April 3-4, 2026 Graphing of the IronPigs at Bulls

Graphing season for 2026 has kicked off, and Jesse and I did really well this weekend in Durham. We went to see the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Friday and Saturday. Friday was interesting, since Phillies ace, Zack Wheeler was starting for Lehigh Valley. There were a ton of Phillies fans there, especially by the dugout pregame. The only IronPigs guys who stopped pregame were Adam Lind and Bryan De La Cruz. Lind signed the above 2010 Topps Chrome, becoming the first person to get me on the board this season.

A huge variety of cards got signed on the trip. I had to buy a couple Christian Cairo cards off of Ebay for the trip, and they were the last two cards that were signed Saturday night. We did so much better on Lehigh Valley outside the stadium both nights. Getting Genesis Cabrera was nice; it was nice to get some 2019 Bowman cards out of the box. He also signed a 2019 Bowman Heritage, which is always nice to add to the autograph album. 

We got De La Cruz a few different times, and he helped add a bunch of cards to the album. A 2025 Topps Heritage High Number was signed by Connor Gillispie, and Seth Johnson hit my 2025 Topps.

Aside from Wheeler, Orion Kerkering was on a rehab assignment, as well. He was really cool and signed everything we had. He signed my first 2026 Topps Heritage.

Carter Kieboom and Pedro Leon are two guys who had been in the Box-of-Shame for a long time. I was glad to get a few of their cards out of there and into the album. 

Griff McGarry is another guy who I had missed in the past. He signed everything we had by the bullpen after the game, Friday. He was a really nice guy. I hate that he walked in a ton of runs on Saturday. 

Lou Trivino was really cool, as well. He talked to Jesse and I a bit. Jesse took his picture with his Polaroid (yes, Jesse has a Polaroid), and got the picture signed after the game.

I was really glad to get my Trevor Richards 2019 Stadium Club signed. The cards I had of him all had logged a lot of frequent flyer miles, as they had been sent to Chiacago and back for Max to try and get signed a while back. 

Saturday, Jesse and I tried graphing on the Bulls dugout. The big get for us was Gavin Lux, who signed one per for us. The card I got was a 2022 Panini Capstone. It turned out great.  I didn't have any Brody Hopkins in my huge pile of 2025 Topps Pro Debut, for some reason. Gerard sent me some, so I was able to add him to the album. He outpitched Wheeler, which was cool.

I finally got a Jacob Melton signed. I missed him last season with Sugar Land. I finally saw Victor Mesa, Jr., and just happened to get the cards back of him that I had sent Max, which worked out great for me. I was glad to get his 2021 Topps Heritage Minors done. I love that set. If I were to work on a more recent set, that one might be it.

I was happy to get my 2024 Topps Edward Olivares purple shimmer parallel signed. He got hurt Friday, and left Saturday as we were out graphing on the sidewalk. I hate that he got hurt. Joe Rock walked on the other side of the street, but we were able to get him. He signed a 2026 Topps, which was cool.

One of the cool things that I got signed this weekend was this MLB debut ticket of Carter Kieboom. Michael had sent me the ticket earlier in the week, and I decided to take it along to try and get it signed. I told him about it, to which he replied "oh that's sick!"

While I was waiting in line for my obligatory Rita's gelati, I ran into one of my former geology professors from UNCC, Kevin Headd. We have kept in touch over the years via Facebook; and he used to come into the store I worked at back then. He is such a good guy. He took this selfie while I was in line.

Kevin met us outside the stadium and graphed with us. I helped him identify some if the players and hooked him up with a marker. His wife took a few pictures while we were at work. Here is one she took of us getting Blake Sabol.

Here is another with Carlos Colmenarez. I was so happy to run into Kevin, and let him see a little bit of what I'm always posting about on Facebook. 

In all, I got the following autographs: Carlos Colmenarez x 6, Logan Davidson x 3, Luis Guerrero x 2, Brody Hopkins x 4, Justyn-Henry Malloy x 2, Trevor Martin x 3, Jacob Melton x 2, Victor Mesa x 5, Tre Morgan x 4, Edward Olivares x 2, Joe Rock x 6, Blake Sabol x 2, Wool E Bull x 2, Sergio Alcantara x 5, Genesis Cabrera x 6, Bryan De La Cruz x 10, Connor Gillispie x 1, Jonathan Hernandez x 2, Seth Johnson x 2, Orion Kerkering x 7, Pedro Leon x 4, Adam Lind x 1, Griff McGarry x 5, Robert Moore x 7, Trevor Richards x 7, Chase Shugart x 1, Lou Trivino x 3, Chris Clark x 4, Gavin Lux x 2, Kodi Whitley x 2, Christian Cairo x 2 and Carter Kieboom x 5 (119 total autographs). 

