Orioles Fan Fest - First Autograph Station

Our first autograph voucher was for the 11:20 signing that featured Brian Matusz, Alfredo Simon, Ryan Adams and Jason Berken.  Brian Roberts was supposed to be in this group, but he bowed out due to the lingering effects of the concussion he suffered in 2010 and re-aggravated last season.  It definitely is a shame he couldn't make it, but as someone whose family member suffered a sports related concussion, they are difficult to overcome and very easy to re-aggravate.  My brother suffered one in college in 2003 from Shawne Merriman (yes, THAT Shawne Merriman), and he still hasn't slept right since.  Anyway, on to our autographs:

I got another ball signed by Brian Matusz.  He was really nice, speaking to both Chris and I.  He let Chris come behind the table and take a picture with him.  I really appreciated it.  I really hope Matusz's time with Brady Anderson this offseason has helped him come into spring training in much better shape than last year and he makes it very hard for Buck and Co. to send him to AAA Norfolk to start the year...

 Is it just me, or does this Topps Heritage Rookie Card look great signed?  Alfredo Simon didn't say a whole lot to us as he signed our card, but it was still great to meet him and say hello.  I think he is vastly underrated and has done everything asked of him by the Orioles.  He has started, closed, pitched in relief, etc.  I hope last offseason's difficulties have been put behind him for good.

 Jason Berken was very nice to Chris and I also, and he also let Chris take a picture with him.  He was solid out of the bullpen in the 2010 season but took a couple steps back in 2011.  He ended up with a strained arm that limited his time late in the season.  He is a candidate to pitch out of the bullpen in the 2012 season.

Ryan Adams worked his way up to the majors last season after having a solid campaign in the minors.  He is a candidate to start at second base if Roberts isn't ready to go when the season starts.  If Roberts is healthy, look for Adams to be a reserve player on the bench.

We had a good time getting autographs from these guys and had two stations to go for the rest of the day, but the next session was about 3 hours from when we got out of line, so my next post will discuss my meeting with a friend of the blog during the break... Stay tuned!!!

Orioles Fan Fest Thoughts and Photos

Over the course of the next few blog posts, I will be showing off all of the stuff my son and I picked up at the Orioles Fan Fest on January 21, 2012.

Before I do that, I would definitely like to thank Ryan from "O No Another Orioles Blog" for letting my son Chris and I tag along with him to Fan Fest.  I wouldn't have gone had he not offered to accompany us and it really made the experience that much more enjoyable.  If you haven't checked out and followed Ryan's blog yet, you really should!

My son Christopher and I at the end of Fan Fest.  Take note that Chris is wearing my younger brother Adam's little league Orioles Jersey from around 20 years ago...

Here are Chris and Orioles pitcher Jason Berken.  Berken signed a 'before they were stars' card for Chris and also gave him a signed post card.

Chris with Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz.  Matusz asked Chris who is favorite Orioles were and Chris' answer was: "Brian Roberts and Tim Lincecum."  When I told Chris that Lincecum wasn't an Oriole, Matusz told him "That's ok, he is still pretty good."

Chris is getting a baseball signed by former Negro Leaguer Jimmy Bland.  He was really nice.  He asked Chris if he could keep the ball and of course Chris told him no.

Chris is now telling Chris Davis that they have the same name.  My son is 6 and still doesn't mind 'mining for gold' in public, so he turns around with his finger in his nose and I quietly whisper to him "Chris, quit picking your nose..." to which Davis responds "Oh, I didn't think anyone saw that... oh you meant your son, sorry."  Was pretty funny, for sure.

We got to meet Jim Palmer in person, which was one of the big highlights of the event.  I would love to say that I had a conversation with him, but I was too nervous to get a coherent sentence out and Tommy Hunter (seated beside Palmer) was busy telling Palmer about the virtues of his new Twitter account (follow him @TommyGoesBoom).

Chris had met Robert Andino back when we visited Durham Bulls Athletic Park for a game between the Durham Bulls and the Norfolk Tides.  He is seen here telling Andino "What's up!" which is a message Andino gave me to tell Chris when I talked to him in Norfolk a few months after our initial meeting.  Andino might be the most misunderstood Orioles player right now, but he has quickly become one of my favorites.  I think, given increased playing time, he will have a pretty solid career.

Another player that I was really excited to meet was Nick Markakis.  He was probably the most prominent current Orioles who I hadn't had a signed baseball of.  I got that taken care of at Fan Fest!

Speaking of Orioles autographs that I have been looking for, I finally got the chance to meet one of my childhood heroes, Brady Anderson.  I have been wanting an Anderson signed baseball for a long time and finally got it.

 Here is most of the stuff Chris brought home from Fan Fest.  I'll have to work with him on taking care of all of it.  Some of the stuff he had signed, he gave to me (without me asking him for it by the way).  One of the signed post cards we got went to Ryan for letting us stay with him and to help him with his Orioles autograph project.

Here is what I consider my haul from Fan Fest.  A few of the post cards and one of the balls were given to me by Chris.  He will probably get some of them back over time once he can show that he knows how to take care of all of them.  If you study the picture closely, you'll see two items that look familiar, but are different from what you might be thinking...

That being said, piece by piece (sort of), I will be posting all of the balls, etc, that I brought home.  I have enough stuff to keep me busy on this humble blog for some time to come, haha.  Also, having said that, I have a trade post with Kirk from Eutaw Street Cardboard that I will squeeze in somewhere along the way as well as any TTMs that come in...

So, you guys (hopefully) have a lot to look forward to on here.  I hope you all enjoy.