Mine and Maven's 2012 Texas Rangers team autograph projects, FINALLY got Nelson Cruz today :)
thenavarro
Posts: 7,497 ✭✭✭
Although the Rangers were beaten by two touchdowns tonight, Maven and I had our usual good time at the game. She wanted to go early and get autographs and eat at the Cuervo Club (a restaurant in the stadium) so we were there when the gates opened at 4:30. Maven's project is a hat that was previously signed by Nellie Cruz for her, and mine is a very large, leather baseball glove. We both want to get our stuff signed by the whole team this year. Maven got seven autographs tonight for her hat, and I was able to add 5 autographs tonight to my large glove. We both were able to get Darvish tonight. The hitters weren't out for batting practice as they decided to take the day off, or we would have really gotten a bunch. Ichiro signed today too, but he's on the wrong team so we didn't bother with him 
Here's Maven with her hat and my glove:
Here's her graphs:
Here's my graphs:
Gary Pettis (coach)
David Murphy, Colby Lewis, Brandon Snyder, Ron Washington (Manager)
Koji Uehara, Mark Lowe
Yu Darvish
Joe Nathan, Alberto Gonzalez, Mike Adams
Yoshi Tateyama, Scott Coolbaugh (coach)
Here's Maven with her hat and my glove:
Here's her graphs:
Here's my graphs:
Gary Pettis (coach)
David Murphy, Colby Lewis, Brandon Snyder, Ron Washington (Manager)
Koji Uehara, Mark Lowe
Yu Darvish
Joe Nathan, Alberto Gonzalez, Mike Adams
Yoshi Tateyama, Scott Coolbaugh (coach)
Buying US Presidential autographs
0
Comments
What I'm selling
Building Sets, Collecting Texas Rangers, and Texas Tech Red Raiders
Josh has signed twice at the tunnel in the last few games and Beltre signed at the tunnel a game last home stand, but it's just too hot right now to subject my daughter to 4 hours of tunnel waiting. We left pretty early tonight when it was 16 to 0 as I don't mind seeing them get beat, but I despise when multi millionaires play so incompetently like they were doing. Yeah, the picnic should help a great deal on knocking off a lot of the tough ones
Mike
Cool pieces you both have there, that glove is huge!
"Live everyday, don't throw it away"
Yeah, the glove is big. When I take it up there, I always take it back out to my car before the game starts so I don't have to lug it around all night and spill nacho cheese on it!
Mike
<< <i>Thanks Mike,
Yeah, the glove is big. When I take it up there, I always take it back out to my car before the game starts so I don't have to lug it around all night and spill nacho cheese on it!
Mike >>
You're fortunate in that you can do that in Arlington. Some stadiums (Camden Yards included) will not let you leave once you've entered (unless you have another ticket to get you back in).
IMF
<< <i>I always take it back out to my car before the game starts.
Some stadiums (Camden Yards included) will not let you leave once you've entered (unless you have another ticket to get you back in). IMF >>
Welcome to NEW YORK. I think EVERY stadium around here will not let you back in unless you have another ticket.
PS. Mike ... when I saw the score of last night's game at the end of 3 innings, I was going to start a thread saying I hope Mike and Maven were NOT at the game ... oh well .. at least you got to see a lot of scoring! Glad the two of you were able to add to your hat and glove.
PPS. I'd ask DPECK if that glove would have fit Andre the Giant ... man, that guy had HUGE mitts!
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
<< <i>Matt
Josh has signed twice at the tunnel in the last few games and Beltre signed at the tunnel a game last home stand, but it's just too hot right now to subject my daughter to 4 hours of tunnel waiting. We left pretty early tonight when it was 16 to 0 as I don't mind seeing them get beat, but I despise when multi millionaires play so incompetently like they were doing. Yeah, the picnic should help a great deal on knocking off a lot of the tough ones
Mike >>
When you say signed at the tunnel, I assume you are referring to before the game right? I have yet to catch anyone after a game. It's really hard for me to get out there except Saturday and Sunday.
What I'm selling
Building Sets, Collecting Texas Rangers, and Texas Tech Red Raiders
<< <i>
When you say signed at the tunnel, I assume you are referring to before the game right? I have yet to catch anyone after a game. It's really hard for me to get out there except Saturday and Sunday. >>
Yes sir, before the game. If I go, I get there about noon and they filter through up till about 4:15 or so for the games that start at 7:05. After the game, I've only known Robbie Ross to stop and sign periodically. However, even before games, they are not as good as they used to be about stopping to sign. From what I understand from talking with some of my friends that graph the tunnel, some days are a shutout now, or 1 to 2. It's not like the mid 90's when I'd go and be the only one out there and would have 10-15 stop every day. There are too many graphers now that show up so if they happen to stop to sign, you get a line of 20-30 or more at their car. If I was them, I wouldn't stop either. Many times in the 90's I'd be the only one there and it would be quite easy to get them.
