Hanging Out With My Baseball Hero!!!

This is amazing, and I am not even sure how to put this into words.  In most cases, the quote ‘A Picture Is Worth A Million Words’ is fitting.

This is another one of those cases…

Today I met my baseball hero, Mr. Andre Dawson.  This is the second time in my life I have met Andre.  The first time was in 1990 at a Chicago Cubs convention in Illinois.  This time, #2, was at the Florida Marlin’s caravan tour stop in Homestaed, Fl.  The admiration that I have for this special player and the baseball memories he gave me have overwhelmed me at this moment.  In time, I will cherish this even more than I am doing right now.  I have been a fan of Andre’s for more than 20 years now, and with all of the negatives you hear about today’s athletes, it feels wonderful to have another great and personal memory that ‘The Hawk’ has provided for me.

This appearance for the Marlins was not a public event and had I known that in advance I may not have attended.  Lucky for me I did!!  Andre and I spoke for a few minutes and he was more than gracious.  Dressed to the nines, Dawson was extremely polite and easy to approach.  I told him that I have been a fan of his for quite some time and that I have many baseball memories from my youth that focus on his performances on the baseball diamond.

I asked if he would sign my book(actually his book) and he obliged.

Truth be told, I spent 30 minutes last night preparing for this Marlins team event.  I pulled cards, got the book out, cleaned the helmet, grabbed a bunch of Sharpies in various colors and charged my digital camera.  I had no less than 12 Dawson cards with me and I would have loved to have gotten all of them signed.  But I didn’t want to take away from the moment either and I definitely didn’t want to come across as an overbearing fan that was just hungry for autographs.

Instead Andre and I talked baseball, Chicago, and then I told him about my blog.  He genuinely seemed interested and even repeated the name ’30-Year Old Cardboard’ a few times.  Who knows, maybe I have a new reader??

In the final moments of our conversation I asked Andre if I could send the picture of the 2 of us to him for his autograph.  He said no problem and we shook hands 1 final time and then parted.

~~~WOW~~~

Tank of gas – $32.00

Miles Roundtrip – 106

Hanging out with Andre Dawson – PRICELESS!!!

Florida Marlins Caravan Tour – Day 1

Like most major league teams, the Marlins are hitting the road this week as they drum up some publicity for the 2009 season.  This 5-day tour is a tri-county jaunt with several stops in which the fans can meet the players as well as take part in the exciting events that the Marlins have scheduled.  The week culminates with the Florida Marlins Fan Fest which will be held on Saturday at Dolphin Stadium.

Today, I made the long trip to Homestead, Fl.  According to the schedule publihsed by the team, several players would be on hand at the Habitat for Humaity jobsite.  Although the schedule did not say that this event was open to the public, I still made plans to attend and was shocked to discover that I was the ONLY fan there!!!  Not only was I the only one there, but I got there early as I have read that these events can be mob scenes – but this was certainly not the case.

Shortly after arriving, the players started to show up.  And since I don’t have any current Marlins cards or pictures to get signed I brought a collectible helmet I picked up last season.

In all I scored 5 autographs, which was all of the players that attended.

The guys:  Anibal Sanchez, Cody Ross, Scott Proctor, Dan Meyer, and Zachary Kroenke.

The pics:

I will be attending another stop on the tour tomorrow so stay tuned for more updates and hopefully more autographs!!!

Lee Smith Autograph Through The Mail Success

It took some time, but Lee Smith sent me back this card in just 46 days.

I’ve always enjoyed watching Smith play.  During his 18-year career, he pitched for 8 different teams.  But that was the life of a closer in the 80′s and 90′s.  In total, Smith saved 478 games over the course of his career and was the career saves leader until he was passed by Trevor Hoffman just a few short years ago.

I am thrilled to add this 7-time All-star and Chicago Cubs legend’s autograph to my collection!!!  Maybe Smith will be able to add HOF to his name soon…

 

Frank Viola Autograph Through The Mail Success

8 days.  8 very short days.  That’s all it took for me to get Frank Viola’s cards back signed.  Viola signed 2 0f the 3 cards I sent him and I love this Cy Young Award winning, World Series MVP winner’s signature!!

Viola was a dominant pitcher during the mid-1980′s and for a collector of that era, adding his autograph to my collection seems like a perfect fit.  Welcome home Frank, and ‘Thanks’!!!

 

2008 Goudey Andre Dawson 2-Card Set

You may recall that Mario from Wax Heaven sent me an Andre Dawson 2008 Goudey mini.  I had been shopping for that card for quite some time but found them to be a little on the ‘pricey’ side for such a recent issue.  But with his generosity, I all of a sudden had 1/2 of the 2-card set I was intending to collect.

Naturally this gift caused me to obsess over getting the base card and now that mission is accomplished. 

I got this card in the mail last night…

 I love the card!!!  The design is incredible and I especially like the fact that this card labels Dawson as ‘Sport Royalty’.  In my opinion all that is missing is ‘The Hawk’s’ crown and septor!!!

A nice and easy 2-card set is now complete.  I have to admit that these 2 cards look great together. 

And of course, a big shout-out goes to Mario for kick starting my lazy butt into gear as I had been drooling over this set for a few months but had yet to pull the trigger to get it done.  Thanks Mario!!!