August 29, 2026, Graphing of the Tides at Bulls

The Norfolk Tides were back in Durham two weeks ago. Jesse and I went that Saturday to try and see a couple Orioles who were on rehab. Felix Bautista was the big (pun intended) target for us. Bautista is coming back from his second major surgery (shoulder). He was actually the first player we got when we got inside the ballpark. I was glad to get a 2026 Topps done.

He also signed a 2024 Topps. We almost finished all of the Enrique Bradfield cards that I had. I finally got Juaron Watts-Brown and Payton Eeles. I jad cards put aside for them for a little while now. I also got Yaramil Hiraldo on a 2025 Topps Update.

We finally got Heston Ljerstad at a game. He's usually pretty tough, but came right over for us. I finally got my 2024 Norfolk team set cards done of Kjerstad and Albert Suarez.

It was a nice surprise to get Joe Boyle. He was in a good mood for once, so my team set card from last year got done. I had picked up several Oliver Dunn cards at the National, and they all got signed, so I'm out of him again. Jake Fraley was down in Durham on rehab, so Jesse and I got him, as well. Mason Englert was in a hurry, but stopped for me and signed my negative parallel. He's such a great guy, and I'm always glad to get him.

Finally, I got two more cards from the National done (the 2023 Topps Chrome refractor of Michael Grove, and the 2023 Topps Chrome negative parallel of Blake Sabol). I also had no shame in asking the handler of Champ the Bat Dog to sign his team set card. 

In all, we got the following autographs: Silas Ardoin x 4, Felix Bautista x 2, Enrique Bradfield x 5, Juaron Watts-Brown x 7, Payton Eeles x 1, Jud Fabian x 2, Yaramil Hiraldo x 1, Heston Kjerstad x 2, Albert Suarez x 2, Jeff Ware x 1 and Yosver Zulueta x 2, Joe Boyle x 2, Keoni Derenne x 2, Oliver Dunn x 11, Mason Englert x 1, Jake Fraley x 2, Michael Grove x 2, Blake Sabol x 3 and Champ the Bat Dog('s handler) x 2 (54 total autographs). 

April 18, 2026, Graphing of the Tides at Bulls

On Saturday, Jesse and I headed to Durham to graph the Norfolk Tides for the first time this season. I had hoped to get a couple Orioles who were on rehab assignments, but Jackson Holliday had been sent to Frederick to reset his rehab stint. The other person I was excited to try and get was Keegan Akin. 

Fast forward to outside after the game, Akin refused to sign saying "Inside only, sorry guys." That's fine that he wants to only sign inside, except he looked right at us beside the bullpen, INSIDE, and couldn't be bothered to come over and sign my one card. The same guy who told me at Orioles Fan Fest years ago that he was not happy to be there. Sorry to put you out, Keegan. Really. I'll never bother you again.

Now, had that been my only experience on Saturday, I might be a bit upset. Thankfully, we got to interact with several other Todes players, and got a bunch of stuff signed.

I was a bit embarrassed that I kept telling Jesse about the snow globe card of Jose Barrero; except that I realized a ways through the day that it is a crystal ball card. Not a snow globe. Oof. We'll, the card is signed and in my album. 

I got a couple nice Panini Enrique Bradfield, Jr. cards signed, which turned out great. I was also glad to get a Christian Encarnacion-Strand 2025 Topps done.

I finally was able to get Jackson Kowar to sign some cards that had been in the Box-of-Shame for a long time. I also love the Cade Povich Topps Now that I got signed. It looks awesome.

I finally got another Willy Vasquez signed for the album. He was a bit tough when he was with Bowling Green. Now he is in the Orioles system, and I cleared out a 2023 Topps Pro Debut. 

The card above that, though, is a 2021 Topps Heritage Astros Rookie Stars card that I got signed by Enoli Paredes. I had gotten him last year when he was with Gwinnett, but failed to pull everything that I had. I found my 2019 Carolina League All Star card in my box, and got it signed. 

We sat beside the bullpen and talked with Paredes for most of the game. He was really awesome. My experience with Akin later did nothing to ruin my night. Paredes was so cool. He also talked to a dad witg two kids near us, giving them advice and talking about life in the minors. There needs to be more guys like him.

