Texas Trip Day 2 - Meeting Raffy

The second day of our trip was exciting for me, because I planned for that day to be a trip to Cleburne, Texas.  In Cleburne, there is an independent league team, and one of their players just happened to be Rafael Palmeiro.  The stadium is new, so new that it didn't pop up in the rental car GPS.  Luckily, I had decent enough service that I used Google Maps to get there.

For an independent league team, they have a really nice stadium.  It reminded me of Jim Perry Stadium at Campbell University, where the Buies Creek Astros play.  Everything was turf, which is kind of cool.  I don't think I would want to see an all-turf field all of the time, but when it is at a game here and there, it's ok.

Everyone we talked to while we were there was very friendly.  We told anyone that would listen that we were visiting from NC.  Chris and I had gotten there several hours before the gates opened, because I thought we would have some other things to do in the area.  Unfortunately, when we got there, the temperature was 115 degrees, so after a few laps around the stadium looking for home run balls (we found three), we drove to a nearby Sonic and got some massive slushies.

We got tickets right beside the dugout, front row, for $12 a piece.  Raffy came out and signed autographs pre-game, and posed for a photo with me.  He signed 4 of the 8 cards I put out and signed as many for Chris.  While Raffy was signing for us, a girl from the promotions department had come down to talk to us about how we traveled all the way from NC.  She invited Chris to come onto the field to say play ball, which he reluctantly agreed to do.  I also told Raffy that I had been a big fan since I was really young, and we traveled all the way from NC to see him.  He thanked me, and shook my hand.

While Chris was on the field getting ready to say "play ball", Patrick Palmeiro (who is also on the Cleburne team) told Chris he would give him a bat.

The bad turned out to be a broken Rafael Palmeiro bat!!  We ended up shipping it back home the day after the game.  I was stunned by being able to take it home.

My cell phone doesn't do terribly when it comes to action shots, I've found.  Here is a pitch being delivered to Raffy, which he hit out of the park.

That's right, Rafael Palmeiro hit a home run in his first at bat while we were there.  When he returned to the dugout, he chatted with Chris, since we were beside the steps.  Chris congratulated him on the homer, and asked Raffy if he would sign the bat we had gotten.  Raffy agreed to.

The Railroaders provided a really fun experience, and a really nice ballpark.  There were train engines and cars all around the stadium, and there were a good many people there.  I bought a hat, a shirt, and a mini bat for Chris.

Here is a pic of Chris in front of the stadium as we were leaving.  I definitely would go back to Cleburne for a game, even if Raffy isn't there.  The Railroaders lost the game to the Sioux Falls Canaries 6-3.  Raffy went 1-4 with the homer, his third of the season.

Like I said above, Raffy signed 8/16 cards for us.  I wasn't sure how many to show when he was graphing, so I just laid my book out, opened, with 4 cards on each page.  He chose a page and signed/  Luckily, the pages he chose out of my and Chris's books were all of the main cards I wanted signed.  The above 2005 Bowman Heritage mahogany parallel was the #1 card I wanted to come back with signed.  I definitely wanted one in my album, and this one was really awesome paired with my Staedtler pen.

I also wanted to put this goofy Bazooka Comics insert card into my album.  I definitely didn't have one of these signed, and it actually turned out pretty nice.

Chris wanted to keep two of the cards he got done, and I sent one to my friend, Max.  We also got two extra ones signed because I loaned my pen to a lady beside us, and she had her grandson get two of my cards signed post game.  He didn't want to keep them, so that worked out for me.

My good fried, Gerard, was kind enough to figure out which players on the Railroaders and Canaries had cards, and also sent me some for 50/50s.  He had a bunch of Angelo Gumbs, who was really nice.

I actually had this card of starting pitcher, Josh Hodges.  It felt really good to get this 2009 Bowman out of my box and into my album.  That was really gratifying, especially since I went through so many cards to find one that I had of one of the Railroaders.

