Player Appearance: Rod Carew

Hall of Famer Rod Carew made an appearance today at the Angels Team Store in Anaheim. He was scheduled to meet fans and sign autographs from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. The appearance was part of a holiday sales event held by the Angels and AEG, operators of the Team Store. Most items in the store were 40-60% off.


I arrived at Angels Stadium at 7:30 and there were maybe twenty people in line. At 9:00 the Team Store opened and more people started showing up. The employees at the store brought quite a bit of discounted  merchandise outside, including hats, jerseys, bats and bobbleheads. There's were a lot of great deals outside and a lot of good deals inside as well. I believe everything in the store was 40% off. So  I picked up a Torii Hunter Forever Big Head bobblehead, which was discounted from $24.99 down to $10 and a couple of MLB baseballs. I can't resist a good deal. 

Mr. Carew arrived right at 10:30 and began signing right away. We were told he would sign one item per person and he wouldn't sign bats, jerseys or magazines. The line moved pretty slowly. He was signing at a snails pace, but I did finally make it to the front at around 11:00. He signed a baseball for me and inscribed "HOF 91". 

I had a great time down at the Big A. The event went smoothly and it was very organized, plus they had a bunch of great deals at the Team Store. Thanks to the Anaheim Angels and Rod Carew for everything today.

Player Appearance: Shaquille O'Neal

On Tuesday, November 29, Shaquille O'Neal, aka the Big Aristotle, aka Shaq Fu, aka Shaq Diezel, made an appearance at Barnes & Noble in Santa Monica. He was there to meet his fans and sign copies of his new book "Shaq Uncut: My Story".


Shaq was scheduled to appear at 7:00 pm. I arrived at B&N at 3:00, bought the book and they gave me a wristband. They were putting people in lettered groups of twenty, but wouldn't let anyone line up until 6:00pm. I was in Group F.


I had three hours to kill, so I hung out at 3rd Street Promenade. When 6 finally rolled around, I went and lined up at the book store. There were about 140 people there at 7:00, but none of them were Shaq. He was running late because he was talking to the media. They also told us he was scheduled to shoot Jimmy Kimmel that night, so they were going to move the line quickly.

He finally started signing at 7:30 and I got to the front of the line at 7:45. He was taking quick pictures with people, but about five people ahead of me, they stopped allowing those pictures. He signed my book, shook my hand, and the B&N staff rushed me out. The whole thing was a bit disappointing, especially after I saw the signature, a crappy crappy signature.

I was happy to finally meet one of my all-time favorite Lakers, but I wish it had been a better experience. When I left the bookstore, there were at least another 120 people still in line. I hope they all got autographs.


Shaq did make his appearance on Kimmel that night. Here's a funny clip of the 7'2, 350 lb Shaq being carried by his 5'2 girlfriend. :

         

Player Appearance: Blake Griffin

Last Saturday I went on a journey that landed me not one, not two, but three autographs. That first auto was from Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn and I had to drive 150 miles away to San Diego to get it. I got the next two in Downtown LA on my way home. LA Clippers All-Star Forward Blake Griffin and Skateboarder Rob Dyrdek both were signing at the Los Angeles Auto show at the Convention Center.

Tony Gwynn's appearance was scheduled for 9:00 am and my friends and I were at the front of the line. Tony began signing right away so we were able to leave San Diego at 9:30. We still had a chance to get to LA for the 1:00pm Blake Griffin appearance. While on the freeway heading home, we were getting updates from my buddy Alex who was already at the Convention Center waiting in line for Griffin. He told us there were only 10 people in line. Things were looking good.

It took us about two and a half hours to get to the Convention Center. When we arrived, we were about twentieth in line and it was an hour before the signing. The four of us got wristbands and we were told Blake wouldn't sign any outside items but he would take a picture with us. Kia Motors was giving away 8x10 pictures for him to sign, plus certificates of authenticity from Panini.

Once 1:00 rolled around, we were told Blake was running late. He finally showed up at 1:15 and started signing right away. When I got to the front of the line he signed the Kia picture for me and posed for a pic. He asked me if I was having a good time at the auto show and I moved on.

While we there we saw Jesse from Los Angeles Inspiration, and he informed us that Skateboarder and "Fantasy Factory" star Rob Dyrdek was signing at the Chevy booth. We all headed over there and got that auto as well.

Overall I'd say I had a great day. I got one HOFers auto, one NBA superstar's auto and a third auto from a pretty famous skateboarder. Not bad if you ask me.

Updating The Dodger Stadium SGA List

Via @Dodgers

On Monday the Dodgers released their 2012 promotional schedule, which includes 10 bobbleheads. These bobbleheads will feature players and personalities who have been part of Dodger Stadium's 50 year history. Except for the eighth bobblehead Sandy Koufax, they haven't told us who the other nine will be, but they have given us the dates of those giveaway nights. 


I've updated the bobblehead list in the sidebar of the blog, which includes all 39 Dodger Stadium bobbleheads from  2001 to 2011 with dates, names and links to my posts. And now I've added the ten upcoming 2012 bobbleheads. The list will remain in the sidebar and I'll update it as the we discover who those bobbleheads are. 


