Anyone attending DBAcks fanfest?

[whatupyos]

Is anyone attending the DBacks fanfest on Saturday? I'd be interested in any Eric Byrnes item, game used jersey, bat, helmet, hat. Let me know if you come away with a Byrnesie item or can get me a jersey or helemt! Thanks.

Aaron

SunDevil2126628@hotmail.com

[OaklandAsFan]

I can sell you one of the autographed baseballs that I got when I purchased jerseys from the Pat Tillman fundraiser during Arizona Fall League of you want.

[whatupyos]

Oakland A's Fan-

I appreciate the offer but I have a ball already, but thanks.

Aaron

[TNTtoys]

Don't mean to piggy-back off of this thread, but I would be interested in any black or purple alternate jerseys (1998-2006) if these manage to turn up at fanfest. They have been hard to come by in the hobby.
If anyone thinks they can help, please email me at TNT_Toys@yahoo.com.

thanks,
Nick

[godwulf]

I'll be there...with a cartload of bats to get signed. They announced the names of the players who would (probably) be there - all 17 of them! - and I have at least 9 bats that I want to get autos on, plus BoMel and Gracie. Gracie isn't one of the designated signers, but he's supposed to be there with the other announcers and media guys, and he'll probably make himself available for autographs...so I'll take one of his unsigned bats along and see what happens.

The major conflict last year was between needing to stand in the lines to buy autograph tickets, and wanting to stand in the line to see the "yard sale" stuff - the bats, helmets, etc. Last year, I ended up going through the "yard sale" line fairly late, and by the time I got up there all but a couple of helmets were gone, and the bats that were left were just firewood. The neatest things I got were the folding chair and stool, with the "old" colors, from the locker room. This year, Randy isn't going to be there, so there probably won't be any auto lines that will be in danger of selling out, so I'll probably hit the sale line first and maybe snag something nice.

[frikativ54]

The major conflict last year was between needing to stand in the lines to buy autograph tickets, and wanting to stand in the line to see the "yard sale" stuff - the bats, helmets, etc. Last year, I ended up going through the "yard sale" line fairly late, and by the time I got up there all but a couple of helmets were gone, and the bats that were left were just firewood. The neatest things I got were the folding chair and stool, with the "old" colors, from the locker room. This year, Randy isn't going to be there, so there probably won't be any auto lines that will be in danger of selling out, so I'll probably hit the sale line first and maybe snag something nice.

Can you show us pictures? I would love to see them.

[cjw]

I came across this purple jersey for those that are interested...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ramon-Morel-1998...QQcmdZViewItem

[godwulf]

I was actually looking at the Morel jersey, 'cause I like oddball stuff - bats and jerseys from guys who were only with the team in ST, that kind of thing - but I've already got one, and "doubles" on something like that (especially at that price) would be silly.

2008 DBacks Fan Fest...Wow!!

The "yard sale" part of it was nothing to write home about. There were (as I expected) no jerseys - the team pretty much saves those for charity auctions, where even the minor stars' stuff brings in the big money. Bats: if you needed a Scott Hairston bat, there was a half a barrel to choose from, at $10 each. A few Chris Snyders, a Damion Easley, a Dee Brown (he was with them for ST either last year or the year before), and that's about it. Before I went in, I saw a couple of guys leave with half a dozen or so bats, so maybe I missed something good, but chances are not.

Like last year, the yard sale consisted mainly of leftover stadium givaways - mostly t-shirts and bobbleheads - some signed balls and photos, and stuff they're disposing of dirt cheap 'cause it has the old logo and colors on it - this year, it was all the dishes, plates, etc, from the second-deck restaurants.

The autograph signings were the "Wow!!" part, for me. All 21 of the players and coaches they advertised as coming, showed...plus a couple of surprises: Mark Grace and Jay Bell. Bell is not officially a coach, but since he retired, after playing one year with the Mets, he's been an Advisor to the DBacks, helping out in ST, Fantasy Camp, etc. It was good to see Jay again, but I wish I'd known he was going to be there - I'd have brought the Mets bat that still needs an auto.

I had ten bats loaded onto my converted Drive 'Winnie Wagon' (nicknamed by me, late in the day, when I must have been really tired, "the Batmobile"), and I got them all signed, along with seven baseballs and a bunch of photos.

Neatest signing of the day: On September 27, 2007, the team was in Pittsburgh, in a late-season losing skid, and rookie Micah Owings pitched them to an 8-0 shutout, and also went 4 for 4 at the plate, with three doubles, and on the second double Owings broke his bat. It was a pivotal game, which many think provided the impetus for the team's final push to the playoffs.

Here's what the bat looked like when I got it.



Micah seemed pretty jazzed to see it, and said, "I wondered what happened to that bat." He confirmed that it was the bat, and asked if I wanted him to inscribe it before I even had a chance to ask.



The second-neatest signing of the day, for me, was finally getting Bill Murphy to sign his 2005 Team U.S.A. CONCEBE Olympic Qualifying Tournament jersey for me.





Not exactly a landmark day for adding to my collection...but I got a couple of my very favorite items signed, about which I'm pretty happy.

There was a card show this year inside the ballpark, in conjuction with the Fan Fest, and one seller had a nice Craig Counsell LS gamer, with some use and a tiny handle crack; I asked his price, expecting something outrageous, and he only wanted 40, so I did pick that up.

Speaking of bats, I promised someone a while back to photograph and post a photo of the 512-bat storage unit I built out of grid panels, and I finally got around to taking some pictures, so here it is.





I've got about 50 bats on racks that I've made, on the walls - which only leaves about 150 floating around loose, propped up in one corner or another. I'm slowly getting organized...two years ago, most of the bats I had were still in boxes.