August 30-31, 2024, Graphing of the Bisons at Bulls

A couple weeks ago, Jesse and I went to Durham to finish off some Buffalo guys that Chris and I may have missed when we went to Buffalo in July.

Josh Kasevich wasnt with Buffalo when we originally saw them, but I was able to find his cards pretty quickly.  I got most of what i brought of Kasevich signed. 

Jonatan Clase stopped for me be the dugout pregame, signing my 2022 Heritage Minors.  Jesse couldnt get his book out fast enough and Clase ran off.  We tried to get him again outside post-game but he wouldn't stop for us. 

I got all but two of my Eric Pardinho cards signed, finally.  He was really nice.  I also helped Max out by grtting his 2014 Topps Donnie Murphy signed.

Hagen Danner was cool.  Usually when someone's card has the wrong picture, they won't sign it.  Danner signs his 2024 Topps Heritage with a "This ain't me" inscription.

Danner signed everything we had, which got quite a few cards out of the boxes.

Cole Wilcox was finally with Durham and I got a couple Panini Stars and Stripes cards signed.  These have been in my box for a long time, and are finally signed.

Speaking of finally getting cards signed, I finally got my 2020 Bowman Ian Seymour, and these two Heriberto Hernandez cards signed.  

We also finally got cards signed by Morgan Ensberg.  You have to walk with him when he signs, as he will not stop.  Look up the reason why. It's crazy.

I picked up a Bulls team set, and knocked out a bunch of them.  There aren't many left that haven't been signed.

Over the two games, Jesse and I did pretty well. Buffalo was a pretty good team to get, and we didn't have to worry about trying to do arrival.

In all, we got the following autographs: Kenny Hook x 2, CJ Hinojosa x 1, Cole Wilcox x 4, Wool E Bull x 1, Jonatan Clase x 1, Mason Fluharty x 1, Josh Kasevich x 6, Eric Pardinho x 4, Rob Brantly x 1, Brett Ebers x 1, Morgan Ensberg x 10, Heriberto Hernandez x 2, Tyler Ladendorf x 1, Jake Mangum x 1, Enmanuel Mejia x 1, Mason Montgomery x 1, Tristan Peters x 1, Joe Record x 1, Joe Rock x 1, Reynaldo Ruiz x 1, Ian Seymour x 2, Riley Welch x 1, Nathan Wiles x 1, Hagen Danner x 11, Braydon Fisher x 2 and Donnie Murphy x 2 (61 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.

Some Signed Cards From CJ

This past season, I took some cards for 50/50s from CJ from Instagram, but I never sent him anything for him to get done for me.  I think I just plain missed his message saying what teams he could take, and got into my groove of graphing and forgot to double check.  Still, I got his stuff done, and also sent him a nice stack of pocket schedules, which he collects.  In return, he sent me a blind package of some autos that were nice additions to my album.

The above 2016 Bowman signed by Jacob Heward takes care of a card that I have seen a lot in my box, but haven't gotten signed.  I missed Heyward when he was at Richmond, and haven't been back.  I'm glad I got one in my album now, though.

I already had a 2020 Topps Heritage Minors Hudson Potts sent to me by Gerard, but I was happy to get another, nonetheless.  CJ also sent me a 2021 Heritage Minors of Potts, along with a Cole Henry.  The other 2020 Heritage Minors were Brenton Doyle and Parker Meadows.  He also sent a 2020 Pro Debut of Matt Gorski.

CJ also hooked me up with a few signed Bowman; a 2018 Bowman Adam Wolf, 2015 Bowman Chrome Jantzen Witte, 2019 Bowman Will Robertson and a 2019 Bowman Aaron Schunk 

CJ also sent this 2008 Topps signed by Dave Bush that I didn't have in my collection. I had a 2007 from Gerard.

Thank for the cards CJ. I appreciate the package.

Autograph Care Package From Nick

With my TTM stack shrinking to a more manageable size, I can now try to get some signed cards that were from trades, care packages and 50/50s scanned and into my album.  The first one of these that I wanted to move was a small package of cards from fellow 1987 Topps set builder, Nick.  He needed some of the cards that I had (it may have even been a signed 86 Topps), and sent me these that he had gotten.  I love the above 2017 Bowman Trevor Rogers.  I had gotten him TTM, but that card was personalized.

