Rick Reilly in West Hartford, CT 5/14/14

Now that I'm living in central Connecticut, and working full time, my 'graphing opportunities are a little different than in summers that have passed, but I opened up my summer yesterday by going to the beautiful Blue Back Square section of Hartford to meet Sports Illustrated and ESPN legend, Rick Reilly.

Rick is quitting ESPN soon, and he put together another collection of his favorite columns from over the years, hence why he was in the city. He was scheduled to promote his new piece at Barnes & Noble.

I went straight from work, and was the first person at the store for the event. It was a very small event, but there was a good discussion, with lots of great questions being asked and answered.

Rick was really nice, and I tried to get a photo with him, but the kid who was taking it just kept failing, so Rick asked to take a selfie, and we did that.


Check out the awesome title he chose for his book. He said the reason behind it was that he 'collects quotes nobody has ever said, and this was his favorite one.'

Total Autographs For 2014: 113

Pawtucket Vs. Toledo 5/5/14

As some of my Twitter followers may know, I actually went to this game on Monday night, but because of studying for finals, and completing a few projects I had no chance to squeeze in time to write an entry.

My main goal with Toledo was to meet former MLB pitcher(most notably with the Tigers), Nate Robertson.

There was batting practice, so I knew if he was in the mood to sign, there would be a good chance of me getting him and that's exactly what happened. He was shagging fly balls in the outfield, and when he came in he had no problem signing at all.

I hadn't really prepared any baseball cards or anything for the rest of the team, mainly because this game was kind of short notice, and I knew I probably wouldn't be staying after the game because I had a final the next morning.

Regardless, I ended up getting many guys on a team piece:

Included are, Casey Crosby, Coach Larry Parrish, who became my 119th Red Sox I have ever met, Brandon Douglas, Former big leaguer Trevor Crowe, Hernan Perez, and Kyle Lobstein.

This will be my last Pawtucket entry for quite some time, because I am starting a new job farther out in Connecticut. On a good note, that will allow me to go to the much more 'graphing-friendly, New Britain Stadium, where baseball's #1 overall prospect, Byron Buxton, will be arriving any day now.

Total Autographs For 2014:112

Pawtucket Vs. Indianapolis 5/2/14

Yesterday was the first day of my summer off from school(sans exams), and it was a beautiful day, so I decided it would be a great opportunity to hit Pawtucket before work.

Daniel Nava and Ryan Roberts were both sent down from Boston since my last trip over to Pawtucket. I had met Daniel Nava tons of times prior to starting my blog and his emergence, but not since, so I didn't know what to expect.

Baseball's #12 overall prospect, Gregory Polanco was in town as well with Indy, but by 3:10 the bus STILL hadn't come, and I had to get to work.

Just so people know, not that it's a big issue or anything anyway, but Pawtucket now has security guards in the players' parking lot and at the locker room door, so I wouldn't bother trying to park back there if you have been.

My day started with Garin Cecchini coming in first. Garin is a really good prospect, and always pretty nice. He gets to the stadium EARLY so if you need him, prepare to get there on time:

I decided to start a new project yesterday, and I really like how it's coming along. I was too young in 2004 and 2007 to really start a World Series team item, and I had been really wanting to do something nice for the 2013 team, so I'm going to be getting anyone who played for the Red Sox in 2013 on the Boston Strong Sports Illustrated issues. For players I meet in the minors, I'm going to get them on the new one, and for players I meet in the majors, I'm going to put them on the Johnny Gomes one. In a few years, hopefully I can finish and frame them together!

Yesterday, I did really well starting it off. From top to bottom, spanning left to right:

Brayan Villareal

Brandon Workman

Daniel Nava

Alex Wilson

Rubby De La Rosa

Allen Webster

Ryan Lavarnway

Brock Holt

Brandon Snyder

It was awesome meeting all 9 of those guys, all of which played for the Red Sox last year.

As I just mentioned, I did end up getting Daniel Nava on the magazine, and he took a nice picture with me as well. He is still very nice, and it reminded me of all of the times he stopped for me about 4 years ago.

As I said to begin this entry, Ryan Roberts who was recently sent down to Pawtucket was one of my main targets. When he showed up, he was quiet, but nice enough to sign. He drives one of the nicest cars I have ever seen in Pawtucket. A Porsche!

