Adam Eaton Private Signing

The same promoter that did the Alex Colome signing also did an Adam Eaton signing. Luckily, this signing went off without a hitch. I had been wanting an Eaton signing for a few years, so I was thrilled when it popped up on SCN. The promoter even gave me a solid bulk discount since I sent in 13 items.

Eaton has always had a small autograph. Look at how small the signature is on that baseball! I’m really glad I got the “Spanky” inscription, or else the autograph would be even tinier!

I’m really happy to complete the Heritage Frazier/Eaton card.

       

   

       

   

Alex Colome Private Signing

Alex Colome had a solid couple of seasons for the Sox. More specifically, he was solid in 2019 and incredible in the shortened 2020 season. He has never been a particularly easy autograph, so when I saw somebody doing a private with him on SCN, I sent in a few cards.

I got both of his Heritage Sox cards signed, as well as some rookie refractors. Unfortunately, a couple of the refractors didn’t turn out very well. One has a slight smear, and one has a fairly large smear. I’ve contacted the promoter, and he is proving to be difficult to work with. Every time I send him a message, he reads it and doesn’t reply. I’ll send another message a few days later, asking why he hasn’t replied to my message. He’ll reply to that one, asking which cards are smeared. This exact sequence has happened twice now. I’ve sent him images of the smeared cards twice, and just last night he asked me, once again, which cards are smeared.

I’ll make sure to post an update when this is resolved, one way or another. In any case, here are the cards I got signed. You’ll see that I got three different autographs. Three cards have “A—-“, one card has what appears to be “AC—“, and the 2019 Heritage has a more detailed autograph that looks like “AlxC—“. That obviously isn’t the promoter’s fault, I’m just pointing out how inconsistent the autograph is. At least he added his number to each one to add some bulk to the autograph.

       

   

Ken Griffey Jr. Cards

Ken Griffey Jr. recently did a couple of signings. He did a heavily publicized signing with the fine folks at Mill Creek Sports, in conjunction with Tristar. I did send them an item, look out for that post soon. But there was also a cards only signing with Tom Orr. It was a much better price than the other signing, so I sent in a couple of cards.

I finally got his iconic 1989 Upper Deck rookie card signed. I also got a second 2009 Upper Deck card signed that I didn’t know existed until recently. Both turned out perfectly.

I’m thinking about doing some kind of a display piece with the 89 UD Griffey and 90 Leaf Frank Thomas. Those are without a doubt the two most iconic cards from my childhood, and it’d be cool to do something with them.

   

Steve Sax Private Signing

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I am a big Steve Sax fan. Why am I a Sax fan? It’s certainly not because of the terrible 69 OPS+ he put up during two bad years with the Sox. It’s also not because of his charming personality, as he’s never been a super friendly guy to fans.

It all comes down to my mother. I grew up with a single mom in Southern California. My mom was a huge Dodgers fan. More specifically, she was a big Steve Sax fan. But she never referred to him as Steve Sax. He was always “Sexy Saxy”.

Let me be very clear. His “sexiness” has nothing to do with my fandom. My mom loved him, so I loved him. Later in life, I’d come to realize that Sax was overrated as a player. But that did nothing to dim my Sax fandom. And so, here I am, probably the only person alive that is a fan of both Sax and the Sox.

Steve Sax was one of many players attending the HOF Classic game in Cooperstown, NY this year. Jamie Blye conducted a private signing with a few of the players, including Sax. So I sent him a few items to get signed.

A couple of items didn’t turn out perfectly. One ball and one card are kind of smudged. But the most important item, the bat, turned out perfectly!

   

   

   

   



Luis Robert Private Signing

The folks at Sid’s Graphs and Bergie’s Sports Card Dugout held the first ever public signing with budding White Sox superstar Luis Robert on Monday. I’m starting to think these signings are a Jinx for Robert. Last season, he got hurt right before his private signing, and the same thing happened again this year. Luckily, this year’s injury seems to be minor.

I sent in 6 items this time. Two jerseys and 4 cards. Everything turned out pretty well. I’m slightly disappointed in how the home white jersey turned out. It isn’t terrible, but the pen didn’t perform 100% perfectly. Oh well, what can you do?

I’m holding out hope that Luis can stay healthy and join the ranks of the very best players in baseball. I’m a bit worried that we might now have our own Byron Buxton. In any case, I’m thrilled to have these new items!

   

   

Joe Crede Private Signing

Five Tool Signings just did a very reasonably priced TTM signing with 2005 World Series Champion Joe Crede. I got a bunch of stuff done at a private signing in 2021, so I didn’t need anything done. I desperately tried to get my hands on a pristine 2008 All-Star baseball, but had no luck. Every time I ordered one on eBay, it ended up being covered in spots. So I just got some cool cards signed. I’ll never pass up a signing with a legit Sox player at this price.

One of my cards didn’t make it back. The guys at FTS are looking into it. I have no doubt they’ll make it right.

       

   

   

   

John Kruk Private Signing

Todd Schafer (Under the Radar Sports Promotions) recently had a private signing with former Phillies star (and brief Sox player) John Kruk. There have been a lot of signings recently, so funds are getting a bit (more than a bit really, lol) tight. So I just got two cards done. One rookie, and one cool refractor. Todd does signings with Kruk pretty regularly, so I’ll try to get a few more things done at the next one.

       

Bobby Jenks & Luis Vizcaino

Macey225 over at SCN was taking items for the Chicago Sports Spectacular in March. There were a few Sox guys there, but the autograph fees were pretty high, so only sent in a couple of things. I sent in a Bobby Jenks rookie refractor and a Luis Vizcaino Topps World Series card. I’m kind of disappointed with how the Jenks turned out. He signed it pretty small, with a thin pen, and right on the Angels logo. But that’s just how things go sometimes!