Graphing The Wood Ducks Exhibition Game

A new season is upon us, and I had the opportunity to see the new-look Wood Ducks take on Mount Olive University last night in an exhibition game.  Last season, the exhibition game rained out.  Last night started off warm, but the temperature dropped and the wind picked up.  I had to go to the team store and buy a hoodie because I left mine at home.

I was really excited about this season's roster because there are a bunch of Rangers prospects who came up to start the season.  Jake Lemoine is one who made the jump from Hickory.  I got the above 2015 Elite Extra Edition die cut numbered to 25 signed.

There are a few holdovers from last season's Carolina League Co-Champions.  I was able to get 6 cards from the team set signed.  Emerson Martinez was really happy to see Chris last night.  He even "signed" Chris's nose during the post-game autograph session.

I had purchased the late edition of the 2017 Hickory team set, as I knew a lot of those guys would be on the Wood Ducks roster this season.  I knocked out a bunch of them last night.

Three of the early 2017 Hickory set got signed, as did one from the 2016 set.  I don't have many of the 16s remaining who are still with the Rangers.

Anderson Tejeda is one of the higher Rangers prospects on the Wood Ducks this season.  I was able to get my South Atlantic League card taken care of, which helped with that set.

This Jake Lemoine Stars and Stripes Crusade insert turned out really nicely.  I had hoped to add a few cards from that series to the album, and Lemoine turns out to be the first.

I picked up a bunch of Panini Contenders cards from my LCS, and took care of several last night.  I especially like the School Colors versions; they look really cool signed.

Leody Taveras is another high-end prospect who will be in Kinston this year.  He signs two per, but I had help last night, and he signed everything I had during the post-game autograph session.

I know some folks will enjoy the Panini Contenders cards of Michael Matuella, since he played for Duke.

Spike Owen only signed pre-game, and only signed 2-per.  He most likely will be like Howard Johnson was last season; so it will take me a while to knock out everything I have for him.  Carlos Maldonado has a few nice cards, but the only one I had in my collection as of last night was the 2007 Upper Deck.  I believe I ordered some of his stuff off of Sportlots.

Also, Matthew Whatley is one of the Rangers newest prospects.  He was drafted last June, and is already at High A.  He completely bypassed A ball (Hickory).

Finally, Jairo Beras is back with the Wood Ducks to continue his transformation into a pitcher.  He was demoted to Hickory last season to work on transitioning to a pitcher.  I'm interested in seeing his progress this season.

I had some help getting autographs last night, my brother Andy, his fiancee Camryn and my son Chris all helped out.

I ended up with: Josh Altmann x 3, Edgar Arredondo x 2, Jairo Beras x 6, Ledarious Clark x 3, Brendon Davis x 1, Kaleb Fontenot x 2, Jonathan Hernandez x 1, Alex Kowalczyk x 1, Chuck LeBlanc x 1, Jake Lemoine x 8, Carlos Maldonado x 4, Emerson Martinez x 3, Michael Matuella x 12, Christian Torres x 2, Matthew Whatley x 5, Ricky Valencia x 3, CD Pelham x 4, Preston Scott x 2, Jacob Shortslef x 2, Walker Weickel x 2, Spike Owen x 4, Leody Taveras x 12 and Anderson Tejeda x 10.  In all, we got 93 cards signed.  Some of which were 50/50s for my friend, Gerard.  My next game is Thursday, April 12; the Wood Ducks home opener against Myrtle Beach.

We Are The (Co)Champions

Well now.  I never thought I would have been able to say this, but the Down East Wood Ducks are Co-Champions of the Carolina League.  In their first season of existence.  Following an improbable run in August and September that they parlayed into a playoff spot, the impending hurricane strike shortened the Carolina League playoffs and forced them to name co-champions for the first time since 1999.

I waited since the end of the 2011 minor league season for a team to come back to Kinston, and Chris and I have been with this team from the start.  We went to the first ever team practice, and the meet the team event in March.

This was my first ever season graphing minor league games, and in doing so, I got 964 baseball cards signed throughout the season.  During that time, I enjoyed chatting with all of the Wood Ducks (and some on opposing teams) players.

I remember thinking that the Wood Ducks would be pretty good this season, since I felt like the Rangers had a pretty good farm system.  Meeting the team in March helped us get to know some of them face to face, and we really worked hard in making them feel welcome here in Eastern NC.

We tried to watch their first ever game, an exhibition against Mount Olive College, but it was rained out.  We had to settle for the home opener a week later.

I believe I went to 31 Wood Ducks games this season (27 at home and 4 on the road).  That turned out to be a bunch!

Chris formed friendships with a few of the players, such as Emerson Martinez, who got the win tonight in the game that clinched their share of the league title.

Brett Martin started the game and pitched 2 and 2/3 innings.

I believe we all had a great time this season.  I hate to see it come to a close, but to close it out with a share of the league championship is just amazing.

