Bird is the Word

Hey everyone, Drew back here! I can't begin to tell you how quickly this semester has gone, but yet I am just a few weeks away from a long vacation. I will be studying next Spring, however I will be in Florence, Italy, so being considered a "student" will be a bit of a stretch. I've spent some of my time lately in preparation for my opportunity of a lifetime, and I can't put into words how much I'm looking forward to leaving the country for the first time.

Anyhow, I never finished showing off my experience at the White Plains Thanksgiving card show last weekend, so I'm here to do just that. I've been gushing lately about the Yankees ability to hold onto their top prospects, and even started a Luis Severino PC in response to my confidence in Brian Cashman and the organization. They finally woke up and realized that baseball is becoming a younger man's game each and every day.

I had a rough week last week, battling through minimal hours of sleep and Black Friday. Thanksgiving felt more like a typical day than the holiday I've always loved. But I still needed to make the trip out to the Westchester County Center in order to shake hands with one of the players I hope will be calling New York home for many years to come.

Sure enough, I shook hands with Greg Bird! The headliners for JP's Sports' smaller Thanksgiving show were two young New York phenoms: Bird and Steven Matz of the Mets. I like Matz, but the price point was $20 higher than Bird's, so I just wound up adding the Yankee first baseman to my collection.

It was a weird experience meeting someone only a few years older than me. In most cases, I am as polite as can be to the established veterans and legends I've met, but it was near impossible not to just say "what's up man" when I stood in his presence. He was very approachable and humble from what I could tell, and I told him I was rooting for him and wished him the best of luck with the Yankees in the future.

I also managed to sneak a few pictures of Steven Matz in there for my Met fan friends. It was a lot of fun watching them play to the end of October, and nobody really saw it coming. I'm not sure if that will just be a one time thing because they may potentially lose a large sum of their offensive production this winter, but their pitching will most likely be lights out for a long time to come. Matz will more than likely continue to be their most undervalued hurler, and as a fairly local guy I know I'll be rooting for him also.

I really liked what I saw from Greg Bird this year in his limited time in pinstripes. I remember coming home from a bad day of work and listening to the Yankees WFAN Radio when he crushed a three run home run to put the team ahead in the top of the 10th inning against the Blue Jays. It certainly made up for that difficult night. He will be starting 2016 in Scranton to receive more plate opportunities while Mark Teixeira returns from his fractured shin to play out the final year of his 8 year contract. Bird will be waiting in the wings for if/when Teixeira fatigues or gets injured, and will most likely take over the spot for good in 2017.

If he hits anything close to the way he did in August and September, we'll be lucky to have him. And I'll be especially lucky to have met him and receive such a nice signed baseball of his.

See Ya!

Jets Training Camp Recap Part 2!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Today was another productive day for my family, as we got to go out to New Jersey and explore the Hoboken area a little bit. I'll get into that tomorrow, as I still have one more part of my trip up to Cortland University to share with you all, which will probably be more entertaining to read for you non Jets fans!

If you read my post yesterday, you may remember me mentioning a promotion for the first 50 kids in attendance. Well, Dad and I figured since I'm not technically an adult yet, that I could count as a kid. Little did we know, the guy in charge of handing out wristbands to the kids told us it was for children 14 and younger. We walked away, disappointed, but my Dad didn't want to give up. He went back, and practically begged the guy, and eventually, I ended up with a wristband! This wristband allowed me to go onto the practice field after practice ended to obtain autographs from any players who felt like signing for a bunch of kids (and one abnormally tall "8th grader")! I knew some players would go to the sidelines where I should've been, but the chances of getting multiple autographs in that position were slim. So, at around 11:00, when practice was coming to a close, I headed over with all the little kids who were about 4'0 tall to the end of the field! I didn't expect too much, but things changed very quickly

The first player to grab a sharpie and sign for the 50 of us was linebacker Bart Scott! Scott has had a great career spanning 10 seasons with the Ravens and Jets. I mean, who will ever forget "CAN'T WAIT!" I did get an autograph from Bart, which was relatively large on my football. I began wondering if everyone signed as big as he did, if I'd have enough room on the ball! Bart was an awesome guy, and it was great to meet one of the more colorful players in the NFL!

