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.

June 4, 2010 Greensboro Grasshoppers vs Delmarva Shorebirds

I was afforded a chance to go the the new Greensboro park to watch the Greensboro Grasshoppers take on the Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles Low A team) on Friday, June 4, 2010. I met up with my good friend who knows a thing or two about baseball and we watched the Orioles 2009 1st round (5th overall) draft pick Matt Hobgood pitch. He kind of disappointed me a bit in that he struggled in his start (although he did go 7 innings) and seemed to be overweight. His fastball was ranging between 87-91 MPH and seemed to have trouble repeating his arm slot.
I met and spoke with Hobgood after the game and let me tell you, the kid is a real pleasure to talk to. He shook my hand twice and signed a ball for me. I was able to meet Hobgood after Steven Bumbry (son of Al Bumbry) let Hobgood know that I was interested in meeting and talking to him. Bumbry signed a ball for me also and was very nice to track Hobgood down for me. I won't forget that.

I also met and talked to Mike Devereaux, a former Oriole who I watched when I was a kid growing up as an Oriole fan. He was a good player in the early to mid 1990s. I'm glad he is back with the organization. He definitely seemed appreciative when I told him that I grew up watching him and appreciated the effort he gave on the field. He also signed a ball for me.

I got a cool autograph from former Oriole Ryan Minor. He is significant in that he played in place of Cal Ripken the day The Streak ended. With me being a huge Cal fan, this ball is going to hold special significance to me. Also, because I thought it was a good conversation piece, I got him to sign a ball for Max as well.

Here is a look at the Greensboro field. I really liked it there. I liked that instead of bat boys, they have bat dogs (dogs trained to retrieve the bats). That was really cool to see. The park was easily accessible and I plan on going to several more games there in the future.