On the signing front

We start our look back at the early stops on the signing front with the signing from the first few weeks of April.
I always try to start fast so cards do not accumulate on the pile,but somehow it always manages to gather into bunches anyway,but here goes.

Thanks to Derreck and Tyler Chupak,who went to the Harrisburg opener (while I was moping at the road office) and knocked a handful of cards from the Senators for me.
Most of these were from the off season Topps Minor Heritage set,but an exception was Ian Krol,who was obtained in the winter three way trade that saw Mike Morse head to Seattle.
The main Heritage pickups were Brian Goodwin and Matt Skole.
The Chupak tandem report that Anthony Rendon left through the visitors clubhouse and ran through the concourse to avoid signing for anyone....

I then went to Woodbridge Va for the first time to catch a few innings of the Potomac Nationals home opener against the Lynchburg Hillcats.
I didn't have a ton for the P-Nats,but I had some for Lynchburg.
The Hillcats of note were William Beckwith (really nice),Matt Lipka and Kyle Kubitza.
Potomac additions were mostly Heritage cards of old favorites Cutter Dykstra,Robbie Ray and newcomer Derek Self on his Bowman....

I was able to see the Salem Red Sox twice in their visit to Frederick,after the Potomac game and the next day for "NHL Day" where I was able to get former Washington Capital Peter Bondra.
The Red Sox were a pretty good signing team for a Boston team.
Notable pickups were Noe Ramirez (very nice and ribbed me for wearing a Giants hat!),Henry Owens (signed all you had post game,but did not want to sign before the game),Blake Swihart,Devin Marrero (So nice that I've become a fan) and Gavin Cecchini.
Cecchini will sign what you have,but no duplicates,is very accommodating before the game (although he was frustrated with a fan that asked "Garvin" to sign a card and responded with "Man,you want me to sign a card and you don't even know my name" and didn't want to sign after the game.
Quite the competitor there!

Thanks to Bill Cover for getting a Theo Bowe Heritage signed for me over the winter.
Bill always thinks of me and it is appreciated.

Thanks to "Hank" Jamison for knocking out my Frederick Keys stuff on Meet the Keys day while I finished Salem up.
The help went a long way and thanks Hank!

Next into Frederick were the Winston-Salem Dash (what a dumb name).
I didn't have much for them either,but the teams first two picks in the 2012 draft were there and both were terrific with Courtney Hawkins and Chris Beck signing and chatting.
The bigger story was Buddy Bell back in town.
I was steaming mad because I had even set aside some Bell cards for the briefcase for just this situation after Buddy's visit last season and I had forgotten to put them there.
As I sat frustrated,two people helped me out and allowed this big baby to relax.
Brad Adams gave me a 1979 Topps of Bell as an Indian (the card sitting in front of the PC) and Tyler Chupak gave me a ball that he had found that I was able to get signed for my favorite aunt Becky,who lists Bell as her favorite player ever.
Tyler helped me get the ball signed to Becky and Brad's help allowed me to get an Indians card for the collection.
Thanks to both of them....

The mailbox then returned former Mariner first baseman Ricky Nelson.

The Delmarva Shorebirds hit town with Frederick native Branden Kline,who signed everything with a smile and I got a Bowman Silver Ice (I really like those) among others signed.
Shortstop Adrian Marin signed his USA and Bowman and was very nice as he signed.
Other Shorebirds of note were Roderick Bernadina,Christian Walker and Torsten Boss.
Former Astros catcher and Delmarva manager Luis Pujols signed two cards,but was not happy about it and was reported from two excellent sources to have blown up the following day about signing.
Pujols was known to be a good signer,so maybe this was a bad weekend for him....

Thanks to Brandon Diehl for adding a few missed Salem Red Sox for me,most notably Felix Sanchez.

The Lakewood Blue Claws hit town and for the first two games,Derreck Chupak and I were the autograph corps for the games.
Notable Blue Claws were first rounder Shane Watson,Roman Quinn,Art Charles (very nice) and Mitch Walding.
I also added the two newest Hagerstown Suns in Shawn Pleffner and Hunter Bailey and former Royals outfielder and Washington outfield instructor Gary Thurman.

Thanks as always for the Indians,Giants and Pirates from Mike Oravec-Most notable for me was a really cool 1984 Fleer of Lary Sorensen of the Tribe.

Phew...All done and caught up for a while.....