Graphing Recap of April 12-16, 2022, Cannonballers at Wood Ducks

The Wood Ducks home opener was this past week, and I finished off all of the cards I had for Kannapolis by the double-header on Saturday.  I also knocked out a few more Maximo Acostas.  The above speckle parallel turned out nicely, and scanned amazingly.

I don't want to blow up Acosta, so I haven't presented many cards to him to sign.  I got quite a few during the series, since Alex was in town, and Chris was able to go to the games.

I took a few 50/50s, and the ones that had come in by the time the series came around were from my good friend, Gerard.  The above 2020 Panini Prizm tiger stripe parallel of Dylan MacLean is numbered 1/99 and looks awesome.

For whatever reason, I had a hard time identifying Brooks Gosswein.  I finally was able to get him to sign on Frida, after a funny conversation with Jared Kelley (an amazingly nice guy) and another of the Ballers pitchers.  As I was talking to Kelley about not being able to find Gosswein prior to the other three games, a pitcher walked up and said I'm Brooks.  Since another of the pitchers said he would sign as Brooks for me, I figured this was the same case.  I told him "Hey, if you tell me you're Brooks, I'll take it."  He asked "You don't believe me?  What does my glove say?"  It said Brooks Gosswein.  He was very nice and signed all we had.  He stayed to chat for a few minutes about the cards I had brought and apologized for my not being able to spot him; it turns out, he was working out one night and was with a trainer another and I really just missed him.

I added a new James Beard to the autograph album with the above 2021 Topps Heritage Minors card.  Wes Kath was one per, but was pretty nice.  I had a conversation with Adisyn Coffey about his time spent in Mount Carmel, IL, since my awesome friend, Andrew, is from there.  I also got one of Andrew's cards signed.

I added a bunch of Jared Kelley cards to the album, and got every 2010 Topps Pro Debut that i had of Cam Seitzer signed.  The 2012 Bowman Chrome green parallel of Seitzer was a card I found on Sportlots.

John Ely was awesome as always.  He is very friendly, and chatted with me a bit each day.

I was out of Guillermo Quiroz cards, so I ordered a bunch off of Sportlots.  He signed everything across a few days, and I am glad to add some of these cards to the album.

Quiroz has a lot of nice stuff, from an era where there were a lot of sets being made.  I'm glad that I picked up what I did.

Finally, on Tuesday, I was interviewed for WITN news about opening night and collecting autographs.  Fellow grapher, Jessie Jones, was also interviewed.  It was a lot of fun, and I was able to call out Chris for making my buy Nick Lockhart hot dogs last season (and Chris telling Nick that he was the one paying for them).  Maddie Kerth was the reporter who interviewed us, and as a gesture that I thought up, I told her that we would take her business card, only if she autographed them for us.  She thought that was a really funny/cool touch and obliged with a signature.

Click here for the link to the interview that aired Tuesday night.  Even my buddy, Alex, made a cameo in the wide shot of where we were sitting. 

The Wood Ducks split the series after splitting the double header Saturday night.  Stick around to see what Alex, Chris and I did prior to the Wood Ducks games this week, and on Sunday when they were off. 

Week of September 1 to 5, 2021, Graphing Recap of Cannonballers at Wood Ducks

The next-to-last home series at Grainger stadium this season is now in the books and I was able to get a few cards signed.  I had picked up a few cards of some Cannonballers, and one of them wasn't even here in this trip (Jared Kelley).  This sapphire parallel of Matthew Thompson from 2021 Bowman turned out really nicely.  I didn't realize he was starting on Tuesday, so he walked right past me as I called his name.  Then I saw he was the starter, so I waited til post-game.  As he walked off the field, I called his name again; ignored again, and he hopped the gate nearby.  A few minutes later, I hear "Hey!  Did you need a sig?  Sorry, I wasn't ignoring you, I was in the zone, but I got you after the game..." so Thompson signed after the game, which was cool.

I had picked up the sapphire parallel and this 2019 Bowman Chrome refractor while I was at the National, so it was nice to get them done.  I had gotten him the past series on a few cards, so these were the only two I needed for my album.  I took some other 50/50s, and those got finished, as well.

These James Beards shifted a bit on my scanner, but I added a blue parallel from 2021 Bowman, and a 2021 Pro Debut to the album.  Beard had a pretty brutal series; he struck out a ton and committed a few errors in the outfield.  He was generally one or two per when he would stop and sign, but he didn't stop too often.

Two of the John Ely cards I picked up at the National got signed, along with a 2008 Tristar Prospects Plus that was extra from a 50/50 with Gerard.

Matt Hagen was this week's roving instructor, so I finished off some old team set cards of his.  I was glad to get these out of the box and into the album.

Finally, I used the second signature card that my friend, Ben, gave me on Jose Acosta.  Acosta stood by the fence and talked to Chris and I for a while before the game on Saturday.  He was really nice and acknowledged Chris and I being at most of the games.  

We had a good time during the series, and the Wood Ducks went 4-2 in the series, which is keeping their playoff hopes alive.  I have this coming week off and then the last home series of the year will be the week of my birthday.  The Wood Ducks have their playoff fates in their hands, and we shall see what happens.

