Featured autograph - my misadventure with Mark Trumbo

This isn't another in-person autograph failure like what happened with Dodgers' ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw - but probably a story about getting a couple of autographs at a public appearance that turned out not to be one of my better in-person autograph experiences.

Rising Angel star Mark Trumbo did a signing at a Dave and Buster's restaurant in Orange, California a couple of weeks ago - I think I waited about five hours to get through the line from when I got there and since there were a couple of signings going on, it wasn't too congested.

I think groups of about 15 people were led inside the restaurant and to the banquet hall - where Trumbo was sitting by himself at a table with an Angels handler standing at the 'stage area.'

I was really hoping I'd get a nicer autograph as Trumbo has done a bunch of signings in 2011 - perhaps he has had some opportunity to 'refine' his penmanship.

I finally was able to approach him on stage to get my 8x10 print signed and perhaps his autograph would have been fine - if I'd just let him sign the white border that I still needed to cut off the print, but I tried telling him to sign it "big" and across the image.

He ends up signing my 8x10 print to the side and the autograph is literally 'MT 44' and it wasn't like I expected a 'letter for letter' autograph - but I felt like he didn't want to deal with me and gave me a chicken scratch autograph on purpose.

More awkwardness ensues when I get back in line for a second autograph - I overhead a conversation Trumbo and the Angels handler were having about rubbing down the 2011 Bowman cards people having them signed because they were too glossy.

The handler then grabs my 2011 Bowman gold parallel, rubs it against his shirt furtively and accidently drops it - as Trumbo grabs for my card, he says something like, "back again, two for today huh..."

The Angels handler mumbles something towards me, but Trumbo does sign another 'MT' autograph on my card - as I thank him and walk away he responds, "yeah, I'll see that on eBay."

As he said that, I wanted to go crawl under a rock somewhere - I kept thinking I probably should have started up at one of the other Angels signings that morning.