2013 "Parade of Legends" Recap!

Hey guys, Drew back here! For as long as I've lived, I've wanted to see a parade. No, not one of those local town ceremonies highlighting the mayor and local boy scout troops, but a real top of the line parade (nothing wrong with boy scouts of course). When I first heard of the "Parade of Legends", the new Cooperstown Induction Weekend tradition, I knew the trip would be worth every penny. We didn't expect to get any autographs there, as the players all were atop beautiful new Fords. Apparently, a few of the players signed when they got off their cars, but I'm going to pretend I never heard that for my own sake.

Kicking off the parade were some of the Hall of Fame board of directors, followed by a car starring Tommy John along with the man behind "Tommy John Surgery", Dr. Frank Jobe, who was honored earlier that day. The parade went down Main Street and parked at the Hall itself, where the players gathered for a nice dinner. I could only imagine some of the stories they had to tell. After my experience with Tommy John earlier this year, I would have paid good money to get into the Hall that night.

The parade started from the earliest inducted players that attended all the way to the most recent electees. Whitey Ford was in town for the night, so he was the first player to stroll by! I was really glad to see Whitey, as he appeared to be looking relatively good for his age. I met him last summer, but he's one of those guys you can never meet enough.

Ralph Kiner followed up Whitey, and he appeared awake, which was a good thing. The marquee player of the event however, was the true Home Run King, Hank Aaron! Aaron looks great for his age, coming from a guy who has never seen him in person before. He looked really happy to be there, although had he done an autograph signing earlier that day, his attitude may have been a bit different.

Frank Robinson is in my opinion one of the most underrated players of all time. He just never seems to get the credit he deserves. William's son Chris was as loud as ever throughout the parade, screaming out the players' names. He probably won't remember it since he's only 7 years old, heck I'm 17 and I don't remember what I did when I was 7, but Chris got a reaction out of almost every single player there. At least one member of our group was spotted out by a majority of the Hall of Famers!

Johnny Bench

Joe Morgan

Jim Bunning

Tommy LaSorda

Ozzie Smith

Eddie Murray

Wade Boggs

Believe it or not, this has been the third different occasion I've gotten to see Cal Ripken Jr. in person this year. Every time I see him I gain more and more respect for him also. Chris screamed "CAL!" until he got his attention, and Cal talked to him a little bit. That had to have made his day.

I'm sure Goose Gossage has met thousands upon thousands of fans in his lifetime, but I have a funny feeling that he recognizes my Dad and I at this point! Each time we've gotten the pleasure of meeting him, my Dad has brought up hunting and got to talk a good bit with him. He thanked us for coming out, and posed for a pretty awesome photo. Maybe one day I'll have him sign this, who knows. 

Here's classic Rickey taking all the glory in, enjoying the fact that he's finally among the greatest of all time (although he may argue that he was the best). I'll give him a spot in my top 15 ever, but I don't know how much farther I'd be willing to go.

However, probably the most memorable moment in my eyes from the event came when Bert Blyleven passed us by! Sure, Roberto Alomar snapped a picture of the crowd next to us, Phil Niekro showed Chris his knuckleball grip, and numerous players waved to us and thanked us for attending, but this one took the cake. William recently bought a baseball signed by Blyleven with the "I Love to Fart" inscription, which exists because Bert frequently wore a shirt in the locker room saying just that. My dad yelled to Bert "Pull my Finger!" Bert looked puzzled for a second... and then cracked up. My dad made a Hall of Famer laugh! 

I'm so glad we took advantage of going to the parade, as we all seemed to really enjoy ourselves. I love collecting autographs but sometimes it's nice to take in a special event like this without having to worry about being at the right place at the right time. Before I go, I'd like to send my best wishes to Tony Gwynn and his family, because while he was there, he sure didn't look very healthy. It appears as if his cancer may have reappeared, and he also gained back a lot of the weight he lost when he underwent his radiation treatment. I'm not sure if we just made some assumptions or not, but he didn't look all that well, so I'd like to wish him all the best going forward.

