June 11-16, 2024, Graphing of the Riverdogs at Wood Ducks

Another series is in the books at the Wood Ducks as they inch their way toward their final game at Grainger Stadium. Arch rivals (I said it), the Charleston Riverdogs came into town for a 6-game set. The series had me go after 4 different Charleston guys, and I came really close to running out of stuff to get done by Sunday.  This was also without a good bit of help all week.

Chris was only able to accompany me to one game, and Jesse was only able to make a couple. I spent a few of the games sitting by myself for a good bit, but it was kind of relaxing.  I resigned myself to the fact that I may not get a lot done, then still finished off a couple guys.

Adrian Santana was super nice, as well as TJ Nichols.  Carlos Colmenarez (rightfully so) got tired of seeing me, so I stopped trying for him by Saturday.  The Wednesday game was a camp day, so Chris went with Jesse since I had to work.  I didn't send him with any cards to that one.  The Wood Ducks played Charleston well; they won the series 4-2, with three walkoff wins in a row.  It was a nice week, honestly.

Finally, Jojo Blackmon came back off of the IL, so I got another team set card out of the way.

In all, we got the following autographs: (Carlos Colmenarez x 16, TJ Nichols x 18, Jojo Blackmon x 3, Alejandro Rosario x 1, Chris Villamon x 3 and Adrian Santana x 33 (74 total autographs). 

September 17, 2023, Graphing of the Riverdogs at Wood Ducks

The Wood Ducks opened the championship round of the playoffs at home last Sunday against the Charleston Riverdogs. I was glad the Riverdogs came back, as I had missed several of their guys last time they were in town.  I finished those guys off in the one game that was played, which was nice. 

Ryan Cermak was injured last time, and Carlos Colmenarez had been sent down, but were back on the roster.  I was able to get everything I had of them signed.  Brayden Taylor only signed one of my cards, but it turned out nicely, and I should have there chances next season to finish off what I had.

I was able to get Gary Gill Hill as the team was coming off of the field, in the rain, thanks to Matt bringing and holding up an umbrella.  I was afraid the card would be messed up, but it turned out fine.

The Riverdogs swept the series and won the Carolina League championship again.  I was glad that the Wood Ducks made it, but the Rays system is pretty stacked.  The Woodies did give them a run for their money, so we can take that as a positive. It was a great season, and I really have no complaints with how it went.

In all, I got the following autographs: Ryan Cermak x 24, Carlos Colmenarez x 14, Gary Gill Hill x 1, Xavier Isaac x 1, Trevor Martin x 1 and Brayden Taylor x 1 (42 total autographs).

July 14-16, 2023, Graphing of Riverdogs at Wood Ducks

The Wood Ducks were back in town this weekend taking on the Charleston Riverdogs following the All Star break.  I had a ton of cards to get signed from Charleston, so I was a bit worried with the short series that I wouldn't be able to get everything done. 

There were a few Charleston guys who werent here. I was able to get everything done of the guys who were, though.  I had thought that Xavier Isaac would be hard to get; he did limit us, but I had help from Chris plus my friends, Jesse, Josh and Matt.

I took on a bunch of 50/50s, including a ton of Jhon Diaz. but they all got done. I didn't have much left of my own after I saw Charleston in Columbia earlier this year, so the 50/50s were welcome.

I picked up the above Walters State JuCo card of Kohl Drake, and it got here in time for this series.  My friend, Gerard sent me a couple Dylan MacLean cards, and I was able to keep this black parallel.

Finally, I got a ball signed by Marcus Johnson prior to Saturday's game.  I got a message Saturday morning from Cody Freeman telling me to get Johnson's autograph.  Cody and Marcus are best friends, and it was really cool to talk to each of them about each other.  You can tell how much folks like Cody when they meet him. I appreciated Cody reaching out to me.

In all, we got the following autographs: Danyer Cueva x 5, Aidan Curry x 2, Kohl Drake x 1, Gleider Figuereo x 12, Anthony Gutierrez x 4, Dylan MacLean x 2, Carlos Maldonaldo x 2, Andres Mesa x 19, Julio Valdez x 2, Jhon Diaz x 28, Xavier Isaac x 12, Cooper Kinney x 22, Trevor Martin x 14, Chandler Simpson x 12, Ryan Spikes x 23, Adrian Rodriguez x 3, Marcus Johnson x 1 and Luis Ramirez x 2 (164 total autographs). 

