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yazfan71

Collecting Yastrzemski - Apr. '14/July 4th weekend

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With the first half of the 2014 baseball season almost over, I have noticed that my card numbers haven't increased at all. Sure, I've had a few offers thrown out there, but nothing ever panned out. I did receive a surprise package from BSEBALLCOMMISH75 with a couple of Yastrzemski's in there, but I already had them in my collection.

While my card numbers may be stagnant, my memorabilia has gotten some incredible pieces & even better memories. I've rediscovered how much I love going to minor league games much like I did when I was younger & my family seems to be enjoying it with me as well.

Since my last blog post I've been to 3 more MiLB games. The first one was for a birthday party for one of my oldest boys' step-son who turned 10. Even though the TinCaps lost, everyone had a great time & the birthday boy came home with a BP ball, an autographed team ball from the TinCaps & the ball he threw out for the first pitch of the game! It was definitely a very memorable occasion that I hope he'll treasure for a long time!

The second game we attended was in Charleston, West Virginia where we went on Father's Day Weekend. This was my first opportunity to be able to see Michael play with the Delmarva Shorebirds. As it turned out, this would be his last series with the team before he got promoted to the Advanced A, Frederick Keys in the Orioles organization. Talk about perfect timing! My wife had ordered the tickets to the game as a surprise to me for Father's Day, which I was lucky enough for it to have fallen on one of my changeover weeks at work, so 1 vacation day gave me 7 days off. I got my Delmarva cap & Yastrzemski Shorebirds Jersey tee in the mail the morning we left, which worried me to death because I thought it wouldn't arrive in time. We get down there on Thursday & the game got postponed due to rain. On Friday, about an hour before game time the floodgates opened & it seemed as if someone was just pouring buckets of water down from the sky!

We found out later that night that they would play a doubleheader on Saturday to make up one of the games! So Saturday arrives & the weather is absolutely beautiful. I had my Shorebirds gear on as my wife & I walked around downtown Charleston waiting for game time. While down there, I was stopped a few times & asked if I was from the Salisbury, MD area or was apart of the team! We started to lose track of time & had to rush to get to the stadium when the doors opened as I didn't want to miss any BP. In doing so, I ended up locking my keys in the car! (Yes, I'm an idiot!) Anyway, my wife saved the day & allowed me to stay & watch the game while she dealt with the locksmiths to get the keys back. Back to the story... Michael made my day by signing my index card that has the signature of his father on it. So now all I need is Carl's to make the piece complete.



As he was stepping into the on-deck circle for his first at bat, I wished him luck & told him to have a great game. He thanked me as he went up to the plate & then made my day again as he hit the first of 2 HR that he would get. One more than his grandfather hit the first time I saw him play! I was hoping to be able to talk to him more after the end of the second game, but he didn't fair too well in that one & ended up leaving the field immediately following the game. I was however able to stop new Shorebird player, Tanner Rust, & talked him into giving me the official lineup card from game 1.


My wife & I at the game!


I was so happy that our seats were this good!


Tanner Rust grabbing the lineup card for me! Love the baseball voodoo doll hanging in the dugout!


Game 1 lineup card!

After the game, my wife & I decided it was time to head home to Indiana, since we had ended up spending not only more time than we had expected, but more money than we had planned as well. On the way home we had both agreed that Parkview Field does a much better job hosting games & entertaining fans! Which leads me to game 3!

My kids know how much I enjoy baseball & since it was actually Father's Day that they would take me to a game & boy am I glad they did! Not only was this the last game before the MiLB All-Star break, but it would be the last game for All-Star centerfielder, Mallex Smith in a TinCaps uniform. What made it even better though was the autograph session after the game! We all got several signed items, especially from Mallex.


My baby girl with Mallex Smith during the autograph session.

Meanwhile, back to more Yastrzemski memorabilia that I picked up... I haven't gotten much by way of eBay lately, but I was able to acquire one of the Shorebirds posters featuring Michael on a 2nd chance offer which I wasn't about to pass up.



Last, but certainly not least, with my sincerest thanks to LoQtus for making the short jaunt to Frederick for me to pick up my 2nd game used Yastrzemski item for my collection! I tried to get this myself, but the Keys policy doesn't allow for outside bidding to their auctions & since they don't have a team store online my acquisitions from them are next to impossible for me.



It may not be the 4th of July Shorebirds jersey that I had been saving up to bid on, but it didn't cost me as much as that would have either! Thanks again LoQtus! I owe you big time!

One final bit of Yastrzemski news that some of you may have missed. Michael was named the Carolina League Player of the Week for June 30-July 6! In which he hit for the cycle! Way to go Mike!



Well, that's it for this installment. With any luck all my blog entries from here on out will be this exciting for me!

As always special thanks go out to those that helped me add to my collection!
BSEBALLCOMMISH75 - 2009 TTT Carl Yastrzemski #68, 2012 Gypsy Queen Gold Border Carl Yastrzemski #266
LoQtus - Mike Yastrzemski game used autographed Frederick Keys cap

SuperCollector status: Carl 16.3%, Mike 100% & Michael 47.4%

Take care,
Kelly
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