Angels vs White Sox Weekend Series Recap

Angels vs White Sox Post Game Graphing 9-21-12

The White Sox were in town for a three game series vs the Angels. As usual I decided to do some post game graphing after work to get a head start on graphing this weekend. The White Sox who are known for not being the best signing teams were surprisingly good as I got reports from graphers earlier in the day that Paul Konerko, Chris Sale and Kevin Youkilis signed pre game and during the game as well. I was hoping luck would fall on my side as well.

The first autograph I got was from Kevin Youkilis. Surprisingly he wasn't mobbed since most of the graphers didn't recognize him as he walked out of the front of the stadium. What threw everyone off was that he shaved his famous beard. A fellow grapher named David pointed him out for me so I was able to get Kevin Youkilis' autograph on my photo. Youkilis only ended up signing for me, David, Chase and Noah who are also the usual graphers at the stadium since nobody else recognized him. Since I heard that Youkilis doesn't sign on the sweetspot and gives out notoriously bad signatures in person I decided to go with a photo instead. I want to thank David again for the tip.

The next two players to walk out where Jake Peavy and Adam Dunn. The major shocker was that Adam Dunn signed which rarely happens. Peavy only ended up signing for one kid and refused all other autograph requests. This was the opposite from last year as Peavy signed for all of us and Adam rejected all autograph requests. Adam Dunn was kind enough to sign my ROMLB on the SS.

That was pretty much it for pre game graphing. Not a bad start to the series.

Angels vs White Sox Game 9-22-12

Benson and I both decided to skip the Mike Trout in store signing at appearance at the Oakley Store in Irvine Spectrum due to the chaos and madness we expected from the signing. My fellow graphers Ken and Ken Jr were both first in line and they waited for over 24 hours. What made us not go was the fact that Mike Trout was only signing a postcard photo provided by Oakley and didn't sign any outside items. Plus we weren't looking forward to camping out for 12 hours like the rest of the fans. I am hoping for a paid signing so I can finally get my Mike Trout jersey signed since I hate doing camp outs. I am just too old for that.


We decided to pre game graph the White Sox instead of going to the Trout signing. The first player to sign for was Alexei Ramirez who signed my 2012 Allen and Ginter Card.

Next up was Orlando Hudson who was kind enough to sign my 2011 Allen and Ginter Card.

Afterwards Dayan Viciedo signed two cards for me. Dayan is the best and always signs multiples.

Next up was Alex Rios who signed my photo for me. I love how the signature came out.

That was pretty much it for pre game graphing. I did miss out on getting Chris Sale as he stated to all of us that he would only sign for kids. Peavy was in a rush and signed a few so I missed out on him as well. I missed getting Gavin Floyd since I was getting Alex Rios' autograph first and Gavin left before I could get his autograph.

In game during BP the first player to sign for us was Addison Reed. Addison Reed belongs in the HOF of Graphing since he is the most generous signer. He is at the level of Justin Masterson and signs sheets of cards for fans. Addison and I share a mutual friend who happens to be my buddy Spencer whose brother used to play baseball with Addison. It helped to know a mutual friend since he signed multiple items for me but he even did that for strangers. My buddy Matt ended up getting 40 cards signed by Addison over the weekend. He was signing pages of cards for fans.

I ended up getting a photo with Addison and he was nice enough to sign three cards for me along with an 8x10 photo. The third card I got was the Bowman Platinum courtesy of my buddy Matt. Thanks again Matt for the card.

Here is a pic of me and Addison near right field

Now I just need to find an authentic jersey of Addison so I can get it signed next year.

I decided to hang out near the White Sox dugout to see if I could get Robin Ventura or Paul Konerko's autograph.

Robin Ventura ended up signing a few but I barely missed him. In the end he said he would only sign for kids. I had a photo for him to sign but I guess my day will come in the future. I wasn't too upset since he signed for me when the White Sox were in town earlier this season.

I was also in prime positioning near the dugout as Paul Konerko visited some friends. Initially he was hesitant about signing autographs but he broke down. However Paul said he would only sign for kids so I missed out on Paul. I was a bit disappointed since I really wanted Konerko's autograph. I believe that Paul will be a future HOFer one day and I hope to add his autograph to my collection.

What was funny was that a little girl asked Paul to sign on the sweetspot. I guess Paul knew the baseball wasn't for her but was for her father who sent her to get his autograph for him. Paul ended up signing the baseball on the reverse rawlings position. Then the girl started to complain. I guess players can even tell who the eBayers are. LOL.

That was pretty much it for graphing during BP. I decided to take some photos. Jered Weaver won the Nick Adenhart Award today and Mike Trout was voted as the Angels Team MVP so both players were awarded tropies.

I also took some photos of Youkilis practicing his famous swing.