In all, we got the following autographs: Silas Ardoin x 4, Jose Barrero x 3, Enrique Bradfield x 6, Christian Encarnacion-Strand x 2, Jud Fabian x 2, Maikol Hernandez x 4, Jackson Kowar x 7, Enoli Paredes x 6, Cade Povich x 2, Bryan Ramos x 2, Willy Vasquez x 1, Cooper Bowman x 2, Carlos Colmenarez x 2 and Logan Davidson x 2 (45 total autographs). 

September 13-14, 2025, Graphing of the Tides at Bulls

Graphing season is winding down.  My birthday week usually signals the end of the season is near, so I try to take some time off of work and cram a few games in.  I'll miss the final week of the mi or league season due to a conference, so I am working to get as much graphing in as I can.  Last weekend, I went up to Durham to see the Bulls and Tides for the final time this year.  Chris went with me to both games; Aidan met us Saturday and Jesse came with us on Sunday.

The Orioles sent a few guys to the Tides on rehab.  We missed Tyler O'Neill, but were able to see Gary Sanchez and Jordan Westburg.  The above Sanchez is a super thick card that I found at the National.  I have no idea what this card is, but it looked cool.  It was a bargain bin find that is now signed and in my album. 

I finished off several Tides team set guys, and a couple guys we didnt see the week before, like Colin Selby.  I got the last Panini Select card of Jud Fabian thatI found at the National signed.  I also got Gary Sanchez on a 2025 Topps, which has him in an Orioles uniform. 

I added four more Jordan Westburg to the album. I regretted later that I didn't get him on his 2021 Topps Heritage Minors card.  I'll have to try for that one another time.

We still struggled a bit in getting Bulls guys.  I did get Tre Morgan, which was nice.  He comes out the front entrance, so it's tough to catch him sometimes.

I finally got a couple Matt Thaiss cards out of the box.  He has been a bit elusive, but at least two cards are now out of the box. 

I got every Jesse Scholtens card that I had signed.  I also was able to catch Forrest Whitley outside.  He's another tough one.

Speaking of tough ones, Joe Boyle again has laid claim to the "second worst" experience. He's just not friendly, and this time, as he came out of the clubhouse (with only me, Chris and Jesse sitting on the bench), I asked him "Mr. Boyle, may we please have your autograph?" His reply was "No, not for you guys."  Ouch.  What a guy.  Anyway, he's nit going to steal my joy, as they say.

In all, we got the following autographs: Silas Ardoin x 2, Jud Fabian x 5, Billy Facteau x 1, Gary Sanchez x 2, Colin Selby x 6, Reed Trimble x 3, Thaddeus Ward x 2, Levi Wells x 5, Jordan Westburg x 5, Jonathan Hernandez x 5, Dominic Keegan x 2, Trevor Martin x 3, German Melendez x 1, Tristan Peters x 1, Brian Reith x 1, Jesse Scholtens x 9, Matt Thaiss x 2, Jamie Westbrook x 1, Forrest Whitley x 4, Logan Workman x 1, Jose Barrero x 1, Tre Morgan x 2 and Santiago Suarez x 1 (66 total autographs).

September 5-7, 2025, Graphing of the Sounds at Tides

This past weekend, I had a trip planned to Norfolk. Jesse couldn't make it, and Chris had to work.  I reached out to another friend who jumped at the chance to go.  My friend Aidan was the first person I reached out to, and he accepted right away.  I was surprised that I didn't have to beg.  

We planned to get to Norfolk Friday night while the game was going on; we ended up getting there early.  So, instead of scrambling to get into the game, we opted to check into the hotel and grab a nice dinner.  Afterward, we went back to the room to reset and figure out our books, then made our way to the ballpark.  I wanted to try to at least get inside and grab a couple Norfolk team sets so we would have them on hand for arrival Saturday morning.  They let me in, and I bought Aidan and I each a set.  We then made our way to Nashville's side and graphed outside postgame. 

Aidan and I got Rhys Hoskins outside (the Topps Cosmic Chrome, above left, is what Hoskins signed Friday.  I got him inside after  BP Saturday on the 2020 Topps Chrome pink refractor (middle) and the gold Topps Fire was signed outside on Sunday.

