Trying to Shake Off the Holiday Lethargy

It was my intent to get up a few posts over the past four days but I just didn't have it in me. I was relaxing at my parent's house in my hometown and never came across the proper motivation to do much other than say Merry Christmas to everyone. But now I'm back, for at least a halfass attempt at a post. I hope to get my Christmas presents scanned and posted later this week but for now...


Here are some autographs and pictures of Brett Jacobson, the prospect the Orioles received for Aubrey Huff from the Tigers earlier this year. I saw him pitch in Frederick at the end of the season and he seemed like a nice guy.

I don't know how well you can tell from this picture, but he's tall (listed at 6'6'')


He signed three cards for me, the only three I could find shortly after the trade.


I hope to see Brett pitch in Baltimore eventually

Orioles Autograph Year in Review: The Bad Signers

Just so everyone knows: I am listing these players' signing habits according to what I saw in the 40 or so games I attended this season. It's possible that these players signed at every single game I didn't attend, but I somehow don't think that was the case.

There are 3 distinct categories in this post: the "stars", the veteran relievers, and the catchers.


I will start with the "Stars":

I really like having Nick Markakis on my favorite baseball team; he is an awesome and very underrated player. That said, I have yet to see him willingly sign for the fans. Every now and then, an Orioles staff member brings him over to a group of people that are standing on the field and he will sign for them and take pictures with them, but he just flat out doesn't go out of his way to sign. This card was sent my way in a trade, but I have yet to have Nick sign something for me in person.


I did see Huff Daddy sign for a few fans at road games in Tampa Bay and Washington, but only a few and I wasn't lucky enough to be one of them. I would guess that he signed for 5-10 people each of those times, and I never once saw him sign in Baltimore. He usually ignored the fans' requests completely. He signed this card TTM for me, so at least he signs that way. But you have almost no shot of getting his autograph at a home game.


Next, here are the veteran relievers who I didn't have much luck getting to sign.


I got Baez to autograph this card at the one and only game that I saw him sign at this season. Generally, the best time to get the relief pitchers to sign is Sunday games since the team doesn't take BP, and the pitchers do some stretching and long-tossing in the OF before the game. I took the picture after I got my card signed, and he seems happy enough to be signing; he just didn't do it very often.



Jamie Walker was another veteran reliever who didn't seem to sign much. Even though he was on the Orioles for 2.5 years, he never had a card produced of him in an Orioles uniform, so I got him to sign this team card for me. I got it autographed in DC when the O's were in town in May of this year. Jamie was leaning against the stands before the fans were let in and I made a bee line to him before he realized it was time to move back to the safety of the outfield. Again, that's the only time I recall seeing him sign.


Lastly, the everyday catchers can be a tough signature to get.


As some of you may remember, Gregg began the '09 season as the Orioles starting catcher. Catchers are always busy during pre-game warm-up; they work with the starting pitchers at least 6 out of every 7 games, and that doesn't leave much time for signing. I got this card autographed by Gregg one game that he stopped for the fans while walking back from the bullpen before the game started. He seemed like a nice guy.



I hate including my favorite Oriole in this category but Wiety had the same issue that Zaun did. He didn't have much time to sign for the fans between BP & warming up the starters. He signed this card for me in Toronto, and I saw him signing the other two games of the series too. So I can advocate his road signing habits. I also think the fact that every single Orioles fan in Baltimore wanted his autograph bogged down his signing this past season. He was a pretty good signer in Frederick and Bowie last season (I had to justify his non-signing somehow, didn't I?)

TTM Success-Aubrey Huff

I know that I've complained in the past on here about Aubrey Huff and his signing habits at the ballpark (or lack thereof). In my many games this season, I did not see him sign one thing for anyone at an Orioles game. The only two times I saw him sign over the past two seasons were an O's-Nats game in DC and an O's-Rays game in Tampa Bay. Both times he signed for about 5 people and I missed the cut. And say what you will about this, but I am more likely to cheer for a guy who signs for fans than one who doesn't. Aubs frequently would give little kids a cold shoulder too. That ain't cool LoveSponge!

Well anyway, it turns out that Huffy is a decent TTM signer so I sent this off to him shortly after he was traded to the Tigers. It came back in about 3 weeks, which is a quick turnaround since he would've been on a road trip or two during that time. So I'm now happy that Huff Daddy is going to make the playoffs with the Tigers; as long as they hold off the Twins. It seems like I like him more now that he is on the Tigers.

Aubrey did provide me one of my best baseball memories when I had the pleasure to be at the O's game on June 29, 2007 when he hit for the cycle. It was very exciting to see in-person and was the first time a player hit for the cycle at the Yard.

Don't let the door hit ya on the way out Huff Daddy

You never once signed an autograph for me so I had to buy this card I don't like very much on Ebay. At least it was only 99 cents.

I have heard that you sign TTM, so maybe I will try that. It seems almost shocking that you would share your time with a collector like me though. You were normally too "busy" for the fans.

Fun with Ebay

While I much prefer to obtain autographs in person or in trades with fellow collectors, I do keep on top of what Ebay has to offer and will always pounce on a good deal or a reasonably priced card of a former Oriole who has passed away.

I'm thinking about posting all the cards I got from Ebay every month to share (show off) what I have been able to win.

Here are the cards I was able to win this month:

Jim Busby 1957-58, 60-61
Died 1996

Pat Dobson 1971-72
Died 2006


Joe Ginsberg 1956-60

Dan Graham 1980-81


Aubrey Huff 2007-


Dick Kryhoski 1954
Died 2007

Sorry for the lack of back story on any of these guys but I'm not feeling too great and I think my brain is 75% shut down for the day. I will let you figure out which cards I got a good deal on...it shouldn't be too tough.