Nick sent five 2017 Bowmans and three 2018s.  I am glad to add these to the autograph album.

With all of the cards that I am set to scan and post, I am going to fill up an album pretty fast.  I need to change my closet around to house all of these albums.  That may be another project that I do while I am off, if I am unable to travel where I want to this weekend.

Thank you so much for the cards, Nick.  I hope you like the one I sent you.

A Few Signed Cards From Leyton

Continuing to whittle down my stack of stuff I received recently brought me to these four cards that a friend on Instagram, Leyton, sent me in return for some help getting some cards signed for him.  He sent back some good stuff, like this 2018 Bowman Austin Beck.

He also sent a 2018 Bowman JoJo Romero, 2018 Bowman Chrome Will Craig and a 2018 Bowman Chrome Blayne Enlow.  All of the cards are really nice and have finally been moved to my autograph album after sitting on my desk for about 6 months.

Thanks for the cards, Leyton, I hope we can help each other out again, soon.

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!

TTM Success - Trevor Rogers

There weren't a whole lot of TTMs that I sent this year to active players during the season.  The slow return of Spring Training TTMs is one of the reasons, paired with the continued tension regarding COVID restrictions.  Still, I sent out to a few active players during the season, and one of the best returns I got was from Marlins pitcher, Trevor Rogers.  He signed my 2017 Bowman Draft and 2018 Bowman and inscribed them to me.

Rogers (b. 1997) was a first round (13th overall) pick in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Carlsbad High School in Carlsbad, New Mexico.  He made his debut in the 2020 season, and now has a record of 8-10 with 196 strike outs and a 3.24 ERA.  He was an All Star this year and is a possibility to win the NL Rookie of the Year Award.

I mailed to Rogers via the Marlins stadium on April 14 and got the cards back on July 12, for an 89-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Kyle Cody

Former Wood Duck, Kyle Cody, wasn't a Wood Duck for long, but when he was, he was really good.  I had hoped that I would see him during the 2018 season, but he kept getting hurt, then ended up in Frisco.  I had sent to him TTM a little bit before this request, and got a return from his home address.  I sent these cards to Rangers Spring Training last year.

This 2018 Bowman chrome mojo parallel turned out nicely.  I was glad to get this one signed, as it had sat in my box for a long time.

Cody (b. 1994) had played for the Rangers since 2020.  He has a record of 1-3 with 32 strike outs and a 3.71 ERA.  This season hasn't been too kind to Cody; he is 0-2 with a 7.94 ERA and is on the 60-Day IL with shoulder inflammation.

I mailed to Cody on February 22, 2020, and got the cards back on March 30, 2021, for a 402-day TAT.

July 10, 2021, Graphing Recap of Hillcats at Mudcats

A snap decision to take a look at the Lynchburg Hillcats while they were in Zebulon facing the Mudcats led me to almost missing getting several cards signed.  I had a couple guys send me Lynchburg cards to get signed as a 50/50 just in case I saw them, and I had some put aside from 2020 and 2021 Bowman.  I missed the guys I had pulled back in 2018 and 2019 and put aside in a Carolina League graphing box that I had put together.  Thankfully, about 15 minutes before we left for Zebulon, I remembered that I had that stash of cards.  I got them all prepped and into my snap case in time to leave for the game, then loaded them into my books for pre-game.  One of the cards was the above 2018 Bowman Chrome gold refractor of Lenny Torres.

The day actually called for a double header, and I came only armed with Hillcats cards in three books; me; my son, Chris and my friend, Tyler.  We were able to finish up everyone by the start of the second game, which was great, because it was super hot and humid out there.  We ended up leaving halfway though the second game since we were really tired and thirsty (and didn't want to continue to pay $6.00 for bottled soda).

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish off some of the cards, since this would be the only time I would see the Hillcats.  Luckily, none of the players limited, and we were able to see all of the ones I had brought cards for.  Daniel Espino was especially nice, signing everything that each of us had, and also carrying on lengthy conversations with each grapher he came into contact with.

I had a whole bunch of different Espino cards, and I was really happy with how they all turned out.

