Throwback #7 Giants Star Pitcher Madison Bumgarner

Date: September 7th, 2009
Place: Dodd Stadium, Norwich, CT
Setting: Concourse, Sit down signing

Over the past few years, Madison Bumgarner has proven himself as one of the Giants best starting pitchers, and is even becoming one of the better pitchers in the National League.

I have never forgotten this success, because I actually met Madison, ONE DAY before he made his Major League debut. Tim Lincecum had been injured, and Madison made the jump from AA to the San Francisco rotation and I never saw him again.

I was 16 at the time, and I remember Madison being really nice. I actually got 2 things signed that day, as he was the chosen player to sign on the concourse (Norwich always sends one or two players to sign at a table).

I remember being shocked the next day when I heard his good news, not because he wasn't good enough to hit the majors, but because he was SO young at the time, and not many guys make the jump from AA to the MLB level.

This will always stand out as one of my favorite successes because of the fact that I met him the very day before his MLB debut.

I am at school, and this is the best image I could find:

Throwback Thursday #6 2003 NASCAR Champion Matt Kenseth

Date: July 21st, 2004

Place: Thompson Speedway, Thompson,CT

Setting: Concourse, Sit down signing

If you think that the date of this looks familiar, you may be thinking back to my Kasey Kahne entry from a few weeks back. Thompson Speedway did a PHENOMENAL job in 2004 getting both of these guys to visit, especially since Kenseth was the reigning series champion.

To make everyone feel old, Kenseth was the WINSTON Cup Champion. This is 3 series title sponsors ago! Of course since Winston was dropped, the series became Nextel Cup, and then Sprint Cup, as it is called today.

I really love writing up these NASCAR entries because I really grew up with the sport, alongside baseball, and some of my earliest and great successes are from NASCAR.

Kenseth was pretty cool, as was Kahne. It was really cool to meet a series champion. Kenseth was actually the second cup champion I met however(you will see the first next week).

Over the years the photo has gotten a little beaten up, but for almost a decade later, it isn't in bad shape at all.

Throwback Thursday #5 Clay Buchholz

Date:2009
Place:McCoy Stadium Pawtucket, RI
Setting:Parking Lot

Well, it's about that time of the week again. Throwback Thursday is here and this week features the very last time I met Clay Buchholz. Over his time in AAA, I probably met him 5-6 times(all of which coincidentally were after his MLB no hitter).

I miss how McCoy stadium used to be, where you could walk up to players outside, and nobody would care. Now security acts like they are protecting world class diamonds, and you "have to" stay behind the barricade.

Anyways, I mentioned that because this autograph was obtained at Clay Buchholz' car.
As far as I can remember, it was a day game, and there were a number of people getting autographs that day.

Clay by this point, often parked in what is known as "the cage" but would drive out the main entrance, so if you flagged him down and he wanted to sign, you could still get him. That is pretty much what happened on this day. I was really excited when he pulled down the window to his black BMW, and took the card from me. Apparently I still thought it was okay to use black sharpies, because that is what it was signed in, but it came out very nice.

I have seen Clay MANY times since, and have never been successful. Kind of crazy seeing how this year will make 6 years since this day.

Throwback Thursday #4 Kasey Kahne

Date:July 21,2004
Place:Thompson Speedway, Thompson,CT
Setting:Concourse, Sit down signing

This week's Throwback features 14 time NSCS race winner, Kasey Kahne. As you read in my Michael Waltrip entry, Thompson Speedway used to bring in 1 or 2 Sprint Cup(at that time, Nextel Cup) drivers, to race and have an autograph session. Kasey made the appearance with a former champion(which will be next week's throwback)

The autograph itself was easy, all you had to do was buy a ticket and get in line, Kahne was a lot more shy than Waltrip was, but was still nice.

Kahne also was there with Tommy Baldwin his crew chief at the time, whose father  I saw in a very sad coincidence pass away at Thompson in a racing accident.

