detroitfan84

Brewers @ Rockies

Got to the park at about 10:30AM.

Prince Fielder did not travel to this game

Pregame home plate side of dugout:
Mike Maddux 1/1
Craig Counsell 1/1
Bill Hall 1/1
Tony Gwynn 1/1. He actually signed a lot. Signed for a bunch along the 3rd base side of dugout, along home plate side of dugout, and after the 6th inning outside the visitor clubhouse. I was surprised, as I had trouble getting him in the past.
Rickie Weeks 1/1
Brad Nelson 1/1
Gabe Kapler 1/1

After 6th inning outside visitors clubhouse:
Ryan Braun 1/1
JJ Hardy 1/1
Ben Sheets 1/1

Outside Rockies clubhouse, around 8th inning:
Clint Barmes 2/2
Jeff Francis 1/1
Franklin Morales 1/1

After Game 3rd base line:
Gorman Thomas SSBB
Matt Laporta 1/1. Finally!!

Outside Rockies Back Parking Lot:
Matt Holliday 1/1. A lot of people have complained that he is a bad signer, but I have seen him sign on every occasion, as long as the crowds are small. He signed today, even with his wife and young kids in his car.

detroitfan84

Went to graph the Colorado Spring Sky Sox @ Tucson Sidewinders game today.

Pregame at Sky Sox side near the exit from home plate:
Ian Stewart 1/1
Joe Gaetti on a baseball signed by his father
Greg Reynolds 4/4

Max Scherzer 1/2. He is charting pitches and sat in the stands. Got him walking out after the game

Ran to the Sidewinders third base line post game
Josh Whitesell 2/2
Trot Nixon 1/2

John Koronka, Josh Towers, Jose Capellan were all sitting in the stands watching the game and charting pitches. They signed all my cards in Spring training, so I didn't have anything for them to sign. Some other collectors got them, though. Victor Zambrano turned 2 of us down pregame, but he was pitching today. Unfortunately, the Sky Sox don't have numbers on the front of their jerseys, which made identifying them a little more tough when they were walking out of the home plate tunnel.

Will probably work on the Sidewinders tomorrow. They have numbers on the front of their jerseys!

GoPhillies23

Nice job! I missed Towers yesterday unfortunately... And the fireworks messed us up post game. They managed to shut the lights off right as a bulk of the team was running off the field.

__________________
THE PHILLIES ARE 2008 WORLD SERIES CHAMPS!!!!!!

E-A-G-L-E-S! EAGLES!

"You in the red hat! STOP!!!"

A-S-U! A-S-U!

detroitfan84

4/7/08
Salt Lake Bees at Tucson Sidewinders game. Not many fans in the seats today.
Overall, not a bad day.

Pregame, Salt Lake side, near home plate tunnel:
Dermal (Dee) Brown 4/4
Terry Evans 2/2
Brandon Wood 2/2
Freddy Sandoval 1/1

Nick Adenhart 5/5! Got him on the concourse walkway, as he was headed to the seats to chart pitches.
Shane Loux 1/1. He was in the stands sitting next to Adenhart. Got his auto as he went from the stands to the walkway.

After 6th inning along 3rd base tunnel after her finished pitching
Max Scherzer 1/1

After game, 3rd base line for Sidewinders
Emiliano Fruto 2/2
James D'Antona 1/1
Donald Kelly 2/2
Joel Youngblood 1/1 (Josh gave me this card)
Trent Oeltjen 2/2
Trot Nixon 1/1
Tim Raines Jr 1/1

detroitfan84

It's been almost a month since I had a chance to go graphing. Work has taken me to Sacramento temporarily. Went to my first game at Raley Field. It is a tough place to get pitchers, as all the players come out from center field. Most of the pitchers go straight to the bullpen, which is in right field. They don't have to pass by the fans. The position players were much easier to get.

