Weekend of Graphing the Pelicans and Wood Ducks

I went to three of the four games between the Down East Wood Ducks and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans this weekend, beginning on Thursday.  I had some 5/50s to take care of for Weston, Billy, Max, Dugan, Andrew and Gerard.  I also ended up with a bunch of extras, so my good friend, Brayden, will probably be seeing a care package soon, as well.

The biggest name on the Pelicans' roster is Eloy Jimenez.  He signed one per, but I was able to get him both pre and post game at all of the games.  I did really well, I think.  I also had Chris helping me on Thursday, so that worked out as well.

I've already pulled out all of the cards going out for the 50/50s.  Max was a big help in getting me stuff from the Pelicans that I could get signed.  They are a Cubs team, so he will be happy with the autos that he will be getting back.

I met a father and son on Thursday who were graphing together, and they gave me a few Ryan Kelloggs, so I ended up with extras after helping Max with the 50/50.

I skipped the Saturday game to go to the card show in Raleigh, which helped me replinish some of my Wood Ducks stock, and I also picked up a few Carolina League guys for future use.  I also grabbed a couple more Jimenez and Justin Steele cards while I was there.

I continued to "rack" Josh Morgan and Jeremy Moore.  I didn't get a chance to get Morgan's opinion on autographing multiple cards, but seeing him sign 32 cards between two people made me feel a lot better about my pages of four.

There have been some recent call ups to the Wood Ducks, so I was able to get a few more cards signed from my Crawdads set that I bought.  That reminds me, I need to look through Chris's set and make sure he has covered some of these guys as well.

I spoke briefly with Emerson Martinez, mainly about a player (Zack Bird) who's card he didn't recognize.  It appears that there are players who are listed on the roster who aren't with the team, and this comes as a surprise to folks who actually are on the team.  It was kind of a funny, but helpful moment.

 I was able to add two new Topps cards to my ledger with the 1985 and 1990 All Star shown above.

I was able to get some nice HoJo cards signed.  He is only doing two-per as of late, but that is fine with me.  Bobby Rose has been away from the team, so I am still sitting on some cards of his to get signed.  I hope I can get moving on them soon.

In all, here is how I did:  I got Howard Johnson x 12, Josh Morgan x 24, Chuck Moorman x 1, Tyler Sanchez x 1, Jeffrey Springs x 1, Jeremy Moore x 10, Jairo Beras x 4, Brett Martin x 1, Emerson Martinez x 1, Jonathan Hernandex x 1, Justin Steele x 8, Ryan Kellogg x 7, Tyler Alamo x 2 and Eloy Jimenez x 6.  I also got Matt Lipka x 4, but those are pending Gerard's approval of what goes and what stays.  So, I ended up with 79 signed baseball cards.

I gave away a bunch of my extra Josh Morgan cards to some kids who were standing there wanting autographs, so they could at least come away with something.  I traded for a 2017 Pro Debut with Colin and his dad, then they gave me a handful of blank ones that I could get Morgan to sign myself.  I was glad to get those, because Pro Debut has been tough to find.

I am now taking a few nights off from graphing, and searching boxes.  This past week has been exhausting with all of the 50/50s I have been working on.

Weston Returns

I got a care package in the mail recently that really took me by surprise.  Not so much that I got a care package in the mail, moreso because it came from my old friend, Weston.  Weston and I used to talk all of the time, and he is the one who introduced me to my good friend, Andrew.  However, Weston is a busy guy, so he has had to step away from the hobby on numerous occasions in order to tend to his other activities.  Thankfully, he never forgot me, and has tried to keep in touch.  He sent me this care package as a way to say hello and that he hadn't forgotten about me.  It was a really nice gesture that didn't go unnoticed.  Thanks, Weston!

Breaking Boxes With Weston

I recently entered a box break that my buddy, Weston, held over at his blog "Fantastic Catch."  He busted boxes of 2008 Tristar Projections, 2008 Tristar Prospects Plus, 2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition and 2012 Donruss Elite Extra Edition.  Naturally, I picked up the Orioles and I also grabbed up the Cubs and Brewers to use as trade bait for a couple friends of mine (and also to help Weston fill the break).

