February 27, 2026, Kinston Hot Stove Dinner

On Friday, Jesse and I attended the Down East Bird Dawgs hot stove banquet, which featured Ross Atkins being inducted into the Kinston Baseball Hall of Fame. I had known about the event for some time, so I picked up a few older minor league cards to take with me to have signed.

One of the cards, which was the actual card used to create his over-sized card for the ceremony, was missed when he was signing. Oh well. I'll be fine.

I found some old Akron Aeros team sets from the mid 90s. I believe there are two different 1998 and a 1999.

The event was fun. I'll never turn down King's BBQ. I could have gotten a couple cards signed by Chris Hatcher, but i didn't pull his cards. He was there, and talked to me for a bit. The best conversation I had was with Ross Atkins's mom. She was very nice, and was happy to chat.

I got 6 total autographs from Atkins at the event. A decent start to graphing season.

A Signed Card From Jimmy K

A while back, Jimmy from the Wood Duck games gave me this signed 1992 Upper Deck signed by Manny Ramirez. He had this card for a long time and was willing to part with it.  I like the full Manny signature; I got a short sig the other day at the National. 

Thank you so much, Jimmy!

2023 National Signed Card Pickups

Of course I still have stuff to post from this year's National.  In an attempt to catch up on my TTM posts, I put some National stuff on the back burner.  In cleaning up my desk and card room recently, I found this stack of random autos I picked up on the last day of the show.

I found a vendor who had boxes of IP autos at good prices.  I picked up a bunch of those autos.  As Michael and I were walking out of the show, I had a little money left to spend and came across a vendor who made me a great deal on the above Ronald Acuna signed Allen and Ginter.  The price was great, and the card is PSA authenticated.  I had to pick it up.

Among the random IP autos I got, I grabbed a bunch of old team set stuff. The above Ryan Minor is really nice.  Minor has recently entered Hospice care for his Stage IV colon cancer.  I met Minor several times and he was always a great guy.  It's super sad to hear what he's going through. 

Some other cards I picked up were an assortment of Kinston Indian signed team set cards.  I grabbed duplicates of some of these and gave them to my friend, Billy, toward the end of the season.  It's really cool to go back and see some of these old team set cards.

Finally, I got a handful of old Orioles IP autos and two other random cards.  I really enjoyed going through their box.  I probably would have gotten more, but I was sitting there until the first signing of the day.

I hope the same guy is at the 2024 National, so I can grab some more.

TTM Success - Pork Chop Pough

I got this 1995 Best card of Pork Chop Pough out of a repack box of cards a long time ago and held onto it because I liked his nickname "Pork Chop".  I had hoped I could get his card signed, and I had to wait until someone finally posted his address on SCN.  Once one popped up, I sent to him, and was able to get the card signed.

Pough (real name, Clyde) was born in 1969 and was a third round draft pick by the Indians in the 1988 June Amateur Draft.  He played in the Indians, Red Sox, Tigers and Royals systems, as well as the Independent, Chinese and Mexican leagues.  Through his professional career, Pough amassed 1,289 hits, 192 home runs and a .263 batting average.

Pough is even a former Kinston Indian.

I mailed to Pough on June 16 and got the card back on July 10, for a 24-day TAT.

TTM Success - Alex White

Someone needs to get the kid a better pen, but I did get a TTM success back from Greenville, NC native, Alex White.  I really liked that the above 2010 Topps Pro Debut had the Kinston Indians logo, but man I with it had a better signature on it. 

You can just barely see White's signature on the above 2011 Bowman Chrome.  Still, both cards are signed, and they are now in my album.  I'll take what I can get and be happy about it.  I was able to use my 2020 Harvey Address book to find White's address, and it worked.

White (b. 1988) played in the majors from 2011 to 2012 for the Indians and Rockies.  He had a career record of 5-13 with 101 strike outs and a 6.03 ERA.  He was a 1st Round (15th overall) pick by the Indians in the 2009 June Amateur Draft out of UNC-Chapel Hill.

I mailed to White on April 25 and got the cards back on June 3, for a 39-day TAT.

