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Sara Evans – Turner Field

mstanger — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:07:49 +0000

That’s right, Sara Evans. Sara had been scheduled to do a post-game concert for the Braves after the game. As we were hanging around the players’ parking lot prior to the game, her tour bus came pulling up and eventually Sara and her entire family jumped out and began tossing around the football in the parking lot (her husband is former Alabama QB Jay Barker). I’m not usually the type to bother anyone while they are with their family, but eventually several other people got up the nerve to go over and talk to her, so I just jumped in line. She was very sweet and allowed me to have my picture taken with her. It was a pretty cool experience. I immediately called my wife and told her that Sara and I were “leaving the suds in the bucket..” and would be back later. I slept on the couch that night.

Bobby Cox – Turner Field

mstanger — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:00:45 +0000

This particular weekend I headed down to Atlanta for a free Chipper Jones autograph signing (more on that later). By the time the event was over I decided that I had time to head on over to Turner Field and see if I could beat Bobby Cox there (not easy to do since he often arrives at 1 pm for a 7 pm game). Fortunately I made it by about 15 minutes and was able to get an autograph on an old 1980 Braves team yearbook that I had picked up earlier in the summer.

Dale Murphy – Smokies Park II

mstanger — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:00:42 +0000

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, living near Smokies Park has been a tremendous resource. For the second time in as many years, the Tennessee Smokies held Dale Murphy appreciation night. I’m not really sure why they’ve had these for the last two seasons (no product to promote, no real tie to the team, etc), but I’m not complaining. As a rabid Atlanta Braves fan I wasn’t going to miss another opportunity to get a couple autographs from one of our team legends.

Just like the last year, the plan was to have Dale at the game that night to sign for a couple of hours, but you could also go to a luncheon preceeding the game for only $25. Instead of waiting in line forever at the game in 95 degree heat, I decided it would be a no-brainer to shell out the $25 and go to the luncheon. It was a fun event. Dale told a few funny stories, and we got to go through the line a couple of times to get some autographs. I ended up with a couple of signed magazines, a jersey number and an 8×10. As always, Dale was cordial and the autographs turned out great.

Greg McMichael & Brad Clontz – Braves Alumni Sunday

mstanger — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 20:16:54 +0000

Each Sunday Braves home game, the Braves welcome back former players for autograph sessions inside Turner Field. This particular Sunday the Braves had invited back Brad Clontz and Greg McMichael – two members of the 1995 World Series Championship Team. One of my collections that I have started in recent years was of autographed items from the 1995 team and I thought this was a great opportunity to add to that collection with a few autographed baseballs. Both guys were very nice and the autographs turned out great… I even talked Clontz into inscribing his autograph with “’95 World Series Champs!”

Bobby Cox – Turner Field

mstanger — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:05:38 +0000

Whenever I make a trip to Turner Field, I make it a point to get there as early as I can to try and pick up a Bobby Cox autograph as he arrives at the players’ parking lot. He is always very gracious with his time before the game and I hate to miss out on such an opportunity now that he is planning on retiring at the end of the year. As always, on this day Bobby took the time to sign for a few of us and I was able to get a recent Chop Talk autographed.

Billy Wagner – Turner Field

mstanger — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 05:00:51 +0000

It didn’t take us long this year to get down to the ATL to catch the Braves and try to get a few autographs back at the player’s parking lot. For the past few years it has been slim pickings back there as fewer and fewer players come over to sign. Your best bet is to hope that there are one or two guys who still regularly take the time to sign. Coming in to the weekend I had hoped Billy Wagner would be one of those guys and I was right. From everything I have heard he has been a great signer throughout the course of his career and that trend has continued in Atlanta. After arriving in his tricked out Ford truck, he calmy sauntered over in his cowboy boots and hat and signed for everybody. He seems like a really cool dude….so much so that my buddy Patrick decided that upon getting back home he was going to go buy a Ford truck and trick it out just like Wagner. Anyway, here are a couple of things I was able to pick up:

Jason Heyward, Frank Wren, Mike Minor – Braves Caravan

mstanger — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:45:42 +0000

As opposed to hosting a FanFest in Atlanta this year, the Braves decided to instead send out teams of players to various locations around the Southeast. One team made up of Frank Wren, Jason Heyward, and 1st Round draft choice Mike Minor was deployed to Nashville. Although I wasn’t able to make it because it was during the workweek, a good friend of mine was able to navigate the crowd pretty easily and pick up a few autographs for me.

Summer of Sandberg

mstanger — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:43:51 +0000

Back in the winter it was announced that Ryne Sandberg was going to be managing the nearby AA affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. I was fortunate enough to be able to meet him and get an autograph shortly thereafter. As the season approached I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Hall of Famer in regard to his signing habits. Boy was I surprised. Turns out, Sandberg has a real affinity for the fans and signed prior to every home game the Smokies played this year. Fans regularly lined up down the aisle by the Smokies’ dugout prior to gametime, and sure enough Sandberg would come out of the dugout and sign for as long as he was able (including multiples!). It was such a success that the Smokies’ management renamed that aisle “Sandberg Alley.” I made the trip over several times during the season and was lucky enough to get several items signed.

Although I am sure that Mr. Sandberg will never see this, I want to publicly thank him for his graciousness with the fans. It was a blessing having him here.

Jair Jurrjens – Publix Atlanta

mstanger — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:26:24 +0000

The Braves have recently been doing a promotional/community event called “Shopping With the Braves” with one of their corporate sponsors – Publix. About once a month, they send a couple of players out to one of the Atlanta area Publix and have them bag groceries and sign autographs. Being that the opportunity to get Braves autographs out in the community has decreased over the years, this was a welcomed event. The lineup for this event included Jair Jurrjens, Martin Prado, and Omar Infante. Unfortunately Prado was not able to make it over because he was suffering from some health problems incurred earlier in the week. Truth be told it was probably a blessing because had he not cancelled I wouldn’t have been able to make it through Jurrjens’ line and get my items signed. Jurrjens is, in my opinion, one of the most unheralded pitchers in baseball. He eats innings, has a miniscule ERA, and most importantly is 23 years old. I’ve become a big fan of his not only because of his success on the field, but also because he has come over to the fence several times at the Braves parking lot and signed for everybody. Good guy, great player.

Yunel Escobar – Collectors Show

mstanger — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:31:25 +0000

One of the reasons I decided to head on down to the ATL for the “Shopping with the Braves” event was because Yunel Escobar was also going to be doing a paid, public signing at a small memorabilia show nearby. If you have read through GraphLife before, you have probably noticed that I have gotten Yunel several times before without having to pay anything; however, I thought the autograph fee was pretty low considering he has become one of the best shortstops in baseball and I had a bat I wanted him to sign. (I want to send a special thanks to the folks over at Autographhelper.com for their help with this event. If you haven’t been over to their site, please be sure to check it out. ). Anyway, the signed bat turned out real well and I even picked up several other items that were being sold at the show. All-in-all it was a pretty good day.