2012 Orioles Fanfest: Signed 8x10s

Alright here's my last post about the autographs I got at FanFest this year.  Both of these will proudly join my other 8x10s that I have hanging on the wall in my office/mancave.  Without further ado:

Adam Jones in a nice classic batting stance ready to swing.  I've gotten Adam's autograph TTM and even in one of the group breaks here on the blogs but never in person.  My thinking is that I better get his autograph while I can since he's been linked in trade talks to any team looking for good young ballplayers.  On a side note, I was reading an interview he did during the event that said he is open to a contract extension and staying in Baltimore for a long time.  Apparently he loves playing in Baltimore and wants to be part of the future here.  This is contrary to what has been "the popular opinion" in the media that he covets playing for a team closer to his home in California.  I personally would like to see him stick around for a long time as long as he continues to produce on the field.

From the present center fielder to a past center fielder. BRADY ANDERSON!  Obviously this is my favorite item of the show.  I've been a Brady fan since him and Cal were fixtures in the Orioles lineup.  It was a thrill to meet him and get his autograph in person.  Until recently, he hadn't been around the team much since his retirement so getting his autograph has been a little tougher than usual.  I'm very happy that he is back in the organization and is working out with the younger orioles players and teaching them about the game.  Brady is still in great shape and it looks like he could still get out there and play at a high level.  I don't think there is anybody better qualified to show these guys the ropes like Brady can!

So, that concludes my FanFest experience for this year.  I'm already looking forward to next year when Mike Mussina makes an appearance!  I can dream!

2012 Orioles Fanfest: The Signed Baseballs

Let's continue with my new memorabilia that I got at FanFest.  Up next are the baseballs I had signed.

I didn't originally plan on getting Oliver Drake to sign a ball for me.  Heck, I didn't even have an autograph ticket for his station.  William was good enough to trade me this ball for the Joe Mahoney one that I had signed at one of my 2 sessions.  I already got Mahoney on a card last summer since they are a little more my thing.  Back to Oliver though.  He's one of the top pitching prospects in the O's system right now.  He cruised through High-A Frederick last year and was promoted to Double-A Bowie where he had a couple bumps in the road.  Hopefully he makes the adjustments and continues his ascension up the minor league chain.

This brings me to my second favorite item of the whole show.  Nick was a pleasant bonus at the 4:40 station that I had a voucher for.  Yeah, I know as big of a fan as I am of Nick, he was playing second fiddle to another player at the table!  I'm happy to add Nick's signature on this ball though.  Ir really looks great on a brand new pearl ROMLB.  It will now sit proudly between my signed Mark Reynolds #136 HR ball and my signed Cal Ripken retirement logo ball.

Next Up: 8x10's

2012 Orioles Fanfest: Signed cards

Another FanFest has come and gone.  Everybody says that this one wasn't as good as last years but its probably all in who you ask.  There weren't quite as many people there as the last 2 years, but at least it was a little easier to get around the convention center without bumping into somebody every step you took.  

I had a blast and I'm pretty sure everybody there had a pretty good time.  Willam from foul bunt drove up from North Carolina the night before and stayed in my spare bedroom.  He brought along his 6 year old son Chris who seemed to have a good time there too.  It's been my experience with my nephew and various other small kids I know that its hard to keep them entertained and focused on anything for more than 5 minutes.  Chris was very well behaved and didn't complain one bit.  He just has a bladder the size of a dime!  I had a great time hanging around with William all day and it made the time go by faster since we both had some of the same autograph vouchers.

So, I'm going to start showing off my Fanfest acquisitions with the smaller items I got signed.

Here's my Brian Matusz 2011 Bowman Gold parallel with a nice blue signature on it.  Unfortunately, the signature bubbled up a little bit because I didn't bother prepping it since I'm using Staedler markers.  Apparently they dry instantly and arent supposed to smudge.  I'm wondering if its just the closeness of the letters in Brian's autograph that caused the bubbling.

Mike Bordick was at the same station as Matusz.  He was nice enough to sign two cards for me.  If he hadn't signed both I wouldn't have been upset.  I just had them mounted side by side in my notebook.  I got him to use the same pen as Brian and neither of these signatures messed up.  Mike's signature isn't as compact as Brian's either so there might be something to my theory.  Obviously the 1998 Topps, 2000 Upper Deck, and 2011 Bowman cards have similar gloss on them so I might have to test my theory on some common cards.

Here's one of the newest Orioles, Dana Eveland.  His career numbers leave a little to be desired but apparently Dan Duquette sees something in him that would make him send a minor leaguer to the Dodgers for him.  I read an interview with him and he says that "he learned how to pitch" last summer and I guess it showed when los Doyers called him up for a look see in September.  His numbers at the tail end of the season were pretty decent, so there's that.  I'm a little apprehensive about him so I hope he makes a believer out of me this season.  BTW, Chris got this one for me since he was allowed to go through the kids only line.

Here's another one that Chris was able to get for me.  Pedro was basically shipped from Texas to Baltimore for Mike Gonzalez.  During the last month of the year he was pitching lights out.  He threw a lot of strikes and didn't look like he was afraid of any of the batters that he faced which is a breath of fresh air from some of the other pitchers I've become accustomed to watching.  I'm looking forward to seeing how he does this coming season.

Next up: Some signed baseballs.