Throughout the 2018 baseball season, I have been sending baseball cards to numerous MLB players, past and present, through the mail. I am happy to say I have achieved a pretty high success rate, and I want to share my collection with YOU! Premiering in November, I will be sharing my autographs through a weekly photo blog format. Stay tuned!
Category: Originals
The Originals Category contains The Bleacher Creature Originals such as BP Report, Steal Facts, and stories! (Previously known as Ballpark)
MLB Sent Something Amazing To Me!
On Monday, April 30, I received a package in the mail from the offices of Major League Baseball in New York City. Approximately ten days earlier, I wrote a letter to Commissioner Rob Manfred telling him how much I enjoyed baseball. I only asked for an autographed business card, but I got much more.
The package was sent first class in a bubble mailer. The shipping cost totaled at $3.75, which was a surprise since I did not send any money in. When I opened it, I found my requested signed business card along with a full sized official Major League Baseball. The baseball was signed in blue Sharpie across the sweet spot.
This is only my second through the mail autograph return, and I am really grateful. Five years ago I wrote a letter to Ken Singleton and got a signed 8×10 glossy picture. Acts like these make the game stronger and get more fans involved.
McDonald’s Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Review|Amusing or Confusing?
After McDonald’s stopped serving the food item due to popularity, McDonald’s restaurants officially welcomed back their Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders back on December 29. I was only able to get my hands on them now, but nevertheless I had the experience. You would not believe how much flavor were in this type of chicken compared to the Chicken McNuggets. The Buttermilk Crispy Chicken also was bigger and were in available in four piece, six piece, and ten piece servings. McDonald’s also gets full credit for their design of the chicken box. The box came designed with spots for two dipping sauces of your choice. Overall, I totally recommend these new Buttermilk Crispy Chicken and rate them Amusing.
Amusing or Confusing?: Wilson A500 Defender Baseball Glove
Before baseball season, I purchased a Wilson A500 baseball glove. It is the same model Mariners’ second baseman Robinson Cano uses but has a Yasiel Puig color scheme. I wanted this glove to see if the colored leather myth was true. For those of you who don’t know, many former players and analysts believed gloves with colors aren’t as durable and stiff as the traditional leather and black gloves. This was speculated on after Yasiel Puig dropped a routine fly ball. So far, I haven’t noticed any troubles. One problem with the glove is that the strings come lose more often than my previous Mizuno model. I like the finger pocket as I can partially see through it. This glove is definitely more padded and comfortable than my previous one. One problem I do have with the colors is that the powder blue coloring tends to get more dirty and worn down, which is not a pleasant thing at all. At least with black ones you don’t see this discoloration. At $60 MSRP, I would say the Wilson A500 glove is amusing.
Amusing or Confusing? $70 Premio Junior Varsity Pitchback
To perfect the art of fielding and pitching, one must practice long and hard. Thankfully, the pitchback was invented. A pitchback is a metal frame that holds a taut netting. When a baseball is thrown, the pitchback is supposed to reflect he ball back to the person. With lots of pitchbacks on the market, I chose Premio’s Five Position Junior Varsity Pitchback.
The product included many pros. Each of the five positions were unique from each other ranging from ground balls to line drives to fly balls. The fly ball setting did not, however, highly elevate the ball. Also, another flaw of the product is the bounce-back velocity. The reflection speed was only half of the original speed. On the other side, the quality is tough and the elastic bands are very hard to break. But if a missed pitch does hit the metal, then denting is very likely to happen. The metal frame is a dark green and the netting is black so the pitchback fits well into any environment such as the suburbs or a city alley. At $70, the pitchback is expensive but well worth it. Overall, the Premio Pitchback is Amusing.
BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: All Good Things Come to an End
On July 31, 2017, I went to yet another Yankee game at Yankee Stadium. I got there early right when the gates opened, but there was some season ticket holder event that let other people in earlier. By the time I got in, right field was really crowded. The Yankees groups hit about ten baseballs into the home bullpen. I went over there, put my hands in the air, and got, well, “competed” by a kid. He put his thumb in my earhole, the middle finger around the earlobe, and twisted. It really hurt and I went down. I would’ve accepted it, but the kid got the ball, and I was empty. Later in BP, Zack Hample showed up. I went over to him and had a nice chat. This is the second time I’ve talked to him. I warned him about the kid, and asked him how many balls he had gotten. He only had two, and you could see he was having a rough day. I helped him out by telling him who was up at the plate. I didn’t get any balls during batting practice or during the course of the game. This ended my three game streak.
