2011 Orioles Autograph Year in Review

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I'm going to do my review a bit differently this year. Here is the list of all fifty players who appeared in a game for the Orioles this year, and the number of times I either got their autograph or saw them signing at a game. I'll then give some thoughts and opinions on my observations.

(The very random selection of autographs are scans of my 2011 O's autos that hadn't yet been on the blog)

Jeremy Accardo 1
Ryan Adams 2
Robert Andino 2
Matt Angle 0
Jake Arrieta 2

 

Mitch Atkins (3 in minors)
Josh Bell 2

 

 Brad Bergesen 1
Jason Berken
Zach Britton 4 (1 additional at minor rehab)
Blake Davis
Chris Davis (1 at minor rehab)
Willie Eyre 1
Pedro Florimon (3 at minors)
Jake Fox 4

 

Mike Gonzalez 2
Kevin Gregg 1
Vladimir Guerrero 3
Jeremy Guthrie 3
JJ Hardy 3
Mark Hendrickson 0
Kyle Hudson (1 at minors)
Tommy Hunter 1
Cesar Izturis 0

 

Chris Jakubauskas 3
Jim Johnson 1
Adam Jones 3
Derrek Lee 2
Nick Markakis 0

Brian Matusz 1
Troy Patton 1

 

Zach Phillips 1
Felix Pie 0
Clay Rapada 1
Nolan Reimold 1
Jo-Jo Reyes 0
Mark Reynolds 2
Brian Roberts 1

 

Josh Rupe 1

 

Luke Scott 2 (1 at minor rehab)

 

Alfredo Simon 2
Brandon Snyder 2
Pedro Strop 2
Craig Tatum 0
Chris Tillman 3
Koji Uehara 1
Rick Vanden Hurk 0

Pedro Viola (5 at minors)
Matt Wieters 2

 

Mark Worrell 1


There are some things to keep in mind while looking at this list. For example, Izturis has been a great signer in past seasons, but was only with the team for a few weeks this year, so I had very few chances to get his autograph. The small sample size also applies for the late season call-ups, spot starters and others who only spent a few games on the roster. 

However, here are a few observations I am comfortable making after tracking all of my successes for the season.

Nick Markakis and Craig Tatum are the worst signers on the team. They both spent the entire season with the O's and I never saw either sign a single card. Of course, they theoretically could have signed at every single game I did not attend, but based on their track records, I highly doubt it. It seemed as though Jo-Jo Reyes wasn't a huge fan of signing, but I had a smaller sample size to form that opinion.

The best signers seem to be Zach Britton and Jake Fox, who were consistent signers throughout the year. Jeremy Guthrie, JJ Hardy, Chris Jakubauskas, Adam Jones, and Chris Tillman were also good signers. From what I understand from talking to other graphers, I must have been at the only three games that Vlad signed at, so I'm hesitant to call him a good signer, but I will say the future hall-of-famer signed more than I thought he would.

If any of you would like me to give additional thoughts/opinions about the signing habits of the 2011 O's, leave a comment and I'll try to answer everything by tomorrow.

Orioles Autograph Year in Review

For the third consecutive season, I will be reviewing the signing habits of this season's Orioles team. I'm going to consolidate my review this year, as last year's wrap-up stretched out over two weeks and I'm pretty sure that it became a little too long for everyone, including myself.

 Early nominee for "Best Signer"

I tried something a bit different this year by recording every autograph I got over the course of the season from spring training until the end of the regular season. I also noted any time I saw an Orioles  player signing, even when I wasn't able to get their autograph, so I will have some specific signing figures for the thirty or so games I attended over the season.

Fifty(!) different players appeared in at least one game for the Orioles this year, and I realistically had at least a chance to get an autograph from all of them. I obtained autographs from a few of those players when they were still in the minor leagues, and I will make note of that, but can't really count that along with the autographs I got at O's games.

I hope that everyone is ready for the breakdown, which will probably take place over the next two days. It's gonna be fun as always!

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- The Best Signers

This will wrap up my review of the 2010 O's signing habits, which I started just about two weeks ago. Last year I included 8 players in this best signers group; this year it's down to 7, but it's still about 15% of the players who played for the O's this year which isn't bad. 

