Category: Private Signing

A 1st HR and Debut

At the beginning of spring training, Lou R (SIGNATURES on SCN) posted he was having a private signing with Gregory Polanco and Ronny Mauricio. I happened to have a ticket for Polanco’s 1st MLB HR and a pair of debut tickets for Mauricio so I sent them in. I received them back today signed perfectly with the appropriate inscriptions. These items look awesome and are really cool additions to my collection!

A Tough Signer

The April, 27, 1981 Sports Illustrated magazine pictures the Oakland A’s starting five pitchers inside their locker room. It shows Rick Langford, Steve McCatty, Brian Kingman, Matt Keough, and Mike Norris posing together. It is really tough to find this magazine signed by any of them much less all of them on the same issue. I was fortunate enough to get Mike Norris to sign one years ago and then found a seller selling an issue with Steve McCatty’s signature on it. Coliseum Kingz (Carlos Lopez) recently had a signing with Norris so I sent in the issue signed by McCatty already and received it back today. Mike Norris signed it perfectly. I now have two down and three to go! I know this one won’t ever get completed but it is ready if the other three decide to start signing.

UPDATE: I received a message on this post from a buddy of mine that Matt Keough has passed away. So, now I know this one will NEVER be completed! I guess that makes Matt a REALLY TOUGH signer now!

The Knobber

Chuck Knoblauch came onto the baseball scene with a flourish in 1991. He was a fast and steady, top-of-the-order, on base machine early in his career helping lead the Twins to the 1991 World Championship earning Rookie of the Year on the way. Later on, he got the yips and could not throw the ball from second base to first base. It was later revealed he was a PED user and ended up having domestic issues. A sad tale really. But, a couple items from happier times arrived in my mailbox today. Chris R (rifon on SCN) attended a signing event and got a pair of items signed by Chuck. My December, 1991 Baseball Digest issue and 1991 Opening Night Twins at A’s ticket were both signed nicely by Chuck. His signature has really deteriorated from his playing days. Back then his signature looked like his name. Now it is a C with some loops. But, he did include “MLB Debut!” on the ticket. A couple nice items to add to the Twins collection!