TTM Success - Tommy Sommer

Tommy Sommer is a guy who's cards I ordered for the road trip this summer.  I missed him when I went to see Kane County play Sioux City.  He had been released, and i was stuck trying to see how I could get the cards into the autograph album. 

I took a shot at TTM and luckily got bith cards back signed in red Sharpie. 

Sommer (b. 1998) was a 10th round pick by the White Sox in the 2021 July Amateur Draft out of Indiana University. He played in the White Sox system from 2021 to 2023, reaching AA.  He had a record of 9-12 with 238 strike outs and a 3.64 ERA.

I mailed to Sommer on July 8 and got the cards back on July 26 for an 18-day TAT. 

April 2, 2025, Graphing of Cannon Ballers at Dash

On Wednesday, the Winston-Salem Dash hosted the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers in another exhibition game.  I had two tickets, since Winston-Salem was doing a $0.52 promotion, but ended up being unable to fill the second spot.  That ended up being ok, because the graphing scene (at least on the Kannapolis side) was a mess.

Players from both teams limes up on the field pregame for a signing event, but it was very disorganized. Rosters with uniform numbers hadn't been released prior to the game, so we had to ask everyone what their name was.  That was pretty embarrassing, but I've had to do it before.  Still, everyone was pretty cool and signed a good bit of what I had.  Most limited, but that was ok.  I can try to see Winston-Salem again soon.

The White Sox have quite a few guys with Bowman cards from the last several years.  I knocked out a lot of players who had been in my Bowman box for years like the two 2023 Bowman Wilber Sanchez cards.

It turned out that the Kannapolis guys who lined up for the signing had no cards.  They were cool about it though and chatted with us for a bit.  We made our way to the Kannapolis dugout, which ended up being swamped.  I was in the scrum, right in the middle of it, but still got a few guys that I needed.  I wasn't too worried about the guys that I missed because I plan to catch them in either Fayetteville or Zebulon.  Hopefully I can.

I ended up leaving early, around the 3rd inning, because I had a long ride home.  I did get to see George Wolkow launch a bomb of a home run.  He crushed that ball.

I had a good time, even though graphing is more fun with friends. 

In all, I got the following autograohs: Sam Antonacci x 2, Lucas Gordon x 4, Wes Kath x 1, Seth Keener x 3, Jeral Perez x 3, Wilber Sanchez x 2, Samuel Zavala x 2, Ryan Burrowes x 4, Darius Day x 2, Nick McLain x 3, Brayden Montgomery x 1, Casey Saucke x 2, Jordan Sprinkle x 5 and George Wolkow x 5 (39 total autos).

June 13 and 15, 2023, Graphing of Cannonballers at Wood Ducks

Normally, a series is 6 games, and it usually takes me all 6 to finish off what I have.  In the case of last week's series between the Wood Ducks and Cannonballers, I was able to get everything done in the two games I was able to see.

I had help, of course.  Chris came along with me, as well as my cousin, Ale.  I got some cards in from my buddies Gerard and Max.  Gerard sent me some Andres Mesa parallels and a nice 2007 Upper Deck Premier Carlos Maldonado.  Max sent me some other Maldonados, including the above 2007 Fleer.

The big news of the series was that the Wood Ducks team set came out.  I got a bunch of cards from the set signed.

Normally, the Wood Ducks wait til the last possible second to issue the team sets, but with the new Minor League collective bargaining agreement, Choice's contract is about to expire.  Or so I've heard.

There were a couple guys on Kannapolis who weren't here early in the season like Tanner McDougal, Wilber Sanchez and Niah Schultz.  I also was able to rack Jordan Sprinkle and Peyton Pallette again.

In all, I got the following autographs: Danyer Cueva x 5, Willy Espinal x 1, Gleider Figuereo x 13, Logan Frandsen x 1, Carlos Maldonaldo x 9, Andres Mesa x 21, Yeison Morrobel x 7, Tommy Specht x 3, Tanner McDougal x 2, Peyton Pallette x 28, Wilber Sanchez x 7, Jordan Sprinkle x 25, Noah Schultz x 2, Jojo Blackmon x 4, DEWD x 4, Yosy Galan x 4, Josh Gessner x 4, Dylan MacLean x 4, Damian Mendoza x 4, Jesus Moreno x 4, Ian Moller x 7, Brock Porter x 2, Brian Pozos x 4, Henrik Reinertsen x 4, Adrian Rodriguez x 2 and Ruben Sosa x 4 (175 total autographs).

