It's About Time!

I was told all season that the Wood Ducks would not be making team card sets for the 2017 season.  I got a surprise on Twitter the other day, though, when I happened to see that the Wood Ducks had finally gotten some created.

I said all season long that they should, especially since this was their first season.  What better way to cap it all off than to issue a set commemorating the championship season?

I love the design, a take on the 1982 Topps design, but with a wood bordered background.  I enjoyed thumbing through the set and seeing the familiar faces from this season.  I'm sure that many of them won't be back, but I'll still find a way to get them signed.

I bought 4 sets initially, one for me to work on getting signed next season, one to put in an album to keep a running series of Wood Ducks sets, and two so that Chris could do the same.

I hope they come out with sets every year.  I like the idea of keeping up with an album of each season.  I may also expand it to include Wood Ducks featured in Minor League Heritage and Pro Debut.  I only have two cards to add, then, with Yanio Perez showing up in Heritage, and the Wood Ducks mascot, Dewd, showing up on the disc inserts.

Christmas Gifts From Mom

Continuing with my theme of being way behind on blog posts, I need to show some of the stuff that my mom got me for Christmas.  I still have quite a few Christmas items that need to be posted, along with some cards from the National, still.

Mom always hooks me up with some cool minor league jerseys.  This year was no different, but I believe I got more jerseys than in years past.  Mom explained to me afterward that she may or may not have misplaced a box that had LAST YEAR'S jerseys in it.  See, I'm not the only one who is behind.  Here is the West Virginia Power jersey that she picked up for me.  The Power are the Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and are based in Charleston, West Virginia.  I want to catch a game there sometime soon with my amazing friends, Josh and Kaleb, so look for me to be wearing this jersey in the near future.

This Tacos jersey is actually for the Fresno Grizzlies.  This is a cool variation jersey.  The Grizzlies are the AAA affiliate of the Houston Astros.  This is also a nod to my nephew-dog, Bruiser, who is a Chihuahua and probably would enjoy a good taco here and there.

Here is a Charlotte Stone Crabs jersey that she picked up.  The Stone Crabs are based in Port Charlotte, Florida and are the Class A Advanced team for the Tampa Bay Rays.  Several folks hear Charlotte Stone Crabs and think of Charlotte, NC, but no, Charlotte, NC houses the Knights, the AAA team for the White Sox.

Here is another nod to Bruiser, a T-Shirt of the El Paso Chihuahuas, the AAA affiliate of the Padres.  The dog on the shirt looks a lot meaner than Bruiser.  Still, it is a cool shirt and I plan on wearing it a lot.

The West Michigan Whitecaps round out the shirts and jerseys that Mom picked up.  The Whitecaps are the Class A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and are based in a suburb of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Mom also got me some really cool stuff like a Brooks Robinson comic book and some more Oyo figures that I need to display.  Here is a 1959 Topps Orioles team set that she picked up.  Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Hoyt Wilhelm are encapsulates, and the rest of the team is in a plastic snap case.

The cards are in great shape, and I think I may put them in an album, instead of letting them sit on a shelf or get stuck in a box.  One of these days, I want to put together Orioles team sets, but that is something that is way on down my list at this point.  I hope to get to it sometime in the future, though.

As always, Mom comes up with the best Christmas ideas.  I don't even bother making out any kind of list for her, because I know that she A.) has probably already bought me next year's presents and B.) she is so creative with how she picks up stuff, I would feel bad LIMITING her with a list.  When she is allowed to run free with what she is picking up, she makes it a lot of fun to see where it goes.

Thanks so much for the Christmas presents, Mom.  You know I love them, and now is your chance to see them again in blog form!

Ebay Pickup - 2015 Topps Pro Debut Mascot Relic

I saw a version of this card at my local card shop a couple weeks ago and thought that it looked really cool, so I found one on Ebay at a good price.  I got this one for $8.00 + $2.50 shipping.

The Lake County Captains are a Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians based out of Erstlake, Ohio.  Their mascot is Skipper, who debuted with the team in 2003.

From what I recall, I have never seen a mascot relic card, but I could be wrong.  I have seen the Topps Opening Day mascot autographs, though.

I just thought it was a really cool card.  I hope the mascot hasn't gone missing and wasn't sacrificed to make this card.

