Chitownautos 2018 IP Success Thread

[chitownautos]

Saturday, May 26, 2018
Hall of Fame Classic - Doubleday Field (Cooperstown, NY) - 49 Autographs (On the Go)

David Riske (Boston Red Sox) - 4/4 Cards
Michael Barrett (Washington Nationals) - 4/4 Cards
Jeremy Guthrie (Kansas City Royals) - 3/3 Cards
Goose Gossage (New York Yankees) - 2/2 ROMLBs
Todd Zeile (New York Mets) - 2/2 Cards
Tim Crabtree (Texas Rangers) - 3/3 Cards
Andy Sonnanstine (Tampa Bay Rays) - 4/4 Cards
Sam LeCure (Cincinnati Reds) 4/4 Cards
Ryan Rowland-Smith (Seattle Mariners) - 4/4 Cards
Rollie Fingers (Oakland Athletics) - 1/1 ROMLB, 1/1 Card
Kelly Johnson (Atlanta Braves) - 2/2 Cards
Jack Wilson (Pittsburgh Pirates) - 4/4 Cards
Larry Bigbie (Baltimore Orioles) - 4/4 Cards
Terrance Long (Oakland Athletics) - 1/1 Card
John McDonald (Cleveland Indians) - 4/4 Cards
Kevin Gross (Los Angeles Dodgers) 2/2 Cards

I recently graduated college in May from the University of Illinois. The last class I took was a sports management road trip class that took us all across the East Coast visiting sports related attractions and facilities. One of the stops was to Cooperstown, NY for the 2018 Hall of Fame Classic, which is an exhibition game with former MLB players taking the field. Each of the 30 teams had one former player, most of whom recently retired within the last 10 years or so and Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Eddie Murray, Ozzie Smith, Tim Raines, and Gaylord Perry serving as coaches. I wasn't able to graph the full weekend since it was a class trip so my time was limited, but I did pretty well in the time that I had in Cooperstown.

During warmups, I was able to get David Riske on 4 cards, Michael Barrett on 4 cards, Jeremy Guthrie on 3 cards, Goose Gossage on a ROMLB, and Todd Zeile on 2 cards. Once the game started, I moved around the stadium as players signed sporadically. I started by the bullpens as the bullpen guys were signing in between innings. By the bullpens I got Tim Crabtree on 3 cards, Andy Sonnanstine on 4 cards, Sam LeCure on 4 cards, and Ryan Rowland-Smith on 4 cards. Rollie Fingers signed about once an inning and Goose Gossage signed literally every half inning. Fingers and Gossage had huge crowds every time they picked up a pen. Fingers ran with a sharpie one half inning so I stuck a card out and got that signed and then the next inning I get Gossage again on a ROMLB. Once the game ended, I got 2 cards signed by Kelly Johnson by the dugout. I then went over to the player exit and saw Fingers again, this time running with a pen, so I was able to get a ROMLB signed. I also got Jack Wilson on 4 cards and Larry Bigbie on 4 cards on their way out.

At night, there was an event called Night at the Museum where all the players and Hall of Famers went to the museum and took photos with fans. This was strictly a photo-only event with no autos, with all the players scattered throughout the museum. I got pictures with Fingers, Gossage, Murray, Smith, Raines and all the other former players. All the players were very friendly and talking with all the fans. I think the fact that no one was hounding for autos played a big part in how friendly they were, and I myself had a great experience just talking and taking photos and not worrying about autos. After the event I waited by the exit to see if any of the players would sign, and was able to get Terrance Long on a card, John McDonald on 4 cards, and Kevin Gross on 2 cards. Overall, I got 49 autographs in total, 46 on cards and 3 ROMLBs, and also got some photos that I'll end up remembering more than the autographs.

YEAR TO DATE: 78
SIT DOWN - 25
ON THE GO - 53

[camsue]

Very nice congrats

[chitownautos]

Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates - PNC Park (Pittsburgh, PA) - 1 Autograph (On the Go)

Albert Almora Jr. (Chicago Cubs) - 1/1 Card

I visited Pittsburgh for the first time and was able to watch a game at PNC Park, my 6th MLB stadium that I've visited in my life. Pregame I was able to get Cubs outfielder Albert Almora Jr. an a card. A very nice stadium overall with a beautiful scenery of downtown Pittsburgh.

