Angels vs A's Series Recap

Angels vs A's Post Game Graphing Part 1

The Oakland A's were in town again so I decided to do some post game graphing. My goal was to get a couple of photos signed by the A's and possibly get Yoenis Cespedes' autograph on a photo as well. Ever since he decided to change into a short handed signature I decided that I would get photos or cards signed instead of baseballs. Personally I don't like how his new signature looks.

As soon as the game ended I noticed Jim Edmonds walking out of the front gates. He was at the game as a spectator and was walking out just like any other average fan at a baseball game with no security around him. I regret not bringing my Gold Glove baseball since it would have been nice to get him to sign that. Nonetheless you can never get enough of Jim Edmonds so I had him sign an ROMLB on the SS. This was my second time getting Jim's autograph this year and it was a pleasant surprise to see him again.

The next player to sign for me was Collin Cowgill who signed my 2012 Topps card.

The next two players to sign were Tom Milone and Jarrod Parker who both walked out together with their significant others. Tom Milone is the best when it comes to signing since he is one of the nicer guys who signs multiples. Tom was nice enough to sign a photo as well as a 2012 Allen and Ginter card for me. Jarrod was strictly one per and he signed my 2012 Heritage card.

Next up was Tyson Ross who never denies an autograph request. Tyson is another nice player in person and he signed a photo for me as well.

Following Tyson, Grant Balfour walked out and also signed for the fans. He was nice enough to sign my 2012 Topps card for me.

Finally the last person to walk out was Chili Davis. During the last series vs the A's Chili would walk out with Yoenis every night. Chili is usually the last A's player or coach to leave the stadium. Once Chili walks out it pretty much means the night is over in terms of graphing. As usual Chili was giving all the fans a hard time about signing in a joking way like he always does. Initially he told everyone he would only sign for A's fans. Since he saw me in my A's Dallas Braden shirt he summoned me over all the other graphers and signed my 1989 Topps card for me courtesy of my friend Matt who hooked me up with the card. Afterwards he signed for the rest of the group.

Sadly there was no sign of Yoenis Cespedes. During the first series he would sign for the fans walking into and out of the stadium and he would sign using his full signature. Now he is on another level and thus I don't see that ever happening again. The good old days are over.

Angels vs A's Post Game Graphing Part 2

The second night of post game graphing was terrible. I ended up getting two total cards signed, one from Daric Barton and the other from George Kottaras.

There were other players who signed such as Ryan Cook, Tom Milone, and Derrek Norris but I didn't have anything for them to sign. I decided I wasn't going to make the same mistake so I decided to develop some photos for those guys for the following night. I was just happy I didn't strike out.

Angels vs A's Pre/Post Game Graphing Part 3

Since I had an unexpected day off from work I decided to head out to the stadium for some pre game graphing of the Angels. Since I rarely devote time to the Angels when it comes to in person stadium graphing I decided to graph the Angels along with the A's today for pre game graphing.

Within five minutes of my arrival at the stadium Torii Hunter stopped and signed for the five graphers waiting near the Angels parking lot. I had Torii sign my Rawlings Gold Glove baseball on the SS.

While Torii was signing for us Albert Pujols drove by but nobody stopped him or asked him to sign since everyone was getting an autograph from Torii. Thus we missed out on a chance to get Albert's autograph.

There wasn't much action going on at the Angels parking lot. The only other player to sign for us was Kole Calhoun but I didn't have anything for him to sign for me so I didn't get his autograph.

I did however get a free Mike Trout photo courtesy of a fellow grapher who was waiting with me. He actually personally took the photo by himself when he was at the Angels vs Yankees game at Yankees Stadium. I simply love the vintage look. Hopefully I can get this photo signed one day.

I decided to head out to the front of the stadium to see if I could get some autographs from the A's players. Cris Carter and Jonny Gomes signed coming in but I didn't have anything for them. The only autograph I got was from Daric Barton who signed my 2012 Topps Card.

That was pretty much in for pre game graphing. Since I was tired I went home and took a break.

I decided to come back to the stadium once the game was over. I still had a few more photos to get signed from Tom Milone, Ryan Cook, and Derek Norris.

The first player to sign for us post game was Jarrod Parker who signed my 2012 Gypsy Queen card.

Next up was good old Tom Milone who signed another photo for me.

The biggest surprise of the night was Josh Reddick who normally gets escorted by security and rarely signs. I got his autograph once before when the A's were in town during the beginning of the season but today we got lucky thanks to my friend Kyle who was commissioned to do a painting for Josh. Thanks to Kyle, Josh stopped and signed for us. I had Josh sign a ROMLB I got from BP courtesy of Hanley Ramirez at Dodger Stadium on the SS and my 2012 Gypsy Queen card.

Here is a picture of Kyle with Josh and his painting.

The next duo of player to walk out were Ryan Cook and Derek Norris who both signed photos for me. Ryan was nice enough to add the inscription "2012 All Star" on his photo.

The last player to walk out was the winning pitcher of the night AJ Griffin. About 25 members of his family and friends were waiting for him outside the stadium to congratulate him on his victory. He was in a good mood since he got another victory so he was hugging all of his family and friends. He even gave me a hug as well when I asked him for an autograph. AJ is simply a cool guy and he is off to a great start to his MLB career going 6-0 with a 1.94 ERA. Since I didn't have a card ready for him I had him sign a ticket stub from the game courtesy of my friend Mike who let me keep one of his extra ticket stubs from the game. Thanks Mike.