June 2, 2019, Graphing in Baltimore

Since Ticketmaster screwed up Orioles Fan Fest in January, I was able to get a free signing with Brooks Robinson and a free ticket to an Orioles game.  The choice ended up being the Sunday, June 2, 2019, game against the Giants.  My friend, Ryan, chose the same game, so we made a trip out of it.

I have Brooks on so much stuff, from baseballs to pool balls, cards, etc.; I had a hard time deciding what to have him sign this go-round.  I settled on the above 1963 Topps that was given to me by my good friend, Kyle.  Kyle was one of the very first people that I traded with on Instagram.  He might have been the third person I traded with on there; I was scammed by a kid named Joe and made a successful deal with my friend, James.

I met up with Kyle and his friend, Jordan, at the National a couple years ago when it was in Atlantic City.  While there, Kyle gave me the 1963 Brooks.  It is a sharp card.  The surface is immaculate, and I really wanted to have it graded by PSA.  You know, for fun, just to see what it would grade.  PSA took the card, and gave it back a couple days later and said that the card had been trimmed.  There was a notch on the side of the card that I hadn't seen before, and it couldn't be graded.  Still, the card meant a lot to me, so that is why I decided to have Brooks sign it.  Screw PSA, the card is priceless now.  I will always remember it as the card that Kyle gave me (I have sent him a snapchat photo of the signed card, and he approves), and it will always have a place in my album.

Here's Brooks signing for Chris.  He was amazing, as always.  He always has time to talk, and make you feel like he has been your buddy for years.

Chris got a blue foil Topps Fire card signed.  I had picked the card up at the Chantilly show with Ryan last year, and held onto it.  Chris liked it, so I let him choose it to be signed.  He has his own album of autographs, and I know he is proud to have this one added to his collection.

Not only were we able to see Brooks, but we were also able to see Boog Powell out in front of Boog's BBQ.  I went ahead and got my 1991 Crown Orioles card signed by Boog, so it would be over and done with.

I also had my 1962 Topps rookie that Mom gave me signed.  Much like Kyle's 63 that he had given me, I wanted the card Mom gave me in my album, instead of buried in a box under my bed.  It looks great signed, and it also has meaning, so it has a rightful place in my album.

I wanted to also get the above relic card signed by Boog.  He signed the relic piece, which I thought was odd, but still cool.

The card underneath the relic card is the only auto we were able to get while standing outside the stadium before the game.  The autograph is of Orioles manager, Brandon Hyde.  Since he doesn't have any cards yet, I figured the Camden Yards backdrop was nice.

2019 Orioles Fan Fest Recap

Another Orioles Fan Fest is in the books, and as far as sheer number of autographs go, I did better than any other Fan Fest.

I had paid for 6 autograph sessions, and was able to get items done in each that I was really happy about.  Chris hit up the kids line several times, and this year was the first year where he had some cards that he strictly wanted to get done for himself.  He and I were accompanied by my good friend, Ryan, and the three of us had a really good time.  The above dual 2018 Topps Update Hess/Araujo was one of the many cards I was able to get signed that I was really excited about.

Dylan Bundy was really cool this year, and he pretty much asked me why I wasn't planning on going down to Sarasota for Spring Training.  Man, I wish I could, but that is something I really need to plan, and push for sometime in the future.

I got a ton of cards signed that I have had for a while.  I picked up the Diamond Kings Anthony Santander (above left) from the card shop last year, thinking that I would be able to get him.  Chris took care of that during the final kids session.

Luis Ortiz was really nice; probably the nicest of all of the players I met.  I was talking to Jimmy Yacabonis about my Wood Ducks hat, and Ortiz remarked that he was almost a Wood Duck.  I told him that I actually knew that, and that was why I ended up with so many of his cards.  We had him at that session, and saw him later on as we were walking around.  He signed everything Ryan and I handed him.

It was nice meeting former Orioles #1 pick, DL Hall.  I think he will be with Frederick this season, so I may be able to get him on some more cards later on.  He did strictly 2-per for Chris and I during our session.

I ran out of Keegan Akin cards, which was fine.  He was pretty nice, even though I overheard him telling one of the handlers that he wasn't having the best time.  I talked to him anyway about the weather, and he seemed to open up some.  He turned out to be a pretty nice guy.

Jonathan Villar signed everyting I handed him, which was nice.  All of these cards are either card show or card shop pickups.

I was surprised that I still had Ryan McKenna cards left, but I purchased the Carolina League Top Prospects set at the end of last season, and needed him on that.  I found the black shimmer 2015 Bowman Chrome at the National last year, and was glad to get it signed.  It sucks that he had a dead Sharpie, though.

We had Renato Nunez in a signing session, and Chris also got him as he was out on the floor, so I got most of what I wanted done of his completed.  I missed the 87 Topps insert from a couple years ago, though.  Maybe next time on that one.