Mike
What I'm selling
Building Sets, Collecting Texas Rangers, and Texas Tech Red Raiders
Justin
Retired - Eddie Mathews Master Registry Set (96.36%) Rank 1
Here's a couple of pics from tonight.
Maven and Wash developing the game plan (It worked, Darvish pitched 8 strong innings and struckout 11 in the victory)
With Darvish's 8th victory, he must be getting the big head by now
Here's my graphs.
Adrian Beltre
Leonys Martin
and here's Maven's hat as it now stands:
Here's the graphs I got last week:
Robbie Ross
Scott Feldman
Hamilton!!!!! Staying tuned in....
"Live everyday, don't throw it away"
Tanner Scheppers
and Tanner Scheppers on Maven's hat
Mike Napoli is signing tonight, but it's a paid signing and I'm not too gung ho on paying for these guys when I can catch them at the park hopefully. About the only extra benefit of a paid signing is that more than likely we'd be able to take a photo with him. I've got about 30 minutes to decide whether or not to start getting ready to go as it's about an hours drive away.
Mike
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
<< <i>Mike ... and be honest ... how long did it take for you to finish that donut? LOL >>
Doug,
So far I haven't succumbed to the temptation. Maven won't be home until tomorrow from visiting my niece this weekend, and I want to share it with her. She'll love that!
Mike
<< <i>When I got home from graphing today, my beautiful wife (not to be confused with my ugly wife) gave me this huge donut (shown next to a standard sized bottled water for size comparison purposes) Gotta love Texas, LOL!
Mike >>
I'm still perplexed about this two wives thing. Which of the two likes the beads? And have you been able to keep one from finding out about the other? I didn't realize that you had moved to Utah...
Congrats on adding to the autograph project!!!
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Collecting:
Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
Mike
Martin Perez
Matt Harrison
Neftali Feliz
Justin Grimm
2nd Joe Nathan
During the game, my boyhood idol, former Rangers catcher Jim Sundberg was visiting a couple that sits a couple rows behind us, and we waited for him to finish his visit and as he was leaving, asked to get a photo with him, and he signed my old school Rangers hat as well. We chatted a minute and he was a neat guy.
And unless you are local you probably won't know who these two girls are, but we spied them while we were getting an ice cream and Maven wanted a pic with them. The Fox Sports Southwest girls, Kaime and Liddy
And a Rangers win to top it off!
Congrats on meeting Sundberg!!! He was a great defensive catcher in his day and definitely underappreciated.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."
Collecting:
Any unopened Baseball cello and rack packs and boxes from the 1970's and early 1980s.
I love reading your posts and seeing what you and Maven get each time you two go out. Keep up the great work and keep making even greater memories.
IMF
Some of the guys are usually much easier to get on the road, so I sent it up to try. The main one I hope to get in Seattle is Michael Young, as he is dang near impossible down here, however it was not to be on day 1. However, still a couple more tries left.
Stoked to get Josh out of the way though and the game looks good so far, 3 to 0 Texas in the 7th.
Mike
33 Rangers have made an appearance in a game this year, and I've now gotten 26 of them on my glove.
Still missing:
Elvis Andrus, Shortstop
Nelson Cruz, Right Field
Derek Holland, pitcher
Ian Kinsler, 2nd base
Mike Napoli, jack of all trades, catcher, 1st base, DH
Alexi Ogando, pitcher
Yorvit Torrealba, catcher
I now have 4 of the 7 coaches on the glove and am still missing:
Mike Maddux - pitching coach (pretty tough to get, he signed on the last homestand but I had already shipped my glove to Seattle, aarrgghhh)
Dave Anderson - third base coach
Andy Hawkins - Bullpen coach
I might end up adding GM John Daniels and CEO & President Nolan Ryan, but I haven't decided yet. Both of those guys have had an instrumental part in building this team and it's success, so I'll probably add them.
The season ticket holders picnic in a couple weeks should be instrumental in helping me complete the glove. We'll see.