Congratulations To The Hall of Fame Class of 2018

Today, four new members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame were announced, and two of them I already had on baseballs.  Adding these two Hall of Famers puts me at 137 Hall of Famers in total.  I had picked up this Jim Thome at the 2016 National and blogged about it here.  Check the link for a breakdown of Thome's stats.  He was one of my favorite players in his career, and now he is a Hall of Famer.  I am really excited because he is a former Kinston Indian, and, as far as I know, the first Kinston Indian to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Here is my Thome bobble head from a promotion back with the Kinston Indians.  I am really glad that I picked up this bobble head when I did.

I just realized that I never posted this Vladimir Guerrero signed baseball that I picked up at last year's National.  I thought I got around to it, but I guess I never did it.  I got the ball for a steal, and am glad I did.

Guerrero (b. 1975) played in the majors from 1996 to 2011 for the Expos, Angels, Rangers and Orioles.  He had 2,590 hits, 449 home runs and a .318 batting average.  He was the 2004 AL MVP while with the Angels, and was an All Star 9 times.  He was named on 92.9% of the ballots cast and was elected in his second year of eligibility.

Thome was named on 89.8% of the ballots; this was his first time on the ballot.  He and Guerrero will join Chipper Jones (97.2%, first ballot) and Trevor Hoffman (79.9%, third ballot).  Also being inducted for 2018 are Alan Trammell and Jack Morris, who were named in December by the Modern Era Committee (Veterans Committee).

Falling short were Edgar Martinez (70.4%, ninth ballot) and Mike Mussina (63.5%, fifth ballot), among others.

Both Thome and Guerrero finished their careers as Orioles, which is kind of cool, I think.

Christmas and a Surprise Package From Dugan

I got two packages in recently from my good friend, Dugan.  One was this Mychal Givens Aflac All American autograph that is numbered 20/230.  Givens has really emerged as an effective reliever in the majors.  This is after he was drafted as a shortstop.  He may get some opportunities to close games here and there to spell Zach Britton.  Along with Britton, Givens, Darren O'Day and Brad Brach make a really dominant bullpen.

Dugan picked up this TJ McFarland card for me well before Christmas.  He knew I loved the Orioles and also used to go to Kinston Indians games, so he thought I would like this card.  He was right!  McFarland was just designated for assignment to make room for newly acquired Craig Gentry on the 40-man roster.  If he clears waivers, he will be invited back to Spring Training and could likely start the year at AAA Norfolk.

Thanks so much for the packages, Dugan!

Adding to the Man Cave

For a while now, I've been wanting to display some of my jerseys in my Man Cave.  I had an idea in my head about how I wanted to do it, but I hadn't had much time to put my plan into action.  Yesterday gave me a nice opportunity to try out my idea and see how it would play out.

I put little loop screws into the wood molding around the ceiling and ran fishing line from one screw to another.  I made 3 lines, since I knew one line would sag too much in the middle.  I look at the pictures now and really wish I had something to hold the jerseys up other than clothespins, but they will have to do for now.  I do like how my Kinston jerseys look, especially the camo one.  I'm still amazed at how I was able o get that one, especially with the dirt on it.

The other jerseys I hung were two football jerseys.  The white practice jersey was used by my older brother Philip in High School and the black #88 is my brother Adam's game worn Wofford jersey.  I got the Roberts jersey from my good friend Lisa for Christmas back in 2005; it is a replica Roberts 2005 All Star warmup jersey.

I don't think of these as finished products just yet, my mind will be working overtime to try to perfect the way they look, but it seems to work for now.  I'm sure by the time I am satisfied with them, I'll have tried a few different things.

Final Regular Season Home Game For the Kinston Indians... Ever

 I'm late posting this, but we went to the last ever regular season home game for the Kinston Indians on September 2, 2011.  They were playing the Keys in that final home series and funny thing is, the Indians were able to stretch that into a playoff run and play the Keys again in the Mills Cup finals.  We went to a game in that series as well.

 We had to get general admission tickets and sit on the grass, which wasn't bad.  The game ended up being sold out.  I had to wait an hour and a half in line for concessions and then another hour was spent in line for the souvenir shop because everything was 50% off.  I got my wife a shirt; my son a foam hand; and myself a pennant and a team ball.

 We were able to watch Orioles prospects play for the Keys.  Here is Jonathan Schoop who is one of the few international prospects (he is from Curacao) that the O's have signed lately.

 Schoop laid down a pretty nice bunt and almost beat the throw.

