Non-HoF Autographs: Jonathan Broxton

I'm a fan of any pitcher who throws really hard and can get a strike-out in a tight spot.  At times, Jonathan Broxton is just that pitcher.  He's a big guy, and he throws close to 100 mph on a consistant basis.  He is an All Star, and may prove to be worthy of the Hall of Fame when he arrives at the end of his career.

Unfortunately, at the time of this blog posting, he has not been doing quite so well.  He temporarily lost his closer role, and has been struggling to get hitters to swing and miss.

I blogged about getting this autograph over at my other blog.  I think it would be really cool to get Russell Martin to autograph the bottom of this image.  Oh, and I guess it would be fun to get the hitter, Albert Pujols (a player who is almost certainly going to be elected to the Hall of Fame) to sign as well, but chances are pretty slim for that to happen.

Non-HoF Autographs: Josh Hamilton

I snagged this autograph at a spring training game in 2009.  Josh Hamilton played the first few innings and then headed to the showers.  At this particular spring training park, the players had to exit the field by walking all the way down the first base line and out through a gate in the outfield wall.

Of course when the fans saw him sauntering down the long walk right in front of them, everyone clammored for an autograph (including me).  He was nice enough to sign for a long period of time - long enough for me to make it from the opposite side of the stadium to where he was standing.  Sadly he signed my ticket stub upside-down, but I guess that isn't that important.

Hamilton's career began as a super-prospect touted to become one of the greatest ever.  A huge signing bonus led to living life large, and ended up leading to substance abuse problems.  Many thought his career was finished, but he cleaned up, found religion, and has turned into the incredible major leaguer that everyone expected him to be.  One wonders if his years facing his demons will cost him a shot at the Hall of Fame.  I guess only time will tell.

Non-HoF Autographs: Various Players

This ball has a similar story to my Indians logo ball.  It was also from the summer of 1997 when my aunt took me to a variety of ballgames.  One somewhat unique aspect of this ball is that during that same summer the MLB All Star game was played in Cleveland.  My uncle had tickets for he and his son, but my aunt and I did not, so we watched from the parking structure which overlooked left field.

Half way through the game my aunt's cell phone rang.  It was my uncle, informing us that their seats were right beside All Star pitcher, "Mudcat" Grant (who happens to be one of thirteen black players to have won 20 games in a single season), and if I wanted to get something signed, I should meet him at the nearest gate.  My uncle took him my cheap plastic covered baseball and he signed right on the sweet spot.  Had I known how good of a player he had been, I probably would have retired this ball with just the one signature, but alas as a young boy I was just interested in getting more.  I think the rest were obtained at Indians games throughout that summer (with maybe one exception).

As you can see, other than that notable signature, the ball has a mixed bag of signatures - everything from journeyman players Trenidad Hubbard (obtained at All Star Fan Festival 1997!) and Charlie O'Brien (who if I'm not mistaken, I got his signature at a game at Toronto's SkyDome), to big league sluggers like Brian Giles and David Justice (although my pen ran out of ink while he was signing).

What may turn out to be the most important autograph on this ball is the one from Omar Vizquel.  Certainly Vizquel has never really been known for his hitting ability - although he was a good hitter in his prime - but he is one of the defensive wizards of this era.  It will be interesting to see if the voters for the Hall of Fame give him any consideration.

Non-HoF Autographs: Jason Jacome, Tony Fernandez, Casey Candaele, Jose Mesa

This ball contains four seemingly random signatures.  What they do share is that all four players were on the 1997 Cleveland Indians - a team that won their division and narrowly lost the World Series that year to the upstart Florida Marlins.

I'm almost certain that none of the players who ever signed this cheap souvenir Cleveland Indians baseball will ever be inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Jacome and Candaele had much longer careers than I ever imagined, but they were utility players at best, bouncing from organization to organization.

Mesa and Fernandez both had lengthy careers, and both made All Star teams when they were in their prime.  Mesa once led the league in saves, and Fernandez once led the league in triples.  I remember being very excited to get Fernandez to sign because he had been a Toronto Blue Jay on two separate occasions before playing with the Indians, and once after I got this signature.

My mom grew up in Northeastern Ohio, so many of my childhood vacations were spent driving down to Ohio to visit our relatives.  My aunt is an avid Indians fan, and she would take me and my young cousin to a handful of games each summer.  We would go early and stay late, always making sure to hang around the player parking lot which in those days had a wrought iron fence which kids and autograph hounds could shout at players to come over and sign their souvenirs. 

Good memories.

Non-HoF Autographs: Aaron Hill, Justin Speier, Reed Johnson

This particular baseball is pretty special to me.  I got it on my birthday while attending a Blue Jays/Orioles game at Camden Yards in Baltimore.  Tony Bautista hit a screaming liner right at me.  I put my hand up, and knocked down the ball (saving my friend Josh's life, as he tells it).  Another friend was kind enough to give the ball to me after he snagged it from the ground (it was my birthday after all).

It lived in my car for a little while, rolling around on the floor (so sad how I treated this treasured item!), so it has a few cuts and nicks.  I carried it with me to several games, hoping to get it signed by some Blue Jays.

The first was a youngster who has since made a big impact - Aaron Hill.  I got his autograph at a game against the Nationals at the old RFK Stadium.  He signed in black sharpie (something I've since learned isn't the best idea since the marker can bleed on a baseball).  The second, a middle reliever who was playing for the Blue Jays at the time named Justin Speier.  I don't remember when I got his signature.  The third and final signature on this ball was from Reed Johnson - a marginal player at best, but a great one to remember because I obtained it at one of the last games the Blue Jays ever played at Yankee Stadium.

Non-HoF Autographs: Andre Ethier

I decided to fill the down time between obtaining autographs of Hall of Famers by filling you all in on the autographs I've obtained of other current and former players.  The above autograph is from current LA Dodger, Andre Ethier.  You can read a full account of how that autograph was obtained at my other blog.

Andre's career is relatively young.  He is off to a great start, and may one day be inducted into the Hall.  But for now, he qualifies as a non-Hall of Famer autograph.

Proposal.

I've hit a dry spell with my Hall of Famer autograph requests.  I haven't received one in the mail since way back on July 30th.  Hopefully my recent wave of mailings will result in some success stories to share with my faithful readers (if there are any...).

However I've been considering sharing my autograph collection from players who have not yet been inducted into the Hall.  One way would be to show you the players who could potentially be inducted (I have only a few of those), or I could show you all of my baseball autographs - no matter how obscure.

Is there a general consensus?  Does anyone actually read this thing?