Decided to head up to Montgomery, Alabama for the Braves Caravan once they added Don Sutton. Other players scheduled to appear were Tim Hudson, David Ross, Eric Hinske, Tyler Pastornicky and Scott Fletcher.

Event Rating: 5


For the most part, the Braves have gotten the caravans organized which wasn't always the case in my previous experiences.  In the past,  Braves personnel would give out a limitless amount of multicolored index cards to help them calculate how many people the players could sign for within a two hour period. If you had no card, you were not getting an autograph.  Dishonest people quickly caught on to how they were doing things and would bring their own index cards while cutting in front of others that were waiting.  Now they give out three hundred numbered cards that can be scanned if needed with a stamp. At around #300,  a Braves team member will tell you honestly the chances of meeting the players is slim but you are more than welcome to try. The universal tip when graphing the caravans is to arrive early. It still amuses me that people think they can drive up to the event 15 minutes before it starts.   Being the avid autograph collector that I am, I knew to be there early.  I arrived at around 9:55am and got number #48. 

Don Sutton:  Signed my baseball with "HOF" inscription. Any day you get a "HOFer" for free is a good day. Its nice to see Mr. Sutton take an interest in some of the items he is signing. He was even filling requests on items for people that asked for his win total and strikeout total on items.


Tim Hudson: Signed my two 2009 Topps cards. I never know what to expect from Mr Hudson. I have had Mr. Hudson stop in his car at the gates of Disney and sign every item put in front of him. Other times at organized events he looks like he would rather be anywhere else. Today he was very talkative.  He even got a kick out of Scott Fletcher's 1992 Topps card that was near his, and kept asking me to see it.


David Ross: Signed my 2009 Topps card. Not very talkative.


Eric Hinske: Signed two of my 2009 Topps cards and was talking about how much he enjoyed his time with the Yankees.


Tyler Pastornicky: The Braves think he can stick it out at SS and I had all my cards of him signed this year by way of 50-50's, so why not have him sign a baseball ? I will probably regret this 2 months from now when I am watching Jack Wilson on TBS.






Scott Fletcher: I originally had four cards but gave the lady in front of me one of them because she was flipping through a Braves program from last year. I told her he isn't going to be in it and she could have one of my cards.

Overall, the trip was worth it to me. I can cross off 3 more cards of my 2009 Topps set, a 1990 Leaf card,  and added another "HOFer" baseball to the collection.  It was a great way to kick off my "autograph season"!