Road Trip :Harrisburg and Fred's Buddy Roy?

I'm interrupting my road trip to New York to talk about an interesting night in Harrisburg with the Senators with good company,namely my lovely wife for the evening.
Of course,it wouldn't be Harrisburg without the appearance of the irrepressible Fred Landucci and the must for the evening was seeing the Akron Rubber Ducks for the first time this season.

I needed to make the trip to Harrisburg for the first time since June because the Rubber Ducks team set was out and I needed to work on that.
I always make doing Akron,Altoona and Richmond the must have team sets in the Eastern League,so this was a drive that I needed to make.
As usual,Fred Landucci was waiting for Cherie and I at the gate and as we descended down the steps to reach field level to do some pre-game graphing,a gentleman hollered out to Fred some words that I couldn't make out.
Fred responded "AH I don't have time for you,Roy!".
I asked Fred,if Roy was a friend of his and did was he friends with Roy?
The crisp and quick retort was no and just then the theme of the evening was set-Fred and his pal Roy!

There were few graphers in town.mainly because the Ducks and their two top prospects had been in town earlier in the season in Francisco Mejia and Bobby Bradley.
Fred had gotten Mejia's top 100 finished for me in Akron's previous visit,so now it was just my and Mike Oravec's team set cards.
Francisco was the first player that I was able to write off as he signed both cards for me and Fred helped with the final card to finish Mejia.
Bobby Bradley signed just one of two,so we'll see how Fred might do on Thursday with a little mop up...

One great story was when I asked Cameron Hill to sign.
Cameron came right over and signed my two cards and Fred said that we still needed to get Bobby Bradley and wondered if he would walk right over to us.
Cameron said  (paraphrased) "Probably not,these big prospects usually don't sign".
I haven't heard honesty from a player about a player like that since Ron Davenport ripped Jordan Schaefer in 2007.

All the while as the pregame went and we were joined by Dan and Bobby (Great guys,Harrisburg locals and how could they be bad as Xavier fans?),I continued to ask Fred about his friend Roy.
Roy apparently is a Senators season ticket holder that Fred dislikes because he pays for general admission seats and yet sits in the first row right beside the Senator dugout in seats far better than he pays for.
Fred says the Senators allow this for some reason and even though Fred has great seats that he pays for (he usually climbs the steps to sit with me when I come to Harrisburg),this rightfully angers him and the fact that Roy revels in this makes it even worse for Fred.

As the game was played and after I missed the only Akron run of the night  (a Mejia homer) while I waited in line for a cheeseburger (Cherie was nice enough to come with me right after work,so I felt I should get her something to eat!),we climbed to the top of the stadium.
There isn't a bad seat in the place,so I like to sit away from people,but who was right in our line of vision to the field?
Roy.
That meant more comments from me about Fred's new friend Roy and Fred offering his various complaints about Roy and his life!
Me: You sure know a lot about Roy,Is Roy coming to the GGG-Canelo party?
Fred:No,I wouldn't invite him-----------comments about Roy here....

Meanwhile on the field,the Senators and Rubber Ducks went into extra innings with Harrisburg blowing a chance to win it in the 9th.
As we looked at Roy in his seat as he cheered on the Senators with another grapher that Fred hates that is lovingly dubbed "Baseball Pants" in front of another fan that was quickly named Frank Howard since he was wearing a Nationals/Senators batting helmet and the guy had some resemblance to the 80 plus year old slugger.
Harrisburg had a chance to win in the 10th,but the runner was held at third with one out on a single and the next two "Favorites of Fred"-Khayan Norfork and Stephen Perez,long time Harrisburg journeymen each made outs to prolong the game.