 We also got another look at Orioles 2010 first round pick, Manny Machado.  Manny looks to be a pretty good player and has been compared to a young Alex Rodriguez.  I'm not sure I'd go that far, but he does seem to be a good player.

 Here is my last view under the lights during a regular season MILB game at historic Grainger Stadium.  I love going to games there and I hope another team will be taking their place.  I wouldn't mind a lower A team.

The Indians closed out their home series with fireworks, which was really awesome.  I'll sure miss spending 4th of July at the park watching the fireworks.  I'll have to take my July 4th tradition to another park somewhere else, I suppose.

So, goodbye, Kinston Indians.  Since 2009, you have been my home team and my way to see some top prospects come through town.  I've had some good times there with people like my good friend Jim, my wife, my younger brother Andy and especially my son.  I'll always remember those good times at Grainger Stadium.

Funny... this was my 700th post.  Congratulations to me, haha.

 We went to game 3 of the Mills Cup last night in Kinston, NC.  The Mills Cup is the World Series of the Carolina League and this year it features the Frederick Keys and the Kinston Indians.  This series is a win-win for me, because the Keys are the Orioles' High A team and this is the final year of the Kinston Indians (who have become my home MILB team, since we moved in 2009).

Of course, I left the house without my camera, so I have no actual photos of the game, but I was able to leave with 2 mementos.

 We had to leave the game early because my wife had to be at work at 5am, and our son gets on the bus at 6:55am.  On our way through the parking lot, I spotted something between two cars.  I walked over and looked closer and found this foul ball.  I have several Carolina League balls, and it is always cool to get others, but this one is especially nice because I nabbed it during a championship series.  Not bad.

Also, I got another autograph of the Orioles' 2010 first round draft pick, Manny Machado.  This time he signed my ball on the sweet spot.  My son got a ball signed by a bunch of the Keys' players, especially after one of the pitchers asked him to throw it to him.  The pitcher (named Will Startup) took the ball and had everyone in the bullpen sign it for him.

We had a great time on a beautiful night.  I hated leaving early, but being able to get my son out of bed easily was a nice reward for getting home at a reasonable time.

July 4th, 2011 Kinston Indians Vs. Frederick Keys

Happy July 4th to everyone out there. I spent the day enjoying my day off... playing Wii with my son and then going to the final 4th of July game at historic Grainger Stadium in Kinston, NC. As you all may know, the Indians are leaving Kinston at the close of the 2011 season. While I am sad that this is happening, I'm not surprised. I'm holding out hope that another team will be taking their place, but who knows if that will happen.

Last year, I took the family to Kinston and left with a game worn 4th of July jersey (read about the game here). This year, the team did a similar promotion, but the jersey was in honor of the military and the numerous nearby military bases, so this year's jerseys were camouflage.

Pretty epic, right? I bid on and won the jersey of Kinston first baseman Jeremie Tice. Tice was drafted in the 38th round of the 2006 amateur draft by the Florida Marlins, but did not sign. He was, then, drafted in the 6th round of the 2008 draft by the Indians.

Tice went 1 for 4 tonight with a single. He is currently batting .252 on the season. The coolest thing about this jersey, and the reason I went for it was because he got it nice and dirty for me! I'm definitely going to keep it as is and display it in that fashion.


Also, Tice autographed the jersey after the game, so I was pretty happy about that.Unfortunately, my digital camera is on it's last legs, so I was only able to snap a few pictures of the game with my handy-dandy cell phone. As you can see here, plenty of people came out to enjoy the smoke filled historic Grainger Stadium (there is an on-going wildfire to the southeast of this area, and the smoke has lingered about for weeks, now). The smoke was pretty harsh tonight, and I still smell like it. Uggh.
Another cool thing about the game was that the Indians were playing the Frederick Keys. I was able to get a baseball signed by Orioles #1 draft pick from the 2010 amateur draft - Manny Machado. I now have baseballs signed by 5 Orioles #1 picks - Manny Machado, Matt Hobgood, Matt Wieters, Billy Rowell and Brandon Snyder.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July. I sure did!!

