards available, as well.  They were only supposed to sign one item per voucher, but many of them handed out the post cards with whatever I wanted signed. We weren't as lucky with some of the later signers, but this first session yielded us at least one post card per person.

Since Christy wasn't interested in taking autos home with her, I ended up with two baseballs signed by Christian Walker.  Mom kept hers, and Chris got his 16 x 20 photo that I had printed for him signed.

Walker also gave me three of his signed post cards.  He is a legit prospect for the O's, and is likely to take over at first base when Chris Davis leaves to free agency.  I love Davis, but it is nice to know that we have some minor leaguers waiting in the wings, after too many years of not having sufficient backups in place.  Gone are the days where veteran players will pass through the revolving door that was the Orioles.  It is nice to have some guys coming up in the system who fans can watch develop into major leaguers.  It is especially nice for me to watch Walker, as I watched him at South Carolina while hanging out with my brother.  When we met Walker, I pointed this out, which he thought was cool.  I hope he becomes a star (and I hope Davis stays, he can always DH).

So, that was a pretty successful first session.  Stay tuned for more Fan Fest autographs.

Fan Fest Pickup - Nolan Reimold BP Jersey

Before we even got in the door to Fan Fest on Saturday, I had already met one of my major goals for the event.  All it took was a phone call from my buddy, Michael.  He is a season ticket holder, and was able to get into the venue an hour earlier than us lowly general admission folks.  He immediately made his way to the memorabilia room and found what I was looking for, this Nolan Reimold BP jersey.

Michael called me when he found it and told me the price was $70.00.  I told him right away that I would do that deal, if he was willing, and he was.  I knew that if I balked at the price, and tried to wait, it would be long gone.

I have been wanting a Reimold jersey for a long time.  Having a "game used" one was icing on the cake.  I know it isn't officially game used, since it isn't an actual game jersey, but you get my point.  It was used by Nolan, one of my favorite Orioles players.  I even tagged his wife, Jenny, in a photo of it so she could see that I had found it.  She was very happy for me, which was nice.  I always enjoy chatting with her, but with her busy schedule, it has been tough to chat on a regular basis.  She knows I am and will always be a huge fan, and supporter of Nolan's, so it was cool to be able to share this with her.

Michael really hooked me up, and I am grateful.  This was just the start of a hugely successful trip to Fan Fest; probably my most successful one to date.  Stay tuned for more, as I begin to show off the baseballs that I got signed.

2015 Orioles Fan Fest

I got home not too long ago from Baltimore and another Orioles Fan Fest.  This was my fourth Fan Fest, and this year, I took a whole menagerie of people with me.  Along for the ride were my wife, son, mom and sister.  We got a hotel for Friday and Saturday nights, which made the experience a lot easier, since we didn't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn, and get home super late afterward.

We did end up waking up early Saturday morning, thanks to my dad texting my mom to check on her at 6AM.  Oh well, I wanted to be up early, and at the convention center so we would get in close to when the doors opened for non-season ticket holders.

My sister came this year, and although she isn't a baseball fan, she seemed to have fun.  I know she was bored by the end of the day, but I did appreciate her going through some of the lines with me, and grabbing some autos.  She also took photos for me, when my wife wasn't able to.  Thanks for coming along, Christy, it was appreciated.

Mom had a good time, as well.  She met Buck Showalter and chatted with him a bit, as well as Jim Palmer.  She and my wife met David Lough, Wayne Kirby and Kevin Gausman while I was in a separate line with my son.

Mom and I went through a few of the lines together, which was nice.  She and I also went to the memorabilia sale and found a few nice things.  In the box of lineup cards, right on top, was the signed (by Buck Showalter) lineup card from the game I took her to this past summer.  This was her first MLB game, and turned out to be Kevin Gausman's first MLB win as a starting pitcher.  She bought the lineup card, and had Gausman sign it.  She also bought a game used David Lough jersey and got that signed as well.

I brought home this haul.  Here is the haul as broken down: 164 Rally Towels from the freebie room, 3 Orioles pillow pets, 3 Crush Davis action figures, 1 Oyo set, 1 game used jersey, 21 playoff scorecards, 10 Orioles magazines, 1 bought baseball (Sparky Anderson), 16 signed baseballs (one isn't shown in this picture), 2 signed baseball cards (Alejandro De Aza) and 16 signed post cards.

I don't think I did too badly.  I got all of the autographs that I wanted, with those being on special baseballs that I had purchased (a couple All Star balls, a Gold Glove ball and a 2014 Playoffs ball).  I got a Kevin Gausman ball that I was already planning on sending to my buddy, Max.  I also grabbed a couple autos for some deals I have been planning on making with a few friends.  My Buck Showalter auto will be used to upgrade the TTM ball that I got last year; I may send that ball off to someone as well.

I plan on breaking some of this stuff up into separate posts, with tomorrow being the game used jersey.