Change in plans

Back in April, in the earliest days of our Summer of Baseball, building a collection of team-signed balls was not among the goals of the project. No, the project was more about hanging out, watching a ton of baseball and, if we were lucky, adding a few baseball autographs to the collection.

Initially, we figured we'd put together team balls from our three local Florida State League teams -- the Clearwater Threshers, Dunedin Blue Jays and Tampa Yankees. Yes, that was the plan.

Here we are, though, in the last week of July. Thanks to a seemingly never-ending supply of foul balls and 16 members of the Sarasota Reds, the FSL (Advanced-A) affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, Colin completed his 10th team ball of our Summer of Baseball:

Jorge Orta and Rafael Gonzalez;

Jake Kahaulelio, Jake Long, Justin Reed, Josh Beal and Joseph Krebs (Like how everyone's first name begins with a J? Pure luck, I promise.);

Devin Mesoraco, Shane Carlson, Mace Thurman and Neftali Soto; and

Steven Otterness, Dennis Phipps, Kyle Day, Dave Sappelt and Jason Louwsma.

Remember him?

Most every Florida State League team roster carries a former big leaguer on its coaching staff, hence our work-in-progress Major League Baseball Alumni team ball project.

Sarasota's batting coach Jorge Orta, who played for five teams in his 15-year career and won a World Series ring with the 1985 Kansas City Royals, became the latest ex-player to add to the project.

Pretty sweet signature, too, if you ask me.

Three-bagger

Besides getting a team ball signed by the Sarasota Reds, we were also able to snag Devin Mesoraco and Neftali Soto, two of the squad's top players, on these cards. Cincinnati picked Mesoraco 15th overall in 2007.

This isn't brain surgery

Even if it sounds like we're bragging, it's hard to argue against the simple methodology Colin and I use to fill up a team ball. Need proof? How about this team ball signed by 17 members of the Brevard County Manatees, the Florida State League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers?

Really, it was pretty simple. We show up near the visiting team's dugout just before the team begins its pregame warmups. Armed with a roster, I feed Colin the names of players heading out to the field. He then addresses them by name, asking politely if they'll sign his team ball. Very few, to date, have refused this requests.

We must confide, too, that we gambled a bit with this ball, believing at the time it was our final foul ball of the season. No need to worry, though. By game's end, in which the Manatees lost to the Clearwater Threshers, Colin had added collected another three foul balls.

Here's who signed the Brevard County team ball, the ninth of our Summer of Baseball:

Eric Ferris on the sweet spot;

Martin Maldonado, Brent Brewer and Logan Schafer;

Lee Haydel, Mark Willinsky, Brandon Rapoza and Roque Mercedes;

Alex Periard, Caleb Grindl, Derrick Alfonso, Chris Errecart and Zelous Wheeler; and

Pitching coach Fred Dabney, Rafael Lluberes, Omar Aguilar and Steffan Wilson.

A couple more cards

Little by little, we keep knocking out cards in the 2009 Florida State Lague Top Prospects set. In this case, it was Brevard County's Eric Farris, left, and Caleb Gindl who added to our efforts before a game last week against the Clearwater Threshers.

Quick fill

It's not so remarkable that Colin pulled in the fullest team ball of our Summer of Baseball when the Lakeland Flying Tigers visited Dunedin earlier this month. After all, this is the Florida State League, where the autographs come pretty easy, especially for a little kid.

What makes this baseball, one of the 15 foul balls (so far) that he's snagged over the summer, so remarkable is how he got the signatures on it. Dodging an occasional raindrop and ankle-deep puddles, Colin got the players to sign it within a 25-minute span before umpires and managers called the game because of rain.

All told, Colin scored 21 autographs from players in the Detroit Tigers pipeline:

Flying Tigers manager Andy Barkett;

Scott Green, Joseph Tucker, Audy Ciriaco, Christopher White, Justin Henry and Brett Jacobson;

Kody Kaiser (yes, it's upside down), Josh Workman, Michael Bertram and Chris Carlson;

For the sake of accuracy and clarity, here's Kaiser's signature viewed right side up;

Maiko Loyola, Andrew Hess, Jeremy Lasler, Devin Thomas and Adrian Casanova; and

Trevor Feeney, Jared Gayhart, Nolan Cain, Lester Oliveros and Chad Linder.

Chipping away

Thanks to the release and our subsequent purchase of the 2009 Florida State League Top Prospect set, we found ourselves with a little project over the summer -- getting it signed.

