Just got back from Rangers@Tampa Bay series - AUTO PICS!!

[Big Mac McGwire]

Time for my 4th annual Tropicana Field Trip. Great Games. Seeing price vs. lee was pretty awsome. I always do good for auto's when i go to the trop. This year was probably the best.

*I mainly wanted to get done two specific 16x20's.

*I also went equiped with many OMLB's which i stay away from. I usually prefer cards and pictures but
i switched it up for this trip.

*I tried to stear away from players who don't sweet spot. For some guys that i got on cards
i chose cards over balls because they are known to side panel. I also prefer Ginter's over anything else.

TB Rays

Joaquim Benoit - card
JP Howell - SS OMLB - (mistook him for Wade Davis)
Jeff Neiman - SS OMLB
Jeremy Hellickson- SS OMLB, Card
David Price - 16x20
Matt Garza - 2010 Ginter
Carl Crawford - 2010 Ginter
Evan Longoria - 2010 Ginter

Texas Rangers

Ron Washington - Card
Matt Harrison - Card
Derek Holland - SS OMLB
Cliff Lee - SP w/CY 08 Insc. (Didn't know he side paneled.)
Michael Young - SS OMLB
Josh Hamilton - SS OMLB w/ 1 peter 2:24 Inscr. , 16x20 SI COVER Main item I have wanted for years. #1 Goal for the trip. Luckily the day he signed i was standing next to a guy who he fished with. The guy talked to him on the other side of the field and josh said he would come over. Side note, not on the same scale but i quit smokin ***** about 3.5 years ago, it was hell when i stopped. Withdrawl, everything you name it. Everything changed afterwards though, more money, better memory, went from C student to A student, better physical shape. So I really got a soft spot for Hamilton. Addiction is a bitch so i 100% relate to his story. And i always loved the SI cover.

Probably the best trip i had since i have started graphing the Trop. Not bad for a once a year thing.
Quality over quanity was the theme. Im going home with about 50 rangers and rays cards unsigned but the main items i got done.

PICS

Top Row - Holland, Lee, Hamilton, Young

Bottom Row - Howell,Hellickson, Neimann

 

[GiantsSuperCollector]

Time for my 4th annual Tropicana Field Trip. Great Games. Seeing price vs. lee was pretty awsome. I always do good for auto's when i go to the trop. This year was probably the best.

*I mainly wanted to get done two specific 16x20's.

*I also went equiped with many OMLB's which i stay away from. I usually prefer cards and pictures but
i switched it up for this trip.

*I tried to stear away from players who don't sweet spot. For some guys that i got on cards
i chose cards over balls because they are known to side panel. I also prefer Ginter's over anything else.

TB Rays

Joaquim Benoit - card
JP Howell - SS OMLB - (mistook him for Wade Davis)
Jeff Neiman - SS OMLB
Jeremy Hellickson- SS OMLB, Card
David Price - 16x20
Matt Garza - 2010 Ginter
Carl Crawford - 2010 Ginter
Evan Longoria - 2010 Ginter

Texas Rangers

Ron Washington - Card
Matt Harrison - Card
Derek Holland - SS OMLB
Cliff Lee - SP w/CY 08 Insc. (Didn't know he side paneled.)
Michael Young - SS OMLB
Josh Hamilton - SS OMLB w/ 1 peter 2:24 Inscr. , 16x20 SI COVER Main item I have wanted for years. #1 Goal for the trip. Luckily the day he signed i was standing next to a guy who he fished with. The guy talked to him on the other side of the field and josh said he would come over. Side note, not on the same scale but i quit smokin ***** about 3.5 years ago, it was hell when i stopped. Withdrawl, everything you name it. Everything changed afterwards though, more money, better memory, went from C student to A student, better physical shape. So I really got a soft spot for Hamilton. Addiction is a bitch so i 100% relate to his story. And i always loved the SI cover.

Probably the best trip i had since i have started graphing the Trop. Not bad for a once a year thing.
Quality over quanity was the theme. Im going home with about 50 rangers and rays cards unsigned but the main items i got done.

PICS

That's amazing! Where did you get the SI Cover from?

 

[FortyFour]

Hellickson has a crazy sig.

 

[Zan]

Awesome haul! Were you denied by anyone?

Brian

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

GiantsSuper - I had a friend who has a getty images account print it out for me speicially for this trip.


Zan - alot of the rangers were unresponsive.Vlad ignored EVERYONE. At the stadium
when ian kinsler was signing i was on the other side so i missed him. I tried to get darren oliver to sign a card but he ignored me. I only went after the guys who i thought i had a good chance with. The Rangers were pretty bad on this trip though.

 

[matchpenalty]

Nice stuff. Love Ginter cards for IP, they look sweet signed. J Ham was a great signer in Cincy, have read where he has gotten a little tougher in Texas.

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

one more bump

 

[xcantgobackx]

Nice stuff Don! I rarely have this type of IP success. I don't think I'm aggressive enough sometimes. Not that that is always a bad thing.

 

[Shi Guy]

Congrats on your haul! It looks amazing.

What's your strategy for getting players to sign at the field? Maybe players at the trop are more sociable but I've had terrible luck getting anyone to sign at Safeco. Also, and I know these are rookie questions, what's side paneling and sweet spotting?

 

[SamHell]

Start a Cy Young ball with the the Cliff Lee!

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

Congrats on your haul! It looks amazing.

What's your strategy for getting players to sign at the field? Maybe players at the trop are more sociable but I've had terrible luck getting anyone to sign at Safeco. Also, and I know these are rookies questions, what's side paneling and sweet spotting?

really is no strategy. I have done the trop 1x a year since 2007. So i know alot of the players habits. Just right place and timing.

Side paneling is when the signature is placed on the side panel and NOT on the sweet spot which is the spot on the ball , sweet spot is when the auto is placed in the center..

for example..

side panel..

SWEET SPOT

 

[Shi Guy]

Gotcha. Thanks for the info!