Roy was having a good time,while I reminded Fred of Roy not paying for his seats.
Harrisburg again had a chance to win in the 12th as Dan Gamache led off the inning with a double.
Drew Ward then singled and as I gathered my belongings to prepare for postgame,left fielder Dorssys Paulino uncorked a throw for home.
It was long enough,but way high.
Gamache would have been safe easily,if he slides-but he doesn't and Paulino's throw hits the mitt of Francisco Mejia and right into the hip of Gamache for the out.
As the crowd groaned,Fred yelled at Roy to sit down.
Akron's Mitch Brown walked the next two batters (one intentionally,one not),up stepped Stephen Perez again to Fred's complaints and Roy's cheers.
This time,Perez singled to end the game and finally send Fred,Roy and the few remaining fans home with a rare Senators win (Harrisburg is racing to the finish with Richmond to avoid the cellar).

Fred helped me graph Akron postgame and got some more players for the team set (I was able to acquire most of the prospects I really needed except for Bobby Bradley for Mike and Greg Allen for both of us) and I was able to hang out with Dan and Bobby more as well.
I always have a good time in Harrisburg.
It's not the prettiest park to watch a game on the circuit and it's not the easiest to graph either,but it's close enough to the top on both lists to make it my favorite place to go on the local circuit.

Thanks to everyone and even Roy wherever you are for making my final trip of the year a fun night...

I still have two stops on the New York trip coming up soon,but I'll be working on football for the next few days!
Stay tuned!

Father's Day in Harrisburg

I had a long and great Father's Day that saw a visit from Ryan, a trip for the lovely Cherie and me to Harrisburg for brunch with Fred and Linda Landucci, an ice cream cake from Rachel, and a meeting with a should-be HOF member that I'll never forget.

I've never been a person who worried much about Father's Day.
It's nice to have the children acknowledge me, but I look at that as part of the job of being a parent.

However, on this one, Fred Landucci graciously invited Cherie and me to Harrisburg for a brunch on the field before the Senators game against the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

I worked all night and had to leave as soon as I got home from work, if I was going to arrive on time, so it was a bit tiring to be out in the sun on a very hot day.
It really wasn't so bad when the cloud cover was available, but when it wasn't, it was blazing!
The Senators only sold a handful of these packages for brunch, and they placed the tables on the infield, so we were eating on the field.

Harrisburg has a terrific suite area for eating that Fred took us to last year, which is prepared by tremendous chefs, and they did great work again for this event.
They had a steak that just melted in my mouth, and the other items (especially the potatoes) were terrific, and Harrisburg's food in that area ranks at the top of the food chain on the local minor league circuit!
A great event, and thanks again to Fred and his wife Linda for hosting us!

We had about 45 minutes to kill before the gates opened, but the Senators graciously allowed the people from the brunch to stay in the stadium, if they desired.
While I am sure that sounds like a small thing, it isn't.
Most teams would have rushed you out of the stadium and dumped you in line with the other fans after they collected your money.
Harrisburg didn't do that, and on a hot day, it was very much appreciated.

As we sat underneath the stadium in the cool, we noticed Giants roving instructor Kirt Manwaring walking by.
Manwaring works with the catchers, and I have him for my two Score sets.

Manwaring was nice enough, but he lives fairly closely (Elmira, NY was on his baseball card), and when Richmond comes to Harrisburg, the usual rover is Manwaring for that reason, I suppose.
I thought to myself, "Manwaring again. Why can't we ever have one of the other rovers?".

This is mainly because the Giants have some pretty good rovers with not only cards in the sets that I collect, but also excellent big league careers such as Lee Smith, Vince Coleman, and Ellis Burks.
Because I try (not always possible) to see Richmond, I always carry cards with me for the Giants' rovers, but it's almost always Kirt Manwaring.

Well, on this day, whether it was divine intervention, blind luck, or karma-about five minutes after that thought crossed my mind, Lee Smith came out of the locker room, texting on his phone and sat down at the table beside us.

I hate to ever interrupt people when they are on the phone, so I didn't go straight over to him, but I did scurry through the box for the three Smiths that I needed for my set.
With my luck, Lee Smith was in BOTH traded sets for 1988 and 1990, so I needed four cards for him (It was actually three, as I had forgotten that Ed Loyd in Richmond had gotten the 1990 Smith with the Red Sox signed for me a while back) and that's not always an easy get with former major leaguers, let alone one with Lee Smith's resume".

