2016 IP thread

[icee82]

It was opening weekend in beautiful downtown Charlotte, NC at BB&T Ballpark. Due to career obligations, I was unable to hit pregame but did only postgame on the street. Based on the fact that I will not be graphing the Bulls anymore until Friday, May 6, I wanted one more opportunity. They are on the road next week and the following week the Bulls play the Louisville Bats and I am loaded on the Bats so I will be concentrating on them for the entire three game series!

Jaff Decker 7/7
Dylan Floro 3/3
Jacob Goebbert 4/4 All inscribed with a Bible verse
Patrick Leonard 6/6
Jhan Marinez 4/4
Daniel Robertson 4/8
Kyle Roller 1/1

The lone Knight that I got was Eric Johnson 1/1. Anyone who is graphing Johnson might be interested in knowing that he resides in the apartment complex just across the street from the park in the corner where the visitors depart!

I allowed Shaffer to get by me while I was getting Robertson and Roller. Snell tried to sneak by everyone and did with success. I had some more cards on him but decided to pass this time. I needed to allow the memory of Sunday to become a little more distant. I am yet to see Nick Franklin this season. In Durham, he has not come to the dugout until after the National Anthem and I have no clue as to where he is departing. I never saw him come out tonight and I know him. I also did not see Matt Andriese, Taylor Motter, or Luke Maile depart.

Tonight was not one of the better performances but it was Friday Fireworks and the players begin departing as the crowd disperses from the park and they have a tendency to try to "blend in" to the crowd.

Tomorrow night...Round II of my titantic struggle with Mr. Andrew Benentendi.

Total Autographs 30

[SDL]

Tonight it was back to the grind and the first Carolina League game of the season in downtown Winston-Salem as the Salem Red Sox paid their first visit to The Camel City. In all my years of graphing in Winston-Salem, I have never seen as many graphers as tonight including collectors from Virginia and a couple of board members from Charlotte.

If you are keeping score at home, it is Andrew Benintendi 1, icee82 0. I was not alone in my despair as he did not really even turn an eye towards any of the graphers on either side of the dugout. I will not be dealing with him tomorrow night as I have bigger things on my agenda but will be plotting a strategy over the next 48 hours to insure success on Saturday night when I have a post game meeting planned with this young prospect. I will not be defeated!

The Red Sox were not one of the better signing teams. I can hardly wait until they get to Triple A. Perhaps Benentendi's inflated ego will have suffered a few blows along the way by then and he will be a little more humble. Doubtful but I can certainly hope.

I did not need much but here are the meager pickings.

Rafael Devers 1/1
Joe Oliver 3/4

On the Dash side, I only had one card and I nabbed Spencer Adams charting behind the plate.

Not surprised you went after Joe Oliver

[SDL]

Daytona Tortugas @ Clearwater Threshers. Black Sharpie.

Gookie Dawkins: Signed three Team USA action pics from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Showed pics to his players (he's a coach with Daytona) and told them that was how you did a double-play.

Tom Brown: Signed a Mariners Topps Vault pic. Said he still had his '78 Mariners jacket, but wasn't sure if he still had a cap. Was surprised to see the pic.

Keury Mella: Signed two World squad action pics from the 2015 XM Futures Game.

[EmergencyCatcher]

Rangers' Tunnel, April 16
Josh Hamilton, 4/4

[SDL]

Brevard County Manatees @ Clearwater Threshers. Black Sharpie

Joe Ayrault: b/w Braves pic

Edwin Maysonet: Brewers photo day pic, two Brewers action pics.

[icee82]

Some catching up to do...

Friday, April 15--It was opening weekend in beautiful downtown Charlotte, NC at BB&T Ballpark. Due to career obligations, I was unable to hit pregame but did only postgame on the street. Based on the fact that I will not be graphing the Bulls anymore until Friday, May 6, I wanted one more opportunity. They are on the road next week and the following week the Bulls play the Louisville Bats and I am loaded on the Bats so I will be concentrating on them for the entire three game series!

