August 16, 2025, Graphing of the Drive at Grasshoppers

A few weeks ago, I had to go out of town for work.  That Saturday night, I went to Greensboro to try to get a few more Grasshoppers cards out of my box.  I got one more Konnor Griffin signed; he was promoted to Altoona the next day.

I knocked out a few more cards from the Greensboro team set, which was nice.  None of the guys had numbers on the front, so getting signatures was tough.  Still, a few got done, which helped.

I got a 2021 Bowman Chrome refractor of Shalin Polanco that I picked up from the National.  He also signed his team set card.

I was able to use up my remaining free ticket to the Grasshoppers (from the rainout in June).  I was glad to get those taken care of.  I didn't get a single Drive player, but that's ok.  Also, I got out of the stadium late because I was waiting for Griffin, so I missed the Drive guys I needed outside.

In all, I got the following autographs: Jack Carey x 1, Jesus Castillo x 1, Hung Leng Chang x 1, Khristian Curtis x 2, Konnor Griffin x 1, Steph Lombard x 1, JP Massey x 1, Matt Myers x 1, Connor Oliver x 1, Shalin Polanco x 3 and Will Taylor x 1 (14 total autographs). 

July 26, 2025, Graphing of the Cyclones at Grasshoppers

Last Saturday, I went to Greensboro to cash in one of the rain out tickets I had.  The Greasshoppers were playing the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets High A affiliate.

I was excited to get Konnor Griffin finally.  The above 2025 Bowman insert came out of a blaster box I opened a couple hours before the game.  Mom had picked the blaster up for me.  I didn't have my baby powder with me to prep the card, so Mom had to hook me up with some corn starch from the kitchen.  The corn starch worked.

I had a bunch of cards for Brooklyn.  Everyone except Jesus Baez signed everything I had.  Baez did 2 per pregame and then did 3 post game outside.  

Nate Dohm inscribed one of his 2024 Bowman Draft cards with his nickname, Dohminator.  Funny that I got Dohm and Baez, though, as they both were traded to the Cardinals in the Ryan Helsley trade today.

I was glad to get all of my Colin Houck cards signed.  I had some nice stuff of him, but was afraid he would limit. 

I got Griffin pregame and post game.  Post game he ran with someone's black Sharpie. I didn't mind though. I picked up a 2025 Grasshoppers team set and got a couple cards from it signed.

I also got my sparkle parallel of Carlson Reed signed.  He paused when he was signing and admired the card for a bit.

Finally, I knocked out a couple of my Lonnie White, Jr. cards.  I didn't do too well with the team set, but I have some stuff for the next time I go.

In all, I got the following autographs: Jesus Baez x 5, Nate Dohm x 2, AJ Ewing x 5, Colin Houck x 8, Diego Mosquera x 3, Eli Serrano x 2, Marco Vargas x 4, Konnor Griffin x 2, Geovanny Planchart x 1, Shalin Polanco x 3, Carlson Reed x 6, Enmanuel Terrero x 5, Michael Walsh x 1, Lonnie White x 12 and Connor Wietgrefe x 1 (60 autographs).

May 18, 2025, Graphing of the Emperors at Grasshoppers

Last Sunday, I got a little bit of sunburn while knocking out some cards in Greensboro.  I went with the purpose of finally getting my 2022 Topps Pro Debut Maikol Escotto pink parallel signed.  I have missed that card several times and finally fot it signed.

The Rome Emperors were in town, and I got a few nice cards signed.  Unfortunately, the Emperors had several guys I needed on the IL.  It was still a productice trip.  

I had picked up the above 2022 Bowman Shalin Polanco (above, left) at the National a few years ago.  I remembered it last minute, and was able to locate it.  I was so glad to get it signed.  

In all, I got the following autographs: Garrett Baumann x 6, Herick Hernandez x 2, Justin Janas x 1, Adam Maier x 1, Ambioris Tavarez x 1, Maikoll Escotto x 2, Shalin Polanco x 1, Enmanuel Terrero x 3 and Lonnie White x 1 (18 total autographs). 

Another TTM Success From Chris Volstad

Back in 2019, I got a TTM success from Chros Volstad on several cards.  I finally sent to him again once I picked up a 2006 Greensboro Grasshoppers team set.  Volstad was in the set, and the card looked really nice.  It looks even better now that it is signed.  I bought one of the sets for my friend, Michael as well, since Orioles manager, Brandon Hyde is also in there. Hopefully Michael can get that card signed.

I found these other cards of Volstad when I sent.  I had forgotten that I got him back in 2019, so the 2009 Allen and Ginter is a duplicate, except the previous one he signed was in black. The 2012 Topps turned out well, also.

