Collection Update: Trot Nixon and Gabe Kapler

Hey Everyone!

I'm finally updating a success i had a few weeks ago. I sent two autograph requests right after Spring Training, one to Trot Nixon c/o the Cleveland Indians (sigh) and Gabe Kapler c/o the Greenville Red Sox. I sent pictures of my trip to Spring Training in 2006 with Ashley. To Trot, i sent a picture of him autographing my ball and the amazing picture i took of him during the National Anthem.


Trot returned these pictures, both signed, in under a month and surprisingly returned them before Kapler did. Well needless to say, these pictures are easily my favorite autographed Nixon items.

Continuing with Trot, i also bought a card from eBay for under $5.00, and it is pretty cool because it is one of the first cards of him on the Indians. But it still pictures him in the Sox uni and the jersey is from the Sox as well. So i of course HAD to buy it.


Back to the autograph success, the Kapler photo i sent was originally an idea that i had for my girlfriend who loves Kapler and took a photo with him at Spring Training in 2006. So i sent in two photos and had Kapler sign one to me and one to her. Well i got the photos back both signed and personalized. My inscription was actually fairly funny because it reads "TO GREG, BE NICE TO ASHLEY!! GABE KAPLER" I find this ironic because Gabe and his wife started the Gabe Kapler Foundation which educates people about domestic abuse and helps women escape abusive relationships. So it's hard for me to look at that autograph and not think that Mr. 5% body fat, muscle magazine coverboy is not threatening me. Which totally rocks by the way.


I am very excited now though because i know have Gabe Kapler's full autograph and his shorthand one when he is in a hurry. So that is fairly snazzy.

So there are my updates. Thanks for reading and...

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Recent Success: Stan Musial (5)

Hey everyone!

So nothing too knew to update, except that i recieved my fifth...FIFTH...Stan Musial autographed stat card.

I sent in my puzzle piece to Stan the Man Inc., and again for the fifth time, they sent back an autographed stat card. I know that this is an official autograph too because the back is basically a COA (certificate of authenticity). So that is fairly awesome.

I am sending out two more requests tomorrow, one back to Musial, and the other for another puzzle piece but for HOFer Duke Snider. So wish me luck and....

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Top Ten Game Used Cards

Hello everyone!

Well, I am home for the summer and as of now I don’t have a summer job. So that means you might be seeing a lot of these posts. Plus I am currently writing this on Microsoft Word because I don’t actually have the internet at my house so I will post this as soon as I do. Yup that is how dedicated I am to this blog. (Please feel free to forget the fact that I haven’t updated since January before these posts…thanks.)

So I was sitting home bored one night so I decided to take a peek into the Greg Walsh Memorabilia Archive! That’s right, so sit back and take a break and enjoy this slice of heaven as I deliver to you the Top 10 Game Used Memorabilia Cards in my collection!

Number 10 – Nomar Garciaparra Game Used Baseball

Starting off this list is one of the first game used items that came into my collection and the only non-card on the list. This beauty was purchased from MLB.com on sale for $9.99. Yea, I’m not really sure why, but it was on sale so I totally swept in and purchased it. It measures out to roughly 8x10 and it features a certificate of authenticity, a 4x6 picture of Nomar, and a ball used in an official Red Sox game. So it wasn’t necessarily handled by Nomar, but if could have been any number of Sox players. So it is an amazing piece of memorabilia, and I plan to someday get Nomar to sign the picture to make it that much more amazing.

Number 9 – Fred Lynn and Rico Petrocelli Game Used Jersey/Bat Combo

Next on the list is a bargain card I obtained from eBay. (I get most of my cards from eBay for cheap!) This card features two great players from Sox history, but not necessarily Hall of Famers. Lynn was the first player to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP the same year. He was the only player to do so before Ichiro Suzuki did just that in 2001. The GU (game used) memorabilia for Lynn is a piece of a bat he used in an official Sox game. Rico Petrocelli was more of a role player for the Sox, much like a Varitek or a Trot Nixon. A fan favorite who got the job done, but won’t get into the Hall of Fame.Petrocelli’s piece of jersey worn in an official Sox game completes this card that is serially numbered 15/25. Meaning there are only 25 of these cards, and I have number 15 in the set. Not too shabby for the $5.00 I spent on it, including shipping and handling.

Number 8 – Carlton Fisk Game Used Jersey with Autograph

I love this card because not only does it have a game used jersey, but it also has an autograph. While searching, i stumbled across this card and i thought....BONUS! So i bought it from eBay for under 10. What a steal! My only dislike for this card is the fact that it shows Fisk in a Sox uni, but the jersey is from his days with the White Sox. Boo to that.

Number 7 – Jim Rice Game Used Jersey with Autograph

Amazing card. I found this card along with Fisk's and later Yaz's while searching for Sox legends last summer. This card has a very small area of jersey, but the autograph makes up for it. Rice (typically a tough signer) jotted down his sig on an actually piece of leather. It looks so cool its not even funny. I got a great deal on this card too paying $8.00 plus SH for this off eBay.

Number 6 – Carl Yastrzemski Game Used Jersey

I love this card. It has a simple look to it, but it makes it amazing. It is just a great jersey, decent size away jersey used in an official Red Sox game. This bargain card was purchased through eBay (what a surprise) for an unheard of $5.00 SH included. Amazing card for a Hall Of Famer and arguably the second greatest Sox player in history.

