yazfan71's IP Success Thread

[yazfan71]

So since this is the final home series for the Fort Wayne TinCaps this season, my wife & I decided to go to the game tonight by ourselves since we are attending tomorrow night with a couple of our kids & their BF/GF's, as well as a couple of coworkers of mine & their families. Tonight was Thirsty Thursday, which meant the cheap drunks were out in full force, which we always hate since they can be so loud, rude & obnoxious. It was also the TinCaps salute to the 175th anniversary of the Fort Wayne Fire Department, which meant......SPECIAL JERSEYS! So, for the third week in a row now, I've got to bring home a game worn jersey, plus I get another shot at one tomorrow night!

Before I get to the jersey though, the Midwest League Eastern Division leading West Michigan Whitecaps were in town for Fort Wayne's final homestand, so the road to the playoffs were not going to be easy. To make matters even more difficult, they threw LHP Kevin Ziomek on the mound, who, after tonight leads the Midwest League in strikeouts with 152! I was so excited to hear that he was starting though, as I haven't seen him pitch since his days at Vandy. I knew that since he was starting though that getting him to sign might be impossible as a lot of starters don't want the distractions. Zo did not disappoint though! It must have been that I started talking to him about getting his former catchers signature last week when they were in town! I handed him the ball & asked if he'd take the sweet spot before anyone else had a chance to.


P - Kevin Ziomek 6.0IP, 4H, 1BB, 7K


C - Arvicent Perez
SS - Domingo Leyba 1/4, 1-2b, 2 RBI
IF/DH - Dominic Ficociello
P - Artie Lewicki
OF - Wynton Bernard
P - Luke Putkonen (on a rehab assignment from Detroit & he didn't do to well against FW) 0.2IP, 2H, 2BB, 4ER Got the BS & L


OF - Ross Kivett
3B - Francisco Contreras 2/3, 1-2b, 2 R, 1 BB
P - Trent Szkutnik
P - Austin Kubitza


C - Bennett Pickar 1/4, 1 R
1B - Jeff Holm 1/3, 1 RBI, 1BB (listed as an OF on team roster, but he played 1B tonight)
IF - Pat Leyland (son of Jim Leyland)
P - Ryan Longstreth


MGR - Andrew Graham
OF - Mike Gerber 2/4, 1 R
P - Montreal Robertson
IF - Jose Zambrano

Now, onto the jersey! I guess that since I didn't get one from one of the TinCaps players, that this one would have to do!


For those of you that don't recognize the signature, It's from former Cubs/Dodgers/Rangers pitcher & current TinCaps Pitching Coach, Burt Hooten! I even got him to sign the winners sheet that I carried down to the field after the game to get the jersey.

Not sure what tomorrow will bring, as I promised my coworkers that I'd help them get their kids some signatures. So, if this is it for this season, I think I ended it pretty well!

[yazfan71]

Well, my consecutive game streak coming home with a game used jersey ended at 3 tonight as no one in the family won. I really wanted to get one of them for my wife as her picture was on the jerseys for Fan Appreciation night & she really wanted one of them. We didn't find the picture that I submitted on the jersey, but it was shown on the game program!

The picture that I had submitted was of my wife & I & our youngest son & daughter. (right side, 2nd from the bottom)


Here is a closer shot of it, even though it comes up a bit blurry from my phone.

I didn't even try for any autographs for myself before the game as I was helping get signatures for the son of one of my coworkers. It was his first ballgame & he was awfully shy, but I did manage to get quite a few for him.

During the game, West Michigan Whitecaps centerfielder, Ross Kivett, fouled a ball off his foot that rolled over into the on deck circle. Pat Leyland picked up the ball & tossed it to my wife. So I made a point to get him to sign the ball at the end of the game, which he gladly obliged.


So at least we didn't come home empty handed. Even though the TinCaps lost, they did try to make a game of it in the 9th. Down 12-3 & with 2 outs, they scored 6 runs & actually had the potential tying run on deck. So there was some excitement at the end. Now they are a half game out of the final playoff spot with 3 to play. My entire family is hoping that they can make the playoffs so we can go see them at least one more time this season!

