Sweet Like Candy
I wrote a couple of weeks ago about receiving a Tom Dukes autograph that I was hoping to complete. The other half of the card is a former Astros utility player that only had one Major League at bat in which he struck out: Alonzo "Candy" Harris. While he is not a true "Cup of Coffee" player, since he appeared as a pinch runner in four different games, he does fit the model of the types of interviews I typically do. I have been trying to get him to respond to any message abou
An Autograph Of Who?
There are some autographs left on my want list that are simply the result of not wanting to pay what people want for the autograph. A prime example is Carlos Beltran. His autograph is readily available on baseballs, cards, and pictures. That said, the price is higher than I think it will be able to maintain. I am banking on being right and being able to pick him up later at a more reasonable price. There are other names on the list who are not very valuable except that th
Put Up Your Dukes
I am on a constant mission to find Houston Astros players to interview for the website. I usually target players after finding really interesting stories and wanting to get their perspective on that event. One of those players is Tom Dukes. On April 27, 1968, the Astros were facing the Mets. In typical fashion, some kind of record was set when these two teams faced off. This time, it was the dubious honor of being the longest, most boring game in history. Twenty-four inn
Picnic in the Park 2015
While the website is several years old, I have never really kept track of how I obtain the autographs or the work that goes into my collection or that goes into tracking down and interviewing former players. Today was a very fruitful day. I added seven new autographs (well, eight depending on how flexible you are willing to be) and several that I can use for trade. For my birthday, my wife bought us tickets to the Houston Astros' Picnic in the Park. I had never attended an
{"items":["5f58e0d08ee768001759dbb6","5f58e0d08ee768001759dbb5","5f58e0d08ee768001759dbb4","5f58e0d08ee768001759dbb3"],"styles":{"galleryType":"Columns","groupSize":1,"showArrows":true,"cubeImages":true,"cubeType":"fill","cubeRatio":1.3333333333333333,"isVertical":true,"gallerySize":30,"collageAmount":0,"collageDensity":0,"groupTypes":"1","oneRow":false,"imageMargin":32,"galleryMargin":0,"scatter":0,"rotatingScatter":"","chooseBestGroup":true,"smartCrop":false,"hasThumbnails":false,"enableScroll":true,"isGrid":true,"isSlider":false,"isColumns":false,"isSlideshow":false,"cropOnlyFill":false,"fixedColumns":1,"enableInfiniteScroll":true,"isRTL":false,"minItemSize":50,"rotatingGroupTypes":"","rotatingCropRatios":"","columnWidths":"","gallerySliderImageRatio":1.7777777777777777,"numberOfImagesPerRow":1,"numberOfImagesPerCol":1,"groupsPerStrip":0,"borderRadius":0,"boxShadow":0,"gridStyle":1,"mobilePanorama":false,"placeGroupsLtr":true,"viewMode":"preview","thumbnailSpacings":4,"galleryThumbnailsAlignment":"bottom","isMasonry":false,"isAutoSlideshow":false,"slideshowLoop":false,"autoSlideshowInterval":4,"bottomInfoHeight":0,"titlePlacement":"SHOW_ON_THE_RIGHT","galleryTextAlign":"center","scrollSnap":false,"itemClick":"nothing","fullscreen":true,"videoPlay":"hover","scrollAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","slideAnimation":"SCROLL","scrollDirection":0,"scrollDuration":400,"overlayAnimation":"FADE_IN","arrowsPosition":0,"arrowsSize":23,"watermarkOpacity":40,"watermarkSize":40,"useWatermark":true,"watermarkDock":{"top":"auto","left":"auto","right":0,"bottom":0,"transform":"translate3d(0,0,0)"},"loadMoreAmount":"all","defaultShowInfoExpand":1,"allowLinkExpand":true,"expandInfoPosition":0,"allowFullscreenExpand":true,"fullscreenLoop":false,"galleryAlignExpand":"left","addToCartBorderWidth":1,"addToCartButtonText":"","slideshowInfoSize":200,"playButtonForAutoSlideShow":false,"allowSlideshowCounter":false,"hoveringBehaviour":"NEVER_SHOW","thumbnailSize":120,"magicLayoutSeed":1,"imageHoverAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imagePlacementAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","calculateTextBoxWidthMode":"PERCENT","textBoxHeight":0,"textBoxWidth":200,"textBoxWidthPercent":50,"textImageSpace":10,"textBoxBorderRadius":0,"textBoxBorderWidth":0,"loadMoreButtonText":"","loadMoreButtonBorderWidth":1,"loadMoreButtonBorderRadius":0,"imageInfoType":"ATTACHED_BACKGROUND","itemBorderWidth":0,"itemBorderRadius":0,"itemEnableShadow":false,"itemShadowBlur":20,"itemShadowDirection":135,"itemShadowSize":10,"imageLoadingMode":"BLUR","expandAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imageQuality":90,"usmToggle":false,"usm_a":0,"usm_r":0,"usm_t":0,"videoSound":false,"videoSpeed":"1","videoLoop":true,"jsonStyleParams":"","gallerySizeType":"px","gallerySizePx":670,"allowTitle":true,"allowContextMenu":true,"textsHorizontalPadding":-30,"itemBorderColor":{"themeName":"color_15","value":"rgba(44,42,37,1)"},"showVideoPlayButton":true,"galleryLayout":2,"targetItemSize":670,"selectedLayout":"2|bottom|1|fill|true|0|true","layoutsVersion":2,"selectedLayoutV2":2,"isSlideshowFont":false,"externalInfoHeight":0,"externalInfoWidth":0.5},"container":{"width":670,"galleryWidth":702,"galleryHeight":0,"scrollBase":0,"height":null}}
