September 14, 2024, Graphing of the Tides at Bulls

When planning my birthday week, I realized that I hadn't seen Norfolk all season, and that they were going to be in Durham when I was coming back from Maryland.  So, Chris and I planned to hit Durham on Saturday, September 14 (my birthday) to do some more graphing.

We left Hagerstown Friday night and drove about an hour and a half south til I was too tired to drive any further.  We stayed overnight just past DC and got up the next morning to head to Durham.  I wasn't planning on doing arrival there, but as we were walking toward the stadium, we saw our good friend, Billy, outside graphing with two other graphers we knew, John and Jacob.  We got Daniel Johnson almost right away, so we stuck around and graphed with them, then went to get a drink to wait til the gates opened.

One of the highlights of this trip to Durham was knocking out several more Morgan Ensberg cards.  I got my steps in as I was following him when he signed, but we did knock out 10 more of his cards.  I also added one more card to my 2024 Durham team set in Michael Gomez.

Jacob Waguespack was easy to spot; he may as well have been wearing a name tag.  His shirt had his name on it, advertising his family's business.

I finally finished this 2024 Topps Heritage Mini Jacob Lopez.  I busted two boxes of Mini, and loved them.  Once the word got out on them, the boxes got tough to find.

I chipped away at my 2023 Norfolk team set while in Durham, hitting three coaches and Nick Vespi.

I hit all of the Garrett Cooper cards that I could find in a pinch, since I had sent him out for a 50/50 a while back.  I also had picked up a few of his cards while I was at a card shop.outside of Hagerstown the day before.  I also got a bunch of Corbin Martin done.  I found even more after I got home once I figured out where I had sat the hoard I piled up when I thought I'd see him with Buies Creek years ago (I was wrong, he was beyond BC by then).

Forrest Wall and Daniel Johnson cleaned us out, which was great.  There are still some Johnsons in a box somewhere around here that I had pulled for 50/50s, but I have no idea where I sat them.

Finally, here are a couple Levi Stoudt cards that I got signed.  He was a really nice guy and credit to the little kid who called him the wrong name, which Stoudt corrected and said "No, I'm Levi".  Thanks for the help, kid!

In all, we got the following autographs: Morgan Ensberg x 10, Michael Gomez x 1, Jacob Lopez x 1, Jacob Waguespack x 1, Samuel Basallo x 2, Buck Britton x 1, Garrett Cooper x 5, Daniel Johnson x 5, Corbin Martin x 12, Chayce McDermott x 1, Justin Ramsey x 1, Ramon Sambo x 1, Levi Stoudt x 4, Nick Vespi x 1 and Forrest Wall x 5 (51 total autographs). 

August 30-31, 2024, Graphing of the Bisons at Bulls

A couple weeks ago, Jesse and I went to Durham to finish off some Buffalo guys that Chris and I may have missed when we went to Buffalo in July.

Josh Kasevich wasnt with Buffalo when we originally saw them, but I was able to find his cards pretty quickly.  I got most of what i brought of Kasevich signed. 

Jonatan Clase stopped for me be the dugout pregame, signing my 2022 Heritage Minors.  Jesse couldnt get his book out fast enough and Clase ran off.  We tried to get him again outside post-game but he wouldn't stop for us. 

I got all but two of my Eric Pardinho cards signed, finally.  He was really nice.  I also helped Max out by grtting his 2014 Topps Donnie Murphy signed.

Hagen Danner was cool.  Usually when someone's card has the wrong picture, they won't sign it.  Danner signs his 2024 Topps Heritage with a "This ain't me" inscription.

Danner signed everything we had, which got quite a few cards out of the boxes.

Cole Wilcox was finally with Durham and I got a couple Panini Stars and Stripes cards signed.  These have been in my box for a long time, and are finally signed.

Speaking of finally getting cards signed, I finally got my 2020 Bowman Ian Seymour, and these two Heriberto Hernandez cards signed.  

