Wil Nieves (08/30/14)

Wil Nieves, Philadelphia Phillies Catcher

Wil Nieves, Puerto Rico native, is the back up catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nieves has played 11 MLB seasons for the Padres, Yankees, Nationals, Brewers, Rockies, Diamondbacks, and Phillies.

I went to Citi Field today to watch the New York Mets against the Philadelphia Phillies. Citi Field had a nice promotion for today's game. The first 20,000 fans received a Curtis Granderson bobblehead. I arrived early to the game to try and get Cole Hammels' autograph for my World Series MVP collection. The Phillies were taking batting practice and most of the pitchers were in the outfield shagging fly balls. Unfortunately, Cole Hammels did not come over to sign autographs.

Wil Nieves was the only Philadelphia Phillies player who came over during batting practice to sign autographs. It was awesome to meet a fellow countryman. He signed a baseball for me right on the sweet spot and inscribed his jersey number.

Wil Nieves signing autographs at Citi Field.

Here's a picture of Wil Nieve handing me back the signed baseball.

Wil Nieves signed Rawlings official MLB baseball.

The view from my seat during the national anthem.

Curtis Granderson New York Mets bobblehead.

The Mets ended up losing to the Phillies 2-7, but I was happy I got to meet Wil Nieves and add his autograph to my collection.

Tsuyoshi Wada (08/18/14)

Tsuyoshi Wada, Chicago Cubs Pitcher

Tsuyoshi Wada is a starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. In Japan, he was a 4-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star and Pacific League Rookie of the Year in 2003. Wada also played for the Japanese national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Today, I had tickets to watch the New York Mets take on the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field. I arrived early to the stadium and the Cubs players were on the field warming up. After they were done warming up, Tsuyoshi Wada came over to sign autographs. He was really cool and signed items for everyone. He signed my baseball right on the sweet spot and added his jersey number to his signature.

 Tsuyoshi Wada signing autographs.

Tsuyoshi Wada signed Rawlings official MLB baseball.

The view of the game from my seat.

The New York Mets lost 1-4, but it was a great day for baseball game. It was a pleasure meeting Tsuyoshi Wada. I wish more players would take as much time as he does to greet fans.

Darryl Strawberry (07/12/14)

Darryl Strawberry, 1983 Rookie of the Year
New York Mets Hall of Fame Inductee 2010 

Darryl Strawberry is a 8-time MLB All-Star (1984-1991) and 4-time World Series Champion (1986, 1996, 1998, 1999). He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1983. In 2010, Darryl was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame.

Darryl was signing autographs at the Sports Authority in Paramus, NJ. This would be my second time meeting him. I previously met him at Mendham Books for a Brandon Steiner book signing on September 9, 2012. As always, Darryl was a great guy. He signed any type of item and took pictures with everyone who asked.

Darryl Strawberry signed Rawlings official MLB baseball.

Darryl Strawberry signed Rawlings Big Stick bat. This is the first autograph bat in my collection.

Darryl Strawberry signed New York Mets helmet with several other players from the 1986 World Series championship team.

Darryl Strawberry poses for a picture with me.

Here are some pictures of the autographs I obtained on September 9, 2012 at the Brandon Steiner book signing.

Darryl Strawberry signed book Straw: Finding My Way.

Brandon Steiner signed book You Gotta Have Balls: How a Kid from Brooklyn Started From Scratch, Bought Yankee Stadium, and Created a Sports Empire.

Darryl Strawberry signed photos promoting Brandon Steiner's new book. There were two photos of Darryl in a Mets and Yankees uniform. I asked him if I could please have two signed photos and he signed both of them.

 

Darryl Strawberry and Brandon Steiner pose for a picture with me.

Jason Grilli (05/26/14)

Jason Grilli, Pittsburgh Pirates Closer
2013 MLB All-Star

Today, I went to Citi Field with my friends Tom and Jack to watch the New York Mets take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. I arrived early with hopes of obtaining a couple of autographs before the game. Once I got into the stadium all of the New York Mets players finished warming up. I decided to go down the left field line, where the Pirates were warming up, to try and get an autograph.

Jason Grilli came out of the Pirates dugout and was the coolest guy on the field. He waved to everyone and said he would sign autographs after his warm-up. My friend Tom, who is a huge Pirates fan, got his attention when he yelled out "Jason, Seton Hall brother!" Jason smiled and pointed right at him and said, "You already know." Seton Hall was the college that Jason attended.

Here's a picture of Jason and some of his teammates.

Jason kept his word and came over to sign autographs. He literally went down the line and signed autographs for everyone. Jason signed my baseball right on the sweet spot.

Jason Grilli signed Rawlings official MLB baseball.

Here's a picture of Jason signing Tom's Pirates hat.

The next player that I really wanted to get was 2011 1st overall draft pick, Gerrit Cole. Cole was the last Pirates player to finish his workout. Unfortunately, he was only signing a couple of autographs. He had to rush back to get ready for the game. Here's a picture of Gerrit Cole signing autographs.