Jaff Decker 7/7 (1 for daveteach, 1 for mightyswede)
Dylan Floro 3/3 (3 for jcq08)
Jacob Goebbert 4/4 (4 for jcq08)--All inscribed with a Bible verse
Patrick Leonard 6/6 (3 for mightyswede)
Jhan Marinez 4/4 (3 for mightyswede)
Daniel Robertson 4/8 (3 for mightyswede)
Kyle Roller 1/1 (1 for mightyswede)

The lone Knight that I got was Eric Johnson 1/1. Anyone who is graphing Johnson might be interested in knowing that he resides in the apartment complex just across the street from the park in the corner where the visitors depart!

I allowed Shaffer to get by me while I was getting Robertson and Roller. Snell tried to sneak by everyone and did with success. I had some more cards on him but decided to pass this time. I needed to allow the memory of Sunday to become a little more distant. I am yet to see Nick Franklin this season. In Durham, he has not come to the dugout until after the National Anthem and I have no clue as to where he is departing. I never saw him come out tonight and I know him. I also did not see Matt Andriese, Taylor Motter, or Luke Maile depart.

Tonight was not one of the better performances but it was Friday Fireworks and the players begin departing as the crowd disperses from the park and they have a tendency to try to "blend in" to the crowd.

[icee82]

Saturday, April 16--Tonight it was back to BB&T Ballpark in downtown Winston-Salem to engage in battle with the young prospect Andrew Benintendi. I am here to proclaim my victory as I was able to obtain his auto on his 2015 Bowman Draft Picks card in beautiful blue Sharpie post game outside of the park as he was boarding the bus. He signed for everyone there and signed everything that was put in front of him. I should note that there were only three graphers present even on a Saturday night with the Red Sox in town. For those individuals that say "seeing is believing"...here is the proof.

Also nabbed Yoan Moncada 1/1

[icee82]

Monday, April 18--After basking in the after glow of my Benentendi success on Saturday night, I spent the day on Sunday celebrating by watching the Reds and Cardinals! I should have found something better to do such as wash my car or paint the bathroom. However tonight it was back to the park.

It was back to the scene of my previous victory but the Myrtle Beach Pelicans were visiting Winston-Salem tonight. Met up with cwhitt and helped him knock out some of his cards as I only needed a couple of things.

Ian Happ 1/1
Mariano Duncan 2/3

[icee82]

Thursday, April 21--I decided to run over to New Bridge Bank Park in beautiful downtown Greensboro for some pre-game graphing. I only had a couple of things to get signed.

Cornelius Randolph 1/1
Cody Poteet 1/1

Next up...the Gwinnett Braves and Charlotte Knights!

[icee82]

Friday, April 22--Sometimes one needs to listen to their instincts. I did not listen to those instincts today and the result was a horrific night of graphing at rainy BB&T Ballpark in downtown Charlotte. The weather in North Carolina has been rainy most of the day with intermittent showers. The weather forecast called for rain about fifteen minutes before the first pitch but due to the fact that the forecast had been incorrect for most of the day, I decided to defy the meteorologist's grim forecast. As the players began to file out of the dressing room, the rains began in alignment with the script. First pitch was then moved back to 7:55 PM which meant that basically the game was going to end very late and usually players do not sign very well that late so I left after a couple of innings. In addition, it was supposed to rain later in the evening and all of us know that Sharpie's and rain do not mix. It also feels kind of creepy to be graphing outside of a stadium at 1 AM in the morning. I have done that before! LOL

Tyler Moore 1/1
Rio Ruiz 1/1

[icee82]

Tonight it was a midweek installment of walk in, pre-game, and post game graphing with the Louisville Bats visiting the Durham Bulls at the beautiful Durham Bulls Athletic Park in downtown Durham! This is the first of three games. It was also the first muggy night of the season thus far although it cooled off in the early innings with the threat of local thunderstorms.

Walk-In--This was tough as the Bats are staying across town at the Hilton so they arrived in groups. I had no one with me. While Reed was knocking out eight, Winker and Peraza both slipped by me so I was screwed.

Robert Stephenson 2/3
Jumbo Diaz 1/1
Cody Reed 8/8

Pre-game...I was joined by several of the Durham regulars. There were a total of about six or seven graphers working Louisville.

