Life of an Autograph Collector: A Night in Rome

First things first, it seems I picked the perfect night yesterday to skip an Atlanta Braves game. As a complete Braves homer, that was brutal. I'm the guy rooting for the no hitter to get spoiled until the last pitch. However, I'm a good enough fan to say congrats Ubaldo. From what I've seen online and on ESPN this morning, you were completely filthy. Plus, you earn extra respect by finishing the game by going through Prado, Chipper, McCann, the three best hitters for Atlanta in my opinion, in the 9th



Anyway, I made my first trip of the year to a Minor League game to Rome, GA, the home of the Low-A Rome Braves. For this blogger/autograph hound, it doesn't get much better than a Rome Braves game. From the design of the stadium to the friendliness that the Rome Braves promote, its a great place to spend a night. I've been to State Mutual Stadium about 5 or 6 times, and I've never left disappointed.



The first year of operation for the Rome Braves was a great one as you can see. This team was
was able to secure the South Atlantic League championship led by future Major Leaguers Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, and Kyle Davies. Speaking of McCann, he actually had his numbered retired by Rome. They chose a great place to display this, directly above a hot dog stand.



Anyway, Rome is a great place to not only catch a game, but its amazing for autographs also. If you don't like late nights, then its pretty easy to grab autographs before the games. Personally, I'm not opposed to getting players to sign inside the ballpark before the game, but I'd much rather let the kids do their thing. Plus, if you can recognize faces or have a program, getting signatures is MUCH easier afterward.



Either way, the players are pretty close to the stands the whole time, which is typical for MiLB games, so you'll get a good look at them and might even a few autos if they're not too busy. This a view from the ever so great Miller Lite Marina. If you like your drinks, and I know you do, they have nightly specials on tap. You can see most of the field here, except a portion of the left field corner.






So for my trip I was happy to see Christian Bethancourt catch, as I've been anxious to see him with the hype surrounding him already. It was also nice to know I would get to see a few other players I've been waiting to see like Kyle Rose and David Hale, who didn't have such a great night.





After settling into our seats, I made sure to take care of my "View From My Seat" photo (above) for my collection and the best Braves Blog around, Talking Chop. Which reminds me, I really need to organize those 25+ game photos of the same theme from last year sometime soon. Rome has a very nice video board with that will show replays, promotions, games, and all other sorts of Minor League hijinks.



Unfortunately for me, the game didn't go to well for the Braves and they got hammered by a Mets' affiliate, the Savannah Sand Gnats. Plus, finding out about the no hitter by Ubaldo almost seemed like piling on personally. Final score: Braves 2, Sand Gnats 9.



Winning Pitcher: Darin Gorski (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: David Hale (0-1)

So after the game, I headed straight for the parking lot to put away the few things I purchased or was given at the game (shot glass, pennant, baseball, bobblehead). Then it was off to the clubhouse entrance. In Rome, the only thing separating you and the players is a small guard rail. The players are encouraged to be autograph friendly, which worked out greatly in my favor tonight. I brought cards of 12 players, all 12 were more than willing to sign. Below are the results:

Thomas Berryhill


Christian Bethancourt


Paul Clemens


David Hale


Mycal Jones


Brett Oberholtzer


Cory Rasmus


Kyle Jones


Braeden Schlehuber


Julio Teheran


Arodys Vizcaino


Matthew Weaver


So all in all, 13 different cards signed. For post-game autograph hunting, I think that might be a record. It was truly awesome and all of the players were more than happy to take the time to sign. Amazing night, one that will hard to beat in terms of signatures.

Next week I'm off to see the Montgomery Biscuits play the Mississippi Braves. The promotion is Evan Longoria Bobbleheads, so its a much catch game for me. Hopefully I can have some of the same success with the M Braves. Thanks for reading!

TTM SABR - Statistical Analysis of Baseball Requests

Don't get too worked up. There will not be any formal statistical analysis. True SABR junkies please point your browser elsewhere. If you insist on staying, find a formula for VORP for my TMMs. Actually, I do ponder if I'll get any extra hits via google with SABR in the title. Google Analytics, please keep me updated!