June 28-29, 2014 Bowie Baysox Vs. Richmond Flying Squirrels

I met up with my good friend, Ryan (from the blog O No Another Orioles Blog), and caught two Bowie Baysox games in Richmond this past weekend.  The highlight of the trip was that we were able to watch Nolan Reimold play for Bowie in the final two games of his rehab assignment.

Bowie took Saturday's game, 3-0 behind a stellar pitching performance by Tyler Wilson.  Wilson went 7 innings, allowing only 2 hits, one walk and striking out 9.  He was awesome.  The win put Wilson at 10-5 on the year with a 3.72 ERA.  He was aided by Nolan who went 2-4 with a SB, Christian Walker who went 3-4 and Dariel Alvarez who went 2-4.  Walker and Alvarez appear to be legit prospects and should be in Baltimore very soon.

After the game, Ryan and I met Nolan as he was exiting the stadium.  I'm sure I came off a little Kathy Bates-like (I'm your number one fan) when I talked to Nolan.  I couldn't help it.  I got nervous and ended up running off at the mouth.  I hope Nolan understood that I was just excited and didn't want to come off looking like some crazed fan.

The second game wasn't as eventful as the first. The Baysox lost 4-3 with Nolan going 0 for 4, lowering his AA average to .314.  Walker and Alvarez each went 0-4 as well.  The game was further marred by a dud of an outing by Orioles pitching prospect, Eduardo Rodriguez.  I'm sure folks have seen him throw better, but Ryan and I picked a bad time to watch him as he lasted only 3.2 innings, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts.  Rodriguez looked like a typical Baltimore pitcher, throwing a ton of pitches early and walking a lot of guys.  I don't know what it is, but the Orioles need to work on better pitching development and finding guys who don't walk a ton of batters.

Before Saturday's game, I got autographs from Dariel Alvarez (above).  Can anyone help me with his inscription?  I can't make heads or tails of it.  Below is a signed ball by Christian Walker.  I had only one OMLB ball, which I got Alvarez with and I had a ton of synthetic cover balls that I needed to find a use for, so the Walker ball ends up being a bit of an experiment as well.  I used Ryan's Staedtler pen on both balls.  Let's see if this pen, which I have heard rave reviews of, can hold a signature on these synthetic leather balls.  If they work, I may have a use for these balls yet (and I will need to buy my own pen).

Finally, I treat you all with an amateur video I shot of one of Nolan's hits from Saturday's game.  I hope you enjoy.

I had a really good time at the game with Ryan, who I hadn't seen in over a year (wow).  I didn't mind the concrete monstrosity that was "The Diamond" (the RIchmond field).  It was very easy for us to get autographs, as we could stand by the wall right by the field, reminiscent of Kinston's Grainger Stadium.  The experience was fine and the hot dogs were really good.  The aesthetics of the park get a -1 out of 10, but other than that, I have no complaints whatsoever, so I would have to rate my overall experience as very high.  I miss being able to catch minor league games, so I think I need to go out and catch some more like I had been back in 2010 and 2011.  We'll see how that goes.

Christmas From Mom and a Surprise Visit

My final post of Christmas presents, and you know how I love to save the best for last, comes as a sort of request.  Almost a demand.  You see, I had some surprise visitors com to the house last night.  My parents (plus my sister and niece) came and stayed over at my house last night since they had to be in the area early this morning.  I told them that since their venue was fairly close, they could crash here and save some money on hotel costs.  Luckily enough, they decided that was a good idea, so they dropped in at 11:30 last night.

In a conversation with Mom, either last night or early this morning, (because I woke up so early, they pretty much blended together) she asked why I hadn't done a blog post on the two minor league jerseys that she got me for Christmas (or the other stuff she got me).  Was it because I hated it?  Did I not like the stuff?  No way, I loved what I got, but I was saving the post.  Anyway, I won't show everything I got, but I will show the jerseys.

Mom has a knack of finding MiLB jerseys that are whimsical or interesting.  She was really fond of the Modesto Nuts jersey shown above.  I tend to agree. Nothing beats the Biscuits jersey she got me a couple years ago in terms of weird team names, but the Modesto Nuts is right up there.

I thought that this Reading Phillies jersey was really nice, too.  I like the old school "Fightin Phils", plus the pinstripes.  The jersey had a bit of a double meaning, since my older brother's name is Philip.  If we were teenagers again, it would be a fitting jersey.  I quit trying to fight him once we hit middle school because he shot up while I stayed scrawny, so I usually got my butt kicked.  I learned pretty quick that 'fightin Phil' was not a good endeavor.

