Facebook Deal With Zach W.

Before I get too deep into this post, I have to acknowledge the amazing Wofford jersey on the above Brandon Waring card.  I should have known it sooner, but there it is, a Wofford jersey on a legit baseball card.  Take it in.  Admire it.  You don't see it often, but there it is.  I didn't go to school at Wofford, in case anyone wasn't sure.  My younger brother did.  When the Orioles traded for Waring, I was pretty excited to have a Wofford alumni in the organization.  I would actually meet Waring a few times and I introduced myself to him, saying that my brother was a senior at Wofford when Waring was a freshman.  Waring actually remembered Adam, which was the best part.  He, then, signed a baseball for him.  I believe Adam still has it, but I know it is faded to crap because I didn't know not to use a China ball at the time.  I keep looking to see if Waring signs TTM, so I can replace the ball, but I haven't seen that he does, yet.  I keep holding out hope.

So, when my friend, Zach messaged me recently about wanting to sell off some of his O's collection to raise money for some family things that had come up, I really was hesitant to part with any money.  He had some nice Chris Davis relics that I thought would look great in the collection, but when he started showing me some of the IP autos that he had picked up, especially the Waring, I jumped on the deal.

Zach had several Davis relics that he used to keep sweetening the deal.  This 2013 Topps Five Star jumbo relic is only numbered 10/15.  I had one already, but another wouldn't hurt, and at least Zach knows it is in a good home.

This 2015 Topps Triple Threads three color patch card was pretty sweet.  It is numbered 6/9.  This was the original card Zach showed me, I think, and the deal built from there.

I found one of these Panini Classics at the National a couple years ago, but adding this one didn't hurt.  I believe this was a throw in to the deal.  Zach will correct me, I'm sure.

Finally, Zach offered me a multitude of former Oriole prospects to choose from.  I had met Dustin Yount when he was a player/coach for the Chattanooga Lookouts a while back, but got him on a (you guessed it) China ball.  That ball is in a cabinet somewhere probably fading into nothingness.

I keep checking to see if Yount is signing TTM because I have the above Bowman's Best, but now I can let that rest since I have this one.  It is a really cool card, though.  I think I will keep the other with my O's stuff and not worry about getting him TTM anymore.

I had to pick up Zach's Reimolds that he offered.  They had to come here and be with the rest of my Nolan collection.  I did get a third Nolan auto out of the deal, but I sent it to my friend, Max, since he asked me politely if I would part with a Nolan for him.  Max has heard me talk about Nolan so much, he wanted to add him to his collection.

The last former O's "prospect" in the bunch was Jeff Fiorentino.  Fun fact, Fiorentino's nickname was Screech.  Apparently it was because he looked like the Saved by the Bell character and was in no way given the name by his grandfather because he sounded like a screech owl.  Or so I'm told.  Maybe people wouldn't sound like that if their brother would quit antagonizing them on the way to church.  Just saying.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the deal with Zach.  I actually have decided to jump into the "graphing" game.  I constructed a graphing book to take with me to Wood Ducks games this season.  I am way late to the game, but I have enjoyed adding different cards to my album so much, I thought I would continue to parlay that into a new venture.  We will see how it goes.

We Have a Winner

The winner of my contest was Brad Zonghetti, a Youtube trader, new friend and follower of this blog.  He got all of the questions answered correctly.

Here are the final standings:

Brad - 40 points
P. A. - 25 points
Mom - 25 points
Alex - 25 points
Matthew - 20 points
Cerne - 2 points
Jeroen Bos - 2 points

The correct answers were:

1. Die Hard.  Said by the first henchman that Bruce Willis dispatches in the film.

2. Jeffrey Maier.  I'm pretty much over this by now, but I would hit him with a shovel, just on principle alone.

3. Rocky 4.  If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change...

4. The first set I completed after starting this blog was 1995 Donruss.  See the post here.

5. The first card I got in a trade with Drew was a UD Masterpieces Brian Roberts relic, seen here.

6. The ball was signed at a Carolina Mudcats vs Chattanooga Lookouts game in 2009 by Dustin Yount.  Son of Hall of Famer, Robin Yount.  He was a former Orioles draft pick who later played in the Dodgers system.

Congrats, Brad.  I hope you enjoy the baseball.

Thank you to all who participated.  I got a lot more of a response than I anticipated.  I might make up another convoluted contest again in the future!

May 8, 2010 Carolina Mudcats vs. Chattanooga Lookouts

Chris and I decided to catch the Mudcats vs. Lookouts today since I wouldn't be at the card shop. Since the Lookouts are the AA affiliate of the Dodgers, I went on a mission to get as many Dodger Prospect autos for a certain Dodger fan that I know who happens to be my best friend... Yeah you know the guy :) I think we did pretty well.During the game, the mini mudcat came and sat beside Chris for an inning. This was pretty cool, except for the kid who came after and asked Chris and I to move. I told him sorry, we had tickets for our seats. Wasn't trying to be a jerk, but I was raised to not TELL someone to move out of their seats. Was kind of funny though.

I got a bunch of autographs. Initially, I was disappointed because I paid for field level seats, and there was a huge net blocking us from the players. We did find a place near the visiting clubhouse and got some awesome autographs. The above ball is Dustin Yount. Yes, he is the son of Robin Yount. Dustin has been in the minors for a LONG time. He is a former Orioles prospect. He was a really nice guy, though, taking the time to talk to Chris as he was signing.

Before we went to the game, I looked at the Lookouts roster and saw that Danny Darwin was their pitching coach. I thought to myself that it would be really cool if I got his auto. I succeeded. Pretty nice signature too.

I said before that I wa son a mission to hook Max up, really wanting to get him an autograph of the Dodgers' #1 prospect. I succeeded in that as well. Damn, I'm good. Haha. We got several other Lookouts players. Chris got them all on one ball and I went through 5 single balls.

This was our first trip to Five County Stadium in Zebulon, NC. We drive by the baseball water tower every weekend on the way to the shop. I am glad we went. It is a beautiful stadium. I am still partial to Grainger Stadium in Kinston, though.

A cool picture of Dustin Yount and Danny Darwin talking before the game.

Dustin Yount signing for some kids before he came and talked to Chris.

Dee Gordon signing my baseball. He was pretty nice as well.

Danny Darwin signing Chris' ball. I like catching some of the 80's stars who are now coaching.

The game was close until the bottom of the 8th when the Lookouts allowed an INSIDE THE PARK GRAND SLAM. That's right. I'm not kidding. Just WOW.

Any thoughts guys? I'm so happy I accomplished my mission to get a Gordon auto for Max. You'll probably be reading about it on his blog shortly.