Mike
On my big glove, I was able to add Mike Maddux, who is a very tough coach autograph. Got denied by GM Jon Daniels who was too busy texting to bother with graphs, and got denied by Nolan, but that's ok, I'll get him eventually.
I also started another project since I'm out there so much and got Yu Darvish, Mike Adams, and Martin Perez to sign an official major league ball that has already been autographed by Ron Washington, Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, David Murphy, Mike Napoli, Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, Alexi Ogando. I figured I might as well get another team item while I'm at it.
Here's some pics from the day, as well as of the sigs I've added since my last picture update:
Me posing in the Rangers dugout using my big glove to cover my big gut,
Me and Yu, he's the guy to the right warming up
The glove and Maven's hat hanging out by the game towels
A random shot from inside the park
Maven's hat as it now stands, it's running out of room to sign and Josh signed it inside of Yu's big curve in his first name (at least he didn't write over Yu)
Josh Hamilton
Coach Jackie Moore
The elusive Michael Young
Michael Kirkman
Coach Mike Maddux
Mitch Moreland
Roy Oswalt
I'm pulling for the Rangers this year & hope they win it all for ya!
<< <i>Wow, how did you get in the dugout?
I'm pulling for the Rangers this year & hope they win it all for ya! >>
It was season ticket holder picnic day yesterday.
What I'm selling
Building Sets, Collecting Texas Rangers, and Texas Tech Red Raiders
<< <i>Wow, how did you get in the dugout?
I'm pulling for the Rangers this year & hope they win it all for ya! >>
The Rangers roll out the red carpet for the season ticket holder picnic. They open up the facilities. Free autographs. Chalk talks with the GM Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan. All you can eat potato salad, barbecue beans, barbecue beef, and chicken, with all the fixins, sodas and water. They also had a lot of alumni autographs but I didn't bother with those. That's one of the big things I love about the Rangers, is that this ownership group seems to want the fans to have a good experience.
I went with my son tonight for the first time this year to the game. He doesn't like baseball, but he loves to eat, LOL, so I traded a couple of my usual seats and got him a set of all you can eat seats. We got there when the gates opened as usual, and he got a free giveaway Elvis Andrus jersey for his sister (he's a good kid and he knew he wouldn't wear one, so he got one in her size for her). We went down to get graphs, and his eyes were opened when Josh barked at us a couple times and told us all to "ssssshhhhhhh" as he held his finger up to his mouth when we were calling his name. I think my son was offended that someone we were paying to watch would do that. Anyways, we managed to get Yorvit Torrealba on my glove, and he got Maven's hat signed for her as well.
Before leaving for the game, I erased the Joe Nathan signature that was on my glove in silver (I got him to sign in black sharpie as well), and Yorvit signed in that spot where the silver Nathan was. Looks really good, and much better then the silver Nathan. Now the signatures on the glove all match.
Great game, good food, a night of laughing and joking with my son, a stellar outing by Scott Feldman, and a Rangers win. All in all, a great time.
Yorvit Torrealba
I think I would have felt the same way your son did. Why would he act like that, shhhhhhhing the loyal fans?
After all he went through you'd think he'd be a little less egomaniac & more down to earth, especially around kids.
He does live like a King after all.
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
34 down and 8 players and 1 coach to go, I still need:
Elvis Andrus (real friendly, willl throw you baseballs, jokes, etc, doesn't sign too much)
Ian Kinsler (relatively tough to get)
Nelson Cruz (signs a lot, just haven't been in the right place at the right time yet)
Mike Napoli (signs a lot, just haven't been in the right place at the right time yet)
Geovanny Soto (early indications are that he signs easily)
Ryan Dempster (early indications are that he signs easily)
Mike Olt (signs a lot)
Louis Martinez (in minors now, might have to make a 2 and a half hour drive to get him, but that's ok cause I think he plays in Round Rock, which is where they have those big donuts)
3rd base coach, Dave Anderson (I need to famillarize myself with what he looks like, haven't tried to get him yet)
Maven getting ready to graph:
Derek Holland signing:
Alexi Ogando signing:
Holland sig:
Ogando sig:
Andy Hawkins (bullpen coach)
<< <i>Andy Hawkins? The same guy who pitched the craziest no-hitter in history Andy Hawkins? >>
Yep, that's him. Seems to be a nice guy. He also has a World Series victory on his resume, and according to Wiki, he gave up 18 earned runs in one inning combined in 3 total starts in Fenway Park !