Fred and I waited quietly for a few minutes, and then Linda looked over at Smith and said, "Thanks for signing".
A puzzled Smith looked at her oddly as he hadn't signed a thing, but it did break the ice enough for Fred and me to walk over and ask him to sign -so thank you, Linda, for that!!

What followed was arguably the best interaction that I've ever had with someone since I started this, as Lee Smith talked to Fred and me for 15 minutes and signed everything that we had.
We talked about his days as a Cub, pitching at Wrigley Field, and most of all the Hall of Fame and what he thinks has been held against him by the voters, along with his feelings on the Veterans Committee, where his candidacy will be considered next.

Lee Smith has the third most saves of all time (A few players below him have less) and was the last of the old school closers that pitched more than one inning to get a save.
Smith should be in on those facts alone...
It was fifteen minutes of old school baseball talk with Fred called him "a classic baseball man".
It's times like these that make me glad that I do this often crazy hobby...

I then watched warmups for Richmond and got some guys finished with just two other graphers.
I gained a nice addition in former major league outfielder Jerry Sands, who signed three cards and got to talk for a while with one of my favorites in Richmond pitching coach Steve Kline, who not only is a good guy, but one of the most hilarious people around!

The player that I had the most cards for was Sam Coonrod, a pitcher in the system that I just never seemed to get in various visits.
Coonrod never visited Hagerstown with Augusta, wasn't with Richmond on one of their Harrisburg visits last season, and I couldn't make the other.
Add to the stack of team set cards that he is in two Bowman sets, and I had plenty.
I was hoping for two- his SAL prospect card with Augusta and his 2016 Richmond card.
I settled for one...

I begged off early with the heat and the 90-minute drive home after working all night; I was worn out.
It was in the second inning, and I knew if I had stuck around longer, I would have stuck it out and gotten the rest of my stuff signed.
Instead, I did the smart thing for once and took Cherie home.
Once I got there, Ryan had written me and said he wanted to see me for Father's Day, which was very nice.
As I waited for Ryan, Rachel gave me an ice cream cake for Father's Day, which was very nice.
I'm eating better (38 pounds down!),So I had just a small piece before Ryan's visit, which was very nice and welcome.
Ryan was nice enough to get me an Amazon gift card, which I'm sure will be used someday soon!!
Finally, I went to bed, collapsing and sleeping from 7pm to 8am (with one small break in between) to complete a long day..

A better Father's Day, I cannot remember, and one more thanks to Fred and Linda Landucci for the brunch, my children for visiting with me, the lovely Cherie for coming with me to Harrisburg, and Lee Smith for talking baseball.

The schedule looks like this (breaking news permitting)-another cleaning out the inbox, the NBA draft (Cleveland doesn't have a pick unless they make a deal Hmmmm), the Devils picking first in the NHL draft, and something else from the archives of my past....

First Week-On the Signing Front

Wow.Week one of the minor league season is now in the books and I figured I'd make a quick rundown....

Before I begin,I'll be doing another Q and A in the next day or two-drop me questions here,Facebook,Twitter or if we are actual friends- email.
I love the Q and A sessions and I have received some minor league baseball questions,so look for that soon!

I have three podcasts set for the baseball downtime,so the podcast will be back soon with three great guests-two returning and one new!

With all three teams that are close all opening their seasons at home in week one with one or two series,there was plenty to do and see,but the downside was that there will be eight days in between the last game and another game.

Let's start with the local bunch with the Hagerstown Suns.
I only attended one game for each series of the homestand-1 against the Asheville Tourists (Colorado Rockies) and the final game against the Lakewood Blue Claws (Philadelphia Phillies),as to be frank,I had games/teams in other locales that I wanted to do as well.