Well, that'll officially conclude my recap of Day 1 of the Cooperstown trip! It was hard for Day 2 to top this incredible day, but I've got plenty more to share with you all. Stay tuned for the next part! 

See Ya!

Three More for the Mantle Project! Part 1

Hey guys, Drew back here! As I mentioned in my last post, while I haven't been very active in the blogging world of late, I've certainly still been involved in the hobby. I attended the White Plains card show last Sunday, mainly to add players to my signed Mickey Mantle photo I've been working on! I got to meet 3 players that day (2 of which I'd met previously), and added autograph #39, 40, and 41 to the picture! 

First up was Tommy John, who I'd met back in April 2011 as well, but was relatively unimpressed with. Back in 2011, he signed a Yankees custom I made of him in between signing 8x10 after 8x10 for the JP's Sports company, so we didn't really get to say much. However, I had a funny feeling that I was just unlucky that day, and there was more to the man with his own surgery than I thought. Sure enough, I was right! The cool thing was, my friend Matt and I were toying with my mom's nice camera, and we found out how to take pictures while recording. Fortunately, we got our whole conversation recorded, and I posted it on YouTube for you guys to watch! Check it out, and make sure to turn your volume up!

Yeah, simply put, Tommy John is an awesome guy. Between the story about him and Al Rosen, the priest comments, and his opinion on Jim Coates; I could not have been better entertained, and this experience completely made up for the last one! 

John signed directly below Lee Smith on the right hand side, and officially become the 39th autograph in the project; the 10th that I acquired since I won it!

Be sure to be on the lookout for the next few players I got the chance to meet! Have a good one guys, and See Ya!

Very Delayed Christmas Gifts from Dad!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! It's been just about the toughest week I've had in a long time, and it isn't even over yet. While I finished my midterms today, I have to prepare for the SAT tomorrow. Fortunately, there isn't an enormous amount of pressure considering this is my first crack at it, of the three opportunities you're given. I'm not too worried about it, but the last thing I need right now is another four or five hours of sitting at a desk in complete silence. Anyway, I am ridiculously behind on here. It's January 25th, and I have to show you stuff from exactly one month ago, which is pretty lame on my part. School comes first though, and while I've certainly upgraded my collection tremendously in the past month, I didn't find the time to show it off on here. Well, without any further delay, here's a look at what Dad bought for me this Christmas:

First off was this nice 2005 Donruss Champions Frank Robinson relic! I'm not quite sure what it is, but there is something very appealing about this card. It has a nice, glossy finish on it, and the black relic looks pretty cool. I know a few people who would love this in their collection, however I think I might hang on to it for now.

Dad occasionally has mentioned how he really enjoyed watching Dave Kingman, among others, when he was younger. I don't really know a whole lot about him, but I do know he was a great power hitter, and he stopped briefly during his career in New York. From doing a little research, I learned he is one of only a few players in history to play for 4 different teams in 1 season, which he did in 1977. He finished the season with the Yankees, but didn't get to play in October for the soon to be World Series team because he was added to the team past the deadline.

I'm pretty sure I've got two or three of this card now, however, I really do like the 2003 Yankees Signature Series set Upper Deck released. I've considered going for the set, even though there are a few huge roadblocks in the way (Brian Cashman's autograph sells for 3 figures, easily). If anybody wants this one, let me know. It'd be really cool if I could get a different player in the set for it, if anyone is up for that sort of trade!

 I've been a fan of Sparky Lyle's ever since I read his book, "The Bronx Zoo", a few years ago. I loved how open he was about some of the pranks he pulled! This won't be the last time Sparky is mentioned on this blog in the upcoming weeks (hint, hint)! He's got a real nice autograph, and even though I had a few certified autographs of his already, I didn't have this one yet!

Tommy John was a very good pitcher during his career, maybe not Hall of Fame worthy, but who even knows what that means anymore. I met Mr. John a few years back, and while he was friendly, it still kind of disappointed me how little attention he gave my friend Mike & I. He was signing 8x10s for the company in the midst of his autograph session, maybe because he had to leave early or something. I'm not upset about it, it just kind of lingers with me whenever I think about him. 

