On the signing front

We roll along on the signing front with another new edition as we cool it now with more info...

We start with thanks to Tom O'brien for a few former Indians pitchers-Aaron Laffey,Tom Candiotti and Justin Masterson.

Thanks to Mike Oravec for his help in adding another player to the top 100 set in 2013's Rymer Liriano....

A trip to Harrisburg for the Reading Phillies with Bill Cover was met with a surprise as Kendall Morris awaited us in the parking lot.
Great evening watching the game and pretty productive too as Aaron Nola signed his top 100 and a Bowman as well as the top grab of the evening.
I was also pleased to add three pitchers that were originally from other organizations to add for the first time in prospects Zach Eflin,Joe Windle and Ben Lively.
All were acquired in trades in the off-season by the rebuilding Phillies.
Speedy outfielder Roman Quinn signed his 2012 Lakewood card and a Bowman and the most fun addition of all (other than Aaron Nola's top 100) was second baseman Harold Martinez.
Martinez was one of those players that I just seemed to miss a lot through the years and as a result had a whopping nine different cards for him.
I told Harold that I was sorry I had so many,but I just missed him in Hagerstown and he quickly added "I never played in Hagerstown" with a smile.
I responded that I knew that and that was the main reason that I had so many cards!
Harold was very nice in signing all nine cards.

Thanks to Fred Landucci,who got Tyler Glasnow and Josh Bell of the Altoona Curve on their top 100's from 2015 along with a few Bowmans of each.
Fred was able to get a few stragglers from the 2014 Bradenton team set and Austin Voth of the homestanding Senators on his new Bowman.
Later in that series,Fred got Harrisburg's Pedro Severino on his Bowman and Ethan Stewart of Reading for me as well.

Thanks to Brett Shaw,who got me Richmond's Kelvin Marte and two refractors from the past in Rich Blelski and Cord Sandberg at Altoona and State College....

I had very little for the West Virginia Power,but in Cole Tucker (signed a Stars and Stripes) and Connor Joe (Bowman),the Power brought in two of the nicest guys I've seen in years.
Pleasant,personable and willing to talk,both players made fans out of me!

Thanks to Brandon Diehl for getting Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez on their new top 100's.
I wound up doing Potomac,but with the 100's,I don't like to put things off-One never knows it could rain!

I managed to get Lucas Giolito on two cards (Bowman chrome and heritage in Suns uni!)when I saw the P-Nats in Frederick,
Lucas still personalizes,but is very nice and as noted in the past,the personalization doesn't bother me as much as the look of the card.
On 8 x 10's,I prefer personalizing....
The only other interesting story on this day was with Jake Johansen,who was always a nice guy as a Sun and still is,but has picked up the Giolito personalizing bug.
I had two of his new Bowman-1 for me and 1 for someone else and after signing the first,Jake asked for a name for second.
I quickly picked a trader name and he signed to them and asked if "I wanted the other one personalized".
I told him that one (chrome) was fine the way it was.

Next into Hagerstown was the Greensboro Grasshoppers and the Marlins affiliate which had one name that stood out-2014 second overall pick-Tyler Kolek.
Kolek signed all four (Top 100!) cards that I had and a ball for Craig Lindgren on day one and I was finished with the young righthander.
Michael Mader signed his Bowman,Batavia and New York/Penn top prospect cards while Brian Schales and Casey Soltis each signed their Elite and Bowman,but my favorite might have been Ryan Aper,who signed an Elite and two Batavia and then added "God Bless You".
I need all the help I can get!
The worst part was Andrew (or Drew on his cards),who blew me and Brad Adams off pre-game,post-game,walked around with his phone,saw us waiting and still stomped onto the bus.
I had other graphers tell me about his apparent hearing (or disinterest) issues.
Can;t wait to see him again in June!

Our anniversary trip to Harrisburg saw me pick up a few stragglers of New Britain from their first visit and help one of my traders.
The Eastern League released a top prospect set for the first time in years and being there allowed me to get all of the Rock Cats in the set-David Dahl,Tommy Murphy and Trevor Story.
Fred Landucci got me David Dahl's Top 100 at a game in the series before I was there.
Fred also got me a few Gavin Cecchini's and Michael Fulmer in the Binghamton series...

We wrap up with the Salem Red Sox in Frederick with one of their lesser prospect teams through the years.
I was disappointed that Manuel Margot (Top 100) was injured and not there,but their team set is out (Pretty pricey,graphers).
Biggest gets were Sam Travis (Bowman,Lowell and NY/Penn) ,Trey Ball ( 2 different Bowmans,Heritage,Greenville and Salem) and Ty Buttrey (Lowell,NY/Penn,Greenville and Salem).
Ball and Buttrey were very nice,which was unexpected after last year in Hagerstown.
The Muni can do that sometimes!

