Jesuit Baseball Opening Night

Through twitter I was able to find out that none other than Rays ace David Price would be on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for Tampa Jesuit baseball's first game of the season. I had been contemplating going just to get Lance McCullers Jr. on his Topps Team USA card, but the shot at Price was the clincher in my decision to make the drive.

I showed up a bit early hoping to grab McCullers as the early game (Jesuit was hosting a tournament)was going on. No luck there, so I wound up having to wait until just before the game. I hung out by the dugout and once I was able to make eye contact he came right over and signed my two color USA jersey card.

Almost immediately afterward, I realized David Price was walking in. He was with school personnel going over the plan for the pre game festivities. Knowing he is a great signer I chose not to interrupt and instead wait until after his first pitch for a shot. Also he brought along a friend, none other than BJ Upton. Upton signed a ton of baseballs for kids. I had nothing for him, not even a baseball. I wish I would have foreseen that one as he can be a tough graph. Better luck next time.

After the pre game ceremony for Lance McCullers and his Jackie Robinson award, Price threw his pitch and was taken to an area off to the side of the dugout. I followed the kids and they bugged him for autographs. Great kids, they all got in a single file line and Price happily obliged. So I jumped in behind all the kids and waited my turn. Got him to sign a 16x20 or so sized canvas print that was available at Target during last season.

Walked out with the goal accomplished, still wish I would have at least had something for Upton though.

Spring is in the air

The Baseball America Prospect handbook has arrived, the 18-wheelers are heading south loaded with bats and balls and jerseys and bubble gum, and this month the baseball world will celebrate its new year with those  famous four words, "pitchers and catchers report."

The autograph itch has been ever present over the winter, and to relieve that itch I decided to do something I haven't done in years. I sent out my first 16 TTM requests in over two years. I chose to send custom index cards to the top 16 members of Baseball America's early preseason top 100 draft eligible college players. So far I have had moderate success over the first 3 weeks of waiting for returns, going 5/16. Hands down the best return has been from the potential #1 overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft, Stanford ace Mark Appel.

Looking forward to 2012, I have a few plans and priorities set out. First off, I plan on visiting at the very least every Florida State League Stadium at least once. On top of that goal, there are a few AA stadiums in Florida I hope to visit if I get the chance, especially the stadium of the new Pensacola Blue Wahoos.

As for autographing, I will probably shy away from 8x10 pictures in favor of 4x6 post card style shots, something similar to what you see at most fan fests. I have a few designs I have been playing with and I am very excited about. There are two big benefits from making this switch. The obvious benefit is cost, I will be able to make almost ten 4x6 photos for the price of one 8x10. At that ratio I will be able to make an item for every player on a minor league teams roster for the cost of 8x10's of that teams top 3 or 4 players. The other benefit is not having to have a huge high quality photo to still make a quality item to get signed. Before, I had a hard time making quality 8x10 shots from game action photos just because I was generally too far away. Now I will be able to use somewhat smaller pictures and still be able to produce a high quality finished product.

Also, I hope to update this site a little bit more. I may review stadiums, add some more of my photography, anything relevant to post about. I obviously fell off after about May last summer after a very productive spring. This year it's a marathon, not a sprint.

Happy baseball everyone!