Stay tuned for the next day of our trip: where Chris and I were reunited with some old friends from the Wood Ducks.

TTM Success - Mike Fischlin

I've got to get a whole bunch of stuff posted before I leave for the National, or I am going to be so far behind, I won't know what to do.  So, here is a TTM success from Mike Fischlin that got me this cool 1984 Fleer signed, and an 87 for my set.

The 87 turned out really nice, and I can't forget the 1986 beside it.  I still can't believe the prices that some of the 1986 boxes are going for now.  I had bought a bunch for $5 back when I got back into collecting.  People are getting them and grading them for some reason.

Fischlin (b. 1955) played in the majors in 1977, 1978 and 1980 to 1987 for the Astros, Indians, Yankees and Braves.  He had 207 hits, 3 home runs and a .220 batting average.

I mailed to Fischlin on March 30 and got the cards back on April 12 for a 13-day TAT.

Texas Trip Day 1 - Texas Rangers vs. San Diego Padres

Chris has always struggled with school.  It just comes easier to some people, than it does to others.  We have tried a bunch of ways to keep him motivated, but this year was especially tough.  Finally, the Rangers signed Tim Lincecum to a minor league deal, and I told Chris that all he had to do was put in the effort to bring his grades up, pass his EOGs, and I would take him to Texas so that he could finally meet Lincecum.  The day that Chris got his EOG results back, the Rangers released Lincecum.  I told Chris that we could still go to Texas if he wanted to, and he said sure.  So, we booked a trip and took it from June 26 to 30.

Our mail destination was Dallas, and went from there to a few ballparks at various levels of play.  The first stop, after meeting my good friend, Brayden, in person, was Globe Life Park in Arlington; the home of the Texas Rangers.

Although he looks pissed here, Chris actually enjoyed the game.  The Rangers lost the game to the Padres 3-2.

The food was really good.  I got this bacon wrapped hot dog, which was pretty awesome.  It may have shaved a few years off of my life, but those are the bad years at the end where I'm peeing on myself, so it's all good.

This was about the best smile I could coax out of Chris for a photo.  He doesn't like his picture taken, but this one turned out pretty well.

I thought the stadium was really nice.  It wasn't Camden Yards, but what other stadium is?

Chris and I did try some graphing, and we were each able to come away with Rangers catcher, Carlos Tocci on a 2018 Topps Rangers team card.

Stay tuned, as our next stop put us face to face with one of my childhood heroes.

TTM Success - Jim Howarth

Here is another TTM success that I received recently, a 1974 Topps card from Jim Howarth.  I didn't have much for him, but the card works, and I don't have a ton of 74s in my album.

Howarth (b. 1947) played in the majors from 1971 to 1974 for the Giants.  He had 49 hits, 1 home run and a .217 batting average.

I mailed to Howarth on March 26 and got the card back on April 10, for a 15-day TAT.

June 25 Graphing of Potomac Nationals at Down East Wood Ducks

Chris and I embarked on a four-stadium two-state tour that began on Monday night, June 25 with a stop to see our friends, the Wood Ducks take on the Potomac Nationals.  I missed the Nationals last season, so I was glad that I had a shot to see them this year before we left for our trip.  I took some 50/50s for Gerard, and I was able to get everyone that I had come to see.

I had a ton of Jakson Reetz cards put aside that I was finally able to get signed.  He was really nice, and signed everything that we had.  The 2014 Bowman Ice (top left) and 2014 Bowman Green (top middle) parallels really turned out well.  The green parallel is numbered 33/75.

I was able to get several team set cards done, like the above South Atlantic League All Star cards, and the Hickory Crawdad cards.

I also knocked off two of the cards I needed for my 2018 Carolina League All Star set.

Will Crowe and Nick Raquet were really nice, and I was able to get some 2017 Bowman done.  I powdered them all and they turned out great.