[yazfan71]

Well, I just had to take a couple hours off work tonight to go to the TinCaps game since they made the playoffs. Since this was the only game of the first round that they are hosting it was either go tonight or not go at all. Easy enough decision to make! Good news is that they took game 1 from the West Michigan Whitecaps 7-5 & only need to win one of the next two games & they'll be back to host game one of round two on Saturday! For those of you wondering, yes I will be in attendance if they move on to the next round. Since it is the playoffs, my wife & I chose to sit next to the TinCaps dugout to root them on! (We are usually next to the visitors dugout to get autographs)

Since there are so many players that weren't on the team in the beginning of the season I decided I should go ahead & get another team ball signed.


MGR - Michael Collins


3B - Fernando Perez 2/4, 1-2b, 1RBI
RF - Franmil Reyes 0/4, 1R
DH - Dustin Peterson 3/3, 2-2b, 2R, 2RBI, HBP
Pitching Coach - Burt Hooten


C - Ryan Miller 2/4, 1R
SP - Jimmi Brasoban 4.1IP, 5H, 4ER, 1BB, 2K (ND - He got roughed up pretty bad in the 5th)
CF - Ronnie Richardson 0/4, 1BB, 1SB


LF - Nick Schultz 1/3, 1RBI, SAC
RP - Nick Mutz 1.2IP, (Perfect 1.2 innings)
CL - Ryan Butler 1.0IP, 1H, SV
1B - Jake Bauers 1/4, 1R


SS - Trea Turner 1/4, 1R, 1BB
P - Eric Yardley
P - Erik Cabrera
P - Bryan Verbitsky
2B - Josh VanMeter 3/4, 1R, 2RBI

The only player to enter the game that I didn't get a signature from was RP, Jason Jester who got the win.

I was also fortunate enough to get Fernando Perez to sign the programs from the game that he was on the cover of.


Needless to say I am extremely happy that the baseball season in Fort Wayne got at least one extra day! Crossing my fingers for another one!

[yazfan71]

So, my wife & I went to game one of the MWL Eastern Division Championship Series where the Fort Wayne TinCaps were hosting the Lake County Captains. Unfortunately the TinCaps lost the game so unless they win the next two on the road, this will have been the final game at Parkview Field this season. This meant that I had better finish getting anything signed that I needed.

I had some extra programs with Jake Bauers on the cover that were just screaming to be signed, so I took them with me & he was happy to oblige.


I also got our programs from tonights game signed by pitcher Jeff Enloe, who started tonights game.


They also gave away paperweights shaped like bases that made for an interesting item to have signed so I got Fernando Perez on one & our local boy Josh VanMeter on the other.


Even if the TinCaps don't go any further, this has definitely been a great season for me getting signatures!

[BAM1984]

Congrats on the jerseys and signed balls! All those pics make for a great collection of your local team! Great job and I can wait to see more!

[yazfan71]

Congrats on the jerseys and signed balls! All those pics make for a great collection of your local team! Great job and I can wait to see more!

Thanks, unfortunately they didn't make it out of round two of the playoffs so that's all I'll get til next season. We are looking to get season tickets next year so I should have even more to show. I may try and do a 50/50 for the clubs coming into town.

[yazfan71]

Yesterday via their Twitter feed, the Fort Wayne TinCaps announced that Matt Wisler would be returning to Parkview Field today to meet with fans & the media. The Bryan, Ohio native pitched for the TinCaps in 2012 & will more than likely be up with the Padres come Opening Day 2015. The event itself didn't draw much attention as everything was put together so quickly. That was a good thing for those of us that did attend as we had more time to talk, get photos & signatures.



Near the end of the TinCaps 2014 season, they had a Matt Wisler Bobblehead giveaway that I was not able to attend due to work. Fortunately for me, SourceOne Solutions, the company that sponsored the giveaway was there today with a couple of cases of them they brought in to have Matt sign for their employees. I asked if they would have any extras that they would be willing to part with and after thinking about it for a minute, they handed me one! Another good break for me that not many people showed up!



Of course, I just had to have him sign that as well!



I even got him to pose for a photo with me afterwards. He really is a nice guy! And yes, that's my SCF shirt that I'm wearing. I just had to promote the site while I was there. I think we may end up with a few new members from the event today.



I even made it on the TinCaps Twitter Feed photo taken at the event! https://twitter.com/TinCaps/status/5...717184/photo/1

[yazfan71]

So I decided to take 4 hours off work last Wednesday to go to the TinCaps Meet & Greet before they start the 2015 season. My wife & I had a great time & I actually made the local news when they were interviewing fans about why we all came out to the ballpark. We each had a ball & team sheet for them to sign & were fortunate to fill up everything! Heading to Parkview Field tonight for the home opener against the Lansing Lugnuts, so with any luck I'll have a few more autographs by the end of the day! All in all we came home with 116 signatures between the 4 items.