TTM Success - Evan Steele

Evan Steele was someone I had pulled to try to get to sign some cards IP back a few years ago.  He never came through Kinston, so I had to wait to try him TTM.  I saw recently that he was signing.  I had these two cards pulled, so I sent them out.  He signed the above 2018 Topps Heritage Minors and the below 2019 Bowman Holiday.

Steele (b. 1996) was a 2nd round pick by the Royals in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Chipola College in Florida.  He played in the Royals system in 2017 and 2019.  

He had a record of 4-5 with 72 strike outs and a 2.84 ERA.

I mailed to Steele on May 8 and got the cards back on July 5 for a 58-day TAT.

September 5-7, 2025, Graphing of the Sounds at Tides

This past weekend, I had a trip planned to Norfolk. Jesse couldn't make it, and Chris had to work.  I reached out to another friend who jumped at the chance to go.  My friend Aidan was the first person I reached out to, and he accepted right away.  I was surprised that I didn't have to beg.  

We planned to get to Norfolk Friday night while the game was going on; we ended up getting there early.  So, instead of scrambling to get into the game, we opted to check into the hotel and grab a nice dinner.  Afterward, we went back to the room to reset and figure out our books, then made our way to the ballpark.  I wanted to try to at least get inside and grab a couple Norfolk team sets so we would have them on hand for arrival Saturday morning.  They let me in, and I bought Aidan and I each a set.  We then made our way to Nashville's side and graphed outside postgame. 

Aidan and I got Rhys Hoskins outside (the Topps Cosmic Chrome, above left, is what Hoskins signed Friday.  I got him inside after  BP Saturday on the 2020 Topps Chrome pink refractor (middle) and the gold Topps Fire was signed outside on Sunday.

Luis Urias was a tough one per, but Aidan and I each got him Friday night.  Inside on Saturday, a father and son helped me out by taking two of my cards and got them signed. 

Aidan and I got every player that we set out to get.  We didn't miss anyone that was actually there, which was a great feeling.  Daz Cameron was really nice as usual, but seemed a bit down when he signed Friday night. He made us think he wasn't going to be in Norfolk much longer (we were like "oh man, is he getting released?").  Turned out, he was there all weekend and signed for us again on Saturday.  It was just a little odd. 

I was really excited to get the Brandon Lockridge parallel (middle of the above scan) signed.  I pulled that from a pack when I busted my 2025 Topps series 2 boxes at the National. 

Inside on Sunday, Aidan pointed Rick Sweet out when he got into the dugout.  It was Sweet's birthday, and came over to us when we called him over.  We wished him a happy birthday, and he signed our cards.  He made me promise that I wouldn't show the cards to Lockridge, who came over abd signed my last card of him after that.

Jeferson Quero turned out to be tough, but we did ride the elevator with him in the hotel Sunday morning.  We just told him good morning and wished him a good game.  We weren't going to bother him in the hotel, that's crossing the line for me.

This trip was my first opportunity to see and get Enrique Bradfield, Jr.  I hadn't seen him at any level of the Orioles system until this trip.  He was very nice and signed every card that I brought.

The goal of the trip was to try to finish off what I could of the Norfolk guys so I wouldn't have to go to crazy this week in trying to get them when they're in Durham.  I finished what I had of several players, but still have enough stuff to get a few more later this week.  I figure that a lot of these guys won't be there next season. 

I had some help Sunday morning by a kid outside who helped me get Cionel Perez on my Diamond King card (since he was one per and hit my 2019 Topps Saturday morning and my 2019 Donruss Sunday morning).

I finally got to get Reed Trimble.  He was another Orioles minor leaguer who i just kept missing.  He made a point of signing my dual with Colton Cowser Friday night.  I had been waiting since 2022 to finish that card.

I'm officially out of Terrin Vavra cards.  He wouldn't sign last season due to an exclusive deal.   That has ended, and he now signs.  I got everything that I had done.

I only got Levi Wells once, even though I had a bunch of his cards.  Everything else would be duplicates, so I wasn't really worried.

I said earlier that Perez was one per; He did two per Saturday night and reduced it to one on Sunday, which is why I needed help.  I've got him on an Orioles card, so that was nice.