The story doesn't end here with the jerseys, though.  I've spoken often on here in the past about how my mom really supported my interest in the hobby at a young age, even collecting baseballs cards alongside me when I was a teenager.  Something really cool happened last night/this morning, though.

You see, my parents aren't able to get out here on this side of the state often.  Dad has his business and making the three and a half hour trek out here on a weekend is really tough with all of his hobbies and other things going on.  This was, actually, only the second time my parents have seen my house since we bought it in 2011.  So, my dad hadn't really seen the extent of my collection until last night/this morning.

He took one look at my baseballs (you know, my china cabinet with my 98 Hall of Famers, plus lots more of other autos) and said "What the hell are you going to do with all of this stuff?"  My response?  "Look at it!"

This morning, as we were waiting on the girls to wake up, I was showing my mom some of my bobbleheads and die cast race cars, Dad walked up again and said, "So, what's all the fuss in here?"  So, I showed him a few of the things I had on the walls, including some really old racing photos of him, some of his memorabilia, like his old helmet, etc.  He patted me on the back and said, "I'm proud of you, you're just like me!"

My dad has collected a bunch of stuff over the years, HO and Lionel trains, Rocco mini tanks, Johnny West figures, birds (yes, live ones), and scores of other things.  So, my mom helped me get my start with all of this, but I can trace a lot of why I do this to my dad, too.  It was a really cool feeling being able to show him the stuff I've worked hard to collect and display over the years, even though he has admitted that watching baseball is like watching paint dry.  He did get the chance to go to Washington Senators and Baltimore Orioles games with a close friend from school in the early to mid 60's, so he does have that on me.  Little did he know that I would become such a huge Orioles fan.

So, it was really nice to have my parents over last night and this morning.  I really wish they could come up more often, but I do understand.  I'm also really proud that both of them think what I'm doing with all of this is cool.  It means a lot to me.

July 30, 2013 - Frederick Keys vs. Lynchburg Hillcats

Sadly, I only knocked off one new ballpark that I hadn't been to this year when I went with Chris and my brother, Adam to Frederick, Maryland.  We hit Frederick on our way back from Drew's place, figuring we could stretch out our vacation another day by taking in a minor league game.  I also had a free hotel night with my Choice Rewards, so we got to stay there without dipping into my already stretched beyond recognition vacation budget.

Harry Grove Stadium is a pretty nice place.  It reminded me a lot of the park in Bowie, MD and also the park in Hickory, NC.  I really enjoyed the orange seats, though.

Chris had a great time.  We met friend of the blog, Matt Hobgood, former Orioles first round draft pick.  He also got to go down on the field in the third inning and take part in an on-field contest with his uncle Adam.  They lost the contest, but I was able to get them both on a really grainy video with my phone.  By the way, I got a smart phone in May and I'm loving it.  I am still getting used to apps and stuff, but being able to blog while riding in the car was really awesome.

Here is the video:

Yeah, pretty grainy, but it works.

The coolest thing that happened, though, was before the game even started.  One of the employees came over and asked Chris if he wanted to be the day's "Play Ball" kid.  He said yes without even knowing what it was, but she told him that he would be brought down on the field during the National Anthem and would yell play ball into the microphone to start the game.  AWESOME!

Chris did a great job.  I thought this was one of the coolest things he was able to do at a game.  He's gotten free stuff from tons of players before, but I think he really enjoyed being on the field with them and yelling play ball.

Adam was a bit disappointed that the Orioles had promoted former South Carolina Gamecock, Christian Walker to Bowie a few days before the game.  Adam is a big SC fan, so that would have been cool to get to see Walker play.

The game was really good, Adam and I enjoyed a few Natty Bohs and some hot dogs.  We really enjoyed ourselves, even though the Keys lost.

So, I guess I'll try to knock out a few more minor league stadiums next year since I didn't get to too many games this year.  Oh well, we still had a great summer and an awesome vacation.