Thoughts on the Indians Leaving Kinston

Since the minor league season will be starting soon, I thought I'd finally post something about the unfortunate news I learned over the winter. I saw on the news in December or so that the Kinston Indians were moving to Zebulon and the Carolina Mudcats would be moving to Florida. I started going to Indians games in 2009 when I first moved out here to Greenville. I love Grainger Stadium and how accessible it is to fans. I also like that the Indians are a Single A team and part of the same league as the Orioles Single A team the Frederick Keys. I have been able to get several autographs of O's prospects, as well as some other prospects like Royals Pitcher Mike Montgomery and Nats catcher Derek Norris. I was able to get Alex Gordon at a game as well. You can see the above jersey that I picked up at the July 4, 2010 game.

Check out the crowd at the July 4 game. This and opening day are about the only times that the park is filled to capacity, but it is still a great place to catch a game. The Indians will vacate Grainger Stadium at the conclusion of the 2011 season. Take a look at the bottom right of the picture and you can see Christopher watching me take the picture.

It is really easy to get autographs while at Indians games. Here are my son and I getting an autograph from Frederick's Jacob Julius (I think). Chris got a lot of compliments on his awesome sunglasses. I'm hoping that Kinston finds another team to occupy Grainger Stadium, but as of today, I haven't heard anything. Kinston isn't exactly a thriving metropolis, so it may be difficult for another team to come. It is really sad because my oldest brother tells me stories about how he would ride to Kinston to catch games way back when he was in the Air Force and was stationed at nearby Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in the mid to late 1990's. Come on Kinston, get on the ball and secure another team! The park is only 30 minutes from me and I'd really miss the summer nights there with my son.

A Fun July 4th

For the second time, I went to a baseball game on July 4th with my wife and son. The last time was 2007 or 2008 I think, at the old Ernie Shore Field in Winston-Salem.

This year, we went to Grainger Stadium in Kinston to watch the Indians take on the Frederick Keys. The game in Winston-Salem had been against the Keys as well. Tradition starting?
Chris got some autographs while we were there. Here he is getting one from Jacob Julius. I had met him before, he seems like a really nice guy. He signed a broken bat for me at the last Keys game I went to.

Xavier Avery came over and signed a ball for him as well. Avery is now the Orioles' #1 prospect since Brian Matusz is in the Majors. He's pretty fast and has been hitting the ball pretty well.

Chris got a lot of compliments on his sunglasses. Ronnie Welty signed a ball for him and told him he liked them. Chris responded 'Yeah, they're red...'

This was the first time I had ever seen Grainger Stadium at capacity. I'd say it was sold out, but they were still selling standing room only tickets long after the game started. It was almost ridiculous, but kind of nice to see the place full at the same time. We ended up saving money because after our initial round of food and drinks, we shied away from the long line and waited to go to Cookout afterward for some shakes.

You can play Where's Waldo with this picture and find Chris. Not too hard, I think, but still kind of cool.

June 6 2010 Winston-Salem Dash Vs. Kinston Indians Game

Usually it takes me 30 minutes to get to a Kinston game, but on Sunday, it took me almost 4 hours hahaa. That's because we decided we wanted to take in the new BB&T Ballpark in Winston-Salem, NC.

Max, Chris and I decided to go to Winston-Salem since no teams were playing close to Greenville or Raleigh, and since we hadn't been to the new field, we figured it was about time...
Here are Max and Chris after the game. We got baseballs signed by a good number of the Indians' players. Max and I had a really good time discussing the game and other general things that best friends talk about, lol.

We couldn't resist getting up in the middle of the game and taking a stroll around the park. Oh man, is this place beautiful. I like how they have plaques up of some of the stars that have passed through the Carolina League like the above Jim Thome.

They have an area called The Blue Rhino Backyard where you can walk right up to a wall adjacent to the bullpen. We stood here until a foul ball almost wiped out some kids... we got our gloves out and went up a level. One of the pitchers (#20) handed Chris a ball that he would get signed later on.

Here is a shot we took as we were coming into the stadium. There wasn't a bad seat in the house and everywhere you went, you couldn't miss the game.

Of all the ballparks I have been to, this one ranks right at the top. I mean, WOW. I can't wait to catch plenty more games in Winston-Salem.

It was also nice to see P.A. at the game doing some fellowship with a friend from his church. If you don't already, go give P.A.'s blog a read over at http://player2b.blogspot.com he's a good man who is always great to chat with about life and baseball.