Always wondered about that! Lol
As usual, the Rangers administration is very fan friendly, and they had free signings with the alumni before the game. I decided to pass on the others and made sure I was in Nolan's line in time. Afterall, it won't be a complete team glove, without the team President (helps that he is a HOF'er as well)
Here's a video of Nolan signing my glove and his classic Texas drawl. After he signs it and hands it back, you can hear him say something along the lines of you gotta be mighty strong to use a glove that big or something like that. I'm the voice you hear say "knuckleball glove" and indicating that we were about to meet the great Nolan Ryan, LOL.
I'm not smart enough to figure out how to link the video but maybe this works
Here's the sig, it's a little shaky, but it's Nolan:
Of course, I had to celebrate with a great dinner, that's fries smothered with chili, barbecue briscuit, grilled onions, cheese, and jalapeno's, and a hot dog for an appetizer:
The Rangers played the game in their old school 1976 Powder Blue throwback jerseys (which I loved and bought one for myself, and a tshirt for Maven), and pulled out the win in the ninth with a walk off single from the newest Ranger Mike Olt. Great night.
I think you have a true 1/1 with that autographed glove there!
Save some of that food for me.
www.questfortherookiecup.com
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
Here's the All Time Rangers (most of them seem to have aged pretty well)
Here's Holland (who pitched an outstanding game with the exception of a leadoff homer) getting Prince Fielder to hit a weak ground ball out:
Here's Hamilton batting against Verlander:
And here's Maven's favorite player donning the powder blue, "Nellie" Nelson Cruz:
What I'm selling
Building Sets, Collecting Texas Rangers, and Texas Tech Red Raiders
My normal seats are about 2 sections over and another 15 rows up as well. Maven and I sit in Section 123 Row 35 Seats 1 and 2. Sounds like we have the same view just opposite side of the Cuervo club as you do. Feel free to come say hello and we can share a boomstick meal or something one game. We usually make it out to 1 out of every 4 or so. Not going today as I traded today's seats for all you can eat seats last home stand. I'll pm you the dates I think we will be there later tonite or in a couple days. We've only got a 1/2 season and share them with a friend and his son
Your program looks great! I intended to take my Ryan/Ventura fight photo that was already signed by them both in order to get Pudge yesterday on it as well as I've never seen all 3 on it, but I realized on the drive up that I forgot it and I wasn't turning around to go get it as I live in Waxahachie
Mike
<< <i>Is that Fergie Jenkins in that picture? >>
Which picture? He wasn't there Saturday if that's the pics you are referring to, but he is pictured on that program that Matt posted.
Maven starts school again next week, so this was probably our last opportunity to go really early together to get autographs, so of course we got there early. I was able to nab Olt and Dempster on my big glove to get ever closer to completion and Maven was able to add several as well. We also decided to get her photo with some of the easier to get guys for her to have.
Here she is with Mike Adams:
Here she is with Tanner Scheppers:
Here she is after talking with Joe Nathan and getting him to sign one of our team balls and harassing him a little bit about "just one more", you can kind of see him smiling and Maven grinning very proud of herself for getting him again
Here's Michael Kirkman signing her hat before we got the bright idea of asking them to take pictures with her:
Next up, Maven has been wanting us to try (and me too admittedly) the BOOMSTICK, the new culinary delight at the ballpark that is named after Nelson Cruz's bat, LOL. So her and I ordered this monstrosity:
After what seemed like an eternity, we finished it and here she is proudly shoveling in the last bite:
After the big dog, we toyed with the idea of leaving, as neither one of us really felt real well, but we did stay to watch the victory. We had an ex NY Yankee sitting by Maven during the game, (supposedly, I didn't recognize him and didn't want to ask who he was, but heard him talking to the kids in front of us about it, claimed he was an ex backup catcher) we did ask to see one of his World Series rings, and that was pretty neat. Ring was HUGE and full of bling. During the game, a guy named Jim Knox (who does the Rangers post game show) came to our section and Maven asked him how to be "Whataburger Fan of the Game" which is a bit that he does, and he said they already had one, but that if she wanted to be on TV, to come to the post game show in centerfield and that he would put us on. Her and I took my big glove and her hat to the post game show and true to his word, he did a short segment and we were both on TV and he really loved the glove, as when we came on camera, he got it from me and carried it around the whole bit and then brought it back and we were on camera again cheering and hollering for the Rangers. Got the whole bit on DVR at the house, as since I knew we were going to be on, I called my wife and had her tape it. Great night and on the way home, Maven said it was the "best time at the best game yet". I loved to hear that as she's a great kid and we have a blast together.