The pair used Thompson to test at before that weekend's race at Loudon, because Baldwin had done the same with Ward Burton years before, and went on to win the race.

I had both of them sign my photo, which is hanging in my room at home.

Throwback Thursday #3 Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Date:August 6, 2010
Place:McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket, RI
Setting:Concourse, Team Poster/Autograph signing night

2010 was the first season in which I really became a " 'grapher". I had my license and a car for the first time, so I had a little more freedom in how much I could 'graph. Not that I hadn't gone to a lot of games in previous years, but with a new job and kind of just growing up, I could 'graph whenever.

So here we are, August 6,2010. My dad and I are on our way up to Pawtucket, or over I should say, and it starts POURING rain. We were actually stopped in traffic, and a lightning strike hit about 50 yards away. So the weather was certainly not ideal, which meant that the team autograph signing would be held on the concourse rather than on the field. McCoy's concourse isn't bad on a normal night, but it gets very packed during autograph signings if they are moved inside.(I think I have been to 3 of the indoors ones now).

Jarrod Saltalamacchia had recently been traded to Boston from Texas(literally a week before at the trade deadline), and sent down to AAA. For those who remember, he had been having some issues with throwing the ball back to the pitcher.

Nonetheless, I was excited because he was still a pretty big prospect, and he was expected to play in the majors again fairly soon.

Jarrod was really nice to us, I think he did 2 for each of us, so I got a ball and some other items.

Flashforward to this past season, and Jarrod had a monster year for the Sox, hitting 25 home runs.

 

 Does anyone else find it weird that he has the longest(literally) name in baseball, yet has such a short autograph?

Throwback Thursday #2 Dustin Pedroia

Date:Summer 2006
Place:McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket, RI
Setting:Parking lot, after game

Whenever people ask me who my first autograph was, I usually tell them my Bob Stanley story because that is as far back as I can remember actually asking a specific person to sign something(I had gotten tons of autographs, but just as a child that didn't really know how to do it).

Anyways, it's summer 2006, after 7th grade(I think), and I had gone to McCoy for my first game there with some friends, because they used to give out ticket vouchers at school.

I remember really trying for Adam Stern that day, because he had made a stint with the Red Sox the previous season,  and as a kid that was really cool. Dustin was probably my next target, along with David Murphy.

Stern would go on to retirement a few years later, Murphy was traded to Texas and has become a solid role player, and of course Pedroia is the heart and soul of the Red Sox today.

I had gotten the team card set that day, so I got Dustin on that, along with a logo ball that as you can guess has diminished over time. The card is still in great shape however, and is one my my favorite all time pieces.

When you are 'graphing guys in the minor leagues, you can only hope that they really make it. Dustin sure made it and became, Rookie of the Year, MVP, a World Chamion, and has won several other awards.

(I will get a nicer image up tomorrow, since I am at school and only have images already saved to my system).

Throwback Thursday #1 Rob & Chris Gronkowski

Since it's Thursday afternoon, and my classes are all done for the week, I decided to add another new feature to the blog, "Throwback Thursday!"

This page will focus on autographs I got before I started blogging.

I figured since the Patriots(although I hate them) are in the AFC Championship this weekend, that Rob Gronkowski would be a good person to start with for this.

Date:2/19/2011
Place: Crystal Mall, Waterford,CT
Setting: Paid signing


I had been excited for weeks to go to this, even though I had never paid for an autograph at the time. This was before Gronk had really blown up, so it was like $20 to get him. 2 of his brothers, Chris and Dan were also there. I had no interest in getting Dan, and I thought it would be cool to get Chris, but he kind of turned out as a bust as well.

Dan and Chris showed up first, almost an HOUR after the scheduled time, and Rob didn't show up for probably another half hour.

Like I said, Rob hadn't blown up yet, and he was giving out great signatures:

 

Chris Gronkowski:

 

 Rob at the table, with Chris in the corner of the photo: