SoCal Autograph Odysses

Since I haven't really been able to get down to Petco Park as much as I used to or would like to, I realize that my posts haven't maybe been as frequent as they could be or perhaps even should be.  To help mitigate that, I've decided to post more often about items I have collected in the past, as well as do more of the "Random Ponderings" posts in which I delve into some of my thoughts about the hobby, and how I disagree pretty vehemently with the way a lot of the other collector's act/do things.  For today's post, however, I am going to focus more on the former idea in which I just show some pictures of things I've gotten in the past. To start, here are some photos of cards I had signed over the course of a couple of years of attending what used to be the Stan Humphries Celebrity Golf Classic and which has now fallen under the name of Drew Brees.  I'm not going to really elaborate on the stories behind each card...this post is more to deal with ...

Last night as I watched the first couple of innings of the Padres/Reds game on TV, I decided on a whim to try and go downtown and get some of the Reds after the game.  Over the past couple seasons I had gathered information from various sources (mostly other autograph collector blogs) that the Reds were relatively high from the aspect of star player to signers ratio.  In other words, the Reds are a team that has a pretty good roster full of autograph targets that also signs pretty well.  During the next couple of innings, while keeping one eye on the game, I did my prep work in which I go over the roster and look up pictures of the guys I don't think I would recognize.  I also grab different items I want signed and formulate a game plan in my head of who I want to go after and what I want them to sign.  I'm happy I made the last second decision to go as it ended up being a solid night. When it came time to park downtown, I was listening to the game when Chris ...

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. Dar...

First, let me wax nostalgic on this Seattle team.  I have had a very good history with this ball club dating back as far as the mid to late 90's when I first began my excursion into the realm of autograph collecting.  It's rather odd really, considering Seattle is an American League team one would not usually associate with playing the Padres, until you realize that the Mariners are actually the Padres "natural rival".  Being a natural rival in MLB essentially means you are in opposite leagues and forced to play an inter league series annually, which to me seems nothing more than an ill disguised attempt at contriving a rivalry out of none that exists.  Sometimes it works (see: Mets/Yankees, Cubs/White Sox), but in this case it does not.  That all being said, having the Mariners show up in San Diego has lead me to collect some of the biggest luminaries in the history of the Seattle ball club.  I'm talking Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, and Randy Johnson ty...

I thought I should share with those who live in the Southern California area that Orange County Sports Cards is having quite a few upcoming signing events.   http://www.ocsportscards.com/servlet/the-Autograph-Signings/Categories I highly recommend this place, as I have actually had quite a few things signed there in the past.  It is a relatively painless process, you purchase the ticket for the type of item you want signed by the player you want it signed by, show up where the event is occurring (many times in the OC Dugout), and wait in line.  You get to meet many stars and have any type of memorabilia you want signed, so long as you are willing to pay some money.  Mike Trout is making his only public signing appearance this year with these guys, but there are many more players lined up with them right now as well.  Speaking of Trout, here is a ball I had signed by him last year... A couple years ago, I attended a dual signing event at the OC Dugout where ...

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 ...