The chronically understaffed Suns didn't really change much at the Muni,but I didn't see anything to complain about as far as changes go,so things weren't that bad.
The Tourists featured two first round picks in 2015 (Compensation round) third baseman Tyler Nevin (son of former big leaguer and current Giants coach Phil Nevin) and 2016 first rounder (4th overall) fireballer Riley Pint.
I decided to go the Frederick Keys route on the Sunday,which was far more fun due to a great meal with Doug Hopkins afterwards,but in doing I missed seeing Pint,who reportedly was hitting 100 MPH on the radar gun against the Suns.
Earlier in the series,Pint signed all three cards that I had,but Nevin was missed as a grapher with a pile of cards and other items nailed Nevin and left the rest of us grasping for air.
Luckily for me,there was always Derreck Chupak,who in his visit later in the series,helped me with Nevin and was able to get him on all my stuff...
Other interesting additions was 2016 fourth rounder Colton Welker and former Ohio State Buckeye Jacob Bosiokovic,who chatted with me about the Buckeyes...

As noted,I attended just one game against Lakewood and the top overall pick in 2016 Mickey Moniak.
I suspected the Moniak show would attract graphers from the circuit for a crazy environment and I go to games for fun and relaxation-that didn't seem like fun to me.
I passed on Monday in order to do Fightheads and I thought Harrisburg with Bill Cover on Tuesday would be more fun even with a lesser team (Hartford) than battling graphers.
I hit the final game of the series with a grand total of just five cards-1 for the aforementioned Moniak and 4 for a reliever named Harold Arauz,
I had gotten quite a bit of the Blue Claws last year at Williamsport,the short season affiliate of the Phillies and with a few more additions from Doug Hopkins ( I did stuff for him in Harrisburg),I was left with just five cards.
I told Arauz that he was the main player that I needed tonight and he quizzically looked at me and said "Moniak?".
I said I had more for him (Arauz) than anyone and when he signed,my night was just about finished,
I wondered whether it was worth trying to join the crowd for Moniak (the graphing crowd was there for him,the actual crowd-not so much) and decided why not and he was quiet,but efficient and knocked my Bowman's Best card out.
I watched the game and enjoyed the quiet as noted earlier,the undermanned Suns staff wasn't able to do as many of the on-field skits as normal.
I decided to skip the bus crowd and went home as I had to leave for work within the hour.
The Suns early season six o'clock starts allow me to stay a lot more than later in the season when the games start at seven.
I'm planning on a different plan of attack for the hometown team this season.I'm going to try keeping things to just one or maybe two games a series,
I'm hoping that a small reduction in games will allow me to have more fun in Hagerstown...

I spent Sunday with the Frederick Keys and the visiting Carolina Mudcats.
The Mudcats are in their first year with the Milwaukee Brewers,who are new to the local circuit.
As a result,almost all of us have tons of cards for the Mudcats.
Mike Landucci had earlier added Trent Clark on his 2016 top 100 (Clark would be the only top 100 pickup of the opening week) for me,so I was able to add Clark on his Midwest League top prospect card.
I always love doing the league top prospect sets and except for the top 100 sets,those are always my top of the list to have signed.
2014 first rounder Kodi Mederios was very nice in signing a few different cards with the best additions being his 2015 Midwest and 2016 Florida State prospect cards and also nice was former sandwich pick Jacob Gatewood,who signed all 4 cards that I had.
The best get might have been promising hurler Marcos Diplan,who is fast moving up the top prospect charts.
Diplan signed his Midwest prospect card and his Pioneer league All-Star card and stopped to do it-very nice.
After a dinner with Doug Hopkins,I went home to watch the end of the Masters and skipped the Suns.
I always enjoy the Frederick Keys,the graphing access is usually great,the employees almost always friendly (there was one usher a few years ago as the exception) and I usually have a good time there,although I don't get to watch games there as much as I wish that I could.

Tuesday was spent with Bill Cover for the Hartford Yard Goats and we were met there by Fred and Mike Landucci.
I've never had a bad experience in Harrisburg and of the three stops,it's likely my favorite to watch a game in.
The AA game is a better quality game and moves faster as a result.
Harrisburg also has one other factor-my man Nate DeFazio.
Nate is my favorite employee among my minor league stops,always thanks me for coming to Harrisburg,talks for a bit and is pleased to see me (and Derreck when he is able to come),which is a welcome change from another spot-Ha Ha!!!
The Yard Goats weren't loaded with prospects,but a few interesting cards were inserted into the finished collection for mine (and Doug's)
Outfielder Omar Carrizales was extremely nice in signing three cards,starter Ryan Castellani pitched well in his start and signed two cards,before joining what appeared to be his family and former Texas Longhorn Parker French signed five cards (combined between Doug and mine).
I always like my Harrisburg trips and look forward to more as the year goes by.

