jaydub 2013 IP Successes

[jaydub]

Was out in Phoenix for the first couple of days of ST practices and knocked out some Dodgers, Mariners, White Sox and a couple Reds. Going back for the first weekend of ST games so hope to add more.

Wednesday 2/13
Dodgers practice at Camelback Ranch

This was the first full practice day for pitchers and catchers and the crowds were already pretty big. Families and folks who looked like actual Dodger fans were well outnumbered by guys constantly complaining about guys who didn't sign for them, guys double and triple dipping when the opportunity presented itself, and a smaller number pushing and shoving when guys like Greinke and Kemp stopped to sign here and there. I was happy to see this had changed by the time I came a 2nd time on the 16th although it sounds like it's gotten bad again now that Koufax has arrived.

I'm a lifelong Dodger fan so I was targeting getting the lessor known guys since many of them will be back in the minors one the season starts. I'm trying to fill in as many guys who have cards from the last couple of years from the Dodgers minor league affiliates.

Steven Ames x2
Ronald Belisario
Stephen Fife
Aaron Harang
Zach Greinke (was happy that he ignored the guys shoving balls and cards in his face and shouting at him repeatedly and took the time to sign for me)
Kenley Jansen x2
Kenley Jansen OMLB SS
Brandon League x2
Matt Magill x8
Paco Rodriguez x4
Shawn Tolleson x4
Chris Withrow x5
A.J. Ellis x2
Josh Wall x3
Luis Cruz
Don Mattingly
Chuck Crim x4
Tim Wallach x2
John Valentin
Jose Vizcaino
Davey Lopes

[WSCards5]

Nice on the Greinke. I got him several times when he was with Wichita AA for the Royals back in 2006. He was strickly one per when he was there unless you had an agreement with him like me and he would sign as many cards as i wanted as long as i brought one of the exact card for him since he collects his own cards. Nice guy when he knows your a fan and not someone out to make money.

[jaydub]

Thursday 2/14
Goodyear Ballpark - Indians / Reds

I started at the Reds facility but a staffer said that the gates to the fields didn't open to the public until 10:00am. Sure enough the gates were under lock and key. I walked over the Indians fields and the gates there were open. I watched the team stretch and start warming up. The players weren't signing as they walked to practice fields at least early on. There was a smallish contingent of Japanese journalists there to see Dice K.

I wandered back to the Reds field. The area open to the public is great for watching the practices, with 4 full fields open to watch. A few of the players signed as they went station to station but not much success there. The major downside at the Reds fields is that when they were done they were able to all empty out back to the clubhouse w/o passing by the fans so my haul was pretty poor.

Bronson Arroyo
Devin Mesoraco x4
Dusty Baker x4

[jaydub]

Friday 2/15
Peoria Sports Complex - Mariners

I got there before any players came out. There was already some baseball going on as a college team (Texas Tech?) was playing a practice game against Team China. The crowds were mostly Mariners fans with some families there - a nice change from Camelback Ranch a few days prior.

The players walk out to the practice fields along a roped off pathway which allowed fans to see all the players. Most did not stop to sign before the practice. The fields are open access for fans so you could watch all four practice fields as well as a bullpen area. Players returned to the clubhouse in groups of a couple to a half dozen at a time which made it great for getting autograph as you didn't have to deal with a rush.

The catchers were the last group to finish up long after everyone else was gone so was able to get a lot of folks this time around. Highly recommended facility!

The Mariners are mostly a nice group of guys, especially the young hurlers. Jesus Montero did not stop and sign for anyone and I hear he's been that way pretty much every day. Nick Franklin who I've also seen at the AFL is a super nice guy and is very fan friendly.

Blake Beavan x2
Anthony Fernandez x2
Felix Hernandez (probably the only one I'll ever get)
Danny Hultzen x3
James Paxton OMLB
Taijuan Walker OMLB
Hector Noesi x3
Chance Ruffin
Tom Wilhelmsen
Mike Zunino x3
Jeremy Bonderman
John Hicks x3
Jon Garland
Brad Miller x2
Nick Franklin x2
Dave Hansen
Cory Synder x2

[jaydub]

Saturday 2/16
Camelback Ranch - Dodgers and White Sox

Things were much nicer this time around at the Ranch. The crowds were still there (on the Dodger side) but there were a lot more actual Dodgers fans and a good number of families there. Just a better atmosphere. I made an effort for the White Sox this time although the Sox didn't have position players reporting until the next day so mostly just pitchers and catchers with a few position players around. I've been hoping to see Erik Johnson the 2nd round pick of the Sox in 2011 as he's from California and as an alum I got a chance to watch him play in Berkeley.

Gavin Floyd x2
Matt Lindstrom x3
Addison Reed x6
Brent Morel

The Dodgers had their full team at the Ranch as saturday was the first full workout day for position players. Most of the day was calisthenics with some batting practice and bullpens later in the morning. I finally managed to catch Dee Gordon whom I've been trying to get for awhile.

