Featured autograph - Ian Clarkin

I picked up a 2012 Panini USA team set for $15 shipping at the beginning of the year - I wanted to pick up a base set [no inserts] of the boxed set so I'd have another set of cards of various players likely to enter professional baseball in the next three or four years.

One of those players in the USA set is Clarkin, who was signed this week along with second round pick, infielder Gosuke Katoh - when the New York Yankees visited the Angels, I told myself to bring the card of Clarkin since he was a Yankees' draft pick from Southern California [San Diego area] and I figured the Yankees would do something like invite him for an informal work out or something.

Both Clarkin and Katoh were waiting to enter the stadium hours before the Friday game at Angel Stadium and I was able to get Clarkin to sign his card - a handful of collectors had spotted both guys, making it easy for me to go where they were.

In five years I'm going to be wondering if I should have gotten Katoh's autograph too - though I was just happy not to get shut out that day.

It must have been really sweet for the two just to graduate high school and jump onto a MLB field to shag balls in the outfield or to take grounders at second base in the vicinity of guys like C.C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Mo, Robinson Cano, et al - knowing that it was only a matter of time before they signed their first contracts to become professional baseball players.