Johnny Podres

Johnny Podres signed this 1967 Topps baseball card for me in February, 1999 as he was arriving at Carpenter Complex. Mr. Podres was the pitching coach at the time for the Philadelphia Phillies. He was part of the World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955, and was named World Series MVP. 

Jim Leyland

Jim Leyland signed a 1989 Topps baseball card for me in the mid 1990's at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium in Clearwater, Florida. Mr. Leyland was managing the Pittsburgh Pirates at the time. He signed the card from the visiting dugout prior to a Spring Training game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Mr. Leyland was finally elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame's class of 2024 on December 3, 2023!

 

Joey Votto

We drove up to Cincinnati to visit my step daughter as she had just joined Cincinnati Ballet. While there, my son and I had plans to see a Reds game on Friday September 22, 2023. My son and I have always been serious about collecting autographs. Since we had plenty of time, we decided to try to get some autographs early by hanging out by the players parking lot as they arrived at the ballpark. We arrived around noon and saw one fan was already there with the same idea. He didn't recognize us and asked where we were from. We told him we drove up for the weekend from Tampa. He then asked, "Are you going to the Q&A"? I answered no, as we only have tickets to the game itself. He then asked for my e-mail address and sent Braden and I two tickets! He said the Q&A starts at 2:30, which is about 3 hours  before the gates open!

While inside, hours before the majority of the fans were allowed in, Braden and I had a unique opportunity to get some autographs. Joey Votto signed an 8x10 picture for each of us. Joey was one of the main guys we were trying to get. Big thanks to Tony for hooking us up with the Q&A tickets. Without those, this probably wouldn't have happened!!

 

 

Elly De La Cruz

We drove up to Cincinnati to visit my step daughter as she had just joined Cincinnati Ballet. While there, my son and I had plans to see a Reds game on Friday September 22, 2023. My son and I have always been serious about collecting autographs. Since we had plenty of time, we decided to try to get some autographs early by hanging out by the players parking lot as they arrived at the ballpark. We arrived around noon and saw one fan was already there with the same idea. He didn't recognize us and asked where we were from. We told him we drove up for the weekend from Tampa. He then asked, "Are you going to the Q&A"? I answered no, as we only have tickets to the game itself. He then asked for my e-mail address and sent Braden and I two tickets! He said the Q&A starts at 2:30, which is about 3 hours  before the gates open!

While inside, hours before the majority of the fans were allowed in, Braden and I had a unique opportunity to get some autographs. Elly De La Cruz signed an 8x10 picture for each of us. The few collectors attending the Q&A had told us Elly was almost impossible to get an autograph from. Inside there were around a dozen or so autograph collectors. Elly only signed for my son and I! I guess luck was working with us this particular weekend!

 

Nick Swardson

I met comedian, Nick Swardson outside of Side Splitters, a comedy club in Tampa, Florida just after midnight on the early morning of Saturday August 26, 2023.  Nick has been one of my favorite comedians for more than 20 years. I was both happy and disappointed when I randomly checked the Side Splitters website to see which comedians would be performing in the near future. When I checked and saw Nick was there that night, I was shocked! I wish I had checked a week or two sooner, as the show was sold out, which is why I felt disappointed. When Nick came out, I had to share a story with him, but out of respect for his time as he was leaving, I kept it brief. I told him, "My friend passed away in 2002. A few months before he passed, I showed him your comedy special on Comedy Central. After seeing it, he actually tried to get John Stamos to show up at his funeral!" Nick laughed and said "that's awesome"! Nick thanked me for being a fan for a long time and then apologized for the loss of my friend. Nick signed and personalized an 8x10 picture for me. My son was with me and Nick signed an 8x10 for him, too!

 

Rachel Balkovec

My son was able to meet Rachel Balkovec on July 16, 2023 at George M. Steinbrenner Field prior to the start of a Tarpons home game. Rachel is the first female manager in the history of professional baseball. Rachel signed and personalized by request an 8x10 picture.

 

Greg Allen

My son was able to get Greg Allen to sign a 2018 Topps baseball card for me while he was on a rehab assignment with the Tampa Tarpons, a minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field on July 16, 2023.