SoCal Autograph Odysses

I headed down to the ballpark to try and get Ryan Braun to sign an official Rawlings Major League Baseball, as I have for quite a few years now.  The Brewers are a club without a lot of star power so the potential targets on a team such as this one, as opposed to say the Los Angeles Dodgers, is relatively low.  At least it is from the standpoint of getting baseballs signed.  It's been mentioned ad nauseum in this blog that I don't really like using baseballs on mediocre players because they are expensive, and take up a lot of space.  That being said, I came prepared with cards for the current Brewers roster, as well as a few balls to get signed by someone such as Braun. Something to keep in mind with Braun is that he is from southern California (he went to Granada Hills High School), therefore when he is town he generally has a large contingent of family and friends with him when he leaves the ballpark.  During these times, I absolutely refuse to ask a player ...

I decided to head downtown to Petco Park for the first time this new season for my first foray into my hobby of collecting autographs in quite some time.  I skipped out on Opening Day due to the fact that all the hoopla associated with the opening of any new season.  I walked to my spot during the bottom of the ninth in what turned out to be a 4-3 Dodger win. I found out from one of the guys waiting (a nice fellow who was visiting from Florida) that the Dodgers were staying in the Omni Hotel, which is actually connected to Petco Park by a bridge that visiting players often use to circumvent the autograph hounds that wait below.  This was a little disheartening at first, until I also found out that most of the dodgers actually walked out at ground level the night before.  All in all there were only about ten or so "graphers" waiting, as opposed to the rumored forty the night before, so the potential for a good get was obviously there. On this night, I was focused ...