I Met My First Blogger!

And, it was a pretty cool experience. Matt, from Once a Cub, did a baseball stadium tour of Wrigley Field Cubs minor league affiliates last year with his sons and I caught him in South Bend on Day #1 of this summer's trip.

As you can tell from the picture above, Matt and I didn't exactly coordinate our seating arrangements in advance!

I've been wanting to go to South Bend ever since the Cubs moved their Low A Midwest League affiliate to northern Indiana.

The stadium was certainly nicer and had more amenities than Dozer Park in P-town. Plus, it had young future Cubs! That's a plus for sure.

Matt and I talked baseball for four plus innings and then I decided to take a quick tour of the park, grab an adult beverage and hit the souvenir store. Before I knew it the game was in the seventh inning and I had just finally grabbed my assigned seat. The Cubs were down 3 to 1 at that point, but my boy Dillon Maples came in to pitch the top of the 8th, which got my attention.

I've attempted to complete two rainbows since I re-entered the hobby and Dillon Maples was my first attempt. I say attempt, because I'm still missing a couple of cards.

The South Bend Cubs scored four in the bottom of the 8th to secure the lead and the next thing I know Matt shows up next to me to watch the top of 9th and sing "Go Cubs, Go!" with me.  Afterwards we headed out to my vehicle so we could make a cardboard/Sports Illustrated/Cereal Box swap. Good stuff!

Before we get to the cards, I'd like to add that it was really nice to talk baseball and the Cubs with someone on my level. I don't want to sound all high and mighty, but most people I bump into can't name two guys in the Cubs bullpen, let alone have any idea of who is injured, who's been called up, who's riding a hot steak, or what the latest trade rumor is surrounding the club. It wasn't like that with Matt at all. He's a true fan, a fantastic blogger, and somebody I would gladly share a beer and watch a game with anytime.

Oh, and he's great trader, too!  Matt's been purchasing all of the Cubs Now cards from Topps and he's sharing with me! The Willson Contreras card is my favorite. The dude plays with so much emotion!

 Card for my slowly growing Conlon set build!

Check out the additions to my Cubs FrankenSet!

 

All of the five cards above were either upgrades or filled a hole. In the case of the Stan Hack, it was an upgrade over the Freddie Bynum card which filled a hole. Nice!

And lastly, we have a new Brooks Kieschnick card to add to my player collection. This one is #54 in the collection, and once again I own the parallel of a card before I own the regular base issue. I live a charmed life!

 Matt, it was a pleasure to meet you and your boys. Thank you so much for the cards and I wish you a safe and fun conclusion to your road trip.  Hopefully the Cubs will get it together and you'll see a win tomorrow before you leave Chicago!