We also finally got cards signed by Morgan Ensberg.  You have to walk with him when he signs, as he will not stop.  Look up the reason why. It's crazy.

I picked up a Bulls team set, and knocked out a bunch of them.  There aren't many left that haven't been signed.

Over the two games, Jesse and I did pretty well. Buffalo was a pretty good team to get, and we didn't have to worry about trying to do arrival.

In all, we got the following autographs: Kenny Hook x 2, CJ Hinojosa x 1, Cole Wilcox x 4, Wool E Bull x 1, Jonatan Clase x 1, Mason Fluharty x 1, Josh Kasevich x 6, Eric Pardinho x 4, Rob Brantly x 1, Brett Ebers x 1, Morgan Ensberg x 10, Heriberto Hernandez x 2, Tyler Ladendorf x 1, Jake Mangum x 1, Enmanuel Mejia x 1, Mason Montgomery x 1, Tristan Peters x 1, Joe Record x 1, Joe Rock x 1, Reynaldo Ruiz x 1, Ian Seymour x 2, Riley Welch x 1, Nathan Wiles x 1, Hagen Danner x 11, Braydon Fisher x 2 and Donnie Murphy x 2 (61 total autographs). 

June 27, 2024, Graphing of the IronPigs at Bulls

After some time away, I have quite a bit to post.  The time away from the blog was unintentional; I haven't gotten hardly any TTMs and I was prepping hard for my annual graphing road trip.  The trip is now behind me, and was a big success.  As a warmup for the trip, I went to Durham with Jesse on Thursday, June 27 to see thr Lehigh Valley IronPigs take on the Bulls.  Jesse and I went for arrival and racked.  One of the big gets for us was Kody Clemens, who was with Lehigh Valley on rehab.

I was really excited to get Mick Abel on several cards.  I had heard he was kind of tough, but he stopped for us twice.  I got some good cards signed, which got a bunch out of my boxes.

I got a few Aramis Garcia out of my Box Of Shame after having a bunch left over last season after I had seen him before.  Darick Hall was cool; I am out of his cards now. Andrew Bellatti wouldn't sign outside, but was nice enough inside.  He only would do one card, though.  I had taken the card that Jesse had because he was going after Freddy Tarnok after the game.  David Buchanan was cool.  We listened to him talk to the guys in the IronPigs bullpen about horror movies.

I was able to get some random cards out of the boxes like my 2019 Midwest League All Star card of Nick Podkul, my 2022 Heritage Minors Esteban Quiroz or my 2017 Bowman Freddy Tarnok.

Some recent releases got signed pretty quickly like my 2024 Heritage and 2024 Series 2 Weston Wilson cards.  They turned out nicely.

While I was getting a Scott Kingery relic card signed for a friend of mine, Jesse got this green parallel from Gypsy Queen done for me.  I was glad he chose this card. 

I was really excited to see that Tyler Alexander was with the Bulls.  I had this 2015 NY-Penn League All Star card for a long time, and it is now finally signed.

I cleared out all of my Alexander cards during this trip.  I also added a couple more Shane Baz to the autograph album before he was called back up to the majors.

Finally, Jesse and I got several of the Bulls guys to sign.  I was glad Jesse got to meet Jeffrey Springs, a former Wood Duck.  I was also glad to finally get Tyler Zuber.

In all, we got the following autographs: Mick Abel x 14, Andrew Bellatti x 1, David Buchanan x 4, Ryan Buchter x 5, Ruben Cardenas x 1, Kody Clemens x 1, Aramis Garcia x 4, Tyler Gilbert x 1, Darick Hall x 4, Buddy Kennedy x 2, Scott Kingery x 2, Max Lazar x 1, Simon Muzziotti x 2, Nick Nelson x 1, Ricardo Pinto x 1, Nick Podkul x 1, Esteban Quiroz x 2, Freddy Tarnok x 2, Weston Wilson x 4, Tyler Alexander x 14, Shane Baz x 6, Rob Brantly x 9, Trevor Brigden x 1, Jacob Lopez x 5, Jake Mangum x 7, Kam Misner x 2, Erasmo Ramirez x 2, Manuel Rodriguez x 2, Ronny Simon x 3, Jeffrey Springs x 2 and Tyler Zuber x 6 (112 total autographs). 

