Autos, etc.
Mariners –
Ken Griffey Jr. Bobblehead – As usual, the bobblehead looks almost nothing like the real person. 🙂
Season Ticket Holder Photo Night – Even though I’m not that into selfies and it was a no autos event, this was kind of fun. Fans stood behind ropes along the warning track. Several Mariners went to random locations and then paraded around, chatting and taking photos with as many fans as they could get to. I mainly wanted to get a selfie with Ichiro! Field personnel told people to just stay in one spot and that the players would get to everybody, but of course that was not the case. Some guys made it all the way around before other guys made it 100 feet.
The first few pictures were taken in left field, with Servais, Gonzales, Encarnacion, and Elias. When I saw Ichiro on Marinervision, I quickly scooted over from left field to right field. The selfie is not the best. I stood too far away and held the phone at too high an angle, so the image is absurdly distorted — he’s not 10 feet tall and I’m not 3 feet tall! Anyhow, his expression is priceless, the picture is kind of funny, and I’ll have some fun with it via a photo editor.
After that, I mostly stayed in that same spot, where I met Adams, Swarzak, Hill, Smith, Vogelbach, and Haniger. When I heard there were only five minutes left (it was an hour long event apparently), I scooted over to right center to meet Santana, Gordon, and Narvaez. All the fellows were relaxed, friendly, and very gracious. I think I took 13 selfies in all, and will probably print some up for the guys to sign. Thank you Mariners!
Twins –
Jorge Polanco — To be honest, I didn’t know who he was and tossed him my random MLBers ball, which he graciously signed. Now I know he’s one of the top young shortstops in the American League. Thanks Jorge!
Willians Astudillo! — Would it be fair to call this guy a modern Latino John Kruk? Kind of like Bartolo Colon, surprisingly agile and quick for a man of his build. This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see on Twitter that Topps would be releasing Astudillo autos soon. He wasn’t playing tonight but he did sign a whole bunch. Thank you Willians!
Byron Buxton! — One of the fastest guys in baseball. He said he would come back and sign after stretching, and he did. What a nice card and auto. Thanks man!
The Game
What game? Minnesota went up 5-0 in the second with a CJ Cron solo homer and a Byron Buxton grand slam. In the 3rd, Cron and Sano hit solo homers while Jonathan Schoop hit a three run homer to make it 10-0. I think I left in the 6th inning with the M’s down 17-4 and bird poop on my new Ichiro jersey. Yeah it was that kind of party lol. Ryan Divish’s article, “How low can they go? Mariners embarrassed by Minnesota in 18-4 shellacking” will give you the idea in case I haven’t done so already.
Vinny B's Sports Cards 