Fun Stuff From the Reds Caravan

Every January, the Reds do a big caravan with three different buses hitting different sections of "Reds Country" as they call it. One of the regular stops is the auditorium on the Hamilton campus of Miami University, which is about 25 minutes from my house. I won't be able to make it this year since it's the same day as my son's birthday, but I have made it out in the past so I thought I would share a few cool things that I came back with the few times I went.

The first year I went was 2011, the year after the Reds surprised everyone and won the Central Division. I believe it was also the first year they added Miami University as a stop on the tour. A friend of mine, his dad, and I all met at his house since he lived close to the campus at the time and rode over.

It turns out that its just a giant Q&A session and then a line for autographs. I'm not going to complain as the autographs were free and everyone who was there signed, even the mascots. While I didn't bring anything to get signed as it was during my collecting hiatus, they had giant posters there for the taking. The flyer above is signed by Brandon Phillips, the late Ryan Freel, Devin Mesoraco, announcer Marty Brennaman, then assistant-VP Bob Miller, and mascot Gapper.

I missed the 2012 event but made it back in 2013, just three days before my son was born. It was the same set up as the previous time, but had a whole new line-up. The Q&A session was brief, probably due to the large number of people in attendance and the fact they had to get everyone through the autograph line. The two big names on the 2013 tour were Homer Bailey (who looked like he'd have rather been anywhere else in the world) and Corky Miller, the cult favorite of Reds fans.

Again, I grabbed a posted for everyone to sign. This time it was signed by Bailey, Miller, GM Walt Jocketty, CEO Phil Castellini, minor league outfield Ryan LaMarre, and Mr. Redlegs. I went with the same friend that I went to the 2011 caravan with and this time, he brought some baseballs to have signed. I had Corky Miller sign the one below and Homer Bailey sign another, which has currently gone missing.

Hopefully next January I can get out the caravan again and maybe this time get some cards and another poster signed.