Those were all real nice, but this one took home the gold medal...

Out of 2005 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Classic, a Yogi Berra autograph! This card scanned terribly, but believe me it looks a heck of a lot better in person. Regardless, this is a beautiful card! Yogi, aside from Jeter, is my favorite living Yankee, so I'm always more than open to welcoming a new autograph of his to my collection! This is my 3rd Berra autograph in my collection, but hopefully I'll be able to add to that one day. It would mean the world if I got a chance to meet him, but that opportunity is looking real slim. The other day when he was honored at the B.A.T. dinner, Yogi didn't sound so good, basically repeating how much he loved baseball in a quiet, raspy voice, until his son Dale took over during the speech. Whether or not I'll ever get to shake his hand is one thing, but all I know for now is that it's smart to get some of his autographs, in case anything happens, because we all know ten years from now his autographs won't be as affordable.

Thank you so much Dad for all of the incredible cards! They'll fit in nicely to my ever growing collection! See Ya!

White Plains Card Show Recap 3/27/11! Part 4

Hey everyone, Drew back here. It's been a long, grueling battle to get myself back to this blog lately, with all of the baseball and school work going on. I've had this long term science project to do on Extinction Level Events for the past few weeks, and it has been by far the most boring stuff I've ever had to write a paper on. Also, I had a scrimmage for my town league yesterday, and I ended up going 4-4 with 3 singles, a walk, 2 RBI, and a huge triple over the left fielders head. I also got my opportunity to pitch, and I went 2.1 innings of scoreless baseball in relief of my starter. I struck out 3 and allowed 2 hits and 2 walks. Late last night, I was playing manhunt at my friend's house, and I ended up hurting my back by turning it funny, so I'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle in it. Nonetheless, here I am now, finally ready and able to finish off the final post on the White Plains Card Show. Without further adieu, let us continue!

After Dad, Mike, and I got some quick lunch at Nathans, the indoor mini fast food restaurant the Westchester County Center contains, Mike and I jumped in line. We began to start talking to a fellow collector in line, who was familiar with our school, and actually looked pretty familiar. He ended up being the father of a girl in our freshmen class, and we didn't even know that until he notified us of that just a minute or so before we began to meet some players. It was pretty cool to see a local collector at a card show, especially one with as many cool collecting stories as he did.

So, the first player I met was former pitcher Luis Tiant! Tiant was a 3 time All Star throughout the mid 1960's to the early 1980's, and he was best known for his stint with the Red Sox. A famous moment etched into Yankees lure is when Bucky Dent hit his memorable home run, which was actually given up by "El Tiante". He also pitched for the Yankees in 1979 and 1980, and is subjected in the 2009 ESPN film "The Lost Son of Havana", displayed in Cuba, where Tiant was born.

I went up to Mr. Tiant, who must have been battling a cold, because outside of the few seconds he took to shake my hand and sign my card, he couldn't go without holding his tissues and sneezing right in front of me!

I didn't get to say a whole lot to Mr. Tiant, but I did walk away with this very nice looking signed Yankees custom I made of him. Tiant has a pretty cool looking signature, and it is now my second autograph of his in my collection, after I bought a triple autograph of Ron Guidry/Goose Gossae/Tiant a while back.

As I walked down the line of former players, the next I met was former Yankee Ron Blomberg. Blomberg began his career in the late 60's, but played until the end of the 70's. He was a solid player all around, but he was most known for being the first player to play the Designated Hitter position in MLB history! Blomberg was a really cool guy and he really liked the looks of my custom I made for him to sign. While he wasn't the biggest name I met, I'm pretty sure he was my favorite one of the day!

Here's a scan of my card signed by Blomberg. I really struggled to find a good picture of him, but I don't think this one looked too bad.

As a special bonus to buying tickets for both Tiant and Blomberg, you could receive this 8x10 photo of the 2 of them together for free! It would've looked nice signed but I had other intentions with the autographs anyway, so I'm good with just the picture. Tiant had actually been the first pitcher to face a designated hitter (Blomberg) in history, so it was a cool little piece of information.

