a halladay auto!

...plus many more. Today I received a very interesting item from the local shop today. Well, first let me give a little background info. I started working there part part-time. What that essentially means is that when he needs me, he asks if I can work. Well flash forward to Wednesday (I think it was Wed.), he sends me a message saying he got something I'd be really interested in. Well, this is what it was:




Eighteen signatures from the 2009 team. Included are Roy Halladay, Vernon Wells, Jose Bautista, Adam Lind, Aaron Hill and the reason it's even here, Jesse Carlson. Jesse is from Berlin, Connecticut which is the next town over and the location of the aformentioned card shop. Apparently the high school baseball coach received this a gift from Carlson and went on over to the shop to see if he was interested in either buying or trading for it (I'm not sure which). Being that I'm a known Jays fan, he said 'of course' with me in mind. He gave me the ball (and holder) as a payment for my first couple of shifts. Shifts have only been two hours long so far (on days when he wants to leave early) so this worked out pretty well. I haven't identified each signature yet but I know a few others on here. Once I figure them all out I'll document it but a sweet piece to my Jays collection.

my collection of non-card autos

I don't have too much in the way of autographed items that aren't cards. Well, today's post is going to focus on those few such items. Shall we?

I'll start with the one item you may be familiar with:

The Griffey ball/UD rookie. Still probably my favorite.

Vernon Wells ball.

Vernon Wells mini helmet. Yes, those are Lego ninjas hiding underneath on the left and a Lego baseball player on the right.

Aaron Hill ball.

Jimmy Key ball.

Cal Ripken Jr. ball. This one is cool because it is on an All-Star ball from 1991, which was played in Toronto, which Cal played in.

I know, short but sweet. With only sic items so far it is a terribly small collection when compared to some of you guys. I haven't been big into the autographed ball/items/etc. thing but that may change someday. It's a start though.

the kid and the contest

Picked this up today at ye olde local card shoppe:

The kid. One of the most iconic baseball cards ever printed sitting next to an autographed ball. I've had my eye on it for some time and made the plunge today. Tax return came in and after playing around with all the numbers on what had to go where, I had a little left for this new gem.

Derek from Tomahawk Chopping is holding a contest, so check it (and his blog if you don't) out now. A really great prize for the winner and its easier than filling out a 1040EZ! (just kidding, his contest is really easy though, follow, comment, pimp, done.)

Also, if I have any fellow Blue Jays fans as readers, I have many Jays duplicates available. If you would like some (or all of them), let me know and I'll get them out to you.