Luis Urias was a tough one per, but Aidan and I each got him Friday night.  Inside on Saturday, a father and son helped me out by taking two of my cards and got them signed. 

Aidan and I got every player that we set out to get.  We didn't miss anyone that was actually there, which was a great feeling.  Daz Cameron was really nice as usual, but seemed a bit down when he signed Friday night. He made us think he wasn't going to be in Norfolk much longer (we were like "oh man, is he getting released?").  Turned out, he was there all weekend and signed for us again on Saturday.  It was just a little odd. 

I was really excited to get the Brandon Lockridge parallel (middle of the above scan) signed.  I pulled that from a pack when I busted my 2025 Topps series 2 boxes at the National. 

Inside on Sunday, Aidan pointed Rick Sweet out when he got into the dugout.  It was Sweet's birthday, and came over to us when we called him over.  We wished him a happy birthday, and he signed our cards.  He made me promise that I wouldn't show the cards to Lockridge, who came over abd signed my last card of him after that.

Jeferson Quero turned out to be tough, but we did ride the elevator with him in the hotel Sunday morning.  We just told him good morning and wished him a good game.  We weren't going to bother him in the hotel, that's crossing the line for me.

This trip was my first opportunity to see and get Enrique Bradfield, Jr.  I hadn't seen him at any level of the Orioles system until this trip.  He was very nice and signed every card that I brought.

The goal of the trip was to try to finish off what I could of the Norfolk guys so I wouldn't have to go to crazy this week in trying to get them when they're in Durham.  I finished what I had of several players, but still have enough stuff to get a few more later this week.  I figure that a lot of these guys won't be there next season. 

I had some help Sunday morning by a kid outside who helped me get Cionel Perez on my Diamond King card (since he was one per and hit my 2019 Topps Saturday morning and my 2019 Donruss Sunday morning).

I finally got to get Reed Trimble.  He was another Orioles minor leaguer who i just kept missing.  He made a point of signing my dual with Colton Cowser Friday night.  I had been waiting since 2022 to finish that card.

I'm officially out of Terrin Vavra cards.  He wouldn't sign last season due to an exclusive deal.   That has ended, and he now signs.  I got everything that I had done.

I only got Levi Wells once, even though I had a bunch of his cards.  Everything else would be duplicates, so I wasn't really worried.

I said earlier that Perez was one per; He did two per Saturday night and reduced it to one on Sunday, which is why I needed help.  I've got him on an Orioles card, so that was nice.

Aidan and I made a good dent in the team set.  It's a nice looking set this season.  The cards don't need prep.

Aidan and I had a great time.  It was awesome that he was able to make the trip.  It's hard for me to make new friends at my age, and after this trip, I feel like I do have a new friend.  It's great having folks I can reach out to that are willing to take a little graphing road trip over a weekend.  I hope we can do more down the line.  Hopefully we can get some more folks into coming with us.  I've always said that graphing is no fun to do alone.  I'll go by myself at times, but if given a choice, I'd much rather someone tag along every time!

In all, I got the following autographs: Tonight's graphing recap of the Sounds at Tides: Steward Berroa x 2, Tyler Black x 14, Daz Cameron x 10, Tucker Davidson x 5, Robert Gasser x 2, Eric Haase x 3, Rhys Hoskins x 3, Brandon Lockridge x 3, Josh Maciejewski x 3, Easton McGee x 1, Julian Merryweather x 6, Chad Patrick x 3, Luis Urias x 4, Silas Ardoin x 5, Yaramil Hiraldo x 1, Reed Trimble x 8, Felipe Alou Jr x 1, Alan Rail x 1, Justin Ramsey x 1, Raynel Delgado x 1, Jeferson Quero x 1, Bruce Zimmermann x 3, Jordyn Adams x 3, TT Bowens x 1, Enrique Bradfield Jr x 15, Jud Fabian x 2, Tim Federowicz x 7, Jose Barerro (Garcia) x 2, Maverick Handley x 1, Hudson Haskin x 2, Vimael Machin x 1, Corbin Martin x 6, Mike Montville x 1, Cionel Perez x 4, Carson Ragsdale x 1, Jaxon Reetz x 5, Sam Sauer x 1, Livan Soto x 8, Terrin Vavra x 10, Levi Wells x 2, Cameron Weston x 1, Rick Sweet x 2 and Chayce McDermott x 1 (157 total autographs).

