Monday, January 26, 2015

4th Annual Eddie Guardado Stars and Strikes Celebrity Bowling Tournament 1-25-15

Last night was the 4th Annual Eddie Guardado Stars and Strikes Celebrity Bowling Tournament. This is one of my favorite charity events to go. I've attended the event the last four years and every year was great. Scheduled guests this year included current and former Angels such as Josh Hamilton, Jered Weaver, Adam Kennedy, Garrett Anderson, Gary Pettis, Gary Matthews Jr, and Troy Percival. Due to scheduling conflicts since a lot of fanfests were held the previous day the regulars that didn't show up to the event were Adrian Beltre, Ian Kinsler, Torii Hunter and Michael Young.



This year I had low expectations in terms of graphing since I figured most of the guys wouldn't show up. Thus I didn't prep much especially since I had items signed by a bunch of these guys the previous years i've attended the event. I had small goals this year, the main goal which was getting my game used Gary Matthews Jr. bat signed, which was given to me by my friend Jerry a few years ago. Thanks again for the bat Jerry.  Since Gary isn't around much this was my one and only shot. I was so upset last year for not bringing the bat since he was a surprise guest to the event.

The first autograph I got was from Adam Kennedy. I had this photo of him as a Dodger for several years now but was too lazy to carry it around. Adam also signed a card for me.



Next up was the biggest shock of the night, Jered Weaver. Weaver is considered to be the most difficult autograph to obtain in person on the Angels roster. To put things into perspective Albert Pujols signs more autographs than Jered Weaver at the stadium. Another way to look at it is for every 100 Mike Trout autographs at the stadium you get about 1 Jered Weaver autograph signed in person.  Normally he's not in a good mood and when he does sign which is a rare occasion he likes to side panel baseballs or run with a sharpie. Today he was surprisingly in a good mood and knocked out about 20 autographs before heading inside the event. He was sweetspotting baseballs without even asking and was switching pens for different items. It was surreal. Jered was kind enough to sign my 2010 All Star baseball under the logo.


The last time I got his autograph was back in 2012 when he had a free signing at Pechanga Casino. Before that I got him at Angels Fanfest back in 2011. It was nice to finally upgrade and get a baseball signed in blue pen under the all star logo.

Next up was Gary Matthews Jr. who was surprised that I brought a bat for him to sign. He even checked the model number to check if it was indeed game used. He was nice to the fans and kindly signed my bat with his natural cycle inscription.









The rest of the night I ended up getting a few more cards signed. I still don't know why I carry these things around. Maybe it's because I don't like getting shutout at autograph opportunities. I wish I had direction with cards like my friends Ryan or Alex who are collecting topps heritage sets. Maybe I should go hardcore and collect the entire upcoming 2015 Topps Heritage set. But then again I got enough stuff I want to get signed (ie jerseys, baseballs, bats, etc). I have hundreds of cards signed but they are all sitting in folders collecting dust. If anyone wants to buy them let me know. 

Last but not least I got cards signed by Matt Treanor and Brennan Boesch



Overall it was a fun experience graphing with everyone.

10 comments:

  1. This cool. i wish i would have known :)

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  2. Nice pick ups. Congrats on the Weaver

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  3. Nice pick ups. Congrats on the Weaver

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  4. If you have any San Francisco Giants autographed cards I may be interested.

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    Replies
    1. Can you email me with your personal email. I can send you a list J

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    2. Do I send it to you via the "follow by email" bar?

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    3. No, just email me via dhp226@nyu.edu

      When you reply with blogger it doesn't show me your email. Thus I can't respond back to you.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Hey I'm trying to finish a phillies piece with michael young as the last auto I need. I've been checking for some time, 2013 to be exact, for a michael young signing but nothing is ever posted. Do you have any thoughts on how to find out or other info would be awesome. Thanks either way!

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