Brandon League
Dee Gordon
Jerry Hairston
Skip Schumaker
Nick Punto
Yasiel Puig x2
Alex Castellanos x2
Franklin Stubbs x2
Rick Honeycutt

[jaydub]

Saturday 2/23
Camelback Ranch - Dodgers vs White Sox

First game of spring training! So happy for the season to be officially underway. Crowds today were pretty manageable before the game although the Dodgers players mostly no longer walked down the main pathway that they've used last year and last week. Only a few guys stopped unfortunately so not much look outside the stadium. A few guys signed inside.

The White Sox area was good for signing today with a good number of guys stopping on their way into the clubhouse from the practice fields. I was unable to get Konerko or Dunn even though they stopped and signed quite a few - just missed out. Alexi Ramirez signed for a long time and Keenyn Walker signed anything and any number you put out there (2011 draftee).

Nestor Molina 1/1
Gavin Floyd 1/2
Scott Snodgress 1/1
Jeff Keppinger 2/4
Erik Johnson 3/3 (California Golden Bears!)
Erik Johnson OMLB
Seth Loman 1/1 (inside the stadium after the game)
Brett Morel 1/1
Trayce Thompson 1/4 (inside the stadium after the game)
Jordan Danks 2/2
Alexi Ramirez 1/4
Dayan Viciedo 1/2
Keenyn Walker 3/3

Dodgers outside didn't net as most guys didn't stop to sign. I did get Adrian Gonzalez. I finally had a shot at Billingsley as I haven't been around when he's been signing before but I wasn't able to get him before he finished up. Yasiel Puig took plenty of time to sign along the main pathway along with Tony Gwynn Jr and Alex Castellanos. Puig gave one of his bats to a kid which was nice.

Inside the stadium there was a mad dash when Sandy Koufax walked in. As he has this spring he signed a good bit, usually signing a couple in one spot then skipping down the line. I was ready but he skipped by me. Later on Fernando Valenzuela signed for awhile but once again I was skipped by.

Ryu Hyun-Jin OMLB (inside before the game)
Yasiel Puig OMLB
Ted Lilly 1/4 (inside before the game)
Adrian Gonzalez 1/4
Jerry Hairston 2/6 (during the game)
Ozzie Martinez 2/2
Don Mattingly 1/1 (inside before the game)

[jaydub]

Sunday 2/24
Peoria Sports Complex - Mariners vs Padres

It was a rather chilly and windy day so not the best circumstances to enjoy a game. Furthermore with the cold, a lot of players were wearing their jackets meaning that names and numbers were covered. I made do with trying to recognize faces as best I could but not recognize many guys. I wasn't able to get to the practice fields all that early as I had visitors in tow with me. I went to the Mariners practice fields as I had heard that the Padres practice fields are not as open.

There were only a few pitchers around so mostly just position players. I managed to snag a few guys on their way in from practice.

Mariners practice
Alex Liddi 1/1
Eric Thames 1/2
Mike Jacobs 3/3
Jason Bay 4/4
Eric Wedge 1/1

At the game I got to experience the 'Autograph Alley' for the first time. I'd been to Peoria before during fall league but for those games the alley was closed off. The Autograph Alley is a small area behind a tall fence where you can see players as they come onto and off the field. This is nice as it's designed for autographs and the players do know that. The downside is the fence which has bars about the width of a jail cell. If you're trying to get balls signed it's perfect. For cards if you use a binder it's not convenient so people seemed to mostly pull out a card or two and pass through the fence. I did try to slide my binder through bars a few times and that seemed to work better.

During spring games you usually have the starters and some players who aren't scheduled to play that day leaving the park throughout the game so you can get a steady trickle of players which is nice. Usually at the end of an inning you can watch for players packing up their stuff and head to the alley to wait on them. Both teams were fairly generous about signing. Felix Hernandez did stop to sign about 7 or 8 items but I was unable to get anything before he left.

Mariners
Taijuan Walker 4/7 (got him after the game ended and players were walking off the field)
Robert Andino 1/1 (weak signature)
Kyle Seager 1/1
Carlos Peguero 1/1
Danny Hultzen OMLB SS

Padres
Luke Gregorson 1/1
Casey Kelly 2/2
Freddy Garcia 2/2
John Baker 2/2 (Cal Bear!)
Alexi Amarista 1/1
Logan Forsythe 1/1
Johnathan Galvez 4/4
Chase Headley 1/1
James Darnell 4/4
Jaff Decker 1/1
Mark Kotsay 1/1
Cameron Maybin 1/1
Will Venable 1/1
Bud Black 1/1 (by dugout)
Dave Roberts 1/1

[Chris819]

Nice job on the autos. How nice were Dave Roberts,Mark Kotsay, Alex Liddi and Jason Bay.

[jaydub]

Jason Bay was nice and signed for the couple of people who were there at the practice. Alex Liddi I didn't get a real sense on as he was just about to get into the clubhouse. Roberts I got before the game and he was cheerful and had a smile. Kotsay was quiet and sorta business like.

[jaydub]

Now that I'm home, starting to scan my results. Here are the Dodgers pitchers and catchers I got on my first day 2/13/13.