Brock Holt was nice enough to sign my team ball, along with the magazine above:

Some other random autographs I got yesterday were Christian Vazquez,Bryce Brentz, Justin Henry, and Alex Hassan. Vazquez showed up dressed as Superman! Haha

Total Autographs For 2014:105

Finally, here are some photos from yesterday that my friend, and owner of The Sweetspot Jacket, took.

Here is a link to his website. He has created a new, and interesting product for autograph collectors.

Sweetspot Jacket Website

Boston Vs. Tampa Bay 4/29/14

There are cold New England nights, and then there was last night. I got to Fenway an hour before gates opened, and it was already about 45 degrees. During the game weather.com pegged the temerature with wind chill around 34 degrees, but it felt even colder.

There was a chance of rain before the game, so I knew there was a very low chance of batting practice, which meant a very high chance of me getting shut out. 

When I walked in, I saw Tom Caron walking through the concourse towards Yawkey Way. I said hi, but we were both in a rush, so I didn't ask for anything.

The grounds crew workers were already taking down the batting cage, so indeed there would be no batting practice. Luckily for me, there were a number of players on the field  either throwing(pitchers) or practicing fielding baseballs off of the green monster.

I quickly recognized Grant Balfour walking in, and he stopped to take a photo with some Rays fans, so I went over, and had him sign a team baseball.

I ran back over to my spot, because fellow pitcher Josh Leuke was about to finish throwing, and he came over and signed when I asked. I think I was the only one who got him, and 1/2 to get Balfour to sign. There were probably only 6 players total on the field, and I had gotten one of the most notable out of that group in Balfour, so my next target was Sean Rodriguez, the best player left on the field. I called to him when he was coming in(at this point I was down the left field line) but I didn't think he could hear me. I decided to run down to the home plate side of the dugout which takes about 45 seconds, mind you, and I somehow got through everyone, and ended up at the spot I got Darvish and Washington a few weeks back. Sean ended up signing 2 autographs right there. 1 for a person as I was making my way down, and I made it to the front just in time for him to motion to me to throw my baseball down.

I was expecting a shutout, and I ended up getting 3 guys in 10 minutes, so I'll take that any day of the week.

Sean Rodriguez:

Grant Balfour:

Josh Leuke:

Total Autographs For 2014: 88

Pawtucket Vs. Buffalo(Blue Jays) 4/21/14(Shane Victorino, Munenori Kawasaki)

Well, it was one of those weird nights that I talk about once in a great while. I kind of knew Will Middlebrooks and Shane Victorino would both be rehabbing in Pawtucket tonight, but was verified of this at about 11:00 a.m. Unfortunately, I had a meeting at school, so I probably was going to miss this chance, but I kind of didn't mind anyway, because the meeting was really important, and Shane Victorino never, ever signs, even if there's a fire(sorry, Step Brothers reference). Also, I have met Middlebrooks countless times.

Regardless, my meeting finished, I texted my dad saying that those guys would be in Pawtucket, and he basically told me that he'd go. So on very short notice, I drove home, threw some baseballs in my bag, and drove over to McCoy. We got there maybe 3 minutes before first pitch, which if you know anything about me, is very, very different from my normal routine(I tend to show up AT LEAST 1.5 hours early).

So anyway, the game goes fairly quickly, Middlebrooks was pulled early, Victorino soon after. Slightly to my surprise, both players' vehicles were still in the caged lot(which is off limits). I had failed there before with John Lackey, and more recently David Ortiz, but the past is the past,and although whoever was going to stop would have to roll down their window, I thought at the very least I would get another Middlebrooks 'graph.

When Middlebrooks left, the crowd was probably 15 strong. He drove right by us. Everyone left at that point besides another guy, my father, and myself. I really didn't want to go home empty handed, so I ever so slightly contemplated just going around the corner to try for Munenori Kawasaki, but even though Shane is a really, really tough autograph, I just couldn't pass up a 2 on 1 opportunity.