All caught up for now,but more soon with three teams in the next few days (Lynchburg,Kannapolis and Hickory!)

On the Signing Front

We return to the signing front and the pile continues to grow smaller,but there still should be at least two,if not more signing fronts before we are caught up from the 2013 season.


We start with the Asheville Tourists.
The Tourists usually bring a decent amounts of graphers to Hagerstown because they are the only team on the East Coast that are a Colorado Rockies affiliate.
The lucky catch was first round pick David Dahl,who was injured for nearly the entire season,but was traveling with the team.
Wonder who Dahl ticked off to spend four days in Hagerstown when he was nowhere near the condition to play?
Dahl was a terrific signer and signed everything for everyone.
Rosell Herrera was the breakout player of the Rockies system last year and was a willing signer,but the player I felt worst for was Max White,who had tons of different cards,yet signed them all.
Former big leaguers Mike Devereaux and Joey Eischen signed for us as well in their return to Hagerstown....

Next on the docket were the Winston-Salem Dash in Frederick.
This was the day with Big Don and my Buffalo Wild Wings gift night from Bridget as written about here.
The Dash themselves were led by speedy Micah Johnson and Courtney Hawkins.
Hawkins is a great signer,that might be getting tired of the overkill that top prospects get with the pen.
Courtney came out and I had 4 cards,which was a drop in the bucket in the past.
Courtney signed two and handed the other 2 back,I walked away with Derreck and said "looks like another guy ruined by the 25 at a shot gang".
Hawkins then walked to the field and looked up at us.Derreck says "He's trying to get your attention!".
Courtney then hollered up and said "Come down here after I'm done and I'll get the rest of those for you"!
First time for everything in this hobby!

Next up was another trip to State College to work on the Spikes team set and the visiting Williamsport Crosscutters,the short season team for the Phillies.
Both teams were strong enough and it's always a good time traveling with Derreck.
The Spikes featured Carson Kelly and David Washington as the top prospects.
Kelly signed his New York-Penn prospect card as well as the Bowman Silver Ice card that came in the mail the day after our last trip to State College,while Washington signed his State College and NY/Penn card too.
Nice pickups from the Crosscutters were Mitch Gueller on his Ny/Penn and Bowman refractor,Andrew Knapp,Andrew Pullin on a Bowman refractor and Dylan Cozens on his NY/Penn and Topps cards.
We stuck around far longer than we should for coaches Oliver Marmol and Ramon Ortiz,but with the season ending,its kinda nice getting the extra time in...

Next into Hagerstown was the Greensboro Grasshoppers and prospects from the Florida Marlins.
The interesting addition for the Grasshoppers was 2013 first rounder Colin Moran.
Moran had no cards at the time,but I was able to get him to sign the Hopper logo card from their team set.
Moran was also noted for a running style that brought to mind Tom Hanks running back kicks in Forrest Gump.
Chad James was a one time first rounder that had suffered injury problems.
Chad was very nice in knocking out all four cards that I had..
The other prospect that I was able to get was Jesus Solorzano on a team not filled with them.
During this series,I also got Nationals first rounder (sandwich pick) Jake Johansen and Derek Self on an Orange Bowman I got at a card show...

The Altoona Curve hit Harrisburg for their first shot at their team set.
Jameson Taillon was gone to AAA Indianapolis,but Gregory Polanco and Alen Hanson had arrived from High A Bradenton.
Neither Hanson nor Polanco were especially cooperative on this night as Tyle and I were the only ones to Hanson pre-game on one,while Polanco refused pre-game and post-game signed for a few before trying to leave.Tyler caught him,which allowed me to get his top 100 card signed.
Boy,am I going to miss him when he is finished in this hobby!
Nick Kingham was nice and Alex Dickerson was quiet but signed everything.
Dickerson was recently traded to the Padres as he looked to be blocked by the organization's outfield strength.
Curve manager Carlos Garcia continued to be a less than friendly one per,which is as always,better than zero from the former Pirate shortstop.

We wrap with the regular season finale' in Hagerstown with the Lakewood Blue Claws.
Strictly team set cards for the Claws,which mean my first graph from 17 year old Carlos Tocci.
Other than Tocci and Larry Greene,just more of the same guys that come all the time from the Phillies.
Coaches Greg Legg and Aaron Fultz were great as always and manager Mickey Morandini was grouchy as usual,but did sign my team card,which was all I had.
At least he signed that,which was more than he was for some..

Thanks to Jason Christensen for his help in Binghamton with the main pickups being Noah Syndergaard and Travis D'Arnaud before D'Arnaud was promoted and Quinton Miller on his Bradenton card.

Thanks to Tracy Mackereth for two players that I didn't have cards for on the Grasshoppers.
Tracy graciously gave me a Robert Ravago and Austin Dean,that for some reason I didn't have....