May 23, 2024, Graphing of the Redbirds at Bulls

Needing to burn some PDOs, I took yesterday and today off with the intention of hitting arrival at Durham.  I was able to rack pretty well during the trip up there; so much so, I was able to get autographs 5 times (arrival, batting practice, inside pregame, inside postgame and outside postgame.  I prepped for the trip for several weeks and was really happy with how I did, along with my friend, Jordan.  The main card I wanted to get done was the above 2024 Topps Jordan Walker black gold insert.  I hit it outside, so everything else later was gravy.

Shane Baz was the other guy that I really wanted to get.  He hit a whole page outside on arrival.  The (bottom left) 2018 Bowman Hi Tek was the other card I really wanted to get.  Baz was really cool.  He did comment outside postgame about how many cards I had.  What can I say, I had a ton. 

Chris Devenski was the first graph we got; he was really cool and signed a 2019 Topps Heritage, and the above (bottom left) 2016 Heritage Minors Minor Miracles card that I just happened to see that he was on.

I spent a lot of time looking for the 2017 Topps Heritage Minors CJ Hinojosa (top, second from left), so I was really excited to get it done.  The 2013 Topps Emerald Parallel of Rob Brantly just happened to appear on my desk and I was able to add it to the book for this trip.  I was alsonavle to get Ronny Simon and Logan Driscoll. 

Yu Chang was on the IL, but was still in town.  He hit two per for us the two times we saw him.  He was really nice and I hope I can get him a few more times. 

The guys on Memphis were all really cool.  I got Ben Johnson, Howie Clark, Moises Gomez, Jose Fermin, Adam Kloffenstein and Zack Thompson.  The Fermin was the first IP 2024 Topps that I've gotten.  His signature looks awesome.

Cesar Prieto hit everything I had in the book.  He said he'd sign after stretching, then walked by without signing.  I called his name again, and he pointed at me, acknowledged me and came back by.  He was really nice.

I also hit Luken Baker, who is a large human being, Andre Pallante and again, Jordan Walker.

Finally, here is a 2022 Topps Pro Debut Michael McGreevy.  I got him inside postgame.  He pitched a great game (a complete game), but took the 1-0 loss after a passed ball allowed a runner to score.

In all, we got the following autographs: Shane Baz x 11, Rob Brantly x 5, Yu Chang x 5, Chris Devenski x 2, Logan Driscoll x 3, CJ Hinojosa x 1, Ronny Simon x 2, Edwin Uceta x 1, Luken Baker x 3, Howie Clark x 1, Jose Fermin x 1, Moises Gomez x 5, Ben Johnson x 1, Adam Kloffenstein x 5, Michael McGreevy x 3, Andre Pallante x 3, Cesar Prieto x 6, Zack Thompson x 1 and Jordan Walker x 2 (61).

September 12, 2023, Graphing of the Bats at Bulls

Last week was Birthday Week, so I kicked off my days off starting on Tuesday by hitting Durham all day for some graphing.  I got there at noon to do arrival and did pretty well.  I was by myself until time to get in line to get in pregame.  The goal of the trip was pretty simple; get the above 2020 Bowman Chrome orange refractor of Niko Hulsizer signed.  I got it done on arrival, so the rest of the day was gravy.