I feel like I did pretty well on the break, as I ended up with a sweet 4-piece jersey card of (then Cub) Oriole utility player, Ryan Flaherty.  This is a really cool card, actually.  I'm glad I ended up with it.  "Flash" has had a decent career with the O's, especially since he was a Rule V pick that managed to stick with the club all season in 2012.  He has filled in admirably for the O's when Manny Machado and J. J. Hardy have gone down to injury.

I got this nice auto of former Cubs prospect Barret Loux.  He was a first round draft pick (6th pick overall) by the Diamondbacks in 2010.  A check on baseball-reference shows that Loux hasn't played since 2013.  I wonder what happened to him?

One of the former Oriole prospect autos that I got was this Kyle Hudson which is numbered 6/25.  His last entry on baseball-reference says that he was released by the Angels on July 1, 2014.

Another auto that I got was this Josh Vitters from 2008 Tristar Projections.  Vitters was a first round pick (3rd overall) in the 2007 draft and was picked up by the Rockies this past February.

I got this nice 12/25 card of Orioles former first round pick, Brian Matusz.  Matusz is a really nice guy, but I wouldn't trust him with the game on the line in the playoffs.  He is likely to be traded before Spring Training ends, which will bring an end to a somewhat disappointing run in Baltimore.  I really had hoped that he would make it as a top of the rotation starter, but it just hasn't worked out.

One of the Cubs cards I was able to pick up was this Albert Almora from 2012 Elite Extra Edition.  Almora is almost forgotten with the emergence of Kris Bryant.  At least, I haven't heard much about him with all of the Bryant drama going on.

Finally, I got this awesome Josh Donaldson prospect card.  I liked him when he was on the A's, but I can see him becoming a real thorn in my side now that he plays for the Jays.

Thanks for the break, Weston!  I'm glad I could be a part of it, and I hope you do another one soon!

Christmas Package From Weston

My buddy Weston sent me a Christmas package recently that had a bunch of Orioles cards in it.  The cards were great, but the thing about the package that stood out the most was the awesome purple bubble mailer that he sent it in.  I opened the package over Skype with a few of the guys that I chat with, and each of them wanted to be the one that bubble mailer was shipped to next.

You see, I recycle as much as I can.  Partly because I work in environmental consulting, but mainly because bubble mailers cost money, and I'm cheap.  So, why buy more when you can just re-use the ones sent to you.  I haven't bought bubble mailers in years, so this has been working out for me pretty well.  So, be on the lookout, who knows who the lucky person to get the purple mailer will be.

Anyway, Weston seems to be my hookup for Orioles prospects lately.  He sent me this great Panini Elite Extra Edition Jonah Heim card, which I really like.  Heim is one of three catchers the Orioles drafted in the 2013 draft, and all three are pretty good prospects.  The other two being Alex Murphy and Chance Sisco, of course.

Speaking of Sisco, Weston sent me this card as well.  It seems like I have gotten pretty much all of my Sisco cards (except for an auto I purchased off of COMC) from Weston.  He must have a lot of luck pulling Sisco's cards.

Thanks for the Christma gift, Weston!  I really appreciate the thought and I'm always glad for our chats.

Please check out Weston's blog: Fantastic Catch

Great Cards From Weston

I got a package from my buddy Weston a while ago that had a bunch of great Orioles cards.  The best ones were of Orioles prospect, Chance Sisco.  Sisco is having some kind of year this year, batting .344 at the moment for low A Delmarva.  He has 104 hits and 4 homers in 80 games.

These Sisco cards are really awesome.  I regret not buying his Bowman Sterling auto at the card show when I had a chance.  He is having a great year and looks like he will be moving up in the O's system pretty quickly.

Surprisingly, I didn't have this 2008 Topps Chroms X-fractor of Nick Markakis that Weston sent.  I was really happy to get it.

Finally, Weston sent me a few 2013 Topps emerald parallels for my set.  I still am working on this set, and it was so cool of Weston to send me a few.

Thanks for the cards, Weston!  I really appreciate it.