Well, it didn't take long to realize that we wouldn't complete the set, given the promotion of some of the players as well as missing out on teams so deep into the summer.

Still, that doesn't mean we not trying to get as many cards signed as we can. Here, Audy Ciriaco , a member of the Lakeland Flying Tigers (Detroit's Advanced-A affiliate), did his part to help in our endeavours.

We have a couple more to show off, thanks to a pair of Brevard County Manatees players, but that will wait until next Monday. Also, with two games over the next week, conditions exist to add a few more.

Not a total washout

Just because Mother Nature decided to go deep before last Thursday's Florida State League game between the Daytona Cubs and the Tampa Yankees, it didn't mean we didn't score a few autographs.

In fact, one of them came from Daytona third baseman Josh Vitters, a highly touted first-rounder, who's drawing rave reviews not just as a Chicago Cubs prospect but as a top 10 in Major League Baseball as well.

We also started a Daytona Cubs team ball, but the rainout kept us from completing the project. Weather permitting, we'll finish it Aug. 8, when the Cubs play the Dunedin Blue Jays.

It's a start

Last year, Colin and I spent a long, muggy afternoon at the tail end of the All Star break working a team-signed ball from the Tampa Bay Rays. This season, however, the ball is going to take a little longer.

Colin scored the first four signatures of another of our Summer of Baseball projects before last Thursday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, again weathering a fairly muggy day and a considerably bigger crowd of hounds.

Still, the four players who did stop to sign provided a decent start to the project:

Shawn Riggans, top, and Akinori Iwamura (top photo, signing for fans in the Rays' parking lot); and

Gabe Gross, top, and Carl Crawford.

The ball, as well as a few other items, were part of our so-called doubleheader day. After attending the Jays-Rays game, we traveled to Tampa to dodge some raindrops and hound the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League. After the Cubs-Yankees game was rained out, we turned our attention to hockey, namely the Tampa Bay Lightning's Young Guns camp.

Taking full advantage

When it comes to getting autographs, Colin often employs an advantage that is often unfair to others.

First, he's a kid and that scores major points with big league ballplayers. He's quick with "please" and "thank you" any time he gets an autograph, too. His advantage, however, goes beyond that -- his handdrawn team sheets, especially ones with an old-school logo, are a big hit, so to speak, with players.

Granted, he may have had only four Toronto Blue Jays players sign his most recent work of art, but he was among the first to get an autograph from four pitchers before last Thursday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Who signed? How about, from left, Brandon League, Jason Frasor, Jesse Carlson and Scott Downs.

Making the most of our time

We took a chance, really we did, by driving up to Dunedin last Thursday. It had rained for nearly two days straight and the skies looked threatening. Still, though, we didn't let that, or the two inches of standing water near the Mets' bullpen, stop us.

Though we dodged raindrops before, during and after the shortened game, Colin, using a foul ball, was rewarded for our efforts, completing a team-signed ball from the St. Lucie Mets, the Florida State League affiliate of the New York Mets, in less than 30 minutes of rain-free hounding.

The 17 members of the St. Lucie squad to sign the team ball, the seventh of our Summer of Baseball, were:

St. Lucie manager Tim Teufel, one of two balls he signed for us, on the sweet spot;

Phil Regan, Reese Havens and Kirk Nieuwenhuis;

Juan Lopez, Zach Lutz and Brahiam Maldonado;

Angel Calero, Manuel Alvarez, Jake Eigsti, Hector Pellot and Rafael Arroyo; and

Julio Rivera, Brant Rustich, Carlos Guzman, Jordan Abruzzo and Tim Stronach.

We didn't get rained out

Just because a game gets rained out, it doesn't mean that you can't get autographs. Take this Dunedin Blue Jays mini bat, for instance. Colin was able to get 11 players, including John Tolisano, to sign it as umpires and managers gathered to call a rain-shortened game last week.

Others to sign were Kevin Ahrens, Alan Farina, Jesus Gonzalez, Darold Knowles, Andrew Liebel, Matt Liuzza, Omar Malave, Ryan Page, Sean Shoffit and Moises Sierra.

We also had Shoffit sign this card from the Dunedin Blue Jays' 2008 team set. Thankfully, too, there are a few other players remaining from the 2008 squad: Kyle Ginley, Gonzalez, Knowles, Malave and Kenny Rodriguez.