YEAR TO DATE: 79
SIT DOWN: 25
ON THE GO: 54

[chitownautos]

Sunday, June 24, 2018
Oakland Athletics vs. Chicago White Sox - Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago, IL) - 12 Autographs (On the Go)

Jose Abreu (Chicago White Sox) - 1/1 ROMLB
Darrin Jackson (Chicago White Sox) - 4/4 Cards
Ken "Hawk" Harrelson (Chicago White Sox) - 1/1 ROMLB
Yolmer Sanchez (Chicago White Sox) - 1/1 8x10 Photo
Avisail Garcia (Chicago White Sox) - 1/1 ROMLB
Chris Volstad (Chicago White Sox) - 4/4 ROMLB

It's been a slow autograph year, but I've been trying to graph as much as my schedule allows me. I went to the Oakland Athletics vs Chicago White Sox game and did a lot of graphing inside and outside the stadium. Jose Abreu is always one of the first to arrive at the park, so I got to the stadium super early to try to get him. Abreu is usually hit or miss, but he signed today and I got him on a ROMLB sweet spot. He side paneled, but I'm still super excited to get him. Also got former players and current broadcasters Darrin Jackson on 4 cards and Ken "Hawk" Harrelson on a ROMLB with a "He Gone" inscription. Inside the stadium down the foul line I got Yolmer Sanchez on an 8x10 photo and Avisail Garcia on a ROMLB sweet spot. Postgame didn't stay very long but saw Chris Volstad and he signed 4 cards and was super chill. Overall, I got 12 signatures on the day.

YEAR TO DATE: 91
SIT DOWN: 25
ON THE GO: 66

[chitownautos]

Saturday, June 30, 2018
Player Appearance - Jewel Osco (Chicago, IL) - 3 Autographs (Sit Down)

Ryne Sandberg (Chicago Cubs) - 1/1 ROMLB, 1/1 HOF ROMLB, 1/1 2016 WS ROMLB

Chicago Cubs legend and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg was doing a signing at a local grocery store near Wrigley Field. He was a class act, and I got him on 3 different ROMLBs with the purchase of a bottle of Jim Beam that he was promoting. One baseball was just a regular ROMLB and he signed sweet spot with "HOF 05" inscription. The next baseball was a Hall of Fame logo baseball, and signed underneath the logo and also added the "HOF 05" inscription. The last baseball was a 2016 World Series where he signed underneath the logo and added "Game 5 First Pitch" inscription as he threw out the first pitch that game. I got three autos from the HOFer all for the cost of a bottle of Jim Beam.

YEAR TO DATE: 94
SIT DOWN: 28
ON THE GO: 66

[chitownautos]

Friday, July 6, 2018
Cleburne Railroaders vs. Chicago Dogs - Impact Field (Rosemont, IL) - 5 Autographs (On the Go)

Rafael Palmeiro (Cleburne Railroaders) - 3/3 ROMLBs, 2/2 Cards

I recently went to the Cleburne Railroaders vs. Chicago Dogs baseball game of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. The Chicago Dogs are in their first season playing in a brand new stadium. Former MLB slugger and juicer Rafael Palmeiro currently plays for Cleburne with his son, Patrick, which was the main reason I went to the game. I have heard that Palmeiro has been signing a lot in this league, so I couldn't pass up the chance to get a player with over 500 HRs and 3000 hits. Palmeiro was in a hurry pre-game but said he would sign for everyone after the game, and he stayed true to his word. At first he was only signing one per person, but eventually he was signing everything that everyone had. I was able to get 3 ROMLBs and 2 cards signed by the end of the night. Palmeiro probably signed for a good 20 minutes after the game.

YEAR TO DATE: 99
SIT DOWN: 28
ON THE GO: 71

[chitownautos]

Friday, July 27, 2018
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Chicago White Sox - Guaranteed Rate Field (Chicago, IL) - 2 Autographs (On the Go)

Nicky Delmonico (Chicago White Sox) - 2/2 Cards

I went to the Toronto Blue Jays vs. Chicago White Sox game over the weekend and was able to get White Sox LF Nicky Delmonico on 2 cards pre-game down the line. Delmonico is a great signer and always friendly toward fans.