Chris got Chance Sisco during his first trip through the kids line, which helped me go ahead and get the high priority cards signed (see below).  He also was able to get him as he passed by us on the floor, which even further helped our cause.  Finally, in the paid session we had with him, Chris got two of Ryan's cards done, and I finished up a couple of the Bowman parallels shown above.

This Bowman Chrome Talent Pipeline was the highest priority card that I wanted Sisco to sign.  I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to finish it, but it turned out really well.

The Rule V picks were at the event, and I actually had a few cards of each.  Chris wasn't paying attention when he got these signed in the kids line, and smeared the Bowman Chromes that I had.  Oh well, they have a good story, now, as I got one of the smeared ones, and Chris took the other.

Richie Martin was pretty cool, and I got all of the cards I had of him signed.

I an mow out of Joey Rickard cards, as I had two paid session with him in them.  I had to take some cards from Ryan so I would have enough for each session.

I was able to get Tanner Scott on this Aberdeen set card, which has been hanging out in my box for a while.

Normally, I would have fixed this scan where the Scott McGregor slid under my Richard Bleier, but I was over scanning by the time I saw it.  It'll just have to stay this way.  I was really happy about getting the 2013 Pro Debut Rio Ruiz signed, because of the small handful of cards from that set, I did, indeed, have the Ruiz in my box.  It would have languished there forever, so I'm glad I got it done.

I had a multitude of horizontal cards that I got signed.  Another Talent Pipeline card that I can work on completing at some point.  I had a couple generic Orioles cards that helped with some guys I didn't have in my box, Donnie Hart on my 1994 Score, and Jimmy Yacabonis on my 2017 Topps.

I liked what I had for Rick Dempsey.  The 2004 Topps World Series Programs card of the 1983 World Series was a nice touch.

I got to talk to Boog Powell about horseradish again, which is always fun.  He's probably tired of my story by now, but he is a super nice guy, and the cards that I had turned out well.

The 1970 and 1971 Topps cards that I had of Boog were beat all to hell, but they were the last of what I had that I wanted to get signed.  They turned out nicely, and will have a home in my album.

I laid a page of 4 cards down for Jim Palmer, and he signed this Upper Deck Masterpieces.  I'm glad he chose this card, because they really are nice, and the autographs show up well.

Fan Fest was plagued by an overselling of sessions for Eddie Murray and Brooks Robinson.  My Brooks session was refunded, and so was one session with Eddie Murray.  I had my friend, Rae, also picking up an Eddie session, which went through.  I used my opportunity to meet Eddie again by helping out a friend with his set that he is working on, since he helped me with my 87 set (by getting Tim Raines).  My good friend, Jacob, was surprised to find out that I was able to get his 1991 Studio Murray signed, and it will be sent to him shortly.  I also let Chris pick out a Murray that he liked, and that was what he got signed.

We all had a really good time at Fan Fest, but it did feel like it was missing something, which Ryan and I discussed on the way home.  This was the first Fan Fest that I didn't spend a dime.  I didn't get a chance to look through any game-used items, but I didn't have a whole lot of time.  Ryan said that he looked, and there really wasn't anything that really jumped out.  The normal pile of used jerseys wasn't there, which was a bummer.

Oh well.  I came away with 115 autographs one all was said and done, so that was pretty nice.  Ryan and I made a couple of trades, and I have some stuff that I can send to Max and Gerard for all of their help with their Fan Fests.  I also am really happy that I was able to help Jacob with a major piece for his Studio set.

September 2017 Trip to Baltimore

I thought I was done graphing for the year.  I was content to rest on the 964 signed cards that I had gotten and call it a year.  I decided that, for my birthday, I would make the trip to Baltimore for a game or two, and ended up doing a bit more graphing.

I was slammed for work, so I didn't get a lot of time to sort, but luckily, I still had a ton of Orioles cards that I had sat aside for the Norfolk exhibition game in March.  I took those stacks, then supplemented them with a few Orioles alumni that I thought may come.

I also met up with my good friend, Michael, and he showed me the ropes of graphing at Camden Yards.  He helped me outside the stadium, inside at the field, and up in the club level.  One of the biggest autos I was able to get was this Jonathan Schoop.  It turned out really nice, especially since I didn't get a chance to prep the card beforehand.  I was really lucky that the auto suck with this one.  I was able to get him to sign it at his car, along with a ton of other folks.  I appreciate that his wife was so gracious as to let us hand the cards inside the car to him.

Boog Powell was probably the easiest Oriole to approach.  He was at his station at Boog's BBQ chatting and posing for photos.  He signed every card that I had, which was great, because I had brought some nice Topps cards straight from my PC.

I was able to get this 1992 Action Packed card signed, which is the first that I have been able to add to my album.  It turned out nice, and the line through the auto came due to the scan.

I had brought a few Orioles team cards with me, just in case I ran into any players and didn't have their cards on hand.  Such was the case with Austin Hays on Saturday at the field level.  I had him sign the 2016 Heritage team card instead, which turned out really nicely.  The 2017 Topps team card is signed by radio personality, Tom Davis, while the 2016 team card is signed by THE Roch Kubatko!