I now have eight days off and after looking forward to the return of the game for the fall and winter,this break is a little longer than preferred.
Upcoming teams
Delmarva visits Hagerstown (Unsure on this,a very light prospect team,they make several trips to Hagerstown and not a lot of cards combined with other stops)
Salem visits Frederick-Will definitely be doing the Red Sox after missing many of those players at Greenville last year.
Lakewood and Charleston in West Virginia-First long trip of the year sees the Blue Claws again,a early chance to do the West Virginia Power and Blake Rutherford with the Yankee affiliated RiverDogs.
Reading visits Harrisburg-More cards than expected for the Fighting Phils with young outfielder Carlos Tocci and second baseman Scott Kingery.
Kannapolis visits Hagerstown-This one will be a missed series as I'll be in Charleston and Harrisburg before missing a 10;30 am game due to a work meeting.
Doug Hopkins is swapping his Reading cards for me to do as I give him my Kannapolis cards to work on...

Those games will take care of April and set the stage for May....

One night in Harrisburg

Usually I discuss my trips in order and I'll be catching up on my various stops over the course of the next week with vacation (it was all I ever wanted) over,but last night in Harrisburg was the funniest night that I have had that resulted in getting a grand total of six cards signed.
Now that is not a whine from me or a knock on the visiting Erie SeaWolves-I only brought eight cards with me,but it does say the fun that I had over six cards.

I made the trip to see the last place SeaWolves mainly because the Tigers had promoted each of their top two draft picks (Christin Stewart and Tyler Alexander) to Erie,because I had good luck in each of the other times working on them,but I did want to add both players.
I was pleased to meet up with Bill Cover for the second night in a row (A rainout in Frederick covered the previous day),but I was later than usual due to Cherie's work schedule.
Bill graciously waited for me,but it did put us behind along with a weird stretch along I-81 that seems to consistently slow traffic despite no signs of construction,so we didn't arrive until the 4th inning.

Bill and I climbed the steps to sit at the top of the stadium and instantly spotted Fred Landucci in his seat.
Fred sits right behind the dugout,but likes to sit with me (and I like having him to talk with),so when we saw Fred rise from his seat,Bill and I assumed he was coming to us.
That assumption was wrong,as Fred began to walk from the stadium and with me as limping Leon,I wasn't going to catch him from the other side of the stadium.
Suddenly,we saw Fred reverse field as he passed "baseball pants",a grapher from Harrisburg.
Bill said "Baseball Pants must have told Fred we were here" and that is exactly what happened as Fred told us when he arrived at our seats!

The game wasn't really notable although I did get a foul ball (not caught on the bounce) and got to hear Fred's tale of getting a six year old card signed that had been all over the place as Fred finally was able to land AA hired gun infielder Gustavo Nunez on his 2010 Florida State League top prospect card.
No longer a top prospect at 28,Gustavo is just one of those guys that for some reason was just tough to get....

After the game was the humor that Fred missed (his lovely wife Linda wasn't feeling well) as he left in the middle of the seventh.
There was were more highlights almost than graphers as very few were around,but those that were received a treat!
First,A fellow I only knew in passing came up and apologized for yelling at me during the Brendan Rodgers night in Hagerstown.
I'm not even sure I mentioned it here and it wasn't a big deal,so I accepted his apology.
These things happen in life...

Also,we were treated to two inebriated young women in revealing clothing asking for selfies with each of the Erie players as they left the locker room.
The guy that apologized was taking pictures for them and commented "You know,it's not really a selfie,if I'm taking the photo"-Which really is a legitimate point.
It was quite funny watching this and the reactions from the Erie players-Most of whom were happy to pose with them....