The game was very interesting and fun as the Yankees won 7-2 over the Detroit Tigers. Aaron Judge hit a home run, but sadly I missed it as I was in the bathroom. I enjoyed a milkshake from Johnny Rockets and a bowl of soup noodles from the Noodle Bowl. Even though I didn’t get I ball, I know that people are always better than possessions.
Autographs In My Possession
Over the years, I have been able to put together quite an autograph collection. I have an Edwin Rios autograph from Bowman Baseball 2017, a Johnny Bench from 1999 Donruss Significant Signatures, and a John Franco from 2015 Topps Archives. I also in-person autographs. I have Dellin Betances, Jim Leyritz, Jacob deGrom, Luis Sojo, Jeff Nelson, John Wetteland, Ken Singeleton, Joe Panik, Frank Thomas, Gaylord Perry, Bert Campaneris, Howard Johnson, and Al Bumbry. (Zack Hample also signed a baseball for me at Yankee Stadium and Brandon Steiner signed a Steiner Sports ad) My favorite auto in my collection is Dellin Betances because I spent so much time with him.
The Story of Marlins Man
Marlins Man is a multi-sport icon. He does not play any sports, but is at all sporting events. He stands out because he goes to baseball games, football games, hockey games, and even appeared at a horse race decked out in an orange Marlins jersey and an orange Marlins visor. The true Marlins Man, Laurence Leavy, found out he had liver cancer. He no longer wanted to want the games and events on TV, but wanted to actually be there. Now, he is an icon across the sporting world.
BP Report with Jacoby Nolnaho: Old Timers’ Day
On June 25, 2017, I arrived at Yankee Stadium at 10:00. It was the 71st annual Old Timers’ Day. After an hour of absolute nothing, the Yankees greats finally took batting practice. Since these legends are getting up there in age, the baseballs were not flying out. My one (and only) chance came when a weak dribbler hit against the wall. Four time World Champion Jeff Nelson came over a tossed me the ball (For those of you who don’t know, I have actually met Jeff Nelson at an AT&T grand opening celebration). And as many of pitchers have noticed, the seams on the 2017 baseball around more thin and tighter wounded compared to the 2016 baseballs. This has been thought to have happened after the incline in home runs. Old Timers’ Day was fun, but it was extremely hot.
For the actual game, I was sitting in home run territory right near the left field foul. Despite an epic comeback from a 7-0 devastate, the Yankees fell to the Texas Rangers 7-6. In this game, Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks left with a rib cage/oblique injury and took an MRI. Team officials say he will be out 3 to 4 weeks.
BP Report With Jacoby Nolnaho: Dingers
On April 28, 2017, I went to my third game of the season. Everything went right. It looked like I wasn’t going to make the train, but it was late, and switched to the train I currently was on. When I got to stadium, I was able to get the fleece blanket. I made a beeline to left field. I missed the Yankees’ BP, but not the Orioles’ BP. I expected a lot of home runs to come to left field. A matter of fact, there was only one lefty in the Orioles’ lineup. After a disappointing BP, I got my food, and watched the game.
I had free seats in the upper deck, so I decided to get up and walk around. I went to the Toyota Terrace to watch the rest of game. It looked like the Yankees were going to lose. They were down 9-1! But after Jacoby Ellsbury hit a grand slam and later, when Starlin Castro hit the game tying home run, we were back in it. In the beginning of the tenth inning, Aroldis Chapman was warming up. When he was done with his warmups, bullpen catcher Jason Brown threw me the ball. Overall, it was a great game. I got a ball, made it on the jumbotron, made it on TV three times, and got a pressed penny for my pressed penny collection. The Yankees ended up winning 14-11 on Matt Holliday’s walk off homer.