Signed Ball of the Day : THE Infield ( ROMLB Sweet Spot )

Onto the next autograph. This one actually is an unfinished piece. I have had the longest tenured infield ( Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes and Bill Russell ) on individual baseballs for a few years and thought I was done with those individuals. I then got that itch to get something else signed and have noticed a few baseballs with all four of them signing on the sweet spot and thought that would be a nice piece to add to my collection. Thankfully all four them sign frequently around the Los Angeles area. I did make the decision to not pay for their signatures so that is why this project is still incomplete as I still need Davey and Bill. I'm sure I'll get them this year.

The first person I got to sign was the Steve Garvey. On Saturday August 11, 2012 he was to do two public signings. One was in the valley which I didn't really want to travel to and then it was announced he was doing another one at 5:00 p.m. in Gardena at the Normandie Casino. This was only 15 minutes freeway time for me so I thought that was perfect. I go to many of these signings and this one was odd for the fact that it was held late on a Saturday night and then it was at a casino which meant no minors would be allowed. Thought that would work in my favor. I headed over there about a hour or so before the scheduled time and no one was there. I had my wife and father in law with me so I could get my bat signed as well. Went in and had dinner before the signing and after about 30 minutes noticed that the line had started and was getting longer at a steady pace. Jumped in line with wife and we were roughly 20th in line. Steve showed up on time and the line moved fast and he was signing more than one item per person which was nice. We got up to the front and I told him what I was trying to do and he signed a little off center of sweet spot and smaller to accommodate the other 3 to be added later. The wife walked up right behind me and he signed my bat with 1974 MVP inscription without being asked. A great, smooth and fast appearance by Mr. Clean.

The following Saturday the 18th it was announced that The Penguin, Ron Cey would be doing a public signing the RV Roadshow in Canoga Park. Great, I can get half of my project done in just 7 days. So I headed up to the Valley. I got there around 11:00 for a scheduled signing time at 12 and there were about 50 people in line which was about right for a retired star who does multiple free signings. Ron arrived about 5 minutes past 12 and promptly started signing. It was announced that he would only sign one item per person. I noticed that the line was going pretty slow and after 10 minutes I could see why. He was signing multiple items and taking pictures with anyone that would ask. I had no problem with that as I also brought my bat along just in case. Got up to the table and I gave him the ball and asked him to sign about Steve and he gladly obliged. I also slid the bat to him and he signed that as well. Some of the promoters were giving "evil eyes" but didn't say anything to anyone. Another smooth signing and I am half way to completing my infield project.