Well, I heard at the beginning of the week that Stephen Strasburg was going to make a minor league start in Syracuse, so I made sure to buy a ticket early. I got one of the Home Plate Club seats because I wanted to be as close to the batter's box as possible. Strasburg definitely had good stuff and the outfield pitch speed counter got him up to 97/98 with his breaking stuff at 81. The breaking stuff is nasty. He pitched 5 perfect innings until a couple Red Wings hit singles and they took him out.
Much more importantly to the forum, I employed the lessons I learned last time and had a very cool IP experience. I knew I wouldn't get anywhere near Strasburg, so I decided to go for the Red Wings. (I heard from a security guard that Strasburg was in the stadium playing PlayStation until the wee hours the previous night, by the way.) I had cards in a binder and that made it a TON easier. Before the game, Steve Holm and Jeff Bailey signed for the group of us on the first-base side. Both were very nice and personable after the game, as well. In fact, Holm signed my scorecard on the at-bat where he got a hit off of Strasburg.
After the game, I was a little worried I wouldn't get anyone else. But the Red Wings were, by and large, very good signers. (It helped there were fewer than ten folks waiting.) Liam Hendricks was very personable. I got Aaron Bates and Chuck James and could have had a couple others if I'd had their cards. (Clearly, I need to buy more cards.) Floyd Rayford, one of the coaches, didn't sign for me and I was a little bummed, but that's okay. I did get the Red Wings' manager, Tom Nieto, on a 1987 Topps. (We all love the 1987 Topps set, of course.)
Here's the total haul:
2008 Aaron Bates Bowman Chrome Prospects BCP100 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Red Sox
2009 Aaron Bates Topps Update UH261 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Red Sox
2009 Jeff Bailey Upper Deck 549 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Red Sox
2009 Jeff Bailey Upper Deck 549 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Red Sox
2008 Steve Holm Topps 493 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Giants
2008 Steve Holm Upper Deck 710 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Giants
2007 Chuck James Topps 201 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Braves
1987 Tom Nieto Topps 416 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Expos
Much more importantly to the forum, I employed the lessons I learned last time and had a very cool IP experience. I knew I wouldn't get anywhere near Strasburg, so I decided to go for the Red Wings. (I heard from a security guard that Strasburg was in the stadium playing PlayStation until the wee hours the previous night, by the way.) I had cards in a binder and that made it a TON easier. Before the game, Steve Holm and Jeff Bailey signed for the group of us on the first-base side. Both were very nice and personable after the game, as well. In fact, Holm signed my scorecard on the at-bat where he got a hit off of Strasburg.
After the game, I was a little worried I wouldn't get anyone else. But the Red Wings were, by and large, very good signers. (It helped there were fewer than ten folks waiting.) Liam Hendricks was very personable. I got Aaron Bates and Chuck James and could have had a couple others if I'd had their cards. (Clearly, I need to buy more cards.) Floyd Rayford, one of the coaches, didn't sign for me and I was a little bummed, but that's okay. I did get the Red Wings' manager, Tom Nieto, on a 1987 Topps. (We all love the 1987 Topps set, of course.)
Here's the total haul:
2008 Aaron Bates Bowman Chrome Prospects BCP100 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Red Sox
2009 Aaron Bates Topps Update UH261 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Red Sox
2009 Jeff Bailey Upper Deck 549 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Red Sox
2009 Jeff Bailey Upper Deck 549 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Red Sox
2008 Steve Holm Topps 493 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Giants
2008 Steve Holm Upper Deck 710 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Giants
2007 Chuck James Topps 201 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Braves
1987 Tom Nieto Topps 416 IP Auto 8/28/2011 Expos
