November 14, 2023, Wilson Baseball Hot Stove Event

Last night was the 48th annual Wilson Hot Stove event.  I had heard a lot about it, but had never troed to go.  I finally got there, and had a great time.  My good friend, Jesse, met me at the North Carolina Baseball Museum for the pre-event reception, then headed over to the community center for the night's dinner and awards ceremony. 

One of the big draws to this year's event was Reds prospect, Rhett Lowder.  He was there to receive the pitcher of the year award commemorating his season with Wake Forest.  He was really nice and signed cards for Jesse and I.

John Roper was at the museum prior to the event and signed all of the cards I brought with me.  We talked about some of the big contracts that players were signing then also about his hometown of Raeford, NC.  That led to a conversation about his gas fireplace.  Ah, the things we converse about. He was a really cool guy, and seemed genuinely happy to be there. 

A surprise attendee at the event was Trot Nixon.  He had attended the event in years past, but more recently had not been able to come, due to other commitments.  I took a chance and brought some of his cards, and happily got them signed.

I got Jerry Narron on a 1987 Donruss, and upgraded my 1971 Topps Dick Such to blue Sharpie, as opposed to the one he signed in black Sharpie.

This 1970 Topps Senators Rookie Stars card turned out nicely.  Unfortunately, Dick Stelmaszek is no longer with us.  It also doesn't look like Gene Martin signs regularly.

The museum itself is really cool.  There is at least a card for every former major leaguer who came from NC.  There are a ton of signed baseballs and memorabilia.  I want to take some time and visit the museum during regular hours and really take some time to look at everything. 

I had a great time at the hot stove event and would love to go again next year.  There seem to be some big names that come from time to time.  A few years ago, Rod Carew was a guest speaker. I'll hold out hope that some big names come and I can get some great autos there in the future.

In all, I got the following autographs: Rhett Lowder x 3, Jerry Narron x 1, Trot Nixon x 5, John Roper x 16 and Dick Such x 2 (27 total autographs).

TTM Success - Val Majewski

Here are two more Orioles cards that I pulled from the box Max sent me and mailed off TTM.  These Val Majewski cards turned out great.  I love the 2005 Topps Cracker Jack set.  The cards just look sharp.  I was glad to find this card in the box and now it looks amazing in my album.

2005 Topps Heritage also looks really nice.  The 1956 Topps set is underrated, and translated very well to Topps Heritage.

Majewski (b. 1981) played in the majors in 2004 for the Orioles.  He had 2 hits, no home runs and a .154 batting average.  He was a 3rd round draft pick in the 2002 June Amateur Draft by the Orioles out of Rutgers.

I mailed to Majewski on October 12 and got the cards back on October 2, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Javy Lopez

I recently took part in a private signing for former catcher, Javy Lopez.  I had one specific card in mind, but couldn't find it.  I gave up the search when I found the above 2005 Topps Cracker Jack, and the below 1997 Pinnacle Zenith.  I ended up finding the card I had been looking for, after this signing took place.  Lucky for me, there was another one not too long after, so I got what I wanted done (and I will show off the other card in a later post).

Man, I really love 1997 Zenith.  I actually think I have the set in a box I had gotten from the LCS, so I may try to get a few more of these signed.  I have one from the set out for a private signing right now, and I'm hoping it comes back after the holidays.  If it does, it will be a huge get.

Lopez (b. 1970) played in the majors from 1992 to 2006 for the Braves, Orioles and Red Sox.  He had 1,527 hits, 260 home runs and a .287 batting average.  He was an All Star 3 times (1997, 1998 and 2003), and a Silver Slugger Award winner in 2003.  His best MVP finish was 5th, in 2003 (NL) when he mashed 43 home runs for the Braves.  He won the World Series with the Braves in 1995 and was the 1996 NLCS MVP.

Lopez appeared on the 2012 Hall of Fame ballot, but received only 0.2% of the vote.  Lopez was hailed as a huge free agent signing for the Orioles back in 2004.  He his .316 his first season in Baltimore, but only managed 23 homers, when he had hit 43 the prior season for the Braves.  His production fell off quickly, and he was traded to the Red Sox in 2006 for a PTBNL (the player turned out to be Adam Stern, who appeared in 2 games for the Orioles in 2007).  I remember a brief experiment where the Orioles tried Lopez at first base, which failed miserably.  I also think that the experiment was performed without Lopez fully buying into the idea.

I mailed to the signing on September 5 and got the cards back on October 5, for a 30-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $20.00/card.