Well, like most people it seems on the forums of Freedomcardboard.com, my Spring Training TTM requests did not have a high success rate. Even more, my stated goal at the beginning of ST was WAY OFF the mark, only reaching the halfway mark of my stated goal. Since I didn't go into detail about who I was sending to this Spring beforehand, I'll take the time now to dive in and give out some statistics from my Spring Training TTM Hits and Misses. Your lucky day, right?

Wave #1 (Sent the day before pitchers and catchers report)
Bobby Cox (Miss)
Joe Torre (Miss)
Greg Maddux (Miss)
Brian McCann (Miss)
Billy Wagner (Miss)

So I'm completely struck out with Wave #1. However, I did not have high expectations for this group, as I would have considered 1 reply a success for this group. Unfortunately, I didn't even get one (so far). Your most likely reading at home thinking "Did he actually think he'd get all those back?" Quite honestly, no, which is why my stated goal was 1/5. You gotta take a chance with TTM's every now and then and I really believe that Spring Training is the best time to take that chance.

Wave #2 (Sent the day before first full squad workouts)
Elvis Andrus (Hit)

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Miss)
Adam LaRoche (Miss)
Jeff Francoeur (Hit)

Andruw Jones (Miss)

This group proved to be a bit better, as I was able to hit 2/5 players. I had the reasonable goal of 3/5 returns for this group, so this group carried most of its weight. Congratulations, you were not epic fail!

Wave #3 (Sent the first week of full squad workouts)
Todd Redmond (Hit)

Jo Jo Reyes (Miss)
Nate McLouth (Miss)
Tommy Hanson (Miss)
Mike Gonzalez (Hit)


Now here we see players that have a nice history of signing, so I upped the stated goal to 4/5. To high? Well, for Spring Training returns, I'll have to say yes. I do think that I have a good shot at getting 1 or 2 more back, just throughout the season.

Wave #4 (Sent at the end of the week during first full squad workouts)
Jeff Lyman (Hit)

Jose Orentagno (Miss)
James Parr (Hit)

Eric O'Flaherty (Miss)
Kenshin Kawakami (Miss)

Another group I had high hopes for, giving it a 4/5 goal. Again, I hit 2/5 for this group, but I'm sure I might get a another return sooner or later. So if your keeping score at home, we now my stated goal:

12/20.

Compare this to my actual success rate for the spring: 6/20. Ouch. Not a good spring, but hopefully it will be redeemed throughout the year. In fact, last year I only received one return out of 10 during ST, but that number increased to 6 this spring with a nice return from Terry Pendleton.

Any readers out there be sure to let me know how your TTM's went this Spring Training, and if you have a blog or website, be sure to link it. I like being nosey.

Opening Day

Yesterday I was lucky enough to participate in a great American tradition, MLB Opening Day. What made it even better was I got to experience it with 3 of the most amazing people: my dad, my 18 year old brother, and my lovely fiance.

I'm one of those people that wakes up bright and early and hits the ground running. At 7:00, I was already getting everything prepared for our small tailgate party. Hot dogs, sausage, buffalo grilled chicken, loaded potato dip, and Sweet Water 420 made up the menu that did not disappoint.

The crowd was buzzing from the second we parked, you could almost tell something special was going to happen. Derek Lowe was on the mound, but like 23 of his other teammates, they seemed to just be filler for the real show: Jason Heyward. Making his debut in RF, the Jay Hey Kid had a lot to do with the largest day game crowd in Atlanta.

The pregame festivities were enough to get me choked up, as the greatest part of baseball isn't always the game, its the people who share the game with. Thoughts of my late Grandfather, my dad, and other family members kept flashing in my head as Furman Bisher narrated a video linking important moments in Braves history to important moments in fans lives that happened to overlap. On top of this, we witnessed a potential passing of the torch as Hank Aaron threw out the first pitch to none other than Jason Heyward.

As the game started, I couldn't help but notice the lack of Cubs fans at Turner Field. Often with the Cubs are in town the stadium can get near 50% Cubs fans, but luckily the Braves faithful were spared from the most obnoxious fans outside of the Red Sox Nation Bandwagon. They started to come together a bit after Marlon Byrd's first inning wind aided homerun, but their excitement did not last for long.