Running back/Kick Returner Joe McKnight was the next player to sign for us, and he was also really cool! I managed to talk to him; asking if he was planning a trip to Honolulu this season. He told me he'd try, and I thanked him for all he's done as well as adding the second autograph to my ball. He also gave his practice gloves to 2 younger kids after he asked them if they knew what his longest kickoff return was. Nick Folk told the kids to say 107 yards, and McKnight gladly handed them the gloves!

Special teams men Nick Folk (not pictured), TJ Conley, and Josh Brown were the next players to add their signatures to the ball! All three were nice guys, and well, that's all I really have to say about our kickers and punters. I'm curious to see whether Folk or Brown will be our starting kicker this year though. 

While they were signing, I caught Mark Sanchez over near us taking pictures with some of the VIP members. They didn't seem to get a whole lot of extra benefits, well, until that happened. Immediately thinking I couldn't leave without the starting quarterback's autograph, I told all the kids we should start a Sanchez chant! Sure enough, it got loud enough to the point I didn't even have to say a word. You have to love the enthusiasm in little boys. We got a wave out of him, and we had our fingers crossed that he'd come over when he was finished. 

In the meantime, receivers Patrick Turner and Jeremy Kerley came over to sign a little bit. I got Turner, who told a fan his name was Stephen (as a staff member proceeded to ask him if he really just told a little kid his name was Stephen), but I didn't get Kerley in time. Fortunately, my day brightened so much more when this guy did indeed stop over...

YES! The Sanchise! Way back in the day, I had bought an autographed picture of his off of eBay, and it turned out to be fake when I brought it to JSA. Now, my time had come to make up for it, so I went all out to make sure I'd get his autograph, as ugly looking as it is. And... I did! I wished him good luck on the season and he said he appreciated it. It was about all he said while he was preoccupied signing for the all of the young fans. And although I didn't get much to say to him, I won't forget it, that's for sure.

However, I was a bit too awestruck to realize that Rex Ryan was signing right beside Sanchez, and unfortunately, I missed him as well. I got his autograph through an autograph request in the mail a few years back though, so I'm not too disappointed. 

I ended up getting a very small autograph from rookie safety Derek Chard to go along with the other 7 I had at that point. I don't know a whole lot about Chard, but I wish him the best this year. 

Then, third string quarterback Greg McElroy started signing. I like McElroy, but I didn't get him due to the guy behind him taking my eye much quicker. Could it be, the birthday boy himself?

Yes, it was! And I didn't think my day could get any better after getting Sanchez! Normally, Tim Tebow isn't a common signer at these camps, but with our little crew of loud kids, we were able to hold off his 25th birthday celebration for a little bit longer as he began to sign for all of us! He eventually grabbed my football and put a very nice autograph down for me and as he handed it back to me, I wished him a Happy Birthday and he looked me directly in the eyes and said thank you. It was a really cool opportunity to meet perhaps the greatest quarterback in college football history, and despite possibly not making an enormous impact on the Jets, I'm a big fan of his. Everything about him screams class act, and it showed when he bent over to talk to a little girl suffering from severe handicaps. He signed an autograph for her and was really sweet to her, right in front of us. It's really great to see players show how genuine of human beings that they can be. I was already a Tebow fan, but with that great gesture, he may be one of my favorites in all of football now. 

The final signer that came by was Cornerback Ellis Lankster, who is heading into his 3rd season in the NFL, after being selected in the 7th round of the 2009 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills. He was a nice guy as well, and while he hasn't done much in the NFL thus far into his career, I wish him the best of luck with the Jets this season as well. 