Memorial Day Weekend 2023 Graphing in Augusta and Columbia

Happy Memorial Day to everyone. This weekend, I drove by myself to Augusta and Columbia for a little break and graphing since last week was a tough one.  On Tuesday, I got confirmation that the Wood Ducks would be moving to Spartanburg and would be replaced supposedly with a wood bat league team.  Yeah, that's definitely not the same.  Anyway, depression aside, I got out and did some major relaxation with some graphing therapy.

The weather was terrible, but i was lucky that Augusta has a little enclave you can hang out in and still get stuff signed without getting rained on.  Nolan Martinez was one of my goals, sknxesi had sent these three cards TTM last year, only to have them returned to sender.  They're signed now with some miles on them and in my album.

I was disappointed that I had let Terry Pendleton walk by me. Had I gotten him, I'd have left earlier than I did.  I stayed til the game was called and ended up picking up a team set from the team store and added a few more autographs to the trip. 

I was pretty tired by the time I was home and able to scan everything from the trip.  Since there wasn't really a game in Augusta, I combined everything.  I went there on Saturday, then caught a double header in a misty rain on Sunday in Columbia.  The Fireflies played the Charleston Riverdogs, so I was able to knock down a couple big stacks of cards for those two loaded teams.  I also had hit Augusta because I won't see them until August and there's a chance some of those guys will already be moved up by then.

My friend, Jessie, gave me a couple Bowman Platinum of Spencer Schwellenbach.  He was really nice.  Owen Murphy signed TTM for me recently, but in black, so this blue 2022 Bowman Draft is an upgrade.

I hit a few guys in the team set while I was waiting on Pendelton to come back out.  Those guys were really nice, as well.

Pendleton finally did come back out and laughed that he had spoken to me before he went in and I didn't get my card out.  I knew I had it but wasn't even thinking.  The rain really had me out of sorts.

In Columbia, I had no shame. I had the mascot, Mason sign 3 of my cards and a girl at customer service gave me another signed card (the one in black).  The two Heritage Minors cards are ones I've had for a while and am glad I got them done.

Both the Riverdogs and Fireflies are stacked.  The double header helped me get everyone I set out to get.  The mist messed up a few of the cards, but I had a dry erase marker on me and I was able to fix the smeared cards.

I was really glad to get Dominic Keegan.  He's batting like .334 or something like that, and I feel like he will be moved up soon.  I bet he's not here when Charleston comes through Kinston in July.

I finally got some of my Ryan Spikes and Cooper Kinney cards signed.  Some of them have been in my boxes for a while.  They also have some 2022 stuff and those were good to get signed as well.

The mist was off and on but the games were pretty good.  They were also pretty quick.  My brother, Adam, joined me for part of the second game, which was nice. 

There are several 2022 Topps Pro Debut that loom really similar. That's probably part of the reason I kept getting Columbia and Charleston players mixed up. 

Steven Zobac was really cool.  Right when he put marker to card, the mist started coming down and 4 of the cards were ruined.  Or so I thought.  During the first game, I fixed them with the dry erase marker and they cleaned up.  I asked him if he would mind touching them up for me between the first and second game, and he obliged.  That was really nice of him.

During the trip, I got the following autographs: Jorge Bautista x 1, Jair Casanova x 1, Tyler Collins x 1, Dawson Dimon x 1, Francisco Floyd x 1, Didier Fuentes x 1, Elison Joseph x 1, Nolan Martinez x 3, Owen Murphy x 4, Connor Narron x 3, Terry Pendleton x 1, Spencer Schwellenbach x 4 and Ethan Workinger x 1, Jhon Diaz x 1, Chandler Simpson x 1, Xavier Isaac x 1, Dominic Keegan x 4, Cooper Kinney x 4, Trevor Martin x 4, Ryan Spikes x 8, Mason x 4, Mack Anglin x 1, Frank Mozzicato x 3, Shane Panzini x 5, Erik Pena x 5, Tony Pena, Jr. x 6, Lizandro Rodriguez x 6, Daniel Vazquez x 6 and Steven Zobac x 8 (90 total autographs).

