Columbus Clippers

     We were initially upset that the Clippers were moving to Huntington Park. Now that seems like an odd statement. Read on.
     Getting autographs at Clippers games at "old" Copper Stadium, especially from the visiting team, was great! The far stands along the left field line meant you were mere feet away from the visiting team as they went from their locker room to the field and dugout on the 3rd base side. My kids were skeptical. But within the first 7 minutes of hanging out there for a Louisville Bats visit to the stadium, we had a handful of autographs. Ultimately, that day, my son got every single player except one plus two coaches. Wow.
     Then we found out the Clippers were moving downtown. We were excited for the location and the new stadium. We however knew that it was unlikely things could be so good in the "ease of collecting autographs" department. Our first few experiences with the stadium were not so good and only reinforced our missing the Coop.
     After the first year, however, things have improved. We routinely get a few autographs at Huntington Park. My oldest son got two Clippers' autographs at a recent day game (he had a ball, was in good position, and was wearing an Indians t-shirt). Although the dugouts and the locker rooms are connected (and the players do not need to walk right by you), it has turned out to be a decent place for autographs. And I tell everyone who has not been there that it is one of my favorite ballparks. And I have been to 35 major league stadiums and about 15-20 minor league stadiums. Thank you Clippers for the new stadium! We will keep coming!

January 2013

     January has shown itself to be a good month for autographs in Ohio. There was Columbus Blue Jacket preseason practices at the Ice Haus. There was Tribefest in Cleveland. There was Post-Game Team Autograph night at the CBJ v. Blackhawks game last Saturday. And finally, there was the Reds Winter Caravan.

     The Ice Haus practices by the CBJ are always a good place for autographs. The hallway where the players exit the ice and walk to the locker room means if you are in a good spot at the front of the railing, ask nice, and are prepared, it is likely you will be able to receive quite a few autographs. Although there were quite a few people there (see picture above), we only missed Boone Jenner and Brandon Dubinsky. Everyone else signed for us. We had the '11-'12 poster (my son and I are holding them in the picture) signed -- by the end of the day, everyone still with the team had signed it!
     I understand this was the first fan fest for the Indians (ever? in some time?). We had fun. We were able to get into the KeyBank VIP area (by showing our Keybank debit card) and had fun getting autographs from and photos with Terry Francona, Carlos Santana, and others. Tribe "alumni" Tito Francona and Jim "Mudcat" Grant were also signing autographs at Tribefest. We left with 11 autographs on baseballs. Tribefest was a bargain at $10 a person! We will go next year if they have it again! Below is a picture of Jim "Mudcat" Grant.

     This year's Columbus Blue Jacket Post-game Autograph session was another terrific event. After the lockout, this game featured give-aways to all the fans of a hat and a 2013 schedule poster. Both were good for autographs. Each player had a silver Sharpie, a black Sharpie, and a pen. I brought a oil-based white paint pen. My sons and their friend had the players sign with the Sharpie pens. This looked pretty good. I think the white medium-sized paint pen looked really terrific on the posters -- I am finding that shiny paper products (many posters, cheer cards, etc.) seem to let paint pens look their best. The "paint" really stands out. We have received between 12 and 16 autographs on these nights -- we got 12 this time. A nice time was had by all. The three 13 year old boys I was with were all very happy.
     I went to the Thursday (Ashland, KY), Friday (Bloomington, IN), Saturday (Columbus, Ohio -- Nationwide Arena), and Sunday (Hamilton, Ohio) Reds Winter Caravan visits in January. Each day, I got there 1.5-2 hours early. I received autographs from all the participants: Todd Frazier on a game-used bat, Jay Bruce on a Reds' jersey, Homer Bailey on a Redsfest 2012 poster, Corky Miller on a baseball, and many more. The key to Redsfest now is to get there early!
     Good luck and happy autograph hunting!