Thanks to Bill Cover for his help filling in some Wilmington Blue Rocks that I couldn't get to Frederick for.
No real top prospects,but I did get J.C. Sulabran on an old Tri-Star.
The "Dark Set" is one of my favorites and as it ages,I get fewer of those signed..

Whew! That's a lot of card emptying,but there still is more!
We have the Suns two playoff opponents,some arrivals through the mail with a new champion for length of return time and more help from my friends.

On the Signing Front

You ARE LOOKING LIVE above Medlar Field in State College PA!

We return to the signing front after I finally bought a new binder and sheets,so this should knock some more out,if not totally catch up for the season,although not today!

We start with thanks to Tom O'Brien,who worked on my Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants) team set for me.
Richmond was finished in Harrisburg early this season,so I wasn't able to do them there,but Tom did my work on the Squirrels in Bowie.
Richmond was not loaded with prospects this season but Joe Panik is a top one,as is Adam Duvall,Edwin Escobar, Andrew Susac and Tom got them all for me as well as Angel Villalona.
Villalona was a huge prospect at one time before being tried for murder in the Dominican Republic and losing basically three years.
Villalona signed three cards for me and Tom reports no problems
Tom also worked on the home BaySox at this time and added Eduardo Rodriguez on his Carolina League top prospect and all star card,but the best catch was Matt Wieters on his Frederick Keys 25th anniversary card!
Thanks as always to Tom!

Next in the Hub City was the Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles) and their wonderfully friendly manager Luis Pujols.
Pujols had run in after run in with collectors in Hagerstown,but seemed to be most likely to sign on the first night.
Before about 12 people at the Muni,Pujols signed for one of them,I quickly moved over and nailed Pujols on his team set card before he grumpily stomped away.
I didn't see him sign the rest of the series.
Adrian Marin was very nice in signing his Delmarva card and a USA Champions card.Mychal Givens signed the same.
Some collectors have complained about Givens,but I have never had problems with him and he has always been gracious to me.
Josh Hader was the other Shorebird pickup that proved to be strong as Hader was traded to the Astros shortly thereafter in the Bud Norris trade.
This series also saw the Hagerstown team set come out and add the best Suns prospects in Pedro Severino,Brett Mooneyham,Tony Renda and Brandon Miller.
Great story on this set,as you know I trade Suns sets with Tom (Bowie),Corey (Tennessee) and Jason (Binghamton),so I have to get 4 of each player finished over the course of the year.
With the Suns,I try to get them done at once,so I don't have to bother the player again.
For Pedro Severino,he signs three and then says "Thank you" with the other and jogs into the dugout!
Language barrier?
The same thing after the same game by the clubhouse with reliever Gilberto Mendez,who signs one and tries to put the other two in his pocket!
This one I catch and get the cards back.but I did give one to Mendez later after shuffling cards and buying another team set to fill in blanks-I'll pass on that recap!

The Lynchburg Hillcats (Atlanta Braves) returned to Frederick and I only had a few cards to fill in from their team set and some players that had been called up from Rome.
The biggest catch was powerhitting outfielder Josh Elander,who was a bit of a Sharpie crusher,but nice.
Other nice pickups were David Rohm (CL All Star),Nate Hyatt (CL top prospect) and Carlos Perez.
Of all the team sets that I saw this year,Lynchburg would be my choice for set of the year with its strong hunter green border.
Derreck did the Keys during this night and added Matt Hobgood on his Delmarva card and the elusive Lex Rutledge for me on a few cards.
Thanks again to my good buddy,who I don't thank here as much because we help each other so much that the reader should figure that goes without saying.

The Kannapolis Intimidators (Chicago White Sox) entered Hagerstown with a few prospects,but not many as a large number had been promoted to Winston-Salem.
Kannapolis did have the Chi-Sox first and third rounders on the team in Tim Anderson and Jacob May and Keon Barnum,who has tons of different cards.
Anderson was quiet,May was much more talkative and Barnum was super in signing all my stuff as there was only two of there.
Those that chose to wait for Barnum later in the series would miss on that decision as Barnum was knocked cold in a play at that plate by Pedro Severino,would be carried off the field and spent the rest of the series at the hotel.
Luck in this hobby goes both ways.

I had already gotten the Binghamton Mets (New York Mets),but rode along to Harrisburg with Kendall Morris anyway.
Jason had done the B-Mets team set,but this was a chance to get the best two prospects in the Mets system.
Noah Syndergaard was dominant on the mound and nice after the game (Jason would get more of Syndergaard as the season went on) in signing his top 100 card!
The Mets top prospect-catcher Travis D'Arnaud was rounding back into shape following injury and was back in AA to do so.
D'Arnaud signed two per and was nice doing so...