The good news was that the Angels beat the White Sox 4-2. The Angels pretty much have to win out in order to secure a wild card spot. Hopefully they can pull it off this year.

For post game graphing Kevin Youkilis was the first one to walk out again. Unlike the previous night where he left unnoticed, he was mobbed tonight. Kevin initially didn't sign but finally broke down as he was waiting for a cab to pick him up. I figured his autograph will look even more terrible than the night before thus I decided to get a card signed instead. I really wanted to get a baseball signed by him but I didn't want to risk wasting a ball and getting a sloppy autograph like the night when I got Jose Valverde to sign my baseball. Kevin signed my 2011 Allen and Ginter card. I really hope one day he does a paid signing since I really want to get a baseball signed by Youkilis with a high quality signature.

As I was walking back I saw a crowd forming around Orlando Hudson. O-Dog make a funny comment as he was signing saying that "you guys have more money than I do." Last I checked he is making $5.5 million dollars this year. I am not sure if any of the other graphers or if all of us combined ever made that kind of money. I guess he was making a jab at the eBayers. Who knows but he sure has a weird sense of humor. O-Dog was still in good spirits and was nice enough to sign two cards for me. Only one is pictured here since I gave one away to Benson since he missed out on getting O-Dog's autograph today.

The next player to sign for us was the losing pitcher Jose Quintana. I was shocked but not too surprised he signed. I've had previous encounters with him before and he was always nice to the graphers. He mentioned to us that his hand was sore and couldn't sign too much tonight but he ended up signing for anyone who asked. Since I didn't have a card for him I prepared a photo for him to sign.

The last player to sign for us was AJ Pierzynski who signed my 2012 Topps Heritage Card. AJ has a weird way of signing as he literally turns the card sideways and signs away. His signature is rushed and is inconsistent. We compared each autograph he signed that night and there was no consistency. I guess he just wrote scribbles for everyone. I am happy I didn't drop a baseball on him. Otherwise I would have ended up with another sloppy signed baseball.

I wish more players would take pride in their signatures especially since they are famous. I wish more players were like Torii Hunter and Michael Cuddyer who give out the most beautiful signatures. Players with sloppy rushed signatures need to attend the School of Harmon Killebrew.

Angels vs White Sox Game 9-23-12

I was originally planning on not attending this game but thanks to my friend Mike who had an extra tickets for me and Benson we were able to attend the game. Our original plan was to pre game the Angels then go for breakfast and watch football all day since it was Sunday. Thanks again for the tickets Mike.

This was pretty much the last day of graphing for me this baseball season unless the Angels reach the playoffs. I don't plan on graphing the Angels vs Mariners series this week. Thus it was my last shot at getting Angels autographs and my goal which was to get my recently acquired Vernon Wells Toronto Blue Jays jersey signed.

I guess everyone else had the same thing in mind as there was about 25 fans waiting near the Angels parking lot at 7:45 AM. Normally there are about 10 people if you ever graph the Angels pre game on a Sunday. Due to the high volume of fans not many players signed. Jerome Williams, LaTroy Hawkins and Scott Downs were the only players to sign autographs. I had nothing for all three players but thanks to my friend Scotty who had an extra Scott Downs card I was able to get a 2011 Topps Scott Downs card signed. Thanks again Scotty for the card.

That was it for pregame graphing. When we entered the stadium there wasn't much action. I did end up getting two baseballs during warmups; one from Brian Omogrosso and the other from Dayan Viciedo. Two tossups on a Sunday with no BP. Not a bad day for ballhawking.

Chris Sale ended up signing for three fans and skipped me. It was much easier to get him last year when he wasn't an All Star. I miss the good old days.

As usual Addison Reed came out and signed for fans as he was meeting up with family and friends. I decided to use the baseball I got from Brian Omogrosso and had Addison sign the ROMLB on the SS for me. Thanks for being awesome Addison.

That was it for graphing. Luckily the Angels swept the White Sox and won 4-1 keeping their playoff hopes alive. I ended up post game graphing the Angels hoping to get Vernon to sign my jersey but none of the players stopped to sign.

Hopefully this isn't the end of the season for the Angels. If the Angels make the playoffs I hope to be graphing during the post season. If this was my last day of graphing baseball for the season it was an wonderful year filled with great memories. It's always bittersweet when the season ends. What I will miss the most is not only the thrill of the chase but also the friendships you make with the fellow graphers. It was overall a great year. I want to give a shout out to all my fellow graphers this year including Benson, Phil, Eric, Josh, Alex, Nancy, Keith, Scott, Scotty, Matt C, "Dan Haren" Matt, Spencer, Noah, Laurie, Mike, Greg, Marty, Laurence, Bruce, Moe, Ken, Ken Jr, Steven, Joe S, Pastor Jim, James and the rest of the graphers. Sorry if I left anyone out.