Number 5 – Rod Carew Game Used Jersey with Autograph

The halfway point on this list features yet another card purchased from eBay. This gem was bought on a whim. I went through a phase of looking up newer Hall of Famers who were still alive and not in demand. This hunt lead me to Rod Carew. (Yes the guy who “converted” in Adam Sandler’s Hanukkah Song.) I picked up this card that features a piece of his jersey worn in an official California Angels game. The best part of this card is that it also features a great looking autograph that will probably be worth over $100 someday. I paid $7.50 for it. Boo YA!!

Number 4 – Lou Brock Game Used Jersey with Autograph

Coming in at number 4 is a card very similar to the previous one featuring Rod Carew. This card however features Hall of Famer Lou Brock. The autograph is slightly smudged, but the rest of the card is in great condition.

Number 3 – Stan Musial Game Used Bat/Jersey

Ok so I am kinda cheating here, but I am putting these two cards together. I tried to get a card that featured his bat or jersey and his autograph, but they were very expensive. Then I came across an eBay auction that had both of these cards for less then $10! So I swept in with 20 minutes to go and stole the cards. So although they are two different cards, I got them together in the same transaction, so I count them together. These two cards will be worth some big time dollars eventually and I know that it was a great investment. (As are the great Stan Musial autographs I have acquired.)

Number 2 – Jimmie Foxx Game Used Bat

The only reason this card isn’t number one is because I didn’t pull it out of a pack myself. Instead I literally stole this card from someone on eBay. I obtained this gem from someone on eBay for $5.00!! Seriously, that is theft. Jimmie Foxx was an amazing ball player from the early days of baseball, like we are talking before Teddy Ballgame! He was a slugger who faced off against Babe Ruth quite often.

Number 1 – Mickey Mantle Game Used Bat from Homerun #104

The single greatest day in my collecting history. Read about it here.

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Spring Training 2006

Hey everyone!

Today's update is being pulled from the vault, although it wasn't hard to find (or remember). The update i am speaking of is of course my amazing trip with my girlfriend Ashley to Red Sox Spring Training in 2006.

The first day was great. I had dreamed of going to ST for years, and when i started dating Ash, it all became possible. Her grandparents have a summer house in Fort Myers, so we didn't need a hotel, which was clutch. We bought tickets to three games while we were there, and we were off during spring break.

We arrived at the City of Palms park and the entrance took my breath away. It was everything i dreamed about and more and i couldn't believe i was actually there. When we got into the park, we claimed our spot and waited for the autographs to roll in. Our first taste of sweet signatures was the voice of Boston Red Sox baseball, Don Orsillo. Sillo was extremely nice and was very friendly to all the fans and signed until everyone who wanted his autograph got his sig.


The next autograph was the amazingly nice Gabe Kapler. I called to Gabe when we was coming off the field and he actually came over right to us. Ashley is a HUGE Kapler fan (i wonder why?) so she was speechless when he came over. He signed both of our baseballs and a few more and then took off.

I was excited with this autograph, because Kapler has such an interesting yet simple autograph. It's only a "G" that looks like an "M" and a "K", but i still think it is kind of cool.

Next up was brand new centerfielder Coco Crisp. Although Crisp wasn't that personable to the fans, he was extremely nice and signed down the entire leftfield baseline. So it's hard to complain about that. Crisp signed a beautiful signature on the left panel of my baseball.


Next at bat is my favorite baseball player, Trot Nixon. I got him the next day because our first day we were able to witness Trot and Mike Lowell sign directly across from 3rd base. So of course i went right to that spot before the next game. Like a book, Trot came right to the spot i was standing at right before the National Anthem and i was able to get his autograph quickly before the game started. He signed the right panel of the same ball as Crisp. Needless to say i was way too excited!



Next up was Mr. Red Sox himself, Johnny Pesky. The oldtimer still gets out there everyday and signs for 45 minutes to an hour, and signs as many items as he can during that time. I was able to get him to sign the Sweet Spot on a seperate baseball, and although it is fading slightly, it looked great at the time.


During the day, Peter Gammons walked by and i asked him to sign quickly and he immediately came over to me. While he was signing, i asked him what he thought of the Sox this year and he responded "Well...they have a lot of question marks...." at this point my brain shut off because i realized that Peter F'n Gammons was analyzing the Red Sox...to me! I couldn't tell you anything else he said, i literally could not listen, it was impossible. Regardless, he signed the same ball Pesky did and completed 2 of 3 signatures on this ball that i call the HOFer ball.


The final autograph i obtained at Fort Myers was one that i bought. The PA announcer informed us that Fergie Jenkins was signing during the game, so i went out and found his tent. No one was standing in line because it cost $25.00. Well i didn't mind because i hadn't spent any money up to this point so i figured i could spare it. I got him to sign the ball i had with Gammons and Pesky on it, and i completed the HOFer ball for this trip. The signature is nice but like Pesky's and Trot's, it is fading slightly.


Well folks there is my post for my amazing trip to Fort Myers, Fl and the Boston Red Sox Spring Training. It was a blast and any time i can, i will go back for years to come.

Keep On Collecting!