Jody Davis 8/8
Delino DeShields 1/8
Seth Mejias-Brean 7/7
Jose Peraza 1/8
Josh Smith 2/2
Kyle Waldrop 3/3

Winker ignored everyone pre-game but did sign one or two on the other side of the dugout. .

The post game featured almost every grapher in Durham being present. There were probably 15 or so guys there which was unbelievable on a Wednesday night.

Tim Melville 1/1
Jose Peraza 1/3
Keyvius Sampson 3/6
Robert Stephenson 1/3
Kyle Waldrop 2/2
Jesse Winker 1/1

Also while I was graphing the Bats, two Bulls walked up the street.

Blake Snell 10/10
Daniel Robertson 3/8

Total Autographs 55

[icee82]

Tonight it was the second installment of the Louisville Bats and Durham Bulls at rainy and stormy Durham Bulls Athletic Park. A local thunderstorm hit the Entertainment District in downtown Durham around 6:30 PM which really put a damper on the pre-game graphing. First pitch did not take place until around 8:15 PM and due to my day job, I cannot stay out all night and function the following day so I headed home. As stated in a previous post, I have concluded that if a game is rain delayed, the players are so anxious to leave the park that you do not have a lot of luck post game. In addition local thunderstorms were forecast for the rest of the night so you are taking a chance of rain at the end of the game. We all know that rain and Sharpie's are a poor mixture. Here are the very meager pickings:

Jody Davis 2/2
Jose Peraza 1/2 (1 for graveline)
Cody Reed 2/2
Bryson Smith 1/1 (1 for Sheehy)
Robert Stephenson 1/3
Jesse Winker 1/2

I let Keyvius Sampson walk right by me. Ugh!

By the way, I learned a lot tonight. We had several "beginner collectors" show up to graph the Bats. The "legendary grapher" gave all of them a life lesson on proper autograph etiquette even to the point of showing them how to remove the top from a Sharpie with one hand. I was very impressed with this exhibition of graphing prowess. I expect my results to improve significantly in the upcoming weeks with my newfound education.

[icee82]

It was back to the finale of the 3 game series between the Louisville Bats and the Durham Bulls in downtown Durham. I absorbed all of the information obtained last night about graphing and applied it so needless to say I was quite successful tonight. During pre-game I focused totally on the Bats. Of course the "legendary grapher" from Durham was in attendance and clogging up access on the Bats' side. satori157 took the safe route and went over on the other side of the dugout. LOL

Steve Delabar 2/2
Deline Deshields 1/3
John Lamb 1/1
Jose Peraza 1/1 (Haven't I signed for you? I pretended to not hear him while he was signing and shaking his head)
Keyvius Sampson 4/4
Layne Somsen 3/3
Kyle Waldrop 1/1

After watching this game, it was back to post game graphing. A member on SCN and I doubled down on both teams. I worked the Bulls' side while he watched for Stephenson and Winker for me. The plan worked to perfection.

Jesse Winker 1/1
Robert Stephenson 2/2
Nick Franklin 4/8 He appeared to be intoxicated!
Luke Maile 2/2
Daniel Robertson 2/2
Richie Shaffer 2/7
Blake Snell 10/10
Ozzie Timmons 1/2

[SDL]

Lakeland Flying Tigers @ Clearwater Threshers. All Black Sharpie

Jairo Labourt: Three action pics from the 2015 XM Futures Game (played for World team).

Joe Jimenez: Signed three action pics from the 2015 XM Futures Game (also played for World Team).

Grayson Greiner: Signed blowups of two different 2013 Panini USA Baseball Collegiate Team cards.

Christin Stewart: Signed action pic of him playing for Team USA at the 2014 Haarlem Baseball Week, and blown up copies of his 2014 Panini Team USA Crusade and Donruss Team USA cards.

Nelson Santovenia: Expos posed pic.

[icee82]

This was from Wednesday night...

It was back to the ball park tonight...about ten minutes from my office for some pre-game graphing of the Columbia Fireflies and the Greensboro Grasshoppers. I did not have much but I got everything signed!

Aaron Blanton 4/4 (4 for slnoble01)
Chase Ingram 1/1
David Thompson 1/1