Best In Person Autographs of 2011

Well, as the year comes to an end, so does my year of graphing. This year was unique because on top of graphing baseball, I did basketball and a bit of football as well. Like last year on my old site, I decided to make a countdown of my top 5 autographs of the year. This year brought some of my best autographs in a long time so here are my top 5 out of the 382 I got:

#5 Andre Drummond F & Jeremy Lamb G University of Connecticut basketball.

I decided to pair these two guys together because well, they are going somewhere. They are currently projected to go 1 & 2 in the NBA Draft next year, and be impact players. If you know what you're doing, it is easy to get these guys, and it was a nice first experience graphing basketball.

#4 Rob Gronkowski TE New England Patriots.

This choice was simple. Gronk completely went off this year and set the new record for touchdown receptions by a tight end in a single season. There is nothing but success ahead of him. Too bad he isn't on my Jets.

#3 Jim Calhoun, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer

Right now, Calhoun is in season #26 at Uconn, and he is simply a legend. He is classy as can be, and always stops to sign when asked. It is always nice to get a hall of famer, especially one who has done so much for New England's premier college basketball team for almost 3 decades.

#2 Pedro Martinez

This name speaks for itself. Ranked the 13th best pitcher of all time, Pedro will be a first ballot hall of famer when the time comes. This was the longest I ever waited in one day to get an autograph, probably about 4-5 hours. Definitely worth it, for a true Red Sox legend.

 #1 Ryne Sandberg, National Baseball Hall of Famer

Oh, Mr. Sandberg. Yes Pedro was probably a better player, but it was my season long journey to get this legend that puts him at #1. 3 games I went to throughout the season when Lehigh Valley was in town, and I was unsuccessful. Miraculously, Pawtucket ended up hosting them in the playoffs, and I was finally able to get him after many failures. This is definitely the hardest I've ever tried to get an autograph and on the 4th try, it payed off. Sure, he ran with a blue sharpie, but I am not about to complain after I finally got him.