June 2022 Graphing of Riverdogs at Wood Ducks

Another series has come and gone at Grainger Stadium.  This week, the Charleston Riverdogs came to town for a 6-game series that went back and forth.  The Wood Ducks settled for a series split with the Riverdogs.  I was hpoing they would take the series, as a little bit of payback for last season's loss in the Championship round.

I got some nice cards in of Robby Ahlstrom.  The above 2021 Panini Prizm is the snakeskin parallel, numbered 11/25.  Ahlstrom liked these cards and remarked how he hadn't gotten any of his own cards, yet, so I ordered one of these off of Ebay that night.  The card will arrive while the Woodies are out of town, so I will have to give it to Robby next time they are home.

I had also picked up these two parallels.  Both of them look awesome, and I really wish I had been able to find Prizm when it came out.

Ryan Garcia was added to the roster during this series, so I was finally able to get these cards signed that I had pulled for Hickory last season.  He had Tommy John surgery, followed by two lat strains, which kept him out last season.  He pitched on Saturday, and looked really good.

I was also able to get this 2020 Pro Debut signed.  I was really glad to get these cards off of my desk, which is where they sat after my visit to Hickory last season.

I got some nice parallels signed of Ian Moller (who hit his first home run of the season, this series), Jose Rodriguez, Cam Cauley and Dylan MacLean.  My friend, Gerard, hooked me up with the Jose and the Dylans; the gold Heritage Minors of MacLean is numbered 14/18.

I had met Jonathan George a few series ago, when he was in town scouting for the Rangers.  Since then, I have carried his cards in my book, waiting for him to come back.  He was finally back yesterday (Saturday) and signed the 5 cards that I brought with me.

Several of the Riverdogs players that had cards were on the IL, so a lot of what I had pulled and prepped went back in the Box of Shame.  The guys that were there were fairly tough.  Only one of the six games of the series saw the Riverdogs with numbers on the front of their jerseys.  That made spotting the guys tougher at the onset of the series.  Carson Williams was the toughest of the guys with cards.  He only signed a couple of times, then shut me down saying "I got you yesterday; I'm only doing one per person now..."  He also told a few people that he would only sign cards when they showed him photos to sign.  I'm pretty sure he did sign a couple baseballs for some folks early in the series.

Nick Schnell was supposed to come through last season when Charleston was here at the end of the year, but had gone on the IL right before that series started.  I carried over the cards I had of him of my own and also 50/50s for guys until now.  He signed one per each time he came by, but signed every time he came by, which was nice.  I ended up finishing all of my Schnell cards, which was a goal.  I don't like having to put stuff back in my boxes.

Finally, JJ Goss was another of the guys who was supposed to come through last season, but also had gone on the IL.  I ended up with a ton of his cards, but he was good for 2 per prior to every game, except for Saturday when he was starting.  I finished off a good many of his cards, but still have a bunch I will need to carry over until the next time I see him (Durham, maybe?).

In all, I got the following autographs: Maximo Acosta x 3, Robby Ahlstrom x 3, Mitch Bratt x 4, Cam Cauley x 10, Ian Moller x 15, Dylan MacLean x 6, Jose Rodriguez x 4, Sandy Gaston x 2, JJ Goss x 14, Nick Schnell x 13, Carson Williams x 7, Ryan Garcia x 14, Alejandro Osuna x 2, Jonathan George x 5 and Xavier Valentin x 1 (on Chris's bat he was given Saturday), for 103 total autographs.

September 14-19 Graphing of the Riverdogs at Wood Ducks

There has never been a Wood Ducks game on my birthday, and when I saw the schedule when it came out, I noticed that September 14th featured the start of a home series against the Charleston Riverdogs.  I had waited for this series all season long, and when it finally got here, it came with some added benefits.  The Wood Ducks had played their way to playoff contention and this series against the Riverdogs would prove to be very important.  In order to make the playoffs, the Wood Ducks would have to finish the season one game better than the Salem Red Sox, and I knew this would be a tough task against a team who had a 700-something win %.  I figured it would be way too much to ask the Woodies to go 5-1 in the series; so I was ok thinking going 4-2 would help their cause.

