Jeremy Lin Signing at WSS in Los Angeles 4-11-15

Jeremy Lin had a public signing this past weekend at the WSS Store from 4-5pm. With the purchase of $30 worth of merchandise they gave you a wristband to get Jeremy Lin's autograph. I ended up picking up $30 worth of socks.

I arrived at the event around a little past 3pm. LA traffic is terrible but luckily I carpooled with Jeremy and Benson. Thanks to my friend Spencer he held down a spot for us. Thanks again Spencer.

One word pretty much sums up this event; clusterfuck.

 

Jeremy ended up arriving at about 4pm. 

It was basically a cattle call similar to a book signing where the handler grabs your item and the athlete or celebrity doesn't switch pens and runs with it. It was strictly one autograph per person with no photo ops and all the autographs were rushed. The handlers wouldn't let Jeremy switch pens so he ran with the jumbo black sharpie. Here is how my jersey turned out.

The main reason why I even went to the event was to try to get a full signature or even an inscription from Jeremy Lin. You would think at a technically paid sit down signing the quality of the autograph would be better. I probably could have gotten a better auto in person at another public event. I guess I shouldn't complain since I got the autograph and it was on a cheap item. But all in all it wasn't the best experience from an autograph signing since there was no fan interaction. Jeremy didn't even say a word to his fans and was focused on knocking out all the autographs for the 250 fans that showed up so he can get out of there as soon as possible.

Luckily though I wasn't stuck with $30 dollars worth of socks as I was able to return the items at another WSS store.

Joc Pederson Signing Time Warner Cable Store 4-4-15

Thanks to a last minute tip from my friend Josh I decided to go to the Joc Pederson signing at the Time Warner Cable Store at the Beverly Connection. Normally I sleep in on Saturdays if I am not working but luckily I got an early morning text from my friend Josh who knew I was still trying to get my first Joc Pederson autograph.

Joc was scheduled to sign from 10-11:30am. This was literally last minute so I drove straight to the store and arrived about 30 minutes into the signing. To my surprise only about 10 people were there and there was no line since everyone got their items signed. This was the rare autograph signing where only a few graphers showed up most likely due to the fact that it wasn't publicized well.

Joc's handlers enforced the strictly one autograph per person rule. Thus all the graphers who were there were lurking hoping that the rules would change.

There was a ton of media there filming the entire event which was most likely for the show Backstage Dodgers which is shown on the Dodgers Network on Time Warner Cable.

As soon as I gave Joc my baseball he turned the ball with the intention to side panel it. I politely asked for the sweetspot and he luckily obliged. I assumed he would be sweetspotting since it's a public signing but I noticed that he side panelled baseballs for other fans at the event and was personalizing photos like the previous night at Angel Stadium. I guess he is under contract since most rookies wouldn't be big leaguing like that. I was happy I finally got Joc's autograph and he was kind enough to take a photo with me as well.

All the regulars such as Josh, Spencer, Adrian, Larry, Marc, and Jay were all upset including me since we could have totally racked this event. Joc was sitting there with an hour left and didn't sign since we weren't allowed to go back in line for seconds. This reminded me of the time when Marshall Faulk finished up his session an hour early and just sat there and refused to sign more autographs for people who already got him.

All in all I couldn't complain too much since I was happy to finally get Joc's autograph. I want to thank Josh again for the last minute tip and also Marc for giving Josh the heads up about the event.

Dodgers Postgame Graphing in Anaheim 4-3-15

Here is a small recap of what I got during postgame at the Angels vs Dodgers game in Anaheim. Basically my goal was to get my Don Mattingly jersey signed and hopefuly get Joc Pederson and Jimmy Rollins' autograph for the first time.

I ran into old friends such as my friend Jose who hooked me up with a Jim Abbott ball with the no hitter inscription. I couldn't make the signing a few weeks ago but Jose was kind enough to get me his autograph.

Jose is one of nicest graphers in the graphing community. Thanks again Jose for helping me with Jim Abbott.

I also ran into You who like me is a diehard fan of the KBO aka Korea Baseball Organization. He was kind enough to hook me up with some baseball cards from Korea. Thanks again You.

As expected it was crowded as usual since fans from LA flock Anaheim whenever the Dodgers are in town. The first autograph I got was from Brett Anderson who walked out with Brandon McCarthy. Luckily I was able to get both guys to sign some cards for me.

I was also able to get autographs from Darwin Barney and Chris Heisey who walked out together as well.

I ended up getting skipped by Joc Pederson who was personalizing all photos and side paneling every single baseball. He's pretty difficult to get considering he's only an unproven rookie thus far. Due to his hype he's already big leaguing which isn't a good sign for graphers.

Last but not least I was able to get Coach Mattingly on my Yankees jersey. This was one of the quickest turnarounds for me as I ended up picking up the vintage Yankees jersey in February which is only about two months ago.

Coach Mattingly was doing a signing session so I also ended up getting my Gold Glove ball signed.

The only notable Angels autograph I got was from good old David Freese who was kind enough to add the "Go Halos" inscription.