SoCal Autograph Odysses

This is a pretty slow time of year as far as collecting sports memorabilia goes, at least for me.  I find that collecting autographed baseballs and pictures looks the best, therefore that leads towards me tending to target baseball players for autographs more so than other sports.  Since there are no baseball games going on in this region, that means I keep an eye put on public signing events on the signingshotline website I mention now and again. One thing I did want to mention though, is something you think would be pretty obvious but actually suckers a lot of people every year.  A lot of people out there who collect sports memorabilia do not have the time to go and get the players they want in person.  Instead, they purchase items online.  The problem is that there is a huge amount of forgeries out there, and they are so good you can't really tell any difference between what's fake and what's authentic.  I realize there are now third party companies (PSA/DNA, Tristar,

It has been quite some time since my last post, and that is due to being extremely busy.  Since I last went to Petco Park to collect some signatures from the Pittsburgh Pirates, I have done absolutely zero signing events or games of any sort.  That means I missed out on teams like the Giants and the Dodgers coming to Petco Park, as well as free signing event like the one Jonathan Quick did up in Anaheim a couple weekends ago at Living Spaces.  I really would have liked to get a picture signed by him with Conn Smythe 2012, especially since the Kings are my favorite team. I realize some hobbyists out there go to a lot more events than I do, almost on a thrice weekly basis.  Frankly, I don't have the kind of time or want to collect most of the guys that are signing at these events.  Besides, the vast majority of anything going on with regards to sports memorabilia, and happening in Southern California, occurs in Orange County and LA.  That is too far for me to drive unless it is a p

By no means are the Pirates a big, star studded team that attract swarms of autograph collectors, but they are definitely a team on the rise with some good caliber talent.  Therefore, when I arrived at the ballpark at noon per my usual routine, I was not all that surprised to see a group of around a dozen people already waiting.   The Pirates played a 19 inning(!) game yesterday, so none of us were really expecting to see players trickle into the ballpark right off the bat.  Really the only reason I got there that early is because you never want to miss out on a player you are targeting just in case, and I was already in the downtown area anyway.  I scoped out both of the main entrances, asking the people waiting on each side who they had seen and in essence really just trying to gather as much info about the Pirates as possible.  This was my first time trying to collect the Pirates so gathering tips is always crucial.  In fact, I despise the guys out there who will not tell anyone

One thing I have found  is the Celebrity Golf Classic is fantastic for meeting and greeting celebrities.  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to attend one of these for a few years.  However, if you are clever enough to hide the fact that you are bringing memorabilia onto the golf course (pretty easy to do) then you are setting yourself up for a real chance at some fantastic autographs.  The one I am specifically talking about, though I'm sure the same goes for most of these types of events, is the one here in San Diego that used to be hosted by Stan Humphries and now carries Drew Brees' name.  The event used to be held at Morgan Run in Rancho Santa Fe, but now is played at the La Costa Country Club.  In essence, it's a hodge podge of celebrities from genres such as sports, music, television, and beyond who come together and play a golf tournament in the name of charity.  Such luminaries as Jerry Rice, Ray Romano, John Elway, Marcus Allen, Marshall Faulk, Mike Schmidt, a

As I alluded to in my last post, today was the free signing of Jered Weaver at Pechanga Resort and Casino.  One thing is beyond any shadow of a doubt, and that is a star player plus a free signing plus good publicity equals a BIG line of fans.  I had heard rumors that people would be lined up as early as noon, which turned out to be very inaccurate.  Fans had actually arrived  twelve hours before that .  I had in my mind decided to show up around 4pm and see what the line looked like.  I left my house around 3:20, and for the first time ever, my wife decided to go along with me.  Since I knew this signing was one item per person, I brought two baseballs and asked her to wait in line with me when the time came.  We arrived at Pechanga at 4:10, and when we walked up the stairs to the Silk club which was where Jered was signing, we noticed that there was probably around 250-300 people already there.  Feeling a little pessimistic about the whole thing my wife and I decided to head down t

