The Captain is coming, The Captain is coming, Jason Varitek Appearance

Jason Varitek Autographed Baseball

New England Picture Company and Sure Shot Promtions are providing another great opportunity for New England Sports fans.  They are hosting a RARE public autograph signing with 2x World Series Champion and former Red Sox captain Jason Varitek.

The pricing on this event is FANTASTIC.  They have rolled back the prices to the 2007 price point for Jason, as he is only $69 for basic/regular items such as small photos and baseballs.  The price is only $89 for the premium items such as bats, jerseys, game used merchandise and bobbleheads.  If you choose to add a personalization/inscription the charge is $25 extra.

The date is on the evening of Tuesday May 22nd.  For more information please check http://www.sureshotpromotions.com/or http://www.newenglandpicture.com/.

Information on location and time is below.  We hope to see you there.

Come and Meet Red Sox Prospect Jose Iglesias

New England Picture company and Sure shot promotions are offering Red Sox fans a great opportunity to meet the organization's top shortstop prospect.  The hype around Jose Iglesias is at a high as the baseball season is starting.  Fans are split as to whether he should've made the major league roster to start the 2012 season.  Nobody seems to question his glove, but this 22 year old needs a little more time to develop his hitting skills.  Regardless of his current status, Jose will become a star for the Sox. 



Jose Iglesias Autographed Ball















So if you are a follower of my blog, you know I can't preach enough to take advantage of meeting these young stars, while they are still young.  I guarantee you his price will increase and availability will diminish over the next few years.  He is worth taking a chance on now, in terms of getting a reasonably priced autograph.  His value will appreciate over time.

His pricing is great.  $29 for regular items, $39 for premium and equipment, $15 for inscriptions.
He will be appearing at the New England Picture South Shore plaza location on Saturday April 21.
For more information please check www.newenglandpicture.com or www.sureshotpromotions.com.

Keep it simple, collect in small groups

Every April the major league baseball season starts anew.  Fans are excited, it's the first sign of the warm weather season, and it's time to hope that your team will be playing in October.  Another fascinating aspect to the beginning of the season is to watch how all the new managers and players will perform in their respective cities.  About 20% of rosters have changed, and everyone both inside and outside an organization are anxious to see what will happen on the field. 

With such a high turnover, it's hard to collect team autographs, either on one item or individual items. While it's not impossible to collect all signatures on a team, it is a challenge.  So to counter this overwhelming task I suggest you collect in small groups or by position.  I have had far more success just collecting by positions, ie. the catcher's, or relief pitchers, position players, etc...  Follow the old saying called KISS, Keep it simple Stupid. 



Autographed baseballs from the 2012 5 Red Sox Starting pitchers.  Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett, Daniel Bard, Jon Lester, Felix Doubront.



My photo made the cover of a book!!!!



Front cover of the book Fantography





















Before I started collecting autographs, my biggest hobby was to photograph my favorite players, and parts of any ballpark I visited.  I then started to print my photos into 8x10 size and have players autograph them.  I still do that today, but not at the same quantity I once did 4-8 years ago.  It was always a "high" to have a conversation with the players about the photos they were autographing.  It was even more special when players asked me for copies of my photos for their families.  That was always an honor.



My photo of Manny Ramirez that he autographed.















I just had a new positive and exciting experience with one of my photos.  About 2 years ago I submitted about 10 photos to a person named Andy Strasberg.  He was compiling a collection of baseball fan photos and stories top publish a book.  Earlier this week, I received a copy of the book.  Much to my amazement my photo of Fenway Park's green monster was on the back cover.  Then as I flipped through the book, the same photo was used to highlight the beginning of chapter 7 titles, Scoreboards and Signage.

My photo of Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky.

The name of this book is Baseball Fantography.  So if you are a true baseball fan, please take a look at this book on Amazon.com and consider buying it.  It's completely written and photographed from the regular fan's perspective.  I guaranteed, pleasant reading experience for the true fan.


The back cover of the book has my photo of the green monster on it.



Jason Varitek, 33 Reasons to like him

Jason Varitek, Red Sox catcher since 1998, just announced his retirement as a player from major league baseball.  He is the winner of 2 world series championships, has caught more games than any other Red Sox catcher.  He caught no hitters 4 times, and if Schilling wasn't so stubborn, would've caught a 5th.  He was well known for his charitable contributions and involvement in the community.

Additionally, Jason's autograph is very valuable.  Authenticated autographs are valued between $99 - $200.  As historians look as his statistics and records, in addition to the fact that he played his entire career with one team, I foresee his autograph price increasing steadily.  This is despite the fact he won't be elected to the baseball hall of fame, at least through the writers association.