April 12-13, 2025, Graphing of Stripers at Tides

This past weekend a couple weeks of torturing myself with card searching and prep culminated into graphing two more AAA teams across two days.  It didn't help that work has been busy and I haven't had a lot of time to go through boxes.  I had Chris and Jesse here at the house searching boxes on Friday to get me ready to go to Norfolk for games Saturday and Sunday.

Chris had to work, so it was my buddy Jesse and I hitting the hotel Friday night.  Since Norfolk's game on Friday had been rained out, we weren't in a hurry to make the two-hour drive up there.  We found the guys we could find, hit the road and got into the hotel around 10pm.  I powdered the cards and loaded the books so we would be ready to do arrival Saturday morning.  The weather sucked; it was chilly and windy all day out there, but Jesse had a sweater and I remembered to bring a hoodie.

We graphed outside with a Norfolk grapher named Jeff.  We hit the Tides side on arrival with a couple tries at some Gwinnett guys, hit Gwinnett inside pregame and their side again outside on departure.

We were really hoping to get Alex Verdugo, who we got outside on arrival when we saw the second Gwinnett team bus come in.  Jesse Chavez signed for us outside on arrival, which was really cool.  I got denied by Sandy Leon (Hola Sandy) on arrival but he signed everything we had on departure.

James McCann was really nice as well.  He was one of the last players out on departure, but it was worth getting him on my Orioles card.  

Luke Williams was a bit tougher, but he did sign for us.  We missed several people like Luke Waddell, Jake Marisnick and Hurston Waldrep.

I had some nice Jesse Chavez cards, but missed one that was stuck behind other stuff in my slider box.  It was also good to finally get Chuck LeBlanc on my Frisco team set card.

There were a bunch of Tides guys that I needed on this trip.  We got really lucky to get Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo at the same time outside.  The 2025 Topps insert if Mayo turned out great.  The Basallo I got done was from 2024 Bowman Draft.  Jesse helped me get a 2024 Bowman Chrome.

My 2024 Pro Debut Chrome gold refractor of Jud Fabian turned out awesome.  It was also great to get all of the Vimael Machin cards I had pulled for the Independent League last year done.  He is continuing to hit like crazy.  I hope he gets called up to the big leagues again.

One of the toughest cards that eluded me for a while was Triton, the secondary mascot of the Tides.  I finally got that one done for the 2024 team set.

Finally, Terrin Vavra's exclusive deal expired.  So, I was able to get several of his cards signed. His Topps Now card had a lot of miles on it.  This card traveled with me to the Orioles Caravan a couple years ago as a "just in case", then on to Norfolk last year as I tried to get some ink on it.  The card is finally signed an can now reside in the binder.

Jesse and I had a great time, catching 3 games as opposed to the two we originally had thought we would when we planned the trip.  The Tides went 1-2 while we were there but we got to see homers by Fabian and Mayo.

In all, we got the following autographs: Jordyn Adams x 2, Samuel Basallo x 2, Dylan Beavers x 4, Jud Fabian x 2, Coby Mayo x 2, Vimael Machin x 4, Corbin Martin x 12, Terrin Vavra x 4, Thaddeus Ward x 2, Triton x 1, Eddy Alvarez x 1, Matthew Batten x 1, Jesse Chavez x 5, Garrett Cooper x 1, Jose Devers x 2, Chuck Leblanc x 1, Sandy Leon x 9, James McCann x 2, Enoli Paredes x 2, Alex Verdugo x 2, Jordan Weems x 5, Luke Williams x 4, Livan Soto x 6, Carlos Tavera x 1, Luis Vazquez x 1 and Chandler Seagle x 6 (84 total autographs).

