August 11th Is a Good Day For The Yankees

The past two years, for my birthday, I went to Yankees games, one in New York, the other in Baltimore. In 2013 when I went to a game on my birthday, Alfonso Soriano hit a home run for his 2000th hit. Rivera blew the save and gave up a home run, but in the bottom of the ninth, my favorite player, Brett Gardner, hit a walk off home run! I was so glad that I got to see that, but it doesn't beat what happened exactly one year later. 

This time I was at Camden Yards, and even though the Yankees lost, I got to see Derek Jeter play. After some ruling, and a long confusing story, the hit that passed Honus Wagner was actually on my Birthday, August 11th! It was supposed to be August 8th, but after some ruling, it was changed to August 11th! I didn't realize that until about 10 days later, but still, I think that's really cool! 

I'm going to make another post about my all my signed baseballs later today, or tomorrow.

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Thank you for reading!

Steiner Mess Up

In 2010 (I think) I remembered asking for a a Derek Jeter signed baseball for Christmas. Well, I did get what I wanted, and in 2013 I received a Mariano Rivera signed baseball for Christmas! I was halfway done to completing the full core four set! This Christmas, I got a Jorge Posada signed baseball, and an Andy Pettitte signed baseball. That isn't where the mess up was though. The Posada ball was supposed to come with one of those ball cases, the ones you can get for $15. After, my dad contacted Steiner and told them that we were supposed to get a case, and after they exchanged a couple of emails, they said they would send the case (Finally). Now, the waiting game. A box finally came in the mail, and I looked at it and on the label it said, "Steiner Sports." Oh well their's my case! Even though it looked sort of small to be one, I just sort of put it aside and left it in the box. So when my dad comes home, he told me the case finally came. Okay! He opened it up, and he told me the story, and told me they sent another Jorge Posada signed baseball! Well that was a nice little surprise!

Now I have all of the core four! I've been wanting to get some pictures up for a while now, so I think tomorrow might be a good day. I now have 15 autographed baseballs, 4 autographed bats (one game used),  5 autographed jerseys, and a pair of game used batting gloves! I actually never knew I had that many baseballs until I checked. I think it's time to take a little break from baseball stuff, and put some of my money towards charity. I've had quite a week! 

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Thank you for reading and don't forget to check out my 100th post contest!

Top 5 Players To Ever Play The Game - #3

#4 - Pete Rose - The Hit King - "Charlie Hustle"

Having the most hits in MLB history, there was absolutely no way I could leave Pete Rose off the list. One of the best players to ever play the game (obviously since he's on my list) and he always played his hardest every day. He's on top of the list in 3 different categories: Games played, plate appearances, and of course, hits. For a good portion of his career, he either played all 162 games, or very close to that. He one rookie of the year in 1963 and batted .273, but that was only the start of a great career. 10 years later, he would win an MVP award, leading the league in 4 different categories. Although he was a fantastic player, he never hit more than 16 home runs in a season, and hit only 160 home runs in his career over 24 seasons. Pete Rose deserves to be in the hall of fame, even though he did bet on baseball. How can you keep one of the best players out of the hall of fame? Unlike Barry Bonds, their is no doubt that Rose should be in the hall.

MAB Pinstripe Pandemonium Show

Today, I went to the MAB Pinstripe Pandemonium Show. Let me just start off by saying, I had an awesome time! I'm halfway through all my tests and such, so maybe it was good to have a mini expensive break. On top of meeting all the players, I got to meet Drew (drewscards) which made my trip 100 times better! Here is everything that I got:

The first player I met is the only pitcher to ever pitch a perfect game in the Postseason, Don Larsen! I just asked him to inscribe it, "To Frankie," but he also put his perfect game inscription on there too which was really nice of him! The ball turned out fantastic, and it's probably the best looking signed baseball in my collection as of now. It's gonna be pretty hard to top that though!

Larsen took his time signing the baseball, and it was well worth the time. Don Larsen was also the first Yankees player that I got on my Gehrig jersey, which I was very happy about. 

Don Larsen was really nice, and it looked like he had a good time with everybody! 

I also had a photo opportunity with Larsen. I don't think I really needed it, but I got an 8x10 printed out there, which I would have had Larsen sign, but since the I did this after, it was a little hard. Plus, I would've had to spend another $60 or so.

Tino Martinez was one of nicest guys there. My mom was telling him how excited I was to see him, and that I loved doing this kind of stuff. He said Thank you so much a couple of times, and he was just a fantastic guy. 

Another picture of Tino.

This is when he was doing the photo opportunity's with everybody, my mom managed to get a pretty good picture of Tino.

I asked him to sign this jersey, and It turned out great! 

Tino signed it on the 4 of the jersey, signed his name and wrote, "To Frankie Best Wishes." When I get this hung up, It's gonna look great! 

Since Ron Guidry wasn't there, I had some extra cash, so I bought a ticket to see Wade Boggs instead. Boggs was really nice, but it doesn't get anywhere near Tino Martinez or Don Larsen. Since Wade Boggs had already finished signing, I had to go in the back room where all the players sign additional stuff. 

Wade signed a bat I got, that was supposed to be for Leyritz, but since Boggs is in the HOF, I had to make a change. The bat came out great!

Here's the bat - I couldn't take a picture of the full bat, it was too big.

Next up was John Wetteland. Right when we walked up to him, my mom said, "My son was telling me all about you." He said he was the unknown, which is sorta true. Right after Wetteland came Rivera, and as soon as Rivera came, everybody forgot about Wetteland. 

