Signed Ball of the Day : Mike Trout ( Rookiegraph 2012 All Star Baseball w/ All Star Inscription )

Yesterday I showed off my most recent eBay bucks purchase and since I will be attending tonight's Angel game I wanted to finally show off the signed baseball of my favorite player that is not a Dodger. I have two players on the Angels that I enjoy watching but this one here, Mike Trout, is for sure my favorite. He is just a beast on offense and defense and at the age of 21 can only get better.

Mike Trout came up in late 2011 for his MLB debut and though he showed flashes of greatness he didn't fully display his talents til his call up in April 28th 2012. Ironically the same day Bryce Harper made his MLB debut. Mike started off hot and never stopped til the end of the season. Won the Rookie of the Year unanimously and came in second for MVP. I am not denying Miguel Cabrera's great feat of the Triple Crown but Mike was more valuable to his team than Miguel was to his. This young man along with Bryce Harper are the future of young hitters for the many years. Even after a decade in the majors Bryce will only be 29 and Mike 30. Both still in their prime I look forward to watching both but Mike just a little more.

To say the least I wanted to acquire Mike's signature on a ball but obviously they skyrocketed in price. He did a public signing in August and for some reason I had a brain fart and missed it and lost out on getting a signed ball for less than $100. To this day you can't buy an authenticated ball for less than $100 and they are almost always more than $150 with most going close to $200. I waited til the off season and hoped for a lower price and to a point they were out there but still PSA authenticated versions were at least $150-$175. I had work ahead for me if I wanted to acquire it before baseball season came back around and the price goes up yet again. The other kicker was I wanted the "R"ookiegraph designation for the ball as I wanted a rookie card version of Mike Trout as I knew I would never get his Bowman Chrome card which is over $700 minimum.

It was October so the next quarter in the eBay bucks program just started and I made sure that if at all possible my Christmas gifts would be bought via eBay and anyone in the family that had to buy something went through me. By the end of December I ended up with $65 in bucks. Every year I ask for the same thing from my father in law and he never disappoints and I get a $100 gift card for eBay and this year my mother also gave me a $25 gift card of eBay. Now I had $190 for a Mike Trout signed ball and I found one that a seller was selling for $205 delivered but it was a buy it now with immediate payment required. Problem was is that it was December 27th and my bucks were not usable til January 3rd. A full week and I just knew it would be gone when the bucks would become available. I convinced the seller that by looking at my feedback that I was honest and I would pay him and he was kind enough to change the auction so I could buy it and lock it in but not pay for it til the 3rd. On the third I sent payment and for a grand total of $15 out of pocket I was now a proud owner of a 2012 All Star baseball of the ROY Mike Trout with the inscription of it being his first All Star appearance and being authenticated by PSA as a "R"ookiegraph. I am debating on getting this graded as it is stunning.

Patience was a virtue in this purchase and I have this ball right next to my 2012 All Star baseball signed by Matt Kemp. They look great together.