The Lakewood Blue Claws (Philadelphia Phillies) moved into Hagerstown for a series,but I held off on a team set because they would be back for the last set of the year and I wanted to have something to do.
This had a bonus though as Phillies star Domonic Brown would be playing for one night for the Blue Claws.
Domonic was a favorite as a young player and I was anxious to see how he signed after being a major leaguer.
Domonic was as good as remembered as he signed and chatted.
I'm even a bigger fan now than I was before!!!

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans (Texas Rangers) were a great signing team earlier in the season and continued to do so in Frederick on their last visit.
Most of the work was on the Pelican team set and a few previous misses.
Notables included Drew Robinson,Hanser Alberto (on his minors heritage),Will Lamb and Patrick Cantwell.
The Pelicans were a terrific team and maybe the best all season that I saw.

The Reading Fightin' Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) were in Harrisburg and I survived an extra inning game to work on them and their awfully ugly uniforms.
As I have written in the past,Harrisburg has become a postgame town,so you need to get through those sometimes.
Top prospect Jesse Biddle didn't have a good game on the mound,but signed everything ( Top 100) as he did with Lakewood.
Super guy.
Sebastian Valle signed one,as is his want and Maikel Franco,the breakout player of the year in the Phillies system signed one as well.
Other Phils of note included Zach Collier,Anthony Hewitt,Seth Rosin and Brody Colvin.
Hewitt is noted for making Derreck run him down in Harrisburg in a previous visit and laughed when we recounted the story to him this time.
Tyler helped me with Billy Burns on his Potomac and Carolina League All-Star card as Burns had just been promoted.Thanks,Tyler.

We wrap up after lots of typing with thanks to Bruce Begole,who helped me with a Midwest League trip that he made to Lansing.Notable pickups included Nick Travieso,Daniel Norris,Dwight Smith Jr,Jesse Winker among others.
Thanks to Bruce for thinking of me and the help!!!

Whew,that knocked things down,but there will still be more signing front entries for the future,so stay tuned!!!

A little of this,a little of that

Just a few notes from the files since I am motivated.

Full disclosure,I went to bed after a long night of work on Saturday and skipped the Ohio State game.
I taped of course,but figured rest was more important than either a blowout or a Purdue surprise that would only make me angry.
The lovely Cherie was proud of me for putting rest first for a change!
Anyway ,I doubt that I will bother with a recap of a 56-0 game.

Another KO win for Gennady Golovkin,who bludgeoned Curtis Stevens in submission after eight rounds to retain his WBA middleweight title.Golovkin asked for Sergio Martinez,the WBC and lineal champion,but will be unlikely to get him anytime soon...

The New Orleans Saints are starting a ring of honor and starting with three players.
Archie Manning along with Hall of Famers Rickey Jackson and Willie Roaf are the first season inductees.
I like the small classes for things like this as when teams put in too many players too fast,the program drops in a few years as the quality players are unavailable and marginal ones are the choices resulting in lukewarm classes and reduced fan interest..

The Eastern League's Akron franchise was bought last season and new owner Ken Babby promised changes.
He delivered with a name change and new colors as the Aeros are now the Rubber Ducks.
Rubber being a nod to the local area of Akron as Akron is or at least was the "Rubber capital of the world".
I didn't like it at first,but it is starting to grow on me.
Still,I just might get myself an old Aeros hat while they dump Aeros merchandise ...
Most of these name the team contests are just window dressing anyway,if they are running a contest-the name is getting changed.
The Rubber Ducks will be keeping mascot Orbit around to join the new mascot in a smart move as the team mentioned that many fans mentioned keeping Orbit even if a new name was picked.
So,Derreck and I would be able to get Orbit,if we ever get to Akron for our "pictures with mascots" collection...

Something new will be coming to the blog in a recurring feature soon.
My new friend Tricia gave me the idea and look for it to be coming soon and be used in a similar fashion as we use Forgotten Superstars,which is always so well received...

I also wanted to add my recent non-sports additions to the signing front.
As soon as I buy more pages and binders,we will be back with more from the minor league season!
Football
Former Redskins tackle Joe Jacoby (Thanks to Kendall Morris)
Former Jets running back Bruce Harper
Former Jets and Broncos quarterback Matt Robinson
Former CFL star quarterback Damon Allen
Browns linebacker Barkevious Mingo (EBAY)
Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro (EBAY)
Al-Jazerra meteorologist Nicole Mitchell (two blank cards)
Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean 8 x 10

Finally,just wanted to thank some of you for the compliments on yesterday's post.
I use this in various manners and it is as much for me as for you.
David Mccullough once said "Write the books that you want to read" and that's how I do things with this.
Thanks to those that liked it and indulged me....

Photo Credit;Akron Rubber Ducks