2000-2009

Recently I decided to tackle the easiest decade for me, the 2000's.  They technically just ended Oct 4th as far as the baseball regular season is considered, and currently I stand with just under 80% of the job complete.  Of the 236 players to start thier Sox careers in that decade, I have 188 of thier autographs (players such as Varitek and Wakefield count in the 90's).  With only 48 signatures to go, I think I can close out this decade pretty soon.  Check back for updates!

Change-Up

So I have decided to change up how I am going to use this blog. In the past few months I have undertaken the taks of trying to get one autograph of every player to ever play for the Boston Red Sox (According to the RedSox.com official list of players).  I'll be using this blog to update on the autographs I get and update on where I am as far as completing this enormous task (1000+ players).  I realized that I do not do enough In-Person autographing to regularly update this blog in it's current form, so this way I have something to update, even if it's just one autograph.  Feel free to comment along the way!  Thanks for stopping by!

Futures at Fenway!

Went to the Futures at Fenway Doubleheader on Saturday, and it was definitely a worthwhile experience. The games themselves were great on their own, and with the reduced ticket prices, it gives families a chance to go to Fenway and catch 2 games for the price of one. Also due to the slightly smaller crowd (the park was pretty full, but not filled), myself and the 2 people i was with moved all the way down to about 5 rows behind the home dugout, giving us a great view for the games. As far as autographs, you shouldn't get your hopes up too high. The players did sign a lot, however the walls were lined with small kids getting cheap baseballs signed, which will be a great memory for them, but not a great place for an autograph hound. I don't care how good a player is, I will never step in front of a kid to get an autograph. If I'm at the fence before him and his parents are pushing lifting them over my back (this has happened to me), then we might have a problem. Plus I brought mostly cards and didn't feel like throwing those over the dugout to players on the top step, and I didn't really want to get individual OMLB's signed by most of the minor leaguers. The ones who were definitely worth an OMLB I already had. During each game hover, a long table was set up with the team not playing (so the Seadogs were there during the Pawsox game and vice versa). I showed up too late to the Pawsox signing and the line was at least 100-150 people deep and they only signed for 45 mins, so I went back to the game. For the Seadogs, I showed up about an hour, hour and a half early, and was still about 50 people back. Once you go to the front of the line you had to chose between going left or right, and seeing as Lars Anderson was on the left, that was the way I went. On a side note, most people were doing the same (going to the left for Lars), and the guys on the right, including Jason Place who hit a homerun that day, and Ryan Kalish) were commenting how no one was coming down their side of the table. Kalish even mentioned to Lars Anderson's father (who I recognized from Spring Training) how no one was coming down their side of the table. I ended up with 5 signed cards (3 Matt Sheely's and 2 Jon Still's) and 4 signed 8x10's that I tore out of the Pawsox 2009 Program (Dustin Richardson, Anderson, Ryan Khoury, and Jorge Jimenez). So for a trip to Fenway, 9 autographs isn't that bad, and I could've had more if I handed more cards to other players or really fought to get some more, but I was happy getting the Anderson signed. So my advice if you want to go next year, get there early for the signings, and bring a friend to go down both sides of the table. Thanks for stopping by!

My Newest J-Bay Autograph

So from scowering eBay I came across a great item. 2 Autographed Game Used Batting Gloves of Jason Bay. Well I bid, won, and bought a shadowbox and 8x10 to display the gloves. Let me konw what you think!

Food for Autographs!