I was worried that I would miss Petey Halpin.  He walked by before the first game and said he would come back.  Turned out, he meant he would come back after the first game.  He did, and signed everything we had.

Finally, we were able to get Josh Wolf, who also was really nice, and talkative.  The whole group of Hillcats that we saw were all super nice and talkative.

We ended up getting: Espino x 21, Christian Cairo x 5, Petey Halipn x 4, Korey Holland x 3, Gabriel Rodriguez x 2, Lenny Torres x 6, Yordys Valdez x 3 and Josh Wolf x 10, or a total of 54 signatures.

TTM Success - Kyle Cody

Getting Wood Ducks team set cards back TTM is always great, especially since I never thought I would get this one of Kyle Cody signed.  I had hoped I would see him one more time in Kinston, but I missed out.  Thankfully, he signs TTM, and I got my card done.  I like how Jim Perry Stadium in Buies Creek is shown on the card.  I was most likely at this game, then.

I also got these two cards from 2018 Bowman signed.  I wasn't 100% sure they would come back, so I didn't send anything too awesome.  I'm glad these came back, though, because it helped to reduce my pile of Cody stuff a little bit.

Cody (b. 1994) was a 6th round pick by the Rangers in the 2016 June Amateur Draft out of the University of Kentucky.  He has played in the majors since 2020 for the Rangers, but has been oft injured.  He is currently on the 60-Day DL.  He has a record of 1-3 with 32 strike outs and a 3.71 ERA.

As a Wood Duck, Cody was 3-0 with 35 strike outs and a 2.05 ERA.  He only appeared in 5 games as a Wood Duck; it felt like he was here longer.

I mailed to Cody on January 11 and got the cards back on February 8, for a 28-day TAT.

Another TTM Success From Nick Solak

I had sent to Nick Solak before, but I had a bunch more cards of his that I wanted to get signed, so I sent to him again.  The card I wanted the most, was this 2018 Bowman blue parallel.  He inscribed it with my name, but I don't care.  I was happy to get it out of my box.

I also got a 2017 Bowman Chrome, 2020 Topps and a 2017 2017 Topps Pro Debut signed by Solak.

Solak (b. 1995) has played in the majors since 2019 for the Rangers.  So far, he has 90 hits, 7 home runs and a .277 batting average.

I mailed to Solak on August 4 via the Rangers and got the cards back on October 10, for a 67-day TAT.

A Long Awaited Trade With Sam

What can I say about Sam?  I've known him for a long time.  A very long time, really.  I finally got to meet him in person back in 2018 when Chris and I went to Texas, and that was a really nice time.  We used to talk every day, now I may hear from him once a year.  Maybe.  It's a common thing, really.  You become friends with someone, get pretty close, then start drifting apart, until you finally realize that you hardly talk at all.  Or you get a text message from them, and realize their number isn't even in your phone anymore.

I liked Sam so much, I took all of the photos he had sent me over time that had him with baseball players, and I made him a shutterfly book that he could share, and maybe get signed by said players.  It took a lot of work, but I felt like it would be a nice thing to do.  I hope he liked it.

I got a message out of the blue from Sam a few months ago, asking me if I would trade him an extra DL Hall autograph that I had gotten IP for some cards that Sam had gotten himself over the years.  I wasn't sure what all he would send, but it made for a nice "blind trade".  Those can be fun, really.

I thought I would maybe get one auto back, but Sam, in fact, sent 4.  None of which I had, which was even better!  The above Mike Nikorak 2015 Bowman refractor is especially nice, since I missed out on him when I saw Asheville a couple years ago (it's ok, I got Riley Pint on EVERYTHING I had).

Sam also included these three cards.  I had sent to DJ Peters TTM, but it got returned to sender, so that helps.  I also was glad to get a Sean Murphy auto back, since I tried to 50/50 on him, but the person missed him.  I sent TTM to Logan Allen, and those cards are out somewhere, hopefully coming back sometime.

So, it was nice to hear from Sam, finally.  I don't hold out any expectation that more trades are in our future, but I do wish him the best.  I hope his knee heals, and he can continue to pitch in college and realize his dream.  He has all of these players he met who he holds in high regard, and I know he aspires to achieve success like they have.

Thanks for the deal, Sam.  Hope to hear from you soon.