And then there was Manson-as dubbed as such for his similar look,
This guy has to be seen to be believed with ridiculous questions such as this gem to Tyler Glasnow last season "Do you like the bed in your hotel room"?
Between the look,speech impediment and off the wall behavior,this guy really is either off the wall or playing one hell of a role.
I've often wondered how much of this is an act and it almost makes you think of Undercover Boss,where one day this guy is going to strip off a wig,mustache etc and introduce himself as someone that you wouldn't expect....

Strange night,but fun as always with Bill and Fred and the various characters that make up this crazy hobby of ours..
I might be back tomorrow with either an announcement or the beginnings of talking about my trips...

Great Day Frustrating Night

I had planned a post on some sleepers for the Browns and maybe a post on a good day that I had in Harrisburg.

Instead I came home to news that there was another possible move for the Hagerstown Suns-this time to a county in Virginia outside of Fredericksburg.
Bruce Quinn claims to put 18 million dollars in the pot for such a field,David Gysberts couldn't be reached for comment (although he made sure to be seen at the opener and commented later) and Kristin Aleshire made sure to toss his opinion in,so a lot of the same old stuff,but this time,something unusual happened.

I just didn't care.
Oh,I want to see the team stay,but dealing with the day to day grind has just worn me down.
It gets old watching employees harass the fans that do come and strut around with their head in the air.
Ridiculous behavior that you rarely see at other ballparks-ballparks that offer a superior experience both in facility and baseball.
Please allow me to offer you a contrast between Hagerstown on Tuesday and Harrisburg on Wednesday.
I was not a participant in either of these events,just an interested observer from afar and I didn't speak to either employee involved,but I watched with some interest.

In Hagerstown on Tuesday,two elderly gentlemen sat as a Suns employee walked around with a bag to gather recyclables and one of these gentlemen offered to recycle a can of A&W Root Beer.
I watched and knew this would be trouble because I had seen this employee (I'm not naming them) berate friends of mine on two different occasions and turned to Cherie and said "They aren't going to take his can because they didn't sell it here".
Sure enough,she didn't and I went down and asked this man if indeed that was how it went.
His reply was "yes,she told me she wasn't taking it,take it home and recycle it myself and never to bring things into the stadium again"
These two fellows then asked me about what a game in Frederick was like as they weren't likely to return to the Muni.
Now,this person did violate a rule,but recycling is recycling and I might have said how she spoke was just opinion since I didn't hear it personally,until I returned to my seat and passed a young couple with two small children and the lady said to me "I just apologized to the gentleman FOR her for her rudeness and the way she talked to him".
I didn't know these people,but in one swoop,the Suns might have lost six customers that aren't likely to return-all due to one employee with an inflated opinion of their position and not the customers.
They could have simply said "Oh,I didn't know we sold those here" and it would have gotten the same point across,especially if done with a smile instead of a sneer.

Now compare that to this today-an elderly gentleman had a question and a need (I didn't quite hear the need) in the last inning of the game.
Derreck had went to wait for post-game graphing,but I was keeping the book and needed to finish watching the game.
The employee (I looked at her badge to get the name) was Blair Jewell and I watched her stop what she was preparing for at the games conclusion in order to address this gentleman,help him get the information they wanted,and say if they needed further help,they would be right here to do what she could or she'd find someone that could.

There is your difference between valuing your customer and showing contempt to them.
One team wants people to return,the other could care less.
One is about the customer,the other is about their own ego.
To be fair,I am not saying this is a universal style with every staff member in either organization,but it's about the customer in any business.
It is why my hometown team is the least enjoyable team/stadium that I go to and still I always try to hope things work out.
Now,I'm getting worn down and the worst thing that you can have is setting in-Apathy.
When I'm getting apathetic,you know you have done something and to those that feel things aren't bad,allow me to say this-Whenever the day comes that this team leaves,it's leaving you too.....

It's a sad night,indeed when one loses,yet isn't sure they have really lost.....

Until then,I can practice rooting for Keys,Senators and others for the eventual day that I need to find a new team...