Luke is once again the player who signed the most over the course of the season. I'm pretty much at the point where I try to let other fans get his autograph since I've got his signature so many times. He always seems like a nice guy and talks to the fans while he's signing. I listed Luke in this category last season too, but he really deserves his own category. 


The following three relief pitchers signed almost every Sunday during the season (Sunday's are the day pitchers can warm up on the field since there's no batting practice).

Albers has been inconsistent on the mound over his time in Baltimore, but he's typically been a good signer at least.

I put Hendrickson in the good signers category last year, but this year he took his signing to the next level.

Ohman was sent to the Marlins at the trade deadline, but he signed very frequently before being sent to Miami. I think he signed every card I had of him before the trade, so I was fine with it.

I've heard that some other people had trouble getting Cesar's autograph this year, but not me. He was always the first player to come back to the dugout after B.P. and would normally sign early on. Cesar really upped his signing game this season; I listed him in the kinda-good category last year.      

 

Dino only spent the last month of the season in Baltimore, but he signed enough over that time to get listed here. He was in this category last year too, making him the second back-to-back best signer.  

 

Bergy was the rare Orioles starting pitcher who signed regularly this season. He would sign on some Sundays and in between his starts too.  

I hope that everyone enjoyed the review and I will now get back to my regular blogging schedule, whatever that might be. 

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- The Good Signers

We are down to the second to last category in my review of the 2010 O's signing habits. Today's group are the players who I could typically count on to sign over the course of the season.

 

I was pleasantly surprised by how often Miggy seemed to sign this year. I got his autograph at least four times, and while his signature isn't much more than a stylized MT, he signed a lot more often than I anticipated from a veteran star player.  

 

I had an idea that Mike was going to be a good signer since I got his autograph during the '09 season when the Braves were in Baltimore; I actually saw him signing at two games of that three game series.  Mike signed for me four or five times this year and seemed pretty good to the fans.  Now if he had just been able to avoid his horrendous start to the season, the fans probably would have been better to him. 

 

After being acquired from the A's on June 22nd in the infamous Wolf-Fox animal surname trade, Jake seemed to be a frequent signer and a really nice guy too.  I got his autograph twice, but was unable to get his Orioles postcard signed since it was issued pretty late in the season.  If he's still with the team next year, I have very little doubt that he will sign it at some point. 

Alberto didn't spend too many games with the Orioles this season, but he was one of the most reliable Sunday signers on the team. He probably signed for 200+ fans at each of the two Sunday games I attended during his time in Baltimore. Last year, I ranked Alberto as a small sample good signer, so it seems like he's fairly consistent.

 

Jonesy continues to sign a good bit for a young star.  His signature ain't pretty and his attitude isn't always the best, but I can't say anything bad about him from an autograph standpoint.  Last year, I put him in the kinda good signing category, so it's nice to see him signing even more this year.    

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- The Kinda Good Signers

Rolling on with my Orioles autograph review, we're now getting to the players who were pretty good to the fans this year. These players signed multiple times for me over the course of the season.

Matusz signed this card for me within the first week or so of the season, and he also signed his jersey shirt the Orioles gave away on one of their T-Shirt Tuesdays. He still is a decent signer considering he is probably the O's most likely future star. Last year, I ranked him as one of the best signers on the team, so he might have taken a step backwards this year.

Last season, I saw Koji sign one time at Oriole Park and I just missed out on getting his autograph, so I put him in the don't think he's a good signer category. I sent him a TTM request late in the season, but didn't get it back, so I bought his autograph at a card show prior to the 2010 season. Since then, I got Koji's autograph in Spring Training, he returned my TTM request, and he signed for me at two games during the season. Talk about a turnaround.

Berken signed for me a few times during the season and I probably would've got his autograph a few more times if an injury hadn't ended his season in mid-August. You could consistently count on him to sign on Sundays while he was with the team. Last season, I listed him one step up from here, in the good signer category. 

Garrett was a much better signer than player during his 44 games with the O's.  I got his autograph at Fanfest, Spring Training, and two times in Baltimore before he was released on July 6.  You can tell things might be over for you when no other team will even take a chance on you at the league minimum salary.

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- The Small Sample Good Signers

Rolling on with my review of the O's signing habits, today I'm covering the players who seemed to sign pretty frequently at the games I attended, but they weren't with the team long enough for me to decide whether they always signed a lot, or I just got lucky. 

