Monday, September 1, 2014

Autograph Adventures: Brooklyn Cyclones 8/28/14

I probably mentioned this already, but I'm back in Albany. During my first week of class, I fit in time to catch the Tri-City ValleyCats game against the Brooklyn Cyclones (Mets affiliate). I hadn't been to a ValleyCats game in about a year, and it was good to be back.

Due to my class schedule, I didn't arrive until the 2nd inning. I got the cheapest ticket possible ($6) and saw some of my friends at the game. The game itself was a tight one, but the ValleyCats ended up winning the game in walk off fashion to win their division. In the game, the Cyclones committed SIX errors, including two in the 9th inning, to pretty much choke the game away to their counterparts. 

After the sixth Brooklyn error ended the game, I went outside to where their bus was waiting for them. I had printed out a team sheet for all of them to sign, and most of them did. 

I can't tell you who came out in what order, but I'll share a few details that I can remember. 

One of the few players who I recognized by signature was Michael Conforto, the Mets most recent first round draft pick. After he signed my team sheet with his number, I asked if I could take a photo with him. Usually, I'm pretty good at photos with players, but this time I just failed. I'm not even going to post it because it was so bad. My eyes are completely shut and it just isn't worth posting, sorry. I will post a picture I took of him at bat during the game. 


I was given a Joe Tuschak signed card by one of the other graphers there who had a binder full of cards. He also signed my team sheet. I stopped getting new cards a few years ago, and there are still thousands in my house that I go through every once in a while to try and get signed, so getting one from Tuschak is a good one for my collection. I'm pretty sure that's him in the blue hoodie, but I may be wrong. 

After getting autographs from pretty much all of the team, the coaches started to walk out. One of the coaches is former MLB All Star pitcher Dave LaRoche, father of Andy and Adam LaRoche. Dave signed the team photo sheet for me. I probably have cards of him at home, but those are many miles away. So within a couple weeks, I had gotten in person autographs of both father and son Adam. Dave is on the left signing a ball for someone else. 


While LaRoche was signing, one of the main reasons why I was there also arrived. I had gotten a tip from one of my friends that former Mets great Edgardo Alfonzo was with the Cyclones for the trip. Right before I left, I printed out two 4x6 photos of Alfonzo in hopes of getting them signed. I succeeded. He signed both photos and the team photo. Alfonzo was one of the last ones coming out of the building. I took a brief video of him signing a few cards for someone else. 


Below are the two photos Alfonzo signed for me. He has a great signature.





And lastly, here is the team signed sheet. Below it is a list of everyone who signed it with the number they signed with. The list is in no particular order.
2-Adrian Abreau 1-Amed Rosario 38-Luis Arrizurieta 3-Anthony Chavez 9-Joe Tuschak
10-Cory Oswalt 40-Mike Hepple 24-?????? 29-Marcos Molina 34-Edioglis Villasmil 
32-Martires Arias 21-Brandon Welch 44-Cameron Griffin 23-Will Fulmer 
28-Alberto Baldonado 22-Dimas Ponce 19-Kelly Secrest 26-John Mora 
7-Tomas Nido 8-Alfredo Reyes 31-Brad Wieck 11-Juan Urbina 39-Michael Conforto
12-Casey Meisner 36-Gaither Bumgardner 17-Scarlyn Reyes 25-Shane Bay 

I might have gotten a couple of the names wrong. Let me know if you think I did. Edgardo Alfonzo signed with the number 13. Manager Tom Gamboa signed without a number near the M in Mets. LaRoche signed on the bottom near Meisner's signature. 

That's all for this entry. Comment if you think I messed something up or if you just want to chat. Thanks and have a great day!