Omaha Royals at Sacramento RiverCats Pregame:
Shane Costa 1/1
Ryan Shealy 2/2
Jason Smith 1/1
Angel Berroa 3/4. He didn't do the double
Mike Stodolka 4/4

If anyone has any tips on how to get the pitchers, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

detroitfan84

Omaha Royals at Sacramento RiverCats

Pregame:
3rd base line. RiverCats side.
Joe Gaetti 1/1
Landon Powell 2/2
Rick Rodriguez 1/1 (pitching coach)
Todd Steverson 1/1 (manager)
Kevin Melillo 1/2
Jeff Baisley 1/1
Brooks Conrad 1/1
Gio Gonzalez 1/1
Casey Rogowski 1/1

Postgame:
Danny Putnam 2/2

Rich Harden didn't sign going in or out. He pitched a rehab start today.
One of the other fans said he talked with him briefly as he was walking out. Reportedly he told me Rich said he was "out of here". The fan said he thought he was going to make another rehab start in Sacramento, but Rich just smiled. We'll see if he pitches again in Sacramento or not.
Carlos Gonzalez didn't even acknowledge me going in or out. I was surprised, as he was a good signer this year and last in spring training.

detroitfan84

Today was autograph night for the Sacramento Rivercats. An employee told me this was done every Friday night before home games.
It was pretty well run. Game started at 7:05PM. Most of the team was available to sign from about 6:15 to 6:45.
There were 2 tables on the field near the 1st base dugout, and 2 tables along the 3rd base dugout. Each table had about 5-6 players. If you went to the 1st base side, you had to chose between one of the two tables. You then had to get back in line to go to the other table. If you got there early enough, there was time to go through all four of the tables.
They handed out team posters today as a promotion. Here is how I did:

Team Poster:
Danny Borrell
Jeff Baisley
Landon Powell
Gregorio Petit
Joe Gaetti
Brooks Conrad
Wes Bankston
Lenny Dinardo
Carlos Gonzales
Rick Rodriguez
Brad Knox
Dan Meyer
Todd Steverson
Brad Ziegler
Ryan Wing
Jeff Gray
Jerry Blevins
Troy Cate
Casey Rogowski

Going through the lines, I was able to get some cards signed as well. It was supposed to be 1 per person, but the guys at the table signed the posters and then automatically passed them to the next guy down the table. There was one table where one attendant stopped me from getting both my poster and cards signed, though. Jeff Gray signed my card, and then asked if I wanted to get my poster signed, anyway. Overall, not a bad day of graphing.

Cards:
Nick Blasi 1/1
Brad Knox 1/1
Dan Meyer 1/1
Kirk Saarloos 1/1
Jeff Gray 1/1
Kevin Melillo 1/1
Brian McArn 1/1

Got a Carlos Gonzales on a sweet spot baseball as well.
There were $1 hotdogs and $1 drumstick ice creams, today as part of the promotion. Gotta love minor league promotions! Friday seems like the best day to get Rivercats autos!
No Rich Harden sightings today, but I had to leave the game early.

detroitfan84

Flew back to Sacramento yesterday to wrap up a project for work.

Managed to squeeze in part of a game today (Salt Lake Bees @ Sacramento Rivercats). Was only able graph pregame today.

Eric Chavez was on a rehab assignment in Sacramento. He signed for almost everyone there. He must have signed at least 30 or so. He initially said he had to go after signing a few, but then stayed and signed for the whole crowd. He was pretty cool and friendly.
Got him on a sweet spot baseball. His signature was just his initials and jersey number, but I'm still happy with that.

Travis Buck 1/2 (04 Team USA set)

Brushed off by Kevin Mellilo and Danny Putnam!

Nick Adenhart of Salt Lake was charting pitches. Got him while he walked from the stands to the concourse. He signed 1/1.

Anyway, planning on going back to Arizona tomorrow. Would like to catch a Diamondbacks Tigers game this weekend, if possible.

detroitfan84

BTW,
The Carlos Gonzales sweetspot baseball I got on 5/2/08 is available for trade. It is on a MLB baseball and has a clean, smudge free autograph. As you can tell by my user ID, I am partial to Detroit Tigers autographs. PM with any trade offers. Thanks.

detroitfan84

Went to see the Detroit Tigers @ Arizona Diamondbacks. Not the best day for autographs.