(From a backlog of updates I didn't post). The other weekend (July 24th-25th) was the Red Sox Player's Wives Food Drive. This is by far the best way to get certified autographs of the current Major league Red Sox, as you trade 10 food items, or $10 for an autographed 4x6 picture of a Red Sox player (up to 4 pictures per person, so $40 or 40 items). There are a few different tables set up so depending on which one you go to, you'll find a varying experience. The first day, Friday, I went at 5:00 pm, which was when it started. I went to the first table I saw, and all the pictures were turned down, but the people were telling everyone who each pile was, which apparently they weren't supposed to do. I ended up with Matsuzaka, Beckett, Wakefield, and Pedroia. I decided to press my luck and try a second time because everyone seemed pretty relaxed at the table and gave another $20 and got Ortiz and Ellsbury without a problem. So I decided to go back the next day with another a relative to double my chances, and brought food this time as well. I went to the same table again and this time the photos were all turned up so you could see the players, and ended up with Papelbon, Youkilis, Varitek, and Saito. Then went to the other table to see if they had any Jason Bay's, and it turned out this table had all the photos mixed up and face down and whoever you picked you kept (though you didn't have to take doubles). This time I ended up with Bard, Masterson, Baldelli, and Ellsbury and my relative picked Youkilis, Smoltz, Beckett, and Okajima. So overall I ended up with 18 autographed photos, though 3 were doubles that I can trade or sell. I intend to frame some of the 4x6's with some nice 8x10's to display, and buy 4x6 acrylic frames or the rest. I already put the Youkilis in a display with an autographed jersey I have of him. If you have any questions about the event email, thanks!

My Masterpiece

So because I'm not busy enough (LIES! LIES!), I've decided to finally start a project I've had on the back burner for a while. Originally it started as making my main site (Brian's Red Sox Autographs) include every signature of every Red Sox Player ever, or as close to it as humanly possible. Knowing I don't have the financial resources or the time, I decided to out source, and join other Red Sox Collectors to create a comprehensive database of Red Sox Autographs. This became RedSoxAttic.com. This is a new website that is currently in development that will have a lot of general information, history, etc on the Red Sox, as well as a page for every player to ever throw a pitch, or have an at bat with the Red Sox, with an example of their autograph. The point of the player pages is to compare your autographs to In Person or Certified autographs of players that myself and the other collectors have. The second focus of the site is to help Red Sox fans get autographs of their favorite players. There will be a forum as well as specific pages devoted to helping you get autographs, including a store which will have discounted prices compared to major dealers online, and possibly some auctions or trade auctions etc. If you have any ideas, comments, or would like to join the team of Attic Addicts (that's what I'm calling us anyways) or just help in any way, please email me at BriansRedSoxAutos@hotmail.com. Thanks for stopping by!

Miss Me?

Some of you may be wondering where I've been these last few months. Well the short answer is that I moved. I had some issues at my last apartment that I would rather not get into, but I moved to a new place, and also gained a roommate in my long time girl friend who moved from Boston out to Western Massachusetts with me. In bigger news (to you anyways) I finally started my year-long plan to launch a comprehensive Red Sox Autograph site, and I've been working on that quite a bit, but though more news on that later. Granted those are not excuses to not post ANYTHING, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. As for the Contest Results, a winner was chosen and an email was sent out for him/her to reply to with mailing information. They have 3 days so if they don't reply I'll pick another winner and the cycle will continue. I'll post the final results here when I get them. I'm also trying to figure out who to give away for the August Contest. I'll post some choices today or tomorrow and you can decide. I'll also post some other updates/Q&A/In Person Autograph that have been back logged since June. Thanks for stopping by!

Dustin Pedroia Book Signings

Dustin wrote a book called "Born to Play:My Life in the Game" and will be signing copies at a Barnes and Noble on Boyleston Street July 23rd at 5 pm. Just giving everyone a heads up to get a free autograph (you have to buy the book though, and he only signs the book, no outside items). Thanks for stopping by!

May Contest Winner

Well the Correct Answer to the May Contest was 1908, which was the first year the Red Sox actually wore red socks. Congratulations to MATT, who won the drawing and thanks to all those who sent in answers. June's contest is for an autographed Jason Bay Postcard. The question: Who holds the record for most consecutive seasons managing the Red Sox? Send all responses, along with your first name to briansredsoxautos@hotmail.com. Correct answers will be placed in a drawing for the above prize. Contest ends Tuesday June 30th at 11:59 p.m. Winners will be notified via e-mail shortly after.

Contest Update (Bay in June!)

Only 5 more days to try to win the Charlie Zink Autographed Card. Big news for the June Contest. Since my birthday is in June I've decided to give away a special prize. An Autographed Jason Bay 4x6 Card (unfortunately he's on the Pirates but still it's J-Bay).