Yes, to the Second City's dismay, the Cubs were only able to lead for half an inning. Big Carlos Zambrano gave up bloopers to first Martin Prado and then Brian McCann. Next, Troy Glaus unfortunately picked up the first strikeout for the good guys and was followed by a big hit from Yunel Escobar to tie the game. What happened next will go down as one of the most magical moments in Turner Field's short history.

Jason Heyward struts up to the plate with the crowd already going a little bit crazier than usual. A lets go Heyward chant breaks out in the middle of his at bat, something uncommon for any player, much less a rookie. After 2 straight balls by Zambrano, the crowd was getting even louder. However, that noise was NOTHING compared to the second after Heyward unloaded on a low fastball.

Before the ball had a chance to pass the infield in flight, Turner Field was rocking. Never have I witness such hysteria and it might be along time before I see something like it. The closest thing that comes to mind was Brain McCann's HR off of Clemens in the 2005 Playoffs, but even then, you didn't have Braves Ushers acting like a 3 year old on Christmas morning. With all the hype that surrounded Jason over the last year, which increased greatly this spring, I guess I have to ask the question: Where we expecting anything less?

Most of the game from after this was just a complete beat down of the "Lovable Losers." Here are some of my random thoughts from the game:

• As awesome as Heyward was, my personal player of the game was Yunel Escobar. 5 RBI, 2 Hits (1 double) and a flashy day on the diamond that amazed me.
• Nate McLouth's catch (or lack of) should be celebrated due to the fact he made a great effort to even get to that ball. Plus he made a great heads up play and got the ball to the infield quickly.
• I've been waiting all offseason to see Billy Wagner trot to the mound to Enter Sandman. I was not disappointed.
• They sold 433 Jason Heyward T Shirts yesterday, including the one I'm wearing right now. Thanks for standing in line for me Lea!!

Now, I'm going to start a gimmick for the blog. Every game I go to, I'm going to post a photo of the view from my seat or somewhere else on the field. To go along with that, I'll post the box score. Hopefully this blog will serve of a "scrap book" of my 2010 baseball experience.

(click to embiggen)

W: Derek Lowe (1-0)
L: Carlos Zambrano (0-1)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CHC 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 2 ATL 6 2 0 0 0 0 6 2 - 16 12 0

1 Year, 1 Month, 1 Day later.......

Last year I sent 10 4x6 photos to the Braves Spring Training Complex at Disney last year. During ST, my return percentage was absolutely horrible, as I only received one success before the players broke camp. That one success was Josh Anderson, who was traded the same day I received his autograph in the mail. Anyway, I received 1 return in May I believe (Greg Norton) and two after the season ended (Jair Jurrjens and Casey Kotchmen). So by the end of last year, I had 4 out of 10 returns from ST. Definitely not the worst percentage, but not anything to brag about. Well that 40% success rate was upgraded today to 50% as I received this today from Mr. Terry Pendelton:



Terry is now the batting coach for the Atlanta Braves, but I'm sure most of us remember him as the solid fielding 3rd Baseman in the 80's and 90's. He was a favorite player of mine growing up for really one childish reason: Pendleton sounded like my last name, Pennington. Sounds like something a 5 year old would say, right?

Looking back on his playing days now, however, he merited his status in my eyes much beyond his last name. 3 Gold Gloves and a NL MVP, but more importantly to me, a member of the worst-to-first 1991 Braves team. Any player on that team is held in VERY high regard in my mind.

Scan Courtesy of Photobucket.com/atlantabraves
2009 Spring Training TTM 5/10 (Never give up, you'll be surprised what you get back!!)

Hello Old Friend

Everyone has there first favorite player. Typically, the one you like above all when you first start taking your sport of choice seriously. Sometimes its a very established player that has been around for a while, other times it can be a younger player breaking through. For me, it was the latter.

I seriously started following baseball on a daily basis in 2005. I had watched baseball off and on throughout childhood, as my granddad was a big Braves fan, and went to games a few times a year, but baseball wasn't a part of my nightly routine. In 2005, something about the Braves youth movement, dubbed the "Baby Braves," got me really excited about baseball. During this time, a lot of fans were drawn into two players particularly: Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur.

From 2005-2009, Jeff Francoeur was my player. I'm sure some of you have seen my Jeff Francoeur collection and I'm sure some of you also know I was obsessed. Even through the struggles in 2008 and 2009, I was still a fan. I might have defended him a bit to much, but it still annoys me to see some of the bashing from a portion of Braves fans. It seems some that still trash him even though he's gone might have been bought into the hype and got burned when he didn't live up to expectations.

