Cardinals Winter Warm Up Day 2

Day 2 of WWU was a little more laid back.  We arrived at about 9:30 and were able to walk right in.  Glad there was no waiting in line as the temperature outside felt like -15 degrees.  Just like Day 1, we had 2 paid autographs at 10:00.

Jordan Walker was taking his time talking to everyone and taking pictures despite the workers trying to speed him up.  He is very well-spoken for a 21-year-old.  I hope he breaks out big time this year.  

Victor Scott was also well-spoken and taking pictures, though not taking quite as long as Walker.  Getting both of them at the caravan on Friday was a great bonus.

I bought this picture from the Peoria Chiefs booth on Saturday along with a couple of team sets I forgot to scan.  While he was signing this, Scott mentioned he hoped to get a Chiefs bobblehead this season.  I would love to see him get one on superhero night.  It would be awesome to see him as the Flash.  He tied for the minor league lead in stolen bases last year with 94.

After a quick lunch break, we had 2 free autographs to get.

This was the first time Gary Bennett had signed at WWU.  He was wearing his 2006 World Series ring which was about as big as his entire ring finger. 

Bernard Gilkey is a regular at WWU, caravans, and most other local events.  I am working my way to a complete Topps run of signed cards for him.  

Our last paid signer of the day gave us a great signature.

Masyn Winn is known for having a great arm.  During the 2022 Futures game, he threw a ball to first clocked at 100.5 mph.  My son and I were debating whether to have him inscribe the ball.  Winn asked us before we could ask him.  I think it turned out perfectly.  If you have noticed in this post and the last one, I like to get special balls like Futures Game, All-Star Game, and Gold Glove signed at WWU.  Makes it a little more memorable than a regular ball.  

Once finished with autographs, we sat through a presentation about the Cardinals Museum's upcoming events for 2024.  We needed to kill some time while waiting to see if we won something at a silent auction.  Turns out we did.

Tommy Edman is my son's favorite Cardinal.  He was signing autographs on Monday.  We usually do not stay all 3 days, so I opted for this ball instead of the extra hotel night.  I paid a little less for it than what his autograph ticket was.  We had to wait about 15 minutes to pick up the ball, so my son hit up the restroom before we made our way home.  He came back with this.

The restroom was down by the Cardinals clubhouse area where a worker was guiding people for tours.  He was asking younger people 3 trivia questions about Cardinals history.  If they answered them correct, they received a bobblehead.  My son said he nailed the questions and even used Ray Lankford as an answer.  I already have this bobblehead, so it will be sold or traded.  Most likely for something Tommy Edman related.  Nice little way to finish up the weekend.        

Overall we had a great time despite the cold weather.  It was a blessing that the snow Saturday night stayed to the west of town.  I was surprised to see how many people attended.  The bad weather, the bad 2023 season, and Nolan Arenado and Paull Goldschmidt not attending did not keep fans from coming out.