I mailed to Volstad on May 24 and got the cards back on August 12, for an 80-day TAT.

May 5, 2024, Graphing of Dash at Grasshoppers

With the rain clearing out Sunday, Jesse and I decided to head to Greensboro to see the Grasshoppers take on the Dash and try to finish off some stacks of cards we had put together last month. We had seen the Grasshoppers at Dash, now we flipped that and Jesse could add another stadium to his list.

We graphed inside pre-game and outside post-game.  Samuel Zavala hit everything we had outside.  That almost completely wiped me out of his cards, save for three 2023 Pro Debuts that i couldnt reasonably fit into one of the books.

Peyton Pallette did something I hadn't seen before. He was late coming onto the field pre-game, so he said he would sign for us when he walked by after the first inning. He made good on that promise and signed everything we had.

I found some old Greensboro team sets for $5.00/set and got this 2010 Guilford the Grasshopper signed during the game.

In all, we got the following autographs: Jack Brannigan x 6, Guilford x 1, Termarr Johnson x 4, JP Massey x 1, Jacob Gonzalez x 2, Wes Kath x 1, Peyton Pallette x 5, Jordan Sprinkle x 5, and Samuel Zavala x 13. (38 total autographs).

April 14, 2024, Graphing of Grasshoppers at Dash

After our trip to Hickory, Jesse, Chris and I went to Winston-Salem to see the Greensboro Grasshoppers take on the Dash.  We got Termarr Johnson on a few cards.  He walked over to me while I was standing along the wall without me even calling him.  It was nice to add a few more cards to the album. 

Johnson was really cool.  He did two per for us.  I got some 2023 Bowman Draft and a couple 2023 Pro Debut signed.

I was really happy to get my gold parallel Jack Brannigan from 2023 Pro Debut signed.  The card is numbered to 50 and looks great.  We got Hunter Barco and Hudson Head outside the stadium after the game.  The weather was beautiful, and it was a nice day to be outside. 

Finally, we got a couple of the Dash guys prior to the game; Samuel Zavala signed for us post game as the team was coming off of the field.  I almost messed up and sent my Zavalas to my friend, Logan, as I had looked at a bunch of rosters and thought he was on Tulsa.

I had heard a few times that Wes Kath was super tough.  He signed for us just before the game began and was nice enough about it. He did one per, but still signed.

In all, we got the following autographs: Hunter Barco x 4, Jack Brannigan x 4, Hudson Head x 6, Termarr Johnson x 6, Patrick Reilly x 2, Jacob Gonzalez x 1, Wes Kath x 3 and Samuel Zavala x 7 (33)

August 20, 2023, Graphing of Hot Rods at Grasshoppers

Yesterday, Chris and I went to Greensboro to catch the Bowling Green Hot Rods at Grasshoppers.  I wanted to try to graph Termarr Johnson since he had been brought up to Greensboro.  We were supposed to meet up with a friend at the game, but our friend's plans changed at the last minute. 

We were able to get Johnson on 4 cards. I had a bunch of Greensboro stuff to get done for my friend, Gerard, and got everyone except for Tres Gonzalez.  He ignored both times he walked by.  Still, it was a very successful day.

It looks like my marker is on the way out, so I'll have to try to replace it over the next couple of days.  I prefer the Michaels Artosts Loft markers, but Michaels has been sold out evert time I've gone by there this summer.  There is a big difference between the marker I used and the Sharpie Chris had yesterday.  My hope was that the difference was due to excess powder on Gerard's cards, but when I looked back at my High Point stuff from the day before, I could see that the marker was starting to die off.

I switched up for post game and my Brock Jones turned out fine.  I've always got a backup marker, so I should be ok, but that'll leave me without the backup, of course.

I was really glad to finally get these two Jeff Hakanson cards signed.  I missed him the two times I saw Charleston this season, then he was called up to Bowling Green.  They're now done, so I have them in the album now.

The two Chandler Simpson cards are some that I found at the National; then he was moved to Bowling Green. I was glad to go ahead and get them signed, as well.  Willy Vasquez was tough.  He grabbed the black Sharpie that belonged to the guy next to me, signed my card with it (no big deal), but then looked right at Chris and skipped him.  Chris would walk up to him outside post game on the sidewalk and ask again. Vasquez told him "No, leave" so Chris walked away. Then Vasquez left.  Had I known that he had said that right away, I'd have told Chris to just give him the card and walk away. I don't normally like to do stuff like that when someone refuses to sign, but when someone is rude to my kid, I don't need to keep your unsigned card hoping you'll sign at a later time. This was coupled with us asking JJ Goss if he would sign.  He said "I'll put my stuff down and come back."  He never did.  So, all of Goss's stuff will either be put back in the mail to Gerard or will be dumped into a box.  I won't bother him again.