I had told Gavin Collyer at the end of the series against Kannapolis earlier this month that Tuesday was my birthday, and he let me know he would be starting that day.  He promised me a W and didn't disappoint.  I had gotten a lot of 10 of his Perfect Game cards in the week prior to the series, so he signed those for me, inscribing one Happy B-Day.  Gavin is a great guy, and really has been one of the favorite players on this season's team for Chris and I.  He allowed 2 runs in Tuesday's game, which was highlighted by a Luisangel Acuna walkoff grand slam.  What a way to start the series.

Leury Tejada was back from the IL, so I was able to knock out one last card from this year's team set.

I was also able to complete two of these 2018 Bowman Chrome Owen White/Tim Cate duals.  My buddy Patrick gets the other, since he is the one who got Cate for me.

The Woodies lost Game 2 on Wednesday, 8-2; won Game 3 on Thursday, 6-5; won Game 4 on Friday, 4-2 on a strong 6-shutout inning performance by Mason Englert, and lost Game 5 o, yesterday, 6-0.   

I was able to add another 2021 Pro Debut to my autograph album by getting Sandy Gaston on this card.

Graeme Stinson was really cool.  He stopped and talked to us today for a good while prior to the game.

Seth Johnson was also really cool, signing everything we had.  He was very friendly.

I finished up all of this year's 50/50s and card graphing mostly by Wednesday, once I realized I completely missed Matt Dyer in my Bowman box.  I was looking for Rays and missed him being with the Mets prior.

On Friday, Jayce Easley reached 70 stolen bases for the season.  I remembered to get him to sign the ticket stub today after the game, and he thanked Chris and I for our support this season.

Coming into today's game, the Wood Ducks and Salem Red Sox were tied.  In order for the Woodies to advance, they had to win and Salem lose, since Salem held the tie breaker.  A masterful 7.1 inning no-hit performance by Owen White set the stage for a Woodies win, and some scoreboard watching into the evening to see if Delmarva could hold off the Salem Red Sox.  Delmarva won, 9-7 and the Woodies' ticket to the playoffs against the very same Charleston Riverdogs would be punched.  We will see them at home Tuesday and Wednesday for the beginning of the best-of-five series.

Last night, I was able to get permission from local photographer, Jimmy Kilpatrick, to print off a couple great shots he did, starting with the above photo of Jose Acosta.  I had that one signed with my bronze Sharpie, and it turned out amazingly.

This shot by Jimmy of a play-at-the-plate between Randy Florentino and Alexander Orvalles (on an amazing throw by Cody Freeman) turned out well, and was the reason I had asked for permission to print off some of his photos.

Jimmy had sent me a couple Cody Freeman photos to print off if I wanted, but I opted for the one of Cody and I on the airplane back in July.  I gave Cody a signed copy, and he signed this one prior to the game.  The signature and inscription is hard to read due to my scanner but says: "Willy, Thank you for your non stop support! Love, Cody Freeman"  Cody gave me a big hug, thanked Chris and I for always being at games and rooting the Woodies on.  I teared up, because this definitely has been the most we have ever interacted with a Wood Ducks team and helps me justify what I spend every year on my season tickets.  We really got to know the players this year.  After the Woodies win today, I got hugs from Cody, Owen White, Mason Englert, Gavin Collyer and Thomas Saggese.  Thomas gave his bat to Brady Smith to give to someone, and he naturally chose Chris.  Jayce stopped by and thanked us for the support throughout the season, as did manager, Carlos Cardoza.  Cody and I talked about his 4 stolen bases today, when I asked him if he was trying to catch Jayce in one day; the season-long running joke and/or playful rivalry was that Cody was faster than Jayce.

We had an amazing season this year, and there are two more home games to go, which I will attend.  Let's go Woodies, hopefully they can bring home a Low A East Championship.