Here's the complete list:

• April 4, 2001 - Tommy Lasorda

• June 9, 2001 - Kirk Gibson

• July 29, 2001 - Fernando Valenzuela

• May 31, 2002 - Paul LoDuca

• July 18, 2002 - Shawn Green

• August 24, 2002 - Hideo Nomo

• May 2, 2003 - Eric Gagne

• July 1, 2003 - Brian Jordan

• September 12, 2003 - Fred McGriff

• April 30, 2004 - Eric Gagne(Cy Young)

• July 23, 2004 - Don Newcombe

• August 20, 2004 - Don Drysdale

• June 1, 2005 - Cesar Izturis

• September 29, 2005 - Jeff Kent

• June 2, 2006 - Ron Cey

• June 23, 2006 - Fernando Valenzuela

• July 28, 2006 - Steve Garvey

• April 26, 2007 - Nomar Garciaparra

• July 6, 2007 Rafael Furcal

• August 2, 2007 - Russell Martin

• September 14, 2007 - Tommy Lasorda(HOF)

• April 25, 2008 - Joe Torre

• June 5, 2008 - Takashi Saito

• July 25, 2008 - Brad Penny

• August 12, 2008 - Joe Beimel

• May 20, 2009 - Casey Blake

• July 22, 2009 - Manny Ramirez

• August 19, 2009 - Matt Kemp

• September 16, 2009 - Manny Ramirez(Curtain Call)

• May 18, 2010 - Andre Ethier

• June 8, 2010 - Jonathan Broxton

• July 20, 2010 - James Loney

• August 17, 2010 - Matt Kemp(The Catch)

• May 17, 2011 - Clayton Kershaw

• June 1, 2011 - Don Mattingly

• June 14, 2011 - Hong-Chih Kuo

• July 7, 2011 - Andre Ethier Throwback

• July 26, 2011 - Fernandomania

• August 9, 2011 - Duke Snider

• April 28, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #1

• May 15, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #2

• May 29, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #3

• June 12, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #4

• June 28, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #5

• July 14, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #6

• July 31, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #7

• August 7, 2012 - Sandy Koufax

• August 21, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #9

• August 30, 2012 - 2012 Bobblehead #10

2011 Topps Tier One Dee Gordon Auto

When I first saw the 2011 Topps Tier One design, I knew I had to get my hands on some of the Dodgers cards. My first target was one of my favorite youngsters on the team, Devaris Strange Gordon. This is my third Dee Gordon auto, and I don't think it's gonna be my last, as I've decided to start collecting Dee's cards. 

On-card blue signatures always look great on Dodger cards, and this is no exception.

Dee's "On The Rise" card is numbered 457/999.

Dodgers To Give Away 10 Bobbleheads in 2012, Including A Sandy Koufax Bobble!

The Dodgers just released their 2012 promotional schedule, and there's TEN...yes TEN bobleheads being given away, including a Sandy Koufax bobblehead! For a rundown of the entire promotional list, go to Dodgers.com. Here's a list of the ten bobblehead dates:

#1 Saturday, April 28 vs Washington


#2 Tuesday, May 15 vs Arizona


#3 Tuesday, May 29 vs Milwaukee


#4 Tuesday, June 12 vs Anaheim


#5 Thursday, June 28 vs NYM


#6 Saturday, July 14 vs San Diego


#7 Tuesday, July 31 vs Arizona


#8 Tuesday, August 7 vs Colorado - Sandy Koufax Bobblehead


#9 Tuesday, August 21 vs San Francisco


#10 Thursday, August 30 vs Arizona


The team is also offering a 10 game Dodger Stadium Greats mini ticket plan.
From Dodgers.com: 


Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dodger Stadium with the Dodger Stadium Greats Bobblehead Series! This planincludes all ten bobblehead giveaways for 2012, featuring Dodger players and personalities who have been a part of Dodger Stadium history.


To purchase the mini plan, click here.

Player Appearance: Tony Gwynn

Yesterday I had one of those rare days where I went from one location to another and got more than one autograph. I actually was able to get three autographs yesterday.  The first one I got was 150 miles away in San Diego from Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. The other two, Clippers Forward Blake Griffin and Skateboarder Rob Dyrdek, were at the Los Angeles Auto Show. I'll share my experience with Mr. Gwynn today and move onto Griffin and Dyrdek later.

Former San Diego Padres All-Star and Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn made an appearance yesterday at El Cajon  Ford. He was scheduled to meet fans and sign autographs from 9-10:00 am. 

I made my 150 mile journey from the San Fernando Valley down to El Cajon with three friends early Saturday morning. It took us about 2 hours to get down there. Surprisingly, there were only two other people waiting in line when we arrived.

While we were there, my buddy Alex was giving me updates from the Los Angeles Convention Center where Blake Griffin was scheduled to sign at 1:00pm. That too was a surprisingly short line.

Mr. Gwynn arrived about 15 minutes early and started signing right at 9:00. I had heard some horror stories about Tony being snappy at past events. When I got to the signing table he was very friendly, autographing my baseball and was even joking around. But sure enough, the guy behind me got him upset. The gentleman behind me had a picture of Tony in a San Diego State basketball uniform and Tony wanted to know where he got it. The guy said he bought it from someone in line and before you knew it, Tony was out of his seat wondering who the guy was. After this person was pointed out, Tony made it clear he didn't want any of his pictures sold there because it was theft. The General Manager at the dealership even announced it over the loudspeaker. The whole ordeal had us all laughing.

When we left the Ford dealership, I got another update from Alex at the Convention Center, and there were just five people there in line. Maybe we had a chance to get Blake Griffin's auto too? So we got on the freeway and hauled ass to Downtown LA. As I already mentioned, we did get Blake's autograph, but I'll save that for another day.