Any tips on how to get autographs?...

[_Sir_Charles_]

I'm going to my first Reds game in 2 years tonight here at Minute Maid Park. My 10 year old daughter's second game ever. We're going early to try to snag a few autographs for her. Any tips? Pen or sharpie? Ball, hat or cards? Who signs and who doesn't sign? We've got seats just above the bullpen and I'm really looking forward to seeing Johnny throw. And hopefully we'll get the still-rusty Oswalt tonight. He's been a beast on us through the years, but he's nowhere close to his normal self this year. Hopefully that bodes well for us tonight. Anyway, any pointers?

[dougdirt]

Some pointers.... If you are getting autographs on a baseball, always use a pen. Never a sharpie. They fade and can bleed quickly. If you are going to have a baseball card signed, rub baby powder on the card before hand. It will dull the glossiness off of the card, and the sharpie won't bleed (rubbing and eraser over the card also works). With a hat, I would go with a sharpie. I have a hat signed by Lee Smith in pen from the early 90's on the underneath of the bill, which is fine, but you can't really display it.

As far as who signs/doesn't sign.... I have no clue for you, but figured I would give you my other pointers to help out with the autographs if you do indeed get some.

[15fan]

Here's what I remember from my autograph-collecting days...

Personally, I like baseball cards with autographs. If you don't have cards of a player to sign, cut a white index card down to baseball card size. Makes it easier to store that way.

A few other suggestions from back in the day:

1) It's amazing how much more receptive players are when you use the "Mr. ________, would you please sign my card/ball/cap." approach, as opposed to the "hey Steve, sign this willya?" approach. On numerous occasions, I've had players stop, sign what I had, and move on without signing anything for anyone else for the simple reason that I asked them politely.

2) If a player stops to sign an autograph, uncap the pen/sharpie, and hand it to him with the writing end facing you instead of facing him. Makes it much easier for the player to grab the writing instrument w/o getting ink all over himself.

3) If you go the autographed cards route, have the card on a hard surface (binder, book, etc) that will make signing it easier.

4) Have your daughter down in front asking for the autograph. Players generally like signing for kids (or good looking women) more than they do grown adults.

5) By all means get there early enough to watch the pitcher warm up before the game. I've had several pitchers toss me the warm-up ball as they exited the bullpen & I offered some words of encouragement.

6) Try and chat the player (or coach) up if he stops to sign. I've heard some great things from players as they signed autographs.

7) Most importantly, remember these two words: "Thank you." It always amazed me how many people never thanked a ballplayer after an autograph or picture.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Thanks for the pointers guys. It's been about 20 years since I tried getting autographs myself. Ah...the old Riverfront days. :O)

[dougdirt]

How did things work out?

[_Sir_Charles_]

Pretty good. We got Bruce, Ross & Edwin's autographs. Got to chat with both Bruce & Ross. Got to see Harang throw some warmups & him sporting a new beard (looked kinda odd on him for some reason). We didn't catch any fouls...but we also didn't catch any broken bats to the head either. :O) I posted some pics from our visit. Other than the final score...really nice night. Thanks for the pointers...we went with a ball.

[dougdirt]

Good stuff!

[Team Clark]

Nice!! Glad it all worked out for you. Good game plan.