Vladfan27's IP & TTM success thread

[Vladfan27]

Tribe on Tour was announced today...last weekend in January! Planning on heading to the one at Summit Mall in Akron since I still have a Kipnis photo without a signature and he'll be going.

Just replied to your PM - hopefully I'll be able to make one of them!

[Vladfan27]

1 in today:

Matt Batts - 0/1, answered questions. His granddaughter wrote a note on the index card I included:

"Hi Dillon, Sorry the answers are short. I tried to get him to elaborate a little more on some of them, but he gets side tracked - Hope this helps. Good Luck!
- His granddaughter"

His granddaughter wrote the answers to the questions as well. I included a note about a potential project I am working on for graduate school - a blog about baseball old timers and their stories as told my them. Very happy with this return, I am getting a thank you note in the mail this afternoon!

[Vladfan27]

**Pictures will be added Monday

I attended the Tribe On Tour event at Summit Mall in Akron, OH again this year. I received autographs from everyone scheduled to attend which was great. The event was this afternoon, I received signatures of the following on a 2011 Indians team ball I am working on:

Jason Donald
Jason Kipnis
Shelley Duncan
Jack Hannahan
Josh Tomlin
Vinnie Pestano
Josh Judy (at a different signing in Akron)

The ball already had Manny Acta and Carlos Santana's signatures on it, so I have a great start on the project. One panel is already full, I should have space for at least 7-8 more autographs. I'll probably hold out for public signings to fill the rest of the ball - I'd like to finish it with bigger names, e.g. Cabrera, Choo, Jimenez, Perez, Sizemore, Hafner etc.

I also had Len Barker sign 3 items and Joe Charboneau 2. They both signed a 2012 pocket schedule as well as a small Indians pennant and I had Barker sign the ball from last year's event. That ball now has:

Manny Acta
Matt LaPorta
Shin-Soo Choo
Tony Sipp
Joe Charboneau (80 ROY inscription)
Len Barker (P.G. 5-15-81 inscription)

Had I planned ahead, I would've had Charboneau, Hargrove and Barker sign a separate ball so I could have 12 signatures on the 2011 Tribe team ball instead of 9. Oh well, it gives me an excuse to go to more events, signings and games. Thanks for the read, updated pictures will be added Monday!

[Vladfan27]

Here are photos of the signed balls I wrote about Saturday:

Shelley Duncan
Josh Tomlin
Vinnie Pestano
Jack Hannahan


Jason Donald


Jason Kipnis
Josh Judy


Manny Acta


Carlos Santana


I had Acta and Santana sign the ball previously.

Len Barker (on a different Tribe ball, the rest of the signatures can be found at the top of this thread)

[lambeauleap87]

Coming along nicely...why would Donald sign where he did? I really still don't like him, ha. I also noticed Kipnis changed how he signs his last name...I like it!

[Vladfan27]

Coming along nicely...why would Donald sign where he did? I really still don't like him, ha. I also noticed Kipnis changed how he signs his last name...I like it!

I have no idea why he signed it there. I handed him the ball to sign on the same panel as Santana and he turned it around. The signature looks better on the ball in person than in the picture, I will say that.

I did a search of Kipnis' signature and I like his current signature better than the old signature. The black and white photograph you had Kipnis sign in gold looks phenomenal - it will look even better framed!

We'll have to check out a Clippers game this summer, I would like to get some autographs and it sounds like you know the ins and outs of getting autographs at Huntington Park.

[lambeauleap87]

I have no idea why he signed it there. I handed him the ball to sign on the same panel as Santana and he turned it around. The signature looks better on the ball in person than in the picture, I will say that.

I did a search of Kipnis' signature and I like his current signature better than the old signature. The black and white photograph you had Kipnis sign in gold looks phenomenal - it will look even better framed!

We'll have to check out a Clippers game this summer, I would like to get some autographs and it sounds like you know the ins and outs of getting autographs at Huntington Park.

I've always thought lowly of Donald since I got to see him in Columbus...don't have much respect for him anymore, so he probably did it on purpose.

It's not a huge difference, but I can tell since I have six of his signatures in my collection now. I like what he's got going on now the best.

And yeah, I'd love to...I have tickets to a couple games so far in the spring, but I don't plan that far ahead. I'm sure there will be some guys down there that would be worth adding to your 2011 team ball!

[Vladfan27]

I've always thought lowly of Donald since I got to see him in Columbus...don't have much respect for him anymore, so he probably did it on purpose.

It's not a huge difference, but I can tell since I have six of his signatures in my collection now. I like what he's got going on now the best.

And yeah, I'd love to...I have tickets to a couple games so far in the spring, but I don't plan that far ahead. I'm sure there will be some guys down there that would be worth adding to your 2011 team ball!

I don't plan that far ahead either, once baseball season is here we'll talk more. I will probably try to go early in the season, but we'll see what happens.

[Vladfan27]

1 in today:

Earl Averill Jr. - 1/1, signed index card.

Also received back a 2010 Topps Chrome Jason Donald RC that I sent last year during Spring Training. That was a nice surprise.

I plan on attending a few public signings in the next few weeks and will update with pictures once I am back home!

[Vladfan27]

I didn't get to go to the public signings I had planned on making back in February. There are a few more public signings taking place in Northeast Ohio over the next month, and I'm hoping to make a few of them. Will update if I'm able to go!