It's been four days since my last graph and I was starting to get that itch. The San Francisco Giants were away in Milwaukee and the Oakland A's played a morning game so graphing the major leaguers was out of the question. I decided to graph the San Jose Giants down in Municipal Stadium, a whole 5 mins drive from my house. I got there at the end of the 8th inning and saw two charter buses parked in the front of the stadium. I decided to wait there and see if any graphers would come by but didn't see any so I decided to walk inside the stadium. I spotted a few people waiting behind the backstop so I hung out there to study their actions. It was quite obvious they were graphers from all the baseball cards and the sharpies. I tried to be nice and introduce myself but one of the guys brushed me off-fuck him. Some of these graphers think what they are doing is totally secretive and won't tell you anything. Shit like that just pisses me off and makes this hobby all the more difficult. Anyways, Im not dumb so I knew what was up. I decided to press this guys button and make it obvious that I was following him wherever he went. I don't recommend doing this but I knew I can take him if he was gonna try and act dumb. After a few mins to walking around following this prick (excuse my french) he ended up standing right outside where I had spotted the 2 charter buses earlier. By this time, there were a good amount of graphers there so I knew this is it. I started talking to this older gentleman who's been graphing the Stockton Ports the past two nights for some information. Unlike the guy who brushed me off earlier, this guy was really informative. We waited til about 10:15pm when Addison Russell came out. He loaded all his equipment onto the bus and signed for everyone there, doing multiple items as well as inscriptions. I had him sign an official Rawlings MLB ball for me and decided to head down to the San Jose Giants player parking lot to see if I can get Kyle Crick and Clayton Blackburn. I hung out by the players parking lot for about 15 mins and passed the time by talking to this kid I met, Brandon. Nice guy who's from down in the southern California area but is attending San Jose State. We shared some stories while waiting for Kyle Crick since we had just missed Clayton Blackburn. It wasn't took long before Kyle emerged and signed for like 6 graphers that was there waiting for him. 

Overall, my first experience graphing minor leaguers was a positive one. Compared to the major leaguers, it's really easy here. All of the players sign and are very friendly towards their fans. If anyone is reading this and is interested in graphing some San Jose Giants game, the three area to be are:

1. On the first base side before the game. The players will warm up and almost always sign on their way in. This requires having an actual ticket to the game in order to come into the stadium for warm-up/batting practice.
2. After the game, there are two charter buses parked right in front of the stadium on Alma Street. Stand right in front (or sit since theres two benches) and wait for the visiting players to walk out after the game. This does not require an actual ticket to the game. If you come towards the end of the game like I did, you can walk in for free and watch the game from the backstop.
3. For those who are interested in obtaining San Jose Giants players autograph, there is an entrance with a sign that states that this the players parking lot. It's a chain linked fence with this green covers with a gate. The San Jose Giants players will walk out this gate after the game and walk towards their cars. If you hang out here, you can graph the players as they walk out.

I hope this helps. If you have questions, feel free to shoot me a message below. 

Addison Russell

Kyle Crick