Saturday, February 18, 2012

Saturday Feb 18th, 2012 Spurs and Tebowing at UCLA

Crazy day of graphing for me this past Saturday. Went out to LA with my friend Benson to graph the Spurs in the morning and Tim Tebow in the afternoon. Initially we headed out to the Four Seasons at Beverly Hills to see if the Spurs were staying there. There were no other signs of graphers or team buses so we headed out to the Ritz Carlton across the Staples Center to see if the Spurs were staying there. A trainer on the Spurs walks right by us so we figure the Spurs have to be at this hotel. Ended up with Coach Gregg Popovich, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker on a basketball. Met a family friend of Manu so we were able to get Manu over to sign for us.








Soon after getting the Spurs we drove out to UCLA to catch Tim Tebow. I heard through ESPN that he was at my old alma mater practicing at the UCLA football practice field so we went out there to check it out. Luckily Tim was still there. After practice he signed a football and mini helmet for me.






Tim is a class act. He signed and posed pictures with us. Great guy. I hope he does improve his mechanics that he is working on right now so he can have a kick ass season next year.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Saturday Feb 11th, San Diego Padres Fanfest

Another day of graphing with my friend Benson and the site was good old San Diego for the Padres Fanfest. This was a 2nd of back to back trips to San Diego just for graphing purposes. A week ago we went out to get Tony Gwynn at El Cajon Ford. This was my first time at Padres Fanfest. From friends who have gone previous years I heard that it was the most interactive fanfest since the Padres literally open up the field for you. They let fans check out the club house, hang around in the dugout, walk on the field and play catch and so forth. The only downside was a lack of stars that were signing. Still a fun experience especially since we are still a few months away from baseball season. The Dodgers definitely need to learn a thing from the Padres by having an interactive Fanfest like the Padres do each year. They can learn a lesson or two.
















Due to the lack of stars that were signing I stuck to getting the entire team of players on a Padre mini helmet. Ended up with Andrew Cashner, Huston Street, Tim Stauffer, Luke Gregerson, Joe Thatcher, Chase Headley, Brad Brach, Yonder Alonso, Erik Hamren, Nick Hundley, Kyle Blanks, Brad Boxberger, Cory Luebke, Will Venable on my Padres mini helmet.


Yonder Alonso on a SS ROMLB and Topps Card



Jerry Coleman on a SS ROMLB


After graphing I went with Benson to check out the Padres Garage Sale. They were slashing prices toward the end of fanfest. What caught our eye was a signed Vinny Castilla signed 2006 World Baseball Classic Baseball. This baseball looked different from the ones that were released in public and the ones used in the game which had gold foil printing. I did some research on my iphone and found out that it was a prototype
Check out http://www.photos.bigleaguebaseballs.com/miscellaneous-baseballs-misprints-and-prototypes/rawlings-2006-world-baseball-classic-prototype-006.jpg.php
This is a great site for all things related to Rawlings baseballs. It's like an encyclopedia of all baseballs made. Through the site I found out that the ball I purchased was a prototype and since I am a collector of all things baseball I had to buy it. Plus they slashed the prices down to $15 dollars for the baseball so it was a bargain considering even standard non commemorative ROMLBs go for $15-20 these days. 

Vinny Castilla Signed Prototype WBC 2006 baseball





When I was about to pay for the item the cashier had an additional item for me to buy. The Padres had incredible items up for sale like game used bats for $30 and game used jerseys for $50-175 depending on the style and player. However all the good stuff went to season ticket holders since they had early entry into Fanfest. Thus there wasn't much left over at the end. The lady who was at the register asked me if I wanted to buy an Adrian Gonzalez game used batting practice jersey. I was like sure how much. She said $50. I was hesistant for a second since I wondered why she didn't buy the item herself. Can't go wrong for $50 for a high caliber player like Adrian even though he is now with the Red Sox. Well seating next to her I saw her husband and she was telling me that he'd get mad if she bought two jerseys. She had a throwback Matt Latos game worn jersey tucked underneath the table which she was planning on purchasing herself at the end of fanfest. I thanked her for the jersey and went home happy.

Adrian Gonzalez Batting Practice Jersey.




Saturday, February 4, 2012

Saturday Feb 4th, Tony Gwynn Signing at El Cajon Ford

This was my first ever trip out to the famous Tony Gwynn El Cajon Ford signings. Drove out with my friend Benson from Anaheim to San Diego early in the morning. Surprisingly there weren't that many people. I guess it might be due to the fact that Tony does these signings quite a few times this year. About 100 people showed up and he was signing multiple items as long as you were ok with Tony giving you his famous evil glare. I didn't want to become another victim of Tony on youtube so I kept it at two items signed. I had to add to my Tony Gwynn collection.









Ended up getting a mini helmet and an HOF baseball signed.



The bat and the other SS ROMLB is from a previous Gwynn signing at the Grand Opening of the Cox Solutions Store in San Diego I attended last year. Next time I go to a Gwynn signing I plan to get a jersey signed. If anyone knows where I can find a good deal on a legit Authentic Gwynn jersey you can email me. None of that crap fake stuff on ebay. Thanks