Jason Grilli is a very nice guy. I was happy to meet him and add an MLB All-Star to my autograph collection. This was my first time attempting to get autographs at Citi Field. If one arrives early, there's a good chance of obtaining at least one autograph. Citi Field does a great job allowing fans to go down to field level before the game begins.

Gene Michael, Bruce Sutter, Dale Murphy, & Pedro Guerrero (08/18/13)

Gene Michael, New York Yankees Shortstop/Manager/GM
Bruce Sutter, St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Inductee 2006
Dale Murphy, Atlanta Braves NL MVP 1982-83
Pedro Guerrero, Los Angeles Dodgers World Series MVP 1981

JP's Sports & Rock Solid Promotions (JPSR) had an autograph signing at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY. Gene Michael, Bruce Sutter, Dale Murphy, and Pedro Guerrero were the four autographs on my list to obtain at this show.

Gene Michael played for the Yankees from 1968-1974. He was an assistant coach on the 1978 World Series Yankees team. Gene was also the Yankees Manager from 1981-1982 and General Manager from 1980-81 and 1990-1995.

Gene took my baseball and asked me what do I want him to sign. I asked him to add his nickname, Stick, as part of his autograph. After he was done signing the ball, he asked me if it was OK for him to add an inscription. I told him to inscribe anything he wants. Inscriptions always increase the value of an autograph. Gene is a very nice guy and a pleasure to meet.

Gene Michael signed my Official Rawlings Major League Baseball and inscribed his nick name, Stick, along with his General Manager inscription, GM 80-81, 90-96. I'm not sure why he ended his inscription with 96 instead of 95, because he was only GM until the end of 1995 season.

 

Bruce Sutter was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 as a St. Louis Cardinal. He was a 6-time All-Star, World Series Champion 1982, and National League Cy Young Award winner in 1979. His jersey number 42 is retired by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Adding a Hall of Famer to my autograph collection is always good. It was nice meeting a great former player.

Bruce signed my Official Rawlings Major League Baseball and added his Hall of Fame inscription, H.O.F. 2006.

Dale Murphy was the National League Most Valuable Player in 1982 and 1983. He was a 7-time All-Star, 5-time Gold Glove Award winner, and 4-time Silver Slugger Award winner. His jersey number 3 is retired by the Atlanta Braves.

I had a great and funny experience with Dale Murphy. When I got to his table late in the day he was signing multiple baseballs for an autograph dealer. I handed him my Gold Glove baseball and asked him to inscribe 5x Gold Glove on it. After he signed his name, he liked how his signature came out and asked me what type of pen was it. I told him it was a Uni-Ball Jetstream pen. He then went to sign his inscription and accidentally put NL MVP 82, 83. Dale was signing all those baseballs on the table with NL MVP 82, 83 and he totally forgot. He was upset with himself and apologized to me. He quickly asked one of his friends to find him a new Gold Glove ball. Luckily, his friend found one and we swapped baseballs. We both laughed it off and before he signed the new ball he kept repeating 5x Gold Glove. It was very funny. Dale is super cool guy and fan friendly.

Dale Murphy signed my Official Rawlings Gold Glove Award Baseball and inscribed, 5x Gold Glove.

Pedro Guerrero was a 5-time All-Star, World Series MVP/Champion 1981, and Silver Slugger Award 1982 winner.

Adding Pedro Guerrero to my collection is so important. I'm collecting autographs from all the World Series MVPs from 1978 to present on each year's Rawlings World Series baseball. Pedro Guerrero was one of three World Series MVPs in 1981. Ron Cey and Steve Yeager were the other two MVPs. When I got to his table we both communicated in Spanish. He was very upbeat and friendly. It was great meeting another World Series MVP.

Pedro Guerrero signed my Official Rawlings 1981 World Series Baseball and inscribed, WS MVP 1981

Here's a photo of the four baseballs I got signed today.

I had a great time at this JPRS autograph signing. The show was very organized and all the former players that I met were fan friendly. I'm looking forward to the next show.

Chase Headley (07/28/13)

Chase Headley, San Diego Padres Third Baseman

I was in Arizona for a baseball tournament and attended a Diamondbacks game. This was my first time at Chase Field. The Arizona Diamondbacks played against the San Diego Padres. I showed up early to catch the batting practice and try to get autograph.

Here's a picture of the front of the stadium. It was a very hot day (103 degrees) and luckily the stadium has a retractable roof, which was closed for the game. I had a field level seat, located down the right field line. I was sitting about 15 rows away from the field on the San Diego Padres side. Since I showed up early, I moved down and hung around by the wall.

Several minutes before game time the San Diego Padres starters came out to warm up. Once I saw Chase Headley come out, my goal was to obtain his autograph. I watched him warm up and as soon as he finished I called his name. He looked right at me and came over.

I told Chase I was from the New York area and we've been hearing rumors about him getting traded to the New York Yankees. He laughed and said he's been hearing a lot of rumors.

Chase Headley signed my Rawlings Official Major League baseball.

Here's the view of the game from my seat. The San Diego Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0. Chase hit a triple in the first inning and shortly after scored the only run of the game. It was a great game, but the highlight was Chase taking some time to sign autographs for the fans. I will forever be a Chase Headley fan. Thanks, Chase!.