Aidan and I made a good dent in the team set.  It's a nice looking set this season.  The cards don't need prep.

Aidan and I had a great time.  It was awesome that he was able to make the trip.  It's hard for me to make new friends at my age, and after this trip, I feel like I do have a new friend.  It's great having folks I can reach out to that are willing to take a little graphing road trip over a weekend.  I hope we can do more down the line.  Hopefully we can get some more folks into coming with us.  I've always said that graphing is no fun to do alone.  I'll go by myself at times, but if given a choice, I'd much rather someone tag along every time!

In all, I got the following autographs: Tonight's graphing recap of the Sounds at Tides: Steward Berroa x 2, Tyler Black x 14, Daz Cameron x 10, Tucker Davidson x 5, Robert Gasser x 2, Eric Haase x 3, Rhys Hoskins x 3, Brandon Lockridge x 3, Josh Maciejewski x 3, Easton McGee x 1, Julian Merryweather x 6, Chad Patrick x 3, Luis Urias x 4, Silas Ardoin x 5, Yaramil Hiraldo x 1, Reed Trimble x 8, Felipe Alou Jr x 1, Alan Rail x 1, Justin Ramsey x 1, Raynel Delgado x 1, Jeferson Quero x 1, Bruce Zimmermann x 3, Jordyn Adams x 3, TT Bowens x 1, Enrique Bradfield Jr x 15, Jud Fabian x 2, Tim Federowicz x 7, Jose Barerro (Garcia) x 2, Maverick Handley x 1, Hudson Haskin x 2, Vimael Machin x 1, Corbin Martin x 6, Mike Montville x 1, Cionel Perez x 4, Carson Ragsdale x 1, Jaxon Reetz x 5, Sam Sauer x 1, Livan Soto x 8, Terrin Vavra x 10, Levi Wells x 2, Cameron Weston x 1, Rick Sweet x 2 and Chayce McDermott x 1 (157 total autographs).

Another Blind Trade With Drake

After falling way behind on trade and 50/50 posts, there looks to be a light at the end of the tunnel.  I have a few stacks of cards that need to be scanned and uploaded, and with my laptop being on its last legs, scanning and uploading has become an arduous task.

That being said, I am not intentionally withholding scans.  It's just a huge pain in the butt.  I got this blind trade from my friend, Drake over the summer, and have just recently been able to scan the cards.  The Trey Mancini at the top of the post is a key highlight of the blind trade.  Drake also sent me a bunch of team set cards of some guys that he has seen, while I hooked him up with an almost complete Wood Ducks team set (where I sat those Julio Valdez cards, I cant seem to figure out).

The KeBryan Hayes 2019 Topps Heritage Minors card shown here was a big surprise.  Drake really hooked it up with what he sent. 

Je sent a good many Bowman cards, including a Kenen Irizarry 2018 Bowman.  I was going to send Drake a few of mine, since Irizarry was playing independent ball near Drake, but he talked me out of it.  It seems Irizarry is a tough auto still.

My niece could have saved Drake the trouble and signed Jacob Berry's card for him.  What a signature.  

I missed out on getting Kevin Made with Myrtle Beach, so Drake helped me out there as well.  He also got the above dual of Benny Montgomery and Jaden Hill signed.  I had someone else get one of these done for me as a 50/50 this season, also.

The above Dan Radison is different.  I keep looking at it, thinking it is a Starting Lineup card, but it isn't. 

Drake also added a couple Topps cards to the album in the above 2019 Topps Jakob Junis and the 2020 Topps Edwin Rios.

Thanks for the trade, Drake! I appreciate all of the work you put into it.

TTM Success - Quentin Holmes

Sometimes I'll take a shot on a TTM that I'm not sure will be successful.  That could be for many reasons like maybe I missed the guy when they came through, or maybe they hadn't signed in a long time and I want to take a shot.  In the case of Quentin Holmes, I didn't see him come through against the Wood Ducks, so I wanted to try to get a few of the cards that I stockpiled signed. It worked out this time.

The above 2018 Bowman Chrome purple refractor was picked up at some point with the hope that I'd see him come through Kinston.  He never did, so the card sat in my box for a couple of years.  I was so glad when it came back signed, as it looks great.

I sent off some of Holmes's other cards: 2017 Bowman Draft, 2017 Bowman Draft Chrome, 2018 Pro Debut and 2018 Topps Heritage Minors.  I like how all of the cards turned out.  I also liked how I was able to get them all out of the box and into the autograph album.