Christmas 2012

Christmas has come and gone once again.  It takes a whole year to arrive and then is gone in a flash.  This year, we stretched it out over the course of 3 days.  Christmas Eve was spent at my grandmother's house with my family, my aunt (my Dad's sister), her kids, her friend and my uncle (my Dad's brother) and his kids.  After a nice dinner and opening of gifts for the kids, we did our annual tradition of the 11PM service at my family church in Winston-Salem.  Christmas morning was spent at my parents' house with most of my brothers and sisters opening presents from my parents.  We left from their house Christmas day for Charlotte so we could spend some time with my wife's parents.  Finally, we left there this morning and headed home to open presents at our house.  Here is some of the stuff that I got this year.

My mom has had this ongoing tradition over the last few years of giving me minor league jerseys.  In the past, she has given me: Montgomery Biscuits, Lansing Lugnuts, LeHigh Valley IronPigs and Toledo Mud Hens.  I also have a couple Kinston Indians jerseys that I picked up on my own before they skipped town.

This year's jerseys were really cool (as always, of course).  I got a Greenville Drive jersey.  This one is actually a game used jersey from their July 31, 2011 Textile Night, I believe.  Startex is a local textile company in the general vicinity of Greenville, SC.  I'm not sure who wore the jersey, but they were available via silent auction during that game.  I would love to figure out who actually wore it during the game.  Greenville is the Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.

The other jersey I got was this one for the Bowling Green Hot Rods.  They are the Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.  Pretty simple jersey, but I think it is pretty cool.  That is what Mom and I love about the minor league jerseys; the teams' names in most cases are very unique.  She has been enjoying looking for different teams.

No Christmas would be complete without an assortment of some Orioles stuff.  I have a plaque to hang on the wall, a little figuring for my desk, a magnet and a banner to hang.  Pretty sweet.  I'm so glad the O's went back to the cartoon bird.  I feel like it has character, so to speak.

Finally, Here is another assortment of stuff I got that wasn't baseball cards (which I got several packs of, plus one really cool vintage card that my brother gave me and will be posted later...).  I got the round baseball book from my in-laws and the rest were another item to hang on the wall and a couple books from my mom.  I always enjoy the Hall of Fame books that come out every year (because there are a lot of pictures).  The book in the middle is a sticker book that I will have a good time filling out.

I hope you all had a great Christmas with your loved ones and got all the things you asked for.  I had a great time with my family and will enjoy the next several days off recuperating from the holiday tour of NC.

July 30, 2012 Montgomery Biscuits vs. Mississippi Braves

Well, I can knock another Minor League stadium off of the list after taking in a game at Riverwalk Stadium in downtown Montgomery, Alabama this evening.  The ballpark is one of the nicest ones I've been to.  THey incorporated the old train station into the design of the park, and I feel like they did a tremendous job.

The park looks really cool from the outside, as you can see.  It looks even better on the inside.  They have the original wood floors inside.

The staircase seen below looked really cool also.  We saw this as we were escaping the heat.  We sat down in the hallway and enjoyed the interior of the building for a bit while everyone else outside melted in the heat.

The Biscuits (they are the AA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays) played the Mississippi Braves (the AA affiliate of, you know, the Braves) for a 7:05 (central time) game.

The game started out pretty even, but then got out of hand in the top of the 8th inning when the Braves put up a 7-spot.  The Braves ended up winning 14-5.

Chris enjoyed himself, but by the end he had gotten pretty tired.  He was ready to go, but like the good trooper he is, he stuck it out.  Here, he can be seen after downing a blue sno cone.

I had a great time with my little buddy.  I definitely would go back to a Biscuits game if I ever was in the area.  It sure is a long drive from NC, though...

June 24, 2012 Frederick Keys Vs Carolina Mudcats

My son Chris and I decided to make the hour drive to Zebulon, NC to try to get Dylan Bundy's autograph.  We also wanted to catch our second minor league game of the year.

We had no problem meeting Bundy; Steven Bumbry made sure I knew when Bundy was on his way out.  I also feel like Bumbry told Bundy we were waiting for him.  Bumbry also helped me in 2010 by sending Matt Hobgood out to meet me when I was looking for him by the bus in Greensboro.  I think I owe Steven something, haha.

Bundy was really nice to Chris and I.  He signed both of our baseballs on the sweet spot.  Bundy also signed Chris' team ball.

I was upset when the Kinston Indians left town and moved to Zebulon to take the place of the AA Mudcats who moved to Pensacola, FL.  Get all that?  Kinston was left without a team for the first time in forever, and I am left to having to drive an hour to watch some minor league ball.  I pretty much have 5 Coutny Stadium figured out, as far as which seats to get and have the best chance at getting autos, however, nothing will replace the nostalgia and feel of historic Grainger Stadium in Kinston.  Man, I hope they find a team soon.