Jalen Beeks forgot his code to get in the clubhouse door, so he was a bit of a captive audience.  He signed all 8 cards i had in my book.  I had two cards left over, so i asked him if he wanted those for his family, and he happily accepted.  I thought i had Nick Dini already, but it looks like i had forgotten his cards the last time I was in Durham.  So, I finally got his card signed.  I was able to get Javy Guerra inside during stretching. I had to wait for him to finish stretching and warming up, but he did come over, climb the steps and ask "ok, let's see what you have got there..."  I imagine he was expecting me to have cards of the other Javy Guerra, but no, I had his 2016 Bowman!  He was impressed and signed both of my cards.

I only had the one 2022 Topps Update Cole Sulser, but got it signed during stretching.  He was really nice.  Silvino Bracho was with Louisville and signed all of the cards I had.

I didn't have a whole lot for Louisville, but did well, nonetheless.  Matt Reynolds was the guy who put me on the board on this trip when he signed his 2016 Topps rookie card.  It was good that I went out there on a Tuesday, the first game of the series. The Louisville players were unsure of which door to go in, and would ask me for directions.  That let many of them let their guard down and they would sign for me.

I had to leave the game early due to rain.  I had to make sure I got home at a decent time so I could get up early Wednesday for the next day of Birthday Week.

In all, I got the following autographs: Jalen Beeks x 8, Steve Chase x 2, Cooper Criswell x 1, Nick Dini x 4, Javy Guerra x 2, Niko Hulsizer x 2, Tsutomu Kamiya x 2, Cole Sulser x 1, Silvino Bracho x 8, Alejo Lopez x 1, Alec Mills x 3, Matt Reynolds x 1 and Teddy Stankiewicz x 1 (36 total autographs).

2023 National Paid Signer - Chipper Jones

My next paid signer was Chipper Jones.  I had pulled this nice insert out of 2022 Topps Heritage Minors showing Jones in a Durham Bulls uniform.  The card looks amazing. 

Jones liked the card. He thought it was older, but that's ok.

I had met him before, but I really wanted to get that card signed, so I added him to my list this year. I'm glad I did.

June 24-25, 2023, Graphing of Syracuse Mets at Durham Bulls

Early last week, I had taken off so I could go to Durham and graph the Syracuse Mets.  The weather was crap, so I cut that time off short and went back to work.  I changed around my plans for the weekend, and set off to Durham for two days of graphing.

The first day (Saturday) was with my friend, Jesse (with a surprise appearance from Billy), and Sunday was with Chris and our friend, Jordan.  We all racked pretty well and came away happy, even though a couple of the Syracuse guys were less than friendly.

I was able to get some cards signed for my friend, Max, and got some cool stuff from him for myself, like the above 1995 UD Minors Durham card.  It shows the old Durham ballpark, and I got it signed by Jalen Beeks. 

I ordered some cards for a few of the Mets players so we could be covered on most of them.  Jose Butto was one of those guys. I got his 2023 Heritage and 2023 Topps.  The blue 2010 Pro Debut of TJ McFarland was really cool.  It was in one of my Orioles boxes and shows McFarland as a Kinston Indian.

I was really happy to get the 2022 Topps Cosmic Chrome signed by Tylor Megill. He was a late addition to the Mets roster, and someone who's cards I was able to find quickly Friday night.

Michael Perez was someone who's cards I found Sunday morning while I was waiting for Jordan to show.  I just happened to look through some guys I sent out for TTMs and found Perez with my stack of Brandon Lowe cards.

The two Tyler White cards on the bottom were quick pickups from sportlots when I decided to go on this trip.

Dennis Santana was super nice.  There was a meet the team event for the Bulls Sunday afternoon. You could pre-register and go on the field for a signing.  While we were down there, some of the Mets guys were out stretching.  Santana came over and signed.  McFarland reprimanded me saying that no one was going to come over for us (after Santana), which made me feel kind of dumb, but that didn't stop some of the Mets guys from playing catch with folks (adults and kids) and posing for photos with several people in Mets gear.  Oh well, maybe he didn't know what was going on.  We definitely didn't cross any barriers, so I know I wasn't doing anything wrong. 