Holmes (b. 1999) was a second round pick by the Indians in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of a New York high school. He played in the minors from 2017 to 2022 (missing 2020 due to the COVID shutdown) in the Indians system.  He reached AA.  He had 161 hits, 10 home runs and a .190 batting average. He played in Independent ball during the 2023 season.

I mailed to Holmes on February 2 and got the cards back on July 19, for a 167-day TAT.

TTM Success - Brendon Little

Here are a few prospect cards that I had hoarded a couple years ago in hopes of getting them signed while graphing at the Wood Ducks.

I had these really nice Brendon Little cards and finally found a working address for him, since I never got him when Myrtle Beach came through.   The above 2018 Bowman Chrome gold refractor is really great, and one of the main reasons why I was itching to send the cards off in the first place.

I also got his 2017 Bowman, 2018 Heritage Minors and a 2018 Bowman Chrome gold shimmer refractor signed.  Both of the gold parallels are numbered out of 50.

Little (b. 1996) was a first round pick in the 2017 June Amateur Draft by the Cubs out of the State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota.  He made his major league debut last season, pitching in one game for the Cubs.  He has a record of 0-1 with no strike outs and a 40.50 ERA.

I mailed to Little on January 4 and got the cards back on February 6, for a 33-day TAT. 

Autographed Card Dump Post

The term "card dump" might sound like it has a negative connotation, but I assure you it is only used as a description of what I felt I had to do with these cards, since my stack got mixed up a while back.  I had no idea who sent me these, and I imagine some of them will come forward at some point and let me know that they sent these to me.  Anyway, the cards that went unaccounted for, so to speak, were some decent ones.  I mean, I really should have known who sent me this Anthony Volpe.  I thought it was my friend, Patrick, but I was mistaken.  Still, it is a great autograph, and Volpe stuff is hot right now.

I do know that these four cards came from an early 50/50, because of the labels on the back.  I originally used to use those tape tabs, but I have since switched to small post it tabs.  I remember tryig to get Ian Krol when he was with some team I was set to see, but missed him.  I wish I could remember who I sent these to.  They all turned out great.

These were in random penny sleeves and/or top loaders, so I think these came in various trades.  I feel like the Groshans and possibly the Gabriel Moreno were from a trade I did with someone for a signed 1986 Topps that they needed.  I probably should log this stuff better.  Anyway, these all are pretty cool, as well, and are now finally in my album.

Thank you so much for all of the trades and 50/50s the past couple of years.  That stack has now been taken care of and I can start fresh with some of the 2022 stuff that is still set to arrive now that the milb season is over.  I also misspoke earlier when I said I was almost caught up.  I have a few birthday items that I want to get posted, so those will be falling in line, as well.

TTM Success - Kyle Freeland

Here is another 2021 Spring Training TTM success that came in a couple months ago.  This success was from Kyle Freeland on some cards that I had put aside a while ago.  I finally got them signed, and they turned out great.  I love the 2018 Topps Heritage Minors posters insert cards.  I was really happy that Freeland signed this one.

I also got a 2015 Pro Debut, 2015 Pro Debut Grand Entrance and a 2015 Bowman Chrome 89 Bowman insert signed.

Freeland (b. 1993) has played in the majors since 2017 for the Rockies.  He has a record of 44-47 with 579 strike outs and a 4.30 ERA.  He finished 7th in the 2017 NL Rookie of the Year voting and 4th in the 2018 NL Cy Young Award race.

I mailed to Freeland on February 9, 2021, and got the cards back on May 17, 2022, for a 462-day TAT.  The envelope I had was almost destroyed and the cards came in one of those "We Care" envelopes, but all of the cards I had sent were accounted for and undamaged.

TTM Success - Stuart Fairchild

Some really nice prospect cards came back signed TTM from Stuart Fairchild.  This 2017 Bowman Chrome sky blue refractor turned out great.  It is numbered 62/399.

I also got a 2017 Bowman, 2018 Heritage Minors and a 2018 Pro Debut signed.  All of them look great.

Fairchild (b. 1996) was a 2nd round pick in the 2017 June Amateur Draft out of Wake Forest University.  He has played in the minors in the Reds and Diamondbacks systems since 2017.  He has reached AAA.  He has 298 hits, 25 home runs and a .271 batting average.

I mailed to Fairchild on October 15 and got the cards back on February 24, for a 132-day TAT.