Other than the disappointment from both of those guys, we had a great time.  The weekend was filled with great weather, two really good games and a lot of graphing.  I also spent time with my family while we were out that way.  With school starting back soon, this may have been the last weekend I will have available graph with Chris.  I feel like we made it a good one.

In all, we got the following autographs: Jase Bowen x 3, Bubba Chandler x 6, Maikol Escotto x 5, Thomas Harrington x 2, Termarr Johnson x 4, Sammy Siani x 6, Jeff Hakanson x 2, Brock Jones x 1, Chandler Simpson x 2 and Willy Vasquez x 1 (32 total autographs).

June 10, 2023, Graphing of the Blue Rocks at Grasshoppers

The plan this weekend was to go to Greensboro and do a little graphing while the Wilmington Blue Rocks were in town.  I was in the area for work and stayed the weekend at the farm.

I was lucky I had a ball and blue pen in my bag, because the first person I saw come out of the tunnel to the clubhouse was former World Series winning manager, Jack McKeon.  I got my ball signed, and it turned out pretty well, save for the J in Jack. 

When I left on Wednesday, I didnt check to see if Wilmington's roster had changed.  Brady House had been called up to Wilmington from Fredericksburg.  Of course, my House cards were left at home.  I did find a few at the LCS in Winston-Salem. In the end, House only signed one card outsode after the game.  He was pretty tough, but i was lucky enough to get him.

I didn't have a whole lot of cards for either team, but I made do with what I had.  I got every card I brought for Jake Bennett and Jared McKenzie signed.

I had my little cousin Ale with me, so he was able to get an extra Jeremy De La Rosa signed for me.  De La Rosa used to sign everything, but has gone down to one per.

I also didn't have much for Greensboro. I got everything signed that I brought for the Grasshoppers, which was nice.  The Blue Rocks won the game and I had a good time.

In all, I got the following autographs: Jase Bowen x 3, Thomas Harrington x 2, Robby Hammock x 1, Jake Bennett x 2, Jeremy De La Rosa x 2, Jared McKenzie x 2, Brady House x 1 and Jack McKeon x 1 (13 total autographs).

Graphing Recap - Aberdeen Ironbirds at Greensboro Grasshoppers

Because Rob Manfred seriously jacked up the minor leagues, opportunities to graph Orioles prospects in Kinston have become a lot harder to come by.  This season, unless I go on the road, I won't see Delmarva at all.  I missed a couple classes of Oriole prospects the last couple of years, so when I saw that I could catch Aberdeen in Greensboro this past weekend, I hit the road.  The High Point game on Saturday supplanted a possible 2-game viewing of Aberdeen, but the graphing at the Rockers was well worth it.  That left me with a 2PM game on Sunday in Greensboro, which ended early enough for me to get home at a reasonable time.

One of the key cards I wanted to see signed at this game was the above 2002 Bowmans Best Ruben Gotay relic card.  I found it on Sportlots for a steal, not knowing it was a relic card.  It looks awesome, even though Gotay's autograph isn't much to look at.

I realized this morning that I had several other Callix Crabbe and Ruben Gotay cards that I had ordered, then mistakenly put in the wrong stack.  So, I will have to go back to Greensboro to get those taken care of.

The graphing of the Grasshoppers was a big case of missed opportunities.  One guy I missed last season when I went was Sammy Siani, whom I finally got on this 2020 Topps Pro Debut.  I ran into a fellow grapher that I see from time to time, and he showed me three other guys with cards that I just flat out missed when I was searching my boxes.  Oof.  Better luck next time.

Another oof was that I paid $20.00 to get Hudson Head TTM a couple months ago.  If I knew then that I would see him in Greensboro (and get the same card signed), I would have saved the money.  Oh well.

My mistakes aside, I was very successful in graphing Aberdeen.  I only ended up with one unsigned Orioles card, and that was an extra of last year's first round (#2 over all) pick, Colton Cowser.  He was one-per inside, and signed again for us outside (again, one per).  The above dual with Reed Trimble was the card he signed outside.

Coby Mayo signed every card I had in my book.  I only had one 2021 Bowman draft base card of former ECU standout, Connor Norby.  Donta' Williams signed 2 cards inside and my remaining card outside.

Finally, John Rhodes was one-per inside, then signed my remaining two cards outside.  I ended up with a couple extras of the Aberdeen guys.  All of them were pretty nice.  I gave Norby a little bit of crap outside, since he went to East Forsyth High School.  I went to West, so I had to represent.  We laughed about it.  He seems like a really nice guy.