This is a picture of Wetteland signing my Gehrig jersey. I had to pay for an extra ticket for him to sign both the ball and jersey, which was a little letdown. Still, I'm happy to have Wetteland on my jersey!

Wetteland also signed this ball, and unlike most players, his signature is very nice. I'm actually surprised by the number of baseballs I got signed today, I usually get bats or jerseys, or something other than baseballs. 

The next player I met was Jim Leyritz! Leyritz was actually a really nice guy, even know he did kill someone and was linked to HGH. Even though I never saw Jim play, he's one of my favorite players. He always got big hits when the Yankees needed them.

I also had a photo opportunity with Leyritz. 

Jim Leyritz was saying bye to Don Larsen and telling him what an honor it was to see him. 

Jim Leyritz signed this baseball and inscribed it, "Last HR Of The Century." Leyritz was one of few that signed two items with one ticket. Overall, I had a great experience with Jim Leyritz.

Fritz Peterson was a super nice guy! He asked me why I was on crutches, told me to fell better, and we actually talked for a while. I felt like he was the most, "normal," player. I don't know if that makes any sense, but their are some players that are full of themselves, and their are some players that you would have never known they played baseball. Peterson was one of the nicest guys there!

Here he is signing my jersey. He also wrote, "get well," which was awesome! I didn't ask him to, or want him to, but in the end, I'm glad he did! I feel like that made the jersey a lot more special.

He even waved for a picture! Fritz Peterson was a really nice guy, and I'm so glad I paid the $20 to see him!

Chris Chambliss certainly wasn't the best player I met, but he was nice. He asked me why I was on crutches, and was very nice. I did have to pay extra to get two items signed, but If it's Chris Chambliss, of course I have to pay. My mom was saying how I was telling her all about him, and he said, "I'm surprised you remember that!"

Here he is signing the photo, which turned out really nice! 

I'm using my iphone that I never use to take all my pictures. There's a small glare on the photo, but even without the glare, it doesn't show how great it looks in person. It looks perfect! 

I also had a photo opportunity with Chambliss!

The last player I was going to see was Lee Smith! I had to wait a while for him, but it was well worth the wait, as it is with most players. Lee Smith wasn't as nice as Tino, Don, and Peterson, but he was still a really nice guy! 

Smith signed this ball for me since I didn't have anything else for him to sign. The ball turned out great! 

So far, I have Larsen, Martinez, Boggs, Wetteland, Leyritz, Peterson, and Chambliss on my jersey! So far, it looks great! The only problem is, I have to pay extra for the players to sign a jersey or bat, which I never thought of. Hopefully the line of signatures will straighten out and form a straight line! 

Here's a closeup of the jersey.

Overall, I had a fantastic time at the show, and brought home some awesome memorabilia! I also met Drew which was also a lot of fun, and we talked for a while. I didn't talk a whole lot, although I did try, my mom did most of the talking for me. meeting Drew made the show a whole lot better, and it's great to talk to somebody who knows and talks baseball! Most of my family doesn't really watch baseball, even though I have every game on every day. I had a great time Drew and hopefully we'll see each other at some other show at some other time! 

I can't say it enough. I had a fantastic time, and just had a great day in general! I've never met so many Yankees players in one day, and hopefully i'll be able to complete my Gehrig jersey in the many years to come! 

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Thank you for reading! 

Rest In Peace Ernie Banks

Ernie Banks

Mr. Cub

A Legend

A Class Act

Rest In Peace

#14

You Will Be Missed

Top 5 Players To Ever Play The Game - #4

#4 - Lou Gehrig - "The Iron Horse"

If it weren't for the deadly disease he contracted known as ALS, or Lou Gehrigs disease, Gehrig would have been at the top of many lists. He ended his career with 2721 hits, which still is second, next to Derek Jeter who had 3465 hits. Lou Gehrig played his last game at the age of 35, and without his shortened career, he probably would've played past the age of 40. That's another 6 years added to his career, each year with 200 hits. He might have even made it to 4000 hits! Plus, his home run total would've been at least 600, probably even more. When you look at it that way, it's crazy to think he would have been an even better player then he already was! The way his career was going, he would have more hits then Derek Jeter, maybe more home runs then Babe Ruth, and would've gone down as one of the best players in MLB history. Just imagine what could have happened. Gehrig most certainly deserves a spot on this list. He wasn't like Ruth, who wasn't the nicest player. Gehrig was full of class. I can't say anything since I didn't see him play, as most bloggers didn't, but it's safe to say he deserves #4. 

Top 5 MLB Players To Ever Play The Game - #5

This is all %100 opinion. Here they are! 

#5-Barry Bonds

The home run king has to be on my list. You can say all the bad things you want about him, but with the most home runs, of course he's one of the best. Bonds holds the record for most home runs, walks, and of course, intentional walks. He was sort of like Thome, with the intimidating stare. In his early days, he hit around 25-30 home runs a season, but as he got into his Giants days, he had more power, hitting a league leading 46 home runs in his first year on the Giants. It wasn't his power that got him 762 home runs, it was his consistency. He was consistent every year, and Bonds never missed a beat. He also never missed a mistake. Not only was he all of that, he had insanely good hand and eye coordination. Steroids don't magically make you hit 73 home runs in a season, or give you the ability to even hit a baseball. Even that takes a lot of skill, and Bonds had all of the skill a player would need. The only reason he's only #5, is because of steroids. Barry Bonds was one of the most intimidating, scariest, and best players. Bonds would give pitchers nightmares even thinking about him.