Super hobby assist- Mission accomplished!

[Scott Garner]

Many of you on net54 know that I collect no-hitter tickets. Currently I have tickets to 185 no-hitter games dating back to 1901.

One project that I have been working on for many years is to have the no-hit pitcher sign the ticket to their historic game. Through persistence and a little help from my friends I have been successful in getting 126 of them signed (127 different signatures overall).

The most recent one that I just got back is worth sharing the back story:

Montreal Expos starting pitcher Mark Gardner pitched a historic unusual no-hitter in 1991 against the hometown LA Dodgers. Gardner pitched 9 innings of no-hit ball before finally allowing 2 hits in the 10th inning. In 1991 MLB changed the rules surrounding what defines a no-hitter. Since Gardner did not win his no-hit game in 9 innings and eventually surrendered a hit in extras, this game would technically now be listed as an "unofficial" no-hitter.
I started collecting no-hit tickets in 1972, so I still continue to collect games like these because in the past they were considered to be no-hitters, but I digress...

Mark Gardner is currently a coach for the former World Champion SF Giants these days. Over the years I have sent several letters to Gardner asking if he would sign his "no-hit" ticket. I never received a response. Additionally, Gardner never seems to EVER do a paid signing like so many other former players. After 23 years I finally was successful at getting Gardner to sign my ticket, but not without a HUGE hobby assist by a No Cal collector named Steve Keeling that I never have actually ever met.

Over three years ago, I sold Scott Keeling something related to Barry Bonds or the SF Giants on eBay (at this point I don't even remember what it was- LOL).
When I sent the item to Scott, I sent along a handwritten note asking him what he collected since I may have had something else that he was looking for, and since I have accumulated a lot of stuff being a long- time collector like many of you. Scott actually contacted me and we talked about what both of us collected.

When I told him about my no-hit ticket collection I mentioned in passing that I was still looking for a way to get the Mark Gardner ticket signed. 3 years ago Scott took it upon himself to offer to make it a personal mission to get it signed at SF Giants spring training games, SF regular season games, etc. Remember, this is a guy that I've never even met.

We have exchanged several e-mails and phone calls over the last 3 years. Inevitably each conversation ended with the question : "Are you still up to the challenge of trying to get Mark Gardner's sig?" Every year, he basically said, "Don't worry, I will get him for you!"

2014 was my year. He attended some Giants games in AZ a couple of weeks ago and he finally did, in fact, get Gardner to sign my ticket and a Giants World Series ball that he needed for his own personal collection.

Here is a huge toast to Scott Keesling and reinforcing what is so cool about the collecting hobby. Networking like this is unbelievable. Thanks Scott!

BTW, Scott Keesling collects tickets to all Barry Bonds HR games. Out of 756 HR's, Scott is down to looking for only 40 or so tickets to complete this project.

I posted these ticket dates in the B/S/T today. Please look to see if you can help out a truly nice guy and terrific hobbiest!

[gregr2]

Great story!! Any idea why he wouldn't sign in the past? Seems odd since he is still involved in baseball which would make him readily available.

And congrats on this accomplishment.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by gregr2

Great story!! Any idea why he wouldn't sign in the past? Seems odd since he is still involved in baseball which would make him readily available.

And congrats on this accomplishment.

Greg, I honestly have no idea. I do know that he signs at the Giants Fanfest every year, but the whole process is so random that it's difficult to know which player you are going to get when you get in line for these things.

Scott Keesling said he was actually quite pleasant when he signed his ball and my ticket. He was surprised to see that someone was actually trying to get the ticket to his "unofficial" no-hitter signed, but didn't seem to want to talk about it since he actually lost the game in spite of such a great pitching performance. He's not the only one that had this happen, but it is rare indeed.

O/T- It's also interesting to note that many pitchers that recorded VERY high strikeout games (19) actually lost these games or got no-decisions. Some HOF caliber pitchers such as Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, and Randy Johnson had this happen to them. Jim Maloney struck out 18 in an unofficial no-hitter and also lost.

Moral of the story: Great performances don't always result in a W...

[7nohitter]

Awesome story!! Great to hear of a connection like this happening.

I recently bought a Mickey Mantle autographed ball on the B/S/T and I had the ball in hand before the seller had my check!! He told me that since we were both New Englander's he knew he could trust me!

Congrats on finally getting the signature Scott!

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

Awesome story!! Great to hear of a connection like this happening.

I recently bought a Mickey Mantle autographed ball on the B/S/T and I had the ball in hand before the seller had my check!! He told me that since we were both New Englander's he knew he could trust me!

Congrats on finally getting the signature Scott!

Thanks Andrew!

[Leon]

Congrats on your long awaited accomplishment, Scott. That is a really great story. It gives us all some inspiration.

[baseball tourist]

Nice! Glad to hear Scott. I buy lots of MLB tix from time to time as I am looking to complete a run of Jose Bautista HR games and will look for the Bonds tix in any I get.

[Scott Garner]

Congrats on your long awaited accomplishment, Scott. That is a really great story. It gives us all some inspiration.
__________________
Leon Luckey

Originally Posted by baseball tourist

Nice! Glad to hear Scott. I buy lots of MLB tix from time to time as I am looking to complete a run of Jose Bautista HR games and will look for the Bonds tix in any I get.

Thanks Leon and Chris!

[koufax1fan]

Hi Scott:
Great story, glad it finally worked out for you! 185 No Hitter tickets is an unbelievable collection. Just curious how many more do you need to finish as of the beginning of this baseball season. Always a pleasure to speak with you, thanks for your help today.
Phil

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by koufax1fan

Hi Scott:
Great story, glad it finally worked out for you! 185 No Hitter tickets is an unbelievable collection. Just curious how many more do you need to finish as of the beginning of this baseball season. Always a pleasure to speak with you, thanks for your help today.
Phil

Hi Phil,
Perhaps 20-30 no-hitters may realistically still be findable, but there are still 98total dating back to the beginning days of baseball that I don't own.

IMHO, m any of these will never surface, but I always reserve hope!