I enjoyed Greensboro, even though I messed up a bit and didn't bring all of the cards I needed.  The good thing is, the field is close, so I can always go back later this summer.  In all, I got the following autographs:  Colton Cowser x 2, Donta' Williams x 3, Connor Norby x 1, Coby Mayo x 4, John Rhodes x 3, Sammy Siani x 1, Hudson Head x 2, Callix Crabbe x 1 and Ruben Gotay x 2 (19 total autographs).

June 27, 2021 Graphing of Drive at Grasshoppers

Last Sunday, I took my son, Chris, and my little cousin, Ale, to Greensboro to see the Greensboro Grasshoppers take on the Greenville Drive.  I also was going in hopes to finish what I started on Greenville while Ale and I were in Winston-Salem before he and I were shut down.

We did really well graphing inside and outside the stadium, EXCEPT I missed Jay Groome again.  He didn't sign outside, and I was left with my ton of Groome cards, still.  Thakfully, I had given the two best cards to my friend, Dugan, and he got those done.  The above 2017 Bowman Chrome blue shimmer was one of them.  It turned out great.

The other card was the 2017 Bowman Tek (top left).  I had been holding on to those cards since 2017, so I was happy to get them signed.  We were able to get everyone else that we set out to get, which was nice.

I was really glad to finish off most of my Greenville stuff.  I had it pulled, and had I not finished most of it, there would have been a bunch of stuff going back into my boxes.  

The Elih Marrero 2015 Stars and Stripes was found in a box after the trip to Winston, though.  Thankfully, I pulled it when I saw it and put it in my Greenville pile.  I need t do a better job of pulling stuff when I see it, instead of telling myself "Oh, I'll grab that out of the box the next time around.

On the Greensboro side of things, I had pulled some stuff with the thought that I would hit that team at some point this season, so getting stuff together for this series was a lot easier than it normally would have been.  Plus, Dugan was going by there, as well, so I had a couple guys pulled for him as well.

Nick Gonzales hit a homer while we were watching the game.  He signed one per, and only signed after the game.  When he did sign, however, he was really nice.

Dugan had gotten me a Liover Peguero autograph when he got my Groomes signed for me, so I included it here, as well.  I got my own Peguero (the 2020 Heritage Minors), as well.

All of the Greensboro guys were nice.  I see now that I included Drive pitching coach, Bob Kipper, among the Greensboro guys.  I guess that was because he was in a Pirates uniform on this 1989 Score (bottom left).

We all had a really good time at the Greensboro game.  Ale did a great job getting autographs, even though he hadn't done it prior to our trip to the Dash game weeks before.  He even told me he enjoyed graphing, which was nice to hear.  Hopefully, he keeps up with the cards I gave him when the trip was over.

TTM Success - Joe Jacques

I was able to get one of my 2019 Heritage Minors cards signed TTM with this success from Joe Jacques.  I was able to get him last season at a Grasshoppers game, and he was pretty nice.

Jacques (b. 1995) was a 33rd round pick in the 2018 Amateur Draft by the Pirates.  He has played in the minors for two seasons, and had reached the AA level.  He has gone 4-6 with a 3.67 ERA and 79 strike outs.

I mailed to Jacques on November 25 and got the card back on December 16, for a 21-day TAT.

August 2019 Graphing Recap of Tourists at Grasshoppers

I went to my parents' house recently to pick Chris up from his trip out there.  While we were there, I decided to go see the Tourists at Grasshoppers.  I had some cards sat aside, and left them at home, so he and I went to the local card shop out there and picked up some single Bowmans.

We ended up getting quite a bit signed, but a lot of the cards were duplicates from when we saw the Grasshoppers in Hickory, and the Tourists in West Virginia.

I was able to get some Pro Debut signed, which was nice.  I happened to have those cards with me, which helped.  It was more of me leaving in a hurry and leaving the cards I pulled on my dresser.  Oh well, I ended up getting some stuff done, and we were happy with how the game went.

50/50s From Dugan

My good friend, Dugan, took the trip to the Sally League All Star Game back in June, and came up with some autos for me.  I had sent him a few guys that I missed when I was in Hickory, and also a few Julio Rodriguez cards.

He was able to bring me back three cards that I can now put into my album.

I believe Dugan has some more stuff that he will get done for me during the remainder of the season, but I'm not quite sure what I have given him.

I saw him last night at the Mudcats game, and even though it was only for a couple of minutes, it was still really nice seeing him.  Now, I just need to get him back down to a Wood Ducks game!