June 15-17, 2021 Graphing of Cannonballers at Wood Ducks

This past week's graphing was between the Kannapolis Cannonballers and Down East Wood Ducks.  I had bought a couple lots of Perfect Game cards of Cody Freeman and Jayce Easley.  Freeman has been super nice when we have gone to the games.  He has walked up to us a few times and talked to us before games.  The Perfect Game cards look really nice when signed.

Easley has a really nice signature, and his cards look great.  I also bought a green parallel 2020 Bowman Draft of Thomas Saggese, which turned out really well.  The card is numbered 20/99 and didn't cost me a whole lot.

The Jared Kelley cards I got signed turned out really well.  He wasn't on the roster, but was traveling with the team.  I was able to get everything I had signed, and was really happy about it.

I took some 50/50s and these two Panini Prizms were part of my take.  They both turned out great.

I really like these 2019 Bowman Chrome Franchise Futures signed by Matthew Thompson really looks great.  I love these cards, and wish I could complete this one.  I'm hoping I can get someone who will get me Andrew Vaughn cheaply so I can get it done.

I got every Matthew Thompson I had signed, and mixed in a couple other guys who limited.  James Beard was one per, while Lency Delgado was 2 per.

I had gotten John Ely before, but these 2007 Bowmans came out of my card shop boxes.  I also got all of the Andrew Dalquist cards that I had signed.

I even got a Patrick Leyland card that was in my 2019 Delmarva set signed.  I just happened to remember that he was in that set.  He is now a coach for Kannapolis, and was really nice.

Finally, my buddy Dugan let me know that Keyvius Sampson was with Kannapolis on a rehab assignment.  I was able to find a bunch of his cards really quickly, which was nice.  They turned out great.  Sampson was really cool, and signed everything I had.  I was glad to get these cards out of my boxes.

It was tough, since Chris was out of town, but I got some help from Dugan and my buddy Tyler.  I ended up with:

James Beard x 7, Andrew Dalquist x 7, Lency Delgado x 8, Pat Leyland x 1, Bailey Horn x 8, Keyvius Sampson x 10, John Ely x 4, Jared Kelly x 13, Matthew Thompson x 28, Cody Freeman x 10, Leury Tejada x 4, Thomas Saggese x 10, TK Roby x 10, Antonio Cabello x 10, Jayce Easley x 4 and Evan Carter x 1, or 135 autographs total.  Not bad for having limited help and missing 3 games of the series.

May 2019 Graphing of Dash at Wood Ducks

The Winston-Salem Dash came to Grainger Stadium in Kinston for the first time this season this past weekend.  Last year, they were stacked with players who had cards.  This season, Nick Madrigal remains on the roster, with a couple other players who have something they can sign.  Madrigal limits to 2 per, but he stopped for us before and after each game, with the exception of the first game of the series (he was late coming onto the field due to giving an interview).

I had a bunch of Madrigal cards that I had hoarded over the winter, and got each one signed.  The Bowmans Best at the bottom right was given to me by my friend, Ben.

I really like Panini Contenders, and they turn out really well when signed.  I prepped both of the cards, just to be safe, and they turned out nice.

John Ely is one of the Dash coaches.  I used to have a ton of his cards, but I gave most of them away years ago to a friend who was a Dodger fan.  I ended up ordering some more Ely cards off of COMC, but their shipping is so slow, I missed getting them signed this series.

I got a few random cards signed that I had found.  The George Timke is a leftover from last season, after having been given to me by my friend, Kolby.

With all of the 2017 Bowman that I opened, I'm surprised that the chrome refractor on the top right is the only Jameson Fisher that I had.

I got more of my Spokane Indians set cards signed with some new players on the Wood Ducks roster.  I also saw that I had missed a Kenny Holmberg card from that set, so I got it taken care of.

Joe Kuzia is really nice.  He stopped and talked to Chris a few times during the series, but we got our Hickory cards signed.

Sam Huff was also called up to the Wood Ducks, after mashing 15 home runs for Hickory in the first month of the season.

Leody stopped for us during this series, so I whittled down my total of his cards to, I think, 8 cards remaining.  I would like to finish them all off, but in the end, it doesn't really matter.  I have what I want done, and if the rest don't get signed, that's ok, too.

Finally, our friend, Scott, will be leaving the Wood Ducks soon.  Chris and I met him as we walked in the stadium for the first ever Wood Ducks practice, back in 2017.  He has stopped and talked to us every time we have seen him at the games.  He is about to leave to go into the Army, so when he told me, and gave me this signed photo, he and I got a bit emotional.  I wish him the best, and I know we will keep in touch!

Set Complete - 2010 Topps Chrome

Blog reader Rodney met me at the card show on Saturday and gave me some cards to take off of my want list. He had all of the cards I needed to finish my 2010 Topps Chrome set. Here is the completer card for that set. This was my first attempt in completing a Chrome set. It sucks that most of the cards are curved, but I have them packed in a storage box, which will hopefully straighten them out. Thanks Rodney, it was great meeting you!