YEAR TO DATE: 101
SIT DOWN: 28
ON THE GO: 73

[chitownautos]

Saturday, July 28, 2018 - Sunday, July 29, 2018
2018 Chicago Blackhawks Convention - Hilton Chicago (Chicago, IL) - 12 Autographs (2 Sit Down, 10 On the Go)

Patrick Sharp - 1/1 Puck
Alex DeBrincat - 1/1 8x10 Photo, 1/1 8x10 Photo
Adam Burish - 1/1 8x10 Photo
Corey Crawford - 1/1 8x10 Photo
Gustav Forsling - 2/2 8x10 Photos
Carl Dahlstrom - 1/1 Puck
Luke Johnson - 1/1 Puck
Dennis Hull - 1/1 Puck
John McDonough - 1/1 Puck
Marcus Kruger - 1/1 8x10 Photo

Time for my yearly Chicago Blackhawks Convention recap. I wasn't able to go to the 2018 Convention the whole weekend, but I did pretty well considering I only spent a couple hours there. I didn't go on Friday as I went to the White Sox game instead with some friends that was planned in advance. On Saturday, I went down to the hotel in the morning and waited outside by the entrance for about an hour. Immediately when I got there I saw 3x Stanley Cup Champ Patrick Sharp signing and I got him on a Blackhawks logo puck. A couple minutes later I got rising star Alex DeBrincat on an 8x10 photo and former player Adam Burish on an 8x10 photo. Next comes a really cool part. I got Corey Crawford to sign an 8x10 photo. The photo shows Crawford at the 2013 Blackhawks Rally, where a drunk Crawford is holding a celebratory team belt and screams "™™™™g right Chicago!" Long story short I've been trying to get Crawford to sign this photo for years, and he's denied me every time saying he can't sign that photo. Not sure if he was embarrassed by the photo or just doesn't remember that day in general lol. Well this time he glanced at it for a couple seconds and finally signed it and I was ecstatic. It's already framed and hanging on my wall. On Sunday I was able to get a Convention pass off a friend who couldn't go that day. I waited outside again and got DeBrincat on another 8x10 photo and Gustav Forsling on 2 8x10 photos. The only autograph session I went to was with 2 prospects, Carl Dahlstrom and Luke Johnson, who should both see some time in Chicago next season. They each signed a Blackhawks logo puck for me. Walking back around the hotel after I spotted former player Dennis Hull and President/CEO John McDonough and I got both of them on logo pucks. I waited by the exit a little longer and got current then former now current player again Marcus Kruger on an 8x10 photo. I'm happy with the results given the abbreviated time I put into the weekend.

YEAR TO DATE: 113
SIT DOWN: 30
ON THE GO: 83

[Atlantaman]

Awesome haul with the Blackhawks!

[chitownautos]

Saturday, August 4, 2018
Chicago Bears Training Camp - Olivet Nazarene University (Bourbonnais, IL) - 4 Autographs (On the Go)

Mitchell Trubisky - 2/2 8x10 Photos
Kevin White - 2/2 Cards

Football is back! I went to the Chicago Bears Training Camp in Bourbonnais, IL and was able to get some autographs after practice. I brought some photos of the bigger name guys and also brought a canvas for the rest of the team. There are basically four different sections that fans can wait to get autographs. Around me, mostly smaller named players signed, and the majority of them won't be on the team come Week 1 so I didn't get any of them. Head Coach Matt Nagy and General Manager Ryan Pace were great and signed for anyone who wanted an autograph. I got both to sign my canvas, which I will try to turn into a team piece. I was also able to get 2 cards signed by former 1st round pick Kevin White. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky was absolutely phenomenal. He easily spent around 45 minutes signing and probably signed for around 300 people. He hit every single kid in the kids area and signed for the majority of the adult fans too. I was able to get him to sign 2 8x10 photos. He also has a great looking signature. Easily got the loudest cheer from the fans of any player and he easily signed the most out of any player.

YEAR TO DATE: 117
SIT DOWN: 30
ON THE GO: 87