After reading on a couple other blogs that the Cubs were pretty good about signing, I decided to head down to Petco Park today to try and see who I could get.  Needless to say, I was a little bit skeptical after being shut out by the Mets back on Friday, but the truth of the matter is you just never know what will happen on any given day.  My friend Lawrence and I went to our normal spot next to the Omni Hotel and we arrived a little earlier than usual this time, getting there at about 11:45.  As usual, the first members of the Cubs organization to arrive were the coaches, who all took cabs.  Dale Sveum, Dave McKay, and Jamie Quirk all signed for everyone who asked, which was only about three people for each.  I had nothing for any of them so I passed.  Pitching coach Chris Bosio went by unrecognized, and we never saw Pat Listach who I actually did bring a card for (it always helps to go through the list of broadcasters, coaches, and front office staff before trying to get signatures s

The very nature of this hobby demands a lot of flexibility in one's plans.  Today was a perfect example of that.  My friend Lawrence and I decided to go down to Petco Park at 12 in the afternoon to try and get autographs from Mets on the way into the ballpark, as we did a couple weeks back with the Rockies to a great deal of success.  We headed straight for the same spot as we did last time, on a corner that provides a lot of different vantage points of possible ways for players arriving.  When we saw no one in that particular spot, we changed plans and went around back of the park, where the Padres players drive in and park their cars.  Visiting teams have a bunch of different entrances they can choose, and this is one such spot they frequent.  The different options the players have can make it especially difficult to get the player you want as you can only be in one place at a time. This is one reason I say you have to be flexible in your planning.   Right after we got to the P

One of the main questions on many people's mind when I tell them that one of my hobbies is collecting sports memorabilia is why on earth I would want someone's signature.  The plain truth of the matter is, I really don't know other than to me it's pretty awesome to have as big a collection as I do, filled with all types of stories regarding how I obtain certain items.  The interaction you have with the some of the best players in their respective sports is something you take with you, as opposed to say only a baseball with a guy's signature on it.  In other words, it's about the story behind it as much as it is about the item itself.  For example, this past April I attended a signing show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, where I got to meet all types of Hall of Famers (Carlton Fisk, Johnny Bench, Frank Robinson, Chris Mullin, etc.).  While getting Fisk to sign a ball I happened to be wearing a Los Angeles Kings hat, which happens to be my all time favorite te

I suppose I should preface this post with the admission that unlike many of the "hardcore" autograph hounds, I really only try to collect maybe once every two weeks during the baseball season.  I realize that many people go pregame, to batting practice, and post game for every single home game of the season.  Frankly, I have neither the time nor patience to try that often, so I try to cherry pick certain teams and/or players.  As such, there will be gaps in between my posts that I am going to try and fill with my opinions on the hobby.  The first pet peeve I have is with the grown men that get all bent out of shape when kids "get in the way" of them obtaining a player's autograph.  This happened just the other day at the Astros game I mentioned in my last post when kids kept throwing stuff down from above the dugout for JD Martinez to sign, and he politely requested that they make eye contact first.  Kids being kids, they didn't heed JD's request and h

As an aside, let me first say that this was the first attempt my friend Lawrence and I have made to get autographs prior to BP at a Padres game at Petco Park.  We have been collecting autographs at Petco Park both during BP and post games since Petco's inception in 2004.  After trying our luck against the Astros both during BP and post game on 7/16/12 and coming away with only a Bud Norris signed Topps 2012 card, we decided to get the Rockies coming into the ballpark for the first game of a weekend series.  We had been given the good tip by fellow collectors, and it proved a lucrative decision. We arrived at approx. 12:15, and waited on the corner across from the Omni Hotel, adjacent to Petco Park, and right up against the parking structue, which enabled us to have a view of any player/coach coming from any one of three ways.  The first player we spotted was Jeremy Guthrie, who oddly enough had been traded the night before to the KC Royals and was cleaning out his locker.  Jer