A big hit

As former Tampa Bay Rays player Rocco Baldelli begins his comeback with the Charlotte Stone Crabs, there are certain milestone along the way. Getting his first Florida State League hit was one of those moments.

Thanks to good luck and a quick finger on our camera's shutter, we were able to capture that moment on July 22 when Baldelli, serving as a designated hitter for the Stone Crabs, cracked a double against the Clearwater Threshers.

Not content enough to simply capture the moment, we wanted to get Baldelli to sign the photo. In the process, we also wanted to share a copy of the photo with him.

Last Thursday, with the Stone Crabs in Tampa to play the Yankees, we succeeded in both aspects. Not only did Baldelli sign one of the 8x10s, but he also gave Colin a wide, warm smile and a rock-solid fist bump when Colin gave him a copy.

"What's this?" Baldelli asked Colin as he handed him the photo folder.

"It's your first FSL hit, a double against the Threshers last week," Colin replied.

"Really? That's cool," Baldelli said before delivering the fist bump. "Thanks, buddy"

Leading off

Just like here in the Tampa Bay area, there's no pro hockey taking place in Toronto, either. But rather than let that sideline hockey hounds, a handful have turned their attention toward baseball, specifically the Toronto Blue Jays.

Al, Hound Central 4.0's Toronto-based correspondent, files the first Major League Baseball hounding report of Baseball Mondays' 2009 summer campaign, sharing the bounty of his family's visit to a recent "Have a Ball With the Jays" event.

It looks like they had a great time, doesn't it?

This old-school Blue Jays jersey, a design from the team's earliest days in the late 1970s, turned out to be a pretty sweet item.

Signing it were Rod Barajas, #20; Jose Bautista, #23; Shawn Camp, #57; Jesse Carlson, #39; Raul Chavez, #13; Scott Downs, #37; Jason Frasor, #54; Roy Halladay, #32; Brandon League, #22; Jesse Litsch, #51; John McDonald, #6; Dustin McGowan, #29; Bill Murphy, 62; Lyle Overbay, #35; Scott Richmond, #48; Alex Rios, #15; Ricky Romero, #24; B.J. Ryan, #52; Marco Scutaro, #19; Brian Tallet, #56; and Vernon Wells, #10.

Need proof that the Blue Jays' bigger-named players attended the event? How about this photo of pitcher Roy Halladay signing a replica jersey? Works for me.

A better look at Halladay's signature on his replica jersey. Nice placement, between the name and the numbers, too.

Halladay also signed this 8x10. Not a bad haul, eh?

Johnny McDonald, or simply "Johnny Mac" within Blue Jays fandom, is known as a super nice player.

Reports say Alex Rios, on left, solidified his fan-favourite status at the event, staying almost an extra half-hour so people went home happy. The same, I've heard, can't be said for Marco Scutaro. That's Aaron Hill with Rios.

A Lyle Overbay-signed baseball.

A Vernon Wells-signed baseball.

Halladay and Rios signed the brim of this Blue Jays hat

These Blue Jays mini ice-cream-cup helmets were signed by Brandon League, #22; Rod Barajas, #20; Brian Tallet, #56; Vernon Wells, #10; Jesse Carlson, #39; and Raul Chavez, #13. Great idea.