6/11 O's Alumni autos & Mariners/O's autos

Yesterday turned out to be a really good autograph day for me. I had to fight through some periods of heavy rain (which ruined a few autographs & sharpies) but I eventually triumphed on the autographs that were important to me for their Orioles ties. I got two brand new additions to my Orioles collection (John Miller & Guillermo Quiroz), and got another for the first time in person (Milt Pappas).

The Orioles Alumni signing yesterday were Milt Pappas, Ron Hansen & John Miller (l to r).

As I feel like this picture shows, Ron Hansen again proved to be a very nice guy. This was his second time appearing for the Alumni series this season, but the first time for Pappas & Miller.
I only had two cards for Hansen and since he is part of the only Crown set I don't have at this point, number 2 of 4, I only got one of his signed index cards. I had 2 cards for Miller and one Crown card of Pappas however.

John Miller 1962-67

Milt Pappas 1957-65
who also threw out the first pitch

I was able to get a few Mariners autographs but the highlight was Guillermo Qurioz, the O's backup catcher from last year. Since the tarp was on the field the Mariners were taking BP in the O's indoor cages so most of the team was walking back into their dugout when I got down to the field. I noticed a few pitchers with bats too which I thought was strange until I remembered that interleague play starts today. I saw Guillermo coming my way and got past the three Mariners fans near the railing (who weren't calling anyone over, I think they were all waiting for Griffey and/or Ichiro) and got his attention. I think that he did a double-take to make sure someone was calling him over, you know I was!, and he came right over to sign my card. Quiroz success and I was able to cross another one of my list!

Guillermo Quiroz 2008

The other Mariners who signed for me were:

Unfortunately it was pouring when Aardsma & Batista signed for me so my sharpies either didn't work (Batista) or worked & got smeared (Aardsma) C'est la vie!

At least I know have the autograph of the first player listed alphabetically in baseball history.

Jarrod Washburn signed after the rain.

On the O's side, only the 2009 "Best Signer of the Year" leading candidate, Luke Scott, took the time to sign for the hometown fans. I think Andino might have signed one or two, but Luke again proved why autograph fans everywhere love him. This is the third time he has signed for me this year.


And finally, with Koji Uehara facing Ichiro for the first time on US soil, there was a large contingent of both Japanese media and fans at the game. To show you the extent of this coverage here is a picture of two Japanese cameras and two Asian fans following his every move as he searched for a drink in the dugout beverage cooler. Wouldn't want to miss this earth-shattering moment right?

It's cool to see the extreme following though.