 

Rhyne played in 14 games with the Orioles from late April through mid-May and spent the rest of the season with AAA Norfolk. He was only with the O's for a handful of games, but I saw him signing at both games I attended during his time in the Bigs. I dropped the ball and didn't have anything for him to sign those times, but I did get his autograph in Spring Training and was able to trade for this O's postcard recently. His first Orioles card was included in the just released 2010 Topps Update set, so I now need to get that signed for the collection.

Armando started the season in AA with the Baysox, was promoted to AAA Norfolk after about a week in Bowie, and eventually worked his way up to Baltimore towards the end of the season to become Oriole #883. I got his autograph in Spring Training, Bowie, and again in Baltimore, so I really consider him to be a good signer, but with only 5 games as an Oriole under his belt, he's here in the small sample category. 

 

Oriole #885 Brandon Snyder is someone whose autographs I've been able to steadily add to my collection over the past three seasons during his time in Frederick, Bowie, and now Baltimore. B-Snyde appeared in 10 games with the O's after getting called up in September and I recall seeing him sign at least twice over his time in Birdland. I'm at the point where I don't have many unsigned cards of his so, assuming he's back in Baltimore next year, I would guess he will be listed in the good or best signer category. 

 

Rick, Oriole #884 for those of you keeping track, was a fairly valuable swing-man for the O's after being acqured from the Marlins for Will Ohman at the trade deadline. He was a regular Sunday signer and seems like a decent guy to boot, so I'm rooting for him to make the team next season. 

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- Hit or Miss Signers

If you've been enjoying my review of the 2010 O's signing habits, there are four more posts about it after this one. If you think it's been boring and don't care about it, it's halfway done. So that should keep everyone happy.

Today, I'm going to cover the players who didn't seem to often, but when they did, they signed a lot.

 

After Jake was called up, he seemed to sign pretty frequently, and for a number of fans. As the season went on, I feel like I saw him signing less and less. So that's why he's in this category!

Josh seemed to sign for most people down the right field line when he did sign. Like Jake, he seemed to sign more frequently around the time he was called up, and less so as the season went along. I also got his autograph at a private signing, and the pen he was using wasn't great, but at least I have him on an O's card now. 

Chris bounced back and forth between AAA Norfolk and Baltimore this season, so that might have affected his signing habits this year. Last year, I ranked him among the best signers, so I hope that his signing regression isn't permanent.  

Jeremy always seems to have an interesting attitude towards the fans. He seems fairly nice, but also a little cocky or stuck up, if that makes any sense. Well, when he signs, he will cover quite a few people, but other times he will avoid the fans like a plague. He's pretty hard to read, but for being the O's #1 pitcher, I have a number of autographs from him. Last season, I rated him as a kind of good signer.  

 

Corey didn't sign with much frequency, but he would also sign for a lot of people once he started. I'm not sure if it's like "once I start, I'll just keep going, but then not do it again for a month", but he always seems very nice when he did sign.  

 

I'll wrap this group up with the player who I would say had the strangest signing habits on the team. Julio signed for me pretty early in the year, but then I came across an Orioles postcard that I wanted to get signed, and it took me like three months to get it done. And it's not that he wasn't signing, but that he seemed to sign around me a few times. I'm not someone who he would recognize since I'm not one of those people who are at every game and then go sell their haul. I graph an average of once a week, so who knows what it was, but I finally got my postcard, and this card, signed in July.

Orioles Autograph Year in Review- The I-Don't-Think-They're-Good-Signers

After taking the weekend off from my it, I'm back to reviewing the signing habits of everyone who played for the O's this past season.

Today, I'm going to cover the players who I might have seen signing on occasion, but they didn't seem to sign often during their time in Baltimore.

B-Rob had an injury-plagued 2010 season and was away from the team for most of the year, but in the 59 games he played with the O's, I think I only saw him sign one time. 

The only time I got his autograph all year was way back in Spring Training when he participated in a book signing to promote his dad's book on basestealing. 

Brian also fell in this category last season.

JJ signed for me twice this season, but one of those times was at FanFest, so I don't really count that since it's a signing that's more of a contractual obligation than an act of goodwill. As I've said before, most relievers sign on Sundays, but Jim wasn't one that normally took the time for the fans.

I also ranked JJ in this category last year. 