I was really excited to get the Stars and Stripes Nick Banks done because I kept seeing it in my minors box.  I also found a few of his Bowman and got those taken care of.

Carlos Maldonado has left the Wood Ducks to manage Spokane now that their season has started.  Guilder Rodriguez has been added to the staff and I found his 2015 Topps base and chrome to get signed.

Finally, I got this Rhett Wiseman done in a 50/50 for Gerard.  He had sent them last year, and I finally got them signed for him.

After the game, Chris and I headed to Raleigh to fly out the next morning to Texas.  Stay tuned for the next leg of that trip, Globe Life Stadium.

What Do I Do?

This 2015 Bowman Red Ice parallel of Chris Davis came up on Ebay a while back, and I picked it up for the PC.  This was very early into the season, and I was glad to add another /5 to my collection.  Since then, Davis has been by far the worst player in the majors.  Making $161 million to carry a ~.150 batting average is an embarrassment.  Further, to find out that there was a lot of misinformation regarding the amount of work that he put in with the hitting coach this winter has been a sick joke.  Articles were printed that said he was working hard with Scott Coolbaugh to correct his swing, and not strike out looking so much proved to be very false, at least according to Jim Palmer.  Right now, I definitely take Palmer's word over Davis's.  Sadly, my feeling is that this is the Chris Davis we will be left with for the duration of his contract.  His salary will hold the Orioles down, and they will be unable to make any significant moves for the life of the contract.

From everything I have heard, Davis is a pretty good dude.  Supposedly, he is struggling mentally with the weight of the contract, and that has possibly compounded the issues at the plate.  It's not as simple as getting him to accept a minor league assignment to straighten things out.  The Union would never allow that.  So, we are stuck with him and his .150 batting average weighing down a lineup that already can't hit or score runs.

While I definitely feel like Coolbaugh should be fired yesterday, he can't force Davis to hit against the shift.  Or to swing at strike three, as opposed to standing there looking lost at the plate.  I, for one, can't talk; I couldn't hit major league pitching either, but I'm also not being paid $161 million to play baseball.  Davis has all of the resources, and the stats on the back of the baseball card in order to earn that money.  Somewhere along the way he got lost, and can't find his way back with the best GPS.

So, because of all of these reasons, I have decided to box up all of my Davis PC and hide it under the bed.  I have removed him from my list of player PCs on my Instagram, and I will no longer wear his jerseys or shirts.  He hasn't necessarily lost a fan, but I don'r think I should be walking around wearing a player shirt/jersey who is just this bad.  Sound harsh?  Maybe, but over the years, I bought into the player and the person, and I feel like it is time to move on.  Like the Orioles are with his contract, I'm stuck with the PC.  I won't be able to unload it, even if I wanted to, so it will remain under the bed until some time comes when I can pull it out, and remember fondly the good times in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016.  I also can't forget the PED suspension in 2014 that hurt his teammates in their playoff run.

What do I do?  I guess I just live with it, and move on.  As of now, he just isn't fun to watch play baseball any more.  I'm sorry.  Rant over.

Some Orioles Cards From Cal

The way the Orioles season has gone has driven me completely away from picking up new cards for the collection.  I have had zero interest in spending any money on anything Orioles related, but I still appreciate when a friend thinks of me and sends something my way.  A while back (before the season), my buddy, Cal, sent me a few Orioles cards for the collection.

Cal is a great guy, and I really appreciated the gesture.  While the Orioles have been the worst team in baseball since last September, I will always be a fan.  I may be holed up in a doomsday bunker for a while, but I will emerge hopefully in the future, when it is a bit brighter for the O's.  Let's also hope that Chris Davis figured out his swing somewhere along the way, because he is set for a historic season, for all of the wrong reasons.  Hit the dang ball, and quit looking like a deer in the headlights.  Come on!

Thanks for the cards, Cal.  They are definitely well received, even though the O's stink right now.  I have some cards to send your way, soon.