Pregame behind 1st base dugout.
Todd Jones 1/1. He signed a bunch.

We were kicked out of the dugout area at 12:15 for the 1:10 game.
Saw Jim Leyland sign in this area about 15 minutes after we were kicked out, so I just missed him!

After we were kicked out of the dugout area, went to the 1st base wall side, half way between the dugout and bullpen area.
Matt Joyce 1/1
Curtis Granderson 1/1. He is one of the most personable players out there. I don't think I've seen him turn down an autograph request.
Clay Rapada 1/1(Tigers book)
Aquilino Lopez 1/1
Freddy Dolsi signed some, but I didn't need him
Magglio Ordonez signed for 4-5 attractive girls standing next to me, skipped me and a bunch of people, then signed some more down the line. One of those girls was wearing a Ordonez jersey and kept calling out to him until he came over, which was entertaining.

All the other big names ignored everyone (Bonderman, Verlander, Kenny Rogers, Ivan Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera, etc.)

Post game parking lot
Daron Sutton (announcer) on an index card.

detroitfan84

This is probably my last Diamondbacks game. Moving to LA next week.

Milwaukee Brewers at Arizona Diamondbacks

Pregame back parking lot entrance:
Doug Davis 3/3
Doug Slaten 1/1 (hat). I didn't know who he was until after I saw his signature on my generic hat.
Mark Grace 1/1
Dan Haren 2/2. I was shocked, as I couldn't get him in spring training this year.

Inside pregame 3rd base side:
Mark Reynolds 1/1. Signed a bunch.
Jeff Salazar signed a bunch, but I left his cards at home.

1st base Brewers side pregame:
Mike Cameron 3/3
Russell Branyon 2/2
Jeff Suppan 2/2 (taylor18210 had already got him, then gave me 2 more cards to get signed for a 50/50. Thanks!)

Prince Fielder signed pregame for only one person that I saw.
Robin Yount only signed for one person as well before the game.
Bob Uecker was in the dugout pregame, but I didn't see him sign for anybody.

detroitfan84

Went to the Jeff Kent signing in Northridge, CA which was sponsored by Macy's.
There were 2 lines there. One line was the "VIP" line, which was for people who bought $50 worth of merchandise in the young men's section. When you showed them the receipt, they gave you a Macy's baseball to get signed. People in this line were guaranteed an autograph.
Another line was for people who didn't buy anything. This line was cut off after about 70 or 80 people. The people that were in this line were not guaranteed an autograph, but got a photo to get signed if they reached the stage before the end of Jeff Kent's signing time. The line started after all the VIP line people went through.

I ended up paying the $50, expecting to return the merchandise at a later date. Unfortunately, they stamped the receipt "No Refunds." I can still probably exchange the stuff for store credit at a later date, though.

The first few people in line were substituting OMLBs for the cheap baseballs they gave out, and Jeff Kent was signing them. The employees got wise to this and started to strictly enforce that only the Macy's baseballs be signed. He didn't sign any other memorabilia that I saw (bats, photos, cards). He also signed all of the cheap Macy's baseballs in black ink. I'm kind of worried these cheap baseballs will run over time.

I'm not sure I'll ever go to another one of these type of signings again.

detroitfan84

Decided to try my luck with Dallas Cowboys training camp.
There were literally thousands of people there. Along the fence, fans were 3-4 people deep around the entire area where fans could stand. TO and Romo both left without signing. Zach Thomas signed about 20, but skipped me over.
Got shut out on autographs today, as I didn't feel like pushing kids and women out of the way to get a scrub's autograph.

Anyway, if any of you guys go to the Cowboys training camp, the weekdays are probably less crowded.

detroitfan84

In San Francisco this weekend and went to AT&T park for the first time today. It is a really beautiful stadium.

