This day we got back on track with autographs but it was a LONG day.

We woke up extremely early at 545-600 am so we could be at the Angels training facility. We were told that some of the players (Hamilton, Trout, and Pujols) get to the stadium early and are likely to sign. Well we were there waiting at 645 and we did not get any of the big guys. We did get Trumbo but he was kind of shady and not sure of us. He did however sign a few cards but we never saw Hamilton come in, Trout drove in with Weaver neither signed, and Pujols drove in pretty early and didn’t sign either.

After waiting till 9, we decided to drive a few miles up the road to Salt River Fields at Talking Stick to watch the Rockies warm up. Well when we got there I realized that they probably would not be out to practice because they had a night game at home against the Padres. So after a while of looking around Jim Wirght the Rockies pitching coach came out and started to play catch with a pitcher. The pitcher then proceeded to have a pitching session which he looked really good. I’m not sure who it was but he was throwing hard and accurate.

 I also ran into my buddy former pitching coach Bob Apodaca over on the minor league fields. I had been looking for him because I had his game used hat and a rookie card that I wanted to get signed. I has strolled over to the practice fields and ran into our former bullpen catcher Mark Strittmatter. He was very nice to talk to except for the fact that he is a jokester. Yes, I felt somewhat dumb but it was all in good fun and for a good laugh. Thanks Mark!

I finally found Dac and we talked for a while about life (he should be sitting at home in FL right now enjoying sometime at home), he told me that his new title is a Pitching Coordinator and he chose to work with the three lowest teams which are the Ashville Tourists, Tri-City Dust Devils, and Grand Junction Rockies. So he is still around but he said “he likes this more because it is more teaching which he likes to do.”

After talking with Dac we headed back over to Tempe Diablo for the Brewers @ Angels game. On our way we stopped for Whataburger…. It was ok but wasn’t my forte. Once we got to the field there were close to a couple hundred people waiting to get in the gate, so we decided to park and wait a few minutes before we headed up to the gates. After we got our tickets we heard some people talking saying that they were almost sold out and that they only had $50 seats left. WOWZER!

Anyway we went into the game and stood on the wall until the big guys came out and signed. They waited till the last minute to come out and sign. There were so many people on the wall it was RIDICULOUS! Trout was closest to me and so was Hamilton and I didn’t end up getting anyone… Yes it sucked! I had 3 brand new baseballs ready to go and wouldn’t you know it I left with three brand new baseballs.

We went up and stood about home plate for a few innings when I decided that it was time to go.

We went back to the hotel and Jared and I took a quick nap then we headed to Salt River Fields for the Padres @ Rockies game.

We got there relatively early and headed straight to the Rockies wall. It was pretty crowded but we ended up getting a good space. The players started to come out and most signed if you asked them too. Todd had signed a major part of the wall, Tulo I guess signed for a few, Michael Cuddyer signed for a few, and a lot of other players. I ended up getting 2 cards from Michael Cuddyer which is great because I pretty much do not need him the rest of the season! After I did not get Todd I headed to the Bullpen to talk with some of the pitchers. There JP and Ramon signed for some fans. I hollered at Ottavino and he came over and signed my jersey and helmet and talked with me for a few minutes. It was great to talk with him and get caught up. I also talked to Belsile and Nicasio while standing by the bullpen which was awesome! I’m not sure who has seen the new Rockies commercials but Matt Belsile in the Baby Bull one is HILARIOUS! I posted the link below to the video so you can watch it.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25779603&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_25779603&v=3

After we got graphs Mariano and I decided to stand above the bullpen and watch the game.

It felt like a homerun derby between the two teams and all I thought to myself was either its terrible pitching or great offense. For the Padres Nick Hundley, Kyle Blanks, and Cody Ransom all hit homeruns and for the Rockies Todd Helton, Wilin Rosario, Josh Rutledge, and Gustavo Molina. This was an awesome game because it was relaxing and really fun being in home territory. The Rockies ended up dominating and beating the Padres with a score of 10 to 4.

This was our last night game and after snagging a few of the coaches on their way back in after the game we headed back to the hotel to pack.

Day 4 autographs that I ended up with were:

Mark Trumbo- 3 Cards

Bob Apodaca- Card and Game worn hat

Michael Cuddyer- 2 Cards

Tum Runnells- 2012 Team Bat and 2013 Helmet

Ramon Hernandez- 2012 Team Bat and 2013 Helmet (might remove)

Walt Weiss-2013 Team Helmet

Juan Nicasio- 2013 Team Helmet

Christian Friedrich- 2013 Team Helmet

Adam Ottavino- 2012 Game worn jersey and 2013 Team Helmet

Matt Belisle- 2013 Team Helmet

Rene Lachemann- 2013 Team Helmet

This is where I’m going to leave Day 3! Look out for Day 4 and Opening day soon!

I’m Blake St Babe and this was The Take: From Tempe Diablo and Salt River Fields.

Follow me on twitter @BlakeStBabe and please share the blog.

Also remember to read Day 2 blog and answer the question for a chance to win some signed memorabilia!