When Shane exited the building, I called over to him, "Shane can you please sign? There are only two of us." At that point I had forgotten I had given my dad a baseball in case Middlebrooks had stopped. I received no answer from Shane, but when the gate opened, he stopped right in front of the 3 of us. At first he took the other guy's baseball, which was a team ball. The kid pointed out where he wanted Shane to sign it, but Shane said, "Okay now you're getting too picky. I'm sick of this shit. " He handed the kid back his ball unsigned. Quickly, I handed him my baseball, he asked me my name, and sweet spotted it. I was in shock that I had just met Shane Victorino. To my surprise, my dad jumped in right behind me and got a baseball signed as well. As I said, I had forgotten I had even given him the baseball, so it was really cool that I came out of the situation with 2.

After I met Shane, I went over to the visitors' exit, and within 2 minutes, I met Munenori Kawasaki, who is a very funny guy.

It's the nights like these that keep me going in this hobby, and sometimes the surprises bring the best memories.

Shane Victorino:

Munenori Kawasaki:

Total Autographs for 2014: 85

New Britain Vs. Portland 4/17/14(Henry Owens, Mookie Betts)

Yesterday was my first time seeing Portland this season, and just like over the past few years, they had a number of great prospects on their roster.

My main targets for the day were #1 Pitching prospect for the Red Sox, Henry Owens, #5 prospect Blake Swihart, and #6 prospect, Mookie Betts.

When I was pulling into the stadium, I saw the team bus leaving, so I knew chances were that I missed at least one of those guys. That in prior years wouldn't have mattered in New Britain because the stadium used to always be open, but apparently the new ownership changed that policy. I ended up missing Swihart because of this (I couldn't stay for the game).

There ended up being two more bus trips. Off of the first bus that I was there for, came Henry Owens, who was nicer than I could have ever expected. There were probably 8 or so people waiting for him, and he signed ANYTHING people had. He was signing for at least 3-4 minutes outside.

I ended up getting 2 baseballs, 4 photos, and a card signed:

Off of the next bus was Mookie Betts. Unfortunately he will probably be traded at some point, because although he can hit just as well as anyone in the system, the Red Sox kind of have second base covered for a while.

The only other player I got for Portland was Henry Ramos:

While I was waiting for those buses, I started a New Britain team ball for the year.

Brandon Waring & Cole Johnson:

Kennys Vargas & Nate Hanson:

Tony Thomas, Daniel Ortiz, &Ryan O' Rourke:

Total Autographs at this game:19

Total Autographs for 2014: 82

Pawtucket Vs. Syracuse 4/9/14

After the Red Sox game the night prior(Boston Vs. Texas 4/8/14), I knew I'd be going to Pawtucket with my friend the next day because I only had one class in the morning. I picked him up and headed up right after my class for the 12:00 game. We got there pretty late for pre game, but I figured since there was a game the night before, some guys might be running late which was somewhat true. In the back, the first player I saw was former Red Sox fan favorite, Manny Delcarmen. He was nice as always, and since I had never had him sign a ball for my Red Sox collection, I did so. He added the World Series Champs inscription when I asked.

The only other player we saw outside was Brandon Workman who showed up from Boston(he was sent down after his fantastic performance in the game the night before) but denied the 3 of us waiting. 

The rest of the day was very good. I actually ended up meeting 6 guys who received a World Series ring from the 2013 campaign.

Since it was a day game, the pitchers were working out on the field, so I was able to get Brandon Workman to sign in there. I will show the autograph later on, since it is on a team ball with former Red Sox players.

That was it for pre-game 'graphing, but afterwards I was able to meet nearly every player on Pawtucket's team, since it was getaway day, which meant that they would all be getting on a bus.

Also on the team ball with Workman are Drake Britton,Brandon Snyder, Ryan Lavarnway, Rubby De La Rosa,Alex Wilson, and Rich Hill. Hill was on the Red Sox from 2010-2012. The rest were on the team at least in 2013.

Britton and Snyder:

Workman, Wilson, and Hill:

Lavarnway:

De La Rosa:

I was able to get a game used ball during the game, and I had Red Sox #4 prospect, Garin Cecchini sign it afterwards. He also signed my media guide:

I was also able to add a number of other players to the 2014 media guide.

Chris Resop:

Anthony Ranaudo:

Mike McCoy:

Jeremy Kehrt:

Chris Hernandez:

I tried to meet the always tough, Brian Goodwin afterwards, but he ignored me as I expected. I was the only person who knew who he was.

Total autographs at this game:15

Total autographs for 2014:63