Got a little lost on the way to the park, so got to the stadium a little late for pregame graphing. Got there at 1pm for a 6:05PM game. Some guy said he got Don Mattingly before I got there. Waited by the Giants team store entrance, where Dodgers players enter. Some players walked, others took cabs. Apparently the Dodgers were staying at Hotel Nikko.

Pregame outside:
Andre Ethier 1/1 Signed for a bunch of people
Matt Kemp 1/1 Signed for a bunch of people
Mark Gardner 2/2 (entered through the Dodgers side)
Dan Ardoin 1/1
Angel Berroa 1/1

Players who didn't sign going in:
Chad Billingsley
Russ Martin
Mark Sweeney
Brad Penny said, "I'll sign inside." He didn't however.
Hong Chih Kuo

Players who signed a little going in, but I didn't get:
Jon Broxton signed for 5-6 people
Clayton Kershaw signed 3-4
Hiroki Kuroda signed 3-4

Guys on the team bus (The bus drives in through the gate, so you can't get access to them):
James Loney
Nomar Garciaparra
Casey Blake
Joe Torre (had his own towncar drive through the gate)

Pregame behind the stadium there was a tent where the Giants were celebrating 50 years of Giants outfielders.
Kevin Mitchell 1/1 sweetspot baseball. He signed for everyone. Signed 7 cards for one guy.
There were a bunch of other retired players that signed, but I got there too late. You guys can probably find a list on MLB.com. Some of the guys that I heard were there and signed include Brett Butler, Corey Snider, Candy Maldonado, Felipe Alou, Kevin Bass. Saw Barry Bonds and Willie Mays, but they of course did not sign. Some kid asked Mays to sign, and he pointed to his hand. It looked like he was having trouble straightening his fingers. He said this was the reason he couldn't sign. Does anyone know if Mays has some sort of problem with his hand?


Pregame inside along 3rd base line in the outfield:
Hong Chih Kuo 1/1
Chan Ho Park 1/1

detroitfan84

Went to the Jonathan Broxton signing at AT&T in Pasadena, CA . Got there around 11:55 am and got through the line in about 15 minutes (he was scheduled to sign from 12 to 1pm). Got though the line twice. 1/1, 1/1. Could probably have gone through the line a couple more times, but didn't have any more cards of him. The line was pretty short and Broxton was a fast signer.


Afterward, went to Dodgers stadium for the "90s luncheon," which started around 2PM. It cost $75. At first I wasn't going to go, but I figure the money is going to charity. The $75 also included parking (usually $15), a $16 ticket to the game in the reserve section, and buffet lunch (which unlimited Dodger dogs, soda, desert, etc.). Overall, not a terrible deal. Stashed 3 Dodger dogs in my back pack to eat at the game later in the day.

Billy Ashley 3/3
Jim Gott 3/3
Todd Zeile, 3/3, 4/4
Matt Luke 2/2
Tommy Lasorda 1/1 SSOMLB, 1/1 SSOMLB

Fernando Valenzuela was supposed to be there, but left sick. Got an autographed postcard of him which they handed out at the end of the luncheon.
We were told Eric Karros wanted to be there, but could not get out of a contractual issue with the Angels (I believe he was announcing a game or something). Everyone who attended got a Dodger program signed by him. Almost all of the autographs were bubbled because of the glossy cover.

Vin Scully made an appearance, but security kept all the autograph seekers away.



Pregame Dodgers side, there was a very small autograph area next to the outfield side of the Dodger's dugout. They only let about 20 people in that area at a time. Once you got an autograph of any player, you were supposed to leave the area. You could get back in line, and wait to get in the autograph area again. It wasn't run very well, as I was accused of getting an autograph, and was asked to leave the area, even though I didn't. Other kids got several autographs and weren't asked to leave the area. I just missed Nomar Garciaparra, who appeared only to sign for kids. I saw Kuroda, Kemp, Loney sign a few autographs, but I was waiting to get Manny, Torre, or Mattingly. Everyone I was trying to get went into the clubhouse after BP without signing. Was shut out here.


Right field line, got Eric Gagne 1/1
My wife got him as well 1/1. Her first in person autograph with me!