September 21-22, 2024, Graphing of the Sounds at TIdes

The final graphing trip of the season came last weekend when Jesse and I took a trip to Norfolk.  I wanted to finish off all of the stuff I had compiled all year for the Tides.  We met my friend Michael at the stadium on Saturday and caught arrival.  Another big reason to make the trip was to hit all of the Orioles who were with the Tides on rehab assignments.  I'd say we did pretty well. 

Trevor Rogers was good for two per most every time we saw him.  We waited for him to come out post game on Sunday, but Jesse and i missed him.  We got him whenever else we saw him, though.

My friend Ryan met us on Sunday and hooked me up with a couple Coby Mayo cards signed ce he got sent down on Saturday.  I wasn't anticipating that move, so Mayo's cards had been left at home in the Orioles box.  Ryan came through in the clutch and helped me out.  I also had a bunch of cards of somr Norfolk guys that my friend Max sent me.  Those all got done, as well.

We finished off all of the Samuel Basallos that I had.  He was awarded his GED while we were in Norfolk, which was a pretty cool moment.

I cleaned out all the Beavers in Norfolk.  I had a ton of Beavers cards, and handed off some to a group of kids who were next to us while we were sitting by the wall.  One free card brought a swarm of 7-8 year old.

Michael was kind enough to share this on his Instagram.  He changed it a few minutes later with the Foo Fighters My Hero in the background.  Thanks Michael.

The best part of the whole thing was that the kid I gave the first card to (his name was Grayson) yells to his friends "this guy gave me a character card." Another kid "that's not a character, that's a person!" Grayson "He's a character to me!"

Anyway, we didn't get many autographs pregame before the first game.  The real graphing was outside.  

Surprisingly, the toughest graph was Rip Tide.  We wanted to get him during the game on Saturday, but couldn't find him.  We got him by the wall pregame Sunday.  We still need to get Triton.

Jesse and Michael hit it off during the trip.  They bounced a lot of jokes off of each other (mostly at my expense), but it was a great time.

We started graphing on Saturday at 11am and finished around 11pm, then went on to Waffle House.  The waitress tried to convince us to go out and get some cake instead of our Texas Melts.  She was pretty funny.

As you may be able to tell, we got so many cards signed on this trip.  This was probably the best two-day graphing trip I've had in some time. There wasn't a single person we tried for that wr didn't get.

I finished off almost everyone, with very few cards needing to go back into the box.   For example, JD Davis hit everything we brought.  I had brought a few extras in case Michael needed them.  I inly had left overs of Trevor Rogers and a few of the guys who weren't there to begin with (Daniel Johnson, Matt Krook, Bruce Zimmerman).

I bought a Norfolk team set on Saturday so I'd have some cards of a few of the guys I didnt bring anything for.  I got almost everyone I needed from the set.

There may be 7-10 cards left from the set of guys, but they're ones who were gone from the team.

I had told myself in the days leading up to the trip that I wouldn't try to get Nashville guys.  I pulled some anyway, and got a few done.  I had to run from the home side to the away side to get Jacob Misiorowski on my 2024 Pro Debut chrome parallel.  Aside from almost having a stroke, I was glad I got it done.  I did the run again on Sunday and got him on the Pro Debut base card to finish him off.

In all, we got the following autographs: Justin Armbruster x 1, Samuel Basallo x 6, Dylan Beavers x 5, Garrett Cooper x 9, JD Davis x 33, Tucker Davidson x 4, Jud Fabian x 4, Shayne Fontana x 1, Maverick Handley x 1, Hudson Haskin x 4, Nolan Hoffman x 1, Adrian Houser x 7, Blake Hunt x 3, Buck Britton x 1, Corbin Martin x 10, Nick Maton x 4, Coby Mayo x 4, Mike Montville x 1, Ryan Mountcastle x 4, Alan Rail x 1, Trevor Rogers x 8, Ramon Sambo x 1, Colin Selby x 5, Levi Stoudt x 2, Kade Strowd x 3, Ramon Urias x 2, Brandon Young x 1, Nick Vespi x 4, Jordan Westburg x 2, Forrest Wall x 12, Easton McGee x 1, Jacob Misiorowski x 2, Mitch White x 3, Jon Medici x 1, Justin Ramsey x 1, Rip Tide x 2 and Brewer Hicklen x 1 (155 total autographs).