Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Zach Jackson


I met him at a Minor League game at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the Dunedin Blue Jays came to play the Clearwater Threshers.

Zach signed a 2016 Bowman Draft card #BD-116.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jacksza02.shtml

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Billy Reed


I met him at the 2017 Tampa Bay Legends & Celebrity All-Star Softball Classic on July 8, 2017, at the University of South Florida Baseball Stadium in Tampa, Florida.


Billy signed a 1989 Little Sun High School Prospects card #23.

Monday, July 6, 2020

Jimmie Gardner


I met him at the 2017 Tampa Bay Legends & Celebrity All-Star Softball Classic on July 8, 2017, at the University of South Florida Baseball Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

When I handed Jimmie my card, he laughed and said, "I haven't seen this card in over 25 years." I thought he was joking and making light of how old the card was. It wasn't until I got home and started working on this page that you're reading now that I realized that he was dead serious.
In 1987, while playing for the Charleston Wheelers, a Cubs A-ball affiliate, two women were sexually assaulted in the city of Charleston, West Virginia. The attacker was described as a black male. Over 100 black men in the city were questioned, including Jimmie and his black teammates. Some were even fingerprinted.
Two years later, Jimmie was arrested for that crime along with a charge of burglary. In 1990 he was sentenced to 110 years in prison.
In 2016, after serving 27 years behind bars, DNA evidence, as well as proof of a corrupt forensic serologist, proved that Jimmie was innocent of all charges.
I thought I was just getting a minor leaguer's autograph that never reached the big leagues. Turns out, it became one of my favorite autographs in my collection. I just wish I had known his story before meeting him.


Jimmie signed a 1986 ProCards Geneva Cubs Team Set card.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gardne001jim

Sunday, July 5, 2020

Gary Sheffield


I met him at the 2017 Tampa Bay Legends & Celebrity All-Star Softball Classic on July 8, 2017, at the University of South Florida Baseball Stadium in Tampa, Florida.


Gary signed the cover of the October 1992 issue of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sheffga01.shtml

Saturday, July 4, 2020

Ty Griffin


I met him at the 2017 Tampa Bay Legends & Celebrity All-Star Softball Classic on July 8, 2017, at the University of South Florida Baseball Stadium in Tampa, Florida.


Ty signed a 1988 Topps Traded card #44T.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=griffi001tyr

Friday, July 3, 2020

Floyd Youmans


I met him at the 2017 Tampa Bay Legends & Celebrity All-Star Softball Classic on July 8, 2017, at the University of South Florida Baseball Stadium in Tampa, Florida.


Floyd signed a 1987 Topps card #105.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/youmafl01.shtml

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Vernon Slater


I met him at the 2017 Tampa Bay Legends & Celebrity All-Star Softball Classic on July 8, 2017, at the University of South Florida Baseball Stadium in Tampa, Florida.


Vernon signed a 1990 Eugene Emeralds Team Set card #28.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=slater002ver

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Georgi Hristov


I met him at a Tampa Bay Rowdies game at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2017.

Georgi signed an 8x10 photo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Hristov_(footballer,_born_1985)

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Kyle Porter


I met him at a Tampa Bay Rowdies game at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2017.

Kyle signed a 2014 Topps Major League Soccer purple parallel card #170 (33/99).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Porter

Monday, June 29, 2020

Austin Berry


I met him at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2017, when FC Cincinnati came to play the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Austin signed a 2012 Upper Deck Major League Soccer card #189.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Berry_(soccer)

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Tyler Polak


I met him at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida in 2017, when FC Cincinnati came to play the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Tyler signed a 2012 Upper Deck Major League Soccer card #200.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Polak

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Mike Lum


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Pirates, whom he was there as a Pittsburgh Pirates senior advisor, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Mike signed a 1974 Topps card #227.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lummi01.shtml

Friday, June 26, 2020

Randor Bierd


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Pirates, whom he was a coach for, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Randor signed a 2008 Upper Deck card #701.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bierdra01.shtml

Thursday, June 25, 2020

Stephen Alemais


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Pirates, whom he was on a rehab assignment with, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Stephen signed a 2017 West Virginia Power Team Set card #05.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=alemai000ste

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Elvin Nina


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Pirates, whom he was the pitching coach for, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Elvin signed a 2002 Upper Deck 40-Man card #33.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=nina--001elv

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Austin McClune


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Pirates, whom he was the hitting coach for, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Austin signed a 2006 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Gold card #DP37.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mcclun001aus

Monday, June 22, 2020

Bob Herold


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Pirates, whom he was managing, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Bob signed a 1992 Fleer Pro Cards card #2978.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=herold001rob

Sunday, June 21, 2020

David Fischer


I met him at a Minor League Fort Myers Miracle game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida in 2017.

David signed a 2017 Fort Myers Miracle Team Set card.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=fische002dav

Saturday, June 20, 2020

Lachlan Wells


I met him at a Minor League Fort Myers Miracle game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida in 2017.

Lachlan signed a 2017 Fort Myers Miracle Team Set card.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wells-000lac

Friday, June 19, 2020

Kevin Garcia


I met him at a Minor League Fort Myers Miracle game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida in 2017.

Kevin signed a 2017 Fort Myers Miracle Team Set card.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=garcia003kev

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Shane Kennedy


I met him at a Minor League Fort Myers Miracle game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida in 2017.

Shane signed a 2017 Fort Myers Miracle Team Set card.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=kenned002sha

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Lewis Thorpe


I met him at a Minor League Fort Myers Miracle game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida in 2017.

Lewis signed a 2015 Topps Heritage Minor League card #132.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/thorple01.shtml

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Tim Tebow


I met him at a Minor League game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida in 2017, when the St. Lucie Mets came to play the Fort Myers Miracle.

Tim signed a 2017 Columbia Fireflies Team Set card.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=tebow-000tim

Monday, June 15, 2020

Jhalan Jackson


I met him at a Minor League game at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the Tampa Yankees came to play the Clearwater Threshers.

Jhalan signed a 2015 Staten Island Yankees Team Set card #17.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=jackso000jha

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Nick Solak


I met him at a Minor League game at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the Tampa Yankees came to play the Clearwater Threshers.

Nick signed a 2017 Bowman Prospects card #BP77.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/solakni01.shtml

Saturday, June 13, 2020

Angel Aguilar


I met him at a Minor League game at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the Tampa Yankees came to play the Clearwater Threshers.

Angel signed a 2016 Charleston RiverDogs Team Set card.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=aguila002---

Friday, June 12, 2020

Tim Lynch


I met him at a Minor League game at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the Tampa Yankees came to play the Clearwater Threshers.

Tim signed a 2016 Pulaski Yankees Team Set card #21.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lynch-003tim

Thursday, June 11, 2020

Mike Alvarez


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Tigers West, whom he was the pitching coach for, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Mike signed a 1982 TCMA card #272.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=alvare001eve

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Derek Hill


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Tigers West, whom he was on a rehab assignment with, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Derek signed a 2014 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects card #DP19.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hillde01.shtml

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Rafael Gil


I met him at a Minor League game at Paul Owens Training Facility at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater, Florida in 2017, when the GCL Tigers West, whom he was managing, came to play the GCL Phillies.

Rafael signed a 2008 Lowell Spinners Team Set card.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=gil---001raf