Even my wife enjoyed going to the games.  Sure, she thought a few of the players looked better than I do, but I'm not worried, she still comes home to me!

I think Chris got more out of this season than anyone, though.  He has forged life-long memories this season.  He was able to go out on the field twice this season.  All of the players recognize him, and are happy to see him when he says hello.

I'm so happy that they won a share of the title.  This has been such a cool season; I can't wait until April, so another season will start.

Labor Day Weekend Graphing The Wood Ducks At Buies Creek

This was a really interesting Labor Day Weekend.  I started the weekend with the plan to go see one game at Buies Creek on Saturday, since Brett Martin was starting that day for the Wood Ducks.  Rain on Friday forced a double header for Saturday, so that changed our plans to catching two games that day.  Leading up to this series, the Wood Ducks had gone on a tear, while the Astros were floundering.  With playoff implications on the line, we set out for Buies Creek Saturday.  I printed off a copy of the photo of Chris with Wood Ducks pitcher, Emerson Martinez, since Emerson had asked for a copy.  We got to Buies Creek early and mistakenly found the locker room door, since I parked in the wrong place.

Kelvin Vasquez was outside and said hello to us.  I asked him if he minded giving the photo to Emerson, since we were right at the door and he wouldn't have to keep up with the photo in the dugout.  Kelvin doesn't speak a whole lot of English, so he went inside and got Emerson.  Emerson thanked Chris and I for the photo and asked me if I had tickets for the game yet.  I didn't, so he put us on "the list" and we got in to the double header for free.

Emerson started the first game, with the Wood Ducks needing to win 3 of the 4 games in the series.  They lost the first game 1-0 in 7 (in the minors, all double header games are 7 innings) on a hit by pitch with the bases loaded.  Brett Martin pitched the second game and the Woodies won 5-2.  They won again on Sunday, 7-3, putting them a half game behind Buies Creek with one to go for the second half title for the Southern Division.  We weren't even going to go to the Sunday game, but Jeremy Moore told Chris that if we came, he would take Chris on the field again.  Chris was able to go on the field, and they even put the catcher's gear on him.  Jeremy took him in the dugout and everyone high-fived Chris and hugged him.  They were really happy to see us.

Today, they won 10-3 and clinched a playoff spot.  It was a really cool feeling to see the guys I have followed all season celebrate clinching, after how poor their record was earlier this season.

One of the best parts of the series was that I got to hang out with a fellow Instagrammer, Jackson, for the duration of the series.  He is a really great guy, and has been following me on there since I got started.

I did do some graphing across the series, and also picked up a Buies Creek team set.

I had gotten Anthony Hermelyn on a few cards earlier this season, but found a few more at the National that I could work on.

I got three different versions of Anthony's 2015 Bowman, and they all turned out great.  He stopped and talked to us each day.

Ronnie Dawson was really friendly, as well.  He was also very funny in the outfield, interacting with the Wood Ducks bullpen.

I got this card of Anibal Sierra taken care of from the Carolina League top prospects set.  He was really nice, but spoke no English.

I also got 10 cards signed from the Buies Creek set.  A lot of the players are no longer with the team, so it;ll be tough getting some of the guys.

Jackson said that Chris Holt was one of the toughest autos to get from Buies Creek, so when I was able to call Holt over on Sunday and get my stuff signed along with Jackson's, he was really happy.

Here are some photos I took during the trip.  Here is Chris being brought back to me from Jeremy Moore.  He loves this team, and is really excited that there is some baseball left to be played this season.

The Astros play at Campbell University, which has an odd field.  Everything is Astro turf, for some reason.

Here are the Wood Ducks celebrating after the final out today.

Some more celebration on the field.

We were able to catch a bit of the celebration as it was unfolding near the locker room.  I didn't want to get too close, since it was roped off.  At one point, one of the players motioned for us to come over, but I stayed put, since I didn't feel it to be right to crash their party.

It was a really cool sight to see all of the guys cutting loose and celebrating.  This has been a really awesome season, especially for it to be an inaugural season for the club.

We did have some players come over to us and shake hands and say hello.  Brett Martin came and chatted a bit, as well as Adam Choplick, Steven Bruce and Ledarious Clark.

I think they wore more of the beer and champagne, than they ingested.  They also had a lot of fun with the water hose.

At one point, Jeremy waved at us, and Chris waved back.  Emerson saw us as well and waved.

The coolest part was our friend Matt, the ballboy/clubbie hooked Jackson and I each up with one champagne bottle.  This is going in my display case, for sure!

This was such a cool series, and I was really glad that I decided to make the trip, especially for today's clincher.  The players seemed legitimately happy to see Chris and I, which made us feel really good.  I got a hug from Emerson Martinez after the second game on Saturday.  Luis La O shook my hand and called me Papi today.  I am so happy for these guys, and I hope they can keep it going.  They begin their series against Myrtle Beach on Wednesday at home, and I will be there.