8-4-12 Dodgers vs Cubs Graphing Recap

The day was already off to a great start since I was able to get Matt Kemp's autograph on my canvas and photo. After the signing Benson and I headed out to Dodger Stadium.

Thanks to Alex who hooked us up with MVP passes again we were able to enter the stadium 3 hours before the first pitch. Here is how the stadium looked when we entered.

This never gets old. It's so fun to watch the players warm up especially since you are close to them to hear their conversations. Tonight was Korea Night at Dodger Stadium.

The first Dodger to sign for us was Coach Dave Hansen. Coach Hansen is one of my all time favorite Dodgers since we both graduated from the same high school. I actually went to school with his sister. Coach Hansen signed a photo for me. While signing Coach Hansen made a funny comment saying that he was 30 pounds lighter when that photo was taken. He signed two cards for Benson. Since Benson had an extra signed rookie card he gave me one. Thanks Benson.

The next player to sign was good old Shane Victorino. Today I decided to get my 2011 Allen and Ginter card signed by Shane. Never again am I going to ask him to sign a baseball. I also took a photo of Shane handing a baseball back to a fan after signing it for them. If you look closely, it's signed in the reverse Rawlings position. Shane signed my 2011 Allen and Ginter card for me.

After getting Shane's autograph there wasn't much action going on. We noticed that Coach Mattingly was hanging out in the bullpen. My buddy Alex informed me to go near the bullpen as Mattingly has a tendency to sign when he is in the bullpen. As my readers know Don Mattingly has been my white whale when it comes to graphing. Coach Mattingly's autograph has been eluding me for years now and for some reason I always miss him. Today was a special day since I can now say I can cross Coach Mattingly off that list. In less than five minutes I was able to get Coach Mattingly's autograph on my Rawlings Gold Glove baseball on the SS. Thanks for the awesome tip Alex.

That pretty much made my day. I was able to get my Matt Kemp canvas signed and I finally got Don Mattingly's autograph.

As an added bonus I got a toss up from Hanley Ramirez.

Afterwards we lined up in Section 27 for autographs. We were in the first group and James Loney and Andre Ethier signed autographs for us. I had James sign my 2011 Allen and Ginter Card.

Andre Ethier signed two cards for me; my 2011 Allen and Ginter Card and my 2012 Topps Heritage Card.

Autograph karma did come into fruition. Matt Kemp hit a 2 run HR today and the Dodgers beat the Cubs 3-1.