All that being said, I'm still a fan, just not to the extent I was. Why? Because I have to say, favorite player or not, I'm a bigger fan of the name on the front of the jersey, opposed to the name on the back.

However, I still respect what he did for Atlanta, and most importantly, making me into the baseball fan I am. So, here it is, my TTM from Mr. Francoeur:



2010 Spring Training TTM Success 6 of 20.
Scan Courtesy of Photobucket.com/atlantabraves

More Than I Bargined For?

Anyone who sends out cards to be signed through-the-mail knows never to mail anything in the mail you can't live without. Well, unfortunately, one or more Todd Redmond fans learned might have learned that the hard way, as not only did I receive back the card I sent him, but three others signed and one unsigned. Here's a look at two of the cards:

Todd Redmond 2007 Bowman Chrome Rookie Card

Todd Redmond 2007 Bowman Heritage Rookie Card


I didn't scan them all, as the extra two signed cards are the same as the above. For now, I have one of the Heritage cards spoken for(I had one signed a few years ago when I was lacking a Chrome card) but I might give away the others and keep one Chrome in my collection.

Anyway, Todd Redmond is a favorite farmhand of mine. Acquired in 2008 by the Braves in a Spring Training trade, he was shipped from the Pirates for righty reliever Tyler Yates. If I recall correctly, Yates was out of minor league options and was in danger of being the odd man out of the Braves bullpen. Enter Mr. Redmond.

I think the first time I saw Todd pitch was in the Southern League playoffs in 2008. That night, he pitched 8 scoreless innings in the first round of the playoffs against the Birmingham Barons. It was great to see post-season baseball again, as I haven't seen a MLB playoff game since 2005. The Mississippi Braves would go on to win that series and the next to become the 2008 Southern League Champions. He would also be named 2008 Pitcher of the Year by the Southern League. To top off these honors, he was named AA Braves pitcher of the year for their 2008 Minor League Awards Day.

2009 was not a kind year to Todd in the minors, but he did receive the honor of representing the United States in the 2009 in the World Cup of baseball. He shined with 3 wins and 17 strikeouts in route to the USA winning the World Cup.

Now, he is currently a part of the Atlanta Braves 40 Man roster. Hopefully, he'll bring good luck to the Braves this year in the form of a 2010 World Series. Seriously, 2008 - SL Champs, 2009 - World Cup Champs, 2010 World Series Champs. That'd be an impressive resume, whether or not he is a key player.

Another (Mail)Day

After a homework filled weekend, I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and blog about my passion, baseball. Today and Saturday, I got envelopes post marked from Orlando, FL, which only means one thing: A Braves Spring Training TTM. Saturday's envelope contained this:



A Jeff Lyman 2005 Bowman Chrome Rookie Card. I've been holding on to this card for two years now hoping to get it signed in person, but never had the opportunity while he was with the Mississippi or Gwinnett Braves. So since he is now on the 40 man roster, the card was sent to the Braves spring training complex at Disney. I thought about sending it before, but I backed off because of two reasons:
1. I really prefer to get minor league autographs in person.
2. My confidence in minor league clubhouse attendants is not very high.

With that being said, I'm glad I finally got his autograph. Jeff is a pitcher in the Braves minor league system, and I've seen him pitch a few times, including a start, when he's came to town to face Southern League rivals the Birmingham Barons or the Montgomery Biscuits. Now that he's on the 40 man roster, I hope to see him in Atlanta someday soon.

As for Today, 3/8/10, I received this:

2009 Topps James Parr (Rookie Card) Not truly a rookie card, but whatever floats MLBP boat. Similar story behind this card as the Jeff Lyman card earlier, never got the chance to get him to sign it in person, so I sent it to the Disney complex.

James is also on the 40 man roster for the Braves, but unlike Lyman, he has had a cup of coffee in the majors. His MLB debut came in late 2008 against the Washington Nationals. In his start, he pitched 6 innings, gave up 2 hits, and allowed no runs on his way to his first win.

While neither autographs are cornerstones to a collection, they represent what I like most in baseball: watching players develop their way through the minors and eventually getting their shot in the majors.