I went back over to meet Dad with my now pimped out football, and he looked kind of unhappy when I first made eye contact with him. But immediately he brightened up once he saw my ball and I yelled out "Tebow AND Sanchez!" to him! He, unfortunately, didn't get any autographs on the sidelines while I was doing my thing, but we both didn't care because of my success. But, I couldn't have done it without Dad getting me the purple wristband to make me an honorary kid for the day! Here's a look at my ball:

Top Row (L to R): Nick Folk, Josh Brown, Joe McKnight
Bottom Row: TJ Conley, Bart Scott

Close Up on Bart Scott's Huge Autograph

Left: Ellis Lankster, Right: TIM TEBOW, far right corner: Derek Chard

Close Up on Tebow's Nice Autograph!

Left: MARK SANCHEZ (upside down from this view)
Right: Patrick Turner

Sanchez sloppy autograph close up

It was an unbelievable day all in all, way better than I had originally anticipated as well! Thank you so much Dad for giving me the opportunity to see the Jets practice, I had a great time! And thank you once again to everyone who signed for me; it certainly made my summer all the more special!

See Ya!

Getting to Meet a Current Yankee!

Hey guys, Drew back here! After another week of school has concluded, again without a single snowflake hitting the ground, I'm back here to show off my experiences from last weekend's "Man Show", a show dedicated to men, men, and well... men. At this packed show, there were all sorts of manly games, merchandise, beer, and what not. The reason Dad and I went there was because a company called Dream Team Promotions was holding an autograph signing! The Dream Team company has held many local signings of current New York Giants football players lately, with an occasional Jet or baseball star mixed in. They had two signers at this show- David Robertson of the Yankees, and Chase Blackburn of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants! If you guys know me well enough by now you'd know who I was going to meet!

It was absolutely mobbed with men (and a few women here and there, along with my younger sister) at the show, and the lines were really long for the most part. I got into the Robertson line as soon as I could, and while we soon found out we were in the wrong line, we still didn't have to wait all that long for our opportunity to meet him. I forgot my digital camera at home, so I put my Dad and my sister in charge of taking pictures with my iPod touch and my dad's Droid. The pictures came out better than I thought, so I was happy about that.

The Yankees' "Houdini" was sporting his 2009 World Series ring, and the picture above is of him showing that thing off. I would too if I ever got a World Series ring! After about a 45 minute wait, I finally got my chance to have my meet and greet session. 

For the first time in a long time, I actually felt comfortable talking to an athlete. Normally, I tense up and get really nervous, and I have a loss for words by the time it's my chance. But, Robertson was really down to Earth and friendly as can be, so I was able to ask him about this upcoming season and if he's ready to take him another World Series trophy. He told me he would love to get a matching ring for his opposite hand, and that he's going to try to help the team bring home number 28!

I wasn't allowed a photo opportunity with him, as you had to pay extra money, which I find ridiculous, but oh well. I bought a photo at the show for him to sign, although my original intention was to have him sign my Mantle photo. I thought about it on the ride there though, and I thought he wouldn't really fit on a photo filled with former Yankee autographs. By the way, thank you to everyone who helped me identify all of the autographs, especially you Anonymous, who helped me identify the final auto, of Ron Davis. Anyway, Robby inscribed everything I wanted him to inscribe and more, which is just beyond awesome! I was worried with all of the steep autograph prices the company had that inscriptions would cost extra, but even if they did, he didn't seem to care one bit. He was a class act, for sure. 

I've always liked Robertson a lot, but after this signing my appreciation for him grew even more. Sure, he got paid good money to sign autographs, but it's really a rarity to see any young players doing signings nowadays in my area. I hope the Dream Team Promos company continues to succeed with these signings, because I would love to meet some more Yankee players who aren't locked up to contracts with Steiner yet. Robertson was well worth the money, as you can see from the autograph and the overall experience. Even though I didn't necessarily get a picture with him, he was just a super cool guy. 

Thanks again Dream Team, and David Robertson! You guys are awesome! Also thanks to Dad as always for taking me to the show, it was definitely worth it for me! 

See Ya!