As I was thinking of Jason one thing came to mind, he is the 2nd most popular Boston athlete to wear #33.  We all know who the most popular is (Larry Bird). Yet I thought I would list 33 reasons to like Jason Varitek.  So in no particular order, the 33 reasons to like Jason Varitek are:

1.  Played his whole career with the Red Sox.
2.  Won 2 world series with the Red Sox.
3.  Caught Hideo Nomo's no hitter.
4.  Caught Derek Lowe's no hitter.
5.  Caught Jon Lester's no hitter.
6.  Caught Clay Buchholz's no hitter.
7.  Caught more games in Red Sox history, than any other catcher.
8.  Gave out autographed baseballs to children on Halloween.
9.  In his first MLB plate appearance he recorded his first MLB hit.
10.  Sat on the top step of the dugout during his rehab in 2006 and 2010.  Supported his teammates for every inning.
11.  His 2005 season:  All star starting catcher, gold glove award winner, silver slugger award winner.
12.  Caught the last out of the 2007 world series.
13.  Graduated from Georgia Tech.
14.  Only player to play in the little league world series championship game, in the college world series championship game, olympics, MLB world series, MLB all star game and World Baseball Classic.
15.  He is the only player in Georgia Tech history to have his number retired (33).
16.  He was the Red Sox Captain.
17.  Played in the Cape Cod League (League MVP 1993).
18.  He was a switch hitter.
19.  He is responsible for raising over $700,000 for Boston's Children's Hospital.
20.  Hosts an annual fundraiser putt, putt tournament.
21.  Is involved in 14 charitable foundations.
22.  He had to catch Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideo Nomo, and Hideki Okajami.
23.  He played 15 seasons, all as a catcher.
24.  Caught 2 Cy young pitchers, Pedro Martinez and Bartolo Colon.
25.  He is in Georgia Tech's athletic hall of fame.
26.  He was the 26th player/coach to wear #33.  Past #33's were Tim McCarver, Jose Canseco, Darrell Johnson, Dave "Boo" Ferriss.
27.  He wore #47 in his first season (Terry Francona's wore that # as Red Sox manager)
28.  Played for 4 different managers:  Jimy Williams, Joe Kerrigan, Grady Little, Terry Francona.
29.  Played in 14 different playoff series.
30.  Had 33 RBI's in his playoff career.
31.  Was a 3 time all star.
32.  Was involved in one of the most lopsided trades in MLB history.
33.  Fought Alex Rodriguez on July 24, 2004.

Gronkowski is coming to Warwick Rhode Island!!!

One player Patriots fans have grown to love is tight end Rob Gronkowski.  His record setting season has propelled him to one of the most popular Patriots behind Tom Brady.  He is very popular with all the die hard Patriot fans and all females.  Now is your chance to meet him a 2nd time in 6 weeks.   New England Picture and Sure Shot promotions have scheduled a public appearance with Rob Gronkowski in Rhode Island, on Tuesday March 27th.  From personal experience, especially after his New Hampshire appearance, I'm telling everyone to pre-purchase your tickets now.  He will sell out, and as has happened in New Hampshire, fans will be disappointed when they cannot purchase tickets at the door to acquire his autograph.   His pricing is great.  The charge for one autograph is $79 for regular items and $99 for premium items.  Inscriptions/personalization's are $25.    The location is Agaves Mexican Grille 44 Quaker Ln., Warwick RI, 02886. The time is scheduled for 7pm - 8:30pm.  For more information check www.newenglandpicture.com or sureshotpromotions.com.

Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruin Stanley Cup Champion, public appearance

One tip I encourage all collectors, new and old, to take advantage of,  is to meet a young athlete when the opportunity presents itself.  A very large chunk of my 2000 autographs came from players in their first 2-3 seasons with a team when they are cheap and accessible. 
Collectors will be afforded this rare opportunity on Tuesday March 20, when they can meet 20 year old, Boston Bruin, Tyler Seguin.  Tyler is still 5 years from his prime and has already had a significant impact on the Bruins, including winning the Stanley Cup.  His autograph will only become more valuable and more in demand over the next few years.  So take advantage now!!!!

The pricing for a young superstar as Tyler, is fantastic for this event.  Only $59 for regular items and $79 for premium, $25 for inscriptions.  I am telling you this will go up exponentially increase over his career. 

The information on location and time is below. 
Hope to see you there.
www.sureshotpromotions.com
www.newenglandpicture.com