Next was Steve Garvey, the player I spent the most $ to meet that day. Garvey had been a 10 time All Star, 4 time Gold Glover, and the 1974 NL MVP back in his day for the Dodgers. He had been a part of one of the best infields of all time, the infield consisting of Dodgers: Garvey, Bill Russell, Ron Cey, and Davey Lopes. With 2,599 hits, 272 home runs, and a lifetime batting average of .294, in my opinion I think he should have a plaque in Cooperstown. Anyway, he was a very nice man, and he seemed like he was a fan of my custom. It was hard to tell how much he really wanted to be there, but I think he was fairly content with signing for the fans.

I took advantage of the "1 Free Inscription" deal, and got Garvey to write "74 NL MVP" under his autograph and number. It looks fairly good, maybe it would have been better if he used sharpie instead of just a plain blue pen.

Following Garvey, we took a little break, but then headed in line to meet 2 more guys, the first being the freebie of the day, former Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt. Hoyt used to rock a huge beard during his hey day in the 1980's, but since then it has all disappeared. He didn't really say much, but he wasn't a jerk, so I'm fine with that. Dad found me an extra autograph ticket laying around on the ground earlier, so I was able to also get an 8x10 signed along with the custom.

Outside of the awesome looking White Sox uniforms, there is nothing overly exciting with this guy. He had actually been arrested 4 times due to drug problems throughout his career, but since he's been drug free. I must say though, I don't get that autograph at all, because it looks like it says "Don/Son Hoyt" rather than LaMarr. Still nice adds to my collection though.

Finally, the last player we met was former All Star pitcher Tommy John! While of course he is well known for the surgery named after him, frequently now given to pitchers that had similar arm problems to him, he was a heck of a pitcher from the 1960's to the late 1980's. He won 288 games, the 26th most of any pitcher in baseball history. He made 4 All Star teams, and pitched for the Yankees in 2 stints in the 1980's. He is often found in the same boat with former pitchers Jim Kaat, Bert Blyleven, and now Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte, in the group of pitchers that have good stats but perhaps not good enough for the Hall of Fame. The borderline guys. Blyleven of course made it into the Hall this past year, so maybe it'll soon be John's turn.

John was a fairly nice guy, but he seemed very caught up with signing 8x10 photos for something, maybe the mail order or something. He looked up quick to talk to me about my card and shake my hand, and took a picture with Mike and I, but other than that, he was signing his hand off. It seemed like a lot of the guys from the show had their hands full that day. However, the custom looks great and I was really happy to be able to meet him.

But that's not all! Outside of the 5 guys I had the opportunity to meet that day, I also sent in a mail order request to get a card signed by someone signing the previous day. I would have preferred to go on the Saturday rather than the Sunday, but dad had to work Saturday so I was in desperation to get one of the guy's autographs. When I was getting ready to send it out, I checked the website one last time and realized that the card needed to be at the place by the next day or else it wouldn't get signed. So, I had to pay 20 bucks extra on shipping just so the card could get there in time. Unfortunately, I had to pay a ton just for a single card to get signed, but now that I have it, I don't have to worry about getting his autograph again!

The card was signed by Reds Hall of Famer Joe Morgan! Morgan may be one of the most awful announcers of all time, but when he was a player, he was terrific. A ten time All Star, 2 time World Series champion, 2 time NL MVP, and a 5 time Gold Glover makes him perhaps the best 2nd baseman of all time! He was a tremendous player all around, and could hit for power, a very often hard to find feature in a second baseman. Today, it's very hard to find a second baseman that will hit some home runs, so it goes to show how good of a player he is.

Morgan had never been much of a TTM signer, so I knew that when I had an opportunity to get his card signed, even for the price, I knew it was worth it. He is now the 8th player in my Hall of Fame set, joining: Feller, Doerr, Snider, Bunning, MacPhail, Irvin, and Kiner!

All in all, even though I came home dirt broke, with not a dime in change, I bought a lot of really nice cards and met some former great players. We all had a blast and as always, can't wait for the next one!

See Ya!