SoCal Autograph Odysses

I've been to a couple more Padres games over the past two weeks as the stretch run is in full swing in Major League Baseball.  The Pads just happen to be home often over the later portion of their 2015 schedule, which my 20 game season ticket package happens to coincide with.  One of the games I went to was the game versus the Texas Rangers.  I only went into the game with two unused MLB baseballs to use, so I had to pick and choose.  Many of the Rangers ended up signing, and one who signed a lot down the third base line was Josh Hamilton.  I hurried over into the mass of people and got one of the balls signed on the sweet spot. The other player who I went after was Cole Hamels, who signed down the left field line.  He was signing everything every one handed to him, though he declined all requests for the sweet spot on baseballs.  As such, I ended up with Hamels on a ball as well. These were two very good gets in my opinion.  I had never see...

I've probably gotten into the story before, but I have a case of 48 baseballs which consists of the very best signatures I have in my signed baseball collection.  I recently came across a fellow blogger's site in which he was stating he had some of his own collection for sale, so I took the opportunity to add four Hall of Famers to my set that I did not yet have.  I was able to add Don Sutton, Eddie Murray, Phil Niekro, and Goose Gossage.  Please see photos below; Murray (HOF ball though signed upside down from HOF logo) Niekro Gossage (w/ HOF 2008 inscription on HOF ball) Sutton (on HOF ball under logo) Updated shot of the case Top row left to right; Yu Darvish, Clayton Kershaw w/ Triple Crown inscription and stats, Trevor Hoffman, Matt Holliday, Don Mattingly, Ken Griffey Jr.  Second row; Jim Thome, Carlos Gonzalez, Joey Votto, Adrian Beltre, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen. Third row; Don Sutton HOF ball, Frank Robinson w/ HOF ...

I've attended some Padres games this year as a season ticket holder, and wanted to post a brief update for some of the autographs I have obtained over the course of the season so far.  I recently had some luck at a game where the Reds were in town.  I added Brandon Phillips, Dusty Baker (who was in attendance doing something else), and Matt Kemp.  Kemp didn't sign the sweetspot but it was the first time I've ever gotten him so I'll take it.   Phillips Baker Kemp This is an autograph from Dallas Keuchel from April.  I took a gamble on this signed baseball because I knew the kid was pretty good last year and thought he had potential.  The good news is, this year he was an All-Star so my projection was on.  The bad news is he side paneled me and accidentally smeared his signature when tossing the ball back to me.  I appreciate him taking the time but would have passed on using a ball if I'd known the outcome ahead of time. ...

Approximately two weeks ago I came across some interesting and unusual news.  Albert Pujols would be making a very rare public signing appearance at the Dr. Liu Optometry office in Rowland Heights.  It was hosted by  Guerrero Collectibles , who up until this point I had honestly not heard very much about.  I decided to make the purchase in advance and attend the signing, even though it was on the pricey side and quite a drive up from Oceanside.  The signing was to take place from 10-11 AM, but I drove up early and arrive at about 8:20.  The host was still in the process of setting up and I was only the second person there.  It turns out since I purchased in advance I'd get a "VIP" envelope and one of the first handful of spots in line.  The setup looked like this; Since I didn't have to worry about a first come first served type of situation, I decided to grab some food and come back and pick up my envelope later, which already had my place in ...

As part of a mini season ticket package this season, the Colorado Avalanche were trying to entice fans to purchase a package by including a signed puck from one of the team's players.  My dad happens to be a hockey fan that lives in Denver so he purchased said package, and asked me which player top choose when getting his puck, knowing full well he'd just hand it over to me.  I told him to get Nathan MacKinnon who was the Calder Trophy winner from the season prior, which goes to the NHL's Rookie of the Year.  This season he struggled a bit but I was happy to include the puck in my collection and see where his career takes him.  It came with a nice display case as well.

                                                          View from my season ticket seat After a flurry of big name transactions made by "rock star" general manager A.J. Preller, there is a palpable excitement in San Diego about Padres' baseball for the first time in many years.  This has had an effect on team organized events like Fan Fest.  This year alone they estimated that over 40,000 people attended the event, which is a far cry from the teens one would see in previous years.  A new rule was implemented this year in which attendees would only be given one autograph voucher, and the player(s) you received would remain a surprise until you got in that line.  Needless to say, that threw a major wrench in my plans to specifically target a select group of players.  There would also only be 4,500 vouchers given ou...

As anyone that collects signed sports memorabilia in Southern California can attest, the winter is a slow time of year.  There is no baseball, and the athlete signing appearances tend to peter out a little during this time sd well.  Despite the fact that the vast majority of my collection comes from me getting these athletes in person (via both unpaid and paid appearances), on the rare occasion that I find a good deal online or in a store I will purchase an item.  The only caveat is the place I am purchasing them from has to be a reputable one and I usually need to know about the athletes history and whether they are affiliated with that company.  In the case of the items below, all matched up and I couldn't pass up two good bargains that I found. Steiner was having a post Thanksgiving sale, so I decided to pick up these two baseballs; The top ball is Juan Marichal and the bottom is Tony Perez.  Neither player is all that expensive to get to begin wi...