Perhaps the Greatest 'Lefty' of All!

Hey guys, Drew back here! Man, it sure will be tough to follow up yesterday's story, however, I'm going to try. There was one more player on our autograph radar following Cal Ripken Jr. last Saturday, and I almost feel bad for saying that I overlooked the fact that I was meeting him. However, I'm sure I'm not the only person who has overlooked this guy before, because he pitched during a time of pitching dominance. He went down as one of the best left handed pitchers ever, however; and certainly should be recognized more often for his remarkable achievements. Yes, I am indeed talking about "Lefty" himself, Steve Carlton!

Believe me when I tell you, I sure did have to save up for this show! I got a little nervous while waiting in line for Ripken; knowing that Carlton's session was about to end, although I couldn't really do anything about it. The Ripken representatives told us they'd hold our spot in line so I could go run down and get Carlton, but by looking at the line remaining for him, I didn't want to take any chances. So, following Ripken, we all ran downstairs to see if he was still signing, and luckily for us, he was just getting up to conclude the signing when I ran up to him! I handed the JP's Sports guy my ticket and sort of rushed myself into asking Carlton to sign the ball for me. He was kind enough to do so, and although he didn't say a whole lot else, we thanked him for allowing us to get our chance, and he posed for a picture as well.

Fortunately for us, Carlton has one of the best signatures in the Hall of Fame, and I was lucky to get one, with the HOF 94 inscription to go with it! I had this one certified for $6 by JSA as well (they run specials on the players who sign at the shows), and it looks real nice propped up in a ball cube along with my other baseballs! I've been jealous of my friend Mike for years, because we once split a box of 2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes, and he pulled a Carlton relic autograph numbered to 10. I loved that card, however now I've got my 1st Lefty auto to match it with! And it feels good! 329 Wins, 3.22 Lifetime ERA, 4,136 strikeouts, and 4 more Cy Young's than the immortal Nolan Ryan? C'MON MAN! Give this man some loving!

I'd love to say that was all for my fantastic card show experience, however I'm not quite done, as you'll see over the next few days! Hope everyone has enjoyed the stuff so far, because I know I certainly have!

See Ya!