Over 2000 Views and Counting!

When I started this blog, I did so with the intent of providing myself an outlet to talk about my hobby, not knowing if anyone would ever actually stumble across it let alone read it.  Well, about a year later I now have a blog that has been viewed more than 2,000 times.  To be honest though, I don't even know if that is a high number, but it makes me enthused nonetheless.

I would like to thank the people who have tweeted, re-tweeted, and Facebooked my blog in the pursuit of, well...nothing really, other than my happiness.  A sincere thank you to all of you out there who read this drivel on a consistent basis and pretend to be amused.  Enough of the tomfoolery, and on to some autograph stories that I probably wouldn't get around to sharing in another post!

This first picture is of a ball I had signed by Yu Darvish last season when the Rangers were in town to pay the Padres at Petco Park.  This particular signing occurred during batting practice, when Mr. Darvish was waved over by some kids and began signing away.  I was lucky to get him to sign an MLB baseball on the sweetspot, though he did kind of sign in such a way that part of the signature touches the stitches.

 The next autograph is one I obtained when Greg Maddux was a member of the Padres.  My friend Lawrence and I went down to the annual Friar Fest the Padres host before the season, with the sole intent of getting a Maddux autograph.  At first, the event was so discombobulated that we were told to stand in the wrong line, but when we went to guest relations and explained we only traveled to this event to get to meet Maddux, they relented and allowed us to get in the back of the line.  Say what you want about the Padres, they have always been fan friendly.  You'll notice that Mr. Maddux's signature looks nothing like his name, but it's one of the better items I have in my collection.

The following ball is one signed by a player prior to the stigma that was attached to his name due to the Performance Enhancing Drug scandals that have plagued the recent history of baseball.  This ball was signed by Roger Clemens, though not on the sweetspot, as he was getting into a cab following a start he made versus the Padres as a member of the Houston Astros.  I had heard that Mr. Clemens often signed post game on nights he was the starting pitcher, so I gambled that that information was accurate.  It ended up being a solid night as I also got an MLB baseball sweetspotted by Jeff Bagwell, though for some reason I decided in my mind that Andy Pettitte was not worth a ball (?!?!) when he signed for people that night as well.  Here is the Clemens signed baseball...

Finally, here is a ball I had signed by Hall of Famer Andre Dawson before he was inducted into the Hall.  This was when he was a member of the Arizona Diamondback's coaching staff, and it happened pre-game at Petco Park while the D'backs took batting practice.  Mr. Dawson was kind enough to sign the sweetspot for me as well.  This night also saw me getting a Mark Grace signed sweetspot ball.  Here is the Dawson signed baseball...

I realize it is difficult to tell due to the lighting, but all four of the baseballs above were signed in my preferred and frankly more aesthetically pleasing blue ink.  All of the baseballs are in a UV proof case that my wife was actually kind enough to let me hang on the wall, and which consists of 48 signed baseballs.  Since I have close to 200 signed baseballs, it makes it difficult to decide which ones make the cut and get displayed in this case that is the first thing visitors to my home see as they walk through the front door.

In case anyone is interested, I have an Albert Pujols signed baseball (side panel) that I am willing to trade for a ball of someone I do not have yet.  I have posted a picture of the Albert Pujols ball in a previous post, if you want to see what it looks like.  If you also read that story, you'll know that I actually got two balls signed by Mr. Pujols at one time, so I have the extra to spare.  Please message me on here or email me at csl1583@yahoo.com if this interests you.

Again, thank you to all of you for reading and to anyone that has helped me get the word out there about my blog.  The last few months have actually accounted for 3/4 of my views, so whatever we are doing is working.

Until next time everyone...