As we're starting to run out of items for the D-Jays, we're looking forward to the 2009 team set. That should give us something to work on during our remaining visits to Dunedin Stadium.

School ties

One of the first things I check when researching a visiting Florida State League team is whether or not any of the coaches are former Major League Baseball players.

In the case of the St. Lucie Mets, the Advanced-A affiliate of the New York Mets, former big leaguer Tim Teufel fit the bill, becoming the third person to sign MLB Alumni ball.

I was able to easily call over Teufel after telling him that we were fellow alums of St. Petersburg Junior College, now known as St. Petersburg College, and sharing a memory of Ed Davis, Teufel's coach during his days playing for the Trojans.

"Wow, hearing that name has brought back some memories," Teufel said.

Next trip, though, I'll have to get Phil Regan, one of St. Lucie's coaches, on the MLB Alumni ball.

Not too hard to figure out

Of all the teams playing in the Florida State League, one might think that a local team -- either the Clearwater Threshers, Dunedin Blue Jays or Tampa Yankees -- would capture Colin's fancy.

Nope, his favorite team -- the Charlotte Stone Crabs -- shows the extent of how deep his loyalties run. As the Advanced-A farm club for the Tampa Bay Rays -- his favorite MLB team, Colin says that's the biggest reason why he's a big fan of the Stone Crabs.

I'm sure, though, that after watching them play six times now is another factor. Given all of the times we've seen them play, it's no wonder that he's running out of items to get signed:

Colin got 15 players, including his favorite Shawn O'Malley, to sign his Stone Crabs alternate cap. Other notable signers included Cody Cipriano, Brian Flores, Emeel Salem and Gregory Sexton.

The only card we got signed during the Stone Crabs' visit to Dunedin came from outfielder Reid Fronk, part of the Florida State League's 2009 Top Prospect set.

We had another set card for Charlotte's Alex Cobb, and had asked him to sign it as he made his way from the dugout to the bullpen. He said he couldn't sign during a game (it never hurts to ask) and that he would after the game.

Given that FSL players routinely go out of their easy to sign, it was disappointing when Cobb didn't honor his statement.

Thanks, guys

It may have taken a few days, from the time that Dunedin's Eric Thames gave this bat to Colin until the Dunedin Blue Jays outfielder/designated hitter signed it, but it was well worth the wait. Especially, too, after this exchange:

Colin: Eric, can you sign this bat?
Thames: You mean you didn't throw that away?
Colin: Why would I do that? It's sweet. So, you gonna sign it?

As you can see, Thames did, indeed, sign the bat. That wasn't the only thing Colin got signed by D-Jays players during two visits to Dunedin Stadium to see his favorite Florida State League team, the Charlotte Stone Crabs:

Though we don't have too many cards to get signed, we were psyched that Dunedin's Kevin Ahrens, Andrew Liebel and John Tolisano knocked out what little we had;

Signing the Dunedin Blue Jays team ball during the Charlotte series were, from top, Sean Shoffit, John Tolisano and Kenny Rodriguez (yes, it's upside down); and

Ahrens, whose folks were in town for the series, also signed the D-Jays team ball.

Hearts of gold

Last Thursday, following a FSL game between the Charlotte Stone Crabs and Dunedin Blue Jays, Colin gave one of the foul balls he collected that night to the father of Kevin Ahrens, a third-baseman for the D-Jays.

The father, in town from Houston for the weekend to watch his son play, was very appreciative, as his own efforts to collect one that night went for naught. I must admit, too, in a tremendous feeling of pride as I watched Colin make that dad's day.

I guess that's why I teared up this morning after reading this St. Petersburg Times story about another young fan's act of generosity.

Actually, it's been easy

As we began our Summer of Baseball, we mentioned to a couple of Clearwater Threshers players that one of our hounding projects would be assembling a collection of team balls. Good luck, one said, telling us that it might be a difficult project.

Thankfully, it has been anything but that, as Colin worked his sixth team ball of the season, this one from the Fort Myers Miracle, the Florida State League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

Using a foul ball, one of the dozen that Colin's collected so far this season, he got these Miracle players to sign:

Ben Revere, Loek (it's pronounced Luke) van Mil, Steve Singleton and Chris Cates;

Nick Romero, Rene Leveret and Kyle Waldrop; and

Mark Dolenc, Spencer Steedley, Chris Parmelee and Blair Erickson.