[yazfan71]

Well, I'm a little behind on getting this up here, but Opening Night at Parkview Field was great! The weather was absolutely beautiful & even though the TinCaps lost it in the 10th (Yay Bonus Baseball!), it was a great game! The Lugnuts weren't really in the mood to sign today, but I still managed to grab a few of them. Here's the rundown:


Manager - Ken Huckaby


OF - D.J. Davis
1B - Rowdy Tellez
Hitting Coach - Kenny Graham
1B/DH - Ryan McBroom
OF - Chris Carlson


P - Sean Reid-Foley


OF - Boomer Collins
2B - Tim Locastro
P - Phil Kish

I was also fortunate enough to pick up this beauty as Ken was leaving the field. Although, I'll have to wait until they come back to town to get it signed.



So my 2015 totals are now at:
126 signatures
1 line-up card

[yazfan71]

When I went to work on Monday they were having a drawing for a pair of tickets to Wednesday's TinCaps game against the South Bend Cubs. I wasn't going to put in for them as I had to work that day, but the more I thought about it, the more I figured that I would just go late to the game. Well, as luck would have it, I won them & my supervisor told me that he'd let me take off early to be able to make the start of the game. I ended up buying 3 additional tickets to the game so that my son, future daughter-in-law & daughter could go as well. Of course my wife & them all beat me to the game & since my daughter knows how much I like baseball memorabilia, she headed down to the Cubs dugout to get a ball signed for me! She did rather well too, bless her heart. Here's the ball she had signed for me:


P - Jake Stinnett


P - Tyler Ihrig
P - Trevor Clifton
SS - Gleyber Torres


3B - David Bote
OF - Jeffrey Baez
P - Francisco Carrillo


C - Gioskar Amaya
3B - Jesse Hodges
SS - Jason Vosler
2B - Chesny Young


P - Jasvir Rakkar
C - Cael Brockmeyer
OF - Trey Martin
P - Ryan Williams

15 signatures in all...looks like my daughter is a chip off the 'ol block! All 3 of the kids each ended up getting foul balls as well & they were happy about that. My son tried getting the Cubs line up card for me while I was trying to get the TinCaps one, but we both came up empty handed on that front. The TinCaps did win so that made for a good night at the ballpark for Jackie Robinson Day!

So now we go to last nights game which I already had my ticket for. My wife didn't know if she was going to go as she had surgery yesterday morning, but she came home & took a nap & really wanted to go. A couple hours before game time, my oldest son & his girlfriend came over & started talking about how they'd like to go as she had never been to a baseball game before, so I jumped online & ordered tickets.

Since our seats were right next to the Cubs dugout, I just had to get some more signatures. Here's how I did:


P - Zach Hedges
C - Cael Brockmeyer
SS - Jason Vosler
P - Jeremy Null
Pitching Coach - Brian Lawrence


3B - David Bote
3B - Jesse Hodges
P - Tommy Thorpe
P - Jasvir Rakkar
P - Ryan Williams


Manager - Jimmy Gonzalez
P - Francisco Carrillo
P - James Norwood
P - James Farris


OF - Rashad Crawford
SS - Gleyber Torres


OF - Trey Martin
OF - Yasiel Balaguert
P - Jordan Minch
OF - Jeffrey Baez

This next one has a nice little story to it. In the bottom of the 9th, the Cubs brought in Francisco Carrillo to try & get the save. The first batter he faces & with the very first pitch, plunks Felipe Blanco right in the back. Over the course of the inning, the TinCaps start a little rally & a ball gets lined to left. Blanco, who was on 2nd, tries for home only to be gunned down at the plate with a great catch from Brockmeyer. Now, the TinCaps did eventually tie it up & go on to win it in the 10th. But this is the ball that plunked Blanco, signed by Brockmeyer.



My wife also got a foul ball tossed to her from the TinCaps batboy, but she didn't get it signed. I was so hoping to get the line up card from the game, but Jimmy was too upset that they lost that he didn't even make eye contact as he walked off the field.


2015 totals:
162 signatures
1 line up card
2 game balls