Buck Showalter, 2011 Topps Heritage #121

I'm back home and resting my tired bones after putting in five hours at Orioles FanFest. You might remember that I had bought a voucher for an autograph session with Troy Patton, Buck Showalter, and Brian Roberts. Of course, Roberts is still struggling with the post-concussion symptoms that have sidelined him since last May, so he was unable to make an appearance. His chances of playing again just keep getting worse, and at this point I just hope his personal life isn't impaired in the coming years. The O's made up for Roberts' absence by adding pitchers Alfredo Simon and Jim Johnson to the session. While I waited in line for the 2:00 start time, my sister took a seat behind the stage and did some reading. She sent me a text message to let me know that the O's manager and players were waiting back there while the Nick Markakis/Matt Angle/Al Bumbry/Mike Bordick session finished. Buck even jokingly made a dash for the emergency exit. Everyone was very gracious, and Patton in particular seemed to enjoy interacting with the fans. An older woman in line ahead of me had clear pockets on her bag with pictures of several Orioles on display. Troy told her, "You're missing the best-looking dude on the team". I've already shown off Buck's autograph above. The other three cards I got signed were ones that I've previously featured on the blog, so I'll show off the autographed versions in this same blog post. Enjoy!