Scott signed cards on two occasions for me this season, one in Spring Training and the other at an early July game in Baltimore, and I remember seeing him sign at least one other time in Baltimore, so I almost listed him as a hit or miss signer. But I couldn't quite do it. Signing three times just didn't cut it for me.

He's now a minor league free agent, so his time with the O's is likely over.   

Troy was a great signer during the time he spent with the AA Bowie Baysox in 2009, but his signing habits didn't seem to translate to Baltimore. He only made it into a single game for the O's this season, but he spent most of a month as a member of the 25 man roster and I don't think I saw him sign once. He really could have been placed in the bad signer category, but I think I have a bit of a bias since he was so good to the Baysox fans. 

Last year, I ranked Felix in the hit or miss category as he seemed to sign at a few consecutive games, but then not again for two months.  This season, I can't recall if I saw him signing at all in Baltimore, but I got his autograph in Spring Training, at FanFest, and on a rehab assignment in Bowie.  So he's included here because of those times he signed. 

Pedro spent the final three weeks of the season in Baltimore after pitching for the Tides and the Baysox for the majority of the season. He appeared in two games and I got his autograph once, which doesn't seem bad on paper. However, Pedro ignored me and some other fans on a couple occasions. I guess no one has told him that it's not nice to "big league" the fans when you've only pitched in 11 MLB games and have a 6.48 ERA. But at least he signs on occasion I guess. 

Wiggy was a prototypical don't-think-he's-a-good-signer this year.  He is almost always willing to sign if there's only a small group of fans, but he rarely to never signs if a bunch of people are around.  I got him a couple times this year, so I was lucky.  Last year, I ranked him in the hit or miss category. 

Orioles Autograph Year in Reivew- The Bad Signers

Rolling on with my 2010 O's Autograph Review, today I'm going to cover the worst signers on the team. If I had it my way, no one would fall into this category, but unfortunately, these guys do.

Nick Markakis continues to be, in my opinion, the toughest autograph on the Orioles. The one and only autograph I got from him all season was way back at Fanfest, and I didn't see him signing any other time all season long. At one game, a fellow collector told me that he had signed the previous day, but since I didn't see it, I can't believe it. This dude NEVER signs at games, not even during Spring Training.

Not surprisingly, I also ranked Nick as a bad signer last season. 

Falling in the c'mon man category of bad signers is backup catcher, Craig Tatum. I mean, it's not like he was busy more than one or two days a week. I once had him walk by me, while he was apparently doing nothing, with only a few other people nearby and asked if he could sign. His answer "no". That's all he said. Luckily, I got his autograph in a few trades and got a few cards signed at a private signing.

I picked up Kevin's autograph both at Fanfest and at Spring Training, so I was optimistic about getting his signature a few more times over the course of the year. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, and I can't remember seeing him sign once at Oriole Park this season. I know he was the veteran "ace" of the staff, but most starting pitchers will sign occasionally between starts since they have some down time. 

David Hernandez has always been a pretty tough signature, at least dating back to the '08 season when he was with the Baysox, and he continued down that path over this past season. I picked him up at a private signing, but can't remember seeing him sign around the park much, if at all. Sundays are the best day to get autographs from the Orioles relief pitchers, since there is no BP and they warm up on the field, but David would almost always just walk back into the clubhouse after warming up.

Last season, I ranked him as a hit or miss signer since he didn't sign often, but when he did, he signed for a number of fans. 

Sometime closer, Alfredo Simon was another tough autograph to pick up. I was able to get his autograph during Spring Training, but only after persistently calling out his name as he was walking down the right field line. He could only ignore so many times, you know?   I got his signature one other time this season, but again, it was at a private signing. 

Last year, I listed him in the inconclusive/undetermined category since he only spent a few days with the O's before going down with a season-ending injury.

Unfortunately, I once again have to include my favorite Oriole on the list of bad signers. I got his autograph only once this season, and that was at a private signing at a local AT&T Store. He didn't sign in Spring Training, I didn't see him sign once at Oriole Park, and I missed him at Fanfest. All season long, I had my copy of his SI cover in my game backpack, hoping that I might luck out and get it signed, but it looks like that will be a project for next season. 

Since Matt normally catches six days a week, I can kind of understand why he doesn't sign often.  But I wish that I would occasionally see him sign at the Yard on one of his off days.  As I mentioned, he also fell in the bad signer category last season.