Another half-dozen Miracle players, including All Star pitcher David Bromberg, also signed another ball for Colin. On July 22, we'll try to put the finishing touches on this Miracle ball.

My bad

I should've been paying more attention. But, I wasn't. It was an 11 a.m. start, there were hundreds of kids armed with squirt guns (Camp Day at Dunedin Stadium) and it was hot, with a feel-like temperature of 100-plus degrees.

That's how Colin's so-called Florida State League All Star player ball gained a few signatures from Fort Myers Miracle players who didn't participate in the game.

Really, though, it's not a big concern. It was, and still remains, all about Colin having fun. An autograph is an autograph, no matter what's signed. Right?

Besides, we have one panel remaining. The next time, I'll try to pay more attention.

Good or bad, mistakes or not, here's who Colin added to the ball:

David Bromberg, who was named to the FSL All Star Game, Allan de San Miguel and Santos Arias; and

Jair Fernandez, Tyler Robertson and Henry Arias.

A Fort Myers Miracle team ball, however, does contain autographs from some of the Miracle's other All Star Game representatives: Chris Cates, Chris Parmelee, Ben Revere, Steve Singleton and Spencer Steedley.

A fan favorite

Justin Jackson, a 2007 first-round pick by Toronto, gets our vote for the friendliest player on the Dunedin Blue Jays. He always stops to say hello and signs a ton of autographs before and after every home game. I suppose it helps, too, that Jackson's grandfather, a welcome fixture at Dunedin Stadium, is one of Colin's "buddies."

That's not to say, though, that Jackson was the only D-Jay to sign before a recent home game against the Fort Myers Miracle. Nope, these players added to Colin's work-in-progress Dunedin Blue Jays team ball:

Tim Collins, Marcus Walden and Andrew Liebel; and

Leon Boyd, top, and a smudged autograph from Ryan Page.

Brett's FSL Report No. 2: Fan Fest

When the Florida State League All-Star Game rosters were released a few weeks ago, it looked as if it would be a great event with many future stars on hand. But, one by one the so-called stars began to get promoted to AA.

From Sarasota's Yonder Alonso, Fort Myers' Carlos Gutierrez, St. Lucie's Brad Holt, Jupiter's Michael Stanton, Clearwater's Dominic Brown and Kyle Drabek, and Tampa's Jesus Montero, the FSL has lost a ton of talent in the past few weeks. All in all, there have been 21 players named to the original roster who either were injured or promoted.

With what was left on the original roster, and the replacements, I made out better than I expected during the FSL's All-Star Game Fan Fest. The event, held at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, was well-organized by the host team Miracle, with many games for children to play, live music, food and player autographs.

For most of the event, players were just hanging around, mingling with fans, playing games with children and signing just about anything. Most everyone signed next to their player bio in the program and I got plenty of cards and other miscellaneous items signed. In total, I was able to get 206 autographs (editor's note: Jeezum crow!) altogether from this year’s All-Stars.

Among the players signing cards , shown above, were Tampa’s Austin Romine, Fort Myers' David Bromberg and Ben Revere, Palm Beach’s Adam Reifer and Shane Peterson, Jupiter’s Jeff Allison and Matt Dominguez, and Daytona’s Starlin Castro and Jody Davis.

Did you see this?

Tucked within our baseball hounding activities of Shark Week between the Jupiter Hammerheads and the Clearwater Threshers was an interesting sidebar: It seems the Tampa Bay Rays took exception to a Threshers bobblehead promotion, featuring players from the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, the Threshers' parent club.

The St. Petersburg Times was all over the story.

Fitting the bill

Of all the items pro baseball players are offered to sign -- from baseballs to cards to photos -- I imagine they appreciate a change in pace from the standard fare. At least, that's the reasoning behind Colin's effort to get a plastic hammerhead shark signed by members of the Jupiter Hammerheads during our two-game Shark Week hounding effort.

The shark, a former bath toy that reinforces Colin's inquisitive nature toward the creatures, proved to be very popular among the players. Even without prompting, many of the 13 Hammerheads players who honored Colin's requests said it was the first time they had been asked to, well, sign a hammerhead shark.

The baker's dozen, shown from left to right in each photo, to sign were:

Elih Villanueva, Kyle Gunderson, Spike McDougall, Geraldo Valentin, Gregory Burns, Jose Rosario, Hunter Mense and Jhan Marinez; and

Ryan Curry, Alejandro Sanabia, Osvaldo Martinez, Matt Dominguez and Brandon Tripp.