I was able to talk to Jim Palmer outside of the stadium after the game, Friday night.  He wouldn't sign, though.  He told me he would sign for me Saturday, if I was at the game.  Sure enough, before the game Saturday, he came over in the parking lot and signed a card for me.

I got Palmer to sign this card post game, Saturday.  He is funny with autographers; he said "You're all collectors!", and joked around with all of us.  He took one kid's graphing book and asked everyone to "throw em all up there" so, with the kid holding the book, Palmer signed all of our cards.

I was also able to take a selfie with Palmer, but it turned out pretty blurry.  Still, he was nice about it.

I was able to get Rick Dempsey before Saturday's game in the parking lot.  I had a number of cards with me and handed them over to him.  He signed a few (above) and I thanked him.  He wasn't overly talkative, but we did talk about what he would do in the offseason.  He talked about playing golf.

Because it was the final home series of the season, there were a bunch of Orioles alumni at the stadium and walking around the club level.  I was able to get Chris Hoiles on one.  I missed Joe Orsulak, though.  I saw Ross Grimsley leaving the stadium, and caught Scott McGregor, getting him on a card for myself, and one for Michael.

I was with fellow grapher, Patrick, when Brady Anderson came outside on Saturday night.  Michael had told me that Brady was gone for the weekend, but luckily, I was able to find his cards very quickly in my box.  I took the first two cards that I saw, which landed me this 1991 that Patrick got for me, and the awesome Pacific below that I was able to get done.

Also outside on Saturday night, I was able to use the above 2016 Orioles team card on Jimmy Yacabonis.  He might have made better sense on a 2017 team card, but in my scramble, this one was the first I could get my hands on in a pinch that night.  It'll do.

Buck Showalter was the last to leave the stadium on Friday night, and Michael and I were the last graphers standing.  Buck stopped his car and motioned for us to come over; he chatted with us for a bit, and was more than happy to sign for us.  I noticed, though, that he only signed the Orioles cards that we presented.  I had two other cards (a Yankee card and a Diamondbacks card) and he left them blank.

Jeremy Hellickson was sitting in his car on Saturday night, and told the graphers that he would sign on Sunday.  Apparently, though, he was waiting for someone who was late, so he finally motioned for us to come over, and he signed for a bit until the person he was waiting for finally came and caught a ride with him.  Who was he waiting for?  Alex Cobb!

I actually recognized Dave Johnson while we were in the club level.  He was really nice to Michael and I.  While he was signing for us, we talked about his son, Steve, who had to cancel a vacation to the Caribbean due to the hurricane.

I also got Johnson a second time as he came out of the stadium on Saturday so I could finish off my page of him.  I appreciated him stopping and chatting again.

On this trip, I was surprised at the number of Rays players that I was able to get on cards.  Saturday before the game, we were able to get Rays manager, Kevin Cash, after his finished his afternoon run.

I was able to get Alex Cobb a couple of times.  Jose Sucre is on the Rays team card at top left.

Cobb was really nice; he signed for me several times, and finished up all of the cards I had of him.

A lot of the players were one per, except for Curt Casali, but I had all of the same card of him, 2016 Topps.

I really enjoyed chatting with Tommy Hunter before the Saturday game.  He was open and honest about how he enjoyed his time in Baltimore, and how he didn't want to leave.

Tommy also gave a fellow grapher some crap for calling out for him to come over, then leaving to try to get Evan Longoria instead.  He was really funny and took quite a while to sign for everyone.

I wasn't going to do any graphing on Sunday morning, but I had to meet Michael and hand off some extra cards that I had.  While we were waiting for him, Austin Hays came over and posed for a photo with Chris.

I had one ROMLB with me, just in case.  I decided to use that ball to get an autograph from Orioles radio voice, Joe Angel.  With Michael's idea, I got Angel to inscribe the baseball "Wave it bye bye" and "In the WIN column".

The ball turned out great, except for the little smudge on the side.  I didn't care!

 I believe that Joe Angel will end up in the Hall of Fame as a Ford Frick Award winner, so hopefully this ball will find its way into my HOF collection soon.

Finally, the biggest autograph (in my mind) that I was able to get this weekend was that of Rays pitcher, Chris Archer.  I used my knowledge that he was from NC to my advantage.  He is from Clayton, NC, so I yelled over to him "Hey Chris!  I drove through Clayton on Tuesday on my way to Fuquay [Varina]!"  He smiled and waved, so I asked him if he minded signing a card for me.  He said he would when he was done, and was good on his word.  I had to jump on the dugout to slide the card and pen to him, much to the chagrin of the usher who yelled at me, but I didn't care.  I got the auto!

So, with this trip, I netted 1,016 signed cards on the season.  I think this was an awesome way to close it out and officially retire my graphing book for the winter.  I'll fire it all up again for Fan Fest in January.