I Had to Go This Route

Last season I sort of became enthralled with Darin Ruf, a Phillies top first base outfield prospect.  See, Ruf is a first baseman by trade, but the Phillies are sort of "set" at first for awhile with Ryan Howard, albeit a shell of the former Ryan Howard.  The current version of Ryan Howard strikes out maybe 4/10 at bats.  The other at bats are a mix of singles, lazy fly balls, and the (very) occasional homer.

**End rant about Howard**

At a Phillies/Nats game late last year, I got to Nats park really early to watch batting practice, and maybe score an autograph or two.  I did wind up getting Charlie Manuel's autograph on a baseball, but no others.  I was right up front and pretty close to Darin Ruf, but alas he wouldn't sigh.  I know, I know, the players aren't supposed to sign before games, but at least I tried.

I've been wanting Darin's autograph, so I snagged this beauty on eBay:

I am a big fan of these on card autographs with 2013 Gypsy Queen.  Next up on my radar is to score a Carlos Ruiz auto for a decent price.  I got this Ruf for under ten bucks.