JP Arencibia was really cool outside.  He would call folks out who didn't know who he was, but was cool about it.  He signed everything we had, so Max will get some Arencibia cards returned to him signed since he helped keep me from having to search my boxes and saved me time.

DJ Stewart proved to be very difficult, but did finally stop for us outside after Sunday's game.  He was one per, and signed for Chris and I.  One of the other graphers complained that he didn't have any cards, so I gave him one of mine.  When he handed it back to me signed, I was glad to take it.  It just seemed like he wanted to meet the players and not keel any of the autos. 

I was glad to finally get Jonathan Arauz.  I had missed him when he was with Norfolk, and I wanted to get my silver pack 1986 Topps Chrome mojo signed.

Megill signed everything Jesse and I had on Saturday.  We were also able to get David Peterson on two cards.  He and Megill look alike somewhat. 

I ordered this 2019 Topps Mini of Jimmy Yacabonis so I would have something else of him to sign.  It seems like be has been everywhere I've been the last few years.  

Here are several landscape oriented cards that we got signed.  These all turned out nicely.

Ben Gamel was really cool.  I had a few of my own cards, along with some that Max sent.  I did keep the first edition that Max sent me, but I added a few guys to his stack that he didn't send me, so hopefully that washes out.

I finally got a couple guys that I missed earlier this season (and last season) in Kyle Manzardo and Michael Mercado. The Elite Extra Edition Mercado has been in my box of shame for a while, but is now finally signed.

I can't believe I hadn't gotten Ryan Burr on his Stars and Stripes card before.  These two are a couple others that have floated around my desk for years.

Greg Jones was really cool, but quiet.  He inscribed a 2022 Heritage Minors for Billy "Go Seahawks" since the two of them went to UNCW.

There's an old man named Bill who I always see in Durham.  He wasn't there Saturday that I could see, but I did run into him on Sunday.  He's very funny, and hooked Mr up with a couple Blake Hunt team set cards to get signed at the meet the team event.  They turned out great.

I picked up a team set for the meet and greet.  It lasted an hour, but we were done in less than 30 minutes.

The only Bulls player on the active roster who wasn't at the event was Cooper Criswell, who was starting that night.  I got him outside after the game.

I'm exhausted still, but had a great time on the road for the first time with some fellow Wood Duck graphers.  

In all, we got the following autographs: Jonathan Arauz x 3, JP Arencibia x 15, Carlos Cortes x 5, Jaylin Davis x 7, Joey Lucchesi x 6, TJ McFarland x 4, Tylor Megill x 8, Hunter Parsons x 2, David Peterson x 3, Denyi Reyes x 2, Mike Vasil x 1, Tyler White x 3, Jimmy Yacabonis x 1, Jonathan Aranda x 8, Cooper Criswell x 2, Nick Dini x 4, Ben Gamel x 7, Niko Hulsizer x 12, Greg Jones x 4, Kyle Manzardo x 5, Michael Mercado x 3, Kam Misner x 3, Luis Patino x 4, Erasmo Ramirez x 2, Jose Butto x 3, John Curtiss x 1, Zach Muckenhirn x 2, Eric Orze x 1, Michael Perez x 3, Dennis Santana x 8, DJ Stewart x 3, Jaylen Beeks x 1, Ryan Burr x 4, Roberto Alvarez x 2, Osleivis Basabe x 2, Trevor Brigden x 2, Ruben Cardenas x 2, Tristan Gray x 1, Kenny Hook x 2, Blake Hunt x 2, Michael Johns x 2, Trevor Kelley x 2, Jose Lopez x 2, Evan McKendry x 2, Hector Lopez x 2, Brian Reith x 2, Josh Roberson x 1, Reinaldo Ruiz x 2, Nathan Wiles x 2 and Wool E Bull x 2 (172 total autographs).