A Day Late, 2 Prospects Short

Last Thursday was my son's 8th birthday.  To celebrate, we planned a quick trip to Indianapolis on Friday that included lunch at Dave & Busters and an Indians game.  I noticed a few weeks ago that Friday would be another team autograph night plus a fireworks show and a stadium replica give away.  I had a few Pirate cards left from my previous trip to see the Indians that I wanted to get signed for a fellow collector. 

Tyler Glasnow and Josh Bell were my 2 main targets, but the Pirates had other plans.  Glasnow was promoted a day before to make his MLB debut against the Cardinals, but has since been sent back down.  I checked the Indians website on Friday morning to see if there were any other roster moves.  As of 9:00 there was not, but by noon the Pirates called up Josh Bell.  He is also rumored to be going back down to Indy after hitting a grand slam in his second game.

Even though the 2 best prospects were not going to be at the game, we still had a good time.  We did arrive early enough to receive the Victory Field 20th Anniversary stadium replica.  It even has working lights.  We are keeping one, but have 3 others if anyone is interested in one.  The Indians won the game 4 to 1 in a little less than 3 hours.  The fireworks show was pretty good, lasting about 15 minutes.   We also got a few autos during the 45 minute pregame team session. 

The 1987 Topps set looks great autographed in blue sharpie.  Wynegar is the Indian's hitting coach.  By far the most talkative and friendly signer that night.

Hanson would be the exact opposite of Wynegar.  Most of the team started to sign at 5:45.  Hanson showed up about 20 minutes late.  He was more concerned about eating his popsicle and texting than he was about interacting with the fans.  Another fan showed me where the popsicle had dripped on his 8x10 that he had signed.  I understand players have better things to do than sign autos, but if they are going to act like Hanson, do not even bother showing up.

Austin Meadows was on the 7 day DL, but still came out for the autograph session.  His line was by far the longest.  He was promoted to Indianapolis in the middle of June, but went on the DL shortly afterwards.  My son and I were toward the front of his line and got these 2 cards signed.  He was very nice and wished my son a happy birthday.  My wife and daughter were toward the end of the line and got 2 balls signed. After signing for over 30 minutes, Meadows was still talkative with them and thanked them for coming.  Class act for a 21 year old kid.