April 2023 Graphing of Wood Ducks Opening Week

Finally, the Wood Ducks are back in action, and I did a little bit of graphing last week.  Beginning with the Wood Ducks exhibition game against Mount Olive College, followed by the open practice/meet the team event for season ticket holders, and culminating with a shortened series against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, I got a decent amount of stuff signed.

The exhibition game was tough, since rosters weren't posted yet.  I still got some stuff signed.  The meet the team event was equally as difficult, since they didn't post the players names where they were sitting.  So, there was a lot of "What's your name?" going on.  I was able to get these four Carlos Maldonado cards signed that I had been holding onto since the 2018 season.  I had missed him on that team set, since he was sent to coach in Arizona (I think) halfway through the season.

I had held these Jeferson Espinal cards in my snap case for the bulk of last season, once I had heard that the Rangers had traded for him.  He never came last year, so I was glad to finally see him on the roster this year.

Some of the guys who have cards now were late-season call ups last year; while a couple who have Perfect Game cards (like Luis Ramirez) are new to the team.  I was able to knock out all of my Bowman stuff by the end of the meet the team event.  I have since moved on to some Ebay pickups and some 50/50s.

Some of the Ebay pickups have been 2022 Bowman Inception cards like the two above Yeison Morrobels.  The cards look awesome, and I have some en route for Danyer Cueva and Anthony Gutierrez.

I also got some of the true returning guys woh got new cards after the season, like Ian Moller and Cam Cauley.  The new Pro Debuts and Heritage Minors cards look great when signed, and I have already finished off what I pulled for the Woodies.

Finally, there weren't ,any guys on Kannapolis that I had cards of, so I was pretty much done with them after the first game.  Peyton Pallette commended on the 2022 Panini Prizm Draft card that I had pulled.  He was really nice, and asked me how I was doing the next time he saw me.

In all, I got the following autographs: Cam Cauley x 5, Danyer Cueva x 8, Yeison Morrobel x 8, Luis Ramirez x 4, Peyton Pallette x 2, Jordan Sprinkle x 9, Jeferson Espinal x 6, Carlos Maldonaldo x 5, Ian Moller x 5, Anthony Gutierrez x 4 and we also got a ball signed by the entire team, Anthony Gutierrez x 3 (54 total autographs on cards; I'm not counting the ball).

June-July 2022 Graphing of Cannonballers at Wood Ducks

To say I wasn't feeling this series between the Cannonballers and Wood Ducks would be an understatement. It started out with James Beard telling me that he had signed for me last time he was in Kinston, so he wouldn't be signing for me again (and completely ignoring Chris; Chris did get him on one card the last game we saw on Friday) to most of the pitchers I needed to get taking the long way around the ballpark to get to the bullpen (and skipping where all of us graphers were. All 3 or 4 of us). Add in the fact that I was thrashing to get ready for my vacation; I sincerely couldn't wait to get out of town.  Oh, and Colson Montgomery got moved up to Winston-Salem, after I had bought a few of his cards to try to get signed.

All of that being said, I did get some cards signed, but I'll be sending back a lot more unsigned cards than normal. I'm going to have to start limiting folks on what they send me, because it is getting tougher and tougher to get the 50/50s I had taken completed. I'm not complaining, because I'm happy just getting one autograph but the completionist in me doesn't like to leave an unsigned card behind.

So, I did get a decent amount done, and I was very happy to get Norge Vera on some cards. He has one of the most unique signatures that I've seen. It looks like he drew a math formula on the card. 

In all, I got the following autographs: Misael Gonzalez x 2, James Beard x 1, Wilber Sanchez x 2, Norge Vera x 10, John Ely x 2, Juan Mejia x 2, Maximo Acosta x 1, Ryan Garcia x 6, Benyamin Bailey x 6, Adisyn Coffey x 6, Wes Kath x 1, Jared Kelley x 8, Guillermo Quiroz x 7 and Norge Vera x 4 (54 total autographs).

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.