 The Keys won, 5-0.  Keys pitcher Tyler Wilson threw 7 innings of 3-hit ball and the Keys' Aaron Baker (obtained by the Orioles in the Derrick Lee trade from the Pirates last year) hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 6th.

Here is Chris after running the bases with the bat that was given to him by Keys player Garabez Rosa.  Rosa just walked up to Chris and handed him a bat.

Here is my ball that was signed by Dylan Bundy.  This is definitely going in a protected cube in the china cabinet.  I've got all of the Orioles' #1 draft picks dating back to 2003 (Nick Markakis).  Since the Orioles didn't sign Wade Townsend in 2004, I don't count him, but after that, I have them all (of course I haven't gotten Kevin Gausman yet, since he hasn't signed).

Here is Chris' team ball.  He had it signed by 15 Keys players.  I'm going to put this ball up for him along with a copy of the roster so he will know who alll signed the ball for him.

Here is Chris waiting for players to walk by so he can have his ball signed.  We waited out the heat and spoke with a bunch of the players.  He high fived a lot of them and got some free stuff.  Chris said that he enjoyed his day out with his daddy, so that was the most important part of all.

April 14, 2012 Hickory Crawdads vs Asheville Tourists

Since I knew I would have to get up early Sunday to go to the race with my dad, I decided to head to my parents' house on Saturday.  I called up my little brother and asked him if he would want to go to a minor league game with me, he said he would, so I checked the schedule and saw that the Hickory Crawdads were playing at home on Saturday night.  Hickory is about an hour away from Mom and Dad's, so it was a pretty easy choice.  Plus, it helped me add a new minor league park to my list.

L. P. Frans Stadium is the home of the Crawdads, the A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.  I also got to meet my brother's girlfriend and invited her along at well.

There weren't a lot of people there, even though they were giving away Eric Church bobbleheads.  We got there about 10 minutes before gametime, so we missed out on the bobbleheads.  Sorry Dodgerbobble.

Hickory has a pretty nice field.  It reminded me of Bowie for some reason.  The backdrop was nice, save for the Pepsi warehouse behind the right field wall.  I bet it looks pretty out there in the fall when the leaves are changing.

The Crawdads held an autograph session after the game, so I let Chris go down on the field so he could get the ball I bought him signed.  He got me a South Atlantic League ball from a little girl who caught a foul ball by trading one of the brand new Rawlings OLB balls that I had brought with me.  I guess she was looking for something prettier than the foul ball she caught.  Oh well, I thought it was a good trade!

So, here is Chris with his signed baseball.  He did get some compliments on his awesome overalls, which makes him look so cute.  As far as my brother and his girlfriend, I took an embarrassing photo of my brother eating a hot dog, but I don't want to embarrass him more than I already have, so I will keep that picture to myself.  Maybe I'll publish it in his senior yearbook a few years from now....

My Son Gave Me Some Minor League Cards

At our last card show in December, as we were leaving on the final day, one of the few vendors remaining gave my son a box of minor league cards from the early 90s.

Chris and I weren't expecting much, as many of the packs had been busted.  Several had been opened, so I figured that whomever had the box got the card they wanted out of the box and left the rest to anyone who took it.  I was surprised at some of the cards that Chris and I pulled.

The card that I thought would definitely be gone was, in fact, in one of the unopened packs.  Here, you see a minor league card of Big Hurt.  Frank Thomas is a definite Hall of Famer, and pulling this card from a pack was a nice surprise for Chris and I.  Well, more for me, because Chris didn't know who Frank Thomas was.

 Another good card was this Jeff Bagwell.  Like Frank Thomas, I think it is a matter of time before Bagwell gets into the Hall.  Many people forget that he was once a Red Sox prospect.

 I got a couple Orioles, the highlight being this Chris Hoiles card.  I have met Hoiles on several different occasions and he has always been awesome.

Another former Oriole is Curt Schilling.  Another possible Hall of Famer, too.  I wonder how Schilling's career would have gone if he had remained an Oriole instead of being shipped to the Astros in the ill-fated Glenn Davis trade.  Yuck.

So, I will put